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 30

It’s been thirty minutes. So far, I’ve managed only about forty attacks.

The reason? This giant slime actually fights back.

It has no face, so I can’t read its expressions, and its soft, gelatinous body lets it strike from completely unpredictable angles.

The first counterattack came after my tenth strike. Out of nowhere, it slammed into my stomach. The pain and shock sent me to my knees, and I vomited violently.

The slime’s attacks feel like being hit with a water balloon packed full of wet sand—except this monstrous “water balloon” grows directly out of its body, swinging at me with impeccable timing, as if it’s enjoying landing perfect counters.

If I could go back in time, I’d love to tell my earlier self just how wrong I was about this thing being a “cowardly creature.”

It doesn’t seem to have actual murderous intent—maybe it’s incapable of continuous, rapid attacks—but every single hit lands with brutal weight. The punches come from unexpected places, and it seems to particularly enjoy targeting my face and stomach whenever I raise my sword or after I swing it.

I’m scared. I’m in pain. I want to give up, go home, crawl under my blankets, and cry.

But then I see the child trapped inside the slime’s transparent body.

If I can just activate Slime Slash, I can save him. That thought alone keeps me from running away. But at this rate, can I really land enough attacks in the next thirty minutes?

“Hey, Alva, you’re slowing down!”

“Aren’t you supposed to save the kid and get in Thomas’s good graces?”

Heckling voices cut through my focus, mocking the tense situation I was in. They belonged to the so-called “militia” members Thomas had roped in to help.

The giant slime, perhaps deciding I was its plaything, showed no signs of heading for the marsh. That left these men with nothing to do but watch—and jeer.

Even so, they could’ve helped by blocking its attacks whenever I was vulnerable. I even asked them for assistance. But instead, they just grinned wickedly and plopped down, refusing to lift a finger.

That’s when I realized my mistake: sending Thomas to chase after Chrono.

“Don’t worry! If it looks like the vice-captain’s coming, we’ll step in to help!”

“Yeah, yeah, no problem. I’ve got good ears—I’ll hear Thomas’s heavy footsteps from a mile away!”

“Same here. Though, sadly, I’m not so good at hearing the voice of a certain cheating bastard! Hahaha!”

I already knew they didn’t like me, but prioritizing their grudge over saving a child’s life? Their lack of humanity was staggering.

After my forty-first strike, I dodged the slime’s arm and shouted at them, bl00d streaming from my nose since I’d been hit earlier. My mouth was filled with the metallic tang of bl00d.

“Don’t you care about saving Thomas’s kid?!”

For a moment, their mocking faces turned serious. But then, they burst into laughter. I stared at them, dumbfounded.

“Hah, you really don’t know, do you? Of course, you wouldn’t—you only care about women!”

“You’ve seen the women you’ve slept with, right? Take a good look at the kid’s eyes. They’re not the same color as his mom’s—or Thomas’s!”

“Man, vice-captain Thomas spoils that brat like crazy, even though he’s not his real kid. Guess his dead wife’s ‘keepsake’ is just some other guy’s bastard, huh?”

“Hey, Alva, you sure you’re not the father?”

They laughed, their taunts growing more vicious. I didn’t even have the energy to get angry. My eyes drifted to the child trapped within the slime. His eyes were shut tightly, so I couldn’t check their color.

“Thomas is still in his prime, you know. If this fake kid kicks the bucket, he can start fresh with a proper wife.”

“Yeah, someone better this time. His taste in women is awful!”

Their laughter echoed as they chatted about Thomas’s “future,” as if they were concerned for him. For a brief moment, I wanted to cut them down instead of the slime.

But that could wait.

Turning my back on those bastards, I refocused on the massive enemy in front of me.

That’s when I noticed something strange.

The pendant the boy wore around his neck was floating in the slime’s body. The chain itself wasn’t the issue—it was the pearl-like charm at its end, something called The Mermaid’s Tear, which helps the wearer breathe underwater.

Why? Why wasn’t it in the boy’s mouth, where it should’ve been?

If nothing changed, the boy wouldn’t last an hour. He’d drown long before then. The thought of it made my own chest tighten.

“You might as well give up.”
“It’s already too late. Just let it go.”

Voices echoed in my head, overlapping with the relentless ringing in my ears.

The giant slime was far stronger than I’d anticipated. I wasn’t even close to landing a hundred strikes; it was toying with me, hitting me again and again.

And still, the heckling from the sidelines continued, unrelenting. No one was helping me.

Worst of all, no one seemed to care whether this child lived or died.

No, that wasn’t true. I wasn’t “no one.”

“SHUT THE HELL UP, YOU PATHETIC LOSERS!”

I screamed, directing the words at my own creeping doubts as much as at the jeering crowd. Misunderstanding my outburst, the men yelled back, indignant. I didn’t care about them anymore.

I’d already decided to see this through. Slime attacks? So what? If it hits me, I’ll hit it back. In fact, I’ll kill it for every single time it struck me.

“You’re not dying here, you hear me?! My dad and I will save you, so fight to survive, you little brat!”

I shouted at the boy trapped in the translucent prison.

His long lashes quivered. Slowly, they began to move.