Please Grant Me One Wish
The chirping of birds and the warm sunlight spilling through the window gently pulled me from sleep.
"Nnngh..."
I stretched and sat up in bed — only to find Lily still fast asleep, her arms wrapped snugly around my waist.
She's an angel. There's no other word for it...
That aside — was it the change of seasons?
Why were my lips so dry?
They felt parched, so I touched them. The cracked, moistureless texture transferred straight to my fingertips, as if every last drop of water had been sucked away.
Something like this would be fixed with a single swipe of lip balm. Not that a place like this would have any.
Swallowing the small disappointment, I carefully pried her arms free so I wouldn't wake her.
When I opened the bedroom door and stepped out, I spotted Dania in the kitchen.
"You're up early."
"Oh my. Did you sleep well, Hera? Breakfast is almost ready, so just wait a little longer."
Dania stood there cooking in an apron. Paired with her beauty, the sight alone was enough to clear my eyes first thing in the morning.
"Hehe... I feel like I'm the only one freeloading here."
"If it's you, Hera, you're welcome to freeload as much as you like."
The way she smiled at me — so alluring — left me staring blankly before I even realized it.
"Hm? Is there something on my face?"
"Ah... n-no. I was just thinking about something else."
Get a grip. You're a woman now.
In the world of The Indomitable Hero, same-sex romance wasn't outlawed — but it wasn't exactly looked upon kindly, either.
Every couple that appeared in the novel had been a man and a woman.
That didn't mean no one preferred the same gender at all.
There had been exactly one. A character who, despite being a woman, felt attraction toward other women.
The Saintess — one of the protagonist's companions.
Aside from her, there had been no one else.
Dania had only ever been mentioned in the setting notes, so I couldn't be sure — but she probably liked men too.
"Is that so...? Come to think of it, Hera. Did anything happen last night?"
Last night... well. All I remembered was sleeping.
"Nothing happened. Why?"
"Hmm... never mind."
Dania arched one eyebrow, her voice laced with suspicion.
"Breakfast is ready. Would you go wake Lily for me?"
"Yes. Of course."
Having already tasted Dania's cooking once, I headed for Lily's room with my mind full of how delicious that fragrant food was going to be.
"Lily~ Wake up. Let's have breakfast together."
"Mmnyaah... just a little longer..."
Still at an age where she needed plenty of sleep, Lily showed no intention of leaving the bed.
"Hmm... then you won't be able to eat with your big sister. Is that okay?"
Lily adored Dania. I figured she wouldn't want to miss a chance to spend time with her, so I said it on purpose.
My guess was spot on. Lily flung the covers off in an instant.
"Th-that would be awful!"
She bolted upright and stared at me with a startled look. I reached out and stroked her hair.
"Then hurry up and get ready so we can eat."
"Okay... but you have to give me a kiss first."
Was it even legal to be this cute?
Just like yesterday, I pressed a kiss to Lily's cheek.
After we finished eating, I chatted with Dania about all sorts of things regarding the West — and decided it was time to tell her what I was really thinking.
"Unnie, I couldn't say it properly yesterday, but... honestly, I have no intention of playing king here."
The closest thing I'd ever done to regional management was a handful of city-building games. There was no way someone like me could properly run a whole district of a city.
And I didn't particularly want to, either.
"Is that so? Then what do you want to do instead?"
"I just... want to live comfortably here with you and Lily. That's all."
Dania listened, then let out a soft laugh and sank into thought for a moment.
Before long, her face lit up as if a good idea had struck her. She clapped her hands together.
"If that's how you feel... how about we make a deal?"
"A deal?"
"Mm-hm. You see..."
I listened all the way through.
Drax was a fairly large city, divided into four districts — East, West, South, and North. Each district had its own "king," and in the West, that man had been Bram.
The kings of the North and East hadn't been much different from him.
But the king of the South, she said, was special.
His true identity was a merchant. He didn't possess great martial strength, but he had a shrewd head for business — and he had succeeded in drawing multiple trading companies into Drax, a city that had been starving for resources.
In the end, it was thanks to him that Drax had managed to stay alive this long, and he had rightfully claimed a district as its king.
With Bram dead, the person closest to the Western throne right now was me.
If I didn't want the job, she asked, why not trade the position away entirely?
"Hmm..."
Not a bad idea. If he was a merchant, there was a high chance he'd covet the power and wealth Bram had held.
