Chapter 48. Hero, Prepare Yourself ♥
Chapter 48. Hero, Prepare Yourself ♥
Upon stepping outside, a long, winding promenade stretched out through the wooded path.
Laila was glancing around, looking pleased about something.
"Hero, what's with the sudden walk?"
"Just wanted to digest what we ate..."
"Hehe, someone who can eat anything without a problem talking about digestion..."
Other families and couples were out walking around us too.
I quietly studied Laila's profile.
'What could she be thinking...?'
I kept fidgeting with the ring in my pocket.
How should I confess...?
My mind churned endlessly, trying to find the right words.
'Ha, it's easy to just say "go for it," but...'
"Wow! Hero, it's winter but there are still flowers?"
Laila trotted over to the blooming garden.
Plenty of people were on the promenade, but only Laila's figure stood out to me.
'...Should I say it now? No, would that be too sudden?'
My heart was beating slightly faster.
I'd overcome countless dangers and survived innumerable life-or-death battlefields, but...
Uttering a single phrase like "I love you" was far more difficult.
— Thump!
Laila walked over to where I was standing still and took my hand.
"Hehe, I heard there's a tea house over there where we can have tea!"
From her gently swaying hair, a soft scent of shampoo wafted.
Laila's hand, as soft as a baby's.
I simply toyed with Laila's hand and quietly let myself be led toward the tea house.
'If I keep this up, nothing would come of it...!'
I squeezed her hand tightly and stopped Laila, who had been leading the way.
Laila turned around instantly and looked at me.
"U-Um..."
"What is it?"
"L-Laila...! Um, well...!"
But then, unfortunately, an intruder appeared...
"Big sis!"
'Big sis...?'
I looked toward the voice and saw a group of women who looked like college students.
I glanced at Laila, and she shook her head as if she didn't know them either.
"Excuse me... who might you be?"
"Oh! I'm sorry... aren't you the streamers from Pajijik?"
"Uh..."
"The Saintess and Hero!"
Surprisingly, they were viewers.
There were female college student viewers for such a brutal stream...?
'Uh... was it bad to get caught with Laila like this?'
I was restless.
It wasn't as if we'd announced we were dating and were on an official date...
But Laila skillfully carried on a conversation with them.
"Really? Wow... they provided you accommodations in a place like this...?"
"Thankfully, yes~"
The girls were chatting and laughing, seeming to enjoy themselves.
Then, one of them suddenly looked at me.
"So, are you two dating?"
"Ah, n-no... we're colleagues... we just got lodgings here..."
I made excuses in a frantic, lame manner.
Despite my dorky moment, they giggled.
"Why aren't you two dating?"
What was this, herbivore talk...
I managed my expression as best I could and replied casually.
"But wouldn't it be a bit... if we started dating? The viewers..."
They looked at each other and laughed again.
Then, waving their hands, they replied.
"Ah~ That's just the kind of stream that gets us diehard fans going~"
"Is that so...?"
"Yes! When you first invited Hero as a guest, those who disliked it probably already left, right?"
Still, that was a relief.
At least some viewers were being considerate.
"Hehe... Hero, you worry about that kind of thing more than I expected?"
"Well... they're my viewers after all, so keeping it secret feels a bit..."
"Oh, you didn't know?"
"Huh?"
"The community is even taking bets on when you two will start dating."
What the...?
I'd heard that some illegal sites used to bet on streamers' match outcomes.
And oddly enough, some even had toto sites for predicting presidential election results...
And they're betting on when Laila and I would start dating...?
"Hero, we might look like we're joking, right? Check it on your phone later!"
After the conversation, they wished us a good trip and went into the building.
I pulled out my phone to check, too.
'...Why was this real?'
It wasn't even a bet on whether we'd date or not.
It was a bet on how long it would take, with the unconditional assumption that we'd date...
"Pfft... Hero, it's funny, isn't it?"
"Wh-What is...?"
"I just find it amazing that we ran into viewers in a place like this."
That's a relief.
If Laila had been upset about this kind of bet...
I might have shattered into pieces on the spot and bitten my tongue to death.
"Wow, the tea house is really pretty!"
It was a tea house decorated with beautiful lighting,
and there was even an outdoor terrace to enjoy the outside scenery.
"Unusually, they sell cocktails too?"
Since it had such an elegant atmosphere, I assumed people would come dressed to the nines.
But maybe because most were guests staying here, many people came in comfortable clothes.
'There were a lot of people dressed like us too, huh?'
Our tea and cocktails arrived, and I discreetly tested the waters with Laila.
