I Am Not the Heroine

Nia Bella.

Known as the Witch of the Flickering Flame, she wields fire as her unique power, just like Dia Yursil handles gem crafting magic in her vision.

But the strange thing is, most witches hardly use elemental magic. This is because the majority of witches use the mana of the moon instead of elemental mana. Uniquely, Nia Bella handles fire, which is more suited to elemental mana.

Perhaps that’s why her flames exhibited a level of power that was on a completely different scale from the fire magic used by ordinary mages.

“Is that… a giant made of fire…?”

“How is something like that…?”

Serelin and Rapirie stared blankly at the massive something moving across the ridge.

A giant, towering over 30 meters. It was composed entirely of pure flame.

Indeed, that giant was a product of Nia Bella’s magic.

‘If the original story holds, it should be trapped inside that thing.’

Yet, despite being her magic, she could not control the fiery giant. The giant, engulfing the area in flames, was slowly advancing towards a city.

Amazingly, this giant wasn’t something Nia Bella intentionally created. It was more of a result of a rampage.

So what caused the rampage? It was related to the city the giant was targeting.

“We need to get ahead of that giant! Everyone, let’s go!”

At the hero’s command, everyone mounted their steeds.

“Lux.”

I too hopped onto Night Lux, and curiously enough, it seemed unafraid. While Tempest and the other party members’ horses looked tense, Night Lux was prancing around as if heading out for a leisurely stroll.

“Let’s go!”

It would take about three hours to travel from the village we were in to the city. The silver lining was that the giant wasn’t quite fast.

“What is that? Is it a type of demon…?”

In response to Rapirie’s question, Ariya replied.

“I don’t think so… I can’t sense any magic energy.”

“Right. I feel the same.”

The hero, who could use divine power, and Ariya immediately realized it was not a demon.

Rapirie’s face scrunched up in confusion.

“Then what the heck is it…?”

I left them with a vague hint.

“I sense a strong mana. But it’s not typical mana.”

“Strong? And what do you mean by not typical?”

“Hero, remember the witch, Dia Yursil, from whom I learned gem crafting?”

“Uh, yeah…?”

The hero averted his gaze, looking straight ahead.

“Most witches, including Dia Yursil, use moon mana. They differ from regular mages who use elemental mana.”

“Does that mean…?”

“Yes, I can sense moon mana from that fiery giant.”

“Then does that mean it’s the witch’s doing?”

I didn’t answer.

That part would have to be figured out once we reached the city.

‘At least, it should be secured like in the original.’

The reason I was worried about this was simple. Nia Bella had a ‘tragic past’ unlike the other three heroines.

*

A tragic past means, simply put, discrimination suffered for being a witch.

In this world, witches are subjected to a wide range of perceptions. The commonly-held ‘bad image’ from my previous life, as well as good and mystical images, can change significantly depending on the person or city.

In large cities like Alpares, witches can open shops, a thought unimaginable in kingdoms or cities that shun them.

However, in the empire, thanks to the support of several great mages and the efforts of witches, a favorable view somehow became possible.

Still, there were small chances of villages or cities being hostile to witches, and the city we were heading to was one of those places.

“We’re at a fork in the road!”

“Left!”

Thud thud thud…

Four horses kicked up dust as we entered the city.

At the city gate, several guards stood rigidly, looking tense.

“Is that you, Hero?!”

“Yes. Who’s the highest authority here?”

The hero surveyed the surroundings with a lifeless gaze, unlike his usual demeanor.

Then a middle-aged man with a mustache ran up, panting.

“It’s me, Hero!”

“Can you tell me what’s going on?”

“Y-Yes, of course! I gathered information from my informants, and that giant has been confirmed to be the work of the Evil Witch!”

“Evil… You happen to know the reason?”

“The reason? I, uh, I’m not sure… But anyway! Please take down the witch along with our guard!”

“Wait a moment.”

The hero seemed to pick up on how heavy the atmosphere had become unexpectedly.

He was likely realizing the disconnect in this situation, as the hero had figured out Nia Bella’s past and saved her in the original story as well.

His half-closed eyes looked deep and intense…

“Rui.”

