Chapter 5: I Became the Girlfriend of a Hero!

Chapter 5: I Became the Girlfriend of a Hero!

ELIAS procured a small bottle of whale oil from the leather bag he had set aside. He dripped the oil into a small dish he had laid out and immersed a dry thread in it. Then he pulled a small metal board from the bag and laid it flat on the ground. The surface of the board was engraved with a magic circle that activated fire-based Lunar Magic—another one of his handy magic charms.

He picked up the oil-soaked thread and placed it on top of the board. The magic circle sparked red and an open-air fire erupted from the board.

“Great! I lit it on my first try!”

Pretty skilled of me, if I do say so myself!

Reveling in his awesome fire-starting skills, Elias stared at the swaying flames on top of the board as he became lost in thought. His mind filled with the memory of touching Aki only minutes prior. He had embraced her slender body, told her he loved her, and then stole her lips—

“Hey, Elias?”

“UWAH?! Y-Yes, m’lady?!” Red from head to toe from having the woman whose kiss he was reliving call out to him in that exact moment, Elias awkwardly turned toward her.

After their sweet moment together, he had asked her to dry off and squeeze the excess water weighing down her clothes behind a large boulder, so he assumed she had just returned from doing that, but…the second he saw what she was—or rather wasn’t—wearing, he accidentally let the bottle of whale oil slip from his hand onto the hard ground. He paid no heed to the small bottle rolling away as his eyes fixed on the woman sashaying toward him.

“Aki…why are you dressed like that…?” he croaked. That was about all he could manage to say.

Aki had wrapped the large white blanket around her body like a strapless dress, exposing her bare legs and shoulders. Were her clothes too wet to put back on? In her hands she carried her neatly folded suit.

Elias froze without breathing, his full attention held captive by her elegant curves and lithe frame.

This outfit is extremely over stimulating for me right now!

Whether she realized what he was thinking or not, Aki padded over to him with her bare feet and apologetically dipped her head. “I-I’m sorry for the unseemly display… I tried slipping my wet clothes back on, but it was too cold and sticky…” She fidgeted and restlessly darted her eyes around the underground cavern.

Elias struggled to make eye contact with her as well, bending over to pick up the fallen bottle as an excuse to look away. He couldn’t help thinking about the sweet moment he had confessed his feelings to her and that only added to his embarrassment.

After all, the woman who had been a dear party member to him transformed into a very special person in his life the moment he had laid his affections bare. That mysterious and giddy change left him confused over how to interact with her now.

He stole a peek at her as she stood there fidgeting, revealing the luscious curves of her feminine physique. Perverted reasons aside, he honestly thought she was gorgeous. She was just so incredibly attractive he wished she wouldn’t show this side of herself to anyone else.

Going along with that impulse, Elias hovered slightly off his perch on the ground and pulled Aki to him by the wrist.

“Whoa! Elias, what’s—”

“D-Don’t let anyone else…” Kneeling, he squeezed Aki to his chest when she fell toward him, and mustered his courage to whisper huskily in her ear, “…Please don’t let anyone else but me see you dressed like that…”

So embarrassing! He was the one who whispered those words, but he was so embarrassed his voice quivered. But he wanted her, the woman who made him feel alive with love, to know that he didn’t want her showing off her feminine beauty in front of other men.

Because…Aki is my girl now.

Never harboring any affection or attachment to anything in his life before left Elias baffled over his own possessiveness. He didn’t know how to handle these new and foreign feelings.

He didn’t want his feelings to limit her freedom, bother her, or hurt her in any way. Essentially, he didn’t want her to hate him for it.

That said, he also wanted her to only see him, to be his and his alone if she’d allow it. …Is this what it means to be selfish?

What did it mean to be selfish? Living as the selfless hero gave him no experience with such emotions and concepts. Experiencing these feelings for the first time made it hard to know how to control and regulate them. Did loving someone always involve such strong and powerful emotions?

He could hear Aki’s racing heartbeat as she let him hug her close. Both of them were aware of the other as someone they were romantically interested in and felt nervous for it.

Taking what he said at face value, Aki lifted her big, round eyes to meet his and gave a small nod. “S-Sorry, Elias. I won’t—”　

Elias pressed his lips a tad forcefully against hers, swallowing the rest of what she had to say. Her eyes widened to the size of the full moon. He placed his head on her shoulder.

“…I’m the one who’s sorry, Aki. I think…I’m so madly in love with you that I’m not sure what to do with myself or these feelings…” he honestly spilled his guts.

He wanted her all to himself but didn’t want to smother her with his love till she came to despise him. So the question was: just how much should he ask of her? The answer eluded him as it was his first time experiencing love. At his wits’ end, he stared at her and she responded by laughing out loud.

“Uh? Why are you laughing, Aki?”

Had he asked something worthy of being laughed at? Did he make a foolish mistake along the way?

Aki laughed even more when he stared blankly at her and reached out to pat him on the head as if comforting a child.

“Elias, it’s the same for me. I’ve had these feelings bottled up for you for so long that now that our feelings are mutual, I’m so nervous I’m not sure how to behave… You see, I forced myself to believe that you were forever out of my reach because you’re the Hero, the legendary champion admired by all. I’m just thrilled beyond words that we can be this close now!” She rubbed her cheek lovingly against his and smiled blissfully.

Her adorable gesture drew a full smile from him. “I see. Aki, I love you.”

