* * *

“I mean, I’m only going because I owe Vasco. That’s why he’s coming too. You get that, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And you know Vasco, right? He’s… well, he’s kind of weak and timid, so he’s a little… uh…”

Scared of you?

No, that’s not it.

Hesitant?

Hmm, still wrong.

“…He feels a bit distant toward you!”

Success!

I managed to phrase it diplomatically.

Quite proud of myself, actually.

“So, what’s your point?”

Oh.

Judging by his tone, my carefully chosen words didn’t sit well with him.

See?

Dealing with the hero is hard.

I’d tried to sugarcoat the truth, but maybe that annoyed him even more.

“I’ll stick close to you the whole time, so Vasco won’t feel left out. Makes sense, doesn’t it?”

I even threw in a wink, hoping a bit of charm might help.

Not that I expected much of a reaction.

The hero wasn’t the type to respond, but hey, no harm in trying.

It was a desperate attempt to frame this as less of a bother for him and more of a benefit for Vasco.

Well, okay, it was also about introducing Vasco to someone.

A woman, actually.

Still, most people didn’t dislike me when I acted like this.

A handsome face is a weapon, after all.

“…”

Of course, the hero happened to be one of the rare exceptions.

As usual, he just quietly ate his cream-filled bread.

Even now, he remained a mystery, impossible to decipher.

Before the regression, I’d thought his demeanor was due to the hardships of war.

But now I realized he hadn’t changed much at all.

If anything, he’d expressed more emotion back then, likely because of the desperate circumstances.

Still, even if I didn’t know what he was thinking, I was sure of one thing: the hero was a good person.

That was enough for me.

He licked the leftover cream off his fingers before speaking.

“Do as you like.”

“Huh?”

The hero, who had been leaning against the bakery wall, straightened up.

“Wait, really? You’re okay with it?”

He didn’t respond.

Did this mean he didn’t want to repeat himself?

Just to be sure, I carefully asked again, “So, I can bring them along?”

He didn’t contradict me.

That had to mean yes, right?

Does this mean he doesn’t dislike people as much as I thought?

Maybe he just struggles with socializing?

I couldn’t help but smile, trailing after him with a spring in my step.

Still, I should double-check one more thing.

“They’re a woman. That’s okay, right?”

“…A woman?”

The hero, who had been walking ahead, abruptly turned around with an intense aura.

Uh-oh.

Was that a no?

---

In the adventurer world, gender usually didn’t matter as long as someone was skilled.

When your life was on the line, who cared about the details?

Strength and survival trumped everything else.

Sure, some rookies underestimated frail-looking or soft-spoken people, only to end up as a mess on the floor.

This wasn’t a job for the faint of heart, and ignoring someone’s ability because of appearances was plain foolish.

That said, there were still plenty of people who disliked mixed-gender parties.

Sometimes it was because they felt more comfortable with their own gender, or they’d had bad experiences with mixed groups before.

The hero didn’t seem like the type to dislike mixed-gender parties for superficial reasons.

No, he probably disliked any new additions to his party, regardless of gender.

“Do you not like it?”

If he really objected to having a woman in the party, could it be because of something he’d witnessed before?

Romantic entanglements ruining party dynamics, perhaps?

I could see why he’d worry.

Male party members often tore each other apart over a single woman, leaving their teams in shambles.

“Don’t worry! Vasco and I are both gay, so a woman joining the party won’t distract us from our duties.”

Ah. Wait.

Did I just out myself?

Wouldn’t that make the hero uncomfortable?

It’s true that I admired him greatly, but my feelings were purely platonic.

I respected his unwavering resolve and goodness, not in any romantic or physical sense.

Still, would he believe me?

Now that I thought about it, the way I’d tried so hard to get close to him could’ve seemed suspicious.

Ugh, I really should’ve chosen my words more carefully.

“Uh… Hero?”

His lack of reaction was making me nervous.

The hero was always quiet, but today it felt worse than usual.

Surely, he wouldn’t tell me to get lost, right?

He wasn’t that kind of person.

Even before he officially became a hero, he’d been chosen for his kind heart.

If he asked if I liked him, I’d absolutely deny it.

