Chapter 2: Hero’s Party regret, Part 2

“What kind of gesture is that?”

Right now, I’m flipping off the magic-obsessed Angelina next to me with my big, fat middle finger.

The concept of “the bird” doesn’t exist in this world, so she won’t understand the meaning. But she definitely won’t mistake it for a friendly gesture.

To understand why I’m doing this, you’d need to have read the whole rambling backstory.

Long story short, I’ve been transmigrated into the body of the ridiculously kind pack mule for a hero’s party, right after he died fighting the Demon King.

“Huh? Oh, uh… nothing! Haha…”

For now, I’ll pretend to be Allen, speaking politely in a higher-pitched voice.

Gotta sell the “ditzy, clueless pushover” act.

“Sigh… Don’t be confusing. We’re in a critical situation, low on mana. Just give me the potions.”

“Oh, right. Sorry… Just a moment…!”

I apologize and rummage through my bag, pretending to look for the potions for Angelina.

“Found them! Here you go!”

“Yes, quickly— Huh? This isn’t a mana potion…!”

Tsss

“Ugh… What?!”

The potion I give Angelina? A big, fat dose of paralysis.

The effects vary depending on the monster, but it works wonders on humans.

Unless you’re Yerin, the hero with her holy buffs, or Lilia, the ridiculously tanky knight… it’ll knock you out for at least two minutes.

“W-What are you doing?! A-Allen?!”

She can still talk, though. She’s clearly flustered, even stuttering.

“Just wait a second, you magical b*tch.”

“…E-Excuse me? What did you say, Allen…?”

The act is over.

Even those few seconds of being polite to this annoying woman were enough to make me gag.

I continue searching through my bag.

What I’m looking for…

“Ah, here it is. Perfectly intact.”

I pull out a throwable potion. Its contents are enough to make Angelina even more bewildered.

“W-What is that? Poison…?”

“This? You bet. Enough to kill the Demon King. Instantly.”

“What?! When did you make… No, more importantly, why are you talking like this? Did your resurrection fry your brain?”

“…Is this what you wanted, b*tch?”

“Gasp!”

I lower my voice, speaking in a deep, serious tone.

There was one episode where Allen was criticized for his high-pitched voice and tried speaking like this.

The party freaked out and told him to go back to his usual voice because it was creepy.

After that, he never tried it again.

I’m guessing Allen’s normally gentle demeanor combined with this voice is unexpectedly intimidating.

And as Angelina just pointed out, I – Allen – made this deadly poison.

Not just that, but all the potions for the hero’s party: mana potions, healing potions, the paralysis potion I just used… all made by me.

That’s because Allen’s special ability is potion making.

Potions are common and cheap in this world, but they’re also weak.

It’s usually more efficient to just cast a basic healing spell than buy a basic healing potion.

That’s for regular people, though.

Potions made by someone with the potion-making talent are much more effective.

A basic healing potion made by someone like Allen is about as good as a medium-level healing potion made by an average person.

It doesn’t sound like a bad ability, but everyone is born with only one talent.

And in a world where everyone else has combat abilities, potion making is considered garbage.

So, Allen, with his potion-making talent, became the hero party’s unpaid potion supplier and pack mule.

This poison, though? This was something Allen meticulously crafted throughout their journey, constantly adding different toxins to create the deadliest poison imaginable, hoping to contribute to the Demon King’s defeat.

One touch is lethal.

Even the Demon King, with his insane HP and defense, wouldn’t stand a chance.

That’s why I found the original ending so frustrating. Allen died without ever getting a chance to use it, to prove his worth.

It felt unfair.

But enough exposition.

“Alright, everyone, out of the way!”

I stride confidently towards the Demon King, who’s currently battling the struggling hero’s party.

“A-Allen? Are you okay?”

“What the h*ll? I thought you were dead?”

“Where are you going, Allen?! It’s dangerous!”

…So noisy.

“Shut up.”

“Wh-What?!”

Wow, this voice is powerful.

They all flinched and froze, as if paralyzed.

It’s hilarious how a change in tone can have such an effect.

“Hmm…? I thought I killed you. Did I hold back too much?”

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t play senile, you young and beautiful Demon King. I survived. So take this!”

Whoosh!

“What is this?”

Smash!

“Bingo! Gotcha!”

Sizzle…

“Wh-What?!”

The Demon King blocked the thrown potion with his arm, but the liquid splashed across his body.

The potent toxin immediately begins to melt his flesh, eating its way through his internal organs.

But his regeneration ability might still save him.

“What are you waiting for, Hero Yerin? This is your chance. Finish him!”

“Huh…? Uh, yeah…”

Yerin, who had been standing there dumbfounded, finally snaps out of it.

She grabs her sword and charges towards the weakened Demon King.

“Haaaa!”

Thud! Fizzle…

“Ugh… No! Aaaaaargh!…”

The Demon King vanishes, pierced by the holy sword and consumed by holy power.

I was worried the poison wouldn’t work, but it was surprisingly effective.

“…Ahem. Well, we defeated the Demon King. Good job, everyone.”

“Except useless Allen, who just took credit for our work.”

“No, Helena. Allen helped us just now.”

“Indeed. Allen, who has been nothing but a burden, has finally done something useful. While this doesn’t excuse his past incompetence, I will commend him for this.”

