The Hero Suggests We Share a Bed
I nearly lost my way trying to follow the path the hero had forced upon us, but fortunately a passage had opened where the ceiling collapsed, and I discovered it in time. We avoided any major crisis. After sprinting desperately through the collapsing ruins, we barely managed to escape through the cave entrance we had originally used.
“Haaah… I really thought I was going to die back there.”
“Even if we had been a little late, your life would not have been in danger. Being buried under rubble would not have caused any serious harm.”
“Is that so…?”
…I’m giving you serious advice, but you really shouldn’t travel with normal people. Now I understood why the hero worked as a mercenary all alone. This woman’s standards for survival were simply too far removed from those of ordinary folk.
Still… the moment we stepped out of the ruins, the sight before me drew a sigh from my lips.
“Sigh. We barely escaped that dark place, and now it’s dark again…”
“It appears the sun set while we were inside the ruins. How would you like to proceed?”
Hestia asked for my opinion. Normally I would have turned the question back to her and left the decision in her hands, but the situation was different this time. There was only one choice.
“Let’s return to the village immediately.”
“It has grown quite dark. Would it not be wiser to camp somewhere nearby?”
“Why go to the trouble? The distance is considerable, but the horses and carriage are excellent, so the trip back won’t feel much different from the journey here. Wouldn’t it be better to reach the village quickly?”
“Dangerous monsters are more likely to appear at night, which could damage the carriage.”
“Come on, what danger could there be with the hero beside us? Besides, sleeping in a proper inn bed is far better than lying on hard ground, isn’t it?”
“Hmm… Understood.”
Hestia did not deliberate long before accepting my suggestion. She probably preferred a soft bed over the hard ground herself. She had simply been willing to endure discomfort for the sake of my safety… At this point it almost hurt to say it, but she really was far too much of a pushover.
We rode the carriage swiftly through the forest. Having spent the entire day struggling in darkness, we had already grown accustomed to it; driving at night was nothing. More than that, neither I nor Hestia were at a level where mere darkness could hinder our vision anymore.
…Of course, Hestia, who had no way of knowing that, watched me with an expression full of worry, as though afraid I might cause an accident. How burdensome.
The time inside the carriage passed in quiet stillness. As the village gradually came into view, the horses began to slow of their own accord. They were clever creatures; they remembered the exact route they needed to take.
“Haa… We’ve finally arrived.”
I pretended to be exhausted, released the reins, and stretched languidly. Hestia, who had been watching from the side, extended her hand.
“…You worked hard. I will carry the luggage, so please hand it to me.”
“If you insist.”
I passed her the bags I had left on the carriage and made a small request.
“I’ll return the carriage first. Could you go to the inn ahead of me and secure a room?”
“Understood.”
Hestia nodded and headed straight for the lit building. At this hour, when people who had finished their day’s labor were resting, the only establishments that kept their lights on and welcomed guests were inns that stood ready for travelers who might arrive at any moment. Having lived as a mercenary, Hestia knew this well, so she made her way to the inn without hesitation.
After confirming she had entered, I guided the horse back to the rental stable.
“Ah, goodness! You’ve returned…?!”
“……?”
The haggard-looking man who greeted me the instant I arrived. When I wondered who he was, I realized he was the same man who had begged me, when I rented the carriage, to handle it with the utmost care because it was truly precious. Had he been so anxious that he couldn’t sleep and had waited this entire time…?
“I used it well. The horses and carriage were excellent.”
“Ugh, ughhh… I’m so relieved you returned safely… I will make sure nothing like this happens again…”
My polite greeting was completely ignored. His attention was fixed solely on the carriage that had come back unharmed. Was this how parents felt when they finally recovered a lost child? His somewhat sorrowful appearance left me unable to say anything else, so I quietly departed.
If you have complaints, take them up with our hero…
Fearing another scolding if I took a detour, I obediently headed for the inn. The moment I stepped inside the building Hestia had entered, a middle-aged man with streaks of white in his hair greeted me. He appeared to be the innkeeper.
“Eh, um…? What brings you here?”
“…? Didn’t the person who arrived first explain?”
“W-well, she did say something, but…”
“? Then please tell me the room number.”
“……You may go to room 204.”
