The Hero Appears?

The one destined to be appointed as the Hero was a commoner boy named Lucas.

As the protagonist of the original story, his journey was meant to begin a few days before the start of the game. He would be suddenly named the new Hero and sent to an academy for nobles.

That’s right—he isn't supposed to be chosen for another five years.

If that was the case, why was there a Hero here now?

Could the announcement have been made right before the game's start, while the Church had already known his identity internally?

No matter how much I turned it over in my head, the pieces didn't fit. I had no choice but to dig for details.

And yet, of all the characters in the original story, the protagonist was the most dangerous one to encounter. A part of me didn't want to hear another word. It felt as though I was taking a deliberate step toward my own ruin.

No, it’s too late for that. I already agreed to take them in.

If I was committed, the least I could do was gather information. After a long internal struggle, I finally reached a conclusion. One glaring question remained, however.

"Where is this 'crucial' Hero, exactly?"

"Oh my. Are you not satisfied with just me, Yuri-sama? Do you intend to sink your poisonous fangs into the Hero as well?"

"...I don’t recall sinking my fangs into you, Emilina. And besides—"

I started to say that I had no intention of preying on a man, but I bit my tongue. At this stage, it would be suspicious if I already knew the Hero’s gender or identity.

"Is something the matter?" Emilina asked, her voice dripping with a smile.

Is it just me, or do her eyes look completely cold?

"No, it's nothing. More importantly, how long do you plan on staying here while leaving the Hero unattended?"

"It’s quite alright. The Hero is currently enjoying the bath as well. Isn't that right, Hero-sama?"

As soon as Emilina spoke, a voice drifted over from the other side of the wall.

"Emilina, this is amazing! There’s a cute Beastman girl here!"

"Yu-Yuri-sama! There’s... there’s a strange kid here... H-help me..."

I never imagined the Hero would charge straight into the women’s bath. I knew the "unintentional pervert" trope was a staple for protagonists, but for a Hero to so boldly invade the women’s side and corner Fee...

"Tch. Hang on, I'm coming!"

Clicking my tongue, I threw on a towel and sprinted toward the women’s bath to rescue Fee.

"Good luck~" Emilina called out, waving me off for some reason.

---

"Are you okay, Fee?!"

"Ah, Yuri-sama!"

Teary-eyed, Fee scrambled to hide behind my back.

"What the hell do you think you’re doing, Hero?!"

A thick white mist obscured half the figure, but the silhouette confirmed someone was there.

"Eh? I was just trying to make friends."

Behind me, Fee shook her head with desperate intensity.

"You’ve got some nerve trying to lay a hand on my Fee. Hero or not, I’ll make sure you regret this!"

"Yuri-sama..." Fee whispered.

In the game, Lucas possessed a "universal" Aptitude. Once he grew, he became an unstoppable force. However, before entering the academy, he was naturally Level 1. Right now, the advantage was still mine.

I glared through the steam, but as the outline of the figure gradually sharpened, I realized something was wrong. This wasn't Lucas.

"...Huh?"

"Eh?"

As my eyes adjusted, I saw a girl with chestnut hair. Though her curves were more modest than Emilina’s, she possessed a distinctly feminine physique.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"S-Sorry!"

I turned tail and bolted out of the women’s bath.

---

By the time I finished dressing and stepped out, Fee was glued to my back. Opposite us stood a smiling Emilina and a girl—the self-proclaimed Hero—whose face was flushed bright red as she stared pointedly at the floor.

"My, you’ve become close friends already. They do say there’s no better way to bond than soaking in the same tub."

"Who’s friends with him/her?!"

Our voices harmonized perfectly in our outrage, which only made Emilina laugh harder.

"See? Perfectly in sync."

"...Enough. More importantly—"

I turned my attention back to the "Hero." She was a girl I had never seen before in the game. Are there multiple Heroes? I couldn't just ask, though. To know that a Hero named Lucas was supposed to exist would be suspicious beyond belief. To avoid Emilina’s scrutiny, I had to play the part of the ignorant Lord.

"Returning to the earlier topic... why are you sheltering the Hero?"

"Exactly! Hiding doesn't suit my nature at all," the girl chimed in.

Hiding? So she’s being targeted?

"Actually, the Hero-sama has been targeted by unknown assailants recently," Emilina explained. "We managed to drive the bandits off, but we feared for her safety. That is why I brought her to this secure territory."

"I told you I’d be fine! Besides, what’s so safe about this place? If anything, I’m a sitting duck here."

