“Kyaah!”
Kiera, who was in the room, looked into the mirror and let out a scream.
Black hair was growing out from the roots.
Currently, she had silver hair, but her natural color was black.
Ever since she obtained the Hero’s power, silver hair had begun to grow.
But the fact that black hair was sprouting was clear proof that she had lost the Hero’s power.
“W-why…?”
Terror filled her eyes as she continued to stare into the mirror.
What would happen if the ducal household discovered she had lost her power?
Would their support be withdrawn?
They only knew that Kiera was not in good condition; they had not yet realized she had lost the Hero’s power.
“This can’t be… why is this happening to me?”
Kiera wrapped her arms around herself and trembled softly.
She desperately racked her brains over the reason.
But no matter how much she thought, she could not figure it out.
She truly did not know.
Nothing had changed.
She had done nothing.
Since no answer came to her, what surfaced in her mind was him—someone she never wanted to recall again in her life.
Could Maru leaving be the cause? Could it be…
Suddenly, the door burst open.
“Kiera, has your power still not returned today?”
It was Natalie, entering rudely without even knocking.
“I want to spar with you like before so badly I could die. There are no suitable guys around here. They’re all trash.”
She strode in energetically, pulled out a chair from under the table, and sat down.
Then she looked at Kiera, who sat blankly in front of the dressing table.
“Why are you silent like a mute?”
Kiera, still in great shock, spoke quickly with a somewhat agitated air.
“Where did the others go?”
“Lucy and Joris? They’re probably messing around with the new porter.”
“A porter?”
“Lucy got a porter because she was bored.”
“The House of Duke Toledo promised to provide ten servants to accompany us on our adventure free of charge. Why would she go and get a porter?”
“Ask her yourself. How should I know what that snooty wizard bitch is thinking?”
***
At that same moment, in the building’s back courtyard.
While Joris watched with his hands behind his back, Lucy was giving instructions to a young man.
“You can lift that, right?”
The young man’s eyes went wide when he saw what Lucy was pointing at.
“Y-you want me to lift that!?”
“What? You can’t lift it?”
“C-can a person even lift that by themselves?”
What Lucy was pointing at was a magic machine the size of a cart.
It was made of metal and looked incredibly heavy.
“The previous guy lifted it. You can’t?”
“I can’t! I can’t do it!”
The young man waved his hands, said he quit, and ran away.
Lucy crossed her arms and frowned.
“Cowardly bastard.”
“That reaction is only natural. Mr. Maru was the odd one.”
Joris approached with a smile.
“Our wizard here drove Mr. Maru away saying the pay was too little, so what reason could you have for bringing in another porter?”
“I need someone to take my temper.”
“You mean a so-called punching bag?”
“Yeah. Lately there’s nowhere to vent my frustration, and it’s driving me crazy.”
“Then why did you drive Mr. Maru away? He was a very good punching bag.”
Lucy glared at him.
“Don’t pin this on me when you also ganged up to drive him out.”
“Ahem.”
“If the King points his finger and says to get rid of someone, is there really a subject who could pretend not to know?”
“I was one such subject as well. I repent.”
“Don’t say things you don’t mean while snickering.”
“Hehe, I mean it. These days, I find myself missing the fish dishes Mr. Maru used to debone for me himself.”
“Come to think of it, you are a priest who serves God, yet you tormented Maru quite a bit.”
“Tormented? I was tempering Mr. Maru’s inner self. Thanks to me, he didn’t even get angry easily, did he? Our Mr. Maru.”
“Hoo.”
Lucy shook her head and let out a long sigh.
“Anyway. Lately, laughter has vanished from our party. We need something fun.”
Kiera, who was sitting in front of the dressing table, beckoned to Natalie.
“You want me to come there?”
When Kiera nodded, Natalie got up from her seat and approached her.
“What is it?”
“Look at my hair.”
“What’s with your hair? Huh? What is this? Black is coming out. Wasn’t your hair silver before?”
“Ever since I lost the Hero’s power, it’s been like this.”
“Is that bad?”
“It’s a bad omen.”
Kiera bit her lower lip and made a worried expression.
Natalie placed her hands on Kiera’s shoulders.
“Don’t worry. Your power will return.”
It was then.
A sound came from the door.
Kiera quickly turned toward it.
No way.
The door was open!
Kiera furrowed her brow.
“You didn’t close the door?”
“Ah, I was careless again. Sorry.”
