episode_0245

Before starting the story, Mr. Bate quenched his thirst with the water in front of him and sighed.

“First of all, let me tell you that we don’t know much about heroes.”

“Ah, yes. are you okay. It’s enough just to tell me what you know.”

Mr. Bate nodded at my words and started talking.

“What she is best known for is her achievements.”

When Mr. Bate started talking with the word ‘her’, I had no choice but to repeat the word ‘her’.

“Her?”

“Yes.”

“They said there wasn’t that much information about the hero, so I thought you wouldn’t know things like gender or appearance… . It’s surprising.”

“Well, isn’t the first thing you see when you look at a person their appearance? Of course, the details of her appearance are not known because she wears a cape, but no matter how much she covers herself with a cape, it does not completely cover the voice and body shape of a woman.”

“Ah… .”

That’s certainly true too. Because right now, my body wasn’t completely covered by the cloak.

I nodded to the story that I fully understood, and Mr. Bate cleared his throat again and continued the story.

“Hmm. Anyway, let’s just skip over the story of subjugating the Manticore and the Orcs. The most famous anecdote is definitely that one.”

“Capturing a dragon with a holy sword.”

“Hmm? Ah, everyone knows that. However, this is a story that was naturally exaggerated in an attempt to praise her achievements.”

“Is this an exaggerated story? Umm… . Maybe it wasn’t a dragon but a slightly larger wyvern… ?”

Let’s carefully bring up the story, and Mr. Bate says wahaha!! He burst out laughing arrogantly and shook his head.

“It is the weapon that is inflated. He defeated the dragon not with a holy sword, a magic sword, or any other special weapon, but with an ordinary broadsword commonly found in weapon stores.”

―No matter what, carrying only two broadswords… .

At that moment, the voice of the Crown Prince, who had now gone somewhere, overlapped with that of Mr. Bate.

I blinked at the strange phenomenon and asked.

“Broadsword?”

“Yes. I don’t know why, but he insisted on using a broadsword. It’s really amazing. It’s not a sword made by a legendary master, nor a magic sword, but an ordinary broadsword to kill a dragon. Well, since that was possible, he would be called a hero.”

Mr. Bate laughed and shook his head, but I couldn’t help but laugh.

The only information that has been revealed in the story so far is that the so-called hero is a woman, insists on using a broadsword, and has accomplished great feats with a simple iron sword.

Knowing that I was a being with many overlapping characteristics, I could not react in any way.

“… Well, is there any other information about her? It’s about looks, or even a name… .”

No, it won’t be. Yes, this story is already over 10 years old. There’s no way such a coincidence could happen like this.

I tried to organize my increasingly complicated mind and waited for Mr. Bate’s answer.

“This is not normally disclosed to outsiders… . I know that the saint is a good person, so I will tell you.”

What I heard after swallowing dry saliva was a very familiar name.

“Her name is ‘Hermel’. I don’t know if Hermel is a surname or a first name because that’s all that’s known.”

“Saint. That name… .”

I nodded slowly to Mr. Baroque’s words and said with a sigh.

“… It’s my name.”

“How to do that… ?”

Looking at Mr. Bate, whose eyes were wide in surprise, I smiled slightly and told him a story about Hermel.

It wasn’t a detailed story, just that Hermel was the same person as the Hero of Dawn who appeared and suddenly disappeared 10 years ago.

“Huh… . The hero of dawn and the hero of Barth’s poetry were the same person… .”

“It’s not strange that you don’t know. No, it would rather be a natural thing. We completely controlled the information about the Hero of Dawn.”

He raised his head and looked at me for a moment, then nodded as if he understood.

“I guess he didn’t want it.”

“Yes. I’m not sure why… . I issued a silence order because I wanted that. Back then and now, I’m not sure if that was a good thing… .”

“It is right to do so if you want, but it is also true that it is difficult to understand.”

Mr. Bate and I agreed with each other’s words and nodded.

After the story ended and there was silence for a while, I, thirsty from speaking, looked at Mr. Bate and asked him the question I was most curious about.

“So, do you know where Hermel is right now?”

“Ah. When I hear that, it comes to mind. She is in this city now.”

“… Yes?”

Is it because the unexpected situation continued?

There was a lag in interpreting the information that had just entered my ears, and after a while, the lag went away and the moment my brain finished accepting and interpreting the information, I jumped up from my seat and screamed.

