Find the Hero's Heir! (2)
From morning on, I'd felt this weird gaze trailing me. It'd be nice if it were just my imagination, but probably not. Every time the gaze seemed to follow, my senses picked up the same person's presence. But they were hiding pretty far off, observing me, so I couldn't pin them down no matter what. So I gave up early, finished lunch, and decided to swing by the student council room.
Creak—
I'd gotten permission from Siel sunbae not long ago—she'd struck a thumbs-up pose and said, "You're the next vice president, so it's fine! I'll allow entry!"—so there was no need to knock. I opened the door casually, like I was entering my own bedroom, just as the secretary Lens sunbae came and went.
"Uh, uh...?"
"...?"
...There was some corpse sprawled on the desk. Well, not exactly—you couldn't really see it properly. It was buried under a mountain of documents piled so high even the face was hard to make out. I only knew someone was there because of the dying groans coming from that direction.
As I stepped closer, familiar golden hair shook behind the stack of papers.
"...Siel sunbae?"
"Junior... leave this to me and run...!"
"How'd it get this bad?"
I ignored her lame attempt at a joke and probed for details. I'd only been to the student council room a few times, but even compared to usual, the paperwork was excessive.
"Ugh, it's the aftermath of that incident from the other day?"
"...Sorry. Because of our young miss."
The moment I realized why, I apologized without a second's hesitation. Even if she hadn't done it out of fondness for the young miss, the damage was real. As something like a retainer, I felt obligated to bow my head for my master's mistakes.
Siel sunbae gave a wry smile and waved it off.
"It's fine. I didn't say it to get an apology. Especially not from you."
"Still. If it's that tough, want me to help out a bit?"
"Just cheer me on."
Cheer her on? This wasn't some elementary school sports day. I let out an incredulous chuckle, and she laughed along. Well, what could I even help with anyway?
"Ah, then... could you maybe give me a shoulder massage? I've been buried in paperwork for days, and my shoulders are killing me."
I was about to mind my business and leave quietly when she made this out-of-left-field request. She must've meant it as a joke herself, scratching her cheek awkwardly with a "Heh, kidding."
But I fired right back, cool as ever.
"I can do that much."
"Eek, for real? N-no, I was joking!"
"So what if it was a joke."
Even if she said it in jest, if the receiver says okay, isn't that fine? Besides, I'm pretty confident in my massage skills. I'd kneaded the young miss's shoulders a few times when she got stiff from studying.
"Don't report me for sexual harassment to the academy later, okay?"
"Did you ask for it wanting sexual harassment?"
"Well, no, but..."
"Then we're good."
As if massaging a close sunbae's shoulders counted as sexual harassment. I moved behind her chair, grabbed her shoulders, and her body flinched.
"Relax a bit. Why so tense?"
"But asking a guy junior to massage me... feels kinda guilty. Am I abusing my sunbae position for something shady right now?"
"Better than that vice president push anyway, so don't sweat it."
"That hurts more."
She made a complicated face but relaxed as I worked her shoulders. Man, they were seriously knotted. Even I, swinging a sword daily, didn't have it this bad. Or maybe sitting frozen at a desk made it worse than actual exercise.
"Hoo... feels good..."
"Feeling alive yet?"
"Yeah. So, junior, what's your business here today? If you're even giving me this special service, it doesn't seem trivial."
Ah, busted. I'd planned to use the young miss's screw-up as an excuse to offer a favor, then segue into the real topic. Sharp-eyed princesses like her were the worst.
"Just had something to ask."
"Ask away. Your sunbae here knows."
Nope, scratch that—I take it back. As expected of a princess, so magnanimous. Look at that broad-mindedness, embracing a junior with ulterior motives. Truly impressive assets. Not that way, of course.
"You know the saintess?"
"Euyril junior? Of course. I remember everyone's name at the academy."
Scary how believable that was from her. And it probably included not just students but all those professors too—doubling my dread. How seriously did this princess take her student council president role?
"You call her 'junior,' not 'saintess'."
