* * *
I was just suggesting that we shouldn’t go to the hero without a plan, so why do I feel like I’m the bad guy here?
It’s not that I don’t trust his opinion—I just want to be cautious.
But if I argue any further, I’ll end up looking like some jerk who completely dismisses his partner’s opinion.
It’s a bit bewildering, but… I suppose he has a right to feel hurt.
I have been pretty harsh when talking to him.
What do I do?
I can’t afford to fall out with Gaspar too much.
“…Fine, I’ll think about it some more.”
Looking at the situation logically, Gaspar clearly doesn’t like the idea of breaking the prisoner out of jail.
He seems to think it might make things even worse.
Instead, he insists that it would be better to just arrange a proper meeting and talk things out honestly.
I don’t agree with him.
But Gaspar has been around the hero longer than I have, so I can’t just ignore his words completely.
That means my only choice is to come up with a better plan—something Gaspar can agree with.
…Man, I miss Saskia.
That bastard always came up with the craziest schemes.
‘I wonder what they’re up to these days.’
Since they were from another country, it was hard to get any news about them here.
I found myself staring blankly out the window, lost in pointless thoughts.
The sky was turning a faint shade of red.
Soon, the sun would set, painting the world in the color of blood.
The sunset…
“Ah!”
I jumped up.
It’s time for the hero’s dinner!
“What’s wrong?”
“I have to make sure Zerbin gets dinner.”
“You take care of his dinner?”
Now that I said it out loud, it did sound kind of ridiculous—especially considering he was a fully grown adult over two meters tall.
To be honest, the hero would manage just fine without me.
Temple food might taste bad, but this was a big city—there were plenty of places to buy decent food.
But I was the one who took on the responsibility of preparing his meals.
It’d be unfair to just drop it after getting him used to my cooking.
Besides, this was the perfect excuse to see him again.
And this time, I’d finally succeed at making a proper meal for him.
Maybe then, he’d see my effort and cool off a little.
I hope so.
“Let’s meet again tomorrow and talk more.”
After setting up another meeting, I left immediately.
I considered buying something on the way, but if he grabbed food somewhere in the meantime, it’d be pointless—so I hurried to the temple instead.
I still had some bacon and eggs left from last time. I’d use those.
‘Is he at the temple?’
I really hoped so.
Otherwise, I’d have to run all over the city looking for him, and I’d end up missing dinner.
And worse—what if he wasn’t just blowing off steam?
What if he actually left because he didn’t want to see me?
That would be bad.
Really bad.
‘Is he… not outside?’
He usually waited by the entrance whenever I came back from the market.
Though, to be fair, it was less about greeting me and more about making sure I hadn’t done anything stupid.
Still, since I was used to seeing him every time, not seeing him now felt… kind of lonely.
There was a high chance he wasn’t inside either.
“Ugh…”
Just as I was about to walk in dejectedly, I sensed a familiar presence approaching, and my heart skipped a beat.
“Raul!”
A loud voice called out as a strong grip seized my arm.
It was the hero!
“You were at the temple? Thank god. I was so worried you’d left because you were mad at me!”
And he actually came out to meet me first.
Maybe he’s not as mad anymore?
I don’t know why, but either way, I was relieved.
But while I was feeling a huge sense of relief, the hero’s expression was anything but reassuring.
He looked at me with an intensely serious gaze, scanning me up and down.
“W-what’s wrong?”
Do I… look weird?
Can he tell I was with Gaspar?
If he notices, then any chance of making up is over.
Every time his gaze swept over me, a chill ran down my spine.
“You’re not hurt.”
“Huh?”
Now that I thought about it, something similar happened before we left on this journey.
After my fight with Heros, he had carefully checked me over and even forced a potion on me—just to heal a tiny scratch on my cheek.
Was he checking for wounds again?
But why would that be the first thing on his mind?
Did he think I got into a fight with Gaspar?
“Then why do you look like that?”
“Me?”
Oh.
Oh, crap.
I was absolutely covered in blood.
I must have gotten splattered when I was tending to Vasco’s wounds and pouring potion over them.
My head had been such a mess that I hadn’t even noticed.
No wonder people had been glancing at me.
…I thought it was because I was just really good-looking.
“After I left you, I ran into Vasco while he was on duty. He was seriously injured, so I used up all the potions I had to treat him.”
“…….”
Did I make him worry?
I felt a little bad.
“Sorry for scaring you. I was so busy thinking about how to make up with you that I didn’t even check how I looked—!”
Suddenly, the hero pressed his large hand down on my head.
It wasn’t painful, just… firm.
But that wasn’t all.
His big hands ruffled through my hair roughly, completely messing it up.
My neatly tied hair came undone, and a golden hairpiece fell to the ground with a clatter.
My hair was now a complete disaster.
Wait… is this his way of venting his frustration?
‘…Cute.’
Now that I thought about it, he had done this before too.
So, now when he’s mad at me, instead of throwing punches, he just messes up my hair?
That’s… adorable.
I laughed.
As I straightened my hair, I smiled.
“Sorry, okay? I said I’m sorry, so stop that and come inside for dinner. This time, I’m definitely going to cook bacon properly!”
“You’ve never succeeded even once, and yet you’re acting so cocky.”
“Do you have to hit where it hurts?!”
As I pulled him into the temple by the hand, the hero followed me rather obediently.
I felt a little bad for startling him, but at least the bloodstained clothes had worked in my favor—he had approached me first.
That was a relief in itself.
I was happy that he cared.
But surprisingly, Gaspar hadn’t said a word about the mess I was in.
Normally, wouldn’t people at least ask how something like this happened?
It’s not like he already knew what I had been up to.
Maybe he just didn’t think much of it since we were both adventurers.
A little bloodstain here and there wasn’t exactly unusual.
Or maybe he was just being considerate by not prying into a stranger’s personal matters.
That, too, could be a form of kindness.
With that in mind, it was actually a huge deal that the hero had reacted so strongly—he had even shouted in surprise at the sight of my bloodstained clothes.
A man who had always kept to himself, refusing to interact with others, had not only grown close to me but also started to care about me.
That was… touching.
And that’s exactly why I kept forgetting about the boundaries I had set!
Forget rational choices or objective facts—I just wanted to let myself rely on the hero.
I wanted to lean on him.
To be pampered by him.
* * *
