Chapter 3: Hero: Yerin’s regret, Part 1

I warped away.

Leaving the hero’s party scrambling after me, their cries echoing in my ears, was incredibly satisfying.

I feel a strange sense of liberation. Is this the appeal of the “regret” genre? The feeling is far more intense than when I simply read about it.

Even I, someone who never cared much for the regret trope, am starting to get addicted.

Anyway, I warped to an alley near a familiar inn.

Luckily, it’s deserted, so no one saw me appear.

I came here for a simple reason: to rest. I might not have been the one physically traveling, but this body is exhausted from its previous owner’s ordeals.

I open the inn door, ready for a break.

“Sigh… Oh? A customer…” The innkeeper, looking tired, is waiting for business to pick up.

“Not just any customer. It’s me, Allen.”

“What? Allen?! Wow, you’ve grown up! It’s been ages since you left with the hero’s party!”

He’s so friendly because Allen often helped him out with cleaning, cooking, and other chores.

Allen was so kind, always helping others, that he had a lot of people who treated him well.

“But you’re alone… Does that mean the adventure is over?”

“Yes, it is… Uncle.”

“That’s right, ‘Uncle’! That’s what you should call me.”

He insisted on being called “Uncle” by the younger-looking Allen, probably to avoid facing the reality of his own age, which was nearing 40.

“Anyway, you look rough. Those past few years must have been tough, huh?”

They were. Incredibly tough. For Allen, that is.

“Hmm… You’ve changed a lot, Allen.”

“Haha… Well, I was younger and more naive back then. I was bound to change.”

“Not just your appearance. Your personality too. You’re still cheerful, but I don’t sense the same kindness as before. In your expression, your voice… It’s almost like you’re a different person.”

…What?

Does he know that the “Allen” standing before him isn’t the original?

No, it’s probably just the usual cliché: someone notices the protagonist’s change, but nothing comes of it.

“Well, it’s only natural! You go through puberty, things change! I think you’re more… manly now! Hahaha!”

See? Cliché.

“So, are you staying for a night? Or longer?”

“Two nights, I think. Is this enough, like before?”

I take out four silver coins.

This was a fair price when Allen was a child and a frequent guest…

“Hey, you’re a grown-up now. You can’t pay the same as when you were a kid! But… for you, Allen, I’ll make it seven silver coins!”

Seven silver coins for one night? That’s a bit steep.

If this were the old days, it would have been five or six.

Business must be slow.

“Alright. Here’s eight. Consider one a tip!”

I have the hero’s party’s funds as well, so money isn’t an issue. I have plenty of my own, too. Not that I plan on using their money, but it’s good to have a backup.

“Whoa! That’s why I like you, Allen! You’re an angel!”

He said I didn’t seem kind anymore…

“Here’s your key. I cleaned the room recently, so you don’t have to worry about that. Get some rest!”

He’s boisterous and playful, but also kind and caring.

If only the hero’s party had half his decency, Allen wouldn’t have suffered so much, and I wouldn’t need to enact this revenge plan.

I open the door to my room.

It’s small and a bit shabby, but cozy.

I can understand why Allen liked it here.

I drop my heavy bag in the corner and head to the shower.

The hot water isn’t working, so I settle for a cold rinse.

Lying on the bed afterward, I feel a sense of peace.

This is the slow life I’ve always dreamed of.

But the future holds a complicated “regret” route filled with drama and confrontations with the heroines.

“Sigh…”

Honestly, I’m a little lost.

I started this, but this story only works with the regret route.

If I revert to Allen’s usual kindness, I’ll just be abused and exploited again.

Not only would that destroy my mental state, but it would also ruin the story.

Being stuck in this powerless protagonist’s body, I have a dizzying number of possibilities to consider.

Since I was transmigrated into a novel written by a member of the hero’s party, will this story continue from my perspective, beyond the original ending? Will I die if people stop reading, like in some stories? Or is this just a simple transmigration? What am I supposed to do?

