I’m Not the Final Boss’ Lover

It wasn’t long before the arguing crowd also discovered my absence, albeit too late. Their voices rang out into the corridors, searching for me.

“Where are you, Vice-captain!”

“Somebody must be keeping her all to himself!”

“What immorality!”

They had been grabbing each other by the collar only moments ago, yet they instantly switched attitudes to form an alliance. I really couldn’t get used to the way people changed stances in the blink of an eye. Once we defeated the demon lord and I became part of the nobility, I would probably have to live like that… I decided to stay holed up in my province. I supposed no one would suspect that I’d become the prime minister, but I had no intention of doing so at all.

If counting the first playthrough, I had been doing nothing but restlessly working for nearly five years to take down the demon lord. Once our quest was over, I would gain money, power, and fame, and my conclusion was that there was no real need to struggle to have more than that.

I was always ignored in the imperial palace, yet now everyone was trying to get in my good books. No one cared that I was a support mage because that wasn’t the important thing. The value of the Dark Knights’ vice-captain was viewed higher than I imagined. The difference in treatment compared to the first playthrough was impressive. Of course, feeling impressed and finding this situation bewildering were two separate things.

I clicked my tongue as I kept walking away. Fortunately, the hallway outside the banquet hall was carpeted. I could move without my heels making noise against the marble floor. I figured that things would become quieter if I spent a bit of quiet time somewhere to rest. But as I made my way to find that with familiar footsteps, someone called me to a stop.

“You are the vice-captain of the Dark Knights, yes?” The voice was a familiar one, ringing clear and bright. Even though I knew I shouldn’t look back, my body reacted on its own. “It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Fabian Ignis, the captain of Fabian Corps.”

Fabian’s eyes formed a gentle curve between his red bangs. The way he smiled was very kind, and so nostalgic that I almost didn’t remember the last time I saw it.

It was at the start of the first playthrough when I was rather cynical and skeptical about the essence of this world being a game. Fabian, who had suddenly appeared in front of me while I was denying the reality of entering a game world out of the blues, was passionate and brilliant to the point of wiping away all my negative thoughts. As the main character of a story, he was like a burning flame that never backed down or faltered.

When I watched him, there were times when even I, despite my failure to adjust to this world, would feel moved to tears. Not to mention that Fabian was, in a way, the very first person to acknowledge Jun’s abilities. As someone who used to like the character Jun, it was impossible to dislike the man. Besides, he was the hero destined to end this hellish world. In reality, however, he dropped my life into hell.

I really didn’t have an eye for people, and I felt nothing but incredulity when I looked back now. All those emotions I felt for Fabian had dispersed like short-lived bubbles. Surely he must have had his own thoughts, but if there was one thing that didn’t change, it was that he left me for dead in the end. Regardless of how courageous and righteous he was, the sin he committed against me was a separate matter. I forced down the emotions rising to the surface and calmly asked, “…Why did you call me?”