A Mesugaki Saint's Remarkable Decision~
I was surrounded by a group of women.
Who were these girls? I had no idea. Damn it.
What I did know was that every single one of them was a noble. The noble young ladies attending this very ball.
Hero Abel…!
Abel…♡
Estelle and Celine were glaring at us from far away with terrifying eyes.
Scary! They looked ready to bite off their own nails just now…!
You look wonderful…
Having you with such beautiful noble young ladies must feel fantastic…
Don’t look at me like that! Did I create this situation!?
Hero-sama~!
Please tell us your heroic deeds right away!
…Damn it, I want to run away.
#
It all started just a short while ago.
Normally I was with Estelle and Celine as usual.
Then suddenly my stomach started growling. I told Estelle and Celine, “I’ll go get some food. I’m starving.”
“Pig♡”
“…Squeal.”
Estelle’s playful teasing made me laugh along. Estelle and Celine both let out soft chuckles.
“You were adorable, just like a baby pig♥”
“How lucky I am to have caught that. I’ll be right back.”
I stood up to fetch food. Looking at the lavish feast laid out on the table, I felt like cheering inside.
‘This looks so delicious.’
Just by looking, the food was overflowing with tempting dishes. I quickly grabbed plates and started filling them.
“Excuse me… Hero Abel?”
“Yes?”
The girl who approached me while I was piling food onto my plate had a voice I recognized.
I glanced up from the food for a moment and turned my head.
And what met my eyes was a woman. A noble young lady with an unmistakably aristocratic air and an expensive-looking dress.
“Eh… why are you speaking to me? Did the young lady have some business with me…?”
“Ah! It’s nothing special. I just… wanted to talk with you, Hero.”
“Pardon?”
“Aah! Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Celine Espera.”
“Yes…”
At the mention of “talk,” my mind flashed back to the warning Estelle had once given me. That nobles were full of people trying to use the Hero for their own gain, and I should avoid getting entangled with them as much as possible.
So I tried to slip away.
“Ah… I’m sorry, I’m a bit busy…”
“I really just wanted to talk! You’re misunderstanding!”
“…Huh?”
I studied Celine quietly. From her eyes and expression, she didn’t seem to be lying.
‘She really just wants to talk to me?’
If that was the case, refusing her too openly would be rude. After all, I was a commoner and she was a noble.
When I thought of fleeing the moment she mentioned supporting the cause, I nodded at Celine.
“What exactly would you like to talk about?”
“Ah! Actually, after hearing about your heroic deeds this time, I was truly amazed. So I wondered if I could hear about other heroic deeds as well.”
“…There doesn’t seem to be anything particularly heroic about them.”
When I said that, Celine clapped her hands.
“As humble as they say. But the path you have shown us is more than enough to call heroic!”
“Um… thank you for your kind words. I’m not sure what I should say… Is there anything you’d like to hear?”
Celine answered with a bright smile.
“Then please tell me? Just a moment!”
Celine said she’d be right back and headed off somewhere.
A short while later, she returned with a group of noble young ladies.
Seeing so many young ladies, I looked bewildered.
“…Young Lady Espera, this is…?”
“They’re my friends! All of them came because they wanted to hear Hero Abel’s heroic deeds.”
“…Eh?”
The noble young ladies Celine had brought were sparkling with excitement at the sight of me.
“Hero! We’ve heard so much. Especially your recent exploits—you were truly amazing!”
“Hero Abel, if you don’t mind, could you please tell us a short heroic tale?”
“Me too! I want to hear it!”
“U-um… could I just hold your hand once? I’m curious how you’ve trained to become so strong…”
I stepped back in embarrassment, but the young ladies of the kingdom’s hero were not ones to back down easily.
And right now, with the situation as it was, I was at a complete loss. I sighed softly.
“Um… young ladies? Please calm down for a moment.”
“Ah, sorry. We got too carried away.”
“Hmph. We failed to maintain proper manners. To the hero of the nation, such rudeness…”
I thought about the true noble young ladies before me.
‘…I’ll finish this quickly and run.’
Since things had already turned out this way, simply fleeing would be difficult. If I ran away without saying a word, I’d be openly ignoring the noble young ladies.
So it was better to quickly give them the story they wanted and leave.
No, I absolutely had to. Their gazes piercing my back right now felt like they were ready to bore holes through me.
“If you have the heroic tale you want to hear, I’ll tell it. What would you like?”
I wasn’t sure what kind of story would satisfy these lively young ladies, so I tried to steer the conversation. But contrary to my intentions, the young ladies had different opinions.
“You were stranded in the mountains, right? Tell us about that!”
“The story of defeating an Amon-class monster would be fun!”
“No! Definitely the one about defeating an Agares-class monster this time!”
