Chapter 8: Spring of warriors

There’s a small village called ‘Parsel’ on the way to the Blue Magic Tower.

It’s now more famous as the Hero’s hometown.

Ariina and I went to meet the Hero and Saintess, who were happily living together.

The house they lived in wasn’t shabby, but it wasn’t luxurious either.

It was just a decent-looking house, the kind you might find one of in any village.

When I heard the Hero talk about it before, he said he’d recreate the house that burned down exactly as it was, and it seems he really did.

How very like the Hero.

Knock, knock, knock.

I knocked on the door.

From beyond the door, I heard a voice say, ‘Please wait a moment.’

Having been with her for over three years, I knew.

It was the Saintess’s voice.

Creak.

With a sound, the wooden door opened.

Behind it stood the Saintess, dressed in a white gown, unlike her usual attire.

The Saintess saw Ariina and me, widened her eyes in surprise, and then smiled brightly.

“Hello, Ariina. Ain.”

“It hasn’t been long… never mind. Well, hello.”

I nodded and said indifferently.

To be honest, I had just finished congratulating the Saintess and the Hero a few days ago, so I didn’t feel much like doing it again.

The Saintess, as if my attitude was unexpected, forced a smile and gestured for us to come in.

Ariina looked disgusted, as if she couldn’t stand the sight, but perhaps out of politeness, she didn’t show it outwardly.

However, a light of dislike flickered in her red eyes.

“Your tastes are consistent.”

“Right?”

The Saintess chuckled in response to my words.

The inside of the house was cozy.

Perhaps because it was made of wood, it was filled with the fragrant scent of timber, and items of her memories were placed here and there.

Among them were the ‘Spirit Stone’ given as a gift by the Oracle, the ‘Ospen Gold Coin’ given by Ariina, and the ‘Staff of the First Sage’ that I had gifted.

It seemed like they were all kept as mementos.

However, they weren’t yet weathered enough to be mere memories.

Ariina wore a look like she’d bitten into a bug, as if she still didn’t like the Saintess.

Was she not even trying to hide it anymore?

Ariina occasionally glared at the Saintess’s ample chest with an annoyed gaze and clicked her tongue softly.

Her methods were so petty, truly like a thief.

The Saintess stood in front of the bedroom and knocked, knock, knock.

Several seconds passed, but no sound was heard.

The Saintess made a troubled expression, then cleared her throat with a “hem.”

“Karen!”

Then a clatter and bang could be heard.

Whatever was happening beyond the door, judging by the slight crumpling of the Saintess’s gentle face, it couldn’t be anything good.

Creak, with a sound, the bedroom door opened.

Standing behind it was the Hero, Karen.

The Hero stood there, smiling awkwardly, as if he felt ashamed.

The Saintess stared at the Hero with cold, exasperated eyes, then let out an annoyed sigh.

“I told you to stop last night, didn’t I? You insisted until dawn, and now… my back hurts, ugh. Karen!”

As she spoke, perhaps a sudden surge of annoyance overwhelmed her, and the Saintess snapped at the Hero.

Her face was flushed, showing how angry she was.

The Hero was sweating profusely, not knowing what to do, then looked at me.

It was an SOS glance.

‘So what? It seems you had a wild time doing *that* last night… What good is asking for help from an unpopular virgin mage like me?’

‘I want to do *that* with the Saintess too!’

I deliberately ignored his ‘help!’ gaze.

The Hero, at a loss, put his hands together and pleaded with the Saintess.

“Ugh, I-I’m sorry… What am I supposed to do when you’re so pretty!”

“If you do that again, I’ll really… Hmph, fine. We have guests today, after all.”

The Saintess sighed heavily, as if reluctantly forgiving him.

Yet, the compliment about her beauty seemed to please her, as a faint smile played on her lips.

“Oh, Ariina, Ain. Hello.”

Ariina shook her head, then looked at the Hero with a pathetic expression.

A look of pity was evident in her beautiful red eyes.

“You liked it so much, but are you now henpecked by the Saintess?”

“H-Henpecked!”

“If this isn’t being henpecked, then what is it?”

“Ugh…”

Having no excuse, the Hero subtly averted his gaze.

No matter how I looked at it, he seemed completely henpecked by the Saintess.

Though on the bed, it was the Saintess who was caught… *Cough*.

