Me, the Weakest Member of the Hero’s Party? I’m the Villain Though? - Chapter 44
“I’ve heard rumors that there’s a mage and a saint among your group.”
The mage wasn’t present right now, but no one mentioned that.
“So, what exactly is it you’d like to ask?”
Kyle asked the question with his mouth full of food.
Tallin hesitated to answer, fiddling with the ring on his finger. Anyone could see how nervous he was.
“Well, the thing is… for some time now, rats have been getting into the storeroom.”
It was a somewhat blunt choice of words, but I understood. Rats not only consume precious food stores but also spread zoonotic diseases to humans.
Maybe they were even more wicked than the Black Flame Dragon… or maybe not.
“So, are you asking us to exterminate rats, Baron?”
Kyle replied, unable to hide his disbelief. He clearly wasn’t thrilled by the idea.
“Yes, that’s right. I heard you don’t accept money as payment, so I’ll provide whatever supplies you need—please consider it.”
Kyle didn’t look too happy about it and seemed to be thinking it over. With the Black Flame Dragon to deal with, he probably didn’t want to waste time on something so trivial.
After a brief moment of thought, he stared at the bread he’d been chewing, and as if making up his mind, he spoke slowly.
“It’s not a particularly difficult job, and since you’ve fed us, we’ll help you. However, since we’re on a tight schedule, we’ll take care of it today.”
Even though it was a sudden request, Kyle couldn’t bring himself to turn away from someone in need. Just as you’d expect from a hero.
Maybe the food was to their liking, or maybe they simply didn’t care, but none of the others objected to Kyle’s decision.
“If you could really do that, I’d be grateful. I wouldn’t want to waste the heroes’ time. In that case, let’s head to the storeroom as soon as you finish eating.”
As the others eagerly ate, I quietly set my bread down. It tasted good, but for some reason, I just didn’t have an appetite.
“Why did you stop eating? Does it not suit your taste?”
A woman sitting across from me asked after noticing.
She spoke so familiarly I wondered if we knew each other, but it was a face I’d never seen before.
“Who…?”
“Oh, I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Esther, the baron’s second daughter. Um, may I ask your name, hero?”
“It’s Lysian.”
I wasn’t a hero, but it was too much trouble to correct her, so I just gave my name. Esther looked at me with oddly sparkling eyes.
“I was curious. Are you the newest member of the hero’s party? I heard there were only four of you before.”
“Yeah, well…”
I had no idea why she was asking. As I awkwardly replied, Kyle, who’d been eavesdropping right beside me, grinned and slapped me on the shoulder.
“That’s right! Lysian is our newest recruit!”
“Oh, I knew it!”
Esther, apparently thrilled, clasped her hands together.
“So what about you, Lord Lysian? Lord Kyle is a swordsman, Lord Gerard is a mage, Lord Elonen is a saint, Lord Kakaros is a forest fairy. What about you? What’s your power?”
What was I supposed to say? I couldn’t very well announce I was the hero party’s secret final boss—the dragon. I had to come up with something.
For some reason, only one word came to mind.
“I’m a wood—”
“Are you a wood elf? Or a spirit of the trees? Or maybe—oh! I know! The tree’s—”
“Esther, stop pestering our guests. I’m sorry, my daughter is quite curious.”
Just as I was about to choke out the words ‘simple woodcutter’, Tallin stepped in.
“If you’re finished eating, let’s head to the storeroom.”
Esther’s disappointed gaze followed me as I stood up, but I deliberately avoided her eyes.
***
We followed the lord to the storeroom at the back of the manor.
The building was old, but looked fairly sturdy and it was quite large. Half a dozen soldiers were patrolling around the storeroom.
“That’s a lot of security for a storeroom.”
Elonen commented as he looked around. He was right. This was the lord’s manor, and it was full of soldiers, so having this many just to guard a storeroom seemed excessive.
“If you look inside, you might change your mind.”
Tallin said, sounding meaningful, as he took out a key from his pocket.
He selected one from among a dozen keys, unlocked the door, and stepped inside. We followed him in.
“It’s even bigger than I thought.”
“There’s a lot of food, too.”
Elonen and Kyle echoed each other. As they said, the storeroom was enormous, filled to the brim with grain, root vegetables, and all sorts of foodstuffs.
The imperial capital was impoverished and gloomy, but this village, though not far away, looked prosperous and well-fed.
“Kakaros senses miasma.”
Kakaros, who had been quiet until now, sniffed the air and headed toward a corner of the storeroom. The rest of the party followed him deep into the storeroom.