If I could trade the Western king's seat for enough support to live comfortably, I had no reason to refuse.
Best of all, I wouldn't have to worry about the headache of city management.
"That sounds like a pretty good plan."
"In exchange, we'll need to show clear proof that we cleaned up Bram's faction."
"That shouldn't be hard."
As for proof that we'd taken Bram down... well. Bringing his head along ought to do it.
From ancient times, when you cut down an enemy general, you took the head and announced the victory.
"It would take quite a while on foot... but on horseback, we can get there within two hours. We could leave right now if you want. What do you say?"
Eck.
"A horse? I don't know how to ride..."
I'd never ridden a horse — not in this life, not in the last one.
I'd heard your back hurts terribly the first time you try...
"Heh... I know how, so it'll be fine."
She said it with complete confidence, as if telling me not to worry.
Well, in that case...
"Strike while the iron's hot, right? Shall we go now?"
Time to cash in the West.
"I'm coming too!!"
An absolute refusal to let the two of us go alone.
The moment Lily overheard our conversation, she begged to be taken along.
"I'm afraid not, Lily."
But Dania shut her down firmly. Lily turned to me with a wounded look.
"Hera unnie... can't you take me with you?"
Those eyes of hers made my resolve crumble.
In the end I tried to persuade Dania on Lily's behalf — but
"We have to go on horseback, and neither you nor Lily knows how to ride. There's nothing I can do. It's too dangerous."
I had no counterargument.
A single horse could only carry two people. If Lily came along, there was a real chance someone would fall off at a gallop.
I looked at Lily and spoke as gently as I could.
"There's nothing we can do, Lily... We'll come back quickly, okay? Can you be patient just this once?"
"Uuu..."
When I gazed at her with pleading eyes, Lily's face flushed a faint pink.
She chewed on her lip for a moment, then finally decided to take a step back.
"...A wish."
"Hm?"
"I'll wait... so when you come back, grant me one wish."
Lily's request for a single wish.
Surely it wouldn't be something like Leave my sister's side... right?
No. Of course not. Lily was such an angel of a child.
"Okay. I'll grant you anything. Promise!"
I held out my pinky to her.
"You definitely said you'd grant me anything..."
Lily hooked her finger around mine as she spoke.
"I never thought I'd end up competing with Lily..."
I thought I heard Dania mutter something behind me, but I didn't catch it.
We borrowed a horse from the stable and set out for the South.
"Hah... haah..."
"Hera. Press a little closer against me."
"B-but..."
I was currently sharing a saddle with Dania. The posture itself wasn't uncomfortable — but there was one enormous problem.
I was sitting in front of her.
And in that position, the sensation against my back...
Those soft, faintly pressing shapes were unmistakably Dania's chest.
"Y-your chest is touching my back, unnie."
Dania tilted her head as if she didn't understand the issue.
"We're both girls. What's the harm? Here."
"Hyaah—?!"
She wrapped both arms around my stomach and yanked me firmly back against her.
Two massive, crushing pressures flattened against my spine.
Th-the stimulation is way too strong!
My face started to burn.
I waited desperately for the horse to start moving, thinking a rush of wind might cool me down — but
".....?"
Dania just held me there, not budging an inch.
Was she in pain? I even thought I heard rough breathing from behind me.
"Unnie...? Are you okay?"
"Sss—haah... Yes. I'm satisfied. Let's go."
The horse let out a snort as Dania tapped its flanks with her heels, and we lurched forward into a run.
A crisp wind began to slap against my face.
"Waaah... that feels amazing, unnie!"
"Hehe... does it?"
Refreshing — and somehow scorching at the same time.
That was the kind of experience it was.
.
.
.
Late that night.
In the great Karaz Empire, deep within its innermost city of Einhat, there stood a mansion so vast one could easily mistake it for a castle.
A middle-aged man walking its corridors glanced up at the sky, stopped, and opened a window.
As if it had been waiting, a brown-feathered hawk swept in along a graceful arc.
A long strip of paper was tied to the bird's leg. The moment the man removed it, the hawk spread its wings again and soared back into the sky.
"So the king of the West is dead... and the one responsible is a young girl?"
The man studied the paper, then fell into brief contemplation.
A moment later he flicked his fingers, and the paper burned away without a trace.
As though nothing had happened, he resumed walking down the corridor.
"An intriguing incident... but there's no need to report it."
The master he served was not the sort to take an interest in matters like this.