Chapter 12 – It’s finally working

The forest finally thinned, giving way to the sight of Olvido’s humble wooden gates.

My legs burned. Not from actual exhaustion, of course, but from the master-class performance of feigned fatigue I was currently delivering. Every step was a theatrical struggle. I dragged my feet. I let out pathetic, quiet whimpers. I was a portrait of a hero at his absolute limit.

All of this was to set the stage for the final act.

I needed to look weak. I needed to look like a burden.

I needed them to abandon me.

“Ryuuji-kun, you’re lagging behind.”

Reina’s voice was laced with a strange, sugary concern.

“I’m… I’m fine.”

I wheezed the words out, doubling over to sell the act.

“It’s just… a little further.”

My performance was flawless. Even I was impressed. My imminent betrayal was going to be legendary.

A shadow fell over me.

“This is unacceptable.”

I looked up into Reina’s eyes. Her expression was one of intense, unwavering seriousness. Before I could process what was happening, her arms slid under my back and knees.

She lifted me off the ground.

Like I was nothing.

She was carrying me. Bridal-style.

My brain came to a screeching halt. The world tilted. This was not in the script. This was not in any of the thousands of edgy loner scripts I had ever read.

This was a trope violation of the highest order.

“Reina-san! What are you doing?! Put me down!”

This was supposed to be my moment of pathetic weakness, not a scene ripped from a low-budget romance novel. The heroines don’t princess-carry the useless male side character!

She ignored me completely.

She adjusted her grip, pulling me tighter against her chest. I could feel the heat radiating off of her. I could hear her breathing.

It was getting heavier.

“It’s no trouble at all, Ryuuji-kun.”

She began walking toward the town gates, her steps not slowing in the slightest. Kenji and Daisuke just stared, their faces blank with shock, before scrambling to catch up.

“I cannot allow you to overexert yourself.”

Her voice was a low hum, right next to my ear.

“Your body is a precious, precious thing.”

I was going to die of secondhand embarrassment. This was infinitely worse than being abandoned. This was a fate worse than death. It was cringe.

I struggled, but her arms were like steel bands.

My meticulously planned image of a pathetic-but-tragic loner was being systematically replaced by that of a pampered lapdog.

I closed my eyes and prayed for a stray meteor.

We arrived at the city.

She was still carrying me. In front of everyone.

A small crowd of townsfolk pointed and whispered as we passed through the gates. My face was on fire. I wished I was dead.

“Welcome, Adventurers!”

Mayor Pedro was the first to greet us.

Seeing his grotesque smile filled me with a sudden, overwhelming wave of joy. It was a masterpiece of villainy. A grotesque symphony of greed and malice etched into a fleshy, gum-filled canvas.

He was the perfect vision of corruption.

He was my savior.

He waddled toward us, his beady eyes taking in the scene. He saw Kenji’s heroic posture, Daisuke’s bulk, and then… us.

His gaze landed on me, cradled in Reina’s arms like an oversized infant.

His smile twitched.

It was a look of pure, predatory assessment. He saw the weak link. He saw the pathetic, injured baggage that needed to be cut loose.

Yes! Yes! It’s working! He sees it!

My heart soared. My plans were back on track.

“Ryuuji… are you okay?”

His voice dripped with a fake concern so oily it could have fried an egg.

He saw me as the weak link.

That’s good.

Pedro, you make me so proud. That look on your face.

I’m almost crying with happiness.

He took a step closer, reaching a hand out toward me. It was the hand of a villain preparing to seal a deal.

“Get away from Ryuuji.”

Reina’s voice was cold steel.

She took a half-step back, pulling me away from the mayor’s grasp. Her eyes had gone flat and hard. She was hugging me so tightly it was getting hard to breathe.

No.

Don’t do that.

You’re ruining it. You’re scaring away my betrayal flag! Damn it!

I was about to protest. I was about to tell her to let the nice, corrupt mayor get a closer look at the party’s primary liability.

But before I could say anything, another figure appeared.

A man stepped out from behind the mayor, moving with an easy, confident stride.

He was handsome in that classic, boring hero way. He had a chiseled jaw and hair the color of spun gold. His white and gold armor was so clean it practically gleamed, even in the shade of the gatehouse.

Damn it. Another hero like Kenji.

This was getting complicated.

The newcomer smiled, a charismatic flash of perfect white teeth.

“Mayor Pedro! I heard our town had some heroes visiting!”