Daphne Epiphone (3)
"...So sleepy."
The top floor of this five-story building served as the headquarters for the Hero's party, while the fourth floor directly below was my personal residence. After waking up, washing up, and changing, I headed straight upstairs.
Creak.
The office was cold, holding the lingering chill of an early spring morning. Georg hadn't come in today. Since it was technically a vacation period, he had left word that he was going to drop by his former order of knights to show his face.
It was the first quiet morning I'd had since dropping into the world of I Will Never Go Back. Rubbing the bags under my eyes, I slumped into my desk chair and let out a long, heavy sigh. I had a mountain of work ahead of me.
For starters, I had succeeded in recruiting one of the main characters, but in truth, it was only a half-victory. Daphne was undoubtedly still emotionally fragile and in desperate need of support. I had to break down her psychological barriers and guide her toward proper growth.
"...I can't rush this."
If you tell someone traumatized by their own family's abandonment, 'This is your psychological issue, so fix it,' would they just magically recover? Sure, in the original novel, she overcomes her trauma in a single week by awakening to save the protagonist from a crisis. But I couldn't gamble my life on that happening again. After all, I was Elroy, the Hero—not the protagonist of this story.
Her core issue was the constant, suffocating fear of rejection. Over the next three months, I had to find a way to make her believe, without a shadow of a doubt, that she belonged with us.
"Which is why I had to show up for work today, too."
I didn't have time to complain. Aside from helping Daphne pull her own weight, I had a mountain of other tasks piled high. Recalling the details of I Will Never Go Back that I had meticulously organized over the past week, I glanced toward the side of my desk. The pommel of a pure white hilt caught my eye.
...I need to test this out, too.
I tapped the hilt of the Holy Sword with my finger. A Hero was destined to fight without cease, but I had yet to experience a single real battle. At most, I had drawn the blade in the privacy of my room and swung it through the empty air a few times.
With the clear goal of growing stronger ahead of me, I couldn't tolerate sitting around and playing strategist in my head. Since I had a suitable partner to accompany me, today was finally the day for my first taste of real combat. Reviewing my plans, I firmly gripped the hilt of the Holy Sword.
Footsteps approached the office.
Knock, knock, knock.
The hesitation in the sound was palpable. The first knock was firm. The second, after a brief pause, was timid. The third was rapid, as if she wanted to knock and run. Then, the door creaked open. I let out a soft chuckle as Daphne peeked her head through the gap.
"I-I've reported for work."
"Good morning, Daphne."
Daphne stepped into the office, closing the door with stiff, awkward movements. Her gaze drifted to my hand gripping the hilt, her expression turning curious. I gave the Holy Sword a slight lift.
"Sorry to throw this at you on your very first day, but I want to see how you perform in the field. Let's head out to hunt some nearby monsters."
Daphne flinched at the mention of real combat. I was sure a dozen unpleasant memories were flashing through her mind. Welcome to the working world, Daphne. Sometimes you have to do things you hate. Keeping those thoughts to myself, I stood up.
"W-Wait, Hero!"
As I made to walk out without a second thought, Daphne panicked and tossed her own hood toward me. Caught off guard, I caught the fabric as a soft scent washed over me. It wasn't a loud, artificial perfume, but rather a warm, comforting fragrance. As I stood there holding the hood and staring at her blankly, Daphne's face flushed crimson, and she scrambled to explain.
"If you go out completely exposed, you'll draw too much attention... It might make things difficult at the Guild..."
She had a point. Since transmigrating, I hadn't even gone for a proper walk, let alone fought a battle. Even when I put up the recruitment flyer, I had slipped out in the dead of night and had an employee post it. The Hero was a public figure; if I walked out barefaced, I'd be swarmed by crowds in seconds. It felt like being some kind of A-list celebrity.
"I almost forgot about that. Thanks."
As I pulled the hood over my head, Daphne nodded, her cheeks still burning. The original Elroy probably basked in the public's adoration. Note to self: buy a hood of my own later. I opened the door and stepped out. The hood was likely one she had intended to wear herself, but I decided not to pry.
