A Mob Character Who Just Wants to Get Banished and Escape This Death Game vs. The Party Members Driven Mad by the Radiance of His Brilliance - Chapter 6

My father was an ordinary man. My mother was ordinary, too.

They were both soldiers, and they died in battle—killed by fae.
They weren’t gifted hunters; just talentless ones, which is why they weren’t slain by a calamity-class fae or a grand faerie, but by mere common ones.

It couldn’t be helped. They were ordinary.

When my father’s body returned home, his head was missing. The fae assault had been so intense that recovering it was deemed impossible.

My mother never came back at all. She’d been devoured by fae—so of course there was nothing left to return.
Instead, the military offered me a medal.

It wasn’t given for valor or achievement—just a posthumous formality, a consolation prize for the dead.

I didn’t need it, so I tossed it into the drainage canal by the house. I didn’t particularly care either way, but I still followed the will’s instructions and ensured their gravestone overlooked the town where they’d both been born and raised.

The military and the state compensate the families of fallen hunters quite handsomely.

I burned every coin of it and enlisted.

Because I knew—I was different from the rest of those common people.
I wasn’t like my parents, those talentless hunters.

I remembered being tested for magical aptitude as a child, with my parents by my side.

I still recall the way the other hunters gasped in astonishment.
That day, my mother and father had said they looked forward to my future, and they treated me to a meal at a beautiful restaurant.

That’s why I knew—I was not the same as them.

I am a genius in the art of magic. I wouldn’t fall to mere fae.
Even if I had to fight a calamity-class fae, I wouldn’t lose.

Once I entered the military, I dedicated myself to study day and night.

Whether it was marksmanship, tactics, or sorcery, I never let anyone surpass me.
As my parents once said—I was a true prodigy.

And so, I graduated at the top of the training program for military hunters.

But the squad I was assigned to… was led by a fool.

A man named Mikkanen.
He was worse than my parents—an even more pathetic commoner.

By then, the fae had already pushed deep into humanity’s territory. Annihilation was at our doorstep.

Everyone was in despair. People fought recklessly, out of desperation.
Hunters hanging themselves, or charging naked into fae nests screaming—it wasn’t even rare anymore.

And yet, Mikkanen was different.

He genuinely believed there would be a tomorrow.
He believed—truly believed—that this thousand-year war against the fae would end with humanity’s victory.

People laughed, called him a fool. I nodded along.

And yet… Mikkanen kept fighting.
Even with his body torn to shreds, he would charge into reckless operations without hesitation.

I hated him—couldn’t stand him.

What foolishness.
No matter how desperately a commoner like him struggled, it would never amount to anything. I despised the light in his eyes, hated it with every fiber of my being.

I mocked him.
He’d break soon, I thought. He’d run away, eventually.

But Mikkanen never turned his back on the battlefield.
He survived with wounds that nearly killed him, only to rise again and fight.

People began calling him a hero.
A peerless hunter who bore the hopes of all humankind.

And me?
I came to hate him so much… I wanted to kill him.

It was during winter.
We were stationed on a snowy mountain base, recently reclaimed after repelling the fae.

The rest of the squad had been assigned to other duties, leaving just Mikkanen and me at the post.

“Here. Black bread and soup. You’d better eat or you’ll freeze.”

“……”

“I’ll keep watch.”

I snatched the meal from his hands without a word.
Unless we were fighting, I had no desire to speak with Mikkanen, whom I loathed from the depths of my heart.

He gave a bitter smile and stepped out of the tent.

Alone, I wrapped myself tightly in my coat and quietly sipped the warm soup.
He could talk to me so casually, even though he knew how much I despised him. It was infuriating.

Why was someone like that hailed as a hero?

Mikkanen’s existence was one thing, but it was the Geis placed upon me that drove me to the edge of rage.
Because of this cursed vow, my magic faltered against that wretched commoner.

“What nonsense… ‘To find one I can truly follow’—I’m a genius. I don’t need anyone’s help. I can fight on my own.”

Telling myself that Mikkanen was my superior, just to keep the Geis from activating, was humiliating beyond words.

Before I knew it, my fingers had clenched so tightly they bent the iron spoon in my hand. I sighed and finished the soup.

That’s when I heard his voice.

“Isfana. Fae—approaching. And it’s a powerful one.”

