The Woman Who's Scary to Be Alone With
The one place where we could at least escape the dragons' commotion somewhat freely was a secluded beach on one edge of the island's shadow. Because the festival noise occasionally pierced through the walls of the guesthouse Nidroga had secured for us, this spot had become our Special Monster Extermination Unit's shelter and hideout.
The succubus queen, that ticking time bomb, was finally out of our hands, and all the worldly troubles like Mitra cults were now just stories from thousands of kilometers across the sea. Our party members, having completely let their guards down, were soaking in the long-overdue vacation vibe. They'd been starved for fun amid those breathless days on the front lines against great monsters, even if they lacked an excuse to indulge.
We spent days grilling meat, sunbathing, and splashing in the water. Just like Esen had melted into the Cheseni hot springs, purring contentedly, our party members' eyes brimmed with revived vitality.
All but one.
Bilena Nitro, whom Nenya and Reni had dragged out forcefully to get some sunlight. She'd barely force down one or two bites of barbecue, drag a sunbed under the trees with grunts of effort, and bury her nose in a book. She recoiled at the mere touch of a sea foam bubble on her toe.
...That's why seeing her in a swimsuit felt so unfamiliar—and unnerving. It was like she had some ulterior motive.
I tried not to overthink it. Sure, she might be trying to appeal to someone, as I'd guessed, but it didn't have to be me. Speculation like that could just be self-indulgent narcissism. I'd been deliberately avoiding situations where we'd be alone together from the start.
When our eyes met occasionally, even Bilena would awkwardly look away. From that, I could infer two facts. Naturally, she was aware of what had happened between us, and she found it just as awkward as I did.
When I pretended not to notice and lounged on my sunbed, Bilena finally flinched and stepped out from the shade. She lay down longways, about three spots away from me—an ambiguous distance where our bodies wouldn't touch, but conversation wouldn't be strained. Which made the prolonged silence even more awkward. Being farther apart might've let us ignore each other.
Suddenly worried, I glanced at Bilena. Fortunately, the seal on her lower abdomen had faded to almost nothing. The white sunbed blended with her skin like camouflage. Her pale tone screamed "I've avoided sunlight my whole life." And her hair—pure white, without a hint of pigment. Even her swimsuit was white. Was it some kind of obsession?
She still looked as prickly and unfamiliar as ever, but at the same time...
"What're you staring at?"
Flipping a page while lying on her side, Bilena lowered her hardcover slightly and glared at me. I quickly turned my head and closed my eyes.
Bilena adjusted her shirt to properly cover the seal on her lower belly. Still bothered by it, she flipped over entirely. That hid the mark, sure, but if I were her, I'd find showing my back even more embarrassing. The thought wouldn't leave me—especially since her swimsuit suddenly looked a bit small from that angle. Of course, recalling our past crisis, blurting that out would've been unwise.
I clamped my mouth shut, and Bilena, who had been reading, seemed bored instead. Unable to focus on the words, she snapped the book shut.
"I'm asking straight-up because I can't pin down what you are... Are you some kind of specialist Tena hired?"
"That sounds an awful lot like asking if I'm a porter specialist. What are you really getting at?"
"W-well, like, just in case... for the party members who might be sexually frustrated, did Tena hire you to manage things...?"
What the hell was that pink-tinted teenage fantasy setup?
"No way."
"Then... are you like I first guessed? Just a guy driven by personal greed, using hypnosis or aphrodisiacs to conquer us one by one? Targeting the young, innocent party members who don't know men well...?"
Of course, it wasn't unreasonable for someone to misunderstand like that. With the Perception Distortion Artifact causing visual illusions, the pine-scented odor suppressor, and sunscreen... Me, deliberately posing as a female comrade and rubbing shoulders with an all-women party—what would any other porter think? That bastard's dead set on causing trouble.
But still.
"No, Bilena. I wasn't hired for sexual reasons, and I haven't plotted against these warriors who could turn Tan Bantai into a meatball in ten seconds flat. The recent incidents caught me off guard too—they weren't my intention. I'm just a porter under contract."
Bilena's shoulders twitched slightly. A faint mutter followed.
"I believe you."
"Thanks so much for believing me."
"Good."
...Good? I turned to her again, suspicion rising. Bilena's nape was suspiciously flushed red.
Was she embarrassed for voicing such a shameful suspicion, or...?
"I-I mean, after that incident, you didn't go gossiping about me. So, yeah, good."
Her hasty addition sounded like an excuse, lacking conviction. But it sent a chill down my spine.
"How do you even know if I gossiped about you or not?"
"Ah."
"And how did you figure out I'm a guy in the first place, then prepare gear to turn me back into a woman ahead of time? Did Tena tell you?"
"...Not Tena. She's only told two people your secret: Nenya and Reni, her tight-lipped inner circle. And those two didn't even notice you're hooking up with Esen or Monica."
Bilena groaned, still facing away, like she was forcing out a topic she'd wanted to avoid.
"Of course, Monica's your insider, so Tena probably figured she couldn't hide it anyway. Esen approaching you first was just a fluke accident. And none of them told me you're a man."
"Then how?"
"Not like Captain Tomco, with his paternal delusions and paranoia. Unlike that guy who caught a stray cat with a dragon's kick, I prefer empirical evidence."