Before Natalie could even move, Kiera headed toward the door first.
She opened the door and looked into the corridor, where a young maid was standing holding a silver kettle.
“Hello, Lady Kiera. I have come to change your water.”
“Water?”
Kiera carefully studied the maid’s expression for a moment.
Could she have overheard that I lost my power?
Sweat beaded in her clenched palm.
After staring intently for a while, she saw the young maid fidgeting restlessly and reluctantly spoke.
“Come in.”
“E-excuse me.”
Shortly after, the young maid set down the new kettle, picked up the original one, and left the room.
After that, Kiera could hardly concentrate on her conversation with Natalie.
So she sent Natalie away and soon left the room herself.
She hurriedly searched for the young maid.
Fortunately, she was able to spot the young maid heading somewhere.
Don’t run away.
Kiera picked up a fist-sized rock from the courtyard, hid it inside her clothes, and stealthily followed behind.
As time passed, a myriad of thoughts swirled through her mind.
This is a sponsorship I barely obtained. The amount is huge. I can’t ruin it here.
When the young maid entered a shabby corridor used by servants, Kiera, overcome by the fear that she might lose everything, impulsively pressed right up behind the maid and raised the hand gripping the rock high.
“Kitty!”
At someone’s voice, the young maid turned around.
“Yes?”
A stout, middle-aged maid stood on the other side of the corridor.
“Is something the matter, ma’am?”
“Did you change the kettle in the master’s room?”
“I’m on my way now.”
“Good, go replace it quickly.”
“Yes.”
The middle-aged maid left, and then the young maid departed as well.
From a nearby corner, Kiera revealed herself with a blank expression.
It’s not time yet. There is no need to rush.
If she hadn’t heard the middle-aged maid’s footsteps, she would have brought it straight down.
She reproached herself, thinking she had become overly sensitive because of the black hair she had seen in her room earlier.
Rather, she felt it was fortunate that the middle-aged maid had appeared.
She had barely managed to hold onto her reason.
Even after that, Kiera tailed the young maid to the very end.
And only after eavesdropping on the conversation between the maid and the Duke when the maid entered his room could she finally let out a sigh of relief.
It had been nothing but trivial small talk.
She threw away the rock she had been holding until then and returned to her room.
She flopped down onto the bed.
“Haa…”
She turned her body and lay looking at the ceiling.
Blinking her eyes, she thought for a long while.
“If I lose the Hero’s power… the only person I can rely on… would be Maru, right…?”
She was growing more and more frightened.
Letting out a deep sigh, she blankly kneaded one plump breast.
“Anyway, he’s soft-hearted, so if I cry, he’ll forgive everything.”
***
“The roast deer you ordered is here!”
The Basilite Kingdom.
A village restaurant.
Food was spread out abundantly on a large dining table.
“Now, don’t hold back and eat.”
“You eat a lot too.”
Maru began to devour the food frantically, as if possessed.
Edward, sitting across from him, smiled with a satisfied expression.
“I’m treating, so if it’s not enough, order more!”
“You have money?”
Maru chewed vigorously and took a long swig from his cup.
“Kyaah~ Now that’s the taste~!”
“Oh dear, come to think of it, I have no money.”
Edward looked over his attire.
He had stripped the clothes from a fallen bandit and put them on, so his appearance was shabby.
He looked like some mountain bandit.
“Burp, that was a good meal for the first time in a while.”
After the meal, Maru paid the bill.
He had taken as much of the gold and silver treasure the bandits had accumulated as he could carry and hauled it around in a sack.
Since the only money he had was gold coins, he handed a gold coin to the owner’s wife, and she was startled.
“Oh my, what is this? We don’t have change?”
“I don’t need change. Keep it.”
“Really? Oh my, you must be a rich young man. Hahaha.”
“And this is a tip for making such delicious food.”
Drunk, with flushed cheeks, Maru pulled a pearl necklace from his sack and draped it around the lady’s neck.
Having starved day in and day out, he had finally eaten a truly good meal after a long time.
He was in such a good mood that he held nothing back.
“Oh my~ thank you!”
The lady was overjoyed and immediately ran to the kitchen to boast to her husband.
The startled husband came rushing out.
“What kind of people are you that you have so much money? Are you adventurers?”
Maru pointed at Edward and roughly brushed it off.
“He’s a prince.”
“T-this guy is a prince?”
“That is correct. I am Edward, prince of our proud Basilite Kingdom.”