Do I have any special abilities? A status screen? Can I deviate from the regret route? There are so many possibilities… it’s overwhelming.

“Status. Status screen.”

No response. Guess I don’t have anything like that. Yerin did, though…

“…What’s the point of worrying? I’ll just sleep.”

It’s still early evening, but I have nothing else to do. Exhausted, I close my eyes.

I’ll think about the future later.

My immediate priorities are sending the hero’s party their luggage and meeting one of the heroines to start the drama.

The best candidate is Yerin, the hero.

She has the highest affection for Allen among the party members.

It’ll be easier to trigger her regret, and starting with the most likely “main heroine” will make the rest of the cliché easier to execute.

The first heroine the protagonist encounters after leaving tends to be the most important in regret stories.

I plan to make Yerin the central figure in this drama.

I’ll have to meet all of them eventually, so it’s best to start strong.

Besides that…

“…Zzzzzz…”

I fall asleep.

After Allen left, we decided to return to the royal palace, as Lilia suggested.

We received recognition for defeating the Demon King, attending ceremonies and basking in the cheers of the citizens.

But my heart feels empty.

I’m still in shock.

Allen left.

He was dead, or so I thought.

But he came back, completely changed, hostile, and abandoned our party.

I want to believe Angelina’s theory about mind control, but I know it’s not true.

I think Allen chose to become a different person.

His usual gentle demeanor is gone, replaced by something unsettling.

Even when he spoke in his normal voice, it didn’t feel like him.

And when I checked his status screen, “Kindness” was gone, replaced by “???”.

Before we faced the Demon King, “Kindness” was there, and “???” wasn’t. Something must have happened when he was unconscious.

Not only that, but his previous status effects, “Upset” and “Exhausted,” were replaced by “Hatred” and “Contemplative.”

Allen has changed. And I think I know why.

Because of me.

When the others mistreated him, I should have stopped them.

Instead, I joined in, using his unwavering kindness as an outlet for my stress and acting childishly towards him.

As the hero, the leader of the party, I shouldn’t have done that. I shouldn’t have let him get hurt.

I need to apologize.

I need to apologize for everything I’ve done.

I’m sure that if I apologize, Allen will go back to normal. He has to.

I believe that with all my heart, and I’m truly remorseful.

Late at night, lying in the room provided by the royal palace, I’m thinking about how to find Allen, how to apologize.

“…Huh? Where am I?”

I open my eyes to a world of white. An empty space, like a void, containing nothing but my mind and body…

“…Oh?”

My body?

Not Allen’s body, the one I was possessing, but my own.

“What the…”

I’m momentarily confused.

Then, as I stumble backward in surprise, I realize I feel no pain when I fall. I’m dreaming.

“But what kind of dream is this? Just standing in a void. What is this?”

I look around, wondering about the strange dream.

Then I hear it.

“Sob… sniff…”

Someone is crying. A faint, delicate sound… but familiar.

Is it the goddess who summoned me to this world? Isekai stories often have goddesses, and this empty space seems like the perfect setting for a divine encounter.

Come to think of it, it’s strange that I haven’t met a goddess yet. This must be her.

The crying is definitely feminine, and the sense of familiarity must be my imagination.

I walk towards the sound.

Why is she crying? Is she sorry for summoning me by mistake? For not giving me any special abilities? Or is she just a crybaby goddess? That seems like a likely isekai cliché.

The crying gets louder, and I start to see the source… a faint spirit.

Short hair… a bob-cut goddess?

Flat chest… a small-chested goddess?

Wearing familiar armor… wait a minute?!

No way…

The crying spirit… is Allen, the previous owner of the body I stole.

Not a goddess?

But meeting a goddess in a space like this is standard isekai procedure…！

“Are you defying isekai clichés, damn it?!”

This frustratingly awful story continues to subvert my expectations.