Volume 4 Chapter 38 The Oath of the Hero
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The night spent at the orphanage attached to the church.
The children were already asleep.
From the back room, soft, peaceful breathing could be heard.
Lifia, Kéa, and Yomi were sleeping with the children.
The children had firmly pinned them down on either side, forcing them to sleep