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~ - 27

Chapter 27: The Villainous Knight Commander Resists with All His Might

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We had wiped out the orc army. Just as I had predicted, by defeating the commanding individual, the Orc Emperor, the rest of the orcs completely fell into disarray and were annihilated by the counterattack of Tiana’s private soldiers.

Currently, Tiana’s private soldiers were gathering the orc corpses in one place to burn them. If we left the bodies unattended, they would turn into undead. If they became skeletons or ghouls and started attacking Cottolk Village, the whole point of this expedition would be lost.

Rather than a funeral cremation, it was more of a necessary measure to prevent further damage. With their bodies intact, they would become a different kind of threat than ghost-type undead like wraiths or ghosts. And to prevent them from becoming wraiths or ghosts, members of the private army with knowledge of holy magic were sending the souls to the heavens.

That completed the procedures to prevent them from becoming undead.

“So, Ciel. I’d like you to tell me about that light from earlier.”

I had borrowed an empty house in Cottolk Village to use as a treatment room and was asking Ciel about what had happened. However, Ciel seemed to think she was being blamed and mumbled hesitantly.

“U-um, well, uh, ehehe…”

“…Sorry. I’m not blaming you. I’m just wondering if you knew anything about the power you used.”

“W-well, something just kind of… Came out…”

“Something came out?”

“It came out…”

“I see.”

Then there was nothing else to do. My spear shot a beam too. Maybe that sort of thing just happened sometimes. Then, Ciel timidly asked me a question.

“…About that power from before, I probably shouldn’t tell anyone else about it, right?”

“…That’s right. There would be many who’d want your power. If you wish to remain free, you should keep that power hidden.”

In fact, Ciel had kept her enhancement magic a secret for a long time even after she learned about it herself. That was to avoid being exploited by others. Whether it was the heartbroken Ciel who had been cast out or the current Ciel, they both shared one thing.

『I don’t want to be used by anyone ever again.』

So it was only right to respect that wish. Well, that aside, I decided to ask Ciel about ‘that’ character.

“Ciel. Right before you released that light, was someone with you?”

“Y-yes! Uh, well, I thought I might be hallucinating, but there was someone I didn’t know standing there!”

“I-I see… And what kind of person was it?”

When I asked, Ciel hesitated.

“Uh, um, what was she like again? I remember thinking she was incredibly beautiful, but…”

“…You can’t remember any details? Like hair or eye color?”

“Y-yes. I do remember thinking the color was unusual, but other than that… I-I’m sorry.”

No, it was fine. Thanks to that, I could once again confirm who that character was. But that didn’t mean there were no problems. What scared me was that I had no idea why that character had been here in the first place.

“Lars-san? Um, are you okay? Are you hurt somewhere?”

“Hm? Ah, no. It’s nothing. More importantly, can you call forth that light whenever you want?”

“Hmm…”

Ciel clasped her hands, knelt on the spot, and started concentrating on something.

But nothing happened.

“I-it looks like I can’t…”

“…I see. Actually, that’s for the best. Since we don’t fully understand this power, it shouldn’t be used recklessly.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Ciel didn’t know that the light she released was enhancement magic. She wouldn’t learn its true nature or how to fully control it until much later. Well, the fact that she’d even activated enhancement magic now was already a major divergence from the original story, so maybe she’d master it earlier than I expected.

But right now, she couldn’t handle it yet. Above all, this meant we might be able to avoid an impending disaster. Once Ciel became aware of her enhancement magic, she would start practicing it alone in a deserted graveyard.

As a result, she’d accidentally create a horde of undead. Strictly speaking, they weren’t exactly undead. Normal undead involved restless spirits moving the corpses of the dead. But Ciel’s special “pseudo-undead” worked differently: the dead bodies were reanimated through sheer physical activation.

They didn’t attack people but would rampage destructively through their surroundings, and since they weren’t technically undead, holy magic wouldn’t work on them. In the original story, people panicked when “undead immune to holy magic” appeared. Significant damage was caused in that incident.

