Chapter 5

I hope you guys are doing well. Not much to say except I’ve been busy. Also, I got a lot of blue text down there, so read at your own risk LOL (am totally not crying right now…)

Big hearts to the lovely Nome and Meiyap for checking over the lines!

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Fifth Story:

Two Years Later

Two years had pa.s.sed since the block-headed G.o.ddess threw me into this strange world.

I went to school every day and prepared for the X-day.

Time pa.s.sed in a blink of an eye.

But there were still four more years until I could return home!

It’s so far away!

I meant, these days my stomach hurt whenever I thought about the remaining time I’d be stuck here. A throbbing sort of pain. Completely stressful. G.o.ddess, I demanded worker’s compensation for this ailment, with your misrepresentation of this job’s description as the main reason!

Or, how should I put it, the G.o.ddess hadn’t contacted me once. What’s going on? Feeling anxious was unreasonable, but…No way, she couldn’t have forgotten me, could she?

It's scary thinking how highly possible it was… she looked like had a flower growing from her head, after all…

No, I had to believe. The things I believed in would save me. If not, well, there went my heart.

Right now, I was fourteen years old.

How many checkpoints were there left during this year? I’d have to dig through my diary later.

Let’s see, the next big and main event was…Oh, I remembered.

That’s it.

It’d happen next year.

The summer a year from now, a small problem would occur. A battle event.

Ahh, headache. So b.u.mmed out. It’s depressing.

And the event must be completed in one shot.

I would request this of you, future Hero…you’re the only one I could rely on.

By then, I’d have to train him well.

°•°•°

Today’s swordsmanship lesson.

We practiced a crushing blade technique that drew a beautiful arc dancing through midair.

I turned the tip of the sword toward Alfred, who fell on his b.u.t.t. Then, I flashed him a little smile, putting on a c.o.c.ky appearance. How’s that? My acting had somewhat improved. It’d been two years in the making!

A yelp erupted from the boys’ side, and the three bullies and the girls flipped to the outfield’s direction. I could understand why the three lackeys were fl.u.s.tered, but for a section of the boys to blush as well…How scary.

This world, and by extension this surrounding area, seemed s.e.xually loose.

I’d also seen several same-s.e.x couples on campus. Truly a soft and fluffy world made by the G.o.ddess. I wondered if elsewhere was this way, as well. That’s not a bad thing, was it? I seriously had no clue, but…

Well, if it’s love then there’s no helping it, and I was not particularly interested in other peoples’ business. As long as everything was mutual and the people in question were happy, then A-okay.

Just don’t involve me in it! My dream’s to start a beautiful family with an older woman!

I was getting a bit distracted.

Calm down.

That’s right, my lines.

There was a small confrontation event going on, with a bit of dialogue from Lian.

“Hehehe. Still not up to par, Alfred! You’re too weak! You don’t even reach my feet!”

Alfred angled his sight at me with a sullen face.

Although he seemed to be in a bad mood, his eyes were their usual shade of sky blue.

Well.

What the heck.

Lately, I hadn’t seen much of Alfred’s temper.

He had inherited a trait from the ancients, irises bleeding gold when angered. A feature that’s really easy to understand.

His disposition has calmed slightly. He’s probably maturing, boiling point increased.

However, it’s nice to win a spar again today, too.

Nowadays it was risky and difficult to beat Alfred in a fight, so I had asked my father to hire a famous swordsmanship master to tutor me. Being rich was awesome!

Though, I had trembled when I heard the price of the tuition.

In order to do this seriously, to pull way ahead of Alfred in the sword, I pushed myself to the fullest. Otherwise, it’d be a waste of money!  I couldn't let it be spent for nothing, or karma would bite me in the a.s.s! I was a common person afraid of expensive things. Money must be used carefully.

I especially wanted to shout this to Lian’s mother and elder brother. Those guys drowned themselves in their hobbies… Money came and went!¹ One of these days, it’s going to run out!

Well, that’s why.

Because I’d been working hard, the fruits of my labor were ripe. Thank goodness.

I couldn’t afford to lose yet. I sheathed my blade after waving it around, peering down on Alfred with my arms crossed, and sighed.

Helping the church stay afloat with part-time jobs was important, but doing so without break was troubling.  He had to practice the sword more. It wouldn’t do if he didn’t get stronger.

If he needed more part-time jobs for more money, I could set aside a monthly donation to the church. Should we add an additional portion next time? Anonymously, of course.

That way, Alfred would have more time to touch up his sword.

Mm, good idea. Let’s do that.

“Alfred. If you wish to win against me, then you should practice more, hm? Your moves are so wasteful. Too many gaps. At full strength, the breaks become even larger. What have you been practicing all this time? Think carefully about the weight of the sword and how it’s moving. The sword’s muscles. Be gentle with it, as long as you can apply force in every strike. If your movements flow, then you don’t need much power.”

…Seems close enough. Right, this was what the sword-fighting teacher always said, lesson after lesson. A regurgitation of his words. Every now and then, he had coached the future Hero, though it didn’t seem like his advice had been taken to heart.

Alfred pushed himself slowly to his feet, brushed off the dust, and looked at me.

Our eyes met.

We’re finally the same height. d.a.m.n it.

Did he get his growth spurt? It’d be a matter of time before this became a problem.

Lian’s got his too early, and now his body’s taking a break. You could do this, body of Lian!

“Look. There’s a limit to relying on futile brute force and bursts of physical power. Even if you can take the other party down with strength, you won’t pa.s.s me.”

“… Sigh.”

What a pleasant comeback.

Was this b.a.s.t.a.r.d listening properly? I’d teach him either way.

