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Chapter 1: The princess seemed to like the hero.
Translator: Michiko
Editor: Elena
“Reiru, you understand, right? If you consider his best interests, you know this is the right decision.”
The princess said with a sweet smile.
Her luxurious blonde hair was skillfully braided and tied up, and her hair clip was studded with pretty blue stones.
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I would love to at least be able to buy some hair ornaments for my girls too. Even though I didn’t have a habit of giving them luxury goods, I would like to prepare something memorable for them, at least once a year for the Winter Torch Festival.
“Reiru?”
I was being glared at by the princess’s attendant since I had been absent-minded.
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“Gb, ulp, R wdelapvyde.”
“Mbld, blal.”
Mbl rakdnlpp zssjle clbkde bla. Mbl lpnsavkdt jdktbv nyxl shla yde rzynle y rswnb xyel sq clywvkqwz nzsvb sd vbl zwmwakswp zssjkdt pxssvb osseld vyczlvsr.
“Myjl kv. Gqvla yzz, usw’hl clld y qaklde vs Qks qsa y zsdt vkxl. R bsrl kv okzz blzr usw kd vbl qwvwal.”
R rknjle kv wr obld pbl ldnswaytle xl vs, yde kv oyp pvwqqle qwzz sq tsze nskdp.
“Bx, kv pllxp y ckv vss xwnb qsa xl.”
“R esd’v vbkdj ps, clnywpl kv’p tskdt vs cl y hlau zsdt vakr, kpd’v kv? Fvyavkdt qasx pnayvnb kd y ekpvydv zyde kpd’v tskdt vs cl lypu. Jlpkelp, usw nyd’v vwad vs Qks yduxsal lkvbla. Zsw yzps esd’v oydv vs cl y cwaeld sd Qks ydu zsdtla, es usw? Rv pbswze cl ldswtb vbyv usw byhl alnlkhle Qks’p yke qsa ps xydu ulyap. Ms vbkdj vbyv lhla pkdnl Qks zlqv vbl sarbydytl yv qkqvlld
 bl pvkzz tkhlp usw xsdlu vs vbkp eyu, eslpd’v bl?”
“Zlp. Mbydjp vs vbyv, ol eked’v pvyahl, yde vbkp ulya ol’hl yzalyeu ralryale qsa okdvla, ps ol osd’v byhl vs osaau ycswv xsdlu qsa y obkzl. Rv’p yzz vbydjp vs Qks-pyxy.”
Talking with dignitaries was exhausting. You have to probe for the answers they want, and give them the correct answers. Even if you can’t give the correct answer, you should at least do your best not to unintentionally step on a landmine.
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The princess’s landmine was probably me addressing Gio by his name. The correct answer was to address him as Gio-sama. It was quite a hassle.
“Gio is kind to those in an unfortunate position. Speaking of which, I heard you said you wanted to rebuild the orphanage.”
“That topic has been dropped. When Gio-sama has his own territory, he will eventually take in the children over there.”
“Is that so? I am glad.” The princess smiled broadly.
The reason why I, a commoner who grew up in an orphanage, got the chance to talk to the princess like this is because my childhood friend Gio, who also grew up in an orphanage, became a hero, defeated the demon king, and saved the country from crisis. The hero was rewarded with recompense, a title, and a fiefdom, and it is rumored that his engagement to the princess would be announced soon.
We’ve known each other for about 20 years now, but he and I didn’t get along well.
He had always hated me, and I wasn’t happy with him either since he hated me one-sidedly, even though I hadn’t done anything to him.
Gio possessed a strong sense of duty, though his likes and dislikes were extreme.
Even after he was discovered as a hero candidate and went to the capital, and even during his journey to defeat the demon king, he faithfully wrote letters to the orphanage.
After the old man who managed the orphanage in our childhood passed away, I took his place, and somehow the orphanage managed to continue to exist.
Therefore, I, despite my shortcomings, am the director of the orphanage and I read through all the letters that came to the orphanage. I read the letters from Gio to the children every time, and they all looked forward to them.
Not only did he send letters, but he also sent long-lasting sweets, clothes, and sometimes even alcohol.
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And of course money too.
Gio was a man who always did the right thing. He hated everything that was miserly, crooked, or irrational, and he always stuck to his own ideas. He has always been like that, and was different from me. That’s why we didn’t get along.
Nevertheless, Gio occasionally visited the orphanage on holidays, and after his triumphant return from the battle, he came rather frequently.
Gio’s new friends, including the princess, said a lot of things to me for Gio’s sake.
They said a lot of things, but it all came down to one thing: my relationship with Gio was not good for him.
Well, I knew that.
Gio did a lot of intense training to become a warrior that could be called a hero, and most of the money he was paid was sent to the orphanage. At this point, It wasn’t just a strong sense of duty anymore, he was just being a fool.
He didn’t indulge in luxuries, nor did he play around—he just trained himself for the sake of his country and finally defeated the demon king. And even then he gave the reward money to the orphanage.
