When I Realized I Was the Game’s Protagonist, I Decided to Dump Everything on the Dark Hero - V1 Chapter 06: That Sounds Like a Death Flag

Chapter 06: That Sounds Like a Death Flag

“Blanc, dear, you’re ten years old, right?”

“Uh… yeah.”

“My child is the same age! His name is Noir.”

“Oh… what a wonderful name.”

“Isn’t it? He can be a little blunt, but he’s such a good boy!”

So yeah.

It’s happening.

Two days after leaving Ornell, I now found myself riding inside the Wyack family’s carriage.

Apparently, they were kind enough to let me hitch a ride all the way to Yankur, the ducal capital.

Sitting right in front of me was Duchess Ermine Wyack herself.

…

Why!?

This morning, I was walking along the highway when the ducal convoy came up behind me.

I stepped off to the side to let them pass—but then, the lead carriage suddenly stopped, and someone called out to me.

“Young man, where are you headed?”

Apparently, the gate guards in Ornell had mentioned that a kid left town alone, and they were worried about him.

So when they saw a boy walking by himself, they decided to check in.

Captain Abel… you magnificent bastard.

I told them I was heading to the capital, and the duchess immediately invited me inside.

“You should ride with us! It’s too dangerous for a child to travel alone!”

Her guards and maids were completely against it.

They begged her to at least put me in a different carriage.

Which, you know… Made total sense.

I was a random kid from nowhere.

There was no way they’d let me ride in the same carriage as their lady if they were actually thinking about security.

Of course, I also tried to refuse.

But in the end—

I lost to noble privilege.

“They didn’t mean any harm, you know? Please don’t hold it against them.”

“O-Of course. I don’t mind at all…”

When they let me in the carriage, they asked me a few basic questions.

Which, you know… was a bit of a problem.

I was an orphan with no real identity.

And on top of that, I hadn’t prepared a solid reason for heading to the capital.

So when they asked about it, I completely fumbled my words.

Of course, that only made me look more suspicious.

I mean, what was I supposed to say?

“Oh, I’m here because you might get ambushed.”

Or maybe—

“I just wanted to check on your son, Noir.”

Yeah. Not happening.

Luckily, the duchess misinterpreted the situation and assumed her guards were making me nervous.

So in the end, I only had to give a simple explanation through a maid.

“Oh, come on! No need to be so tense!”

“Ah—no, that’s not it…”

Actually, it was it. But the real reason I was tense?

She was way too close.

This woman was insanely beautiful.

She had the same sleek black hair as Noir, an elegant figure, and this soft, gentle expression that just radiated warmth.

Total tanuki face—in the best way possible.

Absolutely my type.

Also, she smelled really nice.

Uheheh.

…Okay, NO.

This was not the time for that.

Because while she was chatting with me all friendly-like—

The maids sitting nearby were watching me like hawks.

And they didn’t look weak, either.

I was pretty sure they were part of her security detail.

As expected of a ducal household.

Terrifying.

“But isn’t it dangerous for a child to travel alone?”

“I’ll be fine. I’m actually pretty strong.”

“Oh my, is that so? That’s amazing~!”

Yeah. She definitely didn’t believe me.

But honestly? I didn’t really care.

Apparently, Lady Ermine had been visiting her grandfather in the royal capital.

He wasn’t in the best health, so she had gone to check on him.

The journey progressed smoothly, and by the fourth evening since leaving Ornell, we stopped at the edge of a forest to set up camp.

Until now, we’d stayed in inns at towns and villages along the way.

But tonight? We were camping out so that we could clear the forest in a single day tomorrow.

There was another route that went around the forest, but that would have added three extra days to the trip.

Apparently, there had been a major culling of monsters recently, so they expected the area to be safe.

…Yeah, no.

That sounded way too much like a death flag.

Not that I had any say in the decision.

So I just went along with it.

“Good night, Lady Ermine.”

“Yes, good night, Blanc.”

Still—ducal carriages really were on another level.

According to Captain Abel, if we were using a normal carriage, we would have had to spend a night camping inside the forest instead.

“Kid, we’ve got an early start tomorrow, so get some sleep.”

“If any monsters show up, we’ll take care of them.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

I felt like I had gotten along pretty well with the twenty or so guards by now.

Not that they were bad people to begin with—just strict professionals doing their jobs.

Then again, if they weren’t competent, they probably wouldn’t be assigned to something this important.

“Blanc, are you sure you don’t want to use this tent?”