Feeling responsible for the injuries caused by her pseudo-undead, Ciel offered potions free of charge. Ironically, this act made people’s evaluation of her skyrocket. Even with her heart hardened by rejection of her former party member, Ciel couldn’t stand that kind of crisis that she had made. She ended up donating the unintended profits anonymously to orphanages, refusing to spend it on herself.

“Um, by the way…”

“What is it?”

“Why have you been lying in bed this whole time without moving, Lars-san?”

“…I can’t move.”

It was probably a side effect of the enhancement magic. Right after the effect ended, I could still move a little, but I must have overdone it. Now I couldn’t even move a single finger. Talking was the best I could manage.

“Eh!? D-does that mean it’s my fault!?”

“…Most likely. But according to the doctor here in Cottolk Village, my life isn’t in danger.”

Well, I already knew that. Enhancement magic had a terrifying hidden effect: it forcibly strengthened the body beyond its natural limits. The exhaustion I felt now was simply the recoil from that. Subjectively speaking, I’d felt like I had several times my usual strength back then. It made sense I’d be this worn out after such a short burst.

“I’m glad to hear that—wait, that’s not something to be glad about!!”

“Haha. Well, I’ll be able to move again by tomorrow. There’s no need to worry so much.”

“A-are you sure?”

“Of course. I swear it on my honor as a knight. …Though I’m not a knight anymore.”

“Please don’t make jokes I can’t tell whether to laugh at or not!”

“Hahaha.”

That was definitely a moment to laugh.

“But if that’s the case, then let me take care of you for today!”

“No, that’s really not necessary…”

“It’s my fault, so please don’t hold back—”

Then, Ciel’s smile froze, and she put a hand on her chin as if thinking hard. Huh? What was she up to?

“If Lars-san can’t move right now, that means you can’t resist, right? Then, I could take your helmet off?”

“Wait, Ciel. Isn’t that unfair to do to someone who can’t move?”

“Lars-san, did you know? This isn’t unfair. It’s called being strategic.”

As she said that, Ciel reached for my helmet.

“W-wait, don’t try to take it off!!”

“Th-then you’ll just have to give up willingly!”

I opened my mouth wide and hooked my jaw to keep her from pulling it off. It hurt a little, but compared to the training I’d endured as a knight, it was nothing.

“Why are you resisting!? There’s nothing bad about me seeing your face, right!?”

“There is!! For some reason, it’d be really bad!!”

“What do you mean, ‘for some reason’!?”

It’s part of who I am as Lars.

I had this compulsion that I absolutely must keep my face hidden.

“I will never let you see it!!”

As I roared and strained my jaw to resist with all my might, Sakuna burst into the room, looking flustered.

“This is bad, Lars-dono!! …What are you two doing?”

“I want to take off Lars-san’s helmet!!”

“I don’t want it taken off!!”

Apparently, Sakuna had some important news, so Ciel and I temporarily called a truce.

“The scouting unit found surviving orcs. It seems an Orc General who didn’t participate in the earlier battle was leading them.”

“I see…”

The orc army that had surrounded Cottolk Village had been wiped out by Tiana’s private soldiers. However, the total number of orcs didn’t match the numbers we’d confirmed beforehand.

Huh? The Orc General was leading them…?

“Was leading them? Does that mean they’ve already been defeated?”

“No, um… Well, we don’t know who they were, but apparently two men wiped out the orcs as they tried to flee into Death Mountain Range. The scouts have brought those men back.”

The Death Mountains… Two men…?

I had a hunch, but surely it couldn’t be a coincidence. Or so I thought—until the two men were escorted into the room, looking like they were about to collapse.

“Ah, hey there. Master Lars, why are you lying in bed?”

“Krok… And is Allen unconscious?”

“…I… Am… the hero…”

“No, he’s still conscious. He’s just about to have a mental breakdown, that’s all.”

Uh, what is happening here??

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