Me, the Weakest Member of the Hero’s Party? I’m the Villain Though? - Chapter 136
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The Fairy King generously lent each person one horse. Unfortunately, however, I didn’t know how to ride a horse, so I had no choice but to ride behind Kyle.
I didn’t even know how to climb onto a horse, so Kyle had to help me. He was so strong that he lifted my body right up and set me lightly on the saddle.
Then Kyle climbed on in front of me. I watched him take the reins and awkwardly grabbed a handful of the clothes at his side.
“You need to hold my waist tightly.”
Kyle grabbed my hand, which was clutching his clothes like a lifeline, and pulled it to his waist. Thanks to that, I ended up in a position that made it look as if I were hugging Kyle tightly from behind.
“Do I really have to do this?”
“If you’re fine with falling off, then it doesn’t matter.”
Compared to falling off a horse, being embarrassed was still better.
“If riding behind me is uncomfortable, you can ride in front.”
If I rode in front, the picture would become the opposite, with Kyle seeming to hug me, and that would be uncomfortable in its own way too. After agonizing over it, I had no choice but to clasp my hands around his waist.
“…Let’s just go like this.”
“Alright. Still, if you feel uncomfortable, tell me anytime.”
Kyle’s voice somehow sounded a little excited. But since it was my first time riding a horse, I was full of worries.
“Then we’re setting off!”
Along with Kyle’s voice, the horse began to run. Every time the horse stretched out its legs, my body bounced.
“Are you okay?”
Maybe I had unconsciously put strength into my arms, because Kyle glanced back and asked worriedly.
No matter how much the horse was looking forward, he wasn’t watching the front while we were moving. Fear suddenly struck me, and I hugged his waist tightly.
“Look ahead!”
“I won’t increase the speed, so don’t worry too much. If you want to stop, tell me right away.”
Since there were many trees, we couldn’t increase our speed anyway, but I still felt reassured because he was paying attention to me.
And once I adjusted somewhat to the horse’s movement, I realized it was much more comfortable than walking.
“By the way, the forest seems quite large, doesn’t it?”
Elonen approached Caesar, who was guiding the group at the front, and asked him a question.
“It’s large in scale, and the paths are complicated too. In the past, humans who took the wrong path were said to disappear, so it was also called the ‘Forest of No Return’, but ever since the ancient kingdom fell, it has been called the ‘Abandoned Forest’.”
Caesar answered Elonen with unexpected kindness. He didn’t seem like he had such a gentle personality, but apparently he wasn’t unsociable either.
“After we came to this forest, we installed traps here and there, but in the past few years, no human has been caught in them.”
That meant there were very few human traces in this forest. And I was the first human to get thoroughly caught in one of those traps.
“If we catch the Black Flame Dragon and extinguish the fire on the World Tree, do you plan to return to the Forest of Peace?”
“That’s right. That place is our home, and we must return and protect the World Tree. That is our duty.”
Just how diligently had the Black Flame Dragon gone around causing trouble for every place we went to be so suffocatingly filled with the misfortunes he had caused?
“I think it’s good to have a place to return to.”
Elonen, who had likewise lost his home to the Black Flame Dragon, murmured in a sorrowful voice.
“Did you lose the place you were supposed to return to?”
For the first time, Caesar showed interest in Elonen’s story.
“The monastery where I lived was completely destroyed by the Black Flame Dragon. The beautiful vineyards that had bountiful harvests every year were all burned too.”
“…So something like that happened.”
For the first time, emotion colored Caesar’s voice. Should I call it a sense of kinship, or pity? Perhaps he was also thinking of the home that had been trampled by the Black Flame Dragon.
“I cannot leave because I must protect my father, but I am deeply grateful to all of you. You are doing something great, and among the humans I know, you are the bravest and most worthy of respect.”
At Caesar’s sincere words, Kyle’s gaze softened. In any case, they all shared the same goal.
To punish the Black Flame Dragon.
It was not exactly a pleasant wish for me, but I understood why they resented the Black Flame Dragon and wanted revenge.
If Lysian really had been controlled by someone, then if I uncovered that truth, wouldn’t he be able to be forgiven?
That was the only hope I had left. That was why I was even more desperate to uncover the secret of the mana crystals.
