Chapter 80 – [Hero] Toward Aseila
It was surprising that the two of them were having a conversation together, but what was even more surprising was that it was Arin, not Jeren, who spoke the most.
I can’t hear what he’s saying, but Arin’s expression is more passionate than usual.
… What are you talking about?
I involuntarily looked at Yuni.
It was so subconsciously that I didn’t even know why I did it for a moment, but the realization that I was looking at her spirit gave me a slight self-loathing.
Oh my God, did you think you could steal their conversation with the wind spirit?
There must be a reason why they deliberately leave their seats to talk, but I was just eavesdropping on it for my own curiosity.
Calm down.
Since when did you have such a mean heart?
Apparently, there have been so many things lately that, without my knowledge, my heart seemed a little dirty.
At times like this, you should go back to the beginning.
I made up my mind thinking about the days when I was traveling alone with Uni.
Uni, who sleeps peacefully next to me, defenseless…
Her breastbone exposed through her clothes as they warmed up together in the cave…
No, what the hell are you thinking?
I shook my head and shook off the filthy delusions.
Perhaps, as Seria said, I was really obsessed with sexual desire.
… Shall I ask Seria one more time next time?
It’s a bit embarrassing to think about it now, but Seria really tried to help me, so at least it wouldn’t be meaningless.
It seems to be difficult here, so let’s ask when we get to Aseila.
Of course, the city is also such a place, so it feels strange for nothing, but if you work hard to persuade her not to misunderstand, she will definitely understand.
Beat, beat, beat.
I heard the sound of footsteps, so I turned my head and Arin and Jeren came back to us.
“What did you two talk about?”
Yuni looked at the two curiously and asked.
Oh, if you carelessly ask such a thing…
“Oh, it’s nothing. Mr. Jeren is very interested in our doctrine, so I briefly explained it to him.”
“It seems there are a lot of misunderstandings I have about you guys. It was a good time.”
When a religious topic popped up, Yuni hated that she thought of Arin’s sermon.
That’s what it was.
Well, doing it next to us will only interfere with our rest.
It seems that she deliberately left her seat because of her own consideration.
Are you really paying attention to what Yuni said earlier that it was not fun?
Looking at Arin’s face, she saw Uni’s disgusted expression and was in a rather sullen state.
I guess I’ll have to calm down a bit next time.
… It’s true that it’s no fun.
“Doctrine… I see.”
Seria was looking at the two of them with a meaningful smile.
Was it her scholarly curiosity about her doctrine, though she didn’t seem to like the sermons either she did very much?
It’s a story that is as far away from me as the goddess and the devil.
Where the hell is the fun in such a hard talk?
There was a priest in our village, but at least he didn’t teach difficult doctrines to us young people.
Except for the chief, he is the only adult in the village who treats me well.
So I don’t know the detailed doctrine, but the image of priests in my mind was very good.
Arin also had a lot to learn from her sincere attitude towards faith.
“Then shall we depart?”
Arin regained her smiley expression, as if she had decided to forget Uni’s words, and she told me so.
“Is it okay if I don’t rest?”
She was a little worried that she couldn’t even rest properly, but Arin said don’t worry and showed a lively appearance.
Did talking about religion restore one’s stamina?
It was really godlike.
Even after that, I could often see them talking together.
Once, I had a chance to listen to them by chance, and we were really just exchanging answers about religious doctrines.
I had a little bit of anxiety, but I was puzzled on the other hand even though I put my mind at ease with their unknown conversation.
I don’t know why he suddenly became interested in religion.
Did the battle with Luella cause a change in his mind?
After all, he’s just an ordinary porter. Now he can use magic, but it was not normal for an ordinary human to face the Four Heavenly Kings.
As it was a dangerous moment in which life came and went, it wasn’t particularly strange if there was a change inside after going through such a dramatic experience.
But…
It was hard to watch Arin, who has a dark complexion these days, only brighten up when he talks to him.
If you have any concerns, please let me know.
The anxiety that perhaps that role might be taken away by Mr. Jeren continued to linger somewhere in my heart.
“Hero.”
That’s why it took a while for Arin to come up to me and talk to me first.
“Arin, what’s going on?”
I was very glad that she had spoken to her first, but she answered with her best effort not to show it.
“It’s not really a big deal. I just want you to be alone.”
Saying that, Arin sat down next to me.
She looked at the bodily fluids of the monsters on my sword and said.
“It’s very dirty.”
“I know. It wasn’t strong, but it got dirty very quickly.”
A little while ago, we encountered a group of slimes.
Actually, I’m not sure if I should call them herd or just slime, but since there seemed to be several of them, I just called them herd.
Slime is a very embarrassing monster when you first encounter it, but it’s not that difficult once you know how to deal with it.
Do not try to deal with their soft surface.
You have to attack the inside of the slime.
From the outside, it seems that there is nothing inside, but since they are also living things, there is a simple internal organs, a key part for survival.
You can easily neutralize it by attacking it.
It doesn’t have any offensive means, and it doesn’t have a high level of intelligence.
If they hadn’t attacked villages often without malice, they might not have even been targeted for subjugation.
In many ways, he was the perfect opponent to regain our sense of real combat.
However, if there is only one problem, it is that a lot of mucus spurts out and stains the clothes.
So, they were taking turns washing and changing their clothes one by one.
Mr. Jeren, I didn’t deal with them in the first place, I was the first to wash it, and after that Arin washed it.
It was time for Seria to wash or change her clothes in full swing now, and then Yuna.
“Are there only two of us?”
Arin looked around her and came close enough to touch her arm to arm.
“Oh, no… That, Jeren-san is there too…”
“You are far away.”
Even so… A bit too close
While Arin was washing her clothes, she washed her hair as well, so there was still moisture in her hair.
