by Aneko Yusagi
“Hello?”
“What?”
We were hiding in the bushes, but did someone just call out for us?
I looked out to the road, and Nice Guy was there. He wore glasses, and was sitting in a high-class carriage. He stopped it and called out to us.
Yeah, I remembered. Nice Guy had been nobility in that town.
“Could that be Princess Melty and the Shield Hero in there?”
“Um… yes?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s dangerous to speak here. Would you accompany me back to my residence?”
Judging by the direction he’d come from, he must have come out here to meet us. So he HAD been thinking about us.
“If you try to hand us off to the other heroes, we’ll cause a big ruckus.”
“Naofumi, you shouldn’t…”
“And by ‘We,’ I mean my subordinates and this barbaric princess.”
“What was that?!”
Melty shot me an ice-cold glare.
“YOU’RE the barbarian!”
“What are you saying? I’m the most sophisticated hero by a long shot.”
“You once sold me an item, for which I am very grateful. The materials are quite simple, so you see pieces like it everywhere, but your design, Hero, makes it much more valuable to me. It cost five times more than similar items, but I still feel like it was worth it.”
Melty was really glaring at me now.
“I’m very sorry.”
Raphtalia held her head in her hands.
“Anyway, Naofumi, we should go with this man for now. We can hear all about how you’ve behaved later.”
“Why do I have to talk with YOU about MY behavior?”
“Because these issues are going to keep popping up. Could it be YOUR fault that people call you the Shield Demon?”
“Any stories you hear will be stories of my valorous deeds.”
“Don’t act like you are proud of your crimes!”
Whatever. I can deceive my enemies all day long and not feel a bit of guilt for it.
It’s all about perspective. Modesty can look like cowardice to an enemy.
“That’s enough for now. If you cause a fuss here, the Spear Hero will find us.”
Hm… Raphtalia was right. We silently crawled into Nice Guy’s carriage.
I looked out the carriage window to get a sense of what was going on outside. We had only been on the run for a few days, but I was already finding myself nostalgic for hustle and bustle. The town outside the carriage window had a backwater character.
It really did seem like there were more demi-humans around this town: lots of adventurers out and about.
Before long we arrived at Nice Guy’s residence. We left the carriage and snuck inside.
“Excuse us.”
Melty was sure to pardon herself before stepping inside.
Whenever she had to act as the official princess she became very polite. She spoke that way to the other heroes too.
Actually, come to think of it, she was only rude when she spoke to me.
Granted, I hadn’t exactly gone out of my way to earn her respect—so I suppose I couldn’t blame her.
“You must be exhausted. Please take this time to rest up.”
He led us to a dining room and stepped out before reappearing with food for us.
Filo didn’t have the best table manners, but Nice Guy smiled and looked genuinely pleased.
“So you have been on the run this whole time? You ended up in my territory and decided to stop by?”
“That’s right. We were looking for a way to shake Motoyasu… I mean, the Spear Hero, off of our trail. We thought this might be a good place to hide out.”
“I have something I’d like to ask you. I’ve heard that you set fires in the mountains around here to try and cover your tracks and escape from the Spear Hero. What really happened?”
Bitch. She did it all herself, but of course she blamed it on me.
“Your sister doesn’t hesitate for a second, does she? She did exactly what I thought she would.”
“Sister… How could you…?”
“So it’s not true? I thought so!”
“Yeah, it wasn’t me. It was the princess that’s traveling with the Spear Hero. We were hiding from them in a bush, and I saw her set the fires myself.”
Nice Guy sighed deeply.
How much worse could Bitch get?
“Very well. I hope that I can be of some use to you… Do you have any other ideas?”
“We are trying to meet with the queen, but we don’t know where to go. We’ve had to spend all our time trying to avoid Motoyasu, and so we aren’t making much progress.”
The noble stood there thinking for a moment before nodding.
“Very well. I think I’ve understood the situation. We’ll do whatever we can to help you. However, my own position is not exactly secure, so I’m not sure how much I can actually do.”
“I’m not expecting much. Whatever you can do is a help.”
Besides, I didn’t really know how much we could trust him. I wasn’t planning on staying very long anyway.
“We’d just like to rest for a little bit. Oh, and do you know anything about what the other heroes are up to?”
Motoyasu wasn’t the only person we had to worry about. I had no idea what Ren or Itsuki were up to—since they didn’t seem to be chasing us. It was best to try and figure out what they were doing.
I was well aware of the possibility that the Church was watching Nice Guy closely, so once I had the information I wanted I planned on escaping as soon as I could.
We had to cross a border too… I wanted to figure out the safest course we could take.
“Very well. I think I can find out how the other Heroes are occupying themselves. Please wait a little.”
“We’re putting you at risk. We’ll leave in the morning.”
“We’re leaving that quickly? Shouldn’t we rest up a little more?”
Melty had to make sure we all knew how she felt about it.