"Once you're in the academy, everyone's just equal students. I tell people not to call me 'princess' either."
"True."
Consistently principled, as always. Anyway, if she knew, this'd be quick.
"Heard this morning she was looking for me."
"Oh? What for?"
"No idea. That's why I was wondering if you knew anything about her."
"Why not ask her directly? Or is it awkward to?"
She tilted her head with a mischievous smile, staring right at me. Her insight was unmatched, yet she sometimes played dumb in the most irritating way.
"The latter. Heard people from the Holy Kingdom rarely visit the academy. Especially someone like the saintess seeking me out—feels off."
"Fair. There's even a joke in Luendel Kingdom: follow an envoy, but never a follower of the Church of Light. Unless it's proselytizing, when they seek you out, something bad always happens."
"Doesn't sound like a joke."
As an atheist, even proselytizing didn't thrill me. And a saintess wouldn't bother evangelizing some random student, so it had to be the bad kind. But what exactly?
"Why'd the saintess come to the academy anyway?"
"No clue. It was chaos when the news first spread. The principal even contacted the Holy Kingdom directly to ask why. No real answers, though."
"Hmm."
Not even the student council president or principal knew. Shady as hell. A big shot showing up without reason would be weirder, but hiding it from key academy figures? Sounded like a massive Holy Kingdom secret known only to their top brass.
Problem was, I had zero idea what it could be.
"That's enough, junior. I've more than paid for the info fee. Not that there was much info."
As I pondered deeply, she leaned forward slightly, slipping from my hands. Lunchtime had passed anyway, so I stepped back from the chair and returned to the front of the desk.
"Still helpful. I'll drop by next time I need something. Another massage?"
"I'd rather give you one, junior..."
She licked her lips seductively, dropping a sleazy line like some neighborhood uncle in his forties. I shot her a cold glare and turned without a second thought.
"Reporting to the academy office."
"W-wait! Hold up! Joke, it was a joke!"
"Sure, sure, tell it to the disciplinary committee... Hm?"
We were bantering as usual when—
Thud—!
My senses caught that familiar presence. Eyes wide, I flung open the student council room door with all my might.
Tap, tap...!
A faint presence hurriedly retreating. If I ran now, I could catch them.
"J-junior! Don't go! My bad, okay?!"
Siel sunbae's voice tried to grab me from behind, but I had no time to listen. I had to uncover who this stalker tailing me all day was.
Well, I had a pretty good guess already.
＊
"Stop right there, you punk!"
"Hah, hah...!"
The stalker—no, the saintess—rushed ahead, silver hair whipping in the wind, rough breaths heaving. I chased hard, yelling at her back, but she showed no sign of stopping. Her stamina must've given out soon, though, because she started slowing.
Realizing she'd get caught, she ducked behind a pillar at the corridor's end like a whack-a-mole.
"Hey, you coming out nice, or should I come get you?"
"Eek...?!"
My threat—like she was already surrounded—drew a shrill scream from behind the pillar. At this point, wouldn't coming out quietly be better for her?
No idiot would think that hiding spot was real. I wanted to dash over and yank her by the scruff, but knowing she was the saintess made me hesitate.
"Come out now, and I won't get mad. Just step out."
"R-really...? You won't, won't get mad...?"
I coaxed her gently, like scolding a kid, and a terrified voice replied. I nodded firmly—yeah—and finally, she emerged from behind the pillar, scuttling sideways like a crab.
"U, uh..."
...This was the saintess? I was stunned. She reeked of total loner vibes, silver hair and all—no one would disagree.
How'd she run that hard lugging those? No, focus. I'd promised no anger, so I sighed deeply and steered the conversation calmly.
"You're Yubelia Euyril, the saintess, right?"
"...!"
"Why the hell are you stalking me? If you have something to say, just say it."
She fidgeted with her hands forever, searching for words. How long did one answer take? My frustration boiled over, voice rising—
"Y-your aura feels so good...! C-could we maybe talk for a bit?"
"...?"
Her big effort of a line short-circuited my brain.
...New world?