The Fake Hero Is Too Strong Chapter 6

At the word ‘false accusation’, Trail let out a low groan.

He was pretty quick on the uptake too, so he must’ve figured out what that ant.

Before the regression, Kaeld had shown a unique approach from the very start when recruiting party mbers.

He would cleverly identify a person’s weakness or trauma, and approach them with a warm attitude, pretending to heal or solve it.

Everyone fell for it.

I was the only one it didn’t work on, so he had to try sothing else… but, well, let’s move past that for now.

Anyway, the way he approached Neril wasn’t all that different.

‘Didn’t he clear up the false accusation placed on her?’

Apparently, Neril didn’t bawl her eyes out or anything pathetic like that.

It wasn’t in her nature.

But instead, she’d felt a strong curiosity toward Kaeld.

I rembered what she told in the carriage on the way to the region for our quest before the regression.

“I’d never t soone like that in my life. Everyone else either ran away in fear of my reputation or didn’t even bother to find out if it was true. Let alone try to clear it.”

“Yeah.” For original chapters go to novel•fire

“I an, sure, there are hundreds of bad rumors about , so one of them being cleared didn’t an much. Still, it was fascinating. His approach was just completely different.”

“Okay.”

“You’re so damn dry.”

She really was a strange person, Neril.

Even with my blunt attitude, she was always the one to start the conversation with .

[Judging by how clueless you are… were you maybe single your whole life before regression…?]

‘……’

[Nope. Forget I said anything.]

This guy always gets all polite when he’s cornered.

‘Anyway, let’s get started.’

[With what?]

‘What do you think? I’m going to use that grand-sounding ability of mine — the Eye of Omniscience or whatever.’

[Huh?]

‘Neril’s not the type you can win over easily. Even if I ask her to join forces, she won’t give a damn. I need to have a card to show her.’

[Aha. Whose secrets are you going to reveal?]

I recalled what I saw before the regression.

More precisely, the bloody letters that floated above her head.

—Sinned against May Erenica and 287 others.

‘May Enerika.’

[Very well. Feel the majesty of my Eye of Omniscience throughout your body.]

I ignored him.

Soon, a screen appeared.

Now then.

What kind of adorable secret was our dear Witch of Carnage hiding?

Let’s take a look slo— huh?

To hell with the Eye of Omniscience.

‘……’

[……]

‘Say that thing you just said one more ti.’

[I have no excuse.]

His voice dropped, then he imdiately pushed back.

[Wait! Logically, this isn’t my fault! It’s your fault for having a low level!]

‘I didn’t even say anything. Why are you getting defensive?’

[…]

‘Well, nothing I can do about it. Honestly, when you think about it, it’s weirder if a party mber of a hero just had their secrets laid bare like that.’

So, you need a high level to peek at higher-tier secrets.

‘Looks like I won’t be able to view Kaeld’s or Bion Kunze’s secrets either.’

[Most likely not.]

Can’t be helped.

I put all my focus into recalling my mories from before regression.

Surely there was sothing in our conversations, attitudes, expressions, or glances — so hint.

[You can actually recall all that?]

‘I have an extrely good mory. Practically inhuman.’

[Do people usually say that about themselves with a straight face?]

‘Of course, most of it’s probably useless. But thankfully, my instincts are also inhuman.’

[…]

Every once in a while, I’d get this sudden flash in my head, like lightning.

Yeah, to use an example—

Like when I saw my father’s na appear above my mother’s head.

…Useless mory. That’s not what’s important right now.

Anyway, instead of just replaying conversations or actions from the past, I had to recall those monts when the lightning struck.

And focus on the mory that flashed through then.

Soon enough, a vivid mory sparked in my head.

It happened during the journey for the quest before the regression, when we were staying at an inn. I’d gotten up in the middle of the night to pee.

On my way down to the first floor, I saw Neril sitting at a table in the inn’s dining hall, with a rather chilling atmosphere.

Kaeld was seated across from her with a serious face.

On instinct, I suppressed all sound and presence.

I’d already figured out by then that even my party mbers, including Kaeld, couldn’t detect if I really wanted to hide.

“Calling soone out for a private eting in the middle of the night. How classy, Mr. Hero.”

“You’re rather sharp with , Ms. Neril.”

“It’s not just you. I hate everyone.”

“……”

“So? What do you want?”

“This might sound sudden and rude, but… Ms. Neril, you’re the infamous Witch of Carnage, right?”

Kaeld usually spoke casually to all party mbers, but not to Neril.

She was a bit older than the rest of us.

“So what?”

“I did my howork before recruiting you. I know that most of your terrible reputation wasn’t from things you actually did. You were frad.”

“You used that line when you recruited , rember?”

“But I also think that so of it — especially the last atrocity right before we t — was sothing you really did.”

Neril crossed her legs in silence.

Kaeld kept speaking.

“It was in the Quelk territory, wasn’t it? You brutally killed the tool shop owner there.”

“He deserved it.”

“There’s no such thing as soone who deserves to die.”

This guy, who fooled 148 million people, sure looked saintly saying that.

“Even if there were — was that shop owner really soone who deserved death? He just sold herbs and farming tools in that territory.”

“What do you know.”

“I don’t. That’s why I’m asking you to tell .”

“What if I don’t want to.”

“You’re a party mber, and I’m the leader. It’s my responsibility to manage the team. If you continue causing atrocities, it’ll be hard to keep traveling togeth—”

“Ha.”

Neril stood up abruptly.

“First of all, let ease your worries. No more atrocities. Once this Demon King subjugation is over, I’m gone. I’ve done what I needed to do.”

“You’ve… done what you needed?”

“No need to explain that part. Just know that I’ll be a quiet, well-behaved party mber from now on.”

“Ms. Neril. As a comrade, I want to genuinely understand what’s in your heart.”

