* * *

“Wait, his face was red? Batista Zerbin? That monster?”

“Uh… yeah.”

Vasco edged away from me, as if debating whether to stay or leave.

Sometimes I can’t tell if he’s loyal or not.

“Well, it’s not like he’d even remember your face. You’re so plain-looking.”

“What does that have to do with anything?!”

I grumbled, irritated that Vasco would poke at my insecurities.

But he was the one who started joking when I was being serious.

…He was joking, right?

The Hero’s not the kind of guy to get pissed and lash out at someone just for being near someone annoying.

Right?

I mean, he’s supposed to be brave and noble.

But since nobody really knows him, ridiculous rumors paint him as a scary figure.

Honestly, it’d be better if he got along with people more.

Not that this is the time for me to be worrying about that, considering I just got told to “get lost.”

“So, what do you think? Why do you think he’s mad?”

Seriously, I was just following the plan. This isn’t fair.

“How would I know what that guy is thinking? If you, who’ve spent time with him, don’t know, how could I?”

“Don’t be so petty. Just throw out any idea you have. I’m dying here.”

“There’s a generic answer.”

“Generic?”

“You collapsed because of that monster, didn’t you? Maybe he was worried and came to check on you but found you hanging out with Vicente instead. He could’ve been annoyed.”

That… was actually a reasonable answer.

If the Hero were an ordinary person, I’d have considered that possibility first.

He knows I’m gay, so maybe he felt frustrated seeing me leave the house with another guy.

It could’ve felt like all his worry was for nothing.

He’d probably think I looked perfectly fine.

But this is the Hero.

Someone who shows zero interest in people.

The guy doesn’t even team up with anyone for quests—he’s that kind of person.

He wasn’t always this invincible, unbeatable Hero chosen by the gods, though.

I sighed deeply.

That wasn’t helpful at all.

“You asked me to talk!”

“I didn’t say it was helpful. Why are you mad?”

“You just said it wasn’t!”

“Oops, sorry.”

“Like hell I’m helping you with your problems ever again.”

He always says that but never means it, so I just laughed.

We didn’t figure out much, but after venting, I felt better.

Even though the Hero told me to “get lost,” I wasn’t as worried as I probably should be.

Maybe because it didn’t feel like that terrifying rage he showed back during the Carmen incident.

It just feels like I can handle this somehow.

Wow, I really have guts, huh?

I’m in no position to think, “It’ll work out somehow,” and yet here I am.

---

“By the way, what’s with you and all these monsters—”

“Hey, watch your mouth! What if he hears you?”

Maybe because I’d just run into the Hero near my house, Vasco didn’t argue back.

He just shut his mouth.

Not because he thought the Hero might actually hear, but because he hates it when I call him a monster.

“With Zerbin—”

“There you go. Finish your thought.”

“Ugh, you jerk. Anyway, why are you trying so hard to stick with Zerbin? Didn’t you not like him?”

A sharp observation.

It’s true, before the Demon King attacked, I didn’t care about the Hero at all.

Life’s too short to spend time on someone you dislike when you can be with people who like you.

Even when others praised his achievements or tried to get close to him, I felt nothing.

I thought he had nothing to do with me.

But, really, you never know how life will turn out.

Who would have thought the most important mission in my life would be to teach the hero about love?

What kind of answer would sound convincing here?

Telling the truth is, of course, forbidden.

If I said anything remotely truthful, that guy would probably think I was just trying to cover up some incurable disease with nonsense.

“When lying, mix just enough truth to make it believable…”*

I rolled the words around in my mouth, testing them out.

“Well, I guess… you just looked lonely.”

And so, my answer emerged.

It wasn’t entirely a lie.

While wandering through this devastated world, watching a hero who never relied on anyone, I’d genuinely thought so.

“You’re always alone, you know? Humans aren’t meant to live solitary lives. So, I was curious how it would feel for you to interact with others.”

Of course, it’s not like I’m matchmaking for that reason right now… so, it’s not entirely true either.

At that moment, a shadow loomed over me.

It wasn’t the sun being covered by clouds, of course.

It was Vasco beside me, his expression turning deathly pale.

And naturally, mine did too.

“For that kind of reason?”

The shadow blocking my view was the hero himself.

I had assumed he might be nearby, but I had only wanted to stop calling him a monster, not for this to actually happen!

Why was he this close?!

A shiver ran down my spine.

Vasco might somehow buy my explanation, but to the hero, it was clearly an insult.

I’d arbitrarily decided that a perfectly capable hero “looked lonely.”

But since the hero overheard everything, there was no way to deny it now.

If I tried to take it back, he’d just think I was someone who couldn’t stick to their words.

I had to convince him while keeping my stance intact… but would that even be possible?

My mouth went dry. I couldn’t even swallow, my throat bobbing uselessly.

Cold sweat trickled down my back.

“Pathetic.”

Of course, this would be his reaction.

My head throbbed in this utterly ruined situation, but I forced myself to stay calm.

“Aha… haha… I guess you were nearby by chance. Sorry for talking about you behind your back.”

My voice trembled uncontrollably, but I wanted to consider that much as an unavoidable consequence.

The pressure to persuade the hero was crushing.

“You’re fine on your own… aren’t you? My bad for assuming you looked lonely and offending you.”

“…”

“I didn’t mean it as a criticism of you being alone. It’s just that, well, I’ve always enjoyed being around others, so I found it… interesting.”

I barely managed to piece my words together before realizing my mistake.

Was it okay to say “interesting”?

That didn’t sound like I was treating him like a spectacle, right?

It was just me being curious about how we were different.

My heart raced erratically.

I didn’t want him to hate me.

I didn’t want the hero to look at me with disdain.

I respected him more than anyone and genuinely wanted him to be happy.

“So.”

The hero spoke.

His voice was cold, but it was still better than him saying nothing at all.

I eagerly nodded, signaling I’d listen to whatever he said.

“Is that why you keep bringing people to me?”

…I was doomed.

He noticed that too?

Well, I guess it would’ve been hard not to notice with how often I introduced him to others.

Still, this was bad.

There’s a world of difference between being curious about how he interacted with people and deciding he was lonely and attaching random strangers to him out of pity.

The former could be interpreted as genuine interest, while the latter was just unwarranted meddling.

Should I deny it?

Would he even believe me if I did?

“…You’re the worst.”

* * *