The Hero Heads to Butler Territory
"Why are you holed up here like this?"
"I never imagined I'd have to explain it to you."
I looked at Mary, confined in a tower far from the imperial palace, and asked. She responded with a hint of resentment in her voice. I had no reply to her words laced with bitterness.
While I was off battling the Demon King, Aaron had overthrown his father the emperor and seized the throne. Mary had resisted him in the process, but as a princess with no real power base, there was little she could do. And Aaron wasn't the type to let a rebellious sister slide.
"...Did I do something wrong?"
I asked, gazing at Mary who stared back from inside her prison. She didn't answer outright, but her eyes said enough—no need for words.
"You were just foolish, and I was powerless. That's all it was."
She spoke those words to me as I watched her silently, then turned away as if she had nothing more to say. Staring at her back, I went straight to confront Aaron.
I hadn't shared any deep emotions with Mary, but she was still my fiancée, officially recognized by Aaron. Furious, I demanded answers about her treatment, and Aaron shot back:
"Does she have to be your fiancée? If you need a woman to comfort you, I'll assign someone suitable."
His words filled me with utter contempt, but I couldn't retort. He was the emperor of the empire now, and I—the man who'd slain the Demon King—was just a powerless bumpkin from the sticks.
"What brings you here?"
I asked Mary, sitting across the table from me, my emotions a tangled mess. So much had changed since my regression, but seeing her stirred up those old complicated feelings.
It wasn't her fault, exactly, but I still felt uneasy around her. Just meeting her eyes made my past life seem even more pathetic.
The noble princess gazed at me curiously, oblivious to why the hero was looking at her that way.
"...Have I offended you in some way?"
"No, nothing like that."
I replied stiffly to Princess Mary's question. I knew it wasn't her fault, but my heart wouldn't settle.
"I see you're not one for small talk. I'll get straight to the point."
"...What is it?"
"Go to Butler Territory and save the refugees."
Her unexpected request caught me off guard. Asking to save refugees wasn't shocking in itself, but the Mary I knew had no reason to make such a plea.
"Is my request that surprising?"
"Why?"
Even to my curt response, Mary kept her signature calm demeanor—as if she preferred this clipped style of conversation. She began explaining her reasons.
"Simple. First, they need help. Second, taking them in benefits the empire."
"Help? You think refugees will actually help?"
"I don't know if they'll help right away. But with the Demon King appearing, this will become a war between humanity—or rather, the continent's people—and the demon army. Showing our stance to other nations before it escalates fully is to our advantage."
I rubbed my chin, watching her explain with uncharacteristic seriousness. This was a side of her I'd never seen in my first life. What had changed her? I eyed her curiously and asked:
"Why ask me?"
"I've heard you don't bow even to my father. He dismisses this as trivial, but I believe the empire's strength alone can't fend off the coming threat. Yet no one in the palace listens to a powerless princess like me. You were my only option."
"Ha? The empire can't handle it? How would you know?"
"...If a hero weren't needed, the goddess wouldn't have sent one."
Her words piqued my interest. The imperial princess seemed to understand the goddess better than the clergy of the Gaiana Church itself.
"You know about the goddess?"
"Of course not. I've just inferred from the miracles she's performed over time."
I narrowed my eyes at this new side of Mary I hadn't known. In my previous life, I'd seen her as a sheep—a pitiful lamb who'd lost everything to Crown Prince Aaron and ended up in the fold. I had no right to blame her, but that's how she'd appeared to me.
"But the emperor told me to stay here."
"...I'll handle that somehow."
Her response made me revise my view of her. Beyond the fear of her father in her eyes, I saw another emotion burning—a resolve.
"Fine. I'll trust you."
"Does that mean you'll do it?"
I nodded, and she looked shocked, as if she hadn't expected it. She pressed:
"Why?"
"You asked for help. What, having second thoughts now?"
"No, it's not that. From your position, there's no reason to grant my request."
I smirked at her and replied:
"Simple. The best gambles are always on the underdog."
The clash between the cunning, cruel Crown Prince Aaron and the princess I'd thought was just a meek sheep? The outcome seemed obvious. But I was starting to see Mary differently.
A sheep, sure—but a mouflon, not some barnyard lamb.
I recalled the wild, noble mouflon I'd seen on an adventure once, perched on the highest crag in the mountains, gazing down imperiously. Mary was still overwhelmingly outmatched, but it was enough to make the bet worthwhile.
Can't bet on that bastard Aaron anyway.
"Hero, you're heading to Butler, right?"
After dumping the emperor issue on Mary, I headed to the Gaiana Church as planned. As I rode Talion toward it, Marian—who'd already packed to leave—came rushing out and asked.
Her saintess robes were gone, replaced by travel clothes and a backpack; she looked every bit the adventurer.
"Huh? How'd you know?"
A playful mood struck me, so I teased the saintess Marian.
She realized her slip instantly, her face flushing red. She couldn't admit to spying on me having sex with another woman, and no other excuse came to mind.
I pressed her mischievously as she floundered.
"What? You plant a spy on me or something?"
"S-S-Spy? Absolutely not!"
Having gauged my personality by now, she panicked. When I eyed her expectantly for an excuse, she finally came up with one:
"A d-divine oracle! An oracle came down."
Marian and Jena were both hopeless liars. It wasn't worth dragging out the joke, so I let her clumsy fib slide.
"You coming along?"
"Of course."
"How? You got a plan?"
She stared up at me blankly, as if the thought hadn't crossed her mind. No wonder the holy knights had been shocked I could ride. In this world, only the professionally trained rode horses as a rule. A Raksha Street girl turned saintess like Marian? Even less likely. Saints belonged in carriages, not saddles.
"I-I'll prepare a carriage..."
"Not waiting."
"Th-then how?"
"Hop on behind me."
"Pardon?"
I extended one hand to the flustered saintess. She hesitated, eyeing it, then grabbed hold. I effortlessly pulled her up onto Talion's back. She clung to my waist for dear life, terrified of the height.
"Hold tight. We're off."
I spoke to Marian, then kicked Talion's sides with both heels. For some reason, the beast seemed thrilled, striding off with unusual pep—which annoyed me.