I was Reincarnated as an Incompetent Leader with Zero Popularity who met his downfall early on. Instead of banishing the hidden cheat Protagonist, I decided to embrace him, and somehow, I ended up being treated like a Hero instead. - Chapter 18

One of the Gray Hawk members, Mian the Flame, was not in the bathroom but in the kitchen.

She sat in a conspicuously lavish chair, nibbling on some pastries while flipping through what appeared to be a magic tome. That chair was her possession—she must have brought it from her room. Incidentally, the pastries she was eating were the ones I had bought earlier.

On the not-so-large kitchen table sat three cream-filled pastries neatly arranged on a plate. Since the plate was placed toward the front rather than the center, it didn’t look like she had thoughtfully prepared portions for everyone else.

Now, how should I broach the topic of Chrono?

As I hesitated over what to say, Mian spoke first.

“What are you looking at? Don’t think I’ll share with you.”

“Actually, I’m the one who bought those,” I retorted instinctively.

“Hmph. And now you’re trying to act all high and mighty over some cheap pastries?”

She glared at me as she spat those words, sticking out her tongue.

Despite her childlike appearance, Mian was very much an adult woman. Alva’s memories in my head confirmed that. In the novel I wrote, she was supposed to be a teenager. Maybe the gods had altered her somehow.

I silently watched her twin tails bounce like springs.

I didn’t think they were unfitting or pitiful, nor did I look down on her for trying to look younger. But if she was going to dress cutely, her behavior should match, or so I thought.

Before I realized it, a sarcastic remark had slipped from my mouth.

“And who’s the greedy woman hogging those cheap pastries?”

“What did you just say!?”

Mian slammed the open magic tome onto the table and shouted angrily.

For someone who constantly proclaimed herself superior to us commoners because of her noble lineage, being looked down upon was the ultimate offense. That’s why she was so quick to fly into a rage.

After a mocking laugh escaped me, a chill ran down my spine, as if an icy nail had been driven into my heart.

Wasn’t that just now completely in line with Alva Grayblood’s behavior?

Takumi Haimura wasn’t the kind of person to lash out at others. If anything, I was the one being intimidated, behaving excessively submissively. That’s who I was—or who I thought I was.

Even if I didn’t get along with her, there was no way I could casually anger a female colleague like this and remain unbothered.

Was it not just memories returning? Could it be… my personality too? The fear that Takumi Haimura might disappear froze my thoughts. That was a mistake.

“Hey! Why are you just sitting there silently, you idiot Alva!?”

Mian banged her fist on the table and yelled again. I forced myself to refocus on her.

The twin-tailed sorceress, her face bright red to the point of rendering her makeup pointless, glared at me furiously.

Panicking, I quickly apologized.

“Uh, no, I just thought I went a bit too far earlier. Sorry about that.”

“Huh? Did you eat something rotten? Or maybe someone drugged you? I mean, plenty of people have grudges against you.”

The idea that “mad dog Alva” would sincerely apologize to her was so absurd it made Mian visibly pale. Fear and disgust were written all over her face.

Alva Grayblood—a villainous thug at best—had apparently earned such a terrible reputation even among his own party members.

Chrono’s desperate apologies the moment she saw me made sense now.

“Why aren’t you snapping back like you usually do? Why are you acting so weird? Are you even Alva?”

“What? Of course I am!”

I messed up. The more I tried to act like Alva, the less convincing I became.

Mian’s expression grew even more suspicious. Her amethyst eyes seemed to declare, You’re not Alva.

She stood from her chair, stepped closer, and scrutinized me. I tried to glare back, but she let out a sigh of disappointment.

“You’re definitely not right… Did some kind of brain parasite take over you?”

“A brain parasite?”

She explained with eerie calm, “It’s a monster said to have been created by ancient gods as a joke. They say when it takes over someone, their personality changes completely.”

Mian picked up the magic tome she had slammed onto the table and exuded an aura like she was ready for battle.

Meanwhile, I was panicking internally.

“If I crack your head open and find silver slime instead of a brain, we’ll know for sure.”

“You’re jumping straight to killing me!? Aren’t we supposed to be allies!?”

In a desperate plea for my life, I caught myself wondering if this “brain parasite” thing might actually be real.

Mian’s eyes briefly softened with sorrow before returning to a blank, cold stare. It was far more terrifying than her usual red-faced outbursts of rage.

“You really aren’t the Alva I know, are you?”

She continued, “Before the parasite fully takes over, I should just burn you and your body to ashes.”

Mian, a sorceress whose fire magic was of the highest caliber, began chanting an incantation aimed directly at me.