They wanted many stories. I chose the one that sounded the most suitable for them.
“Then I’ll tell you about the time I defeated an Amon-class monster.”
Estelle and Celine, watching me talk to the noble young ladies, looked displeased.
“…Our Hero.”
“Abel wouldn’t be able to turn them down in a situation like this. I know he can’t help it…”
Click. Estelle ground her nails.
“…It doesn’t sit well with me.”
“We probably shouldn’t let the Hero roam around alone. Ever since he became famous after defeating that Agares-class monster this time…”
“Well, that’s the first time I’ve heard such kind words from you.”
Two Saints who shared a common enemy. We were on the same page.
“H, but isn’t Abel being too much? Why is he smiling so cheerfully like that?”
“…He should just smile at us.”
“Exactly! We’re prettier than those young ladies…”
Estelle made a pouty face, and Celine let out a soft laugh. The fact that she said “us” instead of “I” unconsciously meant she was acknowledging Estelle.
Celine, feeling better, replied to Estelle.
“Heh heh, you’re right.”
#
“Ah… sorry. It took a little longer than expected.”
I managed to escape the situation by telling them about the time I defeated an Amon-class monster. After shrugging off their eager hands, I hurried back.
My stomach was growling because I wanted to eat quickly, and above all, I was worried about Estelle and Celine…
“…Did you have fun~?”
“…Eh?”
“You had fun being surrounded by pretty young ladies~♡”
…Jealous?
Estelle said it with her signature sharp tone.
“Smiling cheerfully at the young ladies…”
“…You can’t help but smile, can you?”
“Hmph.”
…Jealous. I glanced sideways at Celine. She looked at me with eyes asking for help, but her reaction was unexpected.
“I don’t know.”
“…Celine?”
Now that I looked closer, her expression was also a little pouty. Celine seemed a bit upset too.
…I should have just pushed them away. I understood their reaction.
Paradoxically, if I imagined two Saints happily chatting surrounded by noble girls… I’d probably hate it too.
I lowered my head, feeling sorry.
“…I’m sorry. I won’t talk to them anymore from now on.”
“…Just saying that?”
“What?”
Estelle stepped closer and held my hand tightly. She whispered into my ear.
“Show me with your actions♥”
…Actions?
“…Right now?”
“Yes~♡”
“……”
…Yeah, I guess I have to endure a little embarrassment.
I lightly grabbed Estelle’s waist. She tilted her head, then laughed softly.
“Aha! Abel, what are you doing?”
“…Huh?”
…Is this not it?
“Are you really a pervert♡? Trying to kiss me right here at this public ball?”
“…That wasn’t what I was supposed to do?”
“Pfft.”
Celine beside me also laughed lightly, as if my actions were amusing. What had I done wrong?
“I meant ‘let’s go together’♡ you dummy♡”
“Eh?”
Estelle pointed to the curtain-draped large window. That must be…
“…A balcony?”
“Yes~♡ That’s what I meant by ‘let’s go together.’”
“What changes if we go there?”
“What do you think is the reason for the thick curtains in front of the balcony?”
Meaning? To block the wind…? No way.
“…I don’t know.”
“That’s where private meetings or intimate conversations take place♡”
“…Eh?”
“Even among nobles, there are stories or actions they don’t want made public. Those are the spaces for that. If a man and a woman enter such a place together… what meaning would it have?”
“…Ah.”
Estelle showed me by holding my hand and leading me to the balcony, as if to indirectly tell the other nobles about our relationship.
So the young ladies wouldn’t approach someone who already had a partner…
I quietly let go of her waist.
“…I really didn’t know.”
“You knew I was a pervert♡”
“…Heh heh.”
Estelle smiled sweetly when I laughed awkwardly.
“So… you’re not going outside?”
“…Um, should we go?”
“Yes~♡”
I had to bring Celine too. I reached out to her.
“Celine, you’re coming too.”
“…Eh?”
“If you don’t, Abel will definitely be called a pervert~?”
…Ah, right. But I couldn’t leave Celine behind, could I?
However, Celine said it was fine.
“I’m fine, you go ahead. Hero’s fame is starting to spread, but if it becomes known that he’s taken two Saints already, it might be a problem. We also don’t want to focus too much on his external image.”
“Hmm…”
But that didn’t sit well with me. I grabbed Celine’s hand firmly.
“…Hero?”
“Just come with us, Celine. I’ll take the scolding.”
And I was taking my girlfriends. What could Celine do? Estelle laughed softly at my actions.
“A decision worthy of a pervert Hero~♡”
“Come on, let’s go.”
I pulled Estelle and Celine’s hands at the same time. Celine blushed but nodded helplessly.
“…Yes, I understand.”
On that day, the rumor that I had claimed both Saints spread among the nobles in an instant.