Lucky him.

The Hero, flustered by Ariina’s barrage of pointed questions.

Since I, not the Hero, had become the target, perhaps he just felt like a friend to me.

I asked the Hero.

“What happened with the curse?”

The curse.

That strange curse placed by the Succubus Queen, a subordinate of the Demon King.

The Saintess and I had managed to suppress the curse for about a year, but it hadn’t disappeared.

Now that its duration was almost up, the curse’s effects should be starting to manifest.

The Hero listened to my words, thought for a moment, then shrugged indifferently and said.

“The curse? Nothing much, except my hair grows faster lately.”

“Your hair grows faster? What… did your metabolism speed up or something?”

That’s really nothing.

Was the ‘final curse’ she spoke of with such a sinister smile just *that*?

A curse that makes your hair grow faster?

Was there even such a curse?

The Hero thought for a moment, then said.

“Maybe my body just got so incredibly strong that the curse doesn’t work on me?”

“That’s convincing.”

Indeed, the Hero’s body is strong enough that most curses wouldn’t affect him.

Whatever curse the Succubus Queen cast, it might have been weakened or altered by the Hero’s strength.

The Hero and I talked about various things.

How he’s been lately… when he’ll go to the Magic Tower.

Just trivial conversations like that.

Meanwhile, the Saintess kept trying to talk to Ariina, but Ariina just sulked and didn’t respond.

She was showing her dislike more and more.

Now she wasn’t even trying to hide it anymore.

“So, when are *you* getting married?”

That question came out of nowhere.

Ariina, who had been bickering nearby, subtly glanced at me.

Her red eyes were filled with curiosity.

It seemed she was secretly wondering.

The Saintess was no different; she cast a curious gaze at me.

“Well, I’ll get married someday.

Probably within the next three years or so.”

‘Though it’s possible an unprecedented situation where I end up with two wives might occur.’

I said it casually.

Then the Hero exclaimed “Ah!” as if something had just occurred to him, and opened his mouth.

“Now that I think about it, the Oracle seems to like you too.”

“……What?”

That chilling voice didn’t come from me, but from somewhere else.

Sensing that things were going south, I quickly glanced to my side.

Ariina was staring at the Hero with a chillingly rigid expression.

The light had vanished from her half-closed red eyes.

The Saintess, sensing something cold, stopped talking and looked at Ariina with a tense expression.

But the Hero was utterly oblivious.

“After she was rescued from the ‘Oracle’s Avatar’ that time, she kept talking to me about ‘the mage, Ain.’ So I wondered if you had feelings for her too.

The Oracle is pretty, isn’t she?

And she’s a spirit creature, so she lives forever.”

“So, you mean she has a crush? Right? Well, she might just be implicitly showing off her friendship.”

I said, sweating.

‘He needs to stop right here.

Having a crush – I don’t know the extent of what Ariina can tolerate, but this much should be acceptable.’

‘If the Hero had even a shred of common sense, he’d agree with me and move on nonchalantly.’

However, as I said before, the Hero was utterly oblivious.

“No? It wasn’t just a crush.

She seemed completely smitten.

She even came to talk to me once after my wedding.

That’s great!”

The Hero said so, beaming.

‘You utterly oblivious bastard.

Can’t you hear Ariina grinding her teeth next to you?’

The Saintess looked at Ariina with a flustered expression, but it was already too late.

With the Hero’s words, the time bomb was ready to explode.

Hostility and hatred surged in her red eyes.

“So. That b*tch, the Oracle, is after ‘my’ Ain, is she?”

Her voice was incredibly suppressed, insanely cold.

Only now did the Hero catch on.

He looked at Ariina in alarm, then at me as if asking what was going on.

‘Again, I’m a virgin mage.

I’m completely clueless when it comes to women.

Still, I can tell Ariina’s state.

She’s beyond mild anger, beyond great anger; she’s in a state of ‘extreme fury.’’

‘It’s similar to the expression she made when the Succubus Queen tried to kiss the Hero before.

She’s incredibly enraged.’

*Grrrind*.

A sound was heard.

Surprisingly, it was Ariina grinding her teeth.

The Hero’s eyes widened, and he sent a gaze mixed with alarm and tension, but…

“Where is that b*tch, the Oracle?”

The bomb had already exploded.