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~ - 23

Chapter 23: The Villainous Knight Commander Decides to Think Later

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“Phew, I somehow managed to shake them off…”

I walked through the dark forest, trying to steady my ragged breathing. The Orc General had led a group of orcs in pursuit, but by taking advantage of the darkness and the forest’s terrain, I had been able to lose them easily. I even took down a lone orc who had chased too far and ended up isolated. I had taken out three orcs in total, but what I really wanted to know was how many enemies the main player, Sakuna, had managed to eliminate.

“Oh, Lars-dono. It seems you made it through safely.”

“Hmm?”

A voice called from above, and when I looked up, there was Sakuna sitting casually on a tree trunk. It seemed she’d arrived at our rendezvous point a little before me. I was relieved we were both safe—until…

“Wait, what’s with those injuries!?”

“Oh, this? I ran into the Orc King. Tried to finish him off on the spot, but ended up like this. Honestly, I still have much to learn.”

Sakuna let out a cheerful laugh, but she looked like she was on the verge of death. Her whole body was stained bright red with blood, and her arm hung limp, completely unusable.

W-what the hell!?

“Q-quickly, let’s get back to the village! Ciel’s potions should be able to heal you!”

“No, it’s fine. Most of this blood is just splatter, and a complex fracture like this will heal in a few days. More importantly, when is the next night raid—”

“You idiot!!”

“Ow!? W-what was that for!?”

Ah, no, no. Even though Sakuna was gravely injured, I’d reflexively leapt up and delivered a full-force chop when she jumped down from the tree. But it wasn’t my fault. She was the one smiling and asking about the next raid with an arm hanging limply from a compound fracture. Who the hell came up with this berserker’s personality?

Yeah! It was me!! The thought was so painful it made any excuse feel pointless. This was 100% my fault!

“Ngah!? Wh-what’s going on? It suddenly started hurting like crazy!”

“Your adrenaline must’ve worn off. Anyway, we’re heading back!!”

“W-wait!! P-put me down! This is so embarrassing for me!!”

I scooped Sakuna into my arms to carry her. Because I had to keep my shield and spear on my back, the only way to hold her securely was in a princess carry, but there was no time to worry about appearances.

“W-why are you so frantic, Lars-dono?”

“If you died, Sakuna-dono, it’d be a huge problem for me. And I’d be devastated too.”

“Wh-what…”

I couldn’t let Sakuna die here. The night raid plan on the orc settlement hinged on her help. If she died, the entire future of the story would shift dramatically. Things were already deviating in many ways. If anything else went wrong, I wasn’t confident I could handle it.

More than anything, as the author—watching a character I’d created die before my eyes would be akin to a devastating blow on me. What? The hero party? Oh, they were made to die without hurting my heart too much. Yeah, so it was fine for them to die. 

“W-wait, wait!! I decided I wouldn’t think about ‘that kind of thing’ until I mastered the way of the sword! Besides, you have Ciel-dono—”

“Don’t bite your tongue.”

“Huh?”

I sprinted through the forest, carrying Sakuna in my arms. I weaved between the trees, breaking through obstacles with my body if needed.

“W-wait, Lars-dono!? Could you maybe ease up on the shaking a bit!?”

Sakuna tried to speak but ended up biting her tongue hard from the jolting. I already told her not to talk because it was dangerous to talk while we were rattling like this. For the next several minutes, Sakuna bit her tongue multiple times as I dashed through the forest.

Eventually, we made it back to Cottolk Village.

“Lars-san!! Are you okay!?”

Ciel came running to meet us, looking worried. She must have been preparing a late-night meal, because she was wearing an adorable frilly apron.

My goodness, my girl is just too cute. That outfit suits her perfectly.

“Yeah, I’m fine. But…”

“Kyaa!? Sakuna-san!? Why is your mouth covered in blood!?”

“It started as just a fracture, but it got worse. I told her not to talk, but she kept doing it…”

“Rariraira—ryu roronoreira ro (It’s mostly Lars-dono’s fault)”

Sakuna tried to say something desperately, but she had bitten her tongue so many times she couldn’t speak properly. Maybe she was asking Ciel to avenge her or something.

“A-anyway, hurry, the potion!!”

Ciel didn’t hesitate—she shoved a small vial of potion straight into Sakuna’s mouth. Sakuna choked violently, but Ciel didn’t care.

“Bwah! I thought I was going to drown in potion! …Wait, what? I can already talk? My tongue was shredded from all the biting, and now it’s perfectly fine? And my arm, too…”

“Ciel’s potions are special. Available for purchase at Mofumofu Potion Shop, right on the main street.”

“You sure have some nerve to say that even though it’s your fault I bit my tongue so much…”

Eh? What? My fault? Don’t blame me for this. It’s YOUR fault for attacking the Orc King all on your own.

“…So, Lars-dono, how many did you take down?”

Once Sakuna was treated, we shared our results over the stew Ciel had prepared.

“I got three. What about you?”

“Hehehe~ ♪ Six!! That means I win!!”

“It wasn’t a competition,but… That’s impressive.”

“Yes, I got carried away and thought, ‘Maybe I can even take the King’s head?’ That’s when I broke my arm.”

Sakuna proudly patted her now-fully-healed arm. It had just happened minutes ago, but she was already bragging about it.

“The real issue is the high-ranking ones.”

“Indeed. I managed to take out a High Orc, but I failed to finish off the Orc General.”

“…So there was a General on your side too.”

“That makes two Generals total. And there were over ten High Orcs. Their main force is still very much intact.”

The orcs’ strength was exactly as in the original story. Our plan was to steadily wear down their numbers, draining their stamina and morale. There shouldn’t have been any issues with the plan itself. But there was one thing I just couldn’t shake from my mind.

The world’s self-correcting force. The mysterious power that adjusted things I hadn’t planned to match the existing settings. That alone made me feel uneasy.

“Lars-san? Are you okay? Are you hurt somewhere?”

“Hmm? Oh, no. Just lost in thought.”

I was fine. I should be fine.

“Lars-san!!”

“Hmm? What—mgh!”

As I responded to Ciel calling my name, she suddenly shoved a spoon into my mouth. She fed me a mouthful of stew. The tender potatoes and carrots melted on my tongue.

“…It’s delicious.”

“Hehe, you finally smiled.”

“Hm?”

“You’ve been frowning all this time. For now, just eat the stew!! It’ll get cold!!”

“…Hehe. You’re right. Sorry.”

She was right—once stew got cold, it lost so much of its flavor. I made sure to eat every last bit before it did.

I decided to think about everything else later. 

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