“There’s a good chance they will come looking for us here. If we stay, we’ll put these people in danger.”
“Yes… Well…”
“Very well, I will look into the actions of the other Heroes, so please take this time to rest up.”
“Thank you.”
“I kind of wanted to rest for a few days…”
“Ms. Melty, you seem to have changed during your travels with the Shield Hero.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Before, you always put duty first when you spoke. Your true emotions never made it past your official proclamations. I think the people will prefer the new you.”
Nice Guy smiled at Melty. He looked genuinely happy.
“That’s… That’s not true…”
“What’s up, Melty?”
“Don’t listen to them, Filo. This man has just decided to evaluate me.”
“Oh…”
Nice guy turned to Raphtalia.
“How did Melty used to behave?”
“She always spoke very politely, and she always forced herself to be perfectly composed. She always behaved as though her position as princess was at the forefront of her mind. But as she’s been traveling with us, and with the Shield Hero, she’s begun to mature in a different direction. It has made me very happy to watch it happen.”
“Sh… Shut up!”
“Very polite… Yeah… that is how she was. I wonder what made her change.”
“Don’t you think it’s your fault, Mr. Naofumi?”
“MY fault? I don’t think so.”
It wasn’t that traveling with me had changed her. It was that her true nature finally came to the surface. The outer skin had just been peeled back.
Still, that’s not to say she was so bad. Compared to her father, Trash, and her pyromaniac sister, she was in a different category altogether.
“It’s your fault, Naofumi!”
“Oh, do
n’t go pinning that on me. You’re the one with arsonists in the family. Hysterical traits are inheritable, you know?”
“What was that?! Are you seriously comparing me to my sister? I can’t STAND that!”
Melty was glaring at me with fire in her eyes.
She must have really hated her sister. Granted, she was impossible to like.
Looking at it from that perspective, Motoyasu was very impressive, not that I’m trying to stick up for him or anything.
Still, Melty was her sister, so she was definitely working with some of the same material.
I guess it just meant that she never developed a taste for the misery of others. That’s what I thought, anyway—but of course I wasn’t going to tell her that.
“Apologize.”
“Oh fine. Fine! Melty, you’re nothing like that fire demon sister of yours. There, happy?”
“You didn’t really mean it!”
“You’re right.”
“What?!”
She was starting to get on my nerves.
“Now, now… Relax. You know Mr. Naofumi doesn’t mean the things he says in times like these.”
Raphtalia, acting like an enlightened angel, tried to calm Melty down.
Filo was nodding along with her. What was up with these three?
“You’ve finished eating, so please go to your rooms and rest up. I should have all the information I’m going to get in the morning.”
He led us to our rooms, and we all started to relax.
But everything had gone so smoothly that I couldn’t shake the remains of my doubt. I looked out the window at the town.
Apparently there hadn’t been any poison in our food, but I wasn’t sure how far we could trust this guy.
“Naofumi. Why don’t you relax a little?”
“I made up my mind a while ago not to let my guard down in times like this. That’s what this world has taught me.”
“But if you don’t rest, you’ll just get more and more tired out.”
“I’ve had all my things stolen while I slept. If you don’t watch your back, people will betray you.”
“Oh come on… Why can’t you just trust someone for once?”
“Because of your sister and father!”
“I understand that! I’m just saying you could try to trust a little more!”
“Whatever. I will rest up as I see fit.”
“You’re not the only one upset with Father and Sister! So just relax!”
“Who else is?”
“My mother. Before we parted ways, she would take paintings and statues of Father and Sister and burn them whenever they behaved this way.”
“Well, you reap what you sow. If she doesn’t know how to choose a man, she doesn’t know how to raise a daughter.”
“Are you speaking ill of my mother?!”
It’s been like this since Melty started traveling with us. She was always freaking out about something.
She even behaved this way knowing full well that people were after our very lives. If I let my guard down, she was going to get us all killed.
“Ok, Mr. Naofumi. We will all keep watch while you get some rest.”
“Huh? Oh… okay then.”
“Why do you listen to everything that Raphtalia says?!”
“Because I trust Raphtalia.”
“Oh, and you don’t trust me?!”
“Not particularly…”
It’s just that we were in a situation where she couldn’t turn on us.
People were after our lives, and she helped us in battle. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust her—not exactly.
She behaved as she should, as the second princess and first heiress of the kingdom.
So in that regard, I suppose I could trust her.
But that is not what this was about.
Sure, I’d been traveling with Raphtalia for much longer, but even setting that aside, Raphtalia was far more experienced than Melty.
Trust had a lot to do with that.
“Hey Mel! I want to check out the rest of this house!”
Filo jumped into the conversation with something completely unrelated.
“Good idea. It might be good to go for a walk to improve my mood. Okay then, Raphtalia. Filo and I are going for a walk around the house.
“An adventure!”
