Brainwashed Then Woke Up To Find My Childhood Friend a Hero

2. When I woke up, it seems I had betrayed them?!

I spent the next month gathering information in this village. I wasn’t fully grasping the current situation, but more than anything, the reason was:

“I was treated as a dark knight for betraying the hero party and siding with the Demon King’s army…!”

Yes, I had been brainwashed by the Four Heavenly Kings, Melgiah, and had made a name for myself as a dark knight.

—

Moreover, it seems I’ve repeatedly challenged the hero party and thrown the battle situation into chaos…

“Ugh—what am I supposed to do about this?!”

In my frustration, I grip the newspaper tightly in my hands.

“Hey, what’s wrong, big guy? Why are you clutching that newspaper?”

At that moment, the gatekeeper, Wol, looked at me with a puzzled expression.

He had taught me various things, as if he had slipped through time, while my common sense had gone awry.

But then—

“Are you reading about the hero again?”

Wol said with a smirk.

He mistakenly believes that I am a super-duper!

Die-hard fan of the hero.

Well, it’s not entirely wrong, but still…

Being treated like a fool like this really gets on my nerves.

“Yeah, that’s right.”

I answered bluntly and turned my face away.

“I see, I see! But it’s rare for someone like you to be in the royal capital, participating in the hero’s parade, huh?”

Indeed, in the royal capital, the hero, Hal, has been holding parades day and night. I saw it in the newspaper headlines.

But the Hal I know is vastly different; the armor and sword he had back when we were together have changed so much that I can’t help but be forced to acknowledge he has truly become the hero.

“Ha…”

I let out a deep sigh.

The gatekeeper noticed and said,

“Well, you’ve got your own troubles, huh? I can tell just by looking at your face.”

He looked at me with sympathetic eyes.

However, if that’s the case…

“Stop making the same joke over and over! You’ve done it at least twenty times this month!!”

Wol laughed heartily as he returned to his post, really a fickle guy.

“Even so, what should I do…?”

The newspaper still writes about me as the Dark Knight, and if I go to the royal capital now, there’s a nine out of ten chance I’ll be beaten up.

—

It seems like a public execution course, huh…

“Ha…”

Lately, I’ve been sighing a lot. I can feel the limits of life here…

Maybe it’s time for a journey…

“That’s it! Let’s go on a trip!!”

Right! The capital city might be a no-go, but perhaps in other countries, I won’t be recognized as the Dark Knight?

There’s still a chance!!

But…

“Is it really this sad not having Hal and the others around?”

I feel a hollow ache of nostalgia, but there’s nothing to be done about it.

“This is all my fault anyway. For now, I’ll skip the capital and start exploring the neighboring empire.”

With that thought, I began preparing at the inn.

◇◇◇

The next morning

Having finished my preparations, I checked out of the inn and headed toward the gate to leave the village. Just then, I spotted Wol.

“Oh? Big brother, have you finally made up your mind?”

Wol, despite the early hour, was grinning at me.

“Yeah, I’m thinking of going on a journey.”

I declared firmly.

Hearing that, the gatekeeper chimed in, “Oh come on! You’re just missing the Hero, aren’t you?”

Here we go again…

Wol, seeing my exasperated face, burst into laughter.

“Well! If you get lonely, just come back! And if you want, share some stories about your memories with the Hero!”

Wol laughed so hard that tears welled up in the corners of his eyes as he saw me off. He was so high-spirited for a morning.

Well, you know, this past month hasn’t been so bad.

“Well, you’ve been a great help.”

With just that, I quickly left the place.

When I turned around, I caught a glimpse of the gatekeeper waving at me.

◇◇◇

“Ah, he’s really gone…”

I watched the strange man who had come a month ago leave.

That man, Elg, was a soldier of the allied forces, and perhaps because of that, he was quite out of touch with common sense. He didn’t even know about the Hero…

“He looked so lonely when he was reading the Hero’s newspaper.”

I couldn’t just leave him be, so I ended up engaging with him, and before I knew it, a month had passed.

Those days of teasing him weren’t so bad, but now that it’s over…

“It’s going to be lonely…”

I murmured in a small voice.