Chapter 53

Chapter 53

Thud!

“Ugh.”

I woke up to a strange sound. It’s not like I have a habit of making weird noises when I wake up, but there was a reason for it.

…I fell off the bed while sleeping.

“Ah… my head hurts…”

The headache from the hangover was worse than the fall from the bed. I got up clumsily and looked around, but I was the only one there.

Where’s my potion?

“I should ask the Saint to help me with this headache…”

I don’t get drunk easily, but this hangover is always a problem. After a quick preparation, I headed outside to the room where the Saint, Selin, and Elfride were supposed to be.

I’m not stupid enough to barge into a room where only women are staying. Like a gentleman, I knocked on the door two or three times.

“…Why is there no response?”

I put my ear to the door. But I couldn’t hear anything.

Is no one in the room? Did I wake up too late…?

“Hero?”

“Ah, Selin.”

It was Selin, with her beautiful brown hair and ruby-like red eyes.

I greeted her, who had now become my companion.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Yes. Are you okay, Hero? You seemed to have drunk a lot yesterday.”

“Ahaha… Actually, I came because my head hurts.”

“…That’s why you should have restrained yourself.”

“Yeah, I should have.”

But the alcohol was too good yesterday. I couldn’t resist. If I had been asked to choose between alcohol and women yesterday, I would have chosen alcohol without hesitation.

…Really.

“But why aren’t you going in?”

“I knocked, but there was no response from inside.”

“Saint Estelle should be there… I just stepped out for a moment…”

But why isn’t this girl responding?

“Let’s just go in.”

“Ah, okay.”

Since Selin allowed it, it should be fine. Selin opened the door first, and I followed behind her. And the sight before my eyes made me wide-eyed.

“…Ah, Abel?”

“…Yo, Hero!?”

There were two beauties tangled up on the bed. Elfride’s hand was on the Saint’s shoulder, and the Saint’s hand was heading towards Elfride’s chest. Moreover, Elfride was only wearing a robe, so there was nowhere to look.

…You guys… had that kind of taste?

“…I respect all sexual preferences.”

“Ah, no! Abel! This is…!”

“Wh-what are you misunderstanding, Hero!?”

“Stop talking nonsense and get out, Hero.”

At Selin’s scolding, I stepped out.

Wait a minute. I feel a bit wronged.

After all, Selin was the one who took me in? I just followed her. Why should I be the one kicked out!

…But thinking rationally, I couldn’t have stayed in the room anyway. Selin probably didn’t expect such a situation to unfold either.

“…It was a feast for the eyes, though.”

Who would have thought both of them had that kind of taste?

Sigh, does that leave only Chloe for me…?

Then, the door creaked open behind me.

“…Hero?”

“Saint, aren’t you going to finish what you were doing?”

“Wh-what are you talking about!? It’s not like that!”

Just kidding, girl. So this is how it feels to tease someone.

The Saint sighed deeply, came out of the room, and stood next to me.

“Why did you come out?”

“You said your head hurts, Hero. Selin told me.”

“Ah, right.”

My head is still throbbing. Time to do something about this hangover!

“Come closer.”

“Okay.”

“Sit down.”

I did as the Saint said. As I plopped down in the hallway, the Saint crouched in front of me.

Her hand touched my forehead. The Saint infused Holy Power into me.

As expected, I don’t need any hangover remedy. I feel my mind clearing up. As my head felt refreshed, my mood naturally improved.

When the Saint removed her hand, I expressed my gratitude to her.

“Hehe, thank you.”

“Really… you drank so much, of course, your head hurts. You’re already a bit of a fool, and if your head keeps hurting, you might become even more foolish♡”

…What does a headache have to do with that?

“Ah, Saint.”

“Yes?”

“But why were you and Elfride like that earlier?”

“…You don’t need to know.”

What are you hiding?

“Are we hiding things from each other? I don’t hide anything from you, Saint.”

“Huh… u-us?”

“Yes.”

Yeah, we’re comrades. True comrades shouldn’t hide anything from each other.

But the Saint’s reaction was a bit strange. She blushed slightly and twirled her hair with her fingers.

“…What kind of relationship do you think we have? I’m curious…”

Why is she reacting like this?

“Huh? Of course, the Hero and the Saint. Comrades, right?”

“Ah… y-yes. Comrades.”

The Saint nodded. But her eyes seemed a bit disappointed.

“Did my answer not satisfy you? Or was I the only one who thought that way…”

“Ah, no! It’s not that… Anyway, what happened with Elfride was really nothing. I don’t have the kind of preference you’re thinking of.”

…I thought I could see some beautiful yuri, but what a waste.

“It was just the timing of your entrance that was perfect.”

“What were you trying to do that you were touching Elfride’s body?”

Is there usually a situation like that? Even if they’re of the same gender, it’s rare to be in a position where they’re about to touch each other’s bodies on the bed.

“…I wanted to check.”

“Huh? Check what?”

“…I wanted to check how much bigger Elfride’s chest is compared to mine.”

“Cough!”

…Are you serious?

Is there really a need to check that directly? Honestly, the Saint isn’t small, but Elfride is visibly bigger, so the comparison was obvious.

“…Hero♡ What are you looking at~?”

“Oops.”

Thinking about their chests, my gaze naturally drifted there. The Saint gave me a sly smile.

“You beast♡ Perverted Hero♡”

“…Ahem.”

I was caught red-handed. I quickly changed the subject.

