The Porter Has No Interest in the Hero’s Party

“Heek… Gak…! Ah…! Aagh…!”

A nameless demon officer was smiling. She seemed to think the stars in the sky were joking with her. Did she find the deep wounds and the annihilated soldiers merely amusing? Perhaps the excessive pain that ravaged her body had driven her insane.

I looked at the corpses of demons lying on the ground. The demon race lay on the floor with horrific expressions, and the survivors crawled like insects over the bodies of their comrades until they were impaled by spears. Whenever the soldiers spotted a crawling demon, they threw their spears while making bets with each other.

“Hit it in the head! I win!”

“Damn! Not yet! I just need to hit one from farther away! Hurry and find another live one!”

The soldiers rummaged through the corpses for their wagers. One demon who had been playing dead was dragged out and made into a target. A spear cutting through the air struck its neck. The demon with its neck bone pierced collapsed to the ground with a deflating sound.

“Mister. Do you have business with that officer?”

The soldier who had been searching for live demons finally turned his attention to the officer lying at my feet. Though she was foaming at the mouth and had lost her mind, she was clearly still alive. She was covering herself with another comrade’s corpse like a blanket, trembling her fingers and begging for mercy.

I searched inside the demon’s garment and pulled out a letter. The letter, soaked in blood, couldn’t be preserved for long, but I could still read its contents.

[I love you. Mostra.

You’re my best woman.

Daemon]

“Daemon?”

I tilted my head at the name that sounded familiar, then roughly stuffed the letter into my pocket. This letter was to be delivered to the higher-ups through the hero. When I turned my head, the soldiers were still looking at me.

They were waiting for me to say I had no use for this half-dead demon.

“Take her away.”

“Ah, aaagh…! Gak…!”

The soldiers eagerly dragged away the demon officer Mostra. Her body, emerging from among the corpses, was like a rag, like the lower half of an animal hunted by wild dogs, indicating she wouldn’t live much longer.

“Hey! Hurry! Let’s make a bet with this bitch before she dies!”

“You fucking bitch! Crawl faster!”

“Heek…! Heek…!”

I turned my gaze away from the interesting betting game unfolding with spears. Looking to the side, I saw Ashuria with an ecstatic expression as she grilled small pieces of meat over a campfire. Next to her, Mille was roasting bell peppers, nodding as she asked Ashuria:

“Ashuria. Why are you in such a good mood?”

“Mille. Did you not see the overwhelming swordsmanship that the hero showed us just now? How can you remain calm after witnessing such a brave display?”

The content of Ashuria’s excited speech didn’t seem to make much sense to Mille either. Mille frowned, tilting her head before saying:

“…I don’t understand. Is that so joyful?”

“Mille. Overwhelming power is overwhelming love. Only stronger power can make stronger contact, and lovers whisper their love by leaving marks on each other’s bodies. The hero has proven today in battle that he is someone who can leave the most intense marks on another.”

“Is that good? I don’t think love needs wounds. I was taught that love is about understanding each other.”

Mille seemed to have a normal view on love. I decided not to interject into their conversation and climbed the stairs. The hero was sitting on the castle battlement. It was a precarious position where he could tumble down if someone pushed his back, but he wasn’t even being cautious, just staring at the bare ground.

I made my presence known behind the hero and said:

“What are you doing? It’s dangerous, Hero.”

The hero turned his head, confirmed my face, and smiled. Under the starlight, the hero’s face shone with blue eyes like jewels.

“Oh, it’s you, Mister. It’s not dangerous. I’m the hero, after all.”

“Do you have something troubling you? We’ve caught the traitors and defeated the evil demon officer. Though the residents trapped in the magic stones haven’t returned, we’re one step closer to victory.”

“You’re right. It’s a happy occasion.”

The hero’s voice didn’t sound happy. He responded in a tone like reading an obituary, then lowered his head again. I sat beside the hero. My feet didn’t reach the ground, and when I looked down, pitch-black darkness filled my vision like a swamp.

“But why are you depressed?”