"Um... Hero?"
"Call me Elroy."
Hearing the title 'Hero' made my skin crawl. It wasn't like I had been sucked into some video game. I'm not your Hero, people. The fact that I couldn't say that out loud was deeply tragic.
"Elroy, what about the others...?"
"Georg is resting today. And as you know, we have another mage... but she's currently on vacation far away. I just hope she returns before we set out on the expedition."
My voice carried a trace of bitterness. Seeing my expression, Daphne bowed her head in solemn sympathy. Actually, now that I thought about it, she always looked like she was attending a funeral.
Trudge, trudge.
Walking with the heavy, defeated steps of a salaryman who had just been laid off, I entered the Guild with Daphne.
"Let's just quickly grab a permit for the danger zone. Today is just about testing our coordination in the field, not completing a formal quest."
Daphne nodded, her expression tight with tension.
Even inside the Guild, no one paid us much mind. After all, there were at least five other people wearing deep hoods to hide their identities. I had also swapped the scabbard of the Holy Sword and kept the hilt concealed, ensuring it wouldn't draw any unwanted attention. Leaning against the wall, I quietly watched Daphne's back as she stood at the reception desk securing our permit. Her long, pastel-pink hair swayed gently with her every movement.
"Here are your entry permits."
At the receptionist's call, Daphne clutched a slip of paper in each hand and hurried back to me. Her hesitant eyes sparkled with a faint, hopeful light. She looked so much like a puppy waiting for a pat on the head that I almost laughed.
Just as I was about to take the permits and thank her, a shrill, grating voice cut through the air from behind her.
"Oh my, if it isn't Daphne?"
Daphne's shoulders stiffened. The warmth in her eyes vanished, freezing into a hollow, unfocused stare.
I glanced over her shoulder toward the source of the voice. A trio—one woman and two men. The woman wore a slimy, lizard-like smirk, while the two men flanked her like sycophants catering to their master. Seeing the subtle, petty power struggle between the two men as they vied to step forward first, it was painfully obvious how their party dynamic worked.
"Looks like you managed to crawl into a new party, huh? And here you were, wandering around all by your lonesome the other day."
Daphne didn't turn around. She merely stood frozen, her face draining of color as a tremor ran through her body.
"What's the matter? Now that you've got a new party, you're too good to even say hello? How cold."
Her voice was grating. The female adventurer sauntered over, her boots clicking against the stone floor. Daphne slowly turned around. She kept her eyes glued to the floor, while the woman tilted her chin up, looking down her nose at her. The malice and smug superiority in her gaze were unmistakable. The adventurer lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper.
"Found yourself a new man to leech off of, I see. Pathetic."
"I-I didn't..."
The female adventurer raised her eyes to look at me. Her face was entirely unremarkable—the kind of face you'd forget in a day or two. It felt like an insult to actual villains to even call her one.
"Are you from out of town, sir? If you were an adventurer from the Royal Capital, you'd already know exactly what kind of trash this woman is."
She gave me a sweet, performative smile. To think two grown men fell for a cheap act like that. A heavy sigh bubbled up in my throat, threatening to burst out.
"Want me to fill you in? On all the nasty things she's done to the parties she's crawled through?"
"Not interested."
I scowled beneath my hood. If it were Aryen, he probably would have come up with some clever, biting retort to humiliate them...
"Oh, don't be like that. I'm only telling you because I feel bad seeing a decent guy get tricked. I won't even charge you for the advice—"
"And shut your mouth. Your breath smells like shit."
Unfortunately, I wasn't that clever, nor did I possess an abundance of patience. The woman's sweet smile instantly shattered, freezing on her face.
I curled my lips into a sneer and took a step closer. The two male adventurers standing behind her like loyal guard dogs immediately stepped forward to block my path.
"You—what did you just say?"