Filo wanted her to say “adventure,” but Melty just smiled, waved, and left the room.
Finally—some quiet.
When she left the room I realized how tired I really was.
I lay down on the bed, trusted Raphtalia to keep watch, and drifted off to sleep.
Urm… I could feel someone approaching. How long had I been sleeping?
Ever since Bitch betrayed me, I’ve started to come out of my sleep whenever I feel someone approaching.
“If you get any closer, Mr. Naofumi will wake up.”
“But! But! I want to sleep with Master!”
Filo must have returned from her adventure around the house.
…Which must mean that Melty was back too.
Everything was so noisy these days… and I’d finally managed to fall asleep.
“You can’t. We already talked about this.”
“But! Big Sister, you said that you slept with him once.”
“You can get close while he’s still awake. You have to do it before he falls asleep.”
“Okay, then I’ll ask him when he’s awake!”
“…I don’t think he’ll like it.”
Raphtalia really understood me.
If someone approaches while I’m sleeping I won’t be able to get any real rest.
Just like what was happening now. I was asleep, but I woke up when Filo came over.
“…Yawwwwn.”
Raphtalia yawned deeply. She must be sleepy too.
“Ms. Raphtalia, you should get some sleep too. I’ll keep watch.”
“Are you sure it’s okay?”
“Leave it to me.”
“Okay then. Good night.”
Raphtalia lay down on the next bed over, and it was only a minute before she was sleeping soundly.
Shortly afterward, I could hear Filo and Melty whispering back and forth.
Melty kept trying to quiet Filo down.
“Hey, Filo.”
“What?”
Melty was whispering now.
“I know they were just talking about it, but it’s true. I used to always be very careful to speak politely.”
Yeah, Nice Guy had mentioned that.
Sure, she had always used formal language before… was she trying to say that her real self was that polite character?
“But ever since I started talking with Naofumi, my language has gotten more coarse… more vulgar. I used to be able to speak with him properly, but now all I do is complain…”
It kind of sounded like she was crying.
Could it have been that hard for her?
“Earlier, when Naofumi was telling me what to do, I even surprised myself. I sounded so hysterical… It’s like I’m not myself anymore! Filo, am I… am I going crazy?”
“Um…”
For the first time ever, Filo didn’t seem to know what to say.
Melty had picked the wrong person to confide in. What kind of advice did she think that Filo was capable of offering? Raphtalia might have been able to help, but Filo? I could have gotten out of bed and talked with her, but she didn’t know that I was listening, and she would probably freak out if I stood up now.
“You pretended to sleep and eavesdropped on me?!”
…She’d say something like that. That would only make her worry more.
I don’t know what caused it, but it sounded like somehow, through spending time with me, Melty had stumbled upon some kind of honesty switch, and now she couldn’t stop herself from complaining all the time. Best to let sleeping dogs lie. It wasn’t my problem to fix.
“Mel? What do you think of Master?”
“Huh? What do you mean?�
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“Well, you only act that way to him, right? You’re still polite with other people.”
“Maybe…”
“Do you feel like you can say anything to him?”
“Huh? Y… You think?”
“Cause when I watch you talking to him, it looks like you are excited, like you are really into the conversation.”
Well, well. Filo had really grown up.
Did it mean that Melty, that the REAL Melty, was a hysterical psycho?
Her place in the nobility had given her education, manners, and virtue—all the things she needed to hide her true self. But when she was with me, she couldn’t hide her inner bitch. Is that what Filo wanted to say?
“Th… That’s not it at all! Filo, don’t say things like that!”
“Mel, I didn’t mean to say anything weird. Let’s both just let Master spoil us!”
“What are you saying? That’s not me.”
“It’s not?”
It sounded like they were about to get into an argument.
This… this had to be a dream. Melty wouldn’t talk that way. She wouldn’t sound so weak…
That’s what I told myself.
The next time I woke up, Raphtalia was sleeping in the other bed with Filo, and Melty was looking out the window. It was twilight.
I raised myself up in bed, and Melty looked over at me.
She looked composed, meek. I had a flash of the dream again.
“You’re up.”
“Yeah. Ready to switch shifts?”
“I’m not that tired, so I’m fine.”
“Okay.”
Still, I couldn’t picture the two of us just gazing out of the window in silence. The whole room was still, silent.
“Hey, Naofumi?”
“What?”
“I’ve been thinking about it since we got here. I’ve been thinking… maybe I should just ask this family to deliver me to my father.”
“Really?”
It was true that we were being chased, but Melty herself wasn’t accused of anything. The Crown was still treating all this as a kidnapping.
Even if Trash had reassigned this noble family… if they delivered Melty to Trash then she would be okay… maybe?
Of course, she’d only be okay if they could get her into the castle and give her directly to Trash.
Anyway, it would be more effective than meeting Trash with me.
“Maybe… I don’t want to drag you guys down… And I want to do what I should.”
