I've Been Waiting for a Man Like You
A fact realized too late.
In the game, when clearing Chapter 1 and transitioning to Chapter 2, a brief dialogue about finding the city would play, and after clicking through a few lines of text, the player would instantly warp right in front of it.
As he soared through the air, Rin had a sudden thought.
Did we travel like this back then too, using five of Lucy's leaps?
No.
In the game, even though her affection level was high, Lucy had been in a normal state. They would have traveled normally, either on foot or by carriage.
Most of all...
"Ugh... bleh!"
"Rin, are you okay?"
Once the travel sequence ended, the in-game porter hadn't been doubled over, dry-heaving like this.
"Should I pat your back?"
"No, no..."
If you pat my back, I feel like my organs will spill out.
Lucy had always possessed unrivaled strength within the Hero's party, but she seemed even more powerful now that her limbs were restored.
She wasn't strong because she was chosen by the Holy Sword and became the Hero.
She had been chosen by the Holy Sword because she was already strong enough to be called a hero in her own right.
The Holy Sword was famous for choosing its wielder not by physical strength, but by thoroughly examining and evaluating the candidate's convictions and values.
Despite this, Lucy was considered the strongest among all the Heroes in history.
It was only natural, considering she had slain the Demon King—a feat no other Hero had ever accomplished. Yet, paradoxically, the public viewed her as a highly eccentric figure, matching her immense strength with equally bizarre behavior.
But who could have known?
That the Hero, who once ran rampant relying on her status and power, had laid down the Holy Sword—the very source of her heroic might—for the sake of a single man.
Even Rin didn't know yet.
If he found out, he would surely clutch the back of his neck and faint, but for now, he remained blissfully ignorant.
In other words, Lucy was no longer the Hero.
She was just a girl chasing after a man, harboring a deep, unrequited love.
Unable to bear the dizziness any longer, Rin collapsed on the ground, a safe distance away from the city.
Normally, he would have forced himself up, begrudging even a moment wasted. But since they had covered a distance that would have taken a month on foot in just half a day with five leaps, there was no need to rush.
It was better to recover his condition fully and prepare to enter Chapter 2.
Lucy pulled Rin's head onto her lap and gently brushed his hair aside.
"I need to move..."
Overcome by severe dizziness, Rin drifted straight to sleep.
A throbbing headache accompanied the vertigo, causing him to break out in a cold sweat.
Lucy carefully wiped his forehead with a scrap of cloth she had.
Fearing she might wake him, she touched the cloth to his skin with the utmost gentleness. A look of profound satisfaction settled on her face.
Not long ago, she had been wrapped in a bundle, dangling helplessly from Rin's back. Now, she cradled him on her newly restored lap, tending to him with her newly restored arms and hands.
"Mmh... ah...!"
She bit her finger, trying to suppress the rush of pleasure.
Just having Rin touch her body, newly remade by the Elixir, was enough to make her flush with heat.
"Haa... haa..."
She wanted to kiss his lips, his forehead, right this instant.
His tightly closed eyelids were just too adorable.
She barely managed to hold back the dark, lustful desires flooding her mind.
Stifling her ragged breaths of desire, Lucy plucked a single strand of her own hair.
A single strand of crimson hair.
As she infused it with mana, it glowed even brighter.
But it wasn't just the freshly plucked hair that shone.
As she circulated mana throughout her body, a thin red thread traced itself along Lucy's pinky finger.
The faint line of crimson mana stretched all the way to Rin's left pinky.
Lucy brought her strand of hair to the line.
The red thread absorbed the hair, growing longer by that exact amount.
"Hehehe."
Ever since the day she got her body back, Lucy had woven this red thread every single day while Rin slept.
At first, she had taken a long time, terrified that the sensitive Rin would wake up immediately. But ever since his resurrection, he had developed a habit of falling into an incredibly deep sleep.
That was why, whenever Rin didn't wake up for a long time, Lucy would grow anxious and try to check his heartbeat.
Today, she wove the thread once more.
Imbued with Lucy's mana, this red thread would not break under ordinary circumstances.
No matter how far apart they were, she would always know where Rin was.
If the thread ever broke, it would mean Rin was in grave danger.
It was the best way to keep him under her watchful eye and protect him.
The red thread of fate.
An old legend she had heard from Arciel.
Though she detested the Saint herself, Lucy wanted to believe in that legend with all her heart.
She had no doubt that this red thread, linking him to her so clearly, would eventually weave their marriage and a home together.
There were no rivals anyway.
Though she carried the guilt of her past misdeeds, Lucy had no intention of rushing. She planned to take her time, slowly soothing his wounds and seeping into Rin's heart.
She had plenty of time.
The Holy Sword was gone, so she was no longer the Hero anyway.
If Rin wanted to, she would go hunt demons with him, but Lucy's primary goal was to take Rin and find a nest just for the two of them.
"My only ally, my best companion, my Rin."
She had all the time in the world, but she had absolutely no intention of wasting a single second of it.
Surprisingly, Rin woke up early.
Waking up quietly after less than an hour of sleep, he opened his eyes to find Lucy staring down at him, her face flushed red and her tongue slightly poking out.
