What Are You Two Doing?

Lily.

One of the heroines from The Indomitable Hero, and the character who filled the role of assassin among the original protagonist Robin's companions.

After losing her older sister, she drifted from place to place across the empire until, at seventeen, she enrolled in the Academy. Once there, her talent for assassination blossomed in full. Her specialty was striking enemies with lightning speed, seizing the advantage before a fight could even begin.

But talent aside, Lily displayed an extreme obsession with the protagonist. After her sister's death she had lived a lonely life, and it was at the Academy that she met Robin. Something about the hollow look that always sat on Lily's face bothered him, and he steadily looked after her, little by little filling the emptiness in her heart.

From that point on, Lily clung to him with a possessiveness ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that bordered on the pathological. She refused to leave his side for even a moment, and she made no secret of her hostility toward the other heroines around him.

She especially hated Annie, Robin's childhood friend.

In the end her obsession sparked constant fights with the other heroines, and more than a few incidents had been born from it.

I turned the plot of The Indomitable Hero over in my mind, thinking carefully.

Maybe this is actually for the best.

My plan was to stay as uninvolved as possible so I wouldn't interfere with the protagonist's growth. But if something would genuinely help him, I was more than willing to do it.

Right now, Lily's older sister Dania was still alive. And Bram — the man I strongly suspected had been the cause of her death in the original story — had already been dealt with. Dania was unlikely to fall into danger now. And even if she did, I would simply stay by her side and protect her.

If things went that way, Lily's crushing obsession with the protagonist would ease considerably, and the conflicts born from that obsession would resolve themselves without much trouble.

On top of that, I knew any number of ways Lily could grow stronger. I remembered every experience she had gone through in the novel, every step of her original growth. I could send her to the Academy far more capable than she had ever been in the source material.

Solve the terrifying obsession problem and power her up before sending her off?

If I were Robin, a full prostration wouldn't even begin to cover the gratitude I'd owe.

Buffing a party member might not always help the team — but it would never hurt it.

"H-hello, unnie…"

I spoke to the girl who was staring straight through me.

"Hello. What's your name?"

Her eyes went wide at my answer. Then she broke into a brilliant smile.

"I'm Lily!"

Hnnngh. So cute.

My heart was taking serious damage. The thought of Robin eventually charming a girl this adorable made me irrationally annoyed.

But what could I do? He was the protagonist.

I soothed my spite by reminding myself that the poor guy would have to suffer endlessly for the sake of the world — and that was when Dania spoke up beside me.

"Hera. What do you plan to do now?"

Bram and his subordinates lay sprawled across the ground in corpses. As the ruler of the West, his death was going to send serious ripples through this place. I would need to tread carefully if I wanted a peaceful life out here without any trouble. After a moment of silence, I answered.

"Could I change clothes first?"

The smell of blood was giving me a headache.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

The place we arrived at was Dania's home. It didn't look like she lived in luxury, but the atmosphere held a genuine warmth.

"You go wash up first, Hera."

Dania held out a change of clothes. Wait — hang on.

"N-no! You should wash first, Dania."

She tilted her head at my flustered refusal, looking puzzled.

"Hmm? But you're in the worst shape of any of us."

She pointed at me — at the blood-soaked mess that was my current appearance. Standing around the house looking like this was already an imposition. I had no argument.

"Don't be shy — in you go!"

"W-wait—!!"

Dania shoved me into the bathroom by the small of my back and shut the door.

"Haha…"

I stood frozen in the middle of the bathroom.

…I was going to have to face this eventually anyway.

I squeezed my eyes shut and peeled off the clothes dyed a deep, sticky red. Then I let out a breath and looked into the mirror.

"…Wow."

The woman in the glass moved her lips in perfect sync with mine.

She was beautiful. And I wasn't saying that just because it was me — her face looked like someone had crafted it with painstaking, loving care, stitch by careful stitch. A straight, elegant nose. Soft cheeks touched with the faintest flush. Cherry-red lips, and a pair of eyes that shone like jewels.

I had thought I looked pretty when I saw my reflection in the water before, but seeing myself properly in a mirror was something else entirely.

And then my gaze drifted downward.

"Gulp…"

A body of pure white beauty. A figure so sensual it might have been sculpted by a god. I couldn't tear my eyes away. I just stood there, staring blankly.

How long I looked, I couldn't say. Then my senses snapped back, and I slapped my own cheek.

"Th-they're waiting. I need to wash up already!!"

I won the battle against myself, scrubbed clean, and changed into the clothes Dania had given me. They were ordinary casual wear, easy to move in. Aside from the chest area hanging a little loose, they fit well enough.

I finished changing and reached for the door—

"Huh? Did I not close it properly?"

It was sitting slightly ajar.

Dania must have accidentally left it open a crack.

