Chapter 6 — The Hero's Knight
After we'd cleaned ourselves up, we were treated to tea.
The one who brought the whole ordeal to a close was the ranch owner—specifically, the wife of the couple who ran the place. According to her, her husband had gone to the Royal Capital to sell cattle. She'd only come out to gather hay for feed when she stumbled upon the three of us. At first, all of us were so flustered it was pure chaos, but in the end, what needed wiping got wiped, and Valerie even managed to score a fresh pair of pants.
"Honestly. You gave me quite the scare."
"I'm so sorry..." "We're so sorry..."
At the words of the lady seated across from us, we couldn't bring ourselves to lift our heads.
"Next time, you really ought to book an inn, you know?"
"We're sorrryyyy..." "We have no excuse...!"
The shame! I want to go hoooome...!
Thankfully, the lady turned out to be the sort of person who held no prejudice against futanari.
Ah, of course, granted that we'd done that in her warehouse without permission... whatever treatment we received, we'd have had no right to complain...
We told her everything that had happened—or rather, everything from Valerie's perspective, starting with my supposed memory loss. The lady listened quietly, and when we got to the part about the guild, she finally reacted.
"So that's why the streets were so rowdy today. To think the Hero from those rumors was right here."
As expected, the rumor had spread like wildfire. Well, we had caused a scene, and there were plenty of witnesses at the guild—of course word got out.
"Please, I beg of you—keep it secret that we're staying here!"
When Valerie made her plea, the lady gave a small chuckle before answering.
"Haha, worry not. Things have already been more or less sorted out."
"Pardon?"
"The guildmaster already met with the village elders and went straight to the lord. Once news of the Hero's arrival reaches the lord, no one in this village will dare lay a hand on you. And should any ruffian try anyway, the guild will take full responsibility for dealing with them."
Listening to it laid out like that, it made sense. A Hero destined to defeat the Demon King would be an irreplaceable asset to humanity—someone whose appearance would naturally draw the involvement of a lord, at the very least.
So... were we safe now?
"That is a relief."
Valerie let out a long breath and clutched her chest.
"For a Hero out of legend to appear in our little village—why, it's an occasion for celebration! Hohoho. Still—"
"—next time, do book an inn."
"We're sorrrryyy...!" "We have no excuseee...!"
Thus pardoned by the remarkably generous lady, we cautiously set out for the bustling district once more. Honestly, I still thought it would be smarter to lie low. The lord had been informed, and until he made his judgment, the village would ostensibly be protecting us—but that was no reason to go parading around drawing attention to ourselves.
The reason we headed back anyway was the guild. The reception desk Valerie had smashed in our escape, the door and windows that must have broken under the stampeding crowd, the assorted goods scattered to pieces... We figured we at least owed an apology.
Passing the two pairs of pants that had been stripped off our legs—metaphorically speaking—we arrived back at the crowded main street. People began whispering the moment they laid eyes on us. Apparently even our appearances had made it into the rumors.
"Oh! You two! You made it out safely!"
The ones who recognized us and called out were the male knight who'd drawn his sword against the Barbarian Warrior at the guild just moments ago, and beside him, the female priest who'd been shouting the brute down. Both wore bright smiles as they approached us.
"Thank goodness you're unharmed!"
"We were worried sick!"
Their eyes sparkled as they looked back and forth between the two of us.
"Not at all. It's thanks to the two of you that things didn't get worse."
Valerie addressed them in her crisp, courteous knightly register. When she pulled off this whole 'The Knight' act, she really was rather dashing...
"Worse... the ones who caused the trouble were... rather, us..."
Within moments her speech fell apart and she began trembling all over. Ah. So the cool act doesn't last long.
"Nonsense! The one in the wrong is that scoundrel who tried to harm you, Hero, and your companion!"
"That's right! Utterly disgraceful behavior!"
Over and over, the two of them reassured us with sentiments like 'everyone's on your side' and 'you can rest easy.'
Through a few rounds of conversation, we learned who they were.
The man's name was Alex, a holy knight who had received a divine oracle from the church. So that's why his armor was whiter than the other knights'—turns out the job suited his look after all.
The woman was Piana, a childhood friend of Alex's from the same church. And as her appearance had suggested, she was indeed a priest.
The two of them, much like Valerie, were traveling to help people in need.
"We plan to make this village our base for a while. If you ever need our help, just say the word! Anything for a request from such lovely ladies!"
"Alex! How dare a servant of the church say such things!"
"Ah, actually, I'm a man."
Alex's face shattered—his eyes and mouth flew wide open, then froze solid. Piana pursed her lips slightly, rounded her eyes, and stared at me.