For some reason, Alfred’s coming over.

Wh-what, what was it? Was he finally blowing up?

Lost in my thoughts, I gazed blankly at where he’s standing.  If got punched by him, even I would not be able to go unscathed.

“W-w-what?”

No response.

Alfred’s silent and wore an impa.s.sive mask (scary!), and when he stood front of me, he grabbed my wrist in a flash.

“Fuah! Ow…”

I moaned from the stinging pain.

My right wrist was hurt to a small degree from receiving his senseless strength. It’s becoming red and swollen. Truly a freakish strength! Especially now! My body’s delicate so I wished you’d be more gentle! But that’s probably impossible!

“O-ow…! L-let go!”

Alfred lifted my right wrist, taking out a what seemed to be a white candy ball from a pocket, breaking it in half. A healing crystal. This popular healing aid was the Band Aid of this world.

He sprinkled the glittering white sand, which was cradled in the palm of his hand, over my wrist.

Transmitted heat from his palm.

At the same time, the throbbing was gone and I breathed out a sigh of relief.

Also, my wrist seemed different.

What did you try to heal? And then it hit me: I had hurt my wrist during the spar.

“T-thank yo—”

I held my tongue.

Oops.

d.a.m.n. I thanked him out of reflex. Regardless of what occurred I would never lose my grat.i.tude, even when my grandfather constantly smothered me, and it eventually turned into a reflex. Ahhh.

Alfred lifted his head.

He’s staring at me. What’s he looking at? Was there something on my face? Since he’s expressionless, I couldn’t read him at all. Scary.  I felt like running away.

“W-what?”

Since I couldn’t stand the look in his eyes and asked a question, he flashed a little, troubled smile.

“…No. This is my fault. I can never regulate it properly, sorry…”

Something like that, he apologized!

“W-what are you saying?”

“…Recently, there are times when I can’t control my strength…”

Alfred dropped his gaze and heaved a slight sigh.

“Huh? I-is that so?”

He nodded. What the. I wondered if he was in good health.

“…Um… things happened… I felt like I was going to break… I'm in trouble.”

Was it the wildness of youth? Or, something totally different? I didn’t really understand, though. Anyway, it’s you who’s got too much strength.

As he stared at my wrist, his brow wrinkled and he breathed out again. Somehow, he seemed a little tired. It was clear how pale his face was with just a glance.

“…Alfred? Are you okay?”

He tilted his head upward. Eyes flitting open just a tad.

I shouldn’t have said that, d.a.m.n it. This was out of Lian’s character. Flubbed it.

Sure enough, there was wonder in Alfred eyes as he stared at me—and he smiled softly at me.

“…Are you worried about me?”

“Huh?”

Not good. I’d got to correct this.

“You’re w-wrong! You’ve misunderstood me! It’s, I was just concerned is all.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, that’s right!”

“Sigh.”

Hey. He’s smiling. Don’t direct your smile at me! That handsome guy’s smirk was no use against me! Go flash it at a girl!

For some reason, this situation made me feel like making a break for it. Let’s escape for a bit. This was bad. I’d no idea how to handle something like this. I jerked my gaze away, shaking off Alfred’s hand on my wrist.

“Pa.²”

“Pa?”

“Pa-part-time job! Your body’s getting worn out from your part-time jobs! Idiot! Go practice the sword more! Good grief, the you right now cannot be my opponent! Well, who knows, maybe my strength is just too incredible!”

As usual, I spat out a sarcastic parting remark and ran—no, walked away.

The three bullies dashed over my way.

“Lian-sama! Are you okay?! What did that guy say?!”

“N-no? N-nothing… He didn’t say much.”

“Is that so?! That’s good but…”

“Recently, that guy’s been getting carried away! The urchin’s too familiar and touchy with Lian-sama!  I'm envi… not, he should know his place, right?”

“That’s right! Does Lian-sama also think this?”

“I-indeed…”

Indeed, it's troubling.

These days, because I received reactions that were different from my expectations, sometimes I became pretty confused. It’s extremely troubling.

It’s easier to respond to anger, almost comforting, but…

In the story, the Hero and Lian always quarreled.  Dangerous. I recalled Lian’s lines and I could spin them well.

Was this a dangerous relationship?

Should I make it worse?

How do I become a villain?

I felt like I was doing as much as I could but… I’m supposed to say very disagreeable things. I had been sprouting lines full of disdain but…

Could Alfred had gotten used to it? Did he no longer feel a thing about the nasty things leaving my mouth?

That’s terrible…what should I do? Uuu. I’m troubled.

Ahh s.h.i.t. I sucked at acting!

My heart’s pounding—I’d be back in a second.

I should have practiced with my friend in the theater club more. Then things wouldn’t be so troublesome. In retrospect, I was wrong for skipping out on those sessions. If I didn’t have to do this another time, I’d never complain again. When you said this skill might be useful one day, you were right, my friend. I’d treat you to a special deluxe A lunch next time. So please switch places with me! You’re the perfect person for this role!

Haah.

In order to play Lian properly, I needed to be more careful from now on.

Even if conversations entered areas I was not familiar with, I should follow the story as much as possible.

I hugged my stomach, letting out a sigh.

Ending notes:

Phew, got that out of the way finally.  Lian is such a tsundere, haha. Anyone not feeling like burning me at the stake for being late? XDDD (hides)

Money comes and goes!¹ : Raws is 金は天下の回り物なんだぞ！Not sure if I got the proverb right.Pa²: Raws actually has “Ba” for バイト (Baito), which is part-time job. I changed it to “Pa” to make more sense in English.