"Well, it was a ruined village until about a month ago," I admitted.

"Yes, but Yuri-sama is going to transform this place into a fortress soon. Right?" Emilina turned her gaze toward me, her smile widening.

I certainly planned to, but I had no idea how she knew that.

"Do I get a say in this?"

"Yuri-sama... you did see me naked earlier, didn't you?"

"...I was seen, too," the girl added.

I knew it. That incident in the bath was a total setup.

"Setting the Hero aside, Emilina, yours was completely intentional."

"Uu... I might never be able to get a husband now..."

"...Save it."

My heart nearly wavered at her fake sobbing, but her acting was so transparently bad that she had to be doing it on purpose. Still, if this girl wasn't a character from the original story, then taking her in shouldn't trigger any "doom flags."

But that left the question of the protagonist's whereabouts. If there were multiple Heroes, that was one thing, but the game never mentioned such a possibility. It was more likely that this girl was destined to die before the game even began, leading the Church to appoint Lucas as the new Hero. Her fleeing here only reinforced that theory.

Wait. Doesn't that mean this entire territory is going to be targeted by whoever is supposed to kill her?

"...Do you know who these 'bandits' are? My defenses here are specialized against Monsters."

"It will be fine," Emilina assured me. "The Hero-sama will assist with the territory’s defense."

"Eh!?" The girl looked genuinely shocked by that declaration.

"Don't bother. I don't need 'help' that just creates more work for me."

"Wha—!?" Now she looked insulted.

Heroes were powerhouses once they developed, but in the early stages, they were usually "jacks-of-all-trades" who were mediocre at everything.

"I-I can at least fight the Demon Race! ...Probably."

"Sigh... I told you not to mention that yet, Hero-sama. Yuri-sama hasn't fully consented."

"S-sorry, Emilina."

The girl slumped, properly chastised. She seemed far too honest to be any good at scheming.

"The Demon Race... So the opponent is the Trismalis Demon Kingdom. I suppose it makes sense they’d want to assassinate a Hero, considering their King was slain by one in the past."

"Precisely. A small but elite group of demons attacked us. Their leader called himself a Demon Kingdom Executive... the Staff Officer, Sagesse. If he returns—"

Sagesse? The demon who showed up here the other day?

So he was hiding something. But wait...

"If you mean Sagesse, I already killed him."

"Eh?" Emilina blinked. "W-what did you just say?"

"A demon named Sagesse happened to wander into my territory. He looked suspicious, so I took him out."

"L-lies... Someone like you defeated a Demon Kingdom Executive?" The Hero’s mouth hung open.

"I don't have proof, so believe what you want."

"I believe you," Emilina said instantly. "There would be no point in you telling such a lie, Yuri-sama."

"Right. Well, since the man targeting the Hero is already dead, there’s no reason for her to stay here, is there?"

"That is true. The immediate threat is gone... so, what will you do, Hero-sama?"

"...I'll stay," the girl whispered, looking at the floor.

"I see. Well, have a safe trip home."

"N-No! I meant I’m staying here! Could you... could you teach me how you defeated that demon?"

I let out a long, weary sigh before giving a reluctant nod.

"Fine. I’ll give you some Training (Construction) so you can use the same methods I used against the Demon Race. Sound fair?"

"Yes! Thank you!"

"I want Yuri-sama to teach Fee, too."

"Hmm. I’m not sure how far you’ll get, Fee, but are you sure?"

"I’m sure."

"Alright then. Starting tomorrow, the two of you begin Training (Construction)!"

I would train them to use Earth Magic to create pitfalls and hurl massive boulders. Which, effectively, meant I could use them as free labor to build the castle walls. I allowed myself a small, wicked grin. The Hero didn't notice.

"I'll introduce myself again. I'm Hero Emma. Nice to meet you!"

"I’m the Lord of this region, Yuri Lousouth. And this is Fee. Welcome."

I gave Emma a firm handshake. Suddenly, Emilina placed her hand on top of ours.

"And I am Saint Emilina."

"I know."

"Mm-hm."

"Fee is joining, too."

Fee piled her hand on top of Emilina's.

"Well, you’ve had a long day. Get some rest. I’m going to put you through hellish training tomorrow."

"Yeah! I’ll do my best!" Emma shouted.

"Fee will do her best, too!"

"Then I suppose I shall do my best as well," Emilina added.

"No, Emilina, you can go back to the Church."

My dismissal was completely ignored. For some reason, the four of us were now set to begin Training (Construction) together.