“Just thinking about the traitors. Those traitors. Count Meindal and Baron Luke. And the soldiers who were going to betray us by following them.”

“Hero. You shouldn’t think deeply about traitors. Even if you try to understand those who go mad with greed and commit irrational acts, you’ll only accumulate anger. There are many people in this world who do inexplicable things for absurd reasons. It’s like an avalanche. An avalanche that can only be prevented by knowing in advance and removing the cause.”

The hero stared at me. His eyes looked clearer than usual. In an unmanly manner, he hugged his knees and buried his head between his legs as he said:

“Still, I can’t understand. They swore to fight for their country. How could they abandon that oath and all the people standing by them? I believed everyone was fighting with one heart. I believed they would help me as much as I fulfilled my duty as a hero.”

“Hero. At times like this, you shouldn’t think about those traitors. You should think about yourself. The more you dwell on such trivial matters, the more you’ll be eaten away. Don’t worry about such things. Look in the mirror every morning and tell yourself: ‘It’s okay. I’ve sent those guys to hell again. I can do this.'”

I said this while patting the hero’s back. Despite his powerful swordsmanship and decisive attitude, the hero’s back was tender. When I stroked his back, the hero flinched, looked at me, and then naturally pushed my hand away, saying:

“Ah, I-I’m fine.”

Seeing how he strangely distanced himself, it seemed he was indeed from a noble background. Unlike soldiers, nobles exchanged elegant words even when comforting each other. It seemed he couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable with direct physical contact.

“I may not be able to fully understand your disappointment with the traitors. Nor can I tell you a perfect way to shake it off. I can only tell you to fill your pride and push it away. There’s no such thing as a relationship where people understand each other perfectly. Just look at us – you’re the hero who will save the world, and I’m just a porter.”

Perhaps he misunderstood my saying “just a porter” in a different way. The hero responded in a flustered voice:

“You’re not just a porter. You’re our comrade. We always rely on you, Mister. Really.”

I laughed at the hero’s comment. I found his misunderstanding amusing. Seeing me chuckling, the hero seemed to realize his misunderstanding and looked somewhat relieved. I gazed at the horizon.

A pale yellow band was in the sky like a rainbow, and a white semicircle was blooming from that boundary. The operation that had started in the late evening was coming to an end as morning arrived.

“What I want to say is that our positions are different. Perhaps you can’t fully understand me, and I can’t perfectly understand you either. But as you said, we are also comrades. Comrades who can trust and have each other’s backs despite not being able to understand each other. Hero, if your heart aches from incomprehensible matters, just open up like you’re doing now. How about it? Even without a particular solution, don’t you feel a bit better?”

I spread my hands like a magician. I waited for the hero’s response with a grin, but he was staring at me with a blank expression. After blinking at me for a while, he finally showed a smile and said:

“I guess you’re right. Thank you, Mister.”

The hero’s morale was the most important factor in our adventure. Even though the hero had regained his spirits, I didn’t want to leave him slumped like this.

I stood up and said:

“I know what to do when I’m feeling down. We decided to take a short break when we visit the city, right? Would you like to come with me?”

“…Ah, n-no, I’m fine.”

Seeing the hero’s reluctance, I realized what he was thinking. The hero seemed to think I was going to take him to seduce widows or visit brothels. I shook my head and said:

“Hero. No matter what I am, would I take you to such places? We’re going to the bathhouse. We’ll scrub off the dirt refreshingly, and together…”

“What? No, I don’t want to! I refuse!”

The hero’s voice tone rose sharply, and he moved further away from me. If I had mentioned seducing widows, wouldn’t he have disliked it less? Ashuria and Mille, who were chatting below, peeked their heads out after seeing the hero’s violent rejection.

I waved my hand at Ashuria’s piercing gaze and said:

“I didn’t do anything.”

The hero, with a blushing face, also said:

“Ah, um… Don’t misunderstand. It’s not that I dislike it. I just prefer bathing alone. The view from my room’s bathroom was really great.”

“…You had a private bathroom?”

“…My father was good with his hands and made it for me.”

It seemed this was too early a topic for the young master from a noble family.