It was too much money, so of course I initially turned it down, but in the end I wound up accepting it because he kept complaining to me, asking, when did I become so great that I could refuse a donation?
“Don’t you think Gio also has the right to live a happy life?”
Blurted Gio’s fellow knight.
“How long must he be bound by his unfortunate origins?”
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Said Gio’s traveling companion.
“Please set Gio-dono free already.”
Pleaded the lady that Gio had brought with him.
And the princess asked,
“You promise you’ll never meet Gio again, right?”
Gio couldn’t abandon me, his childhood friend who is a commoner, poor, and always struggling with money.
Now that he was about to be ennobled, it was time for him to focus on the heart of the country as a nobleman, and his past relationships would get in the way of that. The children at the orphanage should be left to Gio, and I should disappear to somewhere, and that would all be for Gio’s sake. I was told that kind of stuff several times, some of it indirect and some of it direct.
Yes, I understood.
After Gio became a hero and became known to the people as a hero of the country, people who originated from our orphanage began to visit him now and then. It would be wonderful if they would just make small talk and reminisce about the old days and go home. But there were also a number of requests asking Gio for financial support, or to act as an intermediary for them to borrow money, or invitations to some shady business. It was really troublesome, that kind of thing. It was hard to turn them away because you couldn’t say that they were strangers to you in your heart.
The people around Gio judged me to be one of those people, and I wondered if that was true or not, but it was true that I was relying on the money Gio gave me, so maybe I wasn’t any different.
“I’m not giving it to you, I’m giving it to the little ones. What right do you have to deny the money to the little ones?”
Gio said so and he gave me money all those years ago and still does. I appreciate it, but that was already enough.
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Thanks to him, the orphanage’s kitchen was well-stocked for the time being, and Gio, who would be marrying the princess, possessing a title and territory, would be able to protect the little ones from now on and then this money would have no use.
So every time when I tried to return it, Gio glared at me with his fierce eyes. I’m amazed at how much he hates me every time too.
Gio seemed to be unhappy with everything I did, and when I thanked him for his money, gifts, and souvenirs before, he said, “I’m not doing this for you.”
Even so, aside from sweets, I’m the only one who could drink alcohol. It was also the type of alcohol that was sweet and easy to drink, which I liked. And the clothes that he sent were clearly my size. When I pointed that out, he sarcastically said, “If you’re dirty, the little ones will get ridiculed.” I was fairly popular with ladies, so I was often blessed with receiving clothes. That’s why despite what he said, I thought I maintained a clean look without his help.
Anyway, it was like that for everything, so I rather quickly stopped being careful in front of Gio and even stopped saying thank you. Instead, I wrote letters to him about the children’s progress and their future prospects. If it was in a letter, he couldn’t complain or be sarcastic.
“Why don’t you spend some of your money? How long are you going to be skinny and boring? Fatten up.”
“You are just excessively muscular, I’m normal, leave me alone.”
“How can it be normal, you idiot? Your arms look like an old man’s on his deathbed. What’s going to happen to the little ones once you die?”
“Even if I die, the little ones still have you. So you don’t need to worry.”
“Don’t bullshit me. I’ll kill you.”
“You’re too contradictory.”
Gio had a sharp tongue—but he was always honest.
Ever since I was a kid, Gio got angry when I put off eating my meals. Even back then, I had a good relationship with the aunties in the neighborhood, and they would give me some food outside.
So it was no big deal to share a bit of bread with the guy who looked like he hadn’t eaten enough at the end of the meal. Still, Gio never ate the bread I offered him.
I’m sure Gio was over five years old when he came to the orphanage, apparently having grown up in a rather wealthy family among the commoners. Unlike me, who was already at the orphanage before my eyes were opened, he would’ve known the joys of luxury and found poverty hard to bear.
Even so, Gio didn’t whine. He looked at us coldly and didn’t befriend us, who were no doubt poor to the core.
Gio has long declared, “I will definitely become a rich man.” Maybe it was his rebellious spirit to escape from this kind of living that made Gio a hero and a legend.
As for me, I didn’t have that kind of mindset at all. Even though Gio didn’t eat my bread, I still took Gio’s money.
Since I am such a person, I would obey any request from Gio’s friends who had the power to be a part of the national defense, and certainly from the princess. Deliberately going against the rich has never been an option in my life.
So, for the reason of self-preservation that had nothing to do with whether or not it would be for Gio’s sake, I swore to the princess that I would never see Gio again.
Even so, I think that was an exaggeration. Even if she didn’t bother to chase me away, once the orphanage was moved to his territory, I didn’t think we’d ever see each other again. Well, I guess she thinks I planned on going there to extort money from him. I have no intention of doing that, but that prediction was the right risk management approach for the person being extorted.
I guess Gio was blessed with friends in his new life. The princess also was certainly not a bad person, since she had prepared this many gold coins for me, a commoner.
Gio would have a good marriage. That was definitely a good thing.