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 31

“Don’t you dare try to die just because you almost did! Even if you think it’s over for you, that foolish parent of yours will have to carry the weight of their child’s death for decades!!”

I shouted at Marco, who was trapped inside the slime. Even as the words left my mouth, they came back to stab me like a boomerang.

It wasn’t that I had completely given up on living, but back then, I had certainly rushed toward death of my own will.

Hearing my mother’s detached words over the phone had been agonizing. She erased my presence so effortlessly—burning the things I had once cherished as a child.

What hurt the most was knowing she hadn’t done it out of hatred or resentment toward me.

She simply… didn’t need me.

I had abandoned my home, run away, yet she never even tried to bring me back. Because she never needed me in the first place.

Having that unspoken truth laid bare, so casually, crushed me.

But in the end, if I hadn’t left it behind, my novel notebook wouldn’t have been burned. It had been important to me, yet I hadn’t even protected it.

I had pretended to accept the fact that I wasn’t loved. Acted like I had come to terms with it. But deep down, I had still been unconsciously clinging to my mother.

When I found out that my room had been erased from existence, I realized something shameful—I had wanted to maintain a place for myself in that house.

I had thought that as long as my room remained untouched, it meant my mother still acknowledged me as her son.

Why did I have to live while thinking about things like that?

No, it wasn’t like I actively thought about it. I just pretended not to.

I had convinced myself I’d forgotten all about my mother, my home, and everything else. But that was a lie. That’s why I was so devastated when I learned the truth.

A worthless son who left home and never returned. A brilliant, lovable nephew who still lived with her.

If he had asked for a room of his own, of course, she would have given him mine.

I hadn’t used it in years. I had no plans to go back. There was no reason for her to keep it as it was. She didn’t need my permission to clear out the junk I’d left behind.

Then why did she even bother calling me?

If she hadn’t, I could have just kept lying to myself. I could have ignored my own emptiness and lived alone without ever looking back.

But in that moment, I suddenly felt unbearably lonely.

That’s why I tried to create meaning in my life by dying.

But this kid… this kid isn’t me.

He needs to live.

And I—I’m not who I used to be anymore.

“You have to live!! And I swear, I’ll kill this monster!!”

I roared as I slashed with my sword, dodging the slime’s transparent fists and preparing my next attack.

My body—no, Takumi Haimura’s consciousness—was adapting to combat. Both dealing and taking hits.

Maybe this was actually good rehabilitation.

Sure, my “Slime Coach” was beating the hell out of me, but I was returning the favor with killing intent, so it balanced out.

If I manage to take this thing down, I think I’ll finally have the confidence to live as an adventurer.

The slime may think it’s just toying with me, but for me, this is a fight to the death.

My arms hurt. My back too, while we’re at it.

My eyes sting from keeping them open too long. My throat aches for some reason, and so does my nose. My stomach, my thighs—hell, everything hurts.

Is this what fighting feels like? This brutal?

But I can’t stop now. At least not until I finish this battle. There’s no running away from this one.

Over and over again. I repeat my attacks, relentlessly, until my stamina runs out.

Actually, I think it already has.

Something’s wrong. I know I’ve been going all out, but should I really be this exhausted?

I fought from noon until evening before without any problem. Not just me—everyone else too.

Under normal circumstances, we wouldn’t have been beaten by such weaklings.

Right… this all started after he disappeared.

Why?

“　　　　　”

I had nearly taken a direct hit to the head, and for a brief moment, my consciousness flickered. No, perhaps it would be more accurate to say I was momentarily thrown into confusion.

I thought I had barely dodged it, but it must have grazed me.

It was an attack comparable to being struck with a massive rock. If it had landed cleanly, my skull would have been shattered.

Though my bones remained intact, the skin had split open, and I could feel the warm, stinging sensation of bl00d trickling down my cheek.

But damn, this giant slime is strong. It has an absurd resistance to physical attacks, and every one of its strikes is like a blunt weapon. To make matters worse, it can attack from any part of its body.

If I died and got reincarnated, maybe I’d come back as a slime. Then again, knowing my luck, I’d probably end up as one of those tiny, squishable ones.

“Like hell I’m dying now!!”

I roared, swinging my sword down with all my strength.

At that moment, I noticed that Marco had managed to grip the Mermaid’s Tear in his mouth. Good. I unconsciously let out a sigh of relief.

But that also meant—if he could hear my voice—then this kid had heard every single one of the self-righteous remarks made by the so-called vigilante squad.

“You really are a dumb mutt, you know that? That’s why I keep telling you—slimes have to be cut with a sword—ahh, damn, that’s hot!!”

The exasperated jeer was abruptly cut off by a scream.

A scream that was all too familiar. I had let out a similar one a few times myself.

“…All of you are so damn loud. I can’t concentrate at all.”

“…Mian.”

“What a pathetic sight, Alva. In the end, you really can’t do anything without my help, can you?”

She smirked like a queen surveying her subjects, though her face was as pale as a ghost.

But around her, small flames flickered in the air.

I quickly realized what had happened—Mian had shattered the magical seal that Chrono had placed on her, and she had done it with nothing more than a swift kick of her high heels.

Far earlier than the one hour she had specified.

Her violet eyes glistened with pain, but even so, she smiled with pride and carried herself with arrogant confidence.

That’s the kind of woman she was—Mian Clovel, the sorceress.

“What are you idiots standing around for? If you don’t want me to burn your throats to cinders, hurry up and go shield him.”

Or… would you rather never be able to speak again?

She smiled coldly, like a ruthless queen, and the so-called vigilantes trembled in fear.