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TL Note: Aina… are you going to become Noelle 2.0?
TL Note: Editor-San, Editor-San! Suzuki was left alone with Excella again! What kind of shenanigans will they do this time?
ED Note: It's a pattern already... Let's just hope no one gets sacrificed again because of their shenanigan combo.
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As she rode in the carriage driven by Aina, Excella felt a sense of awkwardness in the air. The reason was that the hero sitting next to her remained with his head hanging down, not saying a word since they left.
While reading the Legend of Hartline that she brought with her, she glanced at the hand of the hero. The bandage around his hand was bothering her.
"Lord Hero. About that hand?"
"A-Ah. I twisted it yesterday when I fell."
"If you'd like, I can apply an ointment…"
When Excella tried to touch his hand, the hero shouted angrily.
"Don't bother!"
"I-I apologize!"
Excella hurriedly apologized. For a while, only the sound of the horse's hoofs echoed,
"…sorry."
The hero apologized in a hushed tone.
Eating the hardtack and drinking the water that Zhaviest had given them, the wagon rode for several hours. Aina, who was holding the reins on the coachman section, was silent the entire time, but as the sun began to set, the carriage suddenly slowed down and came to a stop.
(Taking a break, right? N-No… could it be a fiend?)
A little nervous, Excella got out of the carriage and said, "Ahm…"
From where she and Aina were standing, she could see the horizon. And further, to the east, a blurry empire could be seen. The wagon had stopped on the vast Miremia plains.
(This place tomorrow, will be a battlefield…!)
Excella felt her heart pounding. Aina, looking over her shoulder, approached the hero.
"…at that time, why didn't you put it on!?"
The hero did not answer but remained silent.
"If you had worn the holy garment, surely, the outcome would have been different, you know."
"Ah, Miss Aina! Right now, Lord Hero is not feeling well!"
Excella tried to cover for the hero, but Aina shouted at him without giving him any consideration.
"Get serious, man! Lady Leelou told me! Pritis was something she designed for your sake! You are a beacon of hope! Aren't you?"
Finally, the hero opened his heavy mouth.
"Even if I wore it, it wouldn't have made any difference anyway. Probably, I would have been called more disgusting things."
He muttered in a somber tone of voice. This seemed to irritate Aina even more.
"Um, you know what! I've told you this many times! Right? The holy garment was made by Lady Leelou,"
"SHUT UP!! Leave me alone already!!"
As if exploding at last, the hero shouted again.
"L-Lord Hero…"
Aina was no longer angry. After turning her cold, almost resigned-eyes eyes on the hero, she, alone, left the carriage behind and walked away.
"Ah, Miss Aina!"
Excella chased after Aina. After calling out to her three times, Aina finally stopped walking. She said to Excella in a curt voice.
"You, know how to handle a carriage, don't you?"
"I have ridden a horse before but…"
"In that case, there is no problem. This is where we part ways!"
"B-But, what will you do, Miss Aina?"
"Together with Lord Zhaviest, I'll fight the Demon Lord's army here in the Miremia plains."
"EH–!? Miss Aina? You told us that you were asked by Lady Leelou to protect Lord Hero, weren't you!?"
"That's right. That's why, I wanted to see for myself. If Suzuki was truly a hero worth risking my life to protect. And this time, I found my answer…"
Aina turned her icy gaze on the hero, who was with his head hanging down in the distance.
"Suzuki or Lord Zhaviest. I don't need to tell you which one of these men is worth protecting, right?"
Hearing the character of the hero, who had been working together with her, being questioned, even Excella, as expected, could no longer remain silent.
"Lord Hero is, the champion that will save the world! I have seen miracles many times in Leirune!"
"Miracles?"
"Yes! I believe that Lord Hero, is the reincarnation of the champion of old, Lord Hartline!"
Excella said while she hugged the book she'd brought from the wagon. Aina looked at the book and laughed through her nose.
"'The Legend of the Champion Hartline' huh? How old, are you!? Are you acting like that because you still think you're a 'little princess'?"
"I-I still am!"
"The Great Human-Demon War lasted several years. Even in the unprecedented crisis when the Demon lord's army invaded the Empire, Hartline did not appear. And mankind was annihilated by the demon lord's army. You need to SEE reality!"
"Ugh–…"
When she was told a sound argument, Excella was at a loss for words.
"In the first place, I wonder if such a person ever really existed."
"Lord Hartline really existed! I'm sure of it!"
"I wonder. There is no way a sword could cut the ocean in half, right? It's a children's fairy tale!"
"T-That is! For instance, it may be metaphorical!"
"You mean he used magic instead of his sword? Impossible, impossible. It's beyond the reach of even the highest-ranking sorcerer!"
After smiling mockingly, Aina's face tightened.
"I don't believe in miracles. You have to make your own path!"
Aina's intensity rendered Excella speechless. Eventually, Aina's expression relaxed a little.
"Well, it's actually quite convenient, though. If he goes back to Leirune and lives in peace and tranquility, I will have done what Lady Leelou asked me to do and protected that guy."
"Miss Aina…"
"Well, I wish you the best."
After saying her parting words with sarcasm, Aina walked away from Excella and Suzuki.