No to Being the Suffering Heroine!

The Traitorous Knight Brunhilde.

As I revealed my true identity, the name Brunhilde left Ashel momentarily speechless, flapping her mouth like a fish trying to form words.

After what felt like an eternity of stammering, the only thing she managed to spit out was some absurd defamation about how she would never have guessed a traitorous knight would be a pedophile.

It was indeed a reality that made me want to curse, but at least this reaction was far better than the worst-case scenarios I had imagined.

Given the infamous reputation tied to the name Brunhilde, I feared she might either come at me the moment I revealed it or bolt for the hills.

Fortunately, Ashel was just shocked by the unexpected identity and didn’t seem inclined to suddenly turn hostile against me now.

That was something to be grateful for.

Now that my identity was out in the open, if Ashel refused to join me, I couldn’t just say, “Oh, I see?” and let her walk away.

“Ashel, it looks like we’ve done the introductions, so let me ask again. How about accepting my proposal and becoming a member of the Hero Party?”

I stretched out my hand once more, suggesting she take it.

“It may take some time, but someday you’ll have everything you desire. Wealth, honor, power… whatever it is, anything you wish for.”

…Saying that made me feel like some sweet-talking demon luring someone in, but it was, after all, the plain truth.

If we became the hero party and conquered the deep dungeons, of course, we’d become much stronger than we are now, and wealth and honor would naturally follow.

It wasn’t a lie.

I might have conveniently left out that wealth, honor, and power weren’t simply given to you and had to be earned, but still.

“…What happens if I refuse?”

“Well, I think it’s better not to know. Want to find out?”

I asked with a meaningful smile.

Now that I had revealed my true name, Ashel was left with a binary choice: either become our comrade or become a slave. There was no other path.

The fact that I, the Traitorous Knight Brunhilde, was still alive was a classified state secret of the highest order. It couldn’t get out, not ever.

Now that she knew this secret, there was no way for her to slip away alone.

“Hah… Damn, life sucks…”

Perhaps she thought I might kill her if she kept it up; Ashel sighed deeply and hung her head.

“Fine, damn it, I’ll do it. I guess I have to…”

That was effectively an unconditional declaration of surrender.

◆◆

“So, what do you plan to do now?”

After a long internal struggle, Ashel finally decided to join our party.

“What do you mean, what will I do?”

“I know you said it’s a Hero Party, but you’re still a wanted criminal, right? You’re a high-profile one at that. Can you even step into a dungeon?”

“Oh, that? Well… it’s a long story to explain properly…”

It wasn’t something I could hope to fully convey in just a few short sentences. The unique situation our party was in couldn’t be grasped so easily.

“So, back when I was in Vespians, working as an Adventurer—”

Thus, I took my time explaining all the crucial information that Ashel needed to know, laying out a long recount of events.

How I had switched parties to Gunther’s, only to run away the moment he revealed his true colors and fled to Vespians in the Kingdom of Hervor.

The life I had lived as an Adventurer there, reuniting with Friede, and then escaping after my original identity was discovered by the old Hero party members.

Events unfolded with me constantly being chased, and seeing no end in sight, I decided to connect with backers who had the capability to clean up the pursuers.

The agreements made with Prince Argantir, the head of the Shadow of the Eagle, formed a mutually beneficial relationship in exchange for safety.

From there, I shared everything I’d done up to becoming the unofficial lieutenant ‘Krimhilde’ of the Eagle. It was a story that could fill around 240 chapters, if it were a novel.

Perhaps it really was extraordinarily long, but…

“…You really went through all that? Wow… you’re living quite the interesting life.”

Given how much of the long tale was filled with adventures and battles, Ashel seemed rather fascinated by my lengthy narrative.

“And at that time, Prince Argantir…”

“No, no, wait a second. Prince Argantir? You mean the boss of the Shadow of the Eagle was a candidate for the throne of this country?! How is that even possible?”

“Why wouldn’t it be? An intelligence gathering and assassination organization run by royalty, sounds incredibly useful, doesn’t it?”

