Chapter 10

After a four-hour walk, Aria and I arrived at the village of Axis, guided by the merchant. We had a comfortable journey, being allowed to ride on the cart.

"Welcome, brave sir! Welcome to the village of Axis!"

"But I'm not a hero—"

"Senior? Excessive modesty can sometimes be annoying, you know."

"Being called a hero means being humble and never forgetting to improve. Honestly, I thought you'd be more like, 'I've been chosen by the holy sword!' or something equally annoying."

The merchant sighed deeply.

...Yeah, real heroes are like that.

"Welcome back, sir! Who are those people?"

"Hehehe, listen and be amazed! They are none other than the Holy Maiden and the Hero!"

A girl noticed us and approached, speaking in a high-pitched voice.

"But I'm not a hero—"

"They saved me from monsters on the road with incredible holy magic..."

"Hello, I'm the Holy Maiden, Aria! I'm very grateful to the sir here."

Aria popped her head out.

"Welcome to our humble village. There's nothing much here, but please feel free to stay as long as you like!"

"You're so small but so responsible. Good job!"

Aria bent down and gently patted the girl's head. When dealing with children, Aria's shyness doesn't kick in.

"Oh my, the Holy Maiden and the Hero in such a place! It's unthinkable to let you stand here. We must guide you to the inn immediately!"

"This Holy Maiden is so cute! I want to take her home!"

"The Hero—!? Give me a handshake, and I'll brag to the people in the next town!"

(Eh, what? What's going on!?)

People gathered in a crowd. Everyone wore friendly smiles.

"Ugh... Senior, please help me!"

"Aria... If you shout that you're the Holy Maiden, this is what happens."

Surrounded by the villagers, Aria's eyes welled up with tears. Aria is a hard worker. To become the perfect Holy Maiden, she overcomes her social awkwardness and puts on a perfect smile. But when her capacity is exceeded, she can no longer maintain it.

"Right now, we've just harvested our village specialty, the Hyuga nuts! I want the Hero to try them!"

"Ugh..."

—Just like this.

There's nothing I can do.

"Thank you for the warm welcome. I'm very happy to be in such a wonderful village."

I stepped forward to shield Aria and bowed politely. She hid behind me.

(Sigh, Aria hasn't changed. I thought she had improved a lot recently...)

Fortunately, no one questioned Aria's behavior. Instead, they offered me a pile of nuts.

"Idiot! We're not hamsters. Who would give raw Hyuga nuts to the Hero!?"

"Well... Recently, the lack of mana has been severe, and the maintenance of the refining machine hasn't kept up. Farming by hand has its limits—thinking about the work ahead makes me feel heavy-hearted."

"If it's a lack of mana, I think I can help with that."

"No way! We can't have the Hero do such menial tasks—!"

"Don't worry about it. I'm most skilled at such behind-the-scenes work."

It's the absolute truth.

And so, I was guided to a corner of the village.