“I wish you would become mine.”
The moment Hero Klein said that and placed a kiss on the back of Aria’s hand—
Dogooon!!
Aria, still seated on the sofa, waved her hand as if swatting a bug, and the air in the room exploded with a shockwave.
We, the members of “Rainbow Sword,” grimaced and braced ourselves, while the Holy Church folks couldn’t withstand it and fell on their butts.
Even so—
“…Quite aggressive, aren’t we? That’s why you’re worthy of being my companion.”
Hero Klein wore a gentle smile, receiving Aria’s hand blade that faintly emitted a silver light.
Aria had used “Real Breaker” for an instant without even using Iron Rose at that moment. By getting used to the extremely purified Mana Particles and level 5 Magic, she unleashed an attack with a combat power of over 3000 for just a moment.
Even an Ogre would die instantly from that. She’s gotten stronger again… But, I wonder how much power the Hero has to remain unfazed even after taking that…?
“…Snow, hold back.”
“…Why?”
Without turning my gaze to Dolton, who was trying to stop me from next to me, I smiled with just my lips while brimming with Mana.
Become the Hero’s “thing”? Who in the world? With what right?
I’m aware that I’m not normal myself, but even so, I would be willing to bless Aria if she were happy, you know? But, that’s no good. No matter how you look at it, Aria can’t be happy with that. In that case, wouldn’t it be better for him to understand his place? Why do I have to stop? Even Miranda and Jesha have unpleasant expressions, right? Hey, is there a reason for me to restrain myself—?
“Because Aria hasn’t drawn her weapon.”
The answer came not from Dolton but from Feld, who had a sullen look.
“…………”
I see? There’s that theory too?
“Snow.”
Aria’s faint voice reached me. When I turned my gaze towards her, Aria was also glaring unhappily, but she wasn’t trying to kill the Hero.
She’s become quite an adult… I’m a little lonely. I miss the old days when we were cleaning up stray trash together. But that’s beside the point.
When I suppressed my Intimidation and Mana, the Holy Church members finally started breathing again.
Among them, Hero Klein, who had a cool face, wore a bright smile and spread his arms wide as if welcoming us.
“Wonderful… To encounter such beautiful women, it was worth coming all the way to this continent.”
Saying that, he knelt once more before Aria, who was giving him a cold stare.
“Excuse me, young lady. I was so overwhelmed by this wonderful encounter that I forgot myself. May I introduce myself once more?”
Saying that while extending his hand, Hero Klein also gave me a meaningful smile.
“K-Klein! There’s no way such a barbaric woman can be a companion of the Hero!”
At that moment, the Cardinal, who had lost his words due to the shock and was sitting on his butt, complained not to Klein but to Aria. Oh dear, even my Intimidation has been blamed on Aria.
“Isn’t it fine? ‘Hero-class’ are different from ordinary people, you know?”
The Hero chosen by the Spirit, the Hero’s companion recognized by the Spirit, the “Hero-class.”
The Hero’s companions often found in fairy tales differ depending on the story, but the “Saint,” “Sword Saint,” “Holy Warrior,” “Great Sage,” “Great Mage,” “Great Spirit User,” etc., are common. Aria, who has received the blessing of the Spirit, falls into that category, but there is no “Assassin” among the Hero’s companions.
“B-But even so—”
“You called me because you had business with me, right?”
As if interrupting the Cardinal, who was still shouting loudly, Aria spoke in a small voice, yet the Cardinal was at a loss for words, the Holy Church members couldn’t help but gasp, and Hero Klein’s face lit up with joy.
“That’s right. I have been entrusted with a mission from the Holy Church’s main Temple.”
“Klein!”
The Cardinal raised his voice as if to stop Hero Klein, who mentioned the mission. But the Hero stared intently at the middle-aged Cardinal as if admonishing a child.
“Lord Crawford… If you are to be my ‘companion,’ you should know this.”
…What are they talking about?
A Hero who came from another continent… It is said that the Holy Church, which boasts the largest faction on this continent, also came from another continent about a thousand years ago. Could it be that their authority is still higher, which would be ridiculous.
The “main Temple” that the Hero speaks of is not the Temple here but the one on the other continent, and the bigwigs here, who are acting so important, are treated as branch managers?
Whether the conversation was over or whether he had no intention of respecting the Holy Church here in the first place, even though he was polite, the Hero easily cut off the conversation with the Cardinal, whom he called Crawford, and turned to Aria.
“I’m sure you’ve guessed, but I’ve come to this continent on an official mission. It was fortunate that I was able to meet you.”
Hero Klein speaks to Aria.
