Since we had started attracting some unwanted attention to ourselves after the incident with the pickpocket, I brought Nor and Ruchika over to a bench in the public square to get away from all the fuss. We procured some food from the street stalls and had that to eat instead of a proper dinner.
Ever since the Great Human-Demon War, humans had developed a tendency to avoid extravagance. Accordingly, most of the dishes available in the stalls were simple fare such as meat skewers and steamed potatoes. I bought a sandwich with chicken and chopped vegetables; for Nor, a baked potato with melted butter on it; and for Ruchika, meat skewers. The three of us finished everything off with three servings of fruit juice.
Ruchika must have just completed a long journey, because her body was quite soiled. Unable to leave her in such a state, I used my convenience magic to clean her body and repair the frays in her clothing.
“Purify… Quick Mend.”
“Whoa… That’s awesome.”
Ruchika’s eyes widened in surprise at the sight of it; she didn’t seem to be familiar with convenience magic. It was nice to have such a fresh reaction to my magic.
“That reminds me. Leonie, you said you’re the daughter of a hero, right?”
Ruchika brought this up after we reintroduced ourselves. She must have remembered this from my conversation with the pickpocket.
“Yes, my mother was Lainie Baez, the Almighty Hero, who defeated the Demon Lord,” I said.
“A-and my mother was in her party—the Healing Hero,” added Nor.
“Whoa.”
Ruchika looked back at us in wonder, her cheeks still stuffed full of meat. I had answered honestly, but truth be told, I didn’t enjoy discussing my origins. Being the daughter of the Almighty Hero put way too much pressure on me. When people learned about my background, they would often regard me with admiration and expectation at first. But once they found out the extent of my actual abilities, they would grow disappointed in me.
To change the subject, I asked Ruchika a question.
“Why would a demon girl want to come to the Hero Institute?”
“Is it so weird? Demons and humans have made their peace. It can’t be that strange for there to be someone like me.”
“Still, I believe it’s highly unusual.”
“Well, you know. I have my reasons.”
Saying this, Ruchika took a sip of her fruit juice and smiled. She looked like she wasn’t open to taking any more questions about it.
“I won’t pry. I’m sure everyone has one or two things they don’t like to talk about.”
“Hee-hee, you’re a sharp one, Leonie. You’ll make a great bride one day.”
Ruchika sometimes said things I couldn’t quite wrap my head around. I stayed silent, taking another bite of my bread. It tasted a little old.
“Oh, here, I’ll give this back now. Thanks for your help, Proto.”
She took the Gear from around her neck and handed it back to me.
“I can see how this thing is convenient, but I don’t think it’s really my style.”
“But, Ruchika, you don’t own a Gear, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Having one is a requirement to take the Hero Institute entrance exam.”
“Whaaat? Seriously?!”
To begin with, Gear weren’t simply battle-assistance devices. They were the fruit of the wisdom of humankind—a great guiding hand that would show the wearer their best courses of action and which talents they should develop. Though they were not well-known to the general public, they were indispensable to the gifted—especially those who aspired to attend the Hero Institute. In fact, Gear was even mentioned in one of the five precepts of the hero, as was written in the preamble to the school regulations:
Thou shalt obey thy Gear over thyself and thy teacher.
As a hero cadet, one had to prioritize obeying their Gear even over their instructors at the Institute. When I explained all this to Ruchika, she put on a grimace.
“Dang it… And I bet those things don’t come cheap, either.”
“It’s not the kind of money one could easily get their hands on, especially for someone who’s just run out of her travel allowance.”
“Ugh…”
I had no shortage of money myself, and the Gear I had loaned to Ruchika was a smaller spare I’d happened to be carrying with me. It was an old model I had found lying around our house; I was wearing a new one myself.
“Shall I lend this one to you?”
“What? But…”
“As you can see, I have another one I’m using.” I pointed to the Gear around my neck as I continued, “Although, if you’re going to give up on entering the Hero Institute instead, I won’t stop you.”
“I’ll take it! Please lend it to me! Please, pretty please, with a big hunk of meat on top!”
“Oh, that must be the demon version…”
Nor couldn’t help but comment on Ruchika’s strange turn of phrase.
“All right. I’ll lend it to you.”
“Thank you! Oh, how should I pay you for it?”
“You can compensate me somehow after you’re back on your feet.”
“How about I pay you back with my body?”
“Ruchika… I know demons must have different personal values than humans, but if you are hoping to become a hero, you should really stop with those kinds of jokes.”
“Ah-ha-ha-ha, sorry, sorry.”
As I rebuked her, Ruchika delivered an unexpectedly frank apology, though I wasn’t entirely sure whether she was being honest or if she was still playing with me.
“Here, take this, too.”
“Hmm?”
I retrieved a few silver coins from my leather bag and handed them to Ruchika. She gave me a surprised look as she gnawed on her meat skewer, then swallowed the remaining meat down and questioned my gesture.
“What’s this for?”
“Your living expenses until the entrance exam. You’re broke at the moment, right?”
“That’s true, but…I’d rather you help me find somewhere I can work.”
“Somewhere you can work?”
“Yeah.”
I admired Ruchika’s desire to earn her keep rather than simply depend on someone’s charity. This improved my estimation of her.
“In that case, I can introduce you to an acquaintance of mine who runs an inn. They’re in desperate need of extra hands at the moment with the Hero Institute entrance exam coming up. I assume room and board would also be included.”
“Whoa, that’d be perfect! Yes, please!”
I wrote my acquaintance a letter of introduction for Ruchika, drew her a simple map of the inn’s location, and passed them to her.
After we exchanged some information regarding the entrance examination, Ruchika took her leave from Nor and me.
“Bye for now, Leonie, Nor. See you at the entrance exam!”
“Yes, see you.”
“Later, Ruchika!”
Night had completely set in over the public square, and Ruchika disappeared from sight soon after we parted. We hadn’t spoken for long, but I had a feeling I wouldn’t be forgetting that strange demon girl anytime soon.
“She was a bit of an odd one, wasn’t she?” Nor said.
“Yes. But—”
As I started walking, I found myself continuing in a whisper.
“—she doesn’t seem like a bad person.”