Me, the Weakest Member of the Hero’s Party? I’m the Villain Though? - Chapter 53
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Annoyed by that bizarre pose, I asked with a displeased expression.
Kyle, as if finding the whole situation amusing, let a small smile tug at the corner of his lips.
“I’m just looking warmly at a fellow companion. Is that a problem?”
The problem was that there were too many problems, but listing them all out would be tiresome, so I turned my back to him and lay down.
“Aw, I was just teasing a bit. Are you sulking?”
I’d only turned away out of annoyance, but since he called it sulking, it suddenly made me feel petty.
“No matter how I think about it, I can’t believe you were the great sage, Lysian.”
Wondering if he was trying to provoke me, I glanced at Kyle with a frown. At some point, he had laid down and was staring blankly at the ceiling.
It sounded like he didn’t believe I was ever someone as remarkable as the great sage. And since that basically meant he was looking down on me, I couldn’t just let it slide.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“From the moment I first saw you in the forest, I had this feeling. Like I’d met someone I’d been searching for, for a very long time.”
The more Kyle explained, the more my heart thudded. Of course. He really had spent a long time searching for the Black Flame Dragon.
“I guess it’s because I recognized you as the great sage.”
Kyle’s low voice tickled my ear. My heart started pounding, and a cold sweat broke out on my forehead.
Was it because I was on the verge of having my identity exposed? I pressed my palm firmly against my racing chest. I could feel my heart pounding under my hand.
“…Nonsense.”
I muttered curtly, trying to turn over to the other side, but suddenly Kyle grabbed my shoulder.
Startled by the unexpected touch, I turned back, and his face was right in front of mine.
Feeling his nose brush against mine, chills ran down my spine. I flinched and tried to move away, but Kyle suddenly cupped the back of my head.
“If we can resolve the Black Flame Dragon matter safely, I’ll help you recover your memories. I promise you that, with everything I have.”
Maybe wanting to show how serious he was, Kyle looked straight at me with unwavering eyes.
Gazing into his clear blue eyes, like a pristine lake, from such close distance, I found myself nodding without thinking.
“…Thanks. But right now, I just want to sleep.”
Only then did Kyle let go of my head.
“Alright. Good night.”
I forced my eyes shut and tried to fall asleep. But Kyle’s voice, and the sight of the dungeon I’d seen earlier, kept circling in my mind, making it hard to fall asleep.
After tossing and turning for a while, Kyle, who seemed unable to fall asleep either, started talking to me for no reason.
“Lysian, are you asleep?”
“Yes.”
“How can you answer if you’re asleep?”
He could have just let it go. I let out a deep sigh, turned onto my back, and stared up at the ceiling.
I could feel Kyle’s gaze from beside me, but I stubbornly refused to turn my head.
“There’s something I’m curious about. Can I ask you?”
“If I tell you not to ask, will you really not ask?”
I replied sullenly, and Kyle let out a quiet laugh.
“No, I’m going to ask anyway. What’s important to you, Lysian?”
“Important?”
The sudden question caught me off guard.
“My swordsmanship master once told me that everyone has something they want to protect. Gerard wanted to protect his younger sister, and I wanted to protect the imperial capital and its people. Do you have something important you want to protect, Lysian?”
Listening to Kyle’s gentle voice, I fell into thought. Something important that I wanted to protect… I’d never really thought about it.
Maybe because I was always at the edge of life and death, I never had the luxury to think about protecting something.
“…Not really.”
“Come on, that can’t be. No matter how selfish a person is, there’s always something they want to protect. For example, money, or even family.”
I had more than enough money stored away in my subspace, but nowhere to use it. And I had no family in this world.
“Really, nothing.”
When I answered firmly, Kyle fell silent.
“Then what do you fight for, Lysian?”
Fight for something? The only time I fought was when I needed to protect myself.
But if I said that, I had a feeling Kyle, the hero, would start lecturing me, so I just said whatever came to mind.
“I don’t even have the strength to fight, so what does it matter.”
“I guess. I shouldn’t have asked. Really, good night, Lysian.”
