Let's Date. I'll Make You Happy.
The scene unfolding before their eyes as they returned. The moment they witnessed it, both Elisa and Nadan were seized by intense shock.
“H-how are you here?”
“You scoundrel! You should be locked in prison! Why are you here?!”
The two spoke in cold voices, radiating sharp wariness. In response, the man sitting across from them—Hero Hector—regarded them with a calm tone.
“This is… the news really is far too late. It has already been two months since my release, and you still hadn’t heard?”
“What?”
“How on earth… After committing the grave crime of attacking Her Majesty the Demon King, you…”
“That sin has been fully repaid through the achievements I’ve accumulated so far, is what it is. Her Majesty the Demon King acknowledged it and granted forgiveness, so there is no issue, is what it is.”
With those words, Shamyuel gently lifted a handkerchief and wiped the sauce from the hero’s mouth. Seeing Hector’s face flush slightly yet show no sign of refusal, a single realization began to surface in the minds of the two women.
“U-um… Shamyuel… Surely the hero you’re dating isn’t…”
“It wasn’t Hero Elan after all?!”
They asked with a thread of hopeful doubt. In reply, Shamyuel displayed a (●△●)? expression, tilted her head, and spoke.
“Hmm? What are you talking about, is what it is? Elan… Why would that man come up here? Strictly speaking, the one who can currently be called the hero is obviously our Hector, is what it is. Elan is the former hero and is now referred to as the Black Hero, is what it is.”
“That’s… true, but…”
“No, no… Wait a second. So right now, Shamyuel and Hector are the ones dating, and this has absolutely nothing to do with Elan?”
“It is obvious, is what it is. From the beginning, I have never even met that man. Such a misunderstanding is quite the leap, is what it is.”
“Ah…”
“….Um… um…”
At Shamyuel’s words, which carried a faint trace of discomfort, Nadan and Elisa wore troubled expressions. Then, overwhelmed by a profound sense of futility, the two looked at her and spoke.
“Um… So… We’re sorry.”
“I’m sorry too… I jumped to a weird conclusion…”
“Well, I’m not particularly angry, but I would appreciate it if you viewed the situation more objectively, is what it is. Personally, it did not feel very pleasant to have my man compared to someone whose only merit is strength, is what it is.”
“Umm…”
“My man…”
Shamyuel spoke in a completely deadpan voice, casually uttering words that would normally sound embarrassing. Seeing her (●_●) face, the two women began to blush despite themselves.
“Anyway, now that the strange misunderstanding has been cleared up, since we are all here, let us enjoy ourselves further, is what it is.”
“S-sure.”
“Well… I’m still not quite full yet…”
The two answered awkwardly and resumed the meal that had been interrupted. Meanwhile, paying their state no further mind, Shamyuel turned to Hector—who sat beside her with a slightly awkward expression—and said.
“Do not make that face and try eating this, is what it is.”
“Ah… Yes. Thank you.”
Hector placed the piece of meat Shamyuel offered into his mouth and began to chew. Truthfully, he had only come after receiving a request to help finish the remaining portions, yet he couldn’t shake the feeling that he had stumbled into some complicated affair between women. A strange mix of emotions stirred within him.
‘It feels like there was some intricate conversation between the women that I know nothing about… What could it have been?’
For Hector, who possessed zero knowledge on such matters, it was impossible to understand. Yet regardless of that incomprehensible background, at this very moment he felt a small, personal sense of happiness.
‘Still… well, setting that aside, spending time like this with Shamyuel isn’t bad at all.’
Two months earlier.
Hector and his Hero Party comrades had been granted release in recognition of their accumulated achievements. Shamyuel, who had accompanied him on the mission while also acting as his monitor, had played a major role in that decision. To express his gratitude, Hector had met her separately.
“I never imagined you would pass the credit to me like that. Thank you, truly. I don’t know how I can ever repay this favor…”
“I can tell you, is what it is.”
“Huh?”
“How to repay a favor. I can teach you, is what it is.”
“!”
At Shamyuel’s words, Hector realized she wanted something from him. Even though she possessed heavenly beauty, he reminded himself that she was fundamentally a demon, and a wave of intense anxiety washed over him.
‘Wh-what is it? Surely she doesn’t want my soul as payment or something?…’
Though the likelihood seemed low, he couldn’t completely dispel the unease. Hector asked carefully.
“Um… what exactly do I need to do? The way I can repay this favor is…”
“It is simple. You just need to date me, is what it is.”
“…Huh?”
Shamyuel delivered the unexpected and devastating blow without hesitation. For a moment, Hector’s mind went completely blank; he had no idea how to respond.
“N-no, wait… H-hold on… S-suddenly, what is this—”
“Hero, I like you. Let’s date. I will make you happy, is what it is.”
Shamyuel spoke in a flat, resolute voice while watching Hector, who was visibly spiraling into confusion. Even in this situation, her breathtaking beauty seemed to cast a spell on him. He began to feel as though he were enchanted.
Honestly, the current circumstances were still confusing in many ways. Yet setting that aside, when such a beauty openly confessed to him—especially after she had saved him from a fate that might have meant spending the rest of his life in prison—he felt he had neither the right nor the reason to refuse.
Of course, the idea that he, who still carried the title of hero, would enter such a relationship with a Legion Commander of the Demon Army gave him some pause. But at this point, having already sided with the demons and helped strike the Falcon Empire in the back, such concerns no longer mattered.
In that moment, Hector spoke to her with a voice heavy with tension.
“U-understood… I’ll date you.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
From that day onward, Hector and Shamyuel had been getting along far better than expected. Truthfully, no matter how stunning his partner was, the fact that she was a demon had left Hector with plenty of worries even after agreeing to date. Lately, however, he was realizing those fears had been completely unfounded.
There were minor cultural differences, but surprisingly few elements that might cause friction between them. Moreover, as if to prove her promise of making him happy, Shamyuel—though she often appeared indifferent—cared for him attentively. To Hector, who had never lived an easy life, it brought a deep sense of peace and joy.
‘Looking at it this way… my life isn’t so bad after all. After everything, to be able to meet a woman this wonderful…’
Not long ago they had even shared a kiss during a walk alone together. Lately, Hector could sense that Shamyuel was gently hoping for the next step.
‘It was called Immanuelmas, wasn’t it?… I heard it’s something like an anniversary for lovers. If I’m going to prepare something, that would be the perfect time.’
With that thought, Hector accepted another piece of meat Shamyuel offered and began to chew. Then he gently stroked the head of the woman sitting pressed close beside him.
Her hair was impossibly soft—fluffy, with a pleasant, comforting scent. As he caressed it, a quiet smile spread across Hector’s lips. At his touch, Shamyuel’s (●_●) expression remained, but her cheeks began to flush faintly.
However, neither Shamyuel nor Hector noticed something else. While they indulged in a moment so sweet it was almost sickeningly saccharine, the expressions of Nadan and Elisa sitting across from them were gradually twisting into something indescribably rotten.