“…Hey, useless Allen? Are you even listening to us?”

Was it worth listening to? Go ahead and chat amongst yourselves.

“What am I doing? Packing.”

“That’s not what we asked, idiot. Why are you doing that? You’re ignoring us.”

Why would I participate in your pointless chatter?

“Are you planning to stay here? We need to prepare for the teleport.”

“…What’s with the change in attitude, Allen? Did your resurrection cause some side effects? Or have you had some kind of epiphany…?”

“Doesn’t matter. Here you go.”

I toss the hero’s party’s teleportation device, which will take them straight back to the kingdom, at their feet.

“Ours…? What about you, Allen?”

“Me? This.”

I pull out my own teleportation tool: a single-use teleportation potion.

Allen had created a pool of these potions on the ground, which would act as a one-way portal, as a last resort to save the hero if she died.

One potion, one trip, to any location you can imagine.

“Huh…? Allen, you should come with us to the royal palace. You deserve recognition for your contribution… and our…”

“I don’t give a sh*t about your recognition. You can split my share amongst yourselves.”

The reward for a semi-official member like me wouldn’t be much anyway.

I was “semi-official” because while the royal palace recognized my position, nobody else did. The nobles would decide my reward, which wouldn’t amount to much.

“W-What are you talking about, Allen…? Why are you acting so strange…?”

“Did dying and coming back to life make you lose your mind? Want me to remind you of your place?”

“Just come here, Allen. Whatever you’re upset about, we can talk about it later.”

Sigh, they still don’t get it.

“Haaa…”

“…? What…?”

“Everyone! Something’s wrong with Allen! I’ll…”

Smash!

“Ugh?!”

This time, I broke a paralysis potion that works through inhalation.

A much rarer and more difficult potion to make. Allen was saving it for a real emergency.

Ironic that I’m the one using it.

Angelina, who had just recovered from the previous paralysis and was rushing towards me, is now paralyzed again…

Exhale

I move out of the cloud of paralyzing vapor and finally breathe.

“Someone asked why I’m acting like this? You should know better than anyone. Years of constant abuse. I could write a book with all the insults you’ve thrown at me. You bunch of a**holes.”

Technically, it was Allen who endured it, not me.

My low tone has them cowed.

“A-Allen, please stop. I’m scared…”

“The strongest hero in the world is scared of me? That’s rich.”

“Hmph…!”

“What are you saying, Allen?! Just listen to us!”

“And whenever I did voice an opinion, our noble knight would just dismiss me, wouldn’t she? Saying a weakling like me shouldn’t speak up?”

“Ugh…”

“Seriously? Stop it, useless Allen… This isn’t funny…!”

“You’re not funny either, potty-mouthed elf. Let’s just stop, okay?”

“You…!”

“Our genius mage can’t comprehend the situation? Sounds like someone’s under a mind-control spell to me.”

“…Whatever. You’re not worth my time. I don’t need to argue with you.”

“….What?”

Yeah, you’re all shocked.

You probably remember the promises you made Allen during your brief periods of camaraderie, about staying together even after defeating the Demon King.

But those promises are meaningless to me.

They’re just fodder for the regret you’ll feel later.

Those promises were made between Allen and you, not me.

I’m just continuing the story from where Allen left off, my way.

You might think I have no right to suddenly dump these heroines, since Allen was the one who suffered.

But you’d be wrong. These women are the reason I hated that story.

They disgust me.

I’ve wanted to punch them since the moment I read the novel.

Putting aside personal feelings, this is the only way to trigger the regret route.

They may have abused Allen, but their affection for him isn’t exactly zero.

They need to be dumped spectacularly to make the cliché work.

A generic happy ending wouldn’t work after everything Allen endured.

Sure, their actions were worse, but I can’t hold them accountable for reasons I don’t fully understand.

I only saw Allen’s perspective.

Well, I suspect one of them knows why, but I’m leaving this party now, so it doesn’t matter.

I’ll meet them again eventually, of course. That’s how the regret route works.

But for now, I need to act like I’ll never see them again. That’s how the regret route really works.

Splash

The paralysis potion is surprisingly potent.

They’re still frozen in place, looking ridiculous, while I pour the teleportation potion on the ground.

“A-Allen… Are you… really… leaving?”

Yerin is trying to stop me, tears in her eyes.

She was more of a bystander than an active participant in the abuse, but… so what?

I don’t bother answering.

I just wait for the portal to open.

And finally…

“…There we go…!”

“Don’t go…！ Allen!”

“No, Allen!”

“Get back here, you useless…!”

“Stop, Allen, please!”

As the paralysis wears off, they all rush towards me.

But just then…

Bzzzt

“…Perfect timing.”

“Noooo! Allen!!!”

“Let’s talk… Let’s talk, Allen! Did we do something wrong?!”

“Th-This is all a bad joke, right…? You’re just trying to trick me?!”

“It’s not too late! Come back to your senses, Allen!”

They all yell as I step into the portal.

I have one last thing to say, a final, perfectly Allen-like farewell:

“Everyone! Don’t worry, I’ll send your luggage to the royal palace later! Thank you for everything! Adios!”

“Aaaaaaaaaargh!!!”

Whoosh!

I’m gone.