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 26

I saw Mian and Chrono off as they headed out to order a new table, buy Chrono’s clothes, and grab some food.

I didn’t have the courage to go out with two women, so I asked them to bring something back for me instead.

As I stood alone in the now silent house, a wave of fatigue hit me.

I wanted to return to my room and collapse onto my bed, but the thought of the black-haired girl sleeping there until this morning made me hesitate.

Chrono and I weren’t in the kind of relationship Mian had so mistakenly suspected. Even in Alva’s original personality, that would never have been the case.

The difference between him—who, despite his terrible personality, had no shortage of women—and me, who had no experience with women whatsoever, was like night and day.

Even now, I found it hard to fully convince myself that we were the same person.

In that sense, Elena’s presence had been a blessing.

Thanks to her miracle, I had the perfect story to show how a villain could turn over a new leaf.

“…That’s right, Alva Grayblood has been reborn.”

I muttered to myself as if convincing myself of the fact.

In truth, it was probably Alva who should be considered my reincarnation, but if I dwelled too much on this, it would only darken my thoughts.

I cleaned up the ashes of what used to be the table, opened the kitchen window to air the place out, and scooped some water from the large jug to drink.

Should I also open my room’s window? If I changed the bed sheets while I was at it, maybe Chrono’s scent would fade.

But did we even have spare sheets? Chrono, who handled most of the household chores, would’ve known.

A faint memory came back to me—she had taken care of everything: cleaning, laundry, cooking.

She was practically a housekeeper.

And during our adventures, she also prepared campsites and carried the supplies.

“…She’s way too competent.”

I found myself muttering aloud. If everything in the household had been left to her, the party would’ve been in chaos had she been expelled.

Though I had no plans to do so, even just a few days of her being bedridden would probably leave the house a disaster.

It wasn’t just her treatment that needed addressing, but also the imbalance of duties within the household.

I could already imagine a future where the others dumped the cleaning and laundry onto me in her absence.

Though, considering we now had three women living under the same roof—Mian, Chrono, and Est, our healer who wasn’t currently here—it seemed unlikely I’d be put in charge of laundry.

As Takumi Haimura, I’d spent over thirty years living without a trace of female presence in my life.

Now, I was suddenly living under the same roof as three women.

They were all different in type but undeniably beautiful.

Still, when I thought about living with them, I felt more tension and anxiety than excitement or anticipation.

I wasn’t used to communal living, but having my own room at least made it tolerable.

Chrono would also have her own room now, rather than sleeping in the kitchen.

Once the three others who were out returned, we’d have six people living under one roof.

“…That’s a lot.”

It was quite a large group.

As I lay on the sofa in the living room, I murmured my thoughts aloud.

Excluding myself, there were five others. I felt like I could manage with Mian and Chrono, but the other three were a different story.

Would they accept the changed Alva?

Just thinking about it made my stomach hurt.

I focused on drawing out the information Alva’s body held about them. One by one, their profiles came to mind.

The thief, Curse, was from the same hometown as Alva and was the same age. On the surface, he seemed like a friendly and playful young man.

But Curse had been stealing since he was a child and was practically forced out of the village in his early teens.

Not just in the “class skill” sense—he had actually stolen from people.

The brand of a criminal was hidden under the bandana on his forehead, burned into his skin.

He had excellent skills in detecting presence, disarming traps, and stealing from monsters, but no respectable party would willingly take him in.

Someone like him, who struggled to find a place to belong, might choose to maintain the status quo even if he sensed something off about me.

After all, in the novel, he only left after the paladin, Brock, died, saying he couldn’t continue anymore.

Ah, Brock.

Even though it was just a story, I still felt sorry for him.

A tall, silent man who always wore full armor to hide his face.

He didn’t seem like a bad person.

Brock had joined on Curse’s recommendation.

Aside from his impressive physique, nothing about him—his past, his age, or even his name—was known.

I vaguely recalled Curse saying something about Brock injuring a fellow knight during his time in the order.

At the time, he’d added a grim joke: “At least you weren’t branded a criminal like me, so you can relax.”

I could communicate with Brock through brief nods and gestures, but I didn’t recall ever having a proper conversation with him. For anything more complex, Curse always acted as his intermediary.

Because of that, I felt Brock would likely follow Curse’s lead. If Curse accepted the current situation, Brock would silently go along with it.

Alva had appreciated Brock’s unwavering resolve to shield his comrades without hesitation or complaint, no matter how powerful the enemy.

In the novel, however, Brock met a gruesome end.

After Chrono was expelled, and Mian and Est left the Gray Hawk Brigade, the group’s attack and healing capabilities were severely diminished.

Despite that, they continued to battle monsters as if nothing had changed.

With only a swordsman and a thief, they failed to deliver decisive blows.

Brock, who served as the front-line shield, eventually ran out of strength. He was torn apart and devoured by monsters.

After that crushing defeat, Curse, Alva’s last remaining comrade, abandoned him as well.

It wasn’t Brock’s fault for following the order to remain the shield.

The blame lay with Alva, the leader, who failed to properly assess the gap between their abilities and the enemy’s strength.

After expelling Chrono, Alva didn’t realize how much she had contributed—enhancing allies’ abilities and weakening monsters.

He believed they were just a little short of victory and ignored the signs to retreat, ultimately leading to his comrades’ deaths.

“…I swear, I’ll never let my comrades die.”

I muttered the vow under my breath.

The development where Alva expelled Chrono had already been erased.

But relying unconsciously on her support as I had before wouldn’t work anymore.

Chrono, who had the qualities of a hero, shouldn’t just play a supporting role—she needed to be trained as a main force.

As I considered these thoughts, one troubling question crossed my mind.

“Can I even fight like I used to…?”

Even though this body and its original personality belonged to Alva Grayblood, a silver-ranked adventurer, my current consciousness was that of Takumi Haimura.

I had no combat experience—not even a fight with my brothers.

Sure, I’d been bullied, but I’d never been the one doing the bullying.

Even in the battle against Mian, who had lost control, I hadn’t drawn my sword. The fight had ended thanks to Chrono’s skill.

In other words, I had no idea how capable this body truly was in combat.

If I couldn’t fight as before, Mian and the others might see me as dead weight and leave, which could lead to the dissolution of the Gray Hawk Brigade.

This wasn’t a group bound together by mere friendship; it was a team of professionals.

And if my fears weren’t unfounded, going on an adventure without addressing them could endanger my comrades. That was something I absolutely couldn’t allow.

I tried practicing sword swings. While it felt like I had the form down, I had no idea if I could actually cut an enemy.

Should I test it on some vegetables in the kitchen?

But what I really needed to confirm wasn’t whether I could cut something—it was whether I had the resolve to take a life.

I wasn’t a temp worker anymore. I was an adventurer, someone who made a living by killing monsters.

Maybe hunting weaker monsters could help me mentally prepare.

But I couldn’t think of any suitable weak monsters off the top of my head.

Even if I found some, going alone would still make me uneasy—I’d need someone to support me.

Yet if Alva Grayblood, a silver-ranked adventurer, started acting like a beginner, people would surely find it strange.

I wanted to find a mission where I could hunt weak monsters in significant numbers to regain my instincts as a swordsman without drawing suspicion.

But would such a conveniently ideal request even exist?

As I agonized over these thoughts, there was a sudden, heavy knock on the door.