This Clueless Hero

The guards looked at each other.

"...Shouldn't he be the killer?"

"Well, he was there before, right?"

The girl shouted.

"And did you see him do anything?"

One of the guards tilted his head to the side.

"Uh... well he was on the ground next to the bodies for some reason."

The other guard let out a sigh.

"...But why would the killer be doing that?"

The girl put her hands on her hips and stuck her elbows out.

"See? You must've followed the wrong person!"

One of the guards clicked his tongue and looked at me.

"Damn... do you know where the killer went then?"

The other guard shook his head.

"How would he know? We need to hurry and check the other places, or the killer is going to get away!"

With that, the two guards hurried off back from where they came.

After a few moments of silence, the girl let out a sigh and hunched over, resting her hands on her knees.

"...That was scary."

A bitter smile formed on my face.

"Then why did you do it?"

The girl turned around and shrugged her shoulders.

"...Well, you seemed like you needed help."

I drew a deep sigh.

"And why did you even help me?"

The little girl tilted her head to the side.

"I already told you, didn't you hear? You seemed like you needed help."

My eyelid twitched.

"...You didn't even consider whether or not you helped a killer?"

The little girl smiled.

"But I didn't help a killer."

...I was the one that killed them though.

It took me a few moments to form the words.

"How are you so confident in that?"

The little girl smirked confidently.

"Because you aren't!"

...How did that make any sense?

I furrowed my brows.

"What?"

The little girl shrugged her shoulders.

"If you were really a killer, then would you be saying those things?"

A bitter smile formed on my face.

"But..."

The little girl raised her palm in the air, cutting me off.

"It doesn't matter if you actually killed anyone!"

I couldn't help but scrunch up my face, tilt my head to the side, and lean forward. In other words, my face was basically saying, 'What the fu-'.

The little girl cleared her throat awkwardly.

"It's because... being a killer is more than just killing someone."

I raised an eyebrow.

"...So what exactly does being a killer mean?"

The little girl scratched her hair.

"Um..."

She began to gesture by swinging her arms around wildly, without any real meaning behind them.

"It's about how the person is! Not what they have actually done!"

The little girl pressed her lips together.

"...That's why they can be a killer even if they haven't killed anyone."

I slowly nodded.

"I understand."

I didn't understand.

The little girl put her hands on her hips and stuck out her elbows confidently.

"Hehe, see what I mean now?"

A smirk formed on her face.

"So you're not a killer!"

A chuckle escaped me.

"I guess..."

The little girl blinked a few times before gasping.

"Ah, wait, you're hurt! I completely forgot about that!"

I waved my hand in front of me casually.

"Don't worry about it, I'm fine."

After letting out a soft sigh, the tension within my body slowly released.

"...Though, I feel really disgusting."

While adrenaline and anxiety were violently coursing through my veins, it was hard to care about the blood and vomit that covered me.

But now that I had calmed down a bit, I really wanted to get this off me.

My mind slowly gathered mana to cast the water spell.

After a few moments, a basketball-sized ball of water formed above my head, which I let drop freely.

With a splash, the water soaked my hair and fell down my face. My hair itself didn't really get dirty, so it wasn't the most effective in cleaning me up, but it still felt nice.

The little girl's jaw was agape.

"Y-You're a mage?!"

I looked towards the little girl with a bit of confusion.

"...Yes, but just barely so. There are way too many mages that are stronger than me."

For whatever reason, the little girl clenched her fists and waved them around in the air excitedly.

"But being a mage is so cool!"

While she was speaking, my mind finished casting another water spell. I let it splash over my side.

It felt a little uncomfortable since all the gross stuff got wet and slid down my body, but it was better than having it stick to me the entire time.

A sigh escaped me.

"I guess being a mage is better than not..."

The effort I went through to learn the spell flashed by in my mind.

"...but at least for me, it's just really hard."

The little girl giggled.

"That's why being a mage is so cool! Because they work so hard to cast all their spells!"

I blinked a few times.

Cool?

Why didn't I feel that it was cool?

"Honestly, it just feels like a nightmare. There's nothing really cool about it."

The little girl puffed up her cheeks.

"What are you talking about! It's super cool!"

She pointed a finger high into the air.

"It's never easy to do so much work, but they still do it! That's what makes it so cool."

I blinked a few times. Another ball of water splashed onto my body, cleansing me of the filth on my body. And perhaps my mind was being cleansed as well.

A light chuckle escaped me.

"Maybe it is a little cool then."

The little girl nodded with a bright smile. Yet, a few moments later, she frowned.

The little girl pressed her lips together.

"...and way cooler than most of the people in the village."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Huh?"

The little girl smiled sadly to herself.

"Hehe... it's nothing."

Another ball of water splashed on me, except this time on my legs. My clothes were officially drenched, but much cleaner, at least.

After a few moments, a small smile formed on my face.

"Being a mage doesn't make you cool... I know a person who can't cast a single spell, but is far cooler than anyone I know."

I tilted my head to the side.

"Because she's just such a nice person."

The little girl let out a dissatisfied hum.

"It's not really the mage part but..."

She looked to the side.

"...nobody ever really tries anymore."

I furrowed my brows.

"What do you mean by that?"

The little girl pressed her lips together.

"Hehe, it's like everybody has already given up. They don't want to change their lives anymore. Just coasting by is fine for them."

She clenched her fists and raised them high into the sky.

"But I won't be the same! I'm going to try really hard!"

A smile spread out on my face.

"Haha, I guess I should do the same."

The girl nodded.

"Yes! I'm going to try really really hard and change everything!"

A soft sigh escaped me.

"Well, to do that... I have to go somewhere first."

To buy the ink, feather, and paper for drawing the spell diagrams.

The girl nodded.

"Ok! I will go too!"

I waved my hand.

"Bye... and thanks for everything."

The girl smiled cheekily.

"Hehe, no problem! I'll see you later, when you become super good with spells!"

The corner of my lip turned up.

"You bet."

With that, the girl resolutely turned back and walked out of the alleyway. I considered leaving as well, but was too afraid of getting lost. My only reference point was right outside the palace. Anywhere else, and I would probably end up wandering aimlessly for the entire day.

And so, I retraced my steps by following the trail of blood I left behind, like the guards had done.

Eventually, I came across the two dead bodies once more.

The sight reminded me of what I did, but...

I was able to keep my composure.

Although some people were still curious, looking at the body from a distance, nobody dared to get within fifteen meters of it.

After a few moments of silence, I was able to walk away from the dead bodies and head towards the shop.

On the way there, I saw the man who told me where the shop was in the first place, the artist. He was in the middle of making a new drawing, while several others were spread out across the table.

The artist noticed me as I passed and gave me a nod.

I nodded back.

There weren't too many people out on the streets.

...Though that may have been because of the dead bodies.

I shook my head and took out the coins in my pockets. While walking, I cast the water spell in order to clean the coins a little more.

And before I knew it, I found myself before the store.

A big sign with the words, 'Refined Writer's Shop', spread out in front of me.

After so long, I finally got enough to buy the paper.