After receiving directions, I went straight up to the second floor. Because of the late hour, unlike the brightly lit first floor, the hallway on the second floor was completely dark. Recalling the innkeeper’s slightly odd attitude, I opened the door to room 204 and stepped inside.
……And there, as though it were the most natural thing in the world…
“Welcome back.”
“?”
“I have moved all the luggage over there.”
“…?”
“What would you like to do about dinner? Shall you skip it and eat after waking during the day?”
“……?”
…Hestia, dressed in comfortable clothes, sat on the bed and greeted me as I entered.
“……”
“…Is something the matter?”
Perhaps finding my frozen silence strange, Hestia tilted her head and asked. However, even though I wanted to answer, I couldn’t. I had no idea where to begin in this situation.
“Um……”
That’s right. First, let’s figure out what went wrong. But blurting out something silly like “Kyaa! Hero, why are you in here?!” would only fluster her, so I needed to approach it indirectly.
“Did you not tell the innkeeper that you were traveling with a companion?”
“Yes? I clearly informed him. …Did some problem occur?”
“No, it’s not that… The innkeeper seemed rather startled when he saw me. I wondered if he hadn’t known I was coming…”
“Hmm… It seems I conveyed the message poorly. If it caused you discomfort, I apologize.”
“No, no, that’s not what I meant……”
This wasn’t working. Because I was speaking indirectly, Hestia couldn’t grasp my meaning. Given her straightforward personality that accepted everything at face value, this roundabout approach had been doomed from the start.
With no other choice, I asked directly.
“Did you… only book one room?”
“…? Yes. Is there any need to book two separate rooms?”
“Of course there is! Do you have any idea what people will say if a grown man and woman stay in the same room? And there’s only one bed—are you suggesting we sleep together?!”
“……”
Hestia kept her lips pressed tightly together and said nothing. Thinking she was flustered, I continued.
“Lady Hestia, you are being far too careless. You must be cautious, if only for the sake of the hero’s reputation.”
“…Is it truly such a great problem?”
“It is. Besides, the hero dislikes discomfort as well. I’ll go downstairs right now and rent another room, so……”
“……I am not uncomfortable.”
My words caught in my throat. She stared straight into my eyes with an utterly expressionless face.
“What did you just say…?”
I asked again, wondering if I had misheard in my panic, but the answer was the same.
“I said I am not uncomfortable.”
“…Um… Why?”
“Because we are friends, are we not?”
Then, as if it really were perfectly fine, she casually patted the bed she sat upon.
“Sharing a room with a friend, sleeping in the same bed… I am not uncomfortable in the slightest. Therefore……”
While I remained frozen where I stood, Hestia spoke softly.
“…Let us sleep together tonight.”
Though her voice was calm, Hestia’s cheeks carried a faint blush.
In the end the burdensome decision to sleep together was made, and with my head now aching, I decided to wash up first.
“I have already washed, so please use the bathroom at your leisure.”
“……You washed in that short amount of time?”
“Yes?”
“Never mind. It’s nothing.”
Ah, right. She’s the hero…? I had almost made the mistake of measuring Hestia’s daily standards against those of ordinary people. To someone living on the timescale of a near-transcendent, the time it took me to return the carriage and reach the inn must have been more than enough to bathe. It seemed she did not adjust her everyday life to match normal standards the way I did. Well, since this woman still believed she herself was ordinary… she had probably decided there was no need to match them.
After washing in the bathroom, changing into comfortable clothes, and stepping out, Hestia was already preparing for bed. …I had no idea where she had produced it from, but she had brought an extra pillow and placed it on the bed. She was being unusually thorough.
Feeling a touch of dread, I made one last desperate attempt.
“…Then I’ll sleep on the floor.”
“There is no need for that.”
“It’s fine. I’m more comfortable that way.”
She had already climbed onto the bed and was waiting. When I insisted on the floor, she stared at me intently, then lifted half the blanket and beckoned.
“There is plenty of space. Let us share it.”
“It’s not a question of space……”
“If we lie facing opposite directions, there will be nothing burdensome about it.”
At those words I could no longer argue. Her calm attitude and behavior seemed almost calculated… To the point that I wondered if this had been Hestia’s intention all along.
Whatever. I give up.
In the end I turned off the lights in the room and carefully climbed onto the bed where Hestia waited.