“Y-Yes, what is it?”

“You seem to have some knowledge about witches from your encounter with Dia Yursil, is that right?”

The hero suddenly called my name, making me jump as I answered.

“I’m not an expert, but I know a fair bit.”

Combining what I learned from the original story with what I acquired after being isekai’d, I should know more than average people.

“Then do witches sometimes attack people without any reason?”

Ah, that was his intention.

“That can’t be! They’re people too! Rather, they’re aware of their own power and don’t act first. The cases in which they do attack first…”

“…Are when they were attacked first?”

“Exactly.”

“…Is that true?”

The hero turned to the middle-aged man with a chilling gaze.

“Y-Yes?! T-That can’t be! I mean, why would we attack that girl in the first place…?!”

“Why ‘that girl’? Is this city still shunning witches?”

Upon the hero’s words, Serelin, Rapirie, and even Ariya furrowed their brows.

“Shunning?! That’s merely our city’s freedom…!”

“Just so you know.”

The middle-aged man attempted to say something more, but I interrupted him.

“Five years ago, you should remember that the emperor of the empire officially expressed a friendly stance.”

“…”

This is widely known, so there’s nothing to hide.

Yet, I couldn’t let the inner workings be revealed, especially regarding the connected parties.

‘Speaking of which, we should be close by now.’

Currently, besides the guards and the middle-aged man at the gate, many ordinary citizens were gathered.

Among them, one person who was close to Nia Bella and supported her was present.

It was undoubtedly the blue-haired…

‘Found you.’

She was displaying a deeply troubled expression, distinctly different from the other angry or scared citizens around her.

‘It took quite some time for her to be willing to help the hero party in the original.’

I wouldn’t be able to find her until the fire giant Nia Bella summoned had half-destroyed the city.

Initially, I intended to inform the hero party upon witnessing the first casualty, but the middle-aged man would likely confine me, fearing the exposure of their wrongdoing.

‘That person has caught on too.’

The man, who had been nervously facing the hero, suddenly turned fierce.

‘It needs to end here.’

If the city got destroyed and more people grew to despise Nia Bella, the hero party would first be ambushed by humans.

A chain of hatred in the truest sense.

If I could ensure that girl was allowed to reveal the truth of the incident, all those events would vanish.

“Lux. Can you let me down?”

Pruuk.

“Rui? Where are you going?”

“Just over to that girl.”

“That girl?”

Rapirie’s gaze turned towards the girl with blue hair.

Realizing I was coming her way, the girl was startled.

When she attempted to flee, I called out one name.

“Dia Yursil.”

“…That name!”

The Witch of Gems.

The reason the girl knew that name wasn’t due to her fame.

It was because Nia Bella had mentioned it while playing together with her.

[I’m so happy to have you as a friend… The only person who has helped me so far was Dia Yursil…].

A girl who reached out to Nia Bella, who was being scorned by adult citizens.

At first, Nia Bella, wary of such a girl, eventually opened her heart and mentioned the name of the most important person to her.

I pulled out a pen and created a space where only the girl and I could hear, then said to her.

“I came to help Nia Bella at her request.”

A lie. But the girl wouldn’t be able to find out.

She only knew Dia Yursil’s name, nothing about her area, face, or age.

“Really…? Sure? That person is the one Nia mentioned…?”

“Exactly. So, can you step forward? I will help you.”

To ease the girl’s worries, I gently rubbed her blue hair and smiled warmly.

I felt eyes on us from behind, glancing back, I saw the hero and several others watching us.

“But… but…”

“What’s your name?”

“Me? It’s Rozen…”

“If you help, we can save Nia Bella. Those people are nothing. We are the hero party.”

“……Okay. Since Nia liked the hero, I’ll trust you.”

“Thank you. Now, let’s hold hands.”

Rozen. An extra who won’t be mentioned again after this incident in the original.

“Um, excuse me… Hero! I have something to tell you!”

That girl possesses the power to save the heroine.

I gazed at the girl and then sent a gentle smile to the hero, who was stealing glances back at me.

He quickly turned his gaze away, for some reason blushing slightly.

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