Chapter 212 – [Hero] Thinking
We continued on towards the Demon Castle.
It didn’t change that I was in the lead, but the only thing that changed was that Yuni wasn’t by my side.
She was walking between me and them.
Originally, Ertina should have been in that position, but now it seemed as if their positions were reversed.
“… Ertina-san, even if you don’t care so much…”
“Are you uncomfortable?”
“Oh, no… It’s not…”
As she walked around me, she looked at me and asked.
Actually, it’s nice that I’m not lonely because someone says something to me, but… However, not getting closer to me beyond the schedule made me feel the difference between her and Yuni, and sometimes I felt depressed.
But she didn’t want to throw her out.
If that happened, I would feel completely alone, and most of all, I could hear a lot of stories from her past.
At some point, I was listening to Ertina’s past.
“… Yes, I came close to betraying him.”
“As expected…”
From the story she heard at this time, it was also possible to hear that Ertina was also on the verge of being passed over by him.
Perhaps it was a bit embarrassing to tell her about her ugliness, the tips of her ears were slightly red, but she still told the story.
I’m not sure if it’s because I decided that it would be helpful to me, or if it’s my own wish that someone would listen to it.
“At the time, we were stuck in the Demonic Territory for a long time. Naturally, everyone expected it to take longer, and of course he thought so too. But the change came suddenly.”
At that time, the last remaining Four Heavenly Kings confronted them.
However, the Four Heavenly Kings suddenly disappeared one day.
“The enemy commander disappeared overnight. No one expected it, but it was a good thing anyway. Thanks to that, I was able to proceed to the demon lord attack at once… As a result, his plan was somewhat of a failure.”
An unexpected advance.
In the end, the demon king faced the former demon king without completely changing Ertina’s mind.
“So, at that time, I decided to stand on the side of the hero again.”
But… In the end it failed.
The hero fell into one of the four heavenly kings, and Ertina sealed herself away and fell into an indefinite sleep.
“Maybe the reason I still can’t forget the hero… Maybe it’s because of guilt.”
Ertina still held the guilt in her heart.
Guilt that she almost betrayed the warrior.
For some reason, Yuni kept overlapping with her.
If the… If I fail, and if Yuni’s heart is not completely inclined to him and her history repeats itself again, will Yuni live like Ertina like this?
Carrying a debt in your heart forever?
“… Sorry.”
“You have no reason to be sorry. You didn’t do anything wrong, did you?”
We have the warrior… Because he had killed the Four Skeleton Kings, now he had no chance to relieve his guilt or even to do so.
“Are you okay. Anyway he… I’m no longer the warrior I used to be.”
Because we never imagined he would be a hero while we were fighting.
There is no trace of the hero who once tried to protect humans from demons.
“Did he have any last words?”
“… I resented the goddess.”
At that, she shut her mouth for a moment.
“Okay.”
The last hero, Sera, and even Ertina.
She hasn’t heard of it herself, but probably doesn’t like Luella too much.
Everyone has animosity towards the Goddess.
What on earth is the goddess doing this for?
At least, I hope you can give us some more explanation…
“Why don’t you take a break?”
Suddenly, Jeren shouted from behind.
Looking back, everyone seems a little tired.
You didn’t pay attention.
“I need to take a break for a while.”
“Yes, I think it should.”
We decided to take a break for a while.
I glanced at Yuni while sitting in her seat, and before I knew it, she was talking to Jeren.
At least it wasn’t a friendly conversation, but it bothered me very much that I was talking to him, not me.
“… UNI.”
It was difficult now to approach her and put her words to rest.
Sense of distance.
She felt distant now.
She sometimes talked to Yuni when she had something she needed to say, and she tried to subtly distance herself from me.
It wasn’t a refusal, but rather a sign of hesitation that I didn’t know what to do, but it still felt like a refusal to me.
However, at least for Jeren, there is no such sign.
The distance between the two is close.
But Yuni doesn’t care about that.
Even though the face seems to hate it, the body is not rejecting it.
That fact, I came to realize.
“Uni is too good.”
Ertina muttered as if she didn’t like her.
I wanted to defend myself for a moment, but I didn’t open my mouth because I thought it would be funny to defend them.
That’s why I didn’t want to insult Yuni.
When she looked back at her moments later, Yuni was dozing off her back.
You look very tired.
Maybe she didn’t get much sleep.
Uni bought a decent-sized tent in her village and was using it alone.
At least, it seems that Jeren didn’t visit her in the middle of the night, but seeing her like that made her worried.
It’s just that I don’t know, isn’t it true that he visits every day?
Not being able to sleep… Isn’t that so?
My body gets excited just thinking about it.
I tried to look away from her and pressed her teeth.
She barely subsided and looked back at her uni, a familiar overcoat hanging over her shoulders.
It’s his coat
The coat worn by Jeren.
“Oh…”
“The priestess walked me.”
Ertina tipped me off to see if she had seen it.
“Yeah, that’s right.”
At least I’m glad he didn’t go and cover it up himself.
No, I should have done something like that…
I’m not a lover anymore, but I would have been able to give you that kind of consideration.
Also my thoughts are very short.
At least I hadn’t even thought of putting her coat over her right away.
… Maybe he makes women happier than I do?
I thought about that for a while.
Even though they were treated like that, they wouldn’t stick by his side.
If that’s the case, Yuni falling for him…
No, let’s not bring strange reasons.
I keep thinking of reasons why it’s okay for him to take Uni away.
I have already heard from them how he treats his women.
I shook my head lightly and brushed off all useless thoughts.
“When shall we depart?”
“Hmm…”
I want to make you rest comfortably, but I can’t finish today’s schedule by setting up a tent already.
I waited until she seemed awake and then she set off again.
Her reaction to her was bothering her, and she kept looking at her, but Uni was a little taken aback when she noticed the identity of her cloak draped over her own shoulder.
Her gaze naturally reached Jeren, and when he seemed unwilling to accept it, she hesitated and eventually followed us with her coat.
The coat did not fall from her hands.
I couldn’t throw it away, so I had to keep holding it, but couldn’t I just go and hand it over?
Uni kept looking only at Jeren, as if she was thinking of handing it to her.
However, because Jeren kept avoiding eye contact with her on purpose, Yuni couldn’t hand it over.
Seriana Arin is also next to me.
Maybe she just wanted to put her words together with him.
On the pretext of returning her coat.
If that’s the case… I’d rather go and talk to her…
“Wouldn’t it be better not to go?”
“… Well. At least now she seems to be having a hard time with you…”
“Ha…”
Yeah, the problem is that even if I go, I just realize that she’s having a hard time dealing with me.
It was quite a shock that she, who had been with her almost all her life, was awkward with me.
She’s been there for most of my life.
Until now, her life without her had not had much meaning.
“I should prepare too.”
Ertina put on a puzzled expression at the words I casually muttered.
Okay.
I guess I’ll have to slow down as well.
She prepares to live her life without her.
Yuni was a very important person to me, but I had a hunch that she would be far away and that she would never come back.
I am… Am I going to be alone?
After dealing with the demon lord, I will have to think about what to do.
I don’t know how it will end yet, but there’s no reason to torment myself thinking about what might go wrong.
Let’s think only good things.
A future where everything works out.
Even if Yuni isn’t by my side, she’ll continue to live a future like that.
