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 8

“I told you to talk to her. Not to get yourself thrown into the brig.”

After getting into a brawl with the rookie hunter, both Isfana and I were sentenced to a night of detention.
Agrastein’s exasperated gaze burned into me.

“…Well, I can’t say I don’t understand why you lost your temper. But resorting to violence? That’s where you went wrong. You should’ve just reported it to your superior.”

Having delivered a perfectly reasonable scolding that left me with no rebuttal, Agrastein closed the viewing hatch in the door. The brig fell into darkness.

Bathed in the pale light of the moon seeping through the narrow window, I lay down on the cold floor.

Well, at least it had only come to fists.
The rookie had used magic during the fight, so his punishment would probably be much harsher.

Naturally, I hadn’t lost to some wet-behind-the-ears upstart—not with the title of hero to my name.

“Still… I didn’t expect you to step in, Isfana. I thought you didn’t care about things like honor or reputation.”

“…It just pissed me off, seeing a commoner insult another commoner.”

Isfana sat curled beside me, her face buried in her knees. Then, in a quiet murmur, she asked:

“And what about you? You’re a so-called hero. I thought you wouldn’t care about the hunters who died in the past.”

“I’m not that much of a fool.”

Whether they were hunters or simple soldiers, I could never bring myself to mock those who fought on the battlefield.
That belief had stayed with me even when I was just playing Fairy Hunters back in my old world.

Even across a screen, the fae had been terrifying.
In reality, they were worse.

Sure, I had knowledge from the game—I knew each faerie’s weakness inside and out.
But the people in this world, including Isfana, didn’t. Most of them had never even seen a faerie before. They had no idea how to kill one.

And yet, these hunters and soldiers still threw themselves into battle to protect the ones they loved.
They clutched unreliable rifles in trembling hands and charged at enemies they might not even be able to harm.

How could anyone laugh at those who gave their lives like that?
How could anyone mock the soldiers who died fighting to secure humanity’s future?

Because it’s on top of their mountain of corpses that we now stand.
Even if the missions were doomed to fail, even if their tactics were wrong—those failures became lessons that allowed humanity to keep fighting.

From where I stood—someone who had taken the “shortcut” of knowledge—I felt like they were the real heroes.

“…Though, maybe it was a little childish of me to punch a clueless rookie.”

“Oh, you think?”

I glossed over the whole “I used to play this as a game” part and just spoke from the heart.
Isfana nodded slowly, as if chewing over every word.

And for once—there was the faintest smile on her lips.

“So what you’re saying is… you honor the hunters who died. Hmph. That’s such a commoner’s way of thinking.”

Silence settled into the dark concrete cell.

And then—for some reason—I felt this was the moment.
If I was ever going to talk to her seriously, it had to be now.

I hesitated, searching for the right words… but in the end, I just asked what I truly felt:

“…What am I to you, Isfana?”

“Isn’t it obvious? You, a detestable commoner, are celebrated as a hero in place of a true genius like me. I loathe you.”

The usual barbed response.

But that wasn’t enough.
I had to know—why did she fear my escape so much? What made her cling to me?

“Then why do you try to stop me when I try to leave?”

I leaned in and looked her directly in the eyes.
Isfana flinched and tried to turn away, but I gently took hold of her chin and wouldn’t let her.

“I’ll ask again. Isfana—what am I to you?”

For a moment, her eyes trembled.

“…You won’t tell me? I guess it makes sense. If you truly hated me, I suppose I shouldn’t expect much.”

Her continued silence brought a pang of sadness.
Even if I’d thought she hated me… I still considered her a friend.
Realizing she didn’t trust me enough to speak her mind—yeah, that stung.

“…Sorry.”

“…Wait. Don’t go.”

Just as I turned to leave, her slender fingers grasped my hand.
Her teeth clenched, her breath hitched—and then she finally spoke:

“My Geis… the one that binds me to obey someone I can truly follow… it refers to you.”

Her voice was bitter, and she laughed like she’d just opened Pandora’s box.

“…Do you understand now? I… I care for you.”

◆◆◆◆◆

Isfana began to speak, one word at a time.

She told me that, at first, she had truly hated me.
That she couldn’t stand how I fought without ever doubting humanity’s victory.

However, after I saved Isfana when she was on the verge of death, she was forced to confront her own defeat.
She realized that I was someone worth following—even if it meant putting her life on the line.

“But I was afraid,” she admitted.
“I was terrified… that the brilliance in your beautiful eyes would be dulled by something so petty—by feelings as small and foolish as mine.”

Unwilling to destroy what we had built until now, Isfana chose instead to continue mocking me, pretending nothing had changed.

“Go ahead and laugh.
I called myself a genius, and yet I didn’t even have the courage to speak the truth.
In the end, I’m just a worthless commoner.”

Her eyes drifted off into the distance, hollow and lost.

And finally, I understood the meaning behind Morglaid’s hint.
The person Isfana’s Geis referred to—someone she could truly follow from the heart—was me. That was everything.

“So when you said you were going to leave the military… I was afraid.
The idea of losing sight of you, of losing the one person I was meant to follow for the rest of my life… it terrified me.”

I couldn’t say a single word.

I had always assumed she hated me.
It had never occurred to me that behind all her scorn, she was carrying such painful feelings.

“Well? Are you disgusted now?
Even after I insulted you so many times, when it really mattered… I clung to you like a coward.
Do you hate me now, for being so disgraceful?”

Isfana trembled, too afraid to meet my eyes.

I sighed.

Her shoulders flinched at the sound.

Give me a break. Counting my previous life, I’ve been alive for decades.
Sure, she’s troublesome. But there’s no way I could ever hate a comrade I’ve fought beside for so long.

“I wasn’t lying when I said I wanted to leave the military.”

At that, Isfana’s expression darkened.
I reached out and gently patted her head.

“But after hearing what you said… I’ve decided to adjust that plan a little.
When I run away—I’ll take you with me.”

As her eyes widened in shock, I gave her a crooked smile.

“After all, if there’s a ‘genius’ out there who’d devote herself to a fool like me…
I should probably take care of that mess myself before the military has to.”

“…!”

Eyes glistening, Isfana threw herself into my chest.

And I held her trembling back all through the night.

◆◆◆◆◆

“So… I thought we’d resolved everything back there.”

My head throbbed with pain.

Convinced everything had ended in a nice, happy conclusion, I’d wrapped up my duties and slipped into bed to finally get some rest—

Only to find someone had gotten there first.

“Q-Quit whining! Just shut up and sleep with me!”

Blushing furiously, Isfana had somehow slipped under the covers before I did, clinging tightly to me and burying her face in my chest.

“Ever since that night, I’ve been scared you’ll disappear again. I haven’t slept a wink!
You did this to me, so take responsibility!”

…Ahh, I should’ve never said I wanted to quit the military.

Cursing my past self in silence, I let her have her way—again.

“…Heh.”