“…But was there really a need to check that directly? People would really misunderstand.”

“Huh? I was just curious. I wanted to know how it felt to touch it.”

“…Haha.”

You really seem like a crazy woman.

“Ah, Hero.”

“…What?”

“Didn’t Hero Levius come to your room?”

“…Why would he come to me?”

It’s obvious we’d growl at each other if we met, so why would he bother coming?

“…Guess he didn’t come?”

“Yeah, of course. There’s no reason for Levius to come see me in the first place.”

“Hmm…”

The Saint seemed to be pondering something.

“Was Levius supposed to come to me?”

“Ah, no. Not like that. I was just curious.”

“???”

Talking to her sometimes feels like getting lost in a maze. We’re clearly having a conversation, but I feel like I’m the only one who doesn’t get it.

…Am I really an idiot?

#

After the Saint and I said Selin could come in, she entered the room. Elfride had already taken off her robe and was wearing proper clothes.

It’s the first time I’ve seen her without armor, just in casual clothes.

As expected of a heroine, her usual tied-up hair was now let down, and her golden hair looked incredibly attractive.

…Honestly, it’s my type. A blonde, blue-eyed, straight-haired heroine? I can’t resist that.

Plus, her figure, usually hidden by armor, was now fully revealed, and it was absolutely devastating.

…Amazing, incredible.

Elfride slightly lowered her gaze and spoke as if embarrassed.

“Abel, forget what happened earlier. It really wasn’t what you’re thinking…”

“Ah, I know. It was just a joke.”

“…I see.”

Elfride let out a sigh of relief. She looked at me and gave a slight nod.

“Sorry about yesterday. As your senior, I should’ve taken care of you, but I ended up passing out first…”

“Eh, it’s fine. That happens when you drink.”

Come to think of it, didn’t we make some kind of bet yesterday?

“Elfride, didn’t we make a bet yesterday?”

“A bet?…Ah, right. We did. The one who passed out first had to grant the other’s wish.”

Oh, so I remembered correctly.

“…A wish?”

The voice came from beside me. The Saint was asking, squinting her eyes and looking at me suspiciously.

…What are you misunderstanding?

“It’s just something within reason, so don’t misunderstand it as something weird.”

“…When did I say it was something weird?”

“You were looking at me like that…”

The Saint turned her head away. You’re avoiding eye contact because you’re guilty.

“Anyway, what do you plan to wish for?”

“Hmm, I haven’t really thought about it. Do I have to decide right away?”

“Not really.”

“Then I’ll put it off for a bit… Ah, Elfride.”

“What is it?”

I drew the Holy Sword from my back.

“About the Holy Sword of Order. Do you know the conditions for awakening its consciousness? Something changed once, but since then, it’s been silent.”

“You’ve already unlocked one condition?”

“I don’t know what the condition was, but it just happened. The hilt changed.”

Elfride looked at the hilt and nodded.

“Hmm, it definitely changed. It was gray before, right?”

“Oh, you remember that.”

Good memory. Or is it just good observation skills?

“The method to awaken the consciousness of your Holy Sword isn’t well known. However…”

“However?”

“In the past, some heroes did manage to awaken it. Like you are now.”

…So, it’s like solving a puzzle piece by piece?

Ah, but there’s no guarantee the consciousness will awaken. It might not be the end.

“I don’t know the details, but I do know the homelands and families of some heroes who wielded the Holy Sword of Order in the past. Why not visit them and find out?”

“That’s a good idea.”

“Then I’ll tell you where to go.”

Elfride looked around, picked up a piece of paper and a quill, and started writing something.

“Though I can’t be sure. There’s no guarantee all the heroes recorded their conditions.”

“But it’s worth a shot.”

“Right, that’s not a bad idea.”

The quill stopped, and Elfride handed me the paper. It had a few place names and family names written on it.

“Hmm.”

…What the hell is written here? All I know is that the handwriting is pretty.

I subtly passed the paper to the Saint beside me. She took it and read it to me.

“The closest place is Caput City in the Vesta Kingdom.”

“Caput?”

Reminds me of Starbucks.

“It’s not far from Poclum. If you follow the order I wrote, it should be convenient. I arranged the travel route to connect.”

“Oh, I see.”

As expected of Elfride. She’s got good sense.

“Then it’s best to leave right away, right?”

“Huh? You’re leaving right now?”

“Yeah. The debriefing’s over, and there’s no reason to stay, right?”

Elfride stared at me for a moment, then suddenly chuckled.

“Right, who am I to stop you.”

“Huh?”

“Never mind, go ahead. I’ll look forward to seeing you again.”

“Yeah, me too…”

Knock knock!

Someone was banging on the door.

I looked back at the Saint and Elfride.

“Was someone supposed to come?”

“No.”

“Not me either.”

Who is it? I walked to the door and asked who it was.

“Sorry to disturb you, Hero! There’s an urgent matter I need to inform you about!”

A messenger? I quickly opened the door. A soldier in chainmail saluted.

“Hello. What’s the matter?”

“Yes, Hero! Is Hero Elfride also here?”

“Yes, she is.”

I pointed to Elfride behind me, and the soldier spoke loudly so she could hear.

“Then I’ll get straight to the point! Currently, an Amon-Class Monster and a Mother entity leading a group of monsters have appeared near the border of the Vesta Kingdom. We request the Heroes to join the battle!”

…An Amon-Class Monster?

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