The Hero's Companion (3)
I forced my shaking heart to calm down and opened my mouth. "Uh, since when did you know...?"
"......"
The Hero stayed silent for a long time before blurting it out indifferently. "From the very beginning, I suspected as much."
"From the very beginning?!"
I-If it was from the very beginning... Does that mean from the moment he pulled the Hero's sword? That means all my fumbling around, pretending to be the Dragon Priestess or the goddess's proxy to hide my identity... was completely pointless?!
Ugh. Uuuum. Uuuuuuuum. Uuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!!
Yeah! I've made up my mind!
"If I erase your memories... by cracking open your skull and scooping out the contents so you forget who I am...!"
"I get that you're panicking, but let's calm down first, sis."
"I'm back to my senses!!"
"Wrong... I don't think we'll be talking for a while..."
My dignity as a god!!! Well, I never really clung to that anyway, but for my child-like ward to see right through me! Uw aaa! Uwaaaaaaaa!!!! I need a blanket! I need a blanket to do some blanket-kicking!! A blanket big enough to cover my true body!!! Ah, but my true body doesn't really need a blanket. Still, blanket-kicking requires a blanket! A huge blanket! An enormous blanket!! If I had one that big, maybe I could cover the whole world! No, the world might be too much, but a city would be easy! When harsh winter comes, cover the city with it to preserve warmth, fire up coal furnaces and generators to keep the temperature steady! Child labor! Sawdust disguised as food additives!! Uwaaa!! Uwaaaaaaaa!!!!
Ahem. What the hell am I even saying right now?
For a moment, it felt like my mind had slipped into another dimension. I yanked my wandering thoughts back into place and took a deep breath.
Fuu, alright. What's done is done. No use crying over spilled milk. Even if I erased his memories of me now, what would change? It's just... super embarrassing that the Hero knows everything about me.
But if he keeps my secret airtight, it'll be fine. Yeah. That's it.
"Fuu."
"Calmed down now?"
"Y-Yeah... I showed you an embarrassing side."
I couldn't even look him in the face. So embarrassing, just so damn embarrassing. I couldn't lift my head.
"L-Let's talk this out calmly, at least."
"Sure. We can talk once you calm down, sis."
All I could do was let out a small sigh at his words.
"So, you knew from the start?"
"Yes. From the moment you appeared after I pulled the Hero's sword."
No way, you knew right then...? How? What did I even do at that point? Aside from cursing that worthless bastard and flinging him back to his kingdom, what else was there?
Hmm... No idea! What about me screamed "goddess" to you?
"S-So, I was trying to hide it if possible... What gave me away as a goddess?"
"Well... uh..."
The Hero scratched the bridge of his nose shyly and said, "You were too beautiful... I didn't think you could be human."
What?
"What?"
"I mean, I'd never seen anyone as beautiful as you, sis! So I figured you had to be a goddess!"
His face flushed red as he squeezed the words out.
Uh, so... because I'm too pretty, you thought I was a goddess?
Well, people do call celebrities or beauties "goddesses" sometimes, but... is that what you meant? And it turns out I actually was one??
"Uuum..."
"And then your words and actions, performing miracles, resurrecting the dead, chatting casually with beings called gods... Honestly, I wondered if you were even trying to hide it."
Uh, um... well...
Fuu...
"You talked like you knew the elves' god and the dwarves' god personally, and you were chummy with the sea god too. You even quickly realized the Beast God—what you first thought was a monster—was a god."
I nodded slightly at his words. True, that did happen!!!
"And you created brand-new things without hesitation, so I thought you weren't hiding at all."
Huuuuum... Really. What a fool I am...
"Anyway, that's how I realized you weren't some human Dragon Priestess, but the Life Goddess in disguise, pretending to be mortal."
"I-I see..."
So... all my actions were dead giveaways. What an idiot I was! Total idiot!
"S-So then, knowing my identity, why confess? Confessing even after knowing I'm a god."
"That was... well, honestly, half in desperation."
Desperation...
"I knew full well it was impossible to monopolize the love of a goddess like you, sis. I even thought you might be disappointed and leave me after my confession."
His face was set with resolve. Was that what he was thinking?
"But I didn't want to bury these feelings inside without ever saying them."
The Hero gave an awkward smile and continued. "Even if I meet someone else someday, fall in love, and build a family, I didn't want to hide that I loved you. Better to express an unrequited love than give it up silently."
H-Huh... Love...
Such an emotion is hard for me to grasp easily...
"I..."
As I started to speak, the Hero shook his head slightly.
"You don't have to answer. Honestly, I don't think I could handle the infinite, immense love the Life Goddess holds all by myself. I just wanted to get it off my chest for my own satisfaction. I didn't need a reply from you."
"......"
"So, it's fine. And you, the Life Goddess, are the noblest, most exalted one that even other gods revere, right? If a mere human like me received your vast love, the other gods would smite me for sure."
I couldn't respond to his words.
"So, this is okay. This is enough."
All I could do was gaze at his face, half-resigned.
The Hero said he was fine, but I'm not!!! What about this awkward atmosphere!! The Hero looks all gloomy for no reason! I'm tiptoeing around him and can't say much! And the Beast God is playing dead, swept up in our mood!!!
Uuugh. Sure, his confession was half-desperate, but still. No way! The idea of dating a guy is just too much!! Too much!!! Female corruption is impossible!!!! Sorry to the Hero, but impossible is impossible! If only my mind had been female from the start, I could've just closed my eyes and stayed with him until he grew old and died...
Hm? Wait. That gives me an idea.
What if I create a clone to stay with the Hero...? Not one directly linked to my mind, but one that copies my mind, tweaks it to have a female personality? No, that'd just be deception, wouldn't it?
Or make a clone, embed a connection to me deep inside its psyche, then overlay a new personality blending my memories and a female ego to create a complete... Dragon Priestess?
Then... I could make that clone the Hero's companion?
It wouldn't be my full true self, so the personality might differ a bit, but it'd still be "me" in essence, right? If I play that right... maybe I could make the Hero happier?
So...
"Hero."
"Yes?"
"What if, just hypothetically, really just if... If the Life Goddess left this body, and it became a separate being inheriting my memories and personality... Would that...?"
A Dragon Priestess derived from "me," but no longer truly "me"... She could stay by his side, right?
"Then..."
"Sis."
My thoughts were cut off by the Hero.
"I appreciate the sentiment."
"But... that wouldn't be the real you."
"Hero..."
"I fell in love with you, sis. The god of gods, with almighty powers, who makes mistakes sometimes, has her ditzy moments, but still strives for other lives."
He smiled firmly.
"That's why I love you. So it's fine."
His resolve was unshakable.
"As long as you acknowledge my feelings a little, that's enough."
I couldn't say more after that.
"Just... until I die. Stay by my side until then. It's only a few decades, right? A mere instant for an eternal god."
The Hero kept going.
"Even if you don't love me back, it's okay. Just sharing time with you is enough."
Ah, but our kids would be cute, huh, he added, and I shook my head with a small sigh.
"You're really hopeless, you know that."
Hopeless, truly.
In that case! I have to fill the void I can't with someone perfect!! His companion has to be an amazing person! Someone who'll love the Hero!!! I can't love him romantically! As family, maybe! So! I'll carefully! Select his partner!!!
And after that... until he falls into eternal peaceful sleep, I'll stay as family. Just a few decades. A short time for someone like me who's lived tens of thousands of years.
Oh, right—after he dies, I should prepare a place for him too. A sort of heaven for souls escaped from reincarnation, or those whose names echo in history.