3. Hero
3. Hero
"... I've heard much about your reputation, Noah-nim. They say you're a fire mage on par with A-rank mages. Our party currently needs a powerful fire mage."
Feeling too burdened by the surrounding gazes, I borrowed a private dining room through Mari.
Putting aside the Hero's proposal for now,
as I examined the party members, I suddenly wondered if the Hero might have some strange fetish.
Leaving aside the dwarf who probably wouldn't even reach my waist, there was a beastwoman with perked-up ears, and...
'Why does that woman have snake eyes?'
The snake-eyed woman staring intently at me from the corner. Her vertically slit pupils honestly gave me chills.
The Hero is human, right? And next to him, a woman in priestly robes who looked quiet.
A party consisting of two humans and three demi-humans. If I joined them, you could practically call it a demi-human party.
Why would such a party specifically seek me out?
"On par with an A-rank mage... I appreciate the compliment, but if that's the case, couldn't you have just found a real A-rank mage?"
Leaning back on the sofa and slightly lifting my chin to set the mood was essential.
At my question, Kyle hesitated for a moment.
No particular reason? Or was there some reason difficult to say?
'Surely he wouldn't say something ridiculous like thinking the party should have at least one elf...'
"Um... You might laugh if you hear the reason. Haha."
Kyle, the Hero, scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
I wish he'd do something about that old-man-like laugh, but the noble elf mage Noah isn't the sarcastic type, so I just raised one eyebrow slightly and kept a straight face.
Kyle, perhaps feeling uncomfortable under my gaze, cleared his throat. Just as the silence was about to stretch, the snake-eyed woman who had been watching me from the corner crossed her arms and spoke.
"Human. There's no need to grovel before such an arrogant elf wench. Even if I need to conserve my power, I have enough to spare."
Following this,
the dwarf who introduced himself as Barden added a word.
"I follow Kyle's opinion!"
The priestess named Lynette,
"......"
remained silently quiet.
"Kyle! Lady Bellena is right! There's no reason to grovel before some arrogant elf woman who only looks young but is actually old inside!"
... said the beastgirl who introduced herself as Mia. I'm not particularly old, but apparently I look that way.
I shrugged toward the troubled Kyle.
"... So it seems. Well, I had no intention of leaving this city anyway. There doesn't seem to be any need for further discussion. Enjoy your sightseeing in the city."
"N-Noah-nim!"
Leaving the Hero's calling voice behind, I stood up first and left the private room.
As the door closed,
ㅡ Who does that woman think she is?! Kyle, I told you. All elves are like that. They're all so full of themselves that it's impossible to get along with them.
The beastgirl's sharp voice could be heard through the door.
That should be enough. They should understand now, so I just hope they quietly enjoy some sightseeing and leave.
This elf mage named Noah only appears noble - inside, she's extremely petty and has not the slightest intention of going to dangerous dungeons with some hero party out of a sense of duty or whatever.
Therefore, I sincerely hope
that hero party, who looks like they'd drag me into some troublesome incident if they stayed nearby, finishes their city tour quickly and leaves.
===
"... Sigh."
Kyle drank his alcohol with mixed feelings.
Several years had passed since he was hailed as the Hero and began his journey, and by Earth standards, Kyle was certainly old enough to drink.
Though he was a young boy hero when he left the kingdom, even now as a mature leader leading a seasoned party through numerous dungeons, Kyle's appearance hadn't changed much.
Whether it was the goddess's blessing or the influence of Kyle's gift.
"Kyle. Are you that concerned about that elf mage?"
Barden asked, leaning his axe against the table. Kyle put down his empty glass and answered quietly.
"Well, not that much, but it is a bit disappointing. We did need to recruit a powerful mage with strong firepower to conserve Lady Bellena's strength."
"Tch, even without that arrogant girl, I can just burn everything myself. Human, you're too polite for your own good. If you really wanted that girl, you could have just forced her into submission."
Bellena narrowed her snake-like eyes and snapped.
"... Haha. We're not exactly thugs, are we."
Kyle wiped the alcohol from his mouth with the back of his hand and laughed bitterly. There was a reason he couldn't bring himself to tell his party members.
