Me, the Weakest Member of the Hero’s Party? I’m the Villain Though? - Chapter 93
“Looks like you forgot who’s the one holding the sword right now. Want to get cut?”
Even though I said it while gripping the hilt tightly, Kyle didn’t move at all.
Just as I was starting to wonder if I should seriously cut him, Kyle suddenly rested his chin on my shoulder and asked,
“Why did you promise Derek you’d go see him again?”
“What?”
The question came so out of nowhere that I asked back in disbelief.
“You promised you’d definitely stop by on your way back.”
I didn’t expect Kyle to care about that.
“That’s because of the stigmata. I promised that he’d be the first to know once I resolved this.”
Even after hearing my answer, Kyle didn’t seem to have any intention of moving away. I lowered the hand holding the sword and let out a small sigh.
I was trying to understand why he was acting like this, but it wasn’t easy.
“Why did you stay still when Derek kissed your cheek?”
But this question was something I didn’t even want to try to understand.
“What are you even trying to say…”
“You said it’s disgusting for men to kiss. Then why did you let Derek do it? Do you like him or something?”
“Are you crazy? Are you seriously crazy?”
I was so dumbfounded that I just kept repeating the word crazy. I was honestly starting to worry that something was wrong with Kyle’s head.
Derek was a kid who was, at most, around twenty.
And in the first place, I had no intention of liking a person with the same equipment as me, and we hadn’t even known each other long enough for anything like that anyway.
The reason Derek kissing my cheek hadn’t bothered me was because it didn’t feel like it had any romantic meaning.
In some cultures, people greeted each other with a kiss on the cheek.
“It’s not like that. And even if it were, it’s none of your concern.”
When I said it bluntly and cut the conversation off, the arms Kyle had wrapped around me loosened. Finally freed, I turned to look at him.
He was standing there with an openly sulky expression.
“I know. I know it’s none of my business. But I can’t help being bothered by it.”
I couldn’t understand why it mattered to Kyle who I liked. Just because he was the hero didn’t mean he had the right to interfere even in the personal matters of someone in his party.
“Don’t tell me you’re jealous of Derek?”
At my question, Kyle, who had been looking down, flinched and immediately lifted his head to look at me.
“Because you’re worried I’ll leave the party?”
Judging by the startled look on his face, that seemed to be exactly it. It looked like he was worried I might leave his hero’s party and go to Derek instead.
“If that’s what you’re worried about, you don’t need to be. Like I said yesterday, I’ll stay with the party until we find the Black Flame Dragon.”
The complicated look in Kyle’s eyes brightened again. He broke into a cheerful smile and suddenly grabbed my hand.
His sudden action startled me so much I almost dropped the sword I was holding.
“Hearing you say that makes me feel relieved.”
For someone who was a hero, he seemed quite afraid of losing a party member. I pressed the sword back into Kyle’s hand and turned around.
“Let’s head back. The others are waiting.”
“Ah, yeah.”
Kyle hurried after me, but he glanced back toward the snow mountains, as if the strange presence he had sensed there was still bothering him.
* * *
Maybe it was because this was the north, or maybe because we were right in front of the snow mountains, but once the campfire went out, the cold quickly crept in.
I woke from a light sleep and looked around. For a moment, I couldn’t even tell where I had woken up and felt disoriented.
Ah, we were camping.
It had been a while since I slept in the cold air, so I hadn’t slept well and woke up quickly. It was still dark, so it seemed I hadn’t slept long at all.
It didn’t seem like I would be able to fall asleep again. When I sat up and looked around, I saw everyone fast asleep.
Gerard always slept leaning against a tree in an uncomfortable position. Elonen was lying right in front of the campfire as usual, and beside him, Kakaros, who had transformed into a wolf, was curled up.
Kyle was hugging Kakaros, and thanks to the thick fur, he looked quite warm. I had thought his clothing looked light, but his outer layers were draped over my body.
Seriously, when had he covered me with these again?