“I’m fine. I don’t think I’d be able to sleep in that one…”

“Ahh, yeah. I was pretty nervous my first time, too.”

The one who looked out for me the most was Sir Mark.

He was a tall, handsome guy with light green hair—the kind of dude that just radiated charisma.

And apparently, he was pretty skilled, too. 

Good-looking, talented, and a nice guy?

Come on, man. That’s just unfair.

Not that I was bad-looking myself—But, you know. It’s the personality gap.

The tent Mark offered me was a spare from the guards’ supplies.

Which, honestly, made sense—mine was a total wreck.

I did steal it from some bandits, after all.

Even though I had cleaned it with magic dozens of times, it was still worn out.

Meanwhile, the guards’ tents were high-end models, complete with insulation and waterproof enchantments.

Way too fancy for a commoner like me.

Seriously, though.

The Wyack family was on a whole different level if they could afford to outfit their guards like this.

Besides—

If something bad was going to happen, it’d probably be tonight or tomorrow.

And when it did, I’d need to be ready to fight or run at a moment’s notice.

For that, my ragged old tent was perfectly fine.

Especially since they lent me a blanket.

“Speaking of which… this blanket is insanely nice.”

The texture was completely different from anything I’d used before.

Seriously, how rich was the Wyack family?
…Think they’d let me buy one later?

I’d gladly pay for it.

―That Night.

“…They’re here, huh?”

Multiple presences had entered my detection range. Not that my range was that wide, though. The guards had already noticed and were mobilizing.

“ENEMY ATTACK!! ENEMY ATTACK!!”

I quickly stuffed my blanket into my bag and stepped out of the tent.

A quick glance at the shadows moving in the dark—

Wolves. A lot of them.

I hesitated. Should I jump in and help—or should I stay near Lady Ermine?

Just as I was debating—

A maid came running toward me.

“Blanc, this way!”

“Yeah.”

She led me to where the carriages were parked.

By the time we arrived, the carriage had been completely sealed off.

The windows were shut tight, turning it into a luxurious armored vehicle.

“Get inside, both of you!”

““Yes!””

Standing beside the carriage were Mark and another knight—Paul, if I remembered correctly.

They gestured for us to get inside.

Inside the carriage, Lady Ermine was waiting with two maids.

With me and the maid who led me here, that made five of us in total.

“Blanc, you’ll be safe here.”

“Thank you, I appreciate it.”

This carriage was built to withstand attacks, designed specifically for emergency situations like this.

In cases like this, the plan was simple—

Evacuate the VIPs and non-combatants inside the reinforced carriage, while the guards handle the enemy forces outside.

If things got really bad, the guards would buy time while the carriage made its escape.

The ones standing by outside, Mark and Paul, were responsible for both protecting the carriage and acting as drivers if an escape became necessary.

Both of them were Summoners, which meant they could call upon their contracted creatures.

Specifically, they had Battle Horses—a type of magical beast that they could summon at will.

I also had Summoning Magic, but mine was different—

Mine was Spirit Summoning.

Instead of calling contracted creatures, Spirit Summoning borrowed power from nearby spirits in exchange for mana.

The problem? It was completely random.

Even if I summoned a fire spirit, I had no idea what kind of fire spirit I’d get.

Each spirit had its own personality, appearance, and combat style, even within the same element.

Which made it highly unreliable.

Back in the original game, I barely used Spirit Summoning.

And in this world? I probably wouldn’t use it at all. 

Summoners, on the other hand, were completely different.

Their contracted creatures were bound to them permanently.

The summoned beast would remain linked to the Summoner until they died or the contract was broken.

Since contracted creatures became pure mana, they could be re-summoned even if defeated—as long as the Summoner had enough mana to pay the cost.

Oh, and they could level up and evolve, too.

…Honestly? Super jealous.

Being a Summoner sounds way better than being a Hero.
If I had to choose… I’d take an easygoing isekai fluff life over this nonsense any day.

They were having a harder time than I expected. 

Sure, there were a few stronger ones mixed in,

But the real issue seemed to be sheer numbers.

A few had even broken through and made it this far.

“Tch! There’s too many! Mark, get the carriage moving! I’ll hold them off!”

“Understood! My Lady, we’re moving out—please hold on tight!”

“Alright, I understand!”

…Wait. We’re moving out?

Against just wolves?

There was no way these things could break through the carriage’s defenses.

Even the maids looked confused.

Yeah. This was starting to smell fishy.

About twenty minutes into the ride—

The carriage suddenly stopped.

…

Called it.