'Why are you scared of me dying?'

Should I tell him? That the Hero's companion always dies. If it's Claud, he'll understand. He values safety over all else.

"B-because- Mmpfh!"

Ah, the door is opening! I need to stop casting my light magic.

Mr. Ghost came to hide with us as well. It's a little scary to have a ghost this up close but I have to bear it.

[Gehen Sabo

Personality: Green-eyed, Petty, Spiteful

Skills: Maneater Lv1, Tailor Lv1]

-Skill: Maneater Lv1. Grants 100% bonus damage against humans. A small portion of eaten human's stats are given to the maneater-

So, this is the murderer. He's carrying a young boy. They're still alive.

[Paige

Personality: Gullible

Skills: Pickpocket Lv1]

Do we attack? Claud is observing... He must be looking out for any other potential kidnappers.

"Eeek! I-I'm sorry, please-"

The boy woke up.

"Silence, light fingers! You dared covet my items! You'll pay the price!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please forgive me!"

Even if he stole a precious belonging, it wouldn't be deserving of death. He's making excuses for his monstrous behavior.

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Sophie darted forwards, remembering to mute her steps. Well, this was an easy quest... is what I had thought.

The person turned around immediately; he's got good senses. This could get dangerous. Sophie stopped before the psycho wildly swung a cleaver at her. I interfere, grazing his hand. He didn't drop his cleaver though.

"Scurrying rats! How did you get in here?!"

Perhaps due to decently high luck, I accidentally fell asleep at the entrance, but he doesn't have to know about that.

"Idiiiiot! Who uses recognition magic to detect corpses using only orientation?! You should have hired a more competent magic caster instead of being a cheapskate!"

"You little rat!"

"How can a person be this incompetent?! Seriously? It's a little embarrassing, isn't it?"

His strength stat is a little higher than mine. I can barely parry his wild swings, thankfully Sophie is here to stab in between the openings, keeping him from attacking with his shorter ranged weapon. I don't think this person has ever fought before but he's not recklessly charging in, neither of us can deal a decisive blow.

"Come now, are you going to lose to two children? Even though you've killed so many people so far?"

"Argh!! I'll tear your tongue out!"

Baiting him didn't seem to have an effect. More than he was angry, he was afraid of being cut, flinching with every shallow cut inflicted by Sophie.

"Where has the brave scoundrel who hunted innocent people and children gone? Are you not going to fight back?"

"Claud..."

Alright. Alright. I won't get ahead of myself. But I don't think we'll lose. Sophie manages to land a minor hit every few exchanges... He isn't adapting to our pattern of attack. If we keep this up, he'll die of blood loss.

He picks up another cleaver and clumsily swung in our general direction. Ah, has the boss entered his second phase? But adding a weapon to his offhand only confuses his body which wasn't used to fighting, both knives are disarmed with a flick of Sophie's wrist. Her swordplay is getting better.

Taking the opportunity, I attempt to slash his head. Instinctively he reaches up to block it with his bare hand. His dominant hand is injured, the threat's over. Even if you have high stats, without training, it's meaningless. How did he get this strong without training though?

He tried grabbing his cleaver again, but Sophie pierces his other arm in the elbow. Both arms have been rendered useless.

Even after so much bleeding, he's still alive. He looks no different than the other carcasses in here with so much spilled blood and torn flesh hanging by threads.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Damn you! I'm going to kill you both!"

Come up with something more original.

Time to finish him off. As I raise my sword, Sophie abruptly blocks my path.

"Wait!"

Sophie? I thought we'd agreed to do this... Why is she interfering?

"Why did you do such horrible things? Why did you hurt these people?!"

"People? These insects were merely fuel for my growth... They were beggars, poor useless insects, a burden on this glorious city! On the contrary, I was helping them! They were serving a greater purpose!"

Perhaps getting tired of hearing his bullshit, the ghost revealed itself.

"Y-you damned ghost! You brought these bastards down here, didn't you?! You should have been happy to be part of me after death! I just needed a few more people to level up my Maneater skill!"

"You did all this for a skill?"

"What do you know! You children have no idea how living your life without any talent is like! Earning a skill is not as easy as you think for the talentless! All my efforts to gain a skill always resulted in nothing... For 30 years, working myself to the bones begging for a working class, any skill would have sufficed... Until one day, an angel whispered in my ear..."

An angel. This guy's delusional...

"As long as I ate the body parts of humans, I'd gain their strength and they'd live on within me! All my suffering had meaning, all of it was to grant me this skill! With this, I could make a change in this world!"

Eating people gives you, their stats... I'll remember that.

"You... you already had a skill. Were you not satisfied with it?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You tried being a tailor, am I right?"

