Ch.55. Daphne Ephiphone (3)

“…sleepy.”

The top floor of this five-story building was the hero party’s headquarters, and right below it, the fourth floor was the hero’s home. I woke up, washed myself, changed clothes, and headed straight upstairs.

Slam.

The office was still cold with the chill of early spring. George wasn’t coming to work today. Since it was vacation time, he said he’d go show his face at the knight order he originally belonged to. This was the first proper morning since falling into the world of “I Won’t Return.” I rubbed under my eyes, sat at the office desk, and let out a long sigh. There was a mountain of work ahead.

For now, I’d succeeded in recruiting one of the main characters, but it was only half a success. Daphne was still likely in an unstable psychological state and would need someone’s help. I needed to break down her psychological barriers and guide her toward normal growth.

“…I shouldn’t rush.”

Would someone traumatized after being driven away by their family immediately recover if told, “This is your psychological issue, let’s fix it”? Well, in the original story, she overcomes her trauma in a week when she awakens to save the protagonist in crisis, but I couldn’t risk my life counting on that alone. I was merely the hero Ilroy, not the protagonist of this story.

Her fundamental issue was the anxiety of being rejected by others. So during these next three months, I needed to somehow convince her that she could stay with us.

“So that’s why I had to come to work today too.”

There was no time for complaints. Besides turning Daphne into a functioning team member, I had mountains of other tasks. I recalled the information about “I Won’t Return” that I’d carefully organized over the past week, then turned my gaze to the side of the desk. The tip of a white sword hilt was visible.

…I should check this too.

I tapped the Holy Sword with my finger. A hero’s fate is to fight constantly, but I hadn’t yet experienced a proper battle. At most, I’d only drawn the sword and swung it around a few times alone in my room.

With a clear goal of getting stronger, I couldn’t just sit in a room thinking. Now that I had a suitable partner, it was finally time for my first real combat. I reviewed my plan and firmly grasped the Holy Sword’s hilt that I’d been tapping. Someone was approaching the office.

Knock knock knock.

The knocking was hesitant. The first knock was strong. The second came after a slight pause, timidly. The third was quick, as if ready to flee. Then the door opened cautiously. I smiled slightly as I saw Daphne peeking her head through the doorway.

“I…I’m here for work.”

“Good morning, Daphne.”

Daphne entered the office, closing the door stiffly. Her eyes shifted to my hand gripping the sword hilt, changing to a puzzled expression. I slightly lifted the Holy Sword to show her.

“Sorry about this on your first day, but let’s go hunt some monsters nearby to see how you do in actual combat.”

Daphne’s expression flinched at the mention of actual combat. She must have quite a few memories coming back. Like it or not, this is part of working life, Daphne. I said this inwardly as I stood up.

“W-wait, hero!”

Daphne panicked and threw her hood at me as I was about to leave without thinking. The hood flew toward me, catching me off guard, and I caught a whiff of her scent. It wasn’t a fancy perfume, but more like a warm, personal fragrance. As I held her hood and stared blankly at her, Daphne’s face turned red as she added an explanation.

“If you go out without any disguise, you’ll attract too much attention… It might be difficult at the guild…”

In fact, since my possession, I hadn’t gone out properly, let alone engaged in actual combat. Even when posting the recruitment notice, I had asked an employee to put it up during the early morning when no one was around. The hero was quite well-known, so going out without precautions would mean being surrounded by all sorts of people. Like being a celebrity.

“I almost forgot. Thank you.”

As I put on the hood and spoke, Daphne nodded with her reddened face. The original Ilroy probably enjoyed the attention and gazes directed at him. I thought I should buy a similar hood later as I opened the door. It was probably something she had intended to wear herself, but I decided not to ask about it.

“Um… hero,”

“Call me Ilroy.”

The word “hero” was uncomfortable to hear. It’s not like I’d fallen into a game. I’m not a hero, people. It was unbearably sad that I couldn’t say that.

“Ilroy, what about the others…?”

“George is resting today. And as you know, we have another mage… that friend is on vacation far away. They should return before we go on the expedition.”

My voice was bitter. Daphne bowed her head solemnly along with me. No, come to think of it, she always has a solemn expression. Trudge, trudge. With steps like someone who’d just been fired, I walked into the guild with Daphne.

“Let’s quickly get permission to enter the danger zone. We’re just going to practice together a bit, not perform any special mission.”

Daphne nodded with a tense expression. Even after entering the guild, people didn’t seem to pay much attention. After all, there were at least five other people besides me wearing hoods to hide their identities. The Holy Sword wouldn’t attract attention either, as I’d hidden the hilt and changed its scabbard.

I leaned against the wall, watching Daphne’s back as she got our permits at the reception desk. Her long pink hair swayed slightly with her movements.

“Your entry permits are ready.”

The receptionist’s voice came, and Daphne firmly grasped a permit in each hand before returning to me with quick steps. Her eyes sparkled with a hint of hesitation. She looked just like a puppy waiting for praise, which made me chuckle. Just as I was about to thank her while receiving the permits, a shrill voice came from behind Daphne.

“Oh my, isn’t that Daphne?”

Daphne’s shoulders flinched. Her eyes, which had been focused on me, lost their focus and froze. I glanced up to look in the direction of the voice. One woman and two men. The woman wore a lizard-like smile, and the two men attended to her as if serving a master. Seeing them subtly competing to step forward first, I could clearly see the dynamics of their party.

“I see you’ve found a new party somehow? You were wandering alone last time.”

Daphne didn’t turn around. She just trembled slightly with an even paler face.

“What, now that you’ve found a new party, you won’t even acknowledge me? How disappointing.”

My ears hurt. The female adventurer approached with clicking footsteps. Daphne slowly turned her head. She avoided the adventurer’s eyes, while the adventurer tilted her head upward intimidatingly. Her eyes revealed clear hostility and superiority. The adventurer lowered her voice.

“Looks like you found a new man to leech off. How slutty.”

“I…”

The female adventurer raised her head to look at me. Her face wasn’t particularly memorable. A face you’d forget in a day or two. She wasn’t even worth calling a villain.

“You must be from another city? Most adventurers in the capital would know what kind of person this woman is.”

The female adventurer gave me an eye-smile. It’s amazing that two men fell for such a smile. A sigh formed like a ball in my throat, threatening to burst out.

“Shall I tell you? What she did in all the parties she’s been through?”

“Not interested.”

I frowned deeply under my hood. If it were Aryen whom I’d driven away, he might have thought of a smarter way to put them in their place…

“Come on, looking at you, I feel bad that you’re being deceived. I won’t charge you…”

“And your mouth stinks like shit, so shut it.”

I’m neither that smart nor that patient.

The woman’s eye-smile froze with an almost audible crack. I twisted the corner of my mouth and took one step closer to them. The two male adventurers who had been standing behind the woman like bodyguards stepped forward to block her.

“You- just now.”

“I said you stink. Didn’t you hear? The stench of shit is overwhelming, are you the only one who can’t smell it?”

The male adventurers stepped up. They glared at me with squinted eyes, hands casually in their pockets. At times like this, being a hero was quite useful. Ilroy’s eyes saw through all their weaknesses and told me how I should move.

“This bastard must have a rag in his mouth. Even though we’re being nice-“

“The rag seems to be behind you. Want to put it in your mouth?”

“Just because you have a mouth-“

The male adventurer’s face contorted. His hand came up. He seemed to be trying to grab my collar. I caught the adventurer’s rising hand and removed my hood.

“That’s enough.”

The entire guild, which had been watching the fight with interest, fell silent. I pushed back the adventurer whose hand I’d caught in an awkward position, then looked around. The adventurers hurriedly turned their heads or pretended to be busy to avoid meeting my eyes.

Plop.

I put the hood over Daphne’s head. Not yet. Until Daphne could overcome her past experiences and stand up, I needed to help her. Under the hood I’d put on her, Daphne’s purple eyes regained their focus.

“Daphne, let’s go.”

I grabbed Daphne’s wrist and walked out of the guild building. Daphne still had a dazed expression as she looked at me, but she quickened her steps to match my pace.

==

“…Why did you do that?”

On the way to the dangerous area outside the capital where monsters lived, Daphne looked at Ilroy walking slowly beside her and asked.

“What, didn’t you hear what happened to you in the past?”

“Did you really not know?”

“No, I knew.”

Daphne furrowed her delicate brow.

“And yet…”

As Daphne tried to find words, Ilroy spoke first. Judging by the confusion in his expression, he seemed to have read Daphne’s feelings. Ilroy stopped two steps ahead of Daphne and turned to face her. His ash-gray hair fluttered in the wind. Occasional passersby recognized the hero’s face and glanced away.

“Because you’ve become our party member. As the party leader, I have to take that responsibility.”

“…I don’t even know why I was chosen. Especially if you, Ilroy, knew what rumors were attached to me.”

She said it.

Daphne bit her lip, regretting the words she’d just uttered. Meeting her former colleague at the guild had reminded her of memories she didn’t want to recall. Rather than pretending nothing was wrong and following Ilroy, it seemed much easier to be rejected now.

“When I conducted the interview, all I saw was your record.”

It was neither comfort, nor rebuke, nor encouragement. Ilroy’s words strangely embedded themselves in Daphne’s heart. Because the hero’s eyes weren’t wavering at all, because he didn’t doubt himself, because he seemed to be sending straight trust to Daphne.

“Don’t trap yourself in rumors spread by others. I chose you as a new party member, and I have no intention of letting you leave again.”

How could he be so confident? Where did his trust come from?

“I can’t trust people. Including myself.”

Daphne chose to avoid again. Ilroy gave a bitter smile.

“It’s okay if you don’t trust.”

Ilroy grabbed both ends of the hood Daphne had pulled down and lifted it so her face was visible.

“I’ll trust you. And I’ll wait until you finally trust yourself.”

Purple eyes met blue-green eyes. Ilroy showed his teeth in a grin.

“You said you wanted to change yourself, right?”

“T-that.”

“It wasn’t a lie, was it?”

It was strange. That person’s words felt like they were piercing deep into Daphne. She watched as Ilroy started walking ahead after saying that. After taking a few steps, Ilroy turned his head toward Daphne.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you coming?”

Daphne nodded. And lest Ilroy walk ahead again, she lightly ran to catch up beside him.