Chapter 8
The Hero froze on the spot when he heard my telepathic message.
I kept wondering whether this was the right thing to do and whether it would work, but I couldn't just sit around doing nothing because I was worried. So I tried sending a telepathic message, as if I were using magic, and it seemed to work surprisingly well. The proof was that the Hero froze up the moment I sent it.
“A conversation..”
The Hero looked startled, as though he hadn't expected me to suddenly address him.
This was where I became certain.
If the Hero had been an ordinary one, he would have asked whether I could speak, but he didn't. I hoped I'd simply jumped to the wrong conclusion, but considering that he had known the carriage was a slave carriage, it wasn't something I could just overlook.
The Hero was definitely hiding something.
I didn't know what, though.
“What did you call me here to talk about?”
Sitting on the bench, the Hero asked me with a conflicted expression.
Of course, I couldn't bluntly ask him who he was. My suspicion toward the Hero was specifically about how he had known that carriage was a slave carriage and how he had intended to deal with it.
If I only asked about that, the Hero wouldn't find it strange and would let it pass.
Having decided what to ask, I turned toward the Hero.
- How did you find out about that carriage?
“...”
At my words, the Hero lowered his head.
Was it difficult to answer after all?
The most likely possibility I could think of was that he had transmigrated here like me.
If he had transmigrated here, he would have no choice but to know what was happening in the game and would try to handle the situation accordingly. If he really had transmigrated, that created a whole new problem: it meant he knew what was going to happen in the future, too, didn't it?
Then the story would definitely take a strange turn.
Like: If we don't start dating, we'll all die, so let's just close our eyes and get pregnant..
As if I were crazy.
Looking at how he'd acted so far, no matter how much I thought about it, that seemed to be the Hero's true nature. Even if he had transmigrated, someone with that kind of personality would have to be twisted enough to play a game like this. If he really had a twisted personality but was only pretending to be kind, it would be chilling.
Even if magic could compensate for all my disabilities, the way he accommodated me at every turn made it clear that this wasn't an act. While playing a porn game like this, he approached a mage of the opposite sex who was his companion and calmly wiped the food from her mouth?
Could something like that really make sense?
Of course, even so, the fact that he had transmigrated was still what I suspected most..
“I’d heard rumors about the carriage. I wanted to check, just in case.”
“...”
Ah, I see.
So that's what it was.
Did he really think I'd buy that, this guy..?
- If what you're saying is true, then it doesn't add up that those people tried to take me hostage.
I wanted to say, Don't lie to me, but Lumia wasn't a heroine who used that kind of phrasing. True to her outward appearance, she valued efficiency as a mage, so when speaking through telepathy, she was monotone and said only what needed to be said.
In the game, Lumia's telepathic lines weren't voiced at all. Even when she had a lot to say, she condensed it into concise lines.
If he'd only gone in to check, those slave traders wouldn't have tried to take hostages.
As I squinted at him, the Hero seemed to realize that his own words sounded strange and couldn't meet my gaze.
Hmm.
Perhaps because he could tell that I suspected him, it was obvious that he was very anxious.
His anxiety suggested that he had something to hide, but I couldn't exactly demand that he tell me the truth. Besides, the outcome had been good either way, so questioning him suspiciously about it felt a little strange.
I suppose it couldn't be helped.
- You don't have to tell me if you don't want to.
Saying that, I fed the rest of the bread to the Hero.
I hadn't given it to him for any special reason. I did suspect him, but I did this so he would see it as nothing more than innocent curiosity. Of course, since I had to act like Lumia, I couldn't smile and make it playful.
The flustered Hero hurriedly chewed the bread in his mouth.
And here, I planned to drop one more hint that I was a normal person.
- At first, I followed you because I was intrigued to hear a voice I shouldn't have been able to hear.
This was the line used to unlock the affection window with Lumia shortly after meeting her.
Since I had played the game too, I remembered this line.
If my guess was more or less right, I thought saying this would let me obtain information while almost eliminating any chance of the Hero becoming suspicious of me.
It felt strange to be acting like this.
If someone saw me now, wouldn't I look like a gold-digging vixen trying to take advantage of the Hero?
Not that I'd done anything to deserve that label; I was just struggling to survive somehow, since all I could see was a future where I had to die.
“...”
The Hero didn't answer.
Nor did I intend to continue the conversation any further.
I stood up.
I hadn't come away with nothing from asking him this time.
More importantly, right now I wanted to wander around and enjoy the fantastical village.
We had to wait for them to tally up the bounty they'd promised us and pay it out anyway, so I wanted to take this opportunity to look around the village. It had been my mistake to bring it up now instead of getting an inn and talking there.
I hope he feels better..
If I wanted that, I had no choice but to show him I was sincere.
I looked around, then steeled myself and carefully took the Hero's hand.
Then I lowered my head.
It was essentially a gesture asking him to take care of me from here on out.
I also did it because I thought a man would enjoy holding a woman's hand.
Judging by his looks, even another man would look at him and think, Damn, this guy's fucking handsome. So although I found it unpleasant, it wasn't the kind of physical revulsion that made holding his hand impossible.
Well, men shake hands with each other too, don't they?
Of course, I regretted it right away.
Having nothing to say to the Hero, who was staring blankly, I quickly let go of his hand and turned my head away.
What was I going to do about this awkward atmosphere?
I shouldn't have held his hand for no reason.
I sighed.
Now that things had turned out this way, I might as well show him around the village.
I didn't know the place very well either, but it was a beautiful village with fine scenery. If we walked around here and there, not only would the awkward atmosphere ease, but the Hero's mood would improve as well.
Probably..?
.
.
.
.
Lumia had always been wise.
During our travels, no matter what incident occurred—even during battles with the Demon King's army—whenever something happened, it was always Lumia who advised us. Even while barely keeping track of the battle with magic, the advice she gave us always changed the course of the battle.
Looking back now, the party wouldn't have functioned properly without Lumia.
Perhaps that's why,
While trying to ensure that the incident supposed to happen in the carriage never happened at all, I was immediately caught by Lumia. When she brought up the carriage through telepathy and said she had something to tell me, I froze on the spot.
What should I have said?
What could I have said to make Lumia trust me?
Looking back now, I wondered whether Lumia had been disappointed in me because I had tried to gloss over it with a lie. I was supposed to make Lumia fall for me, so what was I doing disappointing her?
I secretly sighed.
I turned to the side.
It was hard to believe that Lumia seemed to be enjoying walking around town after having such a serious conversation earlier. Every so often, she would grab my sleeve and tug on it to show where she wanted to go, and she became extremely happy whenever I went with her.
Seeing her happy seemed to soothe my gloomy heart again.
She was tugging at my sleeve again now, but I think that earlier was the first time I'd held her hand.
I looked down at my right hand.
I still had the sensation that Lumia was holding my hand.
“Ah..”
Perhaps she was dissatisfied that I wasn't following properly, because she tugged harder than before. Her expression hadn't changed much, but from the increased strength of her tug, I could tell what she wanted to say.
“All right, I'll follow you..”
“!”
Only then did the force pulling me weaken.
It felt strange, as if I were taking a little child around.
I put on a helpless expression and followed Lumia.