Edward spoke with confidence, but the husband looked at him with displeasure.
“Hey! You folks, impersonating a prince is a serious crime. If you’re drunk, go sleep it off. Anyway, thank you. Come by often.”
“Yes~ I hope you sell a lot!”
After leaving the restaurant, they walked aimlessly.
They had no particular destination.
“What should I do now? Maybe grab an inn and get a good night’s sleep.”
As he walked, mulling it over, Prince Edward kept following him, chattering on and on about this and that.
Maru found this strange and stopped dead in his tracks.
“What are you doing? Not going home?”
“Home? Aha, you mean the castle where I live? You want to go? Great! Let’s go!”
“No, no. Go home alone. We should part ways here.”
“Hm? You performed a great feat by subjugating the bandits, yet you intend to just leave like this? His Majesty would bestow a reward upon you.”
“You take the credit for that. I’ve eaten my fill here, so I’m good.”
Maru ostentatiously lifted the sack of gold and silver he had slung over one shoulder.
It was an amount so large that even five people would struggle to lift, but to Maru now, it was as light as a feather.
“That won’t do. You must accept it.”
“I said it’s fine. Don’t people call you the fool prince? Just say you subjugated them this time. People will see you differently.”
“People will see me differently…?”
Edward thought seriously for a moment, then soon nodded vigorously.
“You are truly admirable! Then I shall also eat well! That’s your expression!”
“Alright, alright. I should get going. It was fun meeting you.”
“May God bless your travels.”
“You live well too.”
“I shall swiftly return to the castle and spread word of my exploits far and wide. Take care!”
After bidding farewell, Edward immediately ran off somewhere.
“He somehow drains my energy, but he’s a fun guy.”
Maru smiled contentedly and continued on his way.
Not long after.
He felt a presence steadily following behind him.
He glanced back and saw it was Edward.
He was following hesitantly.
Maru turned around with an annoyed expression.
“What is it now? Speak quickly.”
“I say!”
Edward put on a bright smile and came running.
With his blond hair and sharp jawline, he was truly a handsome guy.
“I’ve had a wonderful idea!”
“What idea?”
“Listen! How about we keep traveling together, build up achievements, I take the glory, and you take the treasure! Isn’t that a wonderful idea!”
“…What?”
Maru was so dumbfounded that he could only blink before tilting his head to the side.
“Want me to knock some sense into you? I’m incredibly good at dishing out a solid thwack.”
“For your information, my younger sister is very beautiful!”
The prince brought this up out of nowhere.
“If it’s you, I can introduce her with confidence! Just say the word, anytime!”
“A princess…?”
He would show him a princess?
A princess was…
He had no interest in introductions or anything, but he was a little curious about what she looked like.
Maru thought briefly, then broke into a wide grin.
“Then shall we go?”
Sightseeing princesses from each country would make for an interesting story to boast about somewhere later on.
With that thought, out of mere interest, he followed Edward.
“But you handle the achievements yourself. I’ll just see the princess and leave right away.”
“If that is truly how you feel, it can’t be helped. It’s regrettable, but I understand.”
“I left home after telling my mother that I would accomplish great deeds. Please understand.”
“What? Very well, leave it to me! I shall help keep that vow you made to your mother!”
The two headed toward where the stagecoaches were.
The bright sun shone down on the path they had taken.
***
When Maru had first arrived in this other world.
In his teens.
“Mother. Isn’t there a princess in our kingdom? We have everything else, but I don’t see a princess anywhere.”
The Queen caressed young Maru’s cheek with a benevolent smile.
“Why would there be no princess? She’s right in front of you. Mother is a princess, you know. Before I became Queen, I was called Princess.”
At that, Maru scrunched up his face.
“Ugh, Mother is an old princess. I want to see a young, pretty princess, not an old one. Huh…? Why are you crying all of a sudden?”
A few days later.
Maru, having changed into commoner clothes and strolling through the market, happened to discover a beggar girl asking for alms.
He ran straight up to her.
“Hey! You!”
“Me…?”
“Yeah, you! I’ve never seen anyone in this castle with such dark, jet-black hair like mine. Be my little sister!”
“Little sister…?”
“Yeah! Your nickname from now on is Princess. Got it?”
“I’m only doing this because I’m hungry, so if you just give me a penny, I’ll do it. Your little sister…”
This was the first meeting between Maru and Kiera.
It had now become a memory that neither of them wished to remember.