…She was utterly shocked when she heard the true nature of the Shadow of the Eagle.

“But still… wasn’t that prince known as ‘The Kind’ Argantir?”

“Meeting him, he didn’t seem that kind.”

Right? That’s quite a surprise.

Argantir, who was publicly viewed as excessively gentle, was actually the ruthless, cold-blooded leader of an assassination squad.

“So, does that mean the Shadow of the Eagle is involved in national affairs? Like the royal knights of the kingdom?”

“Sort of. I’ve heard there are even a few members who were part of the royal knights. However, they rarely go out for fieldwork.”

“…Is this information something I’m supposed to know?”

Ashel asked with a slightly pale face.

Maybe it was because she’d only dealt with petty criminals in the city, but with this talk of royalty and kingdoms, the sheer scale of it seemed to unnerve her.

“Of course. This is something you need to know as a member of the Hero Party and a secret ally of Prince Argantir. He’s our backer, after all.”

“…But what if I wasn’t part of the Hero Party?”

“What if you weren’t part of the Hero Party…?”

She was sharp. She seemed to fully grasp my intentions behind revealing Argantir’s identity.

“Well, do you really need to ask that to know?”

I smiled gently, nodding as I replied.

The fact that Argantir was the boss of the Shadow of the Eagle was classified information within the organization. If outsiders were to discover it, they would need to be silenced for good.

So revealing this fact to Ashel was a warning and a threat.

If she ever tried to betray our party and run away, it would turn her into an enemy of both us and the Crown Prince of Hervor, along with all his subordinates.

So it was a clear warning against thinking of betrayal.

“Then… why say anything at all?”

Ashel grumbled and huffed in annoyance.

Of course, it was too late to take back those words. I could only smirk and shrug my shoulders.

◆◆

“We’re supposed to assassinate Lakan and Haval? That would be Yuron, right?”

“Yeah. They said that once those two are gone, the city would become a lot more peaceful. Though I haven’t accepted it yet.”

“Oh, is that why he’s late? I was a bit worried about him.”

“Pretty much. Lakan turned out to be stronger than I thought too.”

After explaining almost everything so far, I then wrapped up with the assassination request Yuron had given me.

“Do we really have to do that…?”

“Hmm… Who’s coming up with this plan, anyway?”

While Friede scrunched her face in disinterest, Ashel seemed intrigued, leaning forward with gleaming eyes.

“It’s Yuron. He said he’d come up with the plan, but just wanted to hear if we’d do it or not.”

“…Oh, really? Then it’s better to decline.”

When Ashel heard that, she chuckled lightly and waved her hands.

“Decline?”

“Yeah. You know what Yuron is best at? Making dangerous people fight each other and ultimately removing them both.”

“…So, the assassination request itself is a trap?”

Ashel nodded and shrugged her shoulders.

“It might be a trap. Or it might not be… but at least Yuron knows you as a high-ranking member of the assassination organization, right?”

“…That’s true?”

“That doesn’t really set you apart from Lakan or Haval. Whether it’s a kidnapper for money or a killer for hire, they’re pretty much the same.”

Umm… there’s definitely not much of a difference there. From Yuron’s perspective, they would be the same type of person. I had nothing to refute that.

“So don’t trust Yuron’s plan. The more legitimate it seems, the more dangerous it is.”

As I fell silent and couldn’t argue back, Ashel carried on, advising that following Yuron’s plan blindly would be tantamount to signing my death warrant.

If Yuron was indeed like how she described, he would likely try to eliminate not only Lakan and Haval but me as well.

“This is really good advice, you know? We’re now in the same boat, so I’m giving it to you as a special favor. Keep it in mind.”

Ashel bragged around, swaying her tail side to side.

“Yeah, if that advice is true, then it would be.”

It indeed was good advice. Assuming it was real.

I plopped down into the chair across from her, lightly stroking my chin as I pondered.

Could Ashel’s words be true? Did Yuron plan to take me out along with the others with his assassination plan?
If so, what would be the method?

Regrettably, I couldn’t think of anything right now. It seems I was always in this kind of situation.

---