"..."
"...Can I eat you, Rin?"
"No."
Spending time close to her, Rin had noticed Lucy had a peculiar habit.
When she spaced out alone, she would close her eyes and poke out her tongue or lick her lips, which looked rather suggestive.
Rin had warned her about it, but she hadn't fixed it. Instead, she took it a step further and directly asked if she could eat him.
Why does she try to swallow the air so erotically?
At this point, even Rin found it hard to tell if she was doing it on purpose or if she was genuinely that innocent.
"Is your headache better, Rin?"
"Yeah, thanks to you. Thanks for the lap pillow, Lucy."
"I'll do it whenever you want, Rin."
"I'll let you know when I need it."
"No, I want to do it even when I just feel like it."
"You really are free-spirited, Lucy."
"Huh? No, not at all."
Lucy giggled softly and clung tightly to his arm.
"I can't survive without you, Rin."
Rin didn't argue and simply patted her head.
Like soothing a moody cat.
"Anyway, how do we get in?"
"What do we have to hide? We can just walk right in," Lucy grumbled.
But in reality, they had plenty to hide.
First of all, regardless of whether there were pursuers, they still couldn't afford to be discovered, nor could they let their travel route be exposed.
While it wouldn't trigger a bad ending, getting caught by the Hero's party would force them to rejoin immediately.
If that happened, they would have to fight the final battle against the demons with all of Lucy's affinity events, item acquisitions, and stat enhancements skipped.
Affinity didn't matter anymore, but the items and stat upgrades included Lucy-exclusive events.
Without going through this process, Lucy would have to proceed through the rest of the scenario incomplete. Naturally, she wouldn't reach her end-game stats, making it uncertain if they could even make it to the final battle.
They couldn't hide Lucy in a bundle like they did in Epaltelga either.
Trying to force their way through was out of the question; in this world, the phrase "red-haired woman" was practically synonymous with Luciena Estelle. Her face was far too recognizable.
In the end, there was only one answer.
The only solution was the one Rin had known from the very beginning.
But he really, really didn't want to do it.
Rin and Lucy pulled their hoods low and stood at the end of the line waiting for inspection at the city gates.
The commercial city of Waltercroix.
A city of merchants where all kinds of rare goods flowed through land routes and harbors.
Although it belonged to the Empire, it was not under the direct control of the state. Instead, it was ruled by a coalition of guilds, functioning essentially as a vassal city-state.
Because of this, the lines were long, and the inspections were incredibly thorough and strict.
Playing dumb and slipping them a few coins like they did in Epaltelga wouldn't work here.
As one of the cities where the most money circulated alongside the financial capital, everyone from the guild rulers to the lowliest guards knew exactly what kind of financial loss a single moment of carelessness could bring.
Even without identification, they wouldn't be imprisoned, thanks to Lucy's identity.
Instead, a report would immediately be sent to the imperial palace, and Tigria would use her teleportation magic to bring the Hero's party right to them.
If luck wasn't on his side, a useless porter like him might even be summarily executed in the process.
Rin made his decision.
Right. Doing something I hate is a hell of a lot better than dying.
As Rin scanned his surroundings, a certain man caught his eye.
A man sitting casually in the thick bushes beside the well-paved road, eating a rice ball.
He was a middle-aged man in scruffy clothes, his sleeves shiny with layers of dust and grime. Yet, his sharp eyes thoroughly scanned the line of people waiting for inspection.
He had strong, defined features—the kind of face that might divide opinions but would likely be quite popular with women.
"Rin?"
Leaving Lucy's call behind, Rin stepped out of the line.
He approached the man and tried to speak.
"Actually..."
His tongue tripped.
"Ac-shually..."
He completely botched the pronunciation.
"What do you think you're doing?" the man asked, throwing down his half-eaten rice ball with a scowl.
I have to be serious.
God, I really don't want to do this.
Only after mentally preparing himself could Rin force the words out properly.
"Actually, I've been waiting for a man like you for a long time."
Lucy gasped in horror.
"Huh...?"
The man replied.
"To be honest, so have I."
"Really?"
Rin wanted to throw up.
"Just kidding."
Looking at the man's face, he didn't seem to be enjoying it either.
"Damn it, to think you actually knew the password. I had my doubts, but the Boss was right."
"Boss?"
"Don't play dumb. I was told only one person would know this."
They're treating me like someone pretty special.
Is it because we're from the same hometown?
Now that the cringeworthy password exchange was over, Rin and the man deliberately hardened their expressions and spoke with solemn gravity.
"You're in luck. The Boss just returned not too long ago."
"If it's alright, I'd like to go see them right now."
"I was planning on it. Even if it's just a password, I don't have the guts to stand around here after saying something like that."
The man gestured with his chin and turned around.
"Follow me."
His pace was surprisingly brisk, so they had to hurry.
As Rin started to run after the man, he noticed Lucy standing frozen in place and grabbed her arm.
"Lucy, we have to go."
"Rin..."
Lucy asked, her voice trembling on the verge of tears.
"Do you... like men?"
Rin squeezed his eyes shut for the second time today.