"I... I was a young boy when I had apprenticed... How do you know about this?!"

"I can see the skills a person has... Sometimes a person may earn a skill outside of the class system, if they don't recognize their own skill, it will not appear to them. A phantom skill phenomenon."

"Don't lie to me! I had no talent until the angel-!"

"There's no such thing as a person with no talent! Everybody has something that they can do!"

"That's not... Don't think you can deceive me with this... trick..."

"Why would I trick you? There's no reason to... We just want closure for the victims and... for you."

"Is that really true? I had a skill?"

"Yes. Yes, it is."

"Urk... What did I have to suffer all that for... This is unfair..."

This man is so pathetic. If you're going to be a bad person, can't you do a proper job till the end? Tears don't suit a face this ugly.

"I want to... be a... tailor..."

How long is this idiot going to have his own pity party for...

"Please surrender yourself to the guards... I'll heal you. You still have a chance to make things right..."

Don't encourage this, Sophie. As soon as you heal him and turn around, he'll stab us in the back.

"Please... give me another chance..."

He'll just claim we killed all the people here and use his status to claw his way out of this situation... Don't do it, Sophie.

"Goddess above, please send aid for one of your lost lambs. Heal."

Goddamn it.

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-Quest: Help the Spirit. Completed-

With this, Mr. Ghost will be able to rest...

"Ah. Good job lad, lass. Never expected to see you two again this quickly, let alone for this morbid scene. The odd bloke confessed everything. Soldiers from the East truly are different. I wish my own boy were half as quick-witted as you two. Hahaha... ha..."

"..."

"Ahem. Both of you did a fine thing today. I'm not a very refined person so I don't have the right words, but here... A token of appreciation."

"Um. Thank you for... this."

"I guess I should explain what it is. It is a local symbol of a hero who saved our continent from falling meteors... Undoubtedly, you'll meet more challenges if you wish to travel around the continent. So, I hope it will protect you on your journey. A lucky charm."

Lucky charm...

"Also, you two were lost, weren't you? This place here, the business district is closed at night. Here's the directions to the guild inn."

"Thank you, sir."

----------------------------------------

'You did all this just for a skill?'

If Sophie were to find out I could obtain skills by killing people, would she react the same way? Would she reject my reasoning with disdain? If her skill levels up, she'll soon be able to piece things together...

"Claud, can I put this on you?"

The lucky charm she received from the guard captain... I think she needs it more than me.

"Please wear it. It'll protect you..."

Why is she so concerned about my safety? I'm loads tougher than her...

"Claud, I need you to know something..."

Something?

"It might be hard to believe but..."

Wait...

"I am..."

Is this the moment?

"I am the Hero. Chosen by the Gods and Goddesses to save the world from the Demon King."

My face was naturally stunned. Not because I didn't know that beforehand, but I wasn't expecting her to reveal it now. Did our earlier teamwork affect this somehow?

"You know it, don't you? The fate that awaits the Hero's companion."

I was aware.

"They're always destined to die before the end of the Hero's journey. That's why I really want to go home. It's dangerous out here... I don't want to make a mistake..."

I was never worried because I'm not just your companion. I'm the villain.

"I was also doubting whether you really chose to be with me by coincidence. I was worried that the Gods had designed it by fate, for you to join me... Just to die for me..."

Without a doubt, the Gods are planning for me to die for your sake, as the villain often does. If you don't want me to die, make sure you stay the same. Because when you find out I'm the Villain, conflict might be unavoidable. I definitely won't hurt you though. It wouldn't benefit me and also... I think you'd cry more if I refused to fight.

"Do you believe me Claud? Did you really join me by coincidence or was it...? Please... say something..."

Silly. Constantly pondering complex things that you can't be certain of will only wear your mind down. But I understand... The pressure of being the Hero must be overbearing... Writing in a book won't suit the current atmosphere.

I can only hug her.

-50/50 Bad deeds completed-

-Villain's Sub main quest completed. Hero's personal skill: Flash Step granted to Sophie-

She cried so much she unlocked a new skill again.

Why is she crying louder? I don't understand her...

"Whenever I cry to you, I always seem to get another skill."

She realized it.

"Did you know all this time, Claud? That I was the Hero? Did the Goddess give you a quest to protect me?"

I quickly reached inside her bag grabbing her book.

'I was never given a quest to protect you. I promise that's the truth. That was my decision.'

I didn't tell any lies. If she is keeping the Detect Lie skill hidden, she shouldn't have been able to tell...

"Hic... Hic..."

I've always planned to die a comfortable natural death.

'I promise I won't die.'

I hate writing this. It feels like I've planted a death flag for myself.