Yeah... I know exactly how you both feel... except when I'm the target, it's complicated...
After exchanging brief farewells with the two now thoroughly awkward people, we set off again.
We waded through the murmuring villagers and reached the guild. The moment we opened the door, a carpenter happened to be repairing the reception desk, and my eyes met those of the receptionist standing beside it. The same receptionist who'd welcomed us that first day.
"Oh! Everyone...!"
Recognizing us, the receptionist hurried over.
"We've been looking for you!"
"Pardon?"
This time, we were served tea in one of the guild's meeting rooms.
"I'm so sorry! I'll pay for the repairs somehow, no matter what it takes!"
As soon as the receptionist brought the tea and took the seat across from us, Valerie bowed her head in apology. I had never seen a single person rack up this many apologies in one day. Watching her, the receptionist waved her hands in denial.
"No, no, nooo! If anyone should bow their head, it's me... It was my careless shouting of the word 'Hero' that caused the whole riot in the first place. It was only after things were calmed down and the guildmaster chewed me out that I realized what a mess I'd made. I'm so sorry!"
Now it was the receptionist bowing to us—and now it was our turn to wave our hands frantically.
"No, really—by the time all that damage was done, the attention was already on us anyway."
"You bear no fault whatsoever, Miss Receptionist!"
After Valerie and the receptionist had traded apologies back and forth several times, we could finally get down to business.
"Was there... anything else about me in the crystal orb? Anything at all?"
"No... if you were a resident of this territory, there should have been information, but nothing appeared except the word Hero."
So I poked a hornet's nest for absolutely nothing... Goddess! Why couldn't you drop some revelation or something in a situation like this?!
"Do not despair! In that case, you may simply be a resident of a neighboring territory. Knight Valerie Gius—I will help you see this through to the end!"
Ah, right. I still hadn't told her the truth.
Apparently Valerie had assumed I was anxious about my memory loss again. Her eyes sparkled as she pressed her lips together into a determined smile and looked at me. The moment our eyes met, we both found ourselves slowly, awkwardly turning our heads away.
She's thinking about the same thing I am... isn't she...? Damn it...! Why did I have to do that...!
Watching the two of us, the receptionist clapped her hands as if to break the rapidly congealing atmosphere and spoke up.
"Tomorrow the guildmaster returns and will relay the lord's decision. Our guild has decided to extend full support to you, Hero, and your companions! To start with, you're welcome to use the guild-owned lodge right next to this building, free of charge!"
"Oh..." "Thank you..."
"Ah... aha, haha..."
The receptionist even followed us to the lodge's front desk, and despite our protests that any ordinary room would do, she cheerfully handed over the key to the largest room on the top floor. We had no reason to wander outside right now, so we decided to head up to the room first. I'd been planning to ask for two rooms... but in all the chaos, I'd forgotten—and only remembered after—
Click... thud.
—after Valerie and I had entered the room together and the door had closed behind us.
What do I do...? It's awkward, it's uncomfortable, it's embarrassing. I can't even look at her...!
Clank, thump!
The moment Valerie moved, her armor rattled, followed by the sound of something striking the floor. I flinched at the noise and turned around to find Valerie on one knee where she stood, her head bowed low.
"Valerie...?"
"For all the rudeness and discourtesy I have shown you—I apologize for everything!"
"N-no, you don't need to keep apologizing—"
"I know full well I have no right to ask, but there is one thing! Just one thing I must beg of you!"
"Yes...?"
Amid the grave atmosphere, I stood rooted to the spot, looking down at Valerie. The light streaming through the window was blocked by my body, and shadow settled over her.
"I want to help people. And of course, I want to help you, Hero! And so—I beg you, take me as your knight! Your servant!"
Valerie clenched her fist tight.
"If I walk the road of the Hero who will save this world, I feel as though I will find my own road as well. And above all... the things you said to me... just now, back at the... the ranch! I must repay you for those words!"
Valerie bowed her head deeper and deeper, and my gaze followed it downward... and further down.
"Please! I beg of you—accept me, Valerie Gius!"
"Valerie..."
I raised my drifting gaze back upward, closed my eyes, and lifted my head.
"Thank you. Truly. If you're willing to help me, Valerie, that would make me very happy."
"Those words...!"
When I cracked my eyes open, I found myself meeting Valerie's gaze, head now raised. In the light spilling in from behind me, her eyes were positively shimmering.
"But... but—"
"—please, do not make a moving, heartfelt confession with that thing out and about!!"
"I HAVE NO EXCUSEEE!!"
Somewhere around the latter half of her speech, the inside of her pants had been steadily bulging.