Me, the Weakest Member of the Hero’s Party? I’m the Villain Though? - Chapter 114
I had already learned everything I needed from him anyway, so I didn’t feel like pressing further.
“…Thanks for conversing with me.”
After giving a brief word of thanks, I turned back toward Kyle. He had finished gathering his equipment and was just about to leave.
“If everyone’s picked one, let’s get going now.”
After neatly collecting their equipment, the party gave their final farewells to Dierko. Dierko had Ziggs guide us along the path out of the underground kingdom.
It had only been about two days since we met Ziggs, but as we were about to part, I still felt a faint sense of regret.
“May the blessing of Gaia, the Earth God, be with you.”
Leaving behind Ziggs’s blessing, we exited the underground kingdom and set out on our journey once again.
* * *
“Back to the snow mountains again.”
After barely a full day, we found ourselves wandering through the snow mountains once more. It almost made me miss the underground prison.
“This time, let’s stay close together. Don’t fall behind or stray too far.”
Fortunately, unlike Kyle’s concerns, the party didn’t get separated again or run into any danger.
After pushing through the blizzard for about half a day, we were finally able to leave the snow mountains. Once the icy wind that had been slapping our faces stopped, I finally felt like I could breathe again.
“Finally, a forest.”
Elonen looked extremely satisfied just from having left the snow mountains.
I used to find forests irritating, but even so, a forest was far better than the snow mountains. They weren’t even worth comparing.
“We just came out of the snow mountains, but the weather is quite warm.”
Elonen said as he looked around. The party gradually began taking off their fur coats. I naturally tried to gather their clothes, but Gerard stepped forward.
“It’s fine. I’ll put them in my subspace.”
What was that? His tone was as unpleasant as usual, but it somehow felt like he was being considerate toward me. I watched, unable to hide my confusion, as Gerard stuffed the fur coats into his subspace.
“We still have a long way to go. Follow Kakaros.”
The party seemed tired, and they remained quiet the entire time they traveled. Even Kyle, who would normally start conversations first, simply walked in silence.
After walking along a quiet forest path, night fell, and we decided to camp near a riverside.
“We’ll have to spend the night here.”
Kyle said as he set down the bag slung over his shoulder. The place he chose for the night was a small cave at the base of a rocky cliff.
To start a campfire, Kyle went to gather firewood, Elonen went to the river to fetch water, and Kakaros headed into the forest to find food ingredients.
That left only Gerard and me at the campsite. Being alone with him felt so awkward that it was almost suffocating.
I stood there awkwardly, watching Gerard busily at work. He was taking out cooking tools and setting them up so he could start cooking as soon as Elonen returned with ingredients.
“Is there anything I can help with?”
Normally, he would have handed small tasks like this to me, but for some reason, he was doing the menial work himself.
“Here, help stack these stones.”
Gerard gathered stones and stacked them into a circular shape. Once Kyle piled firewood inside and lit it, it would be used as a fire pit.
“I’m not very good at apologizing. I’ve barely ever done it before.”
Gerard, who had been moving busily, suddenly spoke without even looking at me. I frowned, wondering what he was talking about, and watched him.
“I’ve spent most of my time working alone, so I don’t know how to get along with other people, and I’ve never really had a proper conversation with anyone. When the Academy asked me to become a professor, I even refused because I didn’t want to talk to the students.”
