I Got Reincarnated as the Villain and Saved the World, but After the Ending I Was Betrayed and Exiled. I Just Wanted a Peaceful Life in the Frontier, but for Some Reason My Former Companions Started Chasing Me with Yandere Eyes… - 8

Chapter 8: The Girl Named Tia

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

“Are you okay?!”

“…That is…”

With Tia, who followed with a grim expression on her face, I arrived to find four injured adventurers. There, we saw a massive goblin confronting them, and the smaller goblins under its command.

“That big one, could it be…”

“Yeah, that’s a Hobgoblin. They were probably taking the rank-up test and messed up, I guess.”

A Hobgoblin’s rank was D. It was like the boss of a goblin horde. It possessed great strength and the skill to use both bow and sword, earning it the nickname newbie killer. 

Its strength was high, but its intelligence was low, and as long as the party worked together, it could be defeated. That was why the quest to hunt one was often taken as the promotion test from D-rank to C-rank.

However, this Hobgoblin, though covered in scratches, had no fatal injuries. A boy with a shield barely managed to hold it off, while a girl who looked like a priest tended to two of the adventurers.

“Someone! P-please help us… Wait, you’re… Tia…?”

“Frau…”

I recognized the priest girl whose eyes widened in shock. She was the one I had seen chatting happily with the male adventurer from before. Yes. This was the same girl who had once expelled Tia from their party.

“Master, please protect Frau and the others. I’ll go support Abel.”

“Tia, I’m sure you understand but…”

“I’ll help them. I may have been expelled, but I was part of their party once.”

Seeing Tia smiling mischievously, I felt ashamed for even letting the thought of abandoning them cross my mind. She could help even those who had cast her out without any hesitation. I truly envied that strength. Would I be able to do something like that if I were in her shoes…?

“At this rate, Abel will die… You’re a C-rank adventurer, aren’t you!? Please, go save them! Sure, they were the ones who expelled me. Of course I hate them and not to mention, they’re so damn weak! Of course they’re going to get taken out immediately!”

Now you’re letting your true feelings slip out just because you know your precious comrades are in danger…

I thought to myself as I watched Tia’s back. Seeing her unwavering steps, I found myself convinced by her strength.

“It’s fine. I mean, abandoning someone out of spite wouldn’t be cute, right? Tia would never do that.”

“But… All she can do is ‘Charm.’ Even if she fought seriously, she wouldn’t be of any help…”

“You’re wrong. It’s not ‘all she can do’! She can use ‘charm’! Now, focus on treating those two!!”

As I slashed down the goblins trying to target the injured adventurers, I kept my eyes on Tia as she ran to save her former comrades. I readied myself to use my Evil Eyes at any time… Sure, it was a secret skill, but keeping my secret couldn’t be compared to her life and resolve. 

“Abel, are you alright? Look at your shaky stance. There’s no way you can take on the role of a vanguard like that.”

“Tia!? Why are you here…? More importantly, against a Hobgoblin, you—”

“Goob?”

The boy called Abel cried out in surprise at Tia’s sudden appearance with sword in hand, while the Hobgoblin leered mockingly at her.

“Fufu~ Goblin-kun, you look sooo cool!~ ♡ So strooong~ ♡”

“Gobu…?”

Even if it didn’t understand her words, the Hobgoblin seemed to get her meaning. The Hobgoblin smirked slightly and Tia didn’t waste that opening. Fire swelled into being in her hand…

“But you know, the spirit who defeats such a goblin is so much cooler~ ♡”

“This…This power is…”

“GOBUUUUU!!!???”

The spirit, fired up by Tia’s Charm, wrapped its flames around the Hobgoblin, burning it. Even so, the hulking creature moved and swung its club widely to dispel the fire.

“Ugh!?”

“You alright, Tia?”

Tia tried to parry with her sword, but the Hobgoblin’s overwhelming strength sent her flying toward me, and I caught her. The Hobgoblin, body scorched, tried to swing its club again in a desperate attempt to take someone down with it—

“I’ve got my pride as a vanguard too!!”

Blood sprayed as a sword pierced through the Hobgoblin’s chest from behind. Abel had driven his blade straight into its heart. I let out a breath of relief and smiled at Tia in my arms.

“Ehehe, how was I? Do you think I can be a cute and strong adventurer?”

“Yeah. Tia, you are a cute and strong adventurer.”

I took her hand and helped her stand. She had truly grown. She was able to use both debuffs and buffs now. Above all, her mental strength was the real deal. With more real combat experience, she would become even stronger. I believed she had the talent and the future to stick to her belief of being a “cute and strong adventurer.”

