* * *

Sure, I worked hard over the past week to win his favor, but it’s hard to believe it’s real.

Think about it!

Think about it! I’ve made so many mistakes until now—

“Looks like you don’t want that.”

“No!”

Ahh!

Taking something back after giving it is the worst!

Panicking, I shot up from my seat, nearly shouting in protest.

The sudden movement and outburst turned heads in the restaurant, but I didn’t care.

They’d all been staring since we walked in anyway—thanks to the hero’s presence.

“No, no, no! I love it!”

Of course, I do!

Why wouldn’t I?

“Thank you so much! I’ll do my best!”

The hero’s expression darkened at my enthusiasm, so I quickly sat back down.

Maybe I overreacted.

After all, he didn’t make me a companion or anything.

He just said he wouldn’t ignore me if I spoke to him.

My reaction might’ve been a bit excessive.

But it’s the hero!

He didn’t even remember my name the first time we met!

Even after I introduced myself, he treated it like it wasn’t worth remembering.

He’d even left me behind.

But now, not only does he know my name, he’s promised to respond when I talk to him!

The hero—who hates talking—gave me a verbal, out-loud confirmation!

It’s his way of reassuring me.

How could I not be moved by that?

I still remember Heros saying that getting two sentences out of him was already a miracle.

And now, here I am, sitting across from him, sharing a meal.

Do you realize how incredible this is?

I was so happy I couldn’t even feel tired anymore.

If it weren’t the hero, I might’ve hugged him on the spot.

I smiled brightly.

“Sorry if I startled you. But seriously, cut me some slack. Do you know how badly I wanted to get close to you? I’m so touched I might faint.”

The hero didn’t respond, but something about the atmosphere felt strange.

He seemed to be avoiding my gaze…

Was it too much for him?

Should I apologize?

But dragging him into another conversation might be rude, so I decided to stay quiet instead.

It’s better to leave him be than to force him into small talk.

Still, I couldn’t stop smiling.

I was so happy I could even enjoy the food that had been too rich for me earlier.

I polished off the entire plate and felt a lot better afterward.

Now, I wouldn’t have to worry about the hero asking why I bothered coming if I wasn’t going to eat.

Today’s a good day.

From now on, I can introduce people to the hero again.

I’d been terrified that my mistakes would ruin everything.

Now, at least, I won’t have nightmares about being cast aside.

‘But right now, all the skilled people I could introduce are out dealing with external threats.’

The growing power of the monsters meant more manpower was needed in areas they frequently attacked.

Even the hero had been busy dealing with an unexpected surge of manticores recently, clearing out their habitat entirely before returning.

I was lucky to catch him at all.

‘Now that I think about it, the Hero is bound to leave soon on another mission. Should I try at least one more time before then? But how…?’

Suddenly, the shop door burst open.

Even though I wasn’t particularly curious about who came in, the loud noise made me instinctively turn my head.

To my surprise, I came face-to-face with someone I knew.

“See? I told you, if you’re ever in Swindlin, you have to stop by here!”

The woman who barged in as if she were kicking the door down was the very person who introduced me to this restaurant.

She was a striking beauty with fiery red hair cascading in unruly waves and sharp amber eyes.

Although she was a woman, she was nearly as tall as I was.

Despite being a mage, she had a solid build, likely due to basic physical training and her naturally robust physique.

‘Carmen Fenella.’

A flame mage as fierce as her striking color palette, her power only grew during the war later on.

It was thanks to acquiring a holy artifact that granted her flames divine attributes.

Since demonic entities were naturally weak against holiness, she achieved remarkable feats on the battlefield.

“Who do we have here?”

That, however, is a story for another time.

At the moment, she’s about on par with me—enough that we’ve completed several party missions together.

“Isn’t this Raul Florenti? The guy who flat-out rejected me when I invited him on a mission last time?”

Did I do that?

Back when I had just regressed and was barely keeping it together, I’d refused every mission request that came my way.

Carmen must’ve been one of them.

But knowing her, she probably only invited me because she thought having a handsome guy in the party would be nice.

So it doesn’t really matter.

At least, that’s what I assumed, but Carmen seemed quite indignant as she stomped over to me.

“I figured I’d cut you some slack since you seemed off, but here you are, snagging yourself a pretty boy for a date? How outrageous is that?”

The absurd misunderstanding sent shivers down my spine.

“Watch your mouth if you don’t want trouble.”

“What? Why the sudden serious face? You’re scaring me.”

Feigning fear, Carmen boldly came right up to me.

With her movement, the person seated across from me—who’d been partially hidden by the decor—was now fully in view.

“Wh-what the heck?!”

See?

I tried to warn you to watch your mouth.

I could only nod in silent solidarity as Carmen clamped her hands over her mouth, her face pale with shock.

‘Now you get it, don’t you?’

Carmen, who usually walked with confident strides befitting an adventurer, scurried closer to me and whispered urgently in my ear.

“What’s going on here? Did you seduce him?”

Do you think that’s possible?

“Uh, uh, excuse me for a moment! I’m borrowing him for a second!”

Before I could respond, Carmen grabbed me and dragged me out of the shop.

Normally, she wouldn’t leave the Hero alone, but I’m one of the rare people allowed to interact with him.

To clear up this horrifying misunderstanding, I decided to follow her.

Besides, the Hero wouldn’t take it the wrong way just because I stepped out for a bit.

We’d gotten close enough by now that something this minor wouldn’t ruin things between us.

“Did you sleep with him?”

Carmen immediately threw out something utterly terrifying.

“For the love of everything, can you stop? Someone might overhear!”

“Why wouldn’t I ask? You think this is normal? Zerbin never spends time with anyone outside his priest. I swear, this is the first time I’ve seen him with someone else.”

“Maybe he just felt like branching out.”

I could explain that I’d helped him before, but I didn’t want to.

That would naturally lead to questions about how I helped, and revealing the Hero’s weaknesses was out of the question.

“For real? Are you serious?”

Carmen’s amber eyes sparkled as she grabbed my shoulders and shook me.

Already sleep-deprived and exhausted, I felt dizzy from her enthusiasm and had to stop her by grabbing her arms.

“Do you think I’d lie about this? Zerbin would destroy me if he found out. We even worked together on a job recently.”

“What kind of job?”

“Can’t say. If you’re curious, ask Naike or Vasco—they were with us too.”

“No way! What’s changed his mind so much?”

…Did Carmen have a thing for the Hero?

She always went crazy for pretty boys, so it wouldn’t be surprising.

And while the Hero’s intense demeanor could be intimidating, his looks were undeniably exceptional.

“I can’t believe I missed all this just because I was away for a week. I should’ve stayed!”

Carmen stomped her feet in frustration.

“So, you’re closest to him right now, right? Can I join you? I won’t cause trouble, I promise! I just want to say hi!”

“You want me to introduce you?”

“Do you think he knows who I am? He probably doesn’t, right? Come on, please introduce me! I’ve been doing so well lately—you can hype me up! I’ll make it worth your while!”

Her voice was desperate.

It felt wrong to turn her down when she was so earnest, but would the Hero even allow it?

* * *