"I said she stinks. Are you deaf? The stench of shit is practically vibrating in the air. Or is your nose so far up her ass that you can't smell it?"
The male adventurers bristled. Shoving their hands into their pockets with practiced arrogance, they glared at me with narrowed, hostile eyes. At times like this, I had to admit being the Hero had its perks. Elroy's combat instincts laid bare every single one of their openings, mapping out exactly how I should move to dismantle them.
"This crazy bastard must have a death wish. We're trying to be nice here, and you—"
"I think the trash is standing right behind you. Want me to stuff her down your throat?"
"Why, you little—!"
The adventurer's face contorted in rage. His hand shot forward, aiming straight for my collar. I casually swatted his hand down, gripping his wrist in a vice-like hold, and pulled back my hood.
"That's enough."
The entire Guild hall, which had been watching the confrontation with bated breath, plunged into a suffocating silence. I casually shoved the off-balance adventurer back, letting go of his wrist, and swept my gaze across the room. The onlookers scrambled to look away, suddenly finding the floorboards, their drinks, or the ceiling incredibly fascinating.
Flop.
I gently pulled the hood back over Daphne's head. Not yet. Until she was ready to face her past and stand on her own two feet, I had to shield her. Beneath the shadow of the hood, Daphne's purple eyes slowly regained their focus.
"Let's go, Daphne."
Grabbing her wrist, I led her out of the Guild. Though she kept her dazed, wide-eyed gaze fixed on me, she quickened her pace to match my stride.
"...Why did you do that?"
On the road leading out of the Royal Capital toward the monster-infested danger zone, Daphne looked at Elroy walking beside her and finally spoke.
"What do you mean? About me not wanting to hear about your past?"
"Did you really not know?"
"No, I knew."
Daphne's brow furrowed.
"Then why..."
She tightly gripped the hem of the hood draped over her shoulders. As she struggled to find the right words, Elroy spoke up first. A flicker of awkwardness crossed his face, as if he had easily read her inner turmoil.
Elroy stopped two paces ahead of her and turned around. His ash-grey hair fluttered gently in the wind. Every now and then, travelers passing by would recognize the Hero's face and quickly avert their eyes.
"Because you're a member of my party now. As the leader, it's my responsibility to look after you."
"...I don't even know why you chose me. Especially if you already knew about the rumors surrounding my name, Elroy."
The words had slipped out. Daphne bit her lip, instant regret washing over her. Running into her former party member at the Guild had dragged up memories she had desperately tried to bury. Rather than pretending everything was fine and blindly following him, she felt it would be far easier to just be rejected here and now.
"When I looked at your application, the only thing I cared about was your track record."
It wasn't a platitude of comfort, nor was it a lecture or a cheap attempt at encouragement. Yet, Elroy's words struck a deep chord in Daphne's heart. The Hero's eyes were completely unwavering. He didn't doubt himself, and because of that, his absolute trust in her felt incredibly real.
"Don't let yourself be trapped by the rumors of others. I chose you to be a part of this team, and I have absolutely no intention of letting you go."
How could he speak with such absolute certainty? Where did this unshakeable confidence come from?
"I... I don't trust people. Not even myself."
Once again, Daphne chose to retreat.
Elroy let out a soft, wry chuckle.
"That's fine. You don't have to."
Reaching out, Elroy gently took hold of the edges of her hood and pulled it back, exposing her face to the light.
"I'll do the trusting for both of us. And I'll wait for as long as it takes until you can finally trust yourself."
Her purple eyes met his deep teal gaze. Elroy flashed her a confident, toothy grin.
"Didn't you say you wanted to change?"
"T-That..."
"I know you weren't lying."
It was a strange sensation. His words felt as though they were reaching into the very depths of her soul. Daphne watched as Elroy turned and began walking ahead. After a few paces, he paused and looked back over his shoulder.
"What are you standing there for? Let's go."
Daphne nodded quickly. Fearing he might leave her behind, she jogged a few steps to catch up, falling back into step right beside him.