I Was Reincarnated as the Villainous Knight Commander Who Betrays Everyone at the End, So I Plan to Leave the Fake Hero’s Party with the Exiled Girl Who’s Actually the True Hero! ~While Watching Over the Protagonist Up Close, I Somehow Ended Up Destroying the Whole Scenario~ - 1

Chapter 1: The Villainous Knight Commander Leaves the Hero’s Party

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“We did it! We defeated the Red Dragon!!”

A blond boy stood triumphantly atop the corpse of a massive dragon and declared their victory. His name was Allen. He was the first prince of the Azure Kingdom and the leader of the Hero’s Party—in other words, the hero himself.

“You’re amazing, Allen!! I can’t believe you actually defeated the Red Dragon!!”

“If we keep this up, we’ll be able to defeat the Demon Lord too!”

“You two are praising me too much. This victory was thanks to both of you.”

The two girls who were also members of the Hero’s Party, the sage Dorothea and the saintess Maria, swarmed around Allen, showering him with praise. I watched the scene from a distance.

“…Haah. I thought I was going to die.”

My name was Lars. I was the eldest son of Count Deulaghil’s family and the captain of the Azure Kingdom’s knight order. Right now, I was fighting as a member of the Hero’s Party to protect Prince Allen. In short, I was their babysitter. Hero Allen, Sage Dorothea, Saintess Maria—these three certainly possessed extraordinary talents. But in the end, they were still children.

To ensure the Demon Lord’s defeat, the kingdom had assigned me, the strongest knight, to their party. Though all three had difficult personalities and, frankly, I wasn’t fond of them… As a knight of the royal order, I had no choice but to obey the kingdom’s orders. Now, I was treated like a tank, holding the front line so Hero Allen could charge up his finishing moves.

“Um, Lars-san.”

“Hm? What is it, Ciel?”

There was one more member of the Hero’s Party. A girl who handled chores like carrying supplies and managing money. She also took care of negotiations, like haggling with merchants. She was a pretty girl with pure white hair and golden eyes… Though she still looked a bit unrefined. Apparently, she wasn’t Allen’s type, and unlike Dorothea or Maria, she was treated roughly. I genuinely felt she was a pitiful one. 

Her name was Ciel—a commoner girl who, for some reason, had been chosen as a member of the Hero’s Party.

“This is a healing potion. You got blown away by the dragon earlier and were hurt, right?”

“So you saw that, huh… How embarrassing.”

I had managed to block the dragon’s claws with my shield but was sent flying and crashed into the ground. I’d hit my head hard, and it hurt terribly. Getting blown away in one hit while serving as the party’s shield was as uncool as it got.

“No, I thought you looked really cool.”

“…Is that so? Hearing that makes me feel better. I’ll take the potion.”

I accepted the potion from Ciel and chugged it down through a gap in my helmet. The pain eased somewhat almost immediately. Every time I drank one of these potions Ciel gave me, I marveled at how incredibly effective they were. Even the potions issued by the knight order didn’t work this fast. Plus, they tasted good. I couldn’t help but wonder where Ciel got these potions from—I was so curious I could barely sleep at night due to curiosity.

At that moment, a sudden, excruciating headache assaulted me.

“Ugh, gah!”

“E-eh, um, Lars-san!? Are you okay?!”

“S-sorry, my head… it hurts—gah!!”

Writhing in agony, I collapsed on the spot.

“W-what… It feels like my brain is being scrambled…”

“T-this is bad! Maria-san! P-please help! Lars-san, Lars-san is—!!”

Ciel frantically called for Maria the healer. But before Maria arrived, the headache subsided—and instead, I was left stunned. I remembered something.

“Ciel, I’m all right.”

“Eh? Lars-san? B-but your face is so pale!”

“I’m really fine. I just remembered something.”

“?”

Ciel tilted her head in confusion. There was no way anyone would believe me if I told them that I had regained the memories of my past life.

“…Hah, you’ve got to be kidding me.”

And then I realized it. This world was the setting of the story I’d written in my previous life, a novel that had even been made into an anime…『I, a Mere Errand Girl, Was Kicked Out of the Hero’s Party but I Was Actually the True Hero~ It’s Too Late to Ask Me Back Now~I’m Going to Enjoy a Fluffy, Slow Life!!』

That title was ridiculously long, but back when I started writing web novels, titles that long were the norm. Anyway, the important thing was this. The young man I had reincarnated as, Lars, was the villainous knight commander who betrayed Hero Allen before the final battle with the Demon Lord and sided with the Demon Lord. In the end, he was killed by the true hero, a girl who awakened to her power.

And…

“A-are you really okay?”

