[No Title Provided]
Marian was happy. 'What... is this?' The first thought that crossed her mind as she sat up in bed was just that. What she saw was a room different from the one Jena had prepared for her the previous day. And it didn't take Marian long to realize it was the Hero's room.
A sword—the one the Hero always carried—was proudly displayed in one corner of the room, and Jena had given him the largest, most luxurious chamber. The problem was that the room's actual owner, the Hero himself, was nowhere to be seen, and here she was, boldly sprawled out in his bed.
"Ugh." Marian winced and pressed her hand to her forehead as a sudden headache hit her. Only then did she remember downing a ton of alcohol the night before—stuff she never touched normally—and she immediately started cursing Dalshinyang for her idiotic advice.
'What the hell... my head just hurts.' But in that moment, her brain seemed to finally wake up late, dredging up memories from the previous night. Her conversation with the Hero. Their intense kiss. And the feel of his hand teasing her most intimate place.
Marian's face flushed hot as the recollections flooded back, her breathing growing ragged. 'N-no way...?'
She hastily hiked up her skirt to check the carefully chosen underwear she'd prepared. The fabric that should have covered her pussy was shoved aside in a mess. Proof positive that her memories weren't a dream. Her heart began to pound wildly.
'C-calm down, heart. It's not certain yet.' Even as she tried to soothe herself, another scene flashed in her mind: the Hero's cock, which she'd only ever spied on in her astral form, and herself eagerly sucking it.
No, come to think of it, just waking up in the Hero's room this morning was proof enough. 'Did I... do it?'
Marian still hesitated to believe it fully. But then her nose caught the faint, musky scent permeating the room—like night-blooming flowers, fishy and unmistakable. Though she'd never had sex herself, growing up in Raksha Street had made her all too familiar with that aroma. Semen. A man's cum.
"I-I did it. I actually did it!" Marian blurted out to the empty air.
She still couldn't quite believe she'd slept with the Hero, and the foggy memory of her first time was frustrating, but the important thing was that it had happened—with him.
"Heh heh heh. I did it. Me too, I finally did it."
The slight dissatisfaction faded quickly. What had gnawed at Marian most was the alienation of being the only one not chosen by the Hero, rooted in her lowly origins. Besides, the first time was always the hardest; everything after came easier. It sucked not remembering her precious deflowering clearly, but now she could boldly demand him like Jena or Karen. A grin refused to leave her lips.
"That said, where's the Hero?" Marian muttered to herself as she hopped out of bed, her face still flushed with excitement. It was her first time—wouldn't it have been nice if he'd stayed by her side? But the sunlight streaming through the window was already midday bright.
"M-me too, huh. I must've overslept. W-well, yeah... I was probably exhausted."
She twisted her legs together, mumbling to herself. A shiver ran through her.
But then she felt a strange gaze prickling at her and shrank back. The room was empty, just her alone, yet it felt like someone was watching. Still, in her euphoric mood, Marian dismissed it as her imagination.
"Ah, I should go find the Hero." Blushing for no reason, she announced it as if someone might overhear, then stepped out the door.
"Like this?" I muttered to myself, mimicking Lucille's swordsmanship.
"Kuh." Even though it was her own technique thrown right back at her, Lucille hurriedly shifted her guard with a scowl. Her form was more fluid, of course, but our base specs were worlds apart.
I eased the pressure on my sword, pulling it back slightly, and Lucille glared at me with a wronged expression.
"Good enough. That's plenty." As I handed the sword back to Jena and spoke to Lucille, she approached and ventured a question.
"...I have a question."
Since I'd been the one to suggest a light spar, I nodded and met her gaze.
"Is it because you're the Hero that you're so strong? Or were you always this strong?"
"Does it matter?" I shot back at her unexpected query.
"Just curiosity."
She framed it as mere curiosity, but her face said otherwise. I mulled over my answer as she stared at me with unusual seriousness. My strength came from regression, but that regression was only possible because I was the Hero.
"The Hero was strong from the start."
But the answer came not from me, but from an unexpected source. Jena, who'd been watching our spar, jumped in as if she'd been waiting for her cue.
"...From the start?"
"Yes. I've been a witness since the Hero began his first adventure."
I was stunned by Jena bragging so shamelessly, but the others reacted differently.
"Ah, right? I heard you and the Saintess found the Hero."
"He was really strong from the beginning?"
"So? What was the Hero like back then?"
Karen, Lucille, and Isabela asked Jena in turn.
Jena smirked triumphantly at them. "At first, even I didn't know how strong the Hero was. I thought I should train him myself. But I wasn't even fit to lick the dirt from his toes. And on the day I suffered my first defeat, I..."
I could only chuckle in disbelief as Jena boasted about the past. From claiming she'd trained me out of consideration, to glossing over how I'd forced her to suck my cock after beating her—it was heavily romanticized. But the others listened with rapt attention.
"Hero. There you are."
Before Jena's embarrassing tale could finish, Marian approached. I tried to keep a straight face as I looked at her. After all, sneaking into my room last night must've taken guts on her part, and regardless of the outcome, it'd be awkward.
"Ah, Marian. Feeling okay?"
"Pardon? Oh, yes."
I sensed something off as she blushed and fidgeted. I'd only asked about her hangover, but her reaction was anything but normal. No shame about entering a man's room as a saintess, no regret over whatever failure might've happened.
'If anything... she's in a good mood?'
I tilted my head at Marian, who was beaming vapidly for some reason.
"Marian, you tell us too."
"W-what about?"
"What your first meeting with the Hero was like."
Having devoured Jena's war stories, my companions turned to Marian for fresh bait. Looking happier than usual, she launched into her first impressions of me.
"Ah, the moment we met? Well, I knew right away he was the Hero. Heh heh."
It was a textbook case of how easily memories distort—Marian and Jena both.
"What nonsense. You demanded proof he was the Hero."
"Th-that was... just my duty as a saintess."
Fortunately, Jena remembered that part accurately. But even with Jena's snide tone, Marian's smile didn't fade, and that's when I realized something was truly wrong.
'No way...?'
Marian Delarossi. She was thoroughly deluded, no doubt about it. God knows what chaos she'd cause once the truth hit her. But for now, I couldn't bring myself to say a word to the girl grinning ear to ear in her bliss.