Am I a Bad Person...?
"Hanamana!"
"Uwaaaah, I knowww!!"
Dark magic poured down relentlessly, met by yellow honeycomb-shaped defensive spells. Healing rites enveloped Sion, who knelt propped against her sword stabbed vertically into the ground, while Nao provided cover and enhancement magic bolstered Iri. All these spells were unfolding simultaneously from a single elf priestess: Hanamana.
"Nngh… Sorry. I didn't think I'd get caught."
"Save your breath for recovery! Meteor Rain!! Earth Needle!!"
At Nao's incantation, flaming meteors rained from the sky while sharp pillars thrust up from the earth, crushing the swarming monsters from above and below. When the rising pillars collided with meteors, they shattered into fragments that rained down once more on the demons—a merciless barrage of physics conjured by magic.
But the sheer scale and strength of their overwhelming foes carved a path through this hell, allowing monsters to close in on the barrier. Just as a demon's sword swung toward Hanamana's holy barrier, specialized against dark magic—
Snikt.
The demon's arm severed, followed by its head. Amid the chaos and shadows of the battlefield, Iri was the invisible blade that thrived.
Crackle—
Yet even with the hero party's flawless coordination and airtight cover, cracks began to spiderweb across Hanamana's barrier. Her face, frantically casting spells everywhere, twisted into despair.
"I didn't think even Hanamana could hold it forever, but the Demon King really is on another level! We can't even withstand his simple barrages!!"
She'd thoroughly blocked physical force and elemental magic that clashed with her holy barrier, but the sheer volume of dark magic from the Demon King alone was about to overwhelm her. Powered by infinite mana from the demon realm beyond the gate behind his throne, the Demon King and his legions unleashed spells that no small hero party could hope to counter. It was an impossibly high wall.
They'd boldly pierced the northern front and stormed the Demon King's Castle—a feat in itself—but this party had realized too late what that meant.
"Hope! We have to escape from here! Now, before it's too late!"
What? Me?
"?!"
I blinked awake to find myself sitting in a chair beside Sion's bed. The sun hung high in the midday sky, dazzling light sparkling outside the window.
What was that? A dream?
What I'd just seen was the hero party's battle. A dream viewing the four members from a third-party perspective. That scene was unmistakably their first clash with the Demon King. But at the end, Nao had given me an order too.
Guess since it was a dream, I got thrown in there somehow.
"You're awake?"
Still hazy from the dream's afterglow, sifting through memories, Sion had opened her eyes and spoken up.
"You've been awake a while? Since when?"
"Quite some time. But I saw something nice."
"Something nice?"
"Your sleeping face, Mr. Hope. First time seeing it."
"What's nice about that?"
"It was nice to me."
Calling my sleeping face "nice." Was she just that kind, or...?
More importantly, dozing off wasn't great. Was my mind going slack on my first vacation? I'd have to reset my sleep routine. I'd taken a few days off since I didn't know when Sion's condition would improve—time to adjust during that.
"Mr. Hope… um, I..."
Deep in mental calculations of sleep schedules, Sion called out again. Sounded troubled, stumbling over words, shrinking into the bed like she was squirming.
"What? Something hurt again?"
"No, I, uh… bathroom…"
"Huh?"
Her increasingly tiny voice was hard to catch. Leaning in to hear better, I tilted toward her. Sion strained her immobile body, stretching her neck toward me, forehead against my shoulder, squeezing out a whisper.
"Take me to the bathroom… quick… I've been holding it so long, I can't anymore…"
"You've been holding it? Since when?"
"Don't ask, just hurry!"
"Why not wake me?"
"Hurry up!!"
She could yell when she wanted. I could've wheeled her over, but the bathroom wasn't far and she wasn't heavy. Sweeping off the blanket, I slid arms under her shoulders and knees, scooping her up princess-style.
"Kyaaah!! Just move me to the wheelchair!!"
"You said it was urgent. Let's go."
Sion flailed her slender arms like legs, struggling futilely. When I didn't budge into the bathroom, she slapped palms over her face.
I didn't get the face-covering, but I set her on the toilet anyway and grabbed the door handle.
"No need to lower my pants, right?"
"Get out already!!!"
Arms worked fine. I stepped out, shut the door, and waited—not right outside, that'd look weird, so a bit farther.
"Mrr. Hope siiir~"
Knock knock knock.
Soon, her call and knocks. I knocked back, opened the door. There she sat on the toilet, just as I'd placed her.
"Done?"
"Don't ask that, please…"
Ignoring the question, she turned away bashfully, arms outstretched like begging a hug. I leaned in face-to-face, scooped her up. She clung koala-like to my body.
"Mr. Hope."
"Yeah?"
"That toilet with the hole in the chair—you invented it yourself?"
"Yep."
The medieval fantasy setting must've made modern toilets novel. I'd specially ordered it when building the house—for easier use, even if just the shape.
Back in the bedroom, I laid her down, tucked her in. Her face relaxed into a smile, gazing up.
"I've traveled countries worldwide, but that's a first. Revolutionary invention."
"That big a deal…?"
"If it hadn't been there…"
Her eyes shook with terror.
What was she imagining?
"I see. If you'd had to squat…"
"Mr. Hope?"
"Couldn't pull down your pants alone."
"What are you thinking?!"
"And couldn't squat, so I'd have to hold you from behind or lift you."
"I… I brought it up, so I can't say don't imagine, but…"
"Then after…"
"Please stop even saying it…"
"Wipe?"
"Stoooop!!!"
Suddenly, Sion bolted upright, sitting on the bed, arms swinging wildly, palms smacking at me.
"Ow!! Ouch!! Why hit me?!"
"You know why? Pervert!!"
Oof, that stung! Her slapping palms reddened my blocking arms. Normal girl strength, but her arms were weak—where'd this power come from? No way…?
"Sion!! You're using Zero Resistance right now!! Are you insane?!"
"Slaying evil is a hero's duty!! Even if it wrecks this body!!"
"I'm no evil to slay…! Ow!!"
Damage piling on my arms, I retreated from the bed, putting distance to escape.
Sion panted fiercely, glaring with hostility.
"Get back here."
"Huff… Sion, just to clear up any misunderstanding, I didn't dodge 'cause it hurt or scared me."
"Then why run?"
"'Cause if you keep swinging with Zero Resistance, you'll be in big trouble."
"Always so smooth-talking!! If you'd saved that mouth, you wouldn't be hit!!"
Yelling loud enough to shake the mansion, she huffed harder, face furious, then calmed a bit and flopped back onto the bed.
"You deliberately say that stuff out loud… You really enjoy tormenting me, don't you, Mr. Hope?"
"No way. Glad it didn't happen."
"Yeah. Super glad. If it had… how could I go on living…?"
"That serious?"
"Obviously! How could I face you after that?!"
If it had happened… it'd be quite the show, but since it didn't, set that aside.
"More importantly, Sion—what about your arms? Know what happens swinging like that?"
"But a hero's duty…"
"Joking now? Duty matters, but you broke this morning's promise in half a day. No exercise or unapproved moves, right? Ask me before using your body, remember?"
"Ugh…"
No retort, she pulled the blanket over her face.
Haa… Hope it was brief enough to avoid issues.
But that hope crumbled before half a day passed.
That evening. I'd set dinner and seated Sion at the table…
"Mrr. Mr. Hopeee…"
She grimaced, her dangling arms trembling uncontrollably.
"My arms hurt too much to move…"