Me, the Weakest Member of the Hero’s Party? I’m the Villain Though? - Chapter 58
A major part of the latter half of the story was about how the hero’s party, who were branded as a criminal group by the Emperor after subjugating the Black Flame Dragon, managed to restore their honor.
Maybe they had defeated that so-called Dark God, or whatever it was.
“Ah…”
A faint sigh escaped me.
It occurred to me that the original Lysian might have died, falsely accused.
It seemed clear that I needed to meet this Dark God and find out what really happened.
“Lysian!”
At that moment, Kyle’s voice rang out again. I wanted to call his name, but my consciousness faded away just like that.
* * *
“Kyle…!”
The last word in my mind escaped my lips as I snapped my eyes open. I saw an unfamiliar ceiling, making me certain I had transmigrated into a fantasy novel…
Ah, I already did transmigrate, didn’t I?
“Lysian, are you feeling a bit more awake?”
At the familiar voice of Elonen, I turned my head. Elonen, who was sitting in a chair by the bed, supported my shoulders so I could sit up.
“What happened?”
I rubbed my forehead with my palm as I looked around.
My last memory was being lost in the middle of the lich’s dungeon maze. When I opened my eyes, I was back at the lord’s castle.
“Well, what happened is…”
Elonen started to explain kindly with a smile, but suddenly Kyle burst through the door so hard it slammed open.
“Lysian! You’re awake!”
He dropped the basket he was holding and rushed over to the bed, breathless.
“I was so worried! I really thought you were going to die!”
Kyle, almost in tears, suddenly threw himself onto me.
“Ugh!”
He pressed down on me with that huge body of his, hugging me so tightly it felt like he was about to choke me. For a second, I wondered if he was actually trying to kill me with his own hands out of resentment for my survival.
“Do you know how shocked I was when I found you collapsed? If Elonen had been even a little later, you might really have died!”
“S-Stop…!”
Fortunately, just as I was about to suffocate, Elonen grabbed Kyle’s shoulders and urgently tried to pull him off.
“Kyle, if you keep going you’ll actually kill him!”
Only then did Kyle let go. I’d almost become a pathetic villain, accidentally killed by the hero’s hands.
“Are you alright? Does anything hurt?”
While I was catching my breath, Kyle anxiously patted me all over. Thanks to him, I felt like new sore spots were appearing, but I didn’t bother to mention it.
“I’m fine, so stop it.”
I brusquely answered as I tried to brush off Kyle’s annoying hands.
“Lysian, you have to understand. Kyle’s never lost a companion before. If you’d seen how panicked he was, you wouldn’t be able to say anything.”
Elonen spoke up as he helped pry Kyle off, who was clinging to me a bit excessively.
Hearing that, I almost felt bad for Kyle. But honestly, he was the one who ruined my plan first!
If he’d just let me sneak out of the dungeon and return safely, nothing would have gone wrong. He had to go and follow after me…
Wait… He followed me…?
The things I did last night flashed before my eyes. First, I rode on the giant-sized Larry, took the legendary Paladin’s Helm out of my subspace, and forced the lich to submit…
If Kyle had seen even one of those things, he would definitely have realized something was strange about me.
“Were you following me?”
I narrowed my eyes and asked Kyle carefully.
“Well, I woke up and saw you weren’t there. I waited a long time, but you didn’t come back. I was worried, so I asked Kakaros to track your trail, and he said you’d gone into the forest alone. I rushed after you, and—sure enough—you’d collapsed inside the dungeon from the poison smoke!”
“Let me breathe. You’re making me breathless just listening.”
Elonen interrupted, as Kyle poured everything out in a single breath. Thanks to him, I finally had a moment to collect my thoughts.
“So when you arrived, I was already passed out on the floor?”
“Yes! What were you thinking, going in there by yourself?”
Thankfully, it seemed Kyle hadn’t seen any of what I’d done. I almost sighed in relief without realizing it.
But then I immediately faced another problem.
How was I supposed to explain why I went to the dungeon alone?
