Chapter 55
It was morning.
Upon opening my eyes, I saw a broad chest and felt warmth throughout my body.
Had I stayed up all night trying to help the Hero..?
I must have kept moving around on my own until I grew exhausted and collapsed onto the bed.
Then..
“...”
Hmm..
I really am naked..
It was only natural that I wouldn't be wearing clothes after falling asleep like that, but seeing myself completely naked, with nothing covering me, reminded me of what I'd done yesterday and made my face flush bright red.
Normally, I would have gotten up from the bed long ago, put on my clothes, and fled, but right now I didn't particularly want to.
I wanted to stay like this a little longer.
As I burrowed deeper into the Hero's embrace and lay there, I met his eyes when he woke up.
The Hero looked at me blankly, then lowered his gaze.
Only after seeing my bare breasts and exposed lower half did he seem to remember what had happened yesterday.
“Ugh, um.. I mean..!”
The Hero visibly reddened, then turned his body away with a thoroughly flustered expression.
Was he embarrassed?
Seeing the guy who'd made such a fuss about how good it felt yesterday acting embarrassed made me feel mischievous for no reason.
- You saw me naked yesterday, so why are you only getting this embarrassed now?
“Th-that.. That's true, but..”
I was embarrassed too, but after doing that all night yesterday, I wasn't quite that embarrassed.
If anything, I felt more like teasing the Hero than feeling ashamed.
Quietly giggling to myself, I moved toward the Hero's back as he lay turned away and hugged him.
My small but noticeable breasts gently pressed against his back.
I felt the Hero's body flinch.
We hadn't actually had intercourse, but we'd done everything else, so there was no need to be this embarrassed. Keeping my body pressed against his, I reached out and wrapped one arm around him.
I slipped one of his legs between mine and hugged him more tightly.
The Hero flinched again.
His reactions were fun.
“Um.. Lumia..?”
Perhaps he hadn't expected me to act this boldly; the Hero called my name in a surprised voice.
Instead of answering his question, I asked him what I'd wanted to ask.
- How is it? Are you feeling much better?
“Uh.. Yeah. Thanks to you..”
That's a relief.
“...”
Hmm..
Maybe because I'd slipped my leg between his, I could feel it against my leg again.
Of course, I knew perfectly well why it had gotten bigger, even though he'd said he was fine.
Morning wood was practically a universal rule, after all.
Of course I knew that.
- Want me to do it again?
“Uh.. Ah.. Th-that..”
- Don't you want me to?
“...”
The Hero couldn't answer.
What a lust-driven bastard.
I climbed on top of the Hero, who was lying down.
It seemed the night would be just a little longer.
.
.
.
.
“How are you feeling?”
At Cecilia's question, the Hero answered with an awkward smile that he felt better.
After I'd helped him until this morning, it would be stranger if he hadn't improved.
Considering what we'd done last night, I couldn't even remember how many times he'd come.
“Lumia probably went to help him, right?”
Cecilia turned toward me and asked.
Feeling Cecilia's gaze, I turned my head away and avoided her eyes.
Since I'd gone to the Hero's room saying I was going to help him yesterday, those two probably assumed that the Hero and I had slept together.
We hadn't done the one most important thing, but we'd done everything else, so it amounted to the same thing. Embarrassed for no reason, I hid behind the Hero.
Thanks to the considerable difference in our height and builds, he could conceal almost my entire body.
“Oh my.. Really?”
“Ah.. Ahaha.. Lumia only helped me.. Why am I even explaining this..?”
“Huh? Really? You only helped him?”
Ruril, who had been beside us, looked horrified and glanced between the Hero and me.
“Hero, you.. You're not impotent, are you..?”
“That's too harsh..!”
Oh wow.
That one hurt a little.
But honestly, that was only because I was dressing it up as him being kind; in a normal situation, an ordinary person could have raped me on the spot without it being strange. Seeing that the Hero had endured even that made me wonder whether he might be impotent.
At that time, I'd entered the room prepared for the Hero to pounce on me.. But he kept pushing me away, saying he absolutely didn't want to do anything I disliked and that things like this should only be done with someone he loved.
