Paladin - 3

Dale is the protagonist of this novel.

And Dale, as a character, was the epitome of a classic Hero. To put it nicely, he was upright; to put it less nicely, he was stubborn. He could be frustrating, yet he was endearing... in short, he was the kind of protagonist one might find in a fairy tale, utterly devoid of anything negative.

That's why, in the original story, countless people, *regardless of the truth*, empathized with such a protagonist, rallying together to eliminate the Demon Lord.

While I found the Protagonist frustrating at times, I also considered him a likable, human character.

“...”

The fact that such a being was colluding with Dark Mages was somewhat unbelievable, and my mind instantly became complicated.

*First, since it's not a woman, it's definitely not Desun. But it looks exactly like Dale.*

Does that mean there's another Dale, separate from Desun? It's highly probable. After all, Desun and I are bound by a Soul Contract, so Desun could never act against me. That means this person is a different Dale, not Desun. I don't know their true identity, but for now, it's best to consider them a new Dale.

*Is it just a resemblance? Or is there something else...?*

Frowning, thinking that nothing was easily resolved, I let out a deep sigh, ran a hand through my hair, and decided to focus on the battle...