'... An elf.'
How wonderful it would be to have an elf in the party.
Ever since hearing rumors of a skilled elf mage in Belua, Kyle had held a strange expectation.
And the Noah he actually met exceeded those expectations.
Cold eyes, snow-white skin, that elf-like personality...
"Pfft..."
Kyle drank another glass. Even for him, who had always been forced to live righteously due to the "boy hero" title, he had his own desires... so to speak.
Then, the priestess Lynette, who had been sitting quietly nearby, grabbed Kyle's wrist and shook her head.
"... Don't drink too much. It's bad for your health."
Lynette's moist lips. Her cheeks flushed with an strange redness, perhaps from the alcohol. And these bright eyes looking at him with concern.
Mia, who had already fallen asleep face down on the table, Bellena who spoke strongly on his behalf...
The female members of this party could be called beauties that wouldn't be out of place anywhere.
... Except for the dwarf Barden, that is.
His lower body felt tense.
'If only I weren't the Hero...'
No, if he weren't the Hero, could he have gone on adventures with women like these? Though there were legends somewhere about something called a degenerate hero...
From Kyle's position, revered as a hero wherever he went, such actions weren't even an option.
To sum it up...
Kyle was enthusiastically maintaining his virginity.
"Barden, take care of Mia. I'm going to get some fresh air."
"Hey. Do as you please."
As he tried to get up from his seat,
"Kyle... I'll come too..."
He patted the head of Lynette who was trying to stand up to follow him and made her sit back down. Well, he felt like walking the night streets alone.
Kyle quietly slipped away like that.
Bellena didn't try to stop Kyle. Perhaps because as something of a gourmet, Mr. Bread's restaurant was quite satisfactory.
Anyway, Kyle ended up wandering Belua's night streets alone. He just walked aimlessly through the dark streets. No one would dare bother the Hero, and even if they did, there was no danger to Kyle.
... Which is why,
Kyle suddenly turned his steps toward an alleyway.
Step, step...
"......"
"......"
And he sensed human presence about two blocks ahead. Kyle quietly muted his footsteps and approached. No particular reason.
People quietly talking in alleyways at this hour rarely meant anything good.
'... What are they talking about?'
Kyle pricked up his ears.
"... Hans, is this place really that amazing?"
"Brother. Could you check it out for me? I don't have the confidence to test it myself. I only have one woman, and there's only this one place I can go. If I go to another woman to test it... I wouldn't be able to face my fiancée."
"You crazy bastard... When I look at you, you're the craziest one."
Kyle frowned.
What in the world were they talking about? It seemed to be about women.
He stealthily pressed against the wall to see the two men on the other side. They looked utterly ordinary. Two perfectly ordinary men who didn't seem worth paying attention to.
'... Hmm. A waste of time.'
Just as he thought to leave, the two men immediately headed deeper into the alley.
Kyle unconsciously followed the two men. Before he knew it, he arrived at... the back door of a faded, old building with no sign.
'... What kind of place is this?'
It could be that some cult was secretly spreading, luring ordinary citizens, or maybe they just looked ordinary but were actually dealing drugs behind the scenes...
Such things weren't impossible.
As a Hero, he couldn't just ignore it and move on.
Kyle pulled his hood low and cautiously knocked on the door. If it seemed wrong, he could just run away.
Knock knockㅡ
As soon as he knocked, the door opened immediately.
'This smell...?'
Kyle instinctively reached for his sword hilt, but before he could, what appeared before him was a woman with extremely ordinary red hair tied up casually and languid eyes.
"Oh my, a customer?"
"... Customer? This place... what exactly do you do here? Where did those men who just entered go?"
Her revealing cleavage made it somewhat difficult to know where to look. Even with his hood pulled low, his awkward gaze must have been too obvious. The woman grinned and took another step toward Kyle.
"What do you think men come here for? To have fun."
"F-fun? What kind of...!"
She made a circle with one hand and mimed inserting and removing a finger with the other.
This place...
Ah, that kind of place...
He realized too late. But he was already being led inside the building by the woman.
"Wait here for a moment."
"... Uh, uh. I, I...!"