Do Heroes Need Welfare Too? - Chapter 40

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 40

….

‘Companion?’

Companion? Iselda?

No, Iselda was definitely a companion.

Even when playing the game, when Adam mentioned Iselda, he would occasionally refer to her that way.

The System Message didn’t seem to reset, so even after multiple retries, even in playthroughs where Iselda wasn’t a companion, the message would still refer to Iselda as his companion.

So I could understand it well enough.

But it was a question that suddenly occurred to me.

I couldn’t just let it pass without asking.

I lifted my head and suddenly asked him.

“What do you think of me, Hero?”

“…Excuse me?”

Adam was visibly flustered.

His golden eyes were swaying back and forth, flickering in the candlelight.

I was reflected in his eyes.

But like a sailboat caught in rough seas, they were shaking mercilessly.

Seeing Adam unable to hide his confusion, unlike usual, made me feel a bit sadistic for a moment, then my mood plummeted rapidly.

The longer Adam took to think, the more my expression hardened.

If he doesn’t think of me as a companion too, I’m going to sulk.

I’m really going to sulk.

I’ll sulk so much that I won’t talk to Adam for about an hour.

“….”

But though I earnestly waited for his pretty lips to open, no answer ever came from that beautiful mouth.

However, instead of Adam’s words, something else appeared in a rush.

Your Hero is flustered by your statement.

Your Hero thinks about the intention behind your words.

Your Hero falls into confusion.

‘Does he really need to think about it that much?’

Though I was pretending to be calm, I was struck by a great shock.

So I didn’t even notice Adam’s slightly reddened ears.

After a long silence, Adam finally opened his mouth.

Still reeling from the shock, I belatedly noticed that he had spoken.

“I think you’re a… good person.”

“Ah, yes….”

So not a companion, not even a friend?

I wish he would add ‘companion’ in front and show [thinks of ‘companion’ Iberis].

But the message remained silent.

Adam couldn’t even meet my eyes, as if he was afraid I might be hurt by speaking the truth.

I felt a bit choked up by Adam’s insensitivity.

It had already been several months since we’d been together.

The cool weather had become chilly enough to need a coat when going outside, and it was the season when green leaves were turning colorful.

We had spent such time together, yet to Adam I was merely a ‘good person.’

And even that word came out after much deliberation and thought.

Given Adam’s personality, he would have done his best to think of words that wouldn’t hurt me, and that was ‘good person.’

Good person. How wonderful.

But knowing Adam’s personality, he would probably call Potato a good monster, and Ben a good cook too.

He’d probably call Abracxas a good… no, not him.

I wanted to shout at him to change his mind right away.

But since I couldn’t snap at Adam, I kept my mouth tightly shut.

“I see.”

It was clearly a sulking voice that anyone could hear. Adam must have noticed keenly, as he hastily added.

“I’m not used to dealing with people yet, so that’s why. It probably doesn’t reach the level that Eve thinks of… but still, I do think Eve is a good person. Really.”

With his additional words, my mood was drilling through the floor and descending to the deep sea.

I didn’t even have the mental capacity to manage my expression.

‘So even with effort, I can’t even become a friend?’

Right, when we first met, Adam had refused when I said I’d become his friend.

It wasn’t that he disliked me, but that he rejected people.

That’s what I thought, but he still treats Iselda as a companion. Even thinking it was a System Message error felt disappointing.

Someone he met so long ago he doesn’t even remember is still a companion.

Then what about me?

What rank am I to Adam exactly?

A pet kept in the Demon King’s Castle.

Maybe he was thinking just like Aphene had said….

I heard Adam calling me cautiously from behind, but I sluggishly left the room.

It had been a conversation that only left wounds.

I resolved never to ask him again what he thought of me.

* * *

One day, a messenger arrived at the quiet Demon King’s Castle, bringing a storm.

After reading the letter, Adam calmly accepted it as if what was meant to come had come.

The servant who had fulfilled his duty bowed his head to him.

“Then I’ll take it that you’ll be attending.”

“Understood.”

Having finished his task, the servant rode away on his horse.

Looking down at people from horseback. What a rude person.

Looking at his clothes, he wasn’t even a proper messenger.

It was behavior that openly disrespected the Hero.

I didn’t know what kind of person had sent the letter, but they seemed to dislike Adam very much.

I was sitting on the steps at the entrance of the Demon King’s Castle, keeping my distance from Adam.

Potato was also sitting next to me, wagging its tail.

With Potato’s help, taming the monsters was going smoothly, and Adam no longer needed to use the subjugation stone.

Abracxas was still concerning, but since he had already made a vow, he couldn’t do anything reckless.

I irritably patted Potato’s back roughly.

‘And yet I’m neither a companion nor a friend.’

His words still echoed in my ears.

It felt like the label of failure I’d carried my whole life was attached again, saying no matter how hard I tried, I wasn’t good enough.

‘No, but I did make it up to being a good person, right?’

I decided to try thinking positively.

Adam walked toward me, carelessly tearing the corner of the letter in his hand, then pulled out an invitation from inside.

He crumpled up the remaining envelope with one hand and threw it away.

Potato, who had been lurking around watching Adam, bounced around batting at the round ball of paper.

I cautiously approached Adam’s side. It had only been two days since I’d decided to sulk and not talk to him.

That didn’t mean I actually hadn’t talked to Adam at all.

Perhaps noticing that I was keeping my distance, he didn’t deliberately approach me friendly or speak to me first.

That made me even more angry.

If I don’t approach, he won’t approach either.

I was angry that our relationship seemed to be only that much, but one day I found a slice of cake placed in front of my room door.

It was definitely something Adam had left.

So I decided to magnanimously forgive Adam.

It definitely wasn’t because I had been bribed.

“What came that has you like this?”

Adam handed it to me without even reading the contents as I peered curiously.

“It’s about mandatory attendance at a hunting competition. Nothing major, but… I didn’t think the Emperor wouldn’t know my whereabouts, but facing it like this is irritating.”

Adam, furrowing his brow and muttering, seemed unaware that he was voicing his inner thoughts aloud.

I pretended not to hear and kept my gaze fixed on the letter as I asked.

“It says one companion can attend. Am I going too?”

“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. Animals might threaten Eve, there will be many people… and it won’t be fun since I’ll be out hunting anyway.”

When I cast the bait, Adam took it eagerly.

Not missing the opportunity, I immediately raised my hand and said.

“If the Hero is participating in a hunting competition, the Hero’s maid can’t be absent!”

“Is that really the reason? You don’t need to worry about someone to assist me. There will be several servants with time to spare.”

Adam’s eyes narrowed as if suspecting my ulterior motives.

It was probably because the corners of my mouth had started curling up uncontrollably.

I couldn’t manage my expression properly.

“This looks fun, I mean. Assisting the Hero by your side is my duty!”

I almost mixed up my thoughts and words.

I hid my half-revealed true feelings with a sheepish laugh.

‘If a new event has appeared, I should naturally participate.’

Thinking about the Temple makes my enthusiasm cool down quickly, but a hunting competition means I can meet new people.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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