“I-I love you too! You really are so handsome and cool, Elias, I still can’t believe that you’re my boy…boyfriend now.” Aki studied his Adonic face before bashfully averting her eyes.

He watched her and chuckled. “I feel the same way about you.”

It’s like a dream to learn the woman I’ve been pining after all this time feels the same way about me, and has become my girlfriend! After all, I thought I’d walk the road of life all alone.

Aki fidgeted shyly as she watched the fire sway in front of them. Elias loosened his hold on her and directed his attention toward the dancing flames as well.

He was ecstatic they had come to the point in their relationship where they felt the same about each other, but he felt equally anxious. Perhaps he should consult her about his peculiar circumstances before things went too far. She deserved to know, even if it led to her hating him.

Elias pulled himself together, pressed his forehead against Aki’s back, dropped his gaze to the ground, and muttered, “…Aki? I’m scared. Is it truly all right for me to be in a relationship with you? I’m, well, an artificial life created by the Goddess—I’m not even sure if you can consider me human. Not to mention, there’s no guarantee what will happen to this life of mine at the end of the battle with the Dark Lord. Plus, you and I are literally from different worlds. When I start to think about all those things, I start to grow more and more afraid and anxious that I won’t be able to make you happy.”

I love Aki more than anyone else, but there are so many obstacles we must overcome to be together, I worry about the suffering she’ll go through to be with me. There are so many indefinite factors like will we always be able to stay together in the future?

After maintaining her silence for a few long moments, Aki gingerly pulled away from Elias, then slapped both hands lightly against his cheeks. A dry thwack echoed through the cavern, leaving Elias more confused than ever by her actions.

“O-Ow! What was that for—”

“Listen up, buster!” She looked up at him imploringly. “It’s important to think about the future, but if that’s all you think about, you’ll end up overlooking and losing out on what’s important in the present. I love you, you love me, and we both want to be together. So we need to put those feelings first and foremost. Any obstacles we come across while we’re together can be tackled by us as a couple! We’re the best possible partner for each other, and don’t you forget it! Okay?” Aki held up her fists and flashed a winning grin.

Elias stared back at her with his mouth slightly ajar before letting a smile replace his stern expression. He nodded deeply in agreement with her.

Aki always helps me when I’m at my most pathetic… She encourages and comforts me every step of the way. I’m positive having her by my side will keep me as a hero who never takes the wrong path. She makes me believe I can become strong enough not to lose to anyone. I’m so glad I met Aki.

Was the Hero’s Right-hand chosen based on them possessing personality traits the Hero lacked? Did Aki’s presence in his life help solidify his resolve to fulfill his duty as the world’s hero? The Goddess seemed to have picked the perfect partners from another world to motivate her creations.

Aki hopped to her feet, turned her back to Elias, sat down between his knees, and leaned her back against his chest. “Hehehe! So warm!” she giggled with absolute satisfaction.

Elias wrapped his arms around her and clasped his hands in front of her, then rested his head on the back of her shoulder. “You seem to be enjoying yourself, Aki.”

“I sure am! I’m just so happy. On that note, what should we do next, Elias? We fell off course because I literally fell, right?” Aki hung her head and glanced at Elias’s handsome side profile resting on her shoulder.

He lightly shook his head and pulled the map Mina had drawn for him out of a nearby bag. Then he put his hands back around her waist and spread out the map on her lap so she could see it too.

“That’s not necessarily true. This is likely the straight path Mina and Louis are taking, and since we fell straight down from there, I’d say this is where we are now,” Elias tapped the spot with his finger. “I believe we just have to head north from here without thinking about it too much. Knowing Mina and Louis, they’ll continue forward, trusting in our ability to find our way there. So if we head toward our final destination, we should bump into them on the way.”

Skilled adventurers that they were, they wouldn’t waste time trying to find a path into the gutter or return to the entrance. In all likelihood, they were pushing ahead with the objective of meeting up at their final destination.

Both Mina and Louis had said they spent the majority of their time solo leveling, so they were more than capable of advancing into a dungeon after getting separated from their party members.

Aki nodded thoughtfully along with Elias’s plan. “I see. So basically, we just have to take the underground route to our destination because Louis and Mina will be headed there on the main route.”

“That’s right. Our party got separated, but both pairs are high enough level to advance inside without much issue. We should avoid monsters as much as we can to save our strength while progressing deeper into the dungeon.”

Mina and Louis should have been cutting a path to the quest destination all this time, so Elias and Aki had no time to waste in catching up to them. Passing each other along the way would only drag things out even more.

“All right, shall we get going soon? Are you warmed up now, Aki?” Elias worriedly asked from behind her.

Aki smiled brighter than the sun and sprung to her feet. “Yep! I’m warmed up both in body and soul! Well, it’s kind of weird to say this now, but I’m looking forward to our future together as boyfriend and girlfriend!” Flushing, she bowed her head to him.

Somehow standing close and gazing into each other’s eyes added a realness to their new relationship.

Aki is my girlfriend, and I’m Aki’s boyfriend. He was only repeating what was now a fact, but the giddiness didn’t seem like it was going to fade any time soon.

He put his right hand on her cheek and gently lifted her chin. “I’m also looking forward to our future together.”

I promise I’ll make you happy.

She closed her eyes and Elias gently kissed her lips, believing in their blissful future together.