Several years ago, the “Spirit of Light” who chose the Hero gave an oracle. …Do they have Spirit worship on the other continent? Anyway, the content was that they sensed the presence of a “Dark Dragon” appearing on this continent.
The Dark Dragon, being a Dark Elemental Dragon, becomes a rank 8 “Evil Dragon” if it grows. The Evil Dragon becomes a man-eating dragon that hates humans, and the Holy Church on the other side, feeling the need to subjugate it immediately, decided to send in the Hero, but the Hero was told by the Spirit of Light on the ship that the Dark Dragon had been defeated as soon as it appeared.
“…………”
With that story, the gazes of all the “Rainbow Sword” members turned to Aria for a moment, but she didn’t change her expression at all because she thought we had defeated it together.
Anyway, Hero Klein came all this way for nothing. Wouldn’t it be better for him to go home quickly? But there was still more to his story.
“It is said that Evil Dragons are bad omens. It is also said that when an Evil Dragon appears, an ‘Evil Lord’ also appears. In fact, the Spirit of Light sensed the presence of level 8 Fire Magic being used. I am supposed to investigate that.”
“…………”
With that story, the gazes of the “Rainbow Sword” members turned to me for a moment.
It was just a joke we were talking about before, but how rude. If I had that kind of power, I wouldn’t be struggling either.
“I haven’t seen any signs of that until I came to this land. If the Dark Dragon has been destroyed, I think there’s no problem, but… that’s right, Miss Aria. I’d like you to participate in my Fire Dragon subjugation.”
…………Huh?
For a moment, I didn’t understand what the Hero was saying, and not just us, everyone fell silent. Oh, Aria is widening her eyes too, which is rare.
“W-Wait, Klein, why is that?”
Surprisingly, Cardinal Crawford, who was the first to recover from the confusion, asked him, and Klein smiled cheerfully without panicking.
“Didn’t you say so too? That you’re having trouble with the Fire Dragon on the other side of the Holy Mountain.”
The three countries surrounding Mount Curios. To the south is Fandora Theocracy, to the west is the forest where the Forest Elves live, and to the east is Zentol Kingdom.
And to the north, there is a vast grassland, but it is called the Dragon Hunting Grounds, and it seems that a Fire Dragon has been using it as a hunting ground for the past few decades. It seems that Zentol Kingdom, which tried to make it its territory in the past, suffered a terrible welcome from the Dragon, resulting in thousands of casualties.
An Elemental Dragon flying in the sky cannot be defeated by a human army. It breathes fire from heights beyond the reach of arrows and Magic, and if you show a gap, it attacks in an instant, killing many soldiers.
“Hero… the Fire Dragon is not an evil being.”
There, Vincent, the Temple Knight who had guided us here, glared at him as if admonishing him.
“But there are still victims, aren’t there?”
Hero Klein retorted with a cool face, not caring that he was being glared at.
“About a few dozen Adventurers and those who stray too far each year.”
“As the Holy Church, you overlook a few dozen people?”
“I’m saying that if you interfere carelessly, the damage will increase!”
The damage is a few dozen people a year. Most of them are accidents or their own fault, but it’s not small enough to overlook. But if we interfere carelessly and the Fire Dragon holds a grudge against humans, will the city be burned down and tens of thousands of people die? But…
“That’s why we should defeat it now, while I, the ‘Hero,’ am here.”
Hero Klein stated so matter-of-factly to Vincent, who said that it was necessary to write it off as a necessary sacrifice.
“Wait. Don’t start talking without permission. I told you that you have to go through me.”
At that moment, Dolton stepped forward as if releasing Intimidation.
Dolton is strong. But he’s not strong enough to take on the Hero, but he still stepped forward.
“…I’m talking to Aria-san, you know?”
Hero Klein, who had been interrupted in his story in succession, sighed.
“Shouldn’t you protect a young girl who’s just come of age as an adult? The Fire Dragon subjugation is due to your political circumstances, so don’t drag Aria into it. In the first place, why do you need to subjugate the Fire Dragon to recruit Aria?”
I wonder if Dolton was quite angry at the Hero for saying whatever he wanted?
Feld and Jesha also seemed displeased, and they exuded a slight bit of Intimidation. Hero Klein shrugged his shoulders as if to say, “Oh dear, oh dear.”
“It’s to confirm whether Aria-san was able to defeat the Dark Dragon or not. If that turns out to be false, then the Kingdom of Claydale needs to take responsibility as well.”
At that moment—
Aria’s brow furrowed slightly at the way he phrased it, as if he were taking the nation… or rather, Elena-san, who was in charge this time, as a hostage.
What is Aria thinking?
Could it be that I’ve stepped on a tiger’s tail?