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 37

Returning to my body from the goddess’s temple required descending an absurdly long staircase.

How long, exactly? Long enough that I couldn’t see the end. Strangely, I didn’t feel tired, but it was incredibly tedious.

Still, I kept descending, step after step, until the world around me suddenly faded into nothingness. The next moment, I found myself back in my physical body.

Last time, I woke up in the middle of a forest. Looking back, it was strange, considering I had passed out in the kitchen of our hideout.

This time, as soon as I opened my eyes, I was greeted by a familiar ceiling.

Simple wooden furniture, scattered armor pieces, and maintenance tools filled the room.

A tattered map hung on the wall, with an empty bottle of alcohol sitting in the corner.

This was unmistakably an adventurer’s room—the same one I had lived in for years.

Slowly, I sat up and glanced around, expecting to see Mian or Chrono watching over me.

But the room was empty.

A small, disappointed sigh escaped my lips.

“…What, no one’s here?”

“I’m right here, though?”

The voice sent a jolt through my heart, as if someone had pressed a block of ice against my back.

Instinctively, I kicked off the blanket and twisted my body to face the source of the voice.

But before I could even see their face, a sharp pain shot through my lower back.

“That was a good move, but doing something that reckless after waking up will mess up your back.”

“You, especially, were in a serious condition. You were in a coma for three days after sustaining severe injuries. Of course, you’re in pain.”

The person’s tone was laid-back, almost playful, but I could barely focus on responding.

This wasn’t just back pain—it was nerve pain. It was unbearable to the point that even breathing felt like a chore.

“Lower back pain is awful, huh? It sticks with you. That’s actually why I learned healing magic—so I wouldn’t have to deal with it.”

“Just stay still. Not that you’d want to move anyway.”

As the stranger stepped closer to my bed, their husky yet cheerful voice made it difficult to determine their gender.

I kept my gaze lowered, unable to lift my head due to the pain, and could only see sturdy fabric trousers and well-worn leather boots enter my line of sight.

“Alright—Cure Pain.”

With the utterance of what was clearly a spell, a gentle warmth spread across my back and waist.

Gradually, the heat faded, and with it, so did the pain.

“This spell is more about pain relief than actual healing, but it’s not that advanced. Even Chrono could probably learn it quickly.”

“Chrono…?”

“Yeah, I was pretty surprised. She dragged me into the forest, and there you were—looking half-dead.”

The person spoke casually, but the weight of their words sent a chill down my spine.

I recalled how Elena had warned me not to take near-death experiences lightly.

I hadn’t intended to die when I fought that giant slime.

But at some point, I had stopped prioritizing my survival and focused entirely on defeating the monster.

I had let my emotions take over—a dangerous habit.

As I reflected in silence, the person who had healed me continued speaking, their tone contemplative.

“But still, I never would’ve expected Alva the Mad Dog to throw himself into battle just to save a child. Guess the rumors at the taverns aren’t that reliable.”

“And Chrono—if she were really being treated as horribly as people say, she wouldn’t have been so desperate to save her party leader, now would she?”

“I almost ended up offering her unnecessary help.”

There was something unsettling about the way they said that.

It wasn’t just guilt over the accuracy of the tavern rumors.

No—this was the same uneasy feeling I had when I first met Chrono in that dimly lit kitchen.

“Anyway, how about it? Why don’t you ditch that useless party leader role and become my disciple instead?”

I snapped my head up in shock.

Silvery-blue hair cascaded down, framing a lean yet well-toned figure. A sword rested at their waist.

Their sharp, refined features were neither distinctly masculine nor feminine.

Had I ever actually assigned them a gender when I wrote this world?

What I had described, though, was their overwhelming strength—the kind that made them practically cheat-level.

A master of swordsmanship, magic, and healing.

A warrior so powerful that even Grey Falcon, my entire party, wouldn’t stand a chance against them.

A person possessing the skill, wisdom, and presence fitting to be the mentor of the protagonist, Chrono.

“…The Golden-Ranked Hero—Noah Brightless…!”

The moment I uttered their name, their peculiar gold-and-red eyes widened in surprise.

Noah Brightless was one of the most influential figures in Chrono’s journey.

Though their gender was never specified in my story, I had tentatively considered them a young man.

In the novel, they found Chrono after he was cast out of his party, wandering through the streets in the cold rain.

Recognizing his immense talent, Noah had taken him in and trained him in swordsmanship, magic, and healing.

They had been meant to meet only after Chrono’s expulsion from Grey Falcon.

Noah was never supposed to cross paths with Alva.

And that’s when it hit me.

Noah had a specific trait—he traveled under a false identity.

No one was supposed to know their real name.

Of course, someone suddenly shouting it upon first meeting them would set off alarm bells.

I could see the cautious glint in Noah’s eyes.

At that moment, all I could think was:

I wish I could go back to sleep and wake up again.