That had annoyed me so much, which was why I'd acted so aggressively.
I didn't bother saying that.
Cecilia, who had been watching the conversation between the Hero and Ruril, gave me a lingering look.
I could see her lips moving..
You.. did.. it..?
“!!”
I didn't!
Ah, no, if she counted that as doing it too, I couldn't really argue, but as far as I was concerned, it had merely been medical treatment.
Instead of answering, I hid completely behind the Hero.
Talking to Cecilia when she was like that would only put me at a disadvantage.
Running away was absolutely the right choice right now.
Anyway, that's that.
“Let's end this conversation here. We need to set out again now.”
At the Hero's words, Cecilia and Ruril nodded.
That was true.
Only one day had passed, but there was no guarantee that the Demon King's army would still be in the same place.
“The Demon King's army is probably still in the same place.”
The Hero said it with certainty.
I wasn't the only one wondering how he could be so certain; Cecilia and Ruril were also staring at him with puzzled expressions.
“It's because of the monster we encountered yesterday, but paradoxically, it's thanks to that monster too.”
“Hmm.. Ah! Because we retreated?”
The Hero nodded at Ruril's suggestion and continued explaining.
“Right. Since it's a monster made of demonic energy, it's an enemy a Hero can defeat easily, as you both know..”
The Hero looked at me, then turned back with a startled expression.
Oh, you don't have to worry about me.
- You don't have to be so considerate of me.
“Ahem.. I'll continue. Since I took the hit for Lumia and retreated.. And since I hadn't properly unleashed the Hero's power, they'll think we're merely adventurers who came for a commission, not the Hero.”
So we'll strike while they're off guard.
More precisely, the plan was to strike when they came to attack us, since they'd surely come after us when we went scouting.
He explained that, unless they were high-ranking demons capable of directly seeing the holy sword or sensing its power, even the Demon King's army and the demonfolk would have difficulty realizing he was the Hero.
Is this.. the information advantage of a regressed Hero..?
“Then what about scouting..?”
“We'll continue scouting for now. This scouting commission actually has two things we need to resolve.”
The disappearances had two causes: the monster we encountered yesterday was the first, and the Demon King's army lurking in the shadows was the second.
In other words, to properly complete the reconnaissance commission, we needed to deal with both the Demon King's army and the monster at once.
In effect, this was no different from an early-game boss fight.
Would we be okay?
It wasn't that I doubted the Hero's strength; I was just worried it might be too dangerous.
Even so, according to the story, this was where the final bosses of the early game were.
They were low-ranking demons and supposedly weaker than other forces in the Demon King's army, but they were still the Demon King's army, so I couldn't help worrying.
“Are you sure you'll be okay?”
More than anything else, I was worried about the Hero's condition.
I'd helped him yesterday, but after being drenched in aphrodisiac, he probably wasn't in as good shape as he had been yesterday. Wouldn't it be better for him to rest for a day?
Cecilia was probably thinking the same thing.
I felt the same way.
I'd helped him yesterday, but after making him.. come so many times, wouldn't that be enough to exhaust him?
He still looked full of energy even though I'd helped him again this morning.
I think I was worried for a slightly different reason from Cecilia, but I couldn't help it; the Hero's appearance when he took the poison for me kept flashing through my mind.
Was he a monster in that regard too, worthy of the name Hero..?
I'd been exhausted enough to collapse, after all..
...
...
No, wait.
Why was I the only one thinking about this when we were in the middle of a serious conversation?
I was definitely crazy.
Normally, I would have been thinking about what we should do and what the Hero meant by saying that, but instead of reading his intentions, I was thinking about the Hero's se..xual stamina, which was absurd.
No.. what happened to me?
The night's events had been quite a big deal for me, so it wasn't that strange that I kept thinking about them..
Hmm.. For now, I needed to drive these thoughts from my mind.
I shook my head vigorously.
“Lumia?”
When I raised my head at the Hero's voice calling my name, I saw that the Hero and the other two were already preparing to leave.
Ugh.. I have no idea.
I stood up and followed the three of them in quick little steps.