As she tilted her head slightly toward me, her hair naturally fell toward me.
The hair on her back tickled.
“That, Arin, it’s a bit close…”
“… Do you like it?”
Oh, no, I have nothing to say if I say that.
When I was taken aback, she smiled.
“It’s a joke. As expected, the hero always shows interesting reactions.”
“That, is it? Haha…”
As Arin said that, she slightly crossed her arms.
“Oops!”
“These days with Seria… How are you?”
My body stiffened at her words.
De, did you get caught?
Did you have too much tea?
“… Uh, that’s…”
“Hero, actually Seria…”
What about Seria?
When Arin stopped talking to her, I naturally turned her head towards her, and I was speechless for a moment at Arin’s face with her dark complexion.
“… Scale?”
“Oh, sorry. No, please forget it.”
I think there’s something I want to say about Sera, but she won’t answer me.
“Why is she? What’s going on?”
“… No.”
“We are allies. Didn’t you decide to tell me if anything happened?”
At my words, Arin’s eyes widened for a moment.
“Alliance… Huhu, it was true.”
Arin smiled as if he were reminiscing about her memories.
As I dispelled my suspicions about him, the reason to do background investigations naturally disappeared, so it was actually an alliance that had disappeared, but it still seemed meaningful to Arin.
He was also happy to see that he was thinking of the things he had with me as precious.
“Warrior. Please listen seriously.”
Arin’s expression didn’t feel light at all.
How important is it that you are trying to say it with such weight?
If it’s related to Seria, by any chance?
No way… Probably not
He wasn’t that kind of person.
Having many conversations with him made me think about Mr. Jeren again.
It won’t be what I think.
“Anyway, Seria…”
Back.
Unknowingly, my fists tightened.
What if I can’t handle the story?
What if a situation arises where you have to doubt Seria?
Anxiety swirled.
“… W, I think girls like it too… !”
“… Huh?”
What do you mean?
As she looked at her with her expression that I did not understand her, Arin continued her words with her distressed expression.
“Uh, last time… Oh, no big deal! Anyway, I thought… I think Seria is interested in that, she seems to be interested in that too…”
“Uh… That she’s interested in girls too?”
“Yes yes! I think the hero should know this…”
Arin said this and squeezed the hem of her dress.
Maybe she is feeling guilty about revealing her friend’s secret to a third person.
“Okay? I didn’t know.”
“But too much for Seria… Yes?”
“Huh?”
When I looked at her with her face as if I was asking why, Arin looked at me with the same face as hers.
“… Did you hear me?”
“Huh. Isn’t that what Seria seems to like women too?”
“Uh… Yes.”
“Well, that might not be possible.”
It was completely unexpected, but is it really that important?
I think she brought her up because she thought maybe I would be worried if I heard about this, but it was actually an unnecessary worry.
No matter what anyone says, I’m already connected to her!
I guess it’s a kind of leisure.
I can’t reveal it to Arin or Yuni, but by having a physical relationship, we have become like, if not lovers.
I wanted to treat everyone equally, but I can’t help but feel more inclined toward Seria these days.
Seria will also have the same mind as me, so even if she likes a girl, the fact that I will be prioritized doesn’t change.
“You are more calm than I thought.”
Arin was surprised as if she was unexpected.
“Well, of course not. With Seria already…”
“… Already?”
Oops.
She was exhilarated and she made a slip of the tongue.
She hurriedly shut her mouth, but Arin’s eyes were already narrowed.
“What do you mean, hero?”
“Oh, no, that…”
She was in trouble how do I fix this?
If Arin gets hurt because of my mistake, I will struggle with her guilt.
She had to somehow get out of this situation, even for her and me.
“Already… That’s what I’ve already heard! That’s right!”
“Did you?”
Mi-I’m sorry Seria…
“Huh… Haha, the other day, by chance, that story came out…”
“Whew, then it was a worry for nothing.”
Arin smiled dejectedly.
Seeing that her complexion had improved, she seemed to have at least succeeded in rectifying the situation.
“Huh? What am I?”
“Hyaaa!”
Hearing Seria’s voice from behind, Arin was startled and fell away from me.
Uh, her. But just then something rose from the middle of her chest over her clothes… Oh no…
You will see it wrong.
She jumped up and crossed her arms as she glanced at me.
It was as if he was trying to cover her breasts.
… It must be a coincidence.
“Scale! I saw it all! Eric and I got along very well!”
“Oh, no.”
Uni poked out from behind Seria.
“Arin, were you talking about me?”
“Yes? Oh that… It was no big deal.”
“Hmm… What is it?”
Seria didn’t seem to care much about whether she and I talked about her.
Uni also seemed to care more about the fact that Arin was attached to me than about the content of our conversation.
“Betrayal! It’s a betrayal! Arin also betrayed us, right Seria?”
“Huh? Oh, yes yes.”
“What is that lukewarm attitude!”
As Arin safely passed the topic, she let out a sigh of relief invisibly to them.
Yuni looked at her Arin with her sullen face and held out to her what she was holding in her hand as if she had come up with it belatedly.
“That’s right, Arin! I brought her underwear to dry!”
“… Yes?”
“Yoo, Uni!”
Frozen Arin and flustered Seria.
I naturally turned my back to them as if I hadn’t seen anything.
“Huh? There are no underwear left, so please dry them quickly.”
“… Yu, Yuni… !”
“Oh.”
As if she noticed it belatedly, Yuni became quiet.
Silence.
I smoked a different voice with my back turned.
Arin silently took something from her and walked to the corner.
“Ah, ahaha…”
Only Yuni’s awkward laughter echoed through the forest.
Wait, then what I just saw is really…
Let’s pretend we didn’t see it.