Neril let out a deep sigh.

Then she looked up at the stairs above.

To be honest, I got nervous back then, thinking I’d been caught.

But she hadn’t seen .

“When my party mbers found out I was the infamous Witch of Carnage, their expressions were hilarious. At first, I just introduced myself as a mage who’d turned her back on the world.”

“……”

“They all had different reactions. How could you bring in a witch like her? That monster should be killed.”

“……”

“But one of them stayed pretty calm. Like, As long as she does her job well, who cares? That kind of face.”

“…You’re talking about Mide.”

“That’s the most desirable attitude. The next best is being wary or scared of . The absolute worst is—”

She glared coldly at Kaeld.

“Doing what you’re doing. Trying to console or soothe by digging into my past.”

“……”

“You think I joined the party because you cleaned up my reputation? That I’m here out of gratitude or so emotional debt?”

“……”

“I just found the last place I belong. And what’s more fitting for an ending than the fight against the Demon King?”

Kaeld’s brow twitched.

Neril yawned once and waved her hand dismissively.

“I’ll head up now. Sleep well.”

I stopped reminiscing.

[Hoooh. So that’s what happened.]

‘Yeah… Wait, are you seriously peeking into my mories now too?’

[But how do you know this mory is even useful? Don’t give vague stuff about intuition.]

‘Neril said she had finished her work, and after the incident with the tool shop owner in the Quelk territory, she stopped the carnage. Then she jumped into the Demon King subjugation to find the final stage of her life.’

[Aha. So causing carnage to the tool shop owner was that “work” she ntioned.]

‘In other words, revenge. I don’t know why such a powerful mage like her would have that kind of grudge against a re shopkeeper, but still.’

I counted on my fingers.

‘Tiline-wise, she hasn’t contacted the tool shop owner yet. Her final carnage happens a week from now.’

[So then?]

‘Exactly.’

I have to get there first.

I’ll take hold of her target of revenge before she can.

Then I’ll use it to blackma— ahem, negotiate.

Feeling confident, I smiled.

Inside my head, Trail chid in with his usual nonsense.

[Uh, you really gonna do that? Think it through again.]

‘What’s wrong with this flawless plan?’

[She’ll be pissed, obviously! If you hold her hard-earned revenge target hostage and try to use it for leverage, of course she’ll blow up!]

‘I told you, it’s a negotiation.’

[How about trying to calmly talk to her instead? Like, Let’s work together to defeat the Demon King and save the continent kind of pitch.]

You really don’t know Neril at all.

Let’s just say you’re a Neril-illiterate.

The carriage traveled three more days before arriving at the Quelk territory.

After such a long journey together, the coachman and I had beco close enough to put arms around each other’s shoulders.

“Must’ve been rough traveling so far. Here’s the rest of the fare.”

“Oh, thank you! Will you be needing a ride back?”

“I haven’t decided on my next move yet.”

“Next move?”

“Never mind. Anyway, Quelk is a decent-sized place. You’ll probably find a passenger for the return trip soon. But just in case, I added a bit extra to your fare.”

The coachman bowed deeply once again.

As we entered the domain, Trail comnted,

[You’re surprisingly polite.]

‘What did you expect?’

[Thought you would be rough around the edges, being a rcenary and all.]

‘At least I’m more polite than you, so don’t worry.’

[So how are you going to find Neril now? Like you said, this place is pretty big.]

‘Pull up the map.’

[…]

Trail grumbled sothing but brought up the familiar screen.

A map of the entire continent filled the display.

But I shook my head.

‘Just the Quelk territory map.’

[What do you take for, your secretary or sothing?]

‘Ah, sorry if that’s how it ca off. It’s just that you’re so capable—you can do anything, so I thought this would be easy for you.’

[Hmph. Of course it is. Easy peasy.]

Soon, a zood-in map of the Quelk territory appeared.

……

He is easy.

Anyway, I examined the screen carefully and spoke.

‘No need to find Neril directly. The hint is that her next target of carnage is a tool shop owner.’

[…]

‘Speaking from experience as soone who has wandered all over the continent, tool shops are usually located between residential areas and the village entrance. They have to cater to both travelers and locals, after all.’

[Aha.]

‘That ans they’ll be clustered around here. Let’s check this area first.’

I set off.

There were ten tool shops in the Quelk.

The first owner had sinned against only five people. A diligent young man.

His blood lettering didn’t include Neril’s na.

The second owner had twelve. Still no Neril.

The third—nine. Again, no Neril.

The fourth—thirty-nine? What the hell.

In my experience, if soone’s hard more than twenty people, they’re usually not just an ordinary person.

Anyway, Neril’s na wasn’t on this one either, so I turned around with a baffled laugh.

The fourth owner spoke up.

“What, just leaving like that?”

“Yes. Nothing that caught my eye.”

“Don’t be like that—pick sothing, will you? Cah, ptuh.”

He spat on the floor of his own shop.

“Business is crap these days. Why don’t you at least take a dagger or sothing? You look like a rcenary.”

“Sigh. How much?”

“How much were you expecting to pay?”

“……”

Smack! Thud.

Creeeak.

I dusted off my hands and walked out of the fourth tool shop.

Just then, a custor who looked like an adventurer approached, about to enter.

To save him the trouble, I kindly spoke up.

“They’re probably closed for the day. This tool shop.”

“Huh?”

“Seems the owner’s exhausted. Said he needed a nap.”

Leaving the confused adventurer behind, I headed to the next shop.

For so reason, I felt oddly refreshed.

After checking a few more shops, I arrived at the seventh.

The writing above the owner’s head read:

– Has against Frank de Levan and 89 others.

I expanded the screen, and there it was—the fourth na from the top, a na I recognized.

– Neril Slane.

Found her.