Chapter 6 – The Wrong Kind of Flag

The scent of pine and broken dreams filled the air.

One moment, we were in a sterile white void.

The next, sunlight stabbed my eyes.

We stood in a small clearing in a forest so aggressively generic it felt like it was pulled from a stock photo library for fantasy worlds.

The trees were impossibly tall, their leaves a shade of green that didn’t exist back home.

Strange, colorful birds chirped a melody that was just a little too perfect.

Kenji took a deep breath, a huge grin spreading across his face.

“Wow! You guys smell that? That’s the smell of adventure!”

Daisuke just grunted, but his eyes were wide, scanning our surroundings.

In the distance, through a gap in the trees, I could see our first destination.

A starter town.

It had all the classic signs.

A humble wooden wall, a single gate, and a thin plume of smoke rising from what was definitely the local blacksmith.

This was the place you came to kill slimes and learn the game’s mechanics.

This was the tutorial level.

There wouldn’t be many opportunities for a grand, dramatic betrayal here.

My heart sank for a moment.

My epic revenge arc couldn’t kick off in a place like this.

It was too safe.

Too boring.

Unless…

A new script began to form in my mind, a brilliant subplot taking shape.

What if the town had a corrupt leader?

A greasy guild master named Baron von Greed. Or a shifty-eyed captain of the guard with a gambling addiction.

He’d see the potential in the new adventurers.

Kenji’s heroic vibe, Reina’s charm, Daisuke’s raw strength.

A promising investment.

But he’d see me, too. The quiet one. The weak link.

I could picture the scene perfectly.

A shadowy back room. A bag of gold coins clinking on the table.

“Your party is strong, Hero, but that one… the quiet one… he’s dead weight. A liability. Get rid of him, and this reward, along with my full support, is yours.”

Kenji would struggle with the decision.

His hero ethics would clash with cold, hard logic.

But in the end, for the greater good, he would agree.

They would cast me out.

Abandoned.

Sad and hopeless, I’d have no choice but to venture out on my own, where I would discover my true, monstrous power.

When they saw me again, they would regret everything.

Hehehehe.

Just thinking about it sent a shiver of pure excitement down my spine.

This plot was perfect.

“Ryuuji-kun?”

Reina’s soft voice broke through my fantasy.

I looked over and saw her watching me, her expression a mix of curiosity and concern.

“Are you… okay? You were smiling.”

I had let my mask slip.

I quickly rearranged my face into its default setting of pathetic anxiety.

“Ah…”

I made my voice tremble just a little.

“I’m fine. Just… a little overwhelmed by everything.”

That seemed to work.

Her expression softened.

“I get that, but there’s something I don’t get.”

Her eyes were fixed on me, really seeing me for the first time.

“All those things you did back home… for the school network, for Daisuke… for me. Why? Why did you always hide it?”

An interrogation.

She was probing for my backstory.

A classic narrative beat before the love interest subplot kicks into high gear.

I had to shut this down before it got complicated.

If she felt any connection to me, she wouldn’t betray me later.

“It wasn’t a big deal.”

“It was a big deal to me, you found my grandmother’s locket. I thought it was gone forever. No one has ever… done something like that for me.”

A faint blush was creeping up her neck.

A dangerous sign.

“I did it for myself.”

It was the truth, but it was a truth she couldn’t possibly understand.

I needed to reinforce my loner persona.

She blinked, confused.

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t like seeing people sad.”

I lied, crafting a new, tragically selfless backstory on the spot.

“It’s a weakness of mine.”

“So I helped you for my own sake. To get rid of a feeling I didn’t like.”

I looked her in the eye, my expression as serious as I could make it.

“You don’t owe me anything, Reina-san. There’s no debt between us.”

Her lips parted slightly.

The blush on her cheeks deepened.

Her confusion was melting away, replaced by that frustratingly familiar look of awe.

She thought I was being noble.

She thought I was so selfless that I was inventing a selfish reason to protect her from feeling guilty.

This was so much better than I planned.

“Ryuuji-kun…”

She was speechless.

Her eyes were shining.

“You’re…”

She didn’t finish the sentence.

Instead, she stepped forward and hugged me.

It was quick, and surprisingly warm.

My mind, however, immediately went to a darker place.

The kiss of Judas. The final, kind gesture before the knife in the back.

A perfect betrayal flag.

I savored the imagined tragedy of the moment.

She stepped back, her entire face red, but she met my gaze.

“Thank you,” she said, and this time, it sounded different.

Kenji gave us a slightly confused but encouraging thumbs-up.

Daisuke grunted, which I assumed was his version of the same thing.

They were all ready.

We turned and started walking toward the city gates.

The stage was set for Act Two.