"Laila, how do you feel about marriage?"
"Hmm... I have one thing in mind."
"What is it?"
"Hehe, it's a secret~"
She could not possibly have someone she liked, right?
Or was she someone who doesn't believe in marriage...?
The delusions that started just kept piling up, one after another.
"Hero?"
"Huh? No... Should we head back if we're done?"
"Yes~"
We arrived in front of the building that we could use privately.
There, Laila was about to open the door and go inside.
"Laila!"
Laila jumped at my call and looked back.
If not now, it seemed like there wouldn't be another chance.
"Is there something you want to say?"
I walked up to Laila and took her left hand.
Then, with trembling hands, I took the ring out of my pocket.
"Hero... this is?"
In my entire life, had I ever been this nervous?
I calmed my shaking hands and slipped the ring onto her ring finger.
"Laila, I love you. I don't think I can be without you."
"...!"
"W-Will you marry me?"
Idiot.
Not even asking to date, but straight up proposing marriage...
Maybe because I was so nervous, my words stumbled and my hands shook.
"W-Well, first... if marriage is too soon, we can date and take it slowly...!"
At my sudden confession, Laila deeply bowed her head.
'No way... no way... it couldn't be, right? It's not that...'
If Laila rejects me... I might just turn to the dark side and destroy the Earth.
"Um... Laila?"
---
'Hero suggesting we go for a walk... that was unusual.'
We went for a walk and, strangely, we ran into some viewers.
And I heard about the funny bet the viewers were making.
'Hehe, it won't be long now.'
Didn't that show just how much our viewers wanted the union of Hero and Saintess?
As a streamer, one had a duty to meet the viewers' expectations.
I swear by the Goddess, there was absolutely no selfish motive.
"Wow! The tea house is really pretty, isn't it?"
As she continued her outing with Song Hoon, Laila sensed something strange.
Hero was too different from usual.
He seemed lost in thought, his face full of worry.
'Why was he like that...?'
A sense of unease welled up in a corner of her heart.
Could there be something difficult for him to say?
The unusual incident that happened recently...
'Could it be that wench...!!!'
She barely managed to suppress the frown that had almost formed without her noticing.
If that girl had pulled some trick.
She could just handle it like she did back in that other world...
"How do you feel about marriage?"
Out of the blue, he asked about her thoughts on marriage.
The unease began to creep in.
This won't do.
Tonight, I'll make sure to mark Hero as mine without a doubt.
After finishing their outing, they returned to the building with Hero.
She took a careful deep breath.
"Laila!"
She turned around and saw Hero's face, which showed he had resolved something.
She managed her expression as calmly as possible and asked casually.
"Is there something you want to say?"
Yet the situation that unfolded was the exact opposite of her worries.
Hero, with trembling hands, slipped a ring onto the ring finger of my left hand.
"I love you. Will you marry me?"
The moment those words reached my ears.
Instantly, my mind went blank.
"..."
I bowed my head deeply.
The sound of the wind, the trickling water in the garden, even the sound of Hero's breathing.
I couldn't hear a single sound, as if everything had stopped.
'...'
As I grasped the situation, my face began to burn.
And right after that.
Fanfare.
A splendid fanfare echoed somewhere in my mind.
Firecrackers popped, golden flower petals scattered, and a festival began in my imagination.
'Just now... really?'
I lifted my head slightly and looked at Hero.
Hero's face was flushed, too.
His eyes were still serious, with no trace of falsehood.
"Haa... Hero... I can't hold back anymore."
I roughly grabbed Hero's wrist.
---
Laila suddenly grabbed my wrist, opened the door, and went inside.
— Bang!
She slammed the door shut and pushed me against it.
"L-Laila...!?"
— Smooch... Slurp... Sip...
And she threw her arms around my neck and continued with rough kisses.
My head was so hot it felt like it was about to burst.
"Paha... Hero..."
"???"
"An answer like this should be enough... right?"
"???"
A thin strand of saliva stretched from Laila's lips and dripped down to her cleavage.
At my transfixed gaze, she grinned.
"Hero, so are we a married couple now?"
were we?
I didn’t know.
My mind couldn't process the sudden situation.
Well, if we were going to get married eventually, it wasn't exactly wrong...
— Kwak!
Laila roughly grabbed my wrist again and pulled me somewhere.
"I waited so long... You're too late..."
"Laila, I'm sorry..."
She placed a finger over my mouth, stopping my pathetic attempt at an apology.
Then her eyes curved into crescents and she smiled gently.
"Hero, brace yourself ♥"
Wh-What?
Brace myself for what?