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~ - 4

Chapter 4: The Villainous Knight Commander Provides Mental Support

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“Ah, Lars-san. That’s not a medicinal herb, it’s a poisonous one.”

“Hm? …I can’t tell the difference at all.”

“If you look at the underside of the leaves, you’ll see. Poisonous herbs have black veins, and medicinal herbs have white veins.”

“Ohh, you’re right.”

On the way back from the Red Dragon’s Forest to the nearest town, I received a lesson in herb gathering from Ciel. The plan was for me to be able to identify herbs on my own so that Ciel could focus on making potions in the future.

“Oof!”

“Wah, Mofumaru, amazing! You gathered so many herbs… Oh, but they’re all poisonous…”

“Oof!?”

By the way, Ciel was also teaching—no, more like training—Mofumaru to collect herbs. But everything he brought back seemed to be poisonous plants.

“Kuun.”

“Ah, d-don’t get discouraged! Poisonous herbs have their uses too!”

“Oof?”

“I’m not lying. If you concentrate the poison and coat it on a weapon, it’ll have some pretty serious lethality, not something you can just laugh off.”

Our protagonist sure said something scary with a straight face. 

Well, even though Ciel was the true hero, her abilities were specialized for support. The enhancement magic she hadn’t realized she could use yet, and tools like potions, didn’t directly translate into combat ability. 

The original Ciel understood that as well. That was why she expanded her combat options by using dangerous things like poisonous herbs.

The scary part was Ciel right after her expulsion, when she was full of resentment. She didn’t hesitate to use poisons, even doing terrifying things like contaminating water supplies. Though she seemed fine now.

“Lars-saaan!! We’ve gathered enough, so let’s head back to town!!”

“Mm, understood!!”

I stopped gathering herbs and we started walking toward the town. After walking a bit through the Red Dragon’s Forest, we came out into a plain with grass up to our knees. In the distance, we could see a town surrounded by walls.

“We’ve finally made it out of the forest.”

“Phew, I can finally relax. If I’d been alone, who knows what would’ve happened… I’m really glad you’re here, Lars-san.”

“Is that so? I think you probably would’ve managed just fine even without me.”

“That’s not true!! I can be clumsy sometimes…”

No, you really would’ve been fine.

Even without me, you had Mofumaru. My presence didn’t actually make a difference.

“We should arrive in town before noon.”

“Yes, I think so too.”

“Oof!!”

“Mofumaru? What’s w—kyah!!”

Mofumaru grabbed Ciel by the scruff of her collar and, with a flick, lifted her onto his back.

“Oof, oof!!”

“…Can I ride too? But I’m wearing armor, so I’ll be pretty heavy.”

“Oof!!”

Eh!? Really!? Awesome!!

I’d always wanted to ride a giant dog at least once in my life. Well, technically speaking, Mofumaru was a wolf, not a dog. I cautiously climbed onto Mofumaru’s back. Ciel was snuggled right in my arms.

“Oof!!”

“Kyaah!?”

“Whoa, f-fast!!”

As Mofumaru kicked off the ground and ran, the scenery started to blur by at incredible speed. The wind rushing in through the gaps in my armor felt amazing.

“A-amazing!! We’re already right at the town gates!!”

Just like Ciel said, the journey that would’ve taken us hours was over in an instant.

The town near the Red Dragon’s Forest was called Handel—a completely neutral trade city belonging to no nation. The Seven Great Merchant Guilds held the power there, securing total autonomy and keeping outside nations at bay, which had resulted in lasting peace.

This was the town where Ciel would make her base of operations and meet many people.

“Hmm?”

“Wha-what’s going on!? There are so many soldiers!!”

“…Well, I suppose they’d be on alert.”

After all, even though Mofumaru’s fur color was unusual, he was still a Greater Wolf, a type of monster. Seeing a fully armored man riding a Greater Wolf charging towards their town—of course the soldiers would panic.

It couldn’t be helped that a squad of soldiers rushed out in a hurry.

But their reaction was a little different from the original story. In the original, the soldiers didn’t notice Ciel and assumed it was a monster attack, surrounding Mofumaru. Mofumaru was huge, after all. They wouldn’t notice a small, petite girl like Ciel on his back.

