“Well?” asked Yessica. “Come on. Aren’t you going to ask her?”
“Ask me what?” said Lunaria.
“Um…,” Blade began. “Well, about the Hero…”
“The Hero King…? Ah, yes, I heard he visited Rosewood Academy in the past. What an honor it must have been to receive instruction from the Hero! I simply couldn’t be more jealous. I know the king personally oversees this academy, but even then, it’s an incredible perk. Honestly, I was green with envy.”
Yessica winked at Blade. He knew what that meant. It meant Lunaria was on the no list.
“Actually, Lunaria,” said Yessica, “what kind of person do you think the Hero is?”
“What he’s like…? Didn’t you meet him in person?” Lunaria asked.
“Well, that’s the thing. He seems kind of shy. He was wearing a full suit of armor the whole time, so I never really saw him. I don’t know what he looks like at all. Earnest said he sounded like a nice, charming middle-aged man.”
“I think he’s young,” said Lunaria. “I’m basing that off evidence, not my own hopes and desires like Anna. If you read the king’s memoirs, you’ll see that whenever he brings up the Hero, his choice of words seems to refer to a younger person—perhaps young enough to be his own son. In fact, it might even be fair to call him a boy.”
Gulp.
Lunaria had profiled him like an expert detective. She had perfectly captured the full image of the Hero.
“Regardless of his age, he saved the world. I’m sure he’s incredibly strong.”
“Yeah, he’s got to be some kind of super-being.”
Yessica’s casual agreement had Blade positively sweating.
“And…you know,” said Lunaria. “I was conceited enough to think I was at a pretty high level, but recently, I learned firsthand that there’s a whole other level of strength—one beyond my comprehension.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes, really.” Lunaria smiled at Blade directly, making his heart skip a beat.
Blade had given Lunaria some special training when she first came to the academy. That must’ve been what she was referring to. He had brutally killed her in a simulation many times, repeating the slaughter over and over again. He’d kept up the killing, regardless of whether she resisted or not. It was an overwhelmingly one-sided massacre, so intense that concepts like stronger or weaker ceased to even matter. That had to be what she was thinking of.
“The Hero must have strength beyond anyone’s comprehension. Learning from someone like him could help you obtain new powers and bring you a whole dimension or two ahead of where you were before. I would love to receive such training, at least once. Truly, I regret not being at the academy when he was here.” Lunaria looked up at the darkening sky.
“Hey, by the way, Luna… When you first came here, I remember you talking about Scion I, II, and III.”
“Oh? Come to think of it…”
“Weren’t you just saying that the Hero could bring your abilities to a new level or something…?”
“Um… Yes, I did say that…” Lunaria’s eyes turned toward Blade. His heart skipped another beat.
“How did you describe the Hero again?”
“I said he’s young. Very young. At an age where it’d be acceptable to call him a young man…or a boy, even…”
“So about the same age as us, you mean?”
“Yes… Perhaps…” Lunaria tightened her grip on Blade’s arm. It was pretty much locked in her hand by now.
Yessica winked again. What did that mean? Blade had no idea! What was going on here? Lunaria was supposed to be on the no list, but now he wasn’t sure.
“I think I’ll stop stewing over how I missed being taught by the Hero King, though. After all…I had Blade teach me instead, and there’s no better teacher than him. Not even the Hero himself…” Lunaria maintained her death grip.
“No, uh, I’m not your teacher or anything,” Blade protested. “I’m just another student. Your friend. That’s all.”
“What, your friends can’t be your teachers?”
“No, they can, but…”
Lunaria pouted, but even Blade knew her feelings weren’t actually hurt. That said, her voice, her attitude, the amount of touching she was doing… What was up with her today? Was this the seduction thing Yessica was talking about? Or was she just molesting him?
And for that matter, why am I being seduced or molested in the first place?
Lunaria’s breasts, of course, were still pressing against him. Or maybe she was pushing them up against him on purpose. Not that it mattered either way, but…
“Ugh! Hey! Over there! What’re you doing?!”
That was Earnest’s voice.
“Indecency is not allowed in the public bath! None! Strictly forbidden! Move away from each other! You’re too close!”
She was shrieking at them. Wasn’t that a little odd? She sometimes stuck her body super close to Blade’s, too, pressing her chest against him and all. Blade would say, “Hey, you’re hitting me with those,” just to make sure she was aware, and she’d reply, “Yeah, sure am,” like she knew exactly what she was doing.
“Care to join us, Anna?” asked Yessica.
“Wha—?!” Earnest’s eyes shot open.
“Oh, stop bullying the poor girl,” cut in Lunaria. “You know she’s way too timid to say yes.”
“What did you say?!” Earnest Flaming was the kind of girl who always fell like a sack of potatoes at the slightest provocation. “Who’s ‘timid’? Huh? Who’s all submissive and hung up on him?!”
“We didn’t say anything about you being ‘hung up,’” said Lunaria. “What are you hung up over? Is it about who’s getting some, maybe?”
“Shut up! Blade always compliments me on my skills! I know I have a lot of them!”
“Hey, uh, what does ‘getting some’ mean?” asked Blade, curious. “Getting some of what?”
“Can you just die already?” Earnest shot him a frigid glare.
“Right, Blade! That rock over there! Lie down on it!” Earnest pointed toward the boulder.
“Huh? But I’m feeling fine today…”
“Hurry up!”
“All right…”
Blade reluctantly lay down on the rock. Between all the scolding and vitriol, he wasn’t having too good of a time.
Soon, Earnest’s hands made their way across his back. The flame-element spirit made its way through his skin, warming him up even more than the hot water of the bath. A comfortable feeling spread through Blade’s body, and everything else ceased to matter.
“Oh, right, right. Blade?” said Yessica. “Hey, Blade?”
“Hm…?”
“Do you want to ask Anna, too?”
“About what?”
“You know, that thing.”
“Oh, that…?” He didn’t really see the need to.
“Huh? What thing?” asked Earnest. “Are you keeping secrets from me?”
“No, no… You know the Hero, right?”
“Th-the Hero?” Earnest’s hands stopped moving. “D-don’t get the wrong idea, now… I…I don’t see him in that way or anything…”
“In what way, huuuh?”
“It doesn’t matter! S-stop worrying about it! If you keep hounding me, I’m gonna stop massaging you!”
Blade hadn’t even asked for a massage. But now it was pretty clear that Earnest was on the no list, too, just as he’d thought.
“But…do you think the Hero’s gonna come back?” he asked. He wasn’t sure why he’d asked it, but now the words were out of his mouth.
“Huh? The Hero…? Well, it’d be great if he did, but… Ah! I mean, it’d be great because it’d be a huge learning opportunity for someone like me, a practitioner of martial arts! That kind of thing! It’s nothing like that at all!”
“Right, for sure.”
Blade had no idea what Earnest meant by “that,” but he nodded along anyway. Based on his uncanny ability to understand normal interactions, he figured it was best to simply nod and agree with her.
“But…I’m sure the Hero is busy…,” muttered Earnest. “I suppose it’s a miracle he even came here once… It’ll probably never happen again…”
Even Blade wasn’t sure why he decided to speak up at that moment.
“I’ll ask the king, okay?” he said. “And see if we can get him to come again.”
“Really?!” Earnest hugged him from behind, delighted.
Blade, feeling the weight of two objects against his back, closed his eyes in sheer delight.
They’re hitting me again…