Published: March 21, 2026
After hearing what had happened, I glanced at the hero’s wounds and they were pretty bad. Various cuts and gashes covered his body, and the broken parts of both arms were swollen and purple.
“…You’re lucky you didn’t pass out.”
“Yeah, I’m surprised myself, but if I don’t protect them, nobody else will protect my classmates.”
I snorted at the hero’s words. There was clearly a huff of annoyance beside me.
I decided to say something he probably hadn’t been willing to think about. If I didn’t say it, neither he nor the rest of the class would likely ever realize it.
“So who’s going to protect you?”
“…That is—”
I shifted my gaze to the hero’s eyes, which had been watching the knights order fight the minotaur. It felt like the first time in a while I’d properly looked him in the face.
“Heroes aren’t there to protect everyone. Your power is meant to be used to defeat the demon king, right?”
Behind us, the classmates listened quietly. My words caused a little stir, but they quickly seemed to be waiting for me to say more.
“Take better care of yourself.”
“…Then who’s supposed to protect everyone?”
The hero muttered, sulking at my refusal to draw a conclusion for him. I grinned.
“Protect yourself.”
It’s obvious. Besides, I don’t use my skill for anyone but myself. Even when I helped classmates with my skill, I only did it because I wanted to.
The hero’s eyes widened as if realizing something for the first time. How could even those with combat jobs be left protected all the time? I’d slacked off, but surely everyone else had been training properly, right? These guys were idiots.
“For me? …No, but I’m a hero… The hero me saves everyone…”
The hero suddenly started acting strange, clutching his head and groaning. I felt a strong, off sensation. Something wasn’t right. Well, his head was always a little off, but this was different.
“Hey, is there anyone whose job is healer or curse removal?”
One thing occurred to me, so I called out. Two girls from the class timidly stepped forward.
“I’m a healer.”
“I’m a curse removal specialist… Shi-kun, what happened to you?”
The healer was Shiori Hosoyama, who served as class representative. The Kansai-speaking curse removal specialist was Yuuki Ueno, always full of energy.
…I don’t remember much about them, but I’m pretty good that their faces and names match. Then again, I memorized this class to remember who had what job.
“First, can you fix his broken arm?”
“Y-yeah. It’ll take some time, though.”
I nodded and told them to get started immediately. A faint light covered the arm.
The hero was curled up, covering his head like someone terrified of thunder, but surely his arms didn’t hurt?
“What about me? What should I do?”
Think for yourself. Anyone could see his condition, but I explained carefully anyway. No guarantees, though.
“This guy might be brainwashed. So do a ‘curse removal’.”
“Huh???”
The classmates murmured. Ueno-san probably didn’t fully understand what to do either, but she started chanting.
“…Curse that gnaws at my friend, be gone at once, depart swiftly and vanish from before me… ‘curse removal’.”
A faint light rose from the hero. It wasn’t the same as Hosoyama’s healing light — it was a dark glow. Ueno-san drew a breath on seeing it.
“Shi-kun, he’s actually cursed!”
I glanced at the knights order still fighting. A pretty advanced battle was going on. …I kind of wanted to join in. This should be fine if I leave Hosoyama and Ueno to handle it, but an uneasy feeling passed through me.
Then a boy who had been silent until now spoke up.
“Oda, don’t worry about this. Go help commander saran and the others. You’re stronger than us, right?”
“I’ve made up my mind. It’s no good if Shi keeps carrying us forever.”
“…You guys.”
Their eyes held a strong determination.
“Come on, go.”
Prompted, I headed back to the minotaur. Without my dagger, I had to rely on my skill. Still, there was a trick to break this stalemate.