This time, however, since I—a large man clad head-to-toe in armor—was riding, the soldiers quickly realized Mofumaru was a tamed beast.

“H-halt!! That Greater Wolf—is it your tamed beast?”

A soldier who looked like the captain stepped forward to question me. They probably couldn’t see Ciel from down there.

I supposed I should answer here.

“Technically, he’s not mine. He’s this girl’s tamed beast.”

“Hmm, isn’t that girl from the Hero’s Party…? Which means, you are…!?”

Finally noticing Ciel’s presence, the soldiers lowered their guard.

The Hero’s Party was known both within and outside the Kingdom of Azure. With people like Prince Allen the Hero, the Sage, and the Saintess among its members, it was a famous party in the nation. Naturally, even a commoner girl in that party would become well-known.

That was more than enough to dispel the soldiers’ wariness.

What? You’d think they’d recognize me immediately, too?

Surprisingly, that wasn’t the case. Since my full-body armor concealed my face, they rarely noticed me when I was alone. I wasn’t known by face. In a world crawling with monsters and demons, someone fully armored like me wasn’t that unusual.

Well, someone who preferred full plate armor that severely restricted movement was rare, but still—there were others like me.  So unless someone from the Hero’s Party was with me, outsiders couldn’t tell who I was.

“M-my apologies!! We never imagined you were the benefactors who saved our town… But why are you separated from the Hero?”

They must’ve been referring to our subjugation of the Red Dragon, which had threatened the town. After all, the request to slay the Red Dragon had come directly from the Seven Guilds who ruled Handel.

“There were… Circumstances. Ciel and I have left the Hero’s Party.”

“W-what!?”

“Are Hero Allen and the others still in this town?”

“N-no, actually… They departed from Handel early this morning…”

“…I see.”

Hearing the soldier’s words, Ciel quietly lowered her head.

“So they really did leave me behind…”

“…Knowing that ill-natured Dorothea, she probably never intended to wait for you in the first place.”

“But… If I could’ve fought even a little, you wouldn’t have had to leave the Hero’s Party too, Lars-san…”

Well… Who knows? 

If Ciel hadn’t left, I guess I wouldn’t have either. Since she’d eventually defeat the Demon Lord, staying with the Hero’s Party should be the right course of action.

“Don’t worry about me.”

I should at least reassure her.

In the original, after returning from the Red Dragon’s Forest with Mofumaru, Ciel heard from the gatekeepers that the Hero’s Party had already departed, which deeply shocked her. That shock twisted her personality for a while, leaving her only able to trust money and Mofumaru.

Well, the effect of that shock was only temporary, but… Changing the story could lead to unexpected consequences. While I wanted to keep things close to the original, in this case I should intervene.

My presence had already altered Ciel’s mindset, so I should steer things into a harmless direction. In short, I would cut out the part where her personality turned dark, so she could remain the cheerful, bright girl she originally was.

“Ciel.”

“Y-yes?”

“Dorothea probably had too much makeup on and got powder in her eyes. She doesn’t have an eye for people.”

“Eh?”

Ciel’s eyes went wide at my sudden insult to Dorothea.

“Ciel, have confidence. You might not be a member of the Hero’s Party anymore, but you don’t need that title. You’re you, Ciel.”

“Lars-san…”

“If you still can’t find confidence, then let me say this myself. Ciel, you’re amazing. You know things I don’t. I truly respect you.”

“…U-understood. I’ll try my best to believe in myself, even if it’s not easy to do so right away!!”

If Ciel started to waver again, I should comfort her like this. At that moment, the soldier who’d been watching us interjected.

“U-um, I don’t know what happened, but may I confirm this? You two intend to enter the city, right?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Oof!!”

“Mofumaru says it’s not two, but two people and one wolf.”

And so, we stepped into the neutral trade city of Handel.

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Author’s Note: About Mofumaru… His fur, previously dirty with dirt and blood, had been mostly cleaned by Lars’ purification magic. Also, Mofumaru could run at speeds comparable to a small car on regular roads.