“Really!? Where can I meet you!?”

At that time, Mr. Baroque came over and gently placed his hand on my shoulder.

I shivered from the warmth of his hand, blinked and looked at Mr. Baroque, and Mr. Baroque comforted me in a low voice.

“Saint. I think it would be a good idea to calm down a bit.”

“Ah, yes. Yes… .”

Only then did I realize that I was too excited, so I smiled bitterly and sat down again.

“I’m sorry… . I was so surprised that I raised my voice without realizing it… .”

“No. I also remember screaming in shock when I first met her. I understand.”

“Thank you for saying that. Hmm. So… . Where can I meet Hermel?”

“It’s only been a week since you came into the city, so there’s no word on where exactly you’ll show up… . The most recent appearance was a shopping street with a clothing store and an adventurer’s guild.”

“I see! Thank you!”

I smiled broadly and expressed my gratitude.

Now you can meet Hermel. I was so worried that I had to send it without even saying thank you… . This is how we meet.

As I was smiling and laughing with satisfaction, Mr. Bate let out a long sigh and said.

“I’m glad it was helpful.”

“Hehe, that was really helpful! Thank you again!”

When I answered with a smile, Mr. Bate smiled and nodded.

“Well, it’s almost dinner time, so let’s go and have a meal. You too, eat and go.”

“Oh, is that okay? Wouldn’t that be too much of a bother…? .”

As I was saying that, Mr. Baroque came over and shook his head and said.

“It is better to eat the guard’s pig porridge than to eat what my brother cooked.”

“You Lee Sae… . Phew. Hey, I’m not the person you used to know, dude. Do you know how hard I practiced after that day?”

“… Still, I’m anxious, so I’ll be there to help you.”

“Baby… . I feel embarrassed when I could have just said I would help, so I keep talking in circles.”

I was automatically in a good mood seeing them bickering so well together that I smiled and got up from my seat.

“I’ll help you too!”

“Oh! I wouldn’t mind it if you could help me――”

“No! We will do it! Brother, come on in! It looks like the saint is very hungry!”

Mr. Baroque said that and dragged Mr. Bate inside.

uh… . This means just waiting… ? I blinked, scratched my cheek, and sat back down.

* * *

After filling our bellies with the stew that Mr. Baroque and Mr. Bate made, we decided to move tomorrow morning since it was late today and headed to the inn.

Well, after that, I spent the night resting at the inn without much incident. What will we talk about when we meet Hermel? how have you been doing? At that time, I was grateful for saving me. Umm. There are a lot of things I want to say, but I can’t organize them.

As I spent the night thinking happily, I noticed that it was getting brighter outside the window and I blinked.

“It’s already morning… ?”

It feels like less than an hour has passed, but it’s already morning… .

As I looked out the window blankly, I felt a gap in my memory and realized that I had not stayed up all night, but that the film had completely cut off in the middle.

“I was so tired from the trip that I fell asleep… . Still, I got into the habit of praying in the morning and woke up early.”

I smiled and said a light prayer while looking out the window where the morning sunlight was pouring in. Then I got up, put on my cloak, and came out of the room.

After leaving the room, I knocked on Mr. Baroque’s door, but there was no response. Seeing that there was no sign of anyone inside, I guess he got up before me and went to see the paladins at another inn.

I nodded and went down to the first floor.

On the first floor of the inn, there was someone wearing a cloak just like me, but I don’t think it was Mr. Baroque. Compared to him, my size was small, and if I had to be specific, I had a body type that was closer to that of a woman.

Above all, the other person had blond hair flowing down through the cap of his cloak――?

“Uh… ?”

I blinked and looked at the cloaked figure, and I felt all the sleep go away at the sight of the broadsword and blond hair visible even though it was covered by the cloak, and the slightly different but still familiar voice and tone.

“There is no need to prepare anything this morning. Because I’m going to go out and eat.”

Unsure of what to expect, I swallowed dry saliva and called her name.

“… Hermel?”

“Hermel, what are you doing there… .”

At that moment, someone’s voice overlapped with mine. I gasped at the sound of a voice that was much more familiar than Hermel’s.

When I slowly turned around, there was… .

“Ah――”

“You… .”

The thorn that was stuck in my heart, the regret from the day before that I thought could never be resolved.

Charlotte La Rochelle was standing there.