Chapter 4. Flight and Service (5)
Chapter 4. Flight and Service (5)
[Isn't the childhood friend a losing flag?]
[For a childhood friend appearing in a harem story, I've never once seen it work out.]
[Isn't the childhood friend's win rate about the same as the blonde ringlet-haired young-lady character?]
No, I couldn't agree with that.
Story-wise, there's no way the heroine who appears first isn't the true heroine.
Isn't that right?
And yet those same people would be vomiting blood if that childhood friend character ever got a boyfriend.
A character who's had buildup from the start suddenly getting a different lover, and a character with long buildup not ending up with the protagonist—that's no different from netorare......!
If you flip the genders, isn't that just BSS?
A being who comes to the protagonist's place in the morning to wake him so he won't be late, who blushes while giving chocolate on Valentine's Day, who blushes while looking forward to a Christmas date with the protagonist—there's no way she isn't a heroine!
"......Is that not so?"
"Is what not so?"
"The fixed notions this girl held, she was able to break them because of you. Living in such a narrow world, trapped beneath the shadow of duty—the one who opened this girl's eyes was you alone."
......Don't make me laugh.
When it comes to heroines, a diligent and sincere character is best. Even if she acts a bit prickly normally, it means there's a dignity of the main heroine flowing from deep within that way of speaking.
Tsundere is not a losing flag.
As countless works appeared and concluded, exchanging clichés with one another, the tsundere character type developed too. The violence that always appeared in the early days, the verbal abuse—those vanished, and the viciousness decreased as well. It's no exaggeration to say the tsundere that survives these days has only the atmosphere left.
So, being a little prickly toward the protagonist can't be called a losing flag.
No matter how early the main heroines' episodes appear, it doesn't matter whether the other heroines are a Saintess, a Hero, or even a high-ranking noble from some country.
Rather, precisely because of that, the episodes built up solely as childhood friends, through time spent together, shine even more—
"Si-yoon, in truth, this girl has something she has not told you."
"Something you haven't told me?"
"This girl is...... this girl is, in truth, the one and only princess of the Elven Kingdom—"
"That was never mentioned!?"
I flinched at those words, my eyes snapping open as I sat up.
"......Gasp."
And then I realized the place in my field of vision was not the place where I had collapsed.
My shoulders heaved several times as I inhaled deeply and let out a long breath.
And I quickly sorted through my thoughts.
Right. Those eyes.
The beauty mark under her eye aside, those odd-colored irises were definitely the colors of the character I knew. Though her hair wasn't styled in ringlets.
In the original, she wasn't introduced as a princess, but as a noble.
Now that I thought about it again, it seemed her true identity had never actually been properly revealed. She was just lumped together as 'a noble,' and neither which house she belonged to nor how high-ranking she was ever appeared.
I'd just assumed it was a setting the author made up to include one of those Elf characters—
......Ah, I see.
Come to think of it, that alone wouldn't let her compete with the other heroines. A character who's merely high-status isn't easy to find charming in the first place. No matter how prettily she's drawn, it's not like the other heroines aren't pretty.
Without a decent backstory—preferably one that makes you think she's pitiable, one where she could receive the protagonist's help—there's no angle to develop that character's episode.
"......What do you mean, that kind of talk?"
"Eek!?"
While I'd let my guard down, someone suddenly spoke from beside me, and I let out an embarrassing yelp in surprise.
I turned my head and saw Ria.
I clutched my rattling heart and let out a deep sigh.
"Did you have a nightmare?"
Even though I'd made a weird sound, Ria didn't tease me. She just asked that.
And she wasn't sitting on her own bed like usual. She'd pulled a chair over next to my bed and was sitting there.
Normally she'd have had a book in her hands to pass the time, but right now Ria was nothing like that. Instead, she was holding a clean towel. Had she been wiping away my sweat?
"......Have you been nursing me this whole time?"
"Yeah, well."
Ria, looking a little embarrassed for some reason, tossed the towel toward her own bed.
"Heh."
"What?"
When I let out a laugh, Ria glared at me and asked.
"It's nothing."
I answered as I flopped back down onto the bed.
Growl.
Right on cue, my stomach rumbled again. No wonder, since I'd poured out that much power.
Only after recalling that I'd poured out power did I belatedly think that someone might have been hurt.
"Was anyone else hurt? Like someone hit by an arrow that flew from beyond the Gate......."
"......."