Ciel, the party’s errand girl, looked up at me with concern. She was the true hero—the protagonist of the world I had created, the real hero who would defeat the Demon Lord. From the absurdly long title alone, it should’ve been obvious, but Ciel was destined to be unjustly expelled from the Hero’s Party soon. Actually, that would be better for her happiness, but the problem was what happened to the Hero’s Party after she was gone.

Allen wasn’t the real hero. Up until now, his strength had only come from the support magic Ciel cast unconsciously. Once she was kicked out, Allen and the others would start hurtling toward destruction. Even so, they’d manage to reach the Demon Lord’s domain, but just before that, Lars—me—would betray them, and the party would be annihilated. I’d end up siding with the Demon Lord, only to be killed by Ciel.

Right, I’d made up my mind. When the time came for Ciel to be expelled, I would leave the Hero’s Party with her and if possible, I’d get her to let me join her side. Eventually, she would obtain everything—wealth, fame, even power—after defeating the Demon Lord. If I were by her side then, I might bask in the rewards. And simply put—

“U-um, is there something on my face…?”

Ciel tilted her head adorably. Simply put, she was absolutely my type. Pure white hair, golden eyes, and though it was hard to tell under her clothes, an amazing figure with a large chest. She still looked plain now, but she’d blossom into incredible beauty after meeting a certain someone. 

She was completely my ideal type. I had no interest in heavily caked up Dorothea or Maria who fawned over the fake hero. Well, they were necessary for the story, but…

I wanted to stay close and watch over Ciel—the true protagonist of this world.

“…Hmm.”

If I remembered correctly, Ciel was supposed to be expelled right after they defeated the Red Dragon. During battles, she hid in the shadows to avoid getting in the way, but that irritated Dorothea, who then begged Allen to kick her out. Allen, being Allen, went along with it and expelled Ciel—without realizing it was only thanks to her magic that they’d defeated the Red Dragon in the first place. Well, to be fair, without my regained memories, I wouldn’t have known that either…

…Wait a second.

“…Ciel. The one we defeated was the Red Dragon, right?”

“Eh? Oh, yes. It was the Red Dragon.”

Which meant—

“Ciel!! Come here, I need to talk to you!!”

“Eh, y-yes!!”

Dorothea shouted and called Ciel over.

“You’re expelled starting today!!”

“Eh!? N-no way, expelled…?”

“You’re always hiding and doing nothing. Anyone can handle chores, and we don’t need useless dead weight. This is goodbye.”

Now of all times?! Well, it’s not a problem, but still!!

“N-no!! How can I explain this to my family…?”

“That’s not my problem. You’re a commoner, so you’ll just go back where you belong.”

“T-that may be true, but… A-at least, please let me come with you back to town!!”

“Fufu, no~pe. Monsters will be drawn by the scent of the Red Dragon’s blood, so why don’t you just die here? Oh, but if you somehow survive and make it back to town, maybe we’ll let you rejoin our party.”

“Guh!”

Saying that, Dorothea cast a low-power sleep spell on Ciel. Ciel collapsed unconscious.

“Pathetic—can’t even resist a simple sleep spell.”

“She’s kind of pitiful…”

“No, if she’s going to die here, it means she wasn’t fit to travel with us to defeat the Demon Lord. This is for her own good.”

Huh? Could I just kill these guys? Wait, I created them, so this was my fault too…

“Let’s hurry back to town and find an inn~♪”

“Ah, Dorothea-sama, you’re so sneaky~”

“Hahaha, don’t pull on me, you two. Lars, what are you doing? Let’s go.”

Right, forget it. I was done with this shitty party. Time to leave them right this second. 

“Sorry, but I’m staying here.”

“Huh?”

“Eh?”

“W-what?”

Dorothea, Maria, and Allen all froze. Allen blinked, clearly not understanding what I had just said.

“W-what did you just say?”

“I’m staying here. I’m leaving the Hero’s Party today. Please report this to the kingdom, Allen—no, Prince Allen.”

“W-what are you saying?! Don’t joke around!! You’ll lose your position as the knight commander!!”

“This is no joke. And I don’t care.”

“Wha-…?”

A heavy silence fell. The one who broke it was Dorothea, who had cast the sleep spell on Ciel.

“Hmph. Whatever, Allen.”

“Dorothea?”

“A useless hunk of metal holding a shield—there are plenty of replacements for him. I’ve always thought he was annoying anyway, always acting high and mighty, daring to offer his opinion.”

“I agree~ Let’s go, Hero-sama~”

“A-ah, y-yeah, r-right.”

And with that, the three of them left the Red Dragon’s forest. I had officially quit the Hero’s Party.

“…Anyway, the sun’s setting. I should build a fire.”

So that Ciel would be warm when she woke up, I began gathering branches.

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Author’s Note~

Quick character images:

Allen → Idiot

Dorothea → Heavy makeup

Maria → Yes-man

Ciel → Unrefined

Lars → Full-body armor