Me, the Weakest Member of the Hero’s Party? I’m the Villain Though? - Chapter 25
Only then did Kyle widen his eyes as if he finally understood.
“So that means it’s really possible Lysian could have been the great sage.”
“We can’t be certain, but the possibility is definitely there.”
At Gerard’s matter-of-fact response, Kyle gave me a fresh once-over, scanning me from head to toe. Just yesterday, he’d looked at me like I was some vagabond, but hearing I might be a great sage seemed to change his view entirely.
“If Lysian really was the great sage, is it possible for him to recover his lost mana?”
“That’s impossible. Mana is drawn from the magical energy in the atmosphere and stored in a mage’s mana core to use for casting spells. But if that mana core is destroyed, that’s it—it can only be formed once.”
“I see. I’m learning a lot today.”
Kyle nodded in admiration, then suddenly turned his head and looked at me.
“I hope you really were that great sage.”
“It’s better if I wasn’t. There’s nothing more hopeless than a former archmage who can no longer use magic due to mana depletion. If the mana core was really destroyed, losing memories would make sense too—something that traumatic could cause it.”
Before I knew it, everyone seemed to accept the idea that I had been the great sage in the past.
And honestly, being mistaken for a former sage was preferable to being suspected as the Black Flame Dragon, so I decided not to deny it.
“Still, don’t worry. There are plenty of things you can do even if you’re not a mage.”
I appreciated the kind offer to help me find a new path, but I didn’t need it. I’d find my own way—just as long as they let me go freely once we reached the Imperial Capital.
***
After what felt like an eternity, we finally arrived at the Empire’s capital—and it was drizzling. After three days of being cramped in the uncomfortable wagon, jostled along muddy roads, my entire body ached.
And after being rained on for three days straight without a proper wash, I felt grimy all over.
“We’re finally here?”
I asked as I peered out beyond the iron bars.
“Yeah. That’s Blaine.”
Kyle nodded as he looked toward the outer walls surrounding the capital. Apparently, the capital where the imperial palace was located was called Blaine.
“Before the Black Flame Dragon showed up, Blaine was a beautiful place. Always bustling with life and full of people.”
Kyle murmured with a nostalgic expression.
Which meant it wasn’t like that anymore… The Black Flame Dragon must’ve completely leveled it.
I couldn’t say anything. Now that I was occupying the body of the Black Flame Dragon, it was all basically my fault.
The wagon crossed the bridge over the moat and passed through the outer city gates. From there to the inner palace, rows of civilian homes lined the way.
The capital was unimaginably vast. A main road stretched straight from the residential outer city to the palace at its center, and as we rolled down it, the silence felt strange.
Even though it was raining, it felt too quiet.
But just as I thought that, people who had just noticed the subjugation force’s return began spilling out into the streets.
“What happened to the Black Flame Dragon?”
“Did you defeat it? Please tell us!”
Hopeful voices rang out, but the soldiers of the subjugation force said nothing.
If they had actually returned in victory, they would’ve sounded horns and made a spectacle of it the moment they passed the gates.
But instead of a cart carrying the Black Flame Dragon’s severed head, the hero’s party that had gone to slay it was now locked inside a prison wagon.
“What’s that? Isn’t that the hero’s party?”
“Why are the heroes being transported like criminals? What did they do?!”
The people’s hope quickly twisted into shouts and accusations. Stones flew from every direction, clanging against the wagon.
“Get back from the bars.”
Kyle said as he naturally wrapped his cloak around my head, as if to shield me from the flying rocks.
“Why are they doing this? What crime did we commit?”
“Don’t worry too much. They’re just scared, that’s all.”
Kyle’s voice was calm, as if he had already resigned himself to everything.
“That’s right. Please don’t worry too much. Everything will be fine.”
Elonen chimed in to comfort me, but Gerard was different. He glared at the surrounding crowd and muttered coldly.
“They beg and scrape when they need you, but the moment they think you’re useless, they throw rocks to blow off steam.”