A bee-sized bug buzzed around my head, so I waved it away. But instead of fleeing, it hovered unnaturally still in midair, staring me down. Weird. As I leaned in to inspect it, the bug zipped over to Bilena.
She pulled her left hand from under her shoulder, snatched at the air with a gesture. It looked like she'd caught it, but her motion wasn't that fast—weird. More like the bug had been sucked right into her palm.
"This is mine."
"...Yeah. Won't steal it."
"I'd planted listening bugs all over the party camp. This one's a precision surveillance device. It relays sound remotely to me."
"......What does that mean?"
"Means I've heard everything about porter Tan Bantai from the start. Even when you were blackout drunk and lost your judgment, and Tena snapped you up with a cash down payment like lightning. Even prickly, suspicious Esen seducing you first for some reason. Even turning plain, ordinary Monica into your plaything."
Bilena fidgeted her knees, then tucked them inward. I stared at her shrimp-curled back in horror.
"Of course, with Monica, I only got interference noise, so I didn't notice before that incident. Nice work making two sexual partners already."
That incident probably meant when I'd turned the tables and pinned her down after she got me in trouble. I hadn't expected her to bring it up first. Or that she'd have a hobby of eavesdropping.
Felt like I'd stepped on a landmine.
She knew she'd messed up, shrinking preemptively.
"Y-yeah, I get it. You're not the stereotypical sleazy porter type. You're diligent, resourceful too."
Based on my data from dealing with Adamanthon and other social rejects.
"Is that your way of saying 'sorry for eavesdropping'?"
"...You think this creeps you out, huh?"
"More chilling than creepy. Imagining someone monitoring my bathroom trips..."
"...Didn't listen to that. Just... if I thought someone was gossiping about me, it'd terrify me..."
She gripped the incomprehensible bug tightly, trembling. Wasting that genius craftsmanship on reputation paranoia like a fool. Once the initial shock faded, I even felt a twinge of pity. No one gets that broken naturally—there had to be some epic backstory. But that made prying risky.
Should I snap at her now or save it? As I pondered, her trembling intensified alarmingly. I jolted up.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
"I-I'm trash."
"...You okay?"
"I suspected you might hypnotize us—even that goddess stuff. But if not for you, we'd all be dead. Because of that lunatic Adamanthon."
I sighed. Shuddering at near-death wasn't unnatural. Bilena clutched her shirt hem like a lifeline.
It hit me anew: we hadn't faced an ordinary crisis.
I grabbed a blanket from my backpack on the sunbed and draped it from her flinching shoulders to her hips.
"It was the Monica sisters and Esen who did the heavy lifting. Me? Just running around whimpering, useless."
"No one thinks that."
She shook her head vehemently. I took it as her accepting my apology.
I scratched my head awkwardly, patted her shoulder once, and turned to leave. She flipped over noisily and grabbed my wrist.
"D-don't go."
"...Where would I go? Gotta set up the grill for barbecue soon. Just heading back to my spot—"
"Don't go."
Her tone was like a kid waking from a nightmare, calling for Dad. Sweat slicked her hand. Tear-choked voice. Hard to stay mad thinking of what she'd suffered, but I nodded and perched on the next bench.
Bilena pulled the blanket to her nose in the warm weather, steadying her breath as she gazed at me with wet eyes.
"Say something. Anything. Don't just sit there quiet."
"Something."
She made a miserable face. I shrugged calmly: you figure it out.
"You said you prefer empiricism earlier? Speaking from experience, it's usually better if the one hurting provides the topic."
"Why?"
"In case it gets painful for you to hear. You can steer away from sore spots. Plus, thinking up conversation distracts from the fear."
I'd convinced her. Her furrowed brow eased as she pondered, distress fading.
"That hero."
"Hero?"
"Adamanthon Sunsstorm. You know him? Your glare at him looked bitter. Something happen?"
"Good choice. A long story."
She'd avoided her own pain but picked mine. Still, I didn't dodge.
Because.
"When someone's fist keeps smashing your face, you naturally end up with a lot to say."
Manselrion Storm was a man equipped with thousands of virtues, minor flaws, and one fatal, irreversible tumor.
Good character, booming laughter, trustworthiness, integrity. Among all the qualities that drew followers, the most standout was his boundless generosity—no one dared point out his lack of foresight.
"For example, if he'd recklessly chased an enemy and I, a kid, nearly got my leg chomped in a goblin trap... Instead of a long, heartfelt apology for his stupidity, he'd generously bump my bonus."
"How much?"
"After tagging along on three or four missions, enough to send my sibling to the Imperial Magic Academy with plenty left over."
Bilena's eyes widened.
"The Empire? The competition and tuition are insane."
"My sibling had mage aptitude, obvious talent anyone could see. Even studying in that backwater, they got a full scholarship—not total, but close. How could I not get greedy?"
Just earn a bit more. Then cover tuition, living costs, and retire early—live cushy, no envy for hero-worshipping porters.
With that drive, teenage Tan Bantai stuck to Hero Manselrion like glue. Who wouldn't follow a boss who doubled pay over abusive heroes, no insults or mistreatment?
Manselrion praised me often, it seemed. "Impressive for your age—knowledgeable, responsible." "Most handle double or triple, but you bear tenfold with porter aptitude—a rare talent." "Love how you tag along anywhere, sharp as a tack."
Yeah. He loved it.
And that was the start of my disaster.
"This is my youngest son. Doesn't he take after me?"