When I lifted my gaze, I saw Mikkanen poking his head into the tent, snow piled on top of it.

I had just sworn to myself that I would surpass him—earn more merit and rise above him. With that oath burning in my chest, I dashed out of the tent.

…What happened after that, truth be told, is a blur.

What attacked us that day wasn’t anything we had ever faced before. It was something even more terrifying than a calamity-class faerie.

My magic had no effect.
His longsword was nearly broken.

Looking back now, it must have been a group of elite fae—an ultimate strike force, unleashed specifically to kill us.
We fought with everything we had. They fought just as desperately.

A claw grazed my back. Bl00d spilled from my lips.

Frustratingly, I was losing to them. Covered in wounds, I knew even I was nearing death.

My vision swayed.

After fighting for nearly two days straight, I reached my end. I collapsed in the snow, eyes dazed, watching Mikkanen fight like a demon in the distance.

“Isfana! Hey, Isfana!”

As the white world faded into the distance, I smiled gently.

At the very least… unlike my parents, I could die like the genius I was meant to be.
I was not a mere commoner.

When I opened my eyes in a daze, I realized I was still alive.

Right in front of me was the nape of Mikkanen’s neck.
I was being carried on his back—and the moment I understood that, I ground my teeth.

How dare he.
To be saved by a commoner like him—I would rather have died.

“So, you’re awake. I’ve taken care of the fae over there, but your wounds are deep. I decided we’d fall back for now.”

Mikkanen’s light, casual tone reached my ears.

And to me, it was unbearable humiliation.
I—who was supposed to be a genius—had fallen, and this commoner had defeated the rest alone… then saved me.

It should have been impossible. I had to be the genius.

I remembered my father’s large, rough hands—the ones that never came home again.
I remembered the warmth of my mother’s final letter.

I had to be a genius. I had to be—
Or how could they rest in peace, watching from heaven?

Delirious with fever, incoherent thoughts swirled in my head.

What finally brought me back to reality was the wet warmth trailing down my cheek.

“…What is this? Where is it coming from…?”

I lifted my head slightly—and what I saw made me gasp.

There was a gaping wound on Mikkanen’s head.
Bad enough that I could nearly see bone if I looked closely.

It was a miracle he was still alive.

“When we get back, I just want a hot meal. Military rations are awful, but the bacon’s grown on me somehow.”

Looking closer, Mikkanen was in tatters.
Of all the longswords he used to carry at his waist, only one remained.

Bl00d trailed behind him from the limp in his leg.

It didn’t take much thought to understand—
Even Mikkanen couldn’t have fought those monsters without paying a price.

And yet… he was carrying me home, even in that state.

His trembling back, closer to death than mine, overlapped in my mind with the last image I had of my parents.

The wind howled low and heavy.

From the shadows of the forest, a giant faerie emerged.
Not a calamity-class, not a grand faerie. Just an ordinary one.
But that was more than enough to kill us in our current state.

“Hm… A stray, I see. I doubt it knows this path, but still… Stay here for a moment. I’ll finish this quickly.”

Mikkanen gently laid me down in the snow and began walking toward the faerie.
I cried out after him, my voice on the verge of a scream.

“Just leave me and run already! I don’t want your pity—if it comes from you, I’d rather—!”

“Quiet.”

His battered back silenced me.

“I don’t plan to let you die.
And I don’t intend to die either.”

Staggering forward, Mikkanen drew his final longsword from his hip.

That fight—
It was so clumsy, so painful to watch, and yet… it’s burned into my memory.
It didn’t look anything like a hero’s battle… but it was stupidly cool.

Even as he suffered more wounds, Mikkanen refused to stop fighting.

I realized then—I would never surpass him.
If there truly were such a thing as a hero in this world…
Then it had to be Mikkanen. Not me. I was just another ordinary person.

“—Aaaaaah!”

Planting his feet with a roar, Mikkanen finally severed the faerie’s head.

And he returned to me, alive.

“Come on. Let’s go, Isfana.”

Mikkanen offered me his hand, smiling awkwardly.

As he lifted me onto his back once more, I buried my face against him—and for the first time since learning of my parents’ deaths… I cried.

Ahh… I’ll follow this man for the rest of my life.
I’ll fight for him.

That was the decision Isfana the hunter made on that day.