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~ - 29

Chapter 29: The Villainous Knight Commander Witnesses an Awakening of Faith

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“So that’s what happened.”

“He’s completely mentally broken.”

I lay on the bed, listening to what had happened to the Hero, Allen.

This is bad. How did everything about each character’s behavior change just because I left the Hero’s party?

“For now, I made Allen-san drink a potion. I think he’ll be fine if he just rests.”

Ciel shoved a small vial into Allen’s mouth and forced him to drink the potion as she spoke. I understood how she felt, but… She was being pretty rough. Or maybe I should say, Ciel’s personality was getting quite bold. 

“Thanks a lot.”

“You’ll pay for it properly, of course.”

“Yes. I don’t have any money on hand now, but once I get back to town, I’ll definitely pay you five silver coins.”

“It’s a special delivery, so there’s an extra charge. That’ll be six silver coins.”

“You shitty brat… Ahem, I mean, what an incredible business sense you have.”

For a moment, Krok’s polite mask almost slipped, but he quickly covered it up.

Shitty brat? Rather than a shitty brat, she’s more like a shrewd businesswoman.

“Oh, and one more thing to report.”

“I don’t really need any more reports…”

“Sage-sama and Saint-sama… Dorothea and Maria disappeared a few days ago.”

“Details. Now.”

For those two to disappear… The Hero’s party was really falling apart. That wouldn’t be good. If the plot diverged too much from the original story, it could interfere with Ciel’s future activities.

I tried to get more details from Krok, but he shook his head.

“Who knows? They didn’t even leave a note.”

“…I see.”

The Hero’s party was practically finished at this point.

Damn it. Please, just stop messing with the original plot. Who’s to blame for this? Probably me for leaving the party. Damn it.

“But still… So Allen single handedly defeated a Gigantes?”

That part genuinely surprised me. Allen used to rely completely on Lars’s defense; the party’s guaranteed victory strategy was for Lars to block enemy attacks while Allen unleashed finishing moves. But without Lars, that strategy was no longer possible.

Allen must have pushed himself to grow stronger, to the point he could now defeat powerful foes even without his usual strategy. Although, maybe it was because he’d been drinking Ciel’s potions.

Those potions had a faint enhancement magic imbued in them. Since Allen had been actively fighting and getting injured a lot, he must’ve been drinking Ciel’s potions frequently, which might explain his sudden growth.

Well, even taking that into account, it was still impressive.

“Wha—whoa!?”

I couldn’t help but let out a weird sound. Allen, who should’ve been unconscious, suddenly rose like an undead.

“…I have to fight… I have to get stronger… Because I’m the Hero… My sword… I need my sword…”

Allen picked up the sword propped beside his bed and started to leave the treatment room. But Ciel stepped in to stop him.

“Please wait, Allen-san.”

“…You’re… Ah… Ciel… Get out of my way… I have to become the Hero…”

“Please rest. Your body is falling apart. If you keep going like this, you’ll die.”

“…Die… Yeah… that’s right…No, that would be for the better…”

Allen nodded vacantly at Ciel’s words, his eyes empty.

“…I have to become the Hero… but… I can’t become the Hero… I killed powerless, pleading orcs… I’m… not a Hero… Get out of my way… I have to become the Hero…”

“Allen-san…”

He’s completely broken!! This is terrifying!!

Allen tried to push past Ciel to leave the room. Faced with the dying-looking Allen, Ciel took drastic action—

“Ei!”

With a cute little shout, she delivered a swift kick from behind right into Allen’s crotch. My own crotch tensed up just watching it. Krok’s did too.

“Gughah!? —!!!”

Even Allen, who had been so far gone, couldn’t withstand the pain and collapsed, writhing in agony on the spot.

I get it, I do. I’m a guy too. That’s gotta hurt.

“W-what are you…?”

“Well, it’s just that I was kindly telling you what you needed to hear, and you wouldn’t listen at all. Also, I still haven’t forgiven you for leaving me behind in the forest.”

“…Th-that…”

It seemed Ciel’s sudden move was partly her way of getting back at him.

“Allen-san, I don’t know what happened to you, but could you stop with this ‘I have to become the Hero’ nonsense? It’s honestly unbearable to hear.”

“…”

Ciel was angry. Her life had changed completely when she met the Hero’s party—she had once been an ordinary girl. She worked hard because she didn’t want to be a burden as a party member. She felt she had to be useful.

Now, she was earning a living doing what she loved: making potions. To her, Allen’s current obsession with “having to become the Hero” was genuinely exasperating.

“Allen-san, why do you think you have to become the Hero?”

“That’s… tTe prophet said…”

“The prophet? That’s just some scam artist spouting nonsense. The fact that I was in the Hero’s party is proof of that.”

No, that’s actually accurate. After all, Ciel, you’re the true Hero, you know?

“Don’t try to do things you don’t even want to do right in front of me. If it’s that painful, then why don’t you just quit being the Hero? Hmph.”

“…Quit… Being the Hero…”

Ciel had simply spoken her mind, but there was one thing she didn’t realize. People who were cornered were always looking for something to cling to. Those lost in the dark, unable to find their way, would see a shining star in the sky as their only guide.

Ciel, still young, didn’t know that. And for Allen, whose mind was on the verge of collapse, Ciel’s sudden crotch kick and words left an overwhelming impact. Ciel’s words seeped deep into Allen’s shattered heart, becoming his guiding star.

Light returned to Allen’s eyes, but that light was horribly clouded, just like my aunt in a past life who fell into a cult and tried to sell me outrageously expensive jars.

In other words—this was the awakening of faith.

“…Goddess…”

“““Huh?”””

Time froze for me, Ciel, and Krok.

For a moment, none of us understood what Allen was saying.

Allen sank to his knees, clasped his hands together, and bowed his head.

“…My… Goddess…”

“““……Huh?”””

Once again, none of us could comprehend Allen’s words. This was the moment when a young man’s faith was born and it was also the moment when a new religion, destined to spread across the entire continent, was founded.

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