episode_0028

“Ah.”

She continued to push the skewered fruit into my mouth.

What kind of situation is this, really?

Is it because she can’t use her arms?

No. She can move her arms to some extent. She showed movement earlier.

“Ah….”

Reluctantly, she fed me the fruit.

“Chew thoroughly and eat. Even though the priest treated you and the doctor checked your pulse, your organs must have been greatly shocked due to the injury.”

“Uh, well….”

I was extremely embarrassed.

If it were someone with a different personality, I might not have thought much of it.

But she, who I know… No, I haven’t met Cain yet, so Hedige.

Anyway, she wasn’t the owner of such a personality.

Rather than being soft, she had a cold personality.

Always sharp-tongued, overly sensitive, and possessing a violent nature, she was far from this feminine kindness.

Yet here she was trying to feed me?

“Nom….”

After chewing and swallowing everything, she skewered another piece of fruit and fed it to me.

“Here.”

Continuing to eat the fruit she offered.

The fruit was delicious, so I kept eating.

I fainted for two days, but now I’m really hungry.

I didn’t expect the first meal after waking up to be this tasty.

Before I knew it, the plate was empty.

“You finished it.”

“Uh….”

Still not understanding the situation, I mechanically replied, still feeling embarrassed.

She then placed the empty plate back on the tray.

In the midst of doing so, she said, “Do you need anything?”

“…Need something?”

“I’m going to receive the reward for subjugating the monsters soon. If you need anything on the way, let me know, and I’ll get it for you.”

“Um… I don’t think I need anything in particular.”

“Really? Then take this adventurer’s license. I’ll bring yours too.”

“Uh… okay.”

I handed her the adventurer’s license from my pocket.

Knowing she wasn’t someone who would steal, I had no qualms.

Her character, which even anticipated no suspicion, was refreshing as expected.

“I’ll be back.”

She left the sickroom immediately.

“….”

Alone, I stared at where she had left, still dazed, and thought, ‘Is she treating me well for saving my life?’

As mentioned earlier, her image was quite different from what I had imagined, leaving me bewildered.

Was she originally like this? Incredibly kind.

…Ah.

It’s hard to believe she was like that.

Quietly silencing those who made noise and dealing harshly with men who spoke vulgarly.

When Zeke ordered the activation of the magic circle, she retorted with a disgusted expression.

The Hedie I had seen in-game was similar to the one I had seen in the game.

There was only one answer for her personality to change like this.

‘Saving my life. And almost putting my life in danger because of herself.’

She was a real contender.

Finishing that thought, I nodded to myself as if convinced.

And comfortably lay back down.

Without a single thought, with certainty.

‘Yeah. That’s probably it.’

I simply lay back down and fell asleep again.

*

I woke up, and a day later, news came from the underground labyrinth.

Many people who went missing after departing for the ant colony were found dead in the underground maze.

The news revealed that… Monaka had survived.

It was like a miracle.

With the Twilight Queen dead and many Big Spiders losing control, they started fighting among themselves.

Due to this, Monaka, who had been left alone in the food warehouse, was discovered.

It was reported that Monaka had developed mental issues and decided to quit being an adventurer.

…It was tough, but I found solace in the fact that she survived.

Thus, as the ant colony was temporarily restricted, the news spread rapidly throughout the adventurer community.

And there was a slight shift in how I was perceived.

Rumors spread.

Rumors circulating about me initially made me extremely worried.

“I was worried that the same talk of sending all party members to the afterlife would spread.”

An infamous reputation that I thought would be tarnished.

However, contrary to my expectations, the content of the rumors circulating about me in society was positive.

The rumor that spread was that of a promising young hero who single-handedly conquered the unknown underground labyrinth boss, Rank Unknown.

“…Isn’t this being overly exaggerated?”

A hero should be strong enough to defeat a Twilight Queen with just one finger.

With my veteran knowledge and using unconventional methods, I may be strong for my age… but I can never become a hero. I knew that.

And I conquered the Twilight Queen alongside Hedy.

If I had been alone, I might not have had time to gather allies and could have been in danger myself.

However, it seemed like Hedy reported to the adventurer group that she defeated the Twilight Queen alone while I was unconscious.

She claimed little contribution, attributing most of the success to me.

“It feels good and I’m grateful, but…”

Partly due to excessive rumors, I was somewhat worried about what might happen.

“Hey, promising hero.”

Inside the carriage returning to Ariel Academy, Hedy, sitting across from me, teased me.

“…It’s embarrassing to be called that by a real hero.”

“What does it matter? You are a promising one.”

“That’s not the point.”

Hedy continued to chuckle while looking at me with her chin resting on her hand.

It seemed like I had become closer to Hedy in some way.

Do relationships between people become stronger in urgent and dangerous situations like this?

“If you’re not a promising hero, then what are you?”

“……”

What do you want to say… the one who will become a Sword Master in the future.

But her genuine curiosity left me unable to respond.

Although she will become a Sword Master in the future, can she believe that she is a promising hero to become a Sword Master now if I tell her so?

So, I decided to remain silent and look out the other window.

“……”

“Hehe.”

For some reason, she continued to laugh and look at me, finding something amusing.

Despite my efforts to ignore her gaze and keep looking out the window, she kept staring at me until I eventually fell asleep.

*

“Sigh… we finally arrived.”

Hedy got off the carriage and stretched her stiff body.

We finally arrived.

Following her, I also absentmindedly looked ahead.

Ariel Academy.

Elegant building structures and large buildings clustered together. Perhaps because I had seen them many times, I didn’t think much about it.

I was just very tired. I had slept in the carriage, but I wanted to go to the dormitory, take a shower, and rest soon.

While walking, she turned back and said,

“Hey, promising one.”

“……?”

“What are you doing tonight?”

Why is she asking that?

“I’ll probably just rest in the dormitory.”

“Really? What about dinner?”

“Well… I’ll probably eat at the cafeteria.”

“…Want to eat together?”

“Huh?”

I flinched for a moment.

Eat together?

She is the heroine who will later have connections with Cain and become a Sword Master.

Therefore, if we become close within the academy, there is a possibility of being involved with Cain…

“…Sure. Let’s eat together.”

It felt a bit late to question now.

And maybe I felt a lot of intimacy as well.

I didn’t want to push her away. She nursed me when I fainted, treated me well.

Having entrusted my life to her on the battlefield, it didn’t feel right to push her away now.

“Hehe, I’ll wait on the 3rd floor.”

She smiled under the fading crimson sunset and walked away briskly.

…She looks so cute like this.

It was truly regrettable how she had lost that smile in such harsh environments until now.

I must make her laugh a lot while being friends.

Having received a substantial reward for defeating Twilight Queen, including Giant Ent, I had enough money for living expenses for the next year without having to work as an adventurer.

I reluctantly handed over half of the reward to her, who had helped me.

So, I probably won’t risk earning money through dangerous adventures anymore.

It seemed like things would be smooth sailing from now on. With no worries, I thought I could leisurely attend the academy.

…Or so I thought.

“Hey, what the hell! Cyan! What are you doing! What is it!!”

“Girlfriend? Girlfriend? Girlfriend? Girlfriend? Girlfriend? Girlfriend?”

“Huh… Isn’t this Heady? The famous swordsmanship genius Ariarang who was said to rival with swords…”

Loud voices echoed in the student cafeteria.

Thanks to them, everyone who was dining elegantly shifted their gaze towards my table.

Heady, who was sitting across from me eating, also looked surprised and widened her eyes to see the source of the noise.

…Lloyd, Louis, Bobby.

I had forgotten that they were here.

“You, who disappeared for several days without a trace…! Were you going to find a girlfriend?!!”

It seemed impossible to have a peaceful life as long as they were around.

“…Prodigies. Who are these guys? Friends?”

…I should cut ties with them quickly. Due to the sudden commotion they caused, I turned away from the situation, covering my reddened face with my hand.