I didn't think much of it and stepped out of the bathroom.

"I'm done washing up, Dania."

A delicious smell drifted over from the kitchen, along with her voice.

"Ah, yes! Please sit wherever you'd like, Hera."

I sat down casually — and noticed Lily nearby.

But why was her face so red? …And her breathing was rough. Was she sick?

"Lily. Are you okay?"

"Hyeut! Y-yes?!"

She jumped at my call, thoroughly flustered, then ducked her head.

"I-I'll go wash up now…!"

‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

She bolted into the ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bathroom as if fleeing from me.

Did I do something wrong…?

That kind of stung a little.

Before long, Dania finished setting out the food and called me to the table.

Dania… are you an angel?

The meal she had prepared was delicious beyond words. I hadn't eaten a proper meal since transmigrating, but food this good would have been considered exceptional even in this world.

Beautiful face, wonderful personality, incredible cooking. Back in the modern world, she could have been called the ideal wife without the slightest exaggeration.

"So you intend to take the West?"

Dania watched me eat with a fond expression and brought it up.

"Mm… something like that. I already took care of Bram, so it should be possible, right?"

She rested her chin on her hand and sank into thought.

Truthfully, even though I had said I would take the West, I had zero interest in playing at being some grand king. As long as I could use Bram's former power and wealth to live comfortably with Dania and Lily, that would be more than enough.

Lily would need to be sent to the Academy eventually — but there were still about three years left for that. I could worry about it later.

Cut down on crime along the way, slowly repair the buildings… we could live well enough like that, couldn't we?

Dania seemed to finish her thinking. She lowered her hand and spoke.

"It won't be that simple. Even with Bram dead, there are still plenty of people who followed him."

"Nnngh…"

"And he controlled all the city's food and resources himself. Someone will have to take responsibility for that, too."

That raised a question I had been wondering about.

"I've been curious — how does Drax even get its food?"

Drax was a region ruined beyond any hope of recovery. It had ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no means of producing resources on its own. Unless someone somewhere was supporting it, a city like this couldn't possibly keep going.

"Some of it comes from hunting… but most of it is obtained through trade with merchants."

"Merchants?"

Was there something in Drax worth a merchant's time? A mine, maybe?

"Yes. Once a week, merchants come through carrying food and various goods."

"Do you know what Drax gives them in exchange?"

Dania shook her head as if she didn't know either.

"No… only Bram and a handful of his closest subordinates knew the details. But I do know when and where the trades take place."

Apparently the large mansion where I had made such a mess earlier was the site used for merchant dealings. The trade day was the first day of every week. Checking the time, the next one was in two days.

I would probably need to ask the merchants directly when they arrived. If there were no problems, maintaining the trade relationship would be ideal.

"Ugh… it's more complicated than I thought. I figured if I just took out the boss, everything else would sort itself out."

Dania smiled at my groaning and shifted into the seat beside me.

"Let's take it slow and work on it together. This time, I'll help you."

Then she took my arm, linked it through hers, and rested her head on my shoulder.

"Hyaat? Dania??"

"The truth is… I was one of Bram's subordinates."

She spoke in a sorrowful voice. There was clearly a story here.

Also, her hair smelled really good… No. This was not the time for that.

"After the city collapsed and Lily and I lost our family and everything we had, we wandered this place until one day we ran into Bram and his men."

"They tried to lay hands on us. I fought back, but I was no match for Bram."

The memory must have risen up again — Dania's body began to tremble.

"Dania…"

"I begged him. I pleaded with him not to touch Lily, at least. I told him to hit me instead."

Bram. You bastard. I killed you too easily. How dare you do that to Dania…

I bit my lip in bitter regret as she continued.

"So Bram said he would guarantee Lily's safety if I worked under him. I couldn't refuse."

"I endured day after day for Lily's sake… but it was so painful, so hard. Sometimes I even thought about giving up."

"And then, in the middle of those hellish days… Hera, you saved me."

Tears had gathered faintly in her eyes, blurring them — but her green irises were still vividly clear. She looked at me with a bright, open expression.

And then—

Chup—

She left a brief kiss on my forehead.

"Thank you so much, Hera. I owe you a debt I can never fully repay."

Please let me stay by your side and repay it.

I didn't quite catch that last part.

Huh?

Did she just… kiss me? Okay, it was a peck, but still… huh?

What did that mean? Was it just gratitude? Or…?

Don't tell me… she likes me? …No… I'm a woman, though??

Blank.

My mind went pure white, like a sheet of blank paper.

"H-hwaah…?"

An unintelligible sound slipped out of my mouth.

No. In a situation like this I needed to man up and— wait, I'm a woman now, but still—!

I struggled to grab hold of my spinning thoughts.

"Unnie?"

A voice so cold it was almost freezing — cold enough that I wondered if I had misheard.