No hesitation.

“…I see.”

“Huh?”

What?

That wasn’t what I’d expected at all.

He didn’t say he hated gay people or ask if I liked him.

He just… said, “I see.”

Was that his way of acknowledging my earlier point?

That Vasco and I being gay wouldn’t disrupt the party dynamic?

Had he been pondering that the whole time?

How embarrassing!

“I get it,” he added.

While I’d been digging a hole and burying myself alive in awkwardness, the hero had been completely unbothered.

My face burned with humiliation.

Ah, well.

At least he didn’t tell me to leave or assume I had feelings for him.

That’s why I admired him so much.

Even with my face still hot, I smiled.

“Shall we head to the forge, then?”

“Yeah.”

The hero spoke again, and just hearing his voice lifted my spirits.

When we reached the forge, I decided to wait by the door while he went inside.

I needed a moment to reflect on my own actions.

I’d gotten too excited about getting closer to him and ended up acting like a fool.

Time to get a grip!

Earlier, when I asked that pathetic question about whether he hated gay people, I genuinely thought I’d die of shame!

Just thinking about it makes me groan, clutching my head in embarrassment.

Fighting ten demons at once would be easier than dealing with the Hero.

I might believe the Hero is a good person, but I don’t actually know anything about him.

I should stop jumping to conclusions about people.

I mean, we’ve only known each other personally for two days!

Just because I spent some time with his future self, I was acting so full of myself.

What a joke.

“Raul?”

The sound of familiar footsteps approached.

I looked up.

“Are you okay? Is it a headache?”

Elegant blonde hair, a gentle smile, and a warm voice.

I didn’t even need to search my memory to know who it was.

Naike Hill.

One of the heroes of the war.

She hadn’t joined the Hero’s party, but her influence had been just as great.

“No, it’s nothing, just…”

“Don’t tell me it’s some incurable disease?”

She had a slightly gossipy side that was a bit of a flaw.

“It’s not that.”

Maybe I should cancel my plan to be nicer to Vasco.

“Oh, good. That’s a relief.”

Naike beamed, covering one cheek with her hand and giving a shy smile.

Honestly, she looked more like a noble lady than an adventurer.

“I even heard rumors that you were traveling with the Death Knight to search for some rare cure. I didn’t believe it at first, but then I saw you with Zerbin and thought it might be true.”

Some ridiculous rumor had spread without my knowing.

Typical.

Adventurers thrive on that sort of nonsense.

If anyone tries teasing me about it, I’ll just knock them out.

“You’ve always been diligent, Raul. But when I heard you suddenly canceled a commission and were facing penalties, I got worried.”

Naike’s genuine concern washed away my earlier embarrassment like a balm.

Maybe people like her are the reason this world is still worth saving.

“Don’t say anything too touching, or I might actually cry.”

To be honest, before the war, I used to think Naike was secretly the illegitimate daughter of some noble family.

A runaway bride trying to rebel against an arranged marriage or a sheltered illegitimate child doing whatever they pleased with their family’s secret support—something like that.

People might envy the freedom of adventurers, but this job is brutal if you don’t have a strong will.

Every time you fight a monster, you barely escape with your life.

And the ally you shared a drink with yesterday could stab you in the back tomorrow.

Among these maniacs, who value money and fame over their own lives, maintaining kindness and compassion is almost impossible—unless you have somewhere safe to fall back on.

“Oh my,” Naike laughed softly.

She thought I was joking.

“It’s true. I’ve been more emotional lately.”

But the truth is, Naike is just a good person.

Exceptionally so.

The kind of person who proves you don’t have to stoop to the level of the scum around you.

Naike wasn’t always like this.

Before the war, she was just a regular adventurer.

But during the war, she awakened.

There’s no better word to describe her overwhelming growth.

While the Hero’s party efficiently wiped out demons, Naike prioritized protecting the weak.

Using her own money to provide refugees with essentials was just the beginning.

She would rather suffer injuries herself than let ordinary people get hurt, and she often ended up gravely wounded because of it.

In the end, Naike died protecting the people who believed in her.

If she had survived, I wouldn’t have been the one to fill the empty spot in the Hero’s party.

* * *