“Gobu…”

“We did it… We took down the Hobgoblin… It’s all thanks to Tia. You saved us.”

With the way she is now, she won’t have trouble finding people to party with.

I thought that as I watched Abel deliver the finishing blow to the Hobgoblin.

“Thank you both!! You saved us!!”

Abel bowed his head earnestly to Tia and me.

“Ah, don’t worry about it. I mean, sure, Hobgoblins are tough, but as long as the vanguard fights while the rest of the party deal magic damage, they shouldn’t be too troublesome…”

The Adventurer’s Guild wasn’t careless. If they were allowed to accept the Hobgoblin quest, they should have had the ability to take it down…

“When we were fighting it, the forest suddenly made this huge noise and we saw the trees burning. That startled us to the point our formation broke in the middle of the fight.”

“…”

“You should thank us. Adventurers have to be able to handle any irregularity, after all.”

Tia was lecturing them smugly, but… 

Isn’t this whole mess happened because we set the forest on fire? Pretty sure the spirit’s flames were the cause.

“Um… Tia…”

“Give your thanks to Master. We made it in time because he said to help you.”

For some reason, Tia puffed her chest out proudly as she pointed to me.

“Thank you, Gustav-san… We’d heard you had a sharp tongue, but…”

“I’m glad to have an adventurer like you as my senior!!”

“No, really, don’t worry about it…”

The two adventurers Frau had been healing stared at me with shining eyes, alongside Abel.

Why do I feel so damn guilty right now…

“Please take the Hobgoblin’s head, Gustav-san. We don’t deserve to hold it… And also…”

Abel handed the head to me, glancing repeatedly at Tia…

“I know I’ve been presumptuous. I was wrong… So will you come back to the party?”

“Frau…”

Seeing the priest Frau bowing her head, Tia’s eyes widened in disbelief. Abel followed suit, bowing as well.

“I misjudged you… Please come back. We need your strength.”

“Thank you. I’m happy you’d say that.”

Tia smiled shyly… Seeing that, I turned to leave, but my arm was grabbed by someone.

“But I already belong to Master. My body and soul is his, so I can’t party with you anymore.”

Tia hugged me, pressing something soft against me.

“Ha…? Eh…? What are you talking about? I’m just here to help you get stronger—”

“What are you saying, Master!! You made me wear pervy outfits and say embarrassing things, and now you’re going to throw me away?”

“Pervy outfits…?”

“Embarrassing things…”

The eyes of the adventurers, full of respect moments ago, changed. Frau’s gaze now even carried contempt.

“Don’t phrase it in a way that causes misunderstandings!! That was for your training!”

“Now, now, aren’t you happy to party with cute me? Besides… I’ll never betray you, Master.”

“Tia-chan…”

Her eyes looked straight into mine. As if seeing through my doubts, she gripped my arm tightly so I couldn’t pull away. Remembering how she had endured my ridiculous training, I found myself nodding without realizing it.

“Then, when we get back to the Adventurer’s Guild, let’s get ourselves registered as an official party.”

“I feel like I just got steamrolled into this…”

“Ufufu~ That means you’ve been charmed by my cuteness, right? ♡”

Though exasperated, I noticed my heart wasn’t rejecting the idea. She knew the pain of being expelled, yet had the strength to stick to her own beliefs. I felt I could trust her. Maybe, without realizing it, I really had been charmed by her for real.

★★★★

“I want to put in a request to find someone. I’ll pay whatever price they ask.”

When we entered the Adventurer’s Guild, all eyes were on the reception desk. The reason was obvious. There was an elf there, a rare sight in human towns.

No… It’s not just because of that.

“Understood!! If it’s a request from the Hero who slew the Demon Lord, of course we can’t refuse! And we have someone who’s perfect for this sort of thing.”

Silver hair, ears pointed high, a petite and slender frame, inhuman beauty like a sculpture. I recognized her all too well. I panicked, ready to turn on my heel when…

“Ah, Gustav-san!! You;re good at finding cats, right? We’ve got the perfect request for you!!”

With that loud declaration from Aisha-chan, sharp-eyed as ever, all attention turned to me. Naturally, the elf turned as well, our eyes meeting. Even after a year, she was as beautiful as ever. She was expressionless and dressed in an elegant robe. Without a doubt, she was one of the people who had expelled me—Elena.

Of course she’s living well now. After all, she’s the Hero who had defeated the Demon Lord. 

I thought to myself as my mind raced, thinking about how to get myself out of this situation.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー