Hero Kyle Is Dead

Hero Kyle is dead.

Saintess Alice.

When I first arrived in this world, I barely knew a thing about her. She never appeared in the original story — not a single illustration, not even a proper line of description. To me, Alice was nothing more than a minor character who had died alongside Hero Kyle. Nothing more, nothing less.

At least, until I met her in person.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Alice, the Saintess who received the oracle this time."

"Ah…"

"Hehe. I look forward to working with you, Hero."

An expectant smile. An elegant voice. Golden hair more radiant than sunlight itself fluttered like silk as she greeted me. Cloudless blue eyes looked up at me shyly, creasing into a warm smile. Purity. Nobility. Even those words felt too small to contain her. Anyone who saw her for the first time would have been left speechless.

That was my first impression of Alice.

But not anymore.

"Eheheh, d'you happen to have any drugs here?"

There was nothing left of the woman she used to be. What the hell had happened to her while I was gone? Standing before me now was a sun that had lost its light and collapsed. Beneath eyes clouded like a fog-choked sky, dark horizons of exhaustion had settled thick and heavy. Every time her mouth opened and closed, drool spilled freely down her chin and soaked the front of her chest. The smile that once felt as warm as sunlight now hung on her face with the vacant stupidity of a back-alley whore.

The staggering gait. The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thick, fumbling speech. It was obvious enough.

She was addicted to drugs.

"Y-you'll give me some, right? The drugs?"

"…"

She looked up at me in a restless, anxious voice, both hands outstretched, urging me for a fix. I gave her nothing. For one thing, there were no drugs in this house. For another, the real question was why she was here at all.

Maybe I'm seeing things.

Maybe the woman in front of me wasn't Alice at all — just some other girl. But the clothes she was wearing were unmistakably a Saintess's robes. Unless this woman had stolen them from her, the drug addict standing before me had to be Alice.

A hallucination, then?

Just in case, I drew a dagger and made a shallow cut across my own arm.

Shhk—

"Uh, uh? Th-that must hurt…"

Nothing changed. Alice was still there, fretting over the blood. And the pain was real enough — so this was neither a dream nor a hallucination.

Then how had she known to find me? And of all people, me as Elin — not as Hero Kyle?

Did she figure out my identity?

That was the first rational suspicion that came to mind. Without that, there was no reason for her to show up at this house. But her current state made that hard to believe.

"Um, uh, wh-when are you gonna give me the drugs?"

She ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠didn't seem to have any idea who I was. She was still just babbling about drugs. If she knew the man in front of her was Hero Kyle, she wouldn't be reacting like this.

Which left only one conclusion.

Ha. So this is a coincidence too?

Honestly, it was hard to believe. Fine — maybe this meeting, like the old man before, really was pure chance. That didn't mean I felt good about it. Words like destiny and fate were for people you actually cared about. Not for a traitor who'd framed me. Running into her now was nothing more than a cursed connection — nothing more, nothing less.

Which meant she wasn't worth dealing with any further. There was no presence nearby; she'd come alone. Leave her alone and she'd wander off somewhere else on her own.

I started to close the door.

"W-wait a second!"

But her foot and hand jammed into the gap first.

"E-eheheh. Um, just give me the drugs and I'll leave. I swear."

"…Saying that doesn't change anything. We don't have any. Drugs."

"Wh-what? Th-that can't be right…?"

Through the crack in the door, I could see the shock on her face. On what basis was she so sure this house had drugs?

I sighed. Part of me just wanted to slam the door shut.

"I-if, if there's no drugs, uh, uh oh? Th-this isn't good…"

She looked close to her limit. How long had it been since her last hit? Leave her like this and there was no telling what she'd do in this city. If something happened, people from the Holy Kingdom would come looking. Once an investigation started, things would get messy in all kinds of ways. Worst case, they might dig up the fact that I wasn't really Elin.

Better to treat this as one bad day and keep her here myself.

After a moment's thought, I opened the door again.

"Huh? C-can I come in?"

"Yeah. If you want in that badly, then come in."

"Waaah, thank youuu!"

The second the door opened, she walked right in without a second of hesitation. At least it was night — that was something. There weren't many people on the streets, so few would have seen her, and no one looking at a woman in that condition would guess she was the Saintess. Even if someone had witnessed this scene, they wouldn't imagine I'd just let the Saintess into my house.

That didn't make me any less reluctant about letting her in.

"Haa. And I swore I'd never see her again."

Looking at a former companion's face after so long, I couldn't help the sigh. This wasn't why I'd faked my own death and left the Empire. But how was anyone supposed to predict something like this? A drug addict showing up on my doorstep was basically a natural disaster.

Still — put her up for one night, and once she sobered up the next day, she'd head back to the Holy Kingdom on her own. Once the drugs wore off, she ought to have that much sense.

"Um, uh, when are you gonna give me the drugs? Huh?"

For now, though, she was just an annoying junkie. Even listening to that voice was unpleasant, and I had no desire to deal with her. Better to put her under with a sleep spell, or just chop the back of her neck and knock her out cold.

I was about to strike the side of her neck with the edge of my hand when—

"Eheheheh."

"…"

That bright, empty smile stopped my hand. And a thought surfaced unbidden.

Saintess Alice. The purest, most compassionate woman I had met since coming to this world. Her very existence had been an enormous help to me when I was still struggling to adapt. In the middle of endless war and combat, her smile had been a genuine comfort — a blessing. Back then, just seeing that smile had been enough to make me feel better…

"Eheheh, wh-what's wrong?"

But looking at that smile now, all I felt was disgust. More precisely — pure disbelief. The woman who had framed her companion and driven him to his death was now smiling, having chosen drugs as her escape.

Looking at the circumstances alone, there was only one reason she could be this far gone. Hero Kyle's death. Nothing else explained it. She had been perfectly fine until I left — and in just three months, she had fallen apart like this.

If I was right, she was shamelessly drowning herself in drugs to forget everything. Like a child who couldn't face what she'd done and ran away. From the perspective of the one who'd been betrayed, the first feeling that rose wasn't pity — it was revulsion. Because that was her turning her back on the responsibility she was supposed to carry.

I sat down on the sofa and looked at her as she grinned vacantly.

"Hey. Before I give you any drugs, there's something I want to ask."

"Huuuh? What is it? I really wanna get ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my drugs already…"

"It's fine. This won't take long."

I hadn't planned on talking to her at all. Originally, the idea was to put her to sleep fast and dump her outside in the morning. But I'd changed my mind. If she really was like this because of Hero Kyle's death — if this was her running from the responsibility and the price of what she'd done — then there was one thing I had to ask.

"Alice. Do you know that the Hero is dead?"

"…Huuh?"

She stared at me blankly, then tilted her head. A moment later she burst out laughing, as if I'd said something ridiculous.

"Ahaha, what are you even talking about? There's no way the Hero would die!"

"…Is that so?"

"Listen, saying stuff like that will get you divine punishment! Do you know how hard the Hero works for this world?!"

"…Haha."

Right. So that was how it was. You knew all of that — and you still made those choices. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Framing me wasn't enough; you ran away with the easy escape of drugs.

"Alright then. I should tell you."

If you really were like this because you thought I was dead, then you deserved to know. What you'd done. What it had cost. What sins you were responsible for. Instead of running from everything and smiling like this.

I pressed a finger to her forehead. I still had the basic holy power Alice herself had taught me, back then. I never imagined I'd end up using it like this.

"Cure."

Sacred light began to wrap around her.

"…Huh?"

Her voice came out clear. She blinked. Light returned to those clouded eyes, and the drool that had been dripping from her mouth stopped. She still looked like a wreck — but it was obvious at a glance. Her mind was no longer drowned in drugs.

The vacant, idiotic smile was gone. Now she was watching me with wariness.

"Um, uh. Wh-who… who are you? And where is this…?"

She looked around in a panic, asking me with a startled expression. She didn't even seem to remember walking into the house. That didn't matter right now. Her head was still foggy; the memories hadn't fully returned. Fine. I'd just tell her.

"Did you know, Alice?"

"What?! H-how do you know my name…?"

Sensing danger, she stood up from the sofa and backed away from me. But this house wasn't particularly large. No matter how far she retreated, she couldn't escape my voice.

At those words—

"…Ah."

Her face said everything. Every memory had come flooding back.