But even when I said that, Ria just stared at me without answering. Her expressionless face was a little scarier than when she glared at me. Because her gaze seemed to carry weight.
"......Let me ask you one thing."
"Yes?"
"You said you wouldn't use that power on your own body, right?"
"......."
I did remember saying that.
Well, strictly speaking, I hadn't completely kept that promise. I'd received power to the point I could touch it with my hands and immediately used it on my own body and Ria's body.
In that situation, I had to stay alive to save other people. And, well, I don't want to die either.
But still, it's also true that I don't want to use it if I can avoid it.
"And while thinking that, you were about to charge forward without a thought in your head?"
"That's...... I'm sorry."
I answered, pressing my fingertips together.
I know I shouldn't act like that in that kind of situation. It's not a rational action at all. Even more so when there are so many people trying to protect me—if I rush out into danger, all of them could be put in danger too.
But, for some reason, when I see someone hurt, it's hard to stop myself.
Part of it is because of thoughts I've had since my Past Life. But now, you could say it's become a habit.
"......."
Perhaps a little flustered by my honest apology, Ria silently watched me for a moment without saying anything.
Then she relaxed her body and leaned back in the chair.
"So you do know."
At Ria's words, I hunched my shoulders for no reason.
But what she said next wasn't something unpleasant to hear.
"......Last time, you called me your knight, right?"
"......Aren't you?"
I asked cautiously, wondering if she'd gotten sick of it, and Ria let out a scoff as if it were absurd.
"No, you're right. I've never exactly quit that job."
After answering like that, Ria fell into thought for a moment, then looked at me and spoke.
"Do you remember? The day I first said I'd be your escort knight."
"......I remember."
Amid all that turmoil, I can't even say how much Ria's words had put my mind at ease.
Even while thinking I wanted to leave the Church someday...... at the same time, I was also a little afraid of going outside. It wasn't something I hadn't done in my Past Life. Going out on my own, becoming independent, finding a job. It's not that I'd never lived without my parents' help.
But it wasn't easy.
Settling down without anyone to ask for help, with more than half of my friendships already sorted away—it was hard. This is obvious, but when you're young, your friends are naturally young too. Even if you ask for help, there aren't many friends who can really help.
The reason I was so strongly conscious of stalkers was also because of that.
When I was a man, it wasn't something I needed to worry much about—but now it's different.
With someone like that around, having the fence around me suddenly disappear completely was a frightening thing. So maybe that's why I tried to run away like that.
"That was something I said sincerely, in my own way. It wasn't just something I said to make you stick around here a little longer."
"......Oh."
"Well, I'll eventually rise to the position of Hero myself, so part of it is that I'm trying to keep a promise once I've made it."
Ria was silent for a moment, still,
"I know one person. Someone who charged in recklessly to save people like you and died."
"......."
That...... I know too.
Because it's also the reason Ria came here.
It was about Ria's mother.
Ria's mother was a Hunter. Naturally, she wasn't affiliated with the Church.
But she was also an outstanding Rank 1 Hunter, comparable to Ria's father, a Hero.
Not just outstanding in skill, but outstanding in character as well. So much so that the greatest Hero fell head over heels after working with her just once.
And in this kind of novel, if a person like that died, there's only one reason, isn't there?
"I'll be honest. You're weaker than that person. Well, it's not like I'm stronger than her either, but at least I know how to fight."
Ria looked at me with a bitter smile.
"Well, I have my own things to do, and you're planning to leave the Church someday, so I won't follow you around forever. But still, if I heard that the girl I shared a room with died for the same reason, I'd definitely have restless nights."
"......."
"At least while I'm here, just don't go charging off to die. At the very least, that kind of thing is for when you've got a weapon in your hand."
"......Okay. I'll keep that in mind."
If I know the reason Ria is saying that, I don't feel like arguing back.
For a moment, an awkward silence settled between the two of us—
Growl.
—or rather, it didn't get to settle.
My stomach, apparently deciding the conversation was over, was diligently sending signals.
Ria let out a chuckle and stood up.
"Alright, shall we go get something to eat? Want something other than instant noodles today?"
"Something else?"
"Couldn't we order something like chicken? We can just receive it over the wall, right?"
"Chi...... chicken......!?"
Of course, I wasn't sure whether that was theoretically possible or not.
But for some reason, I found myself thinking that if it was Ria, she could easily pull off something like that.
No, well, I know it's a rule violation no matter how much the Mother Superior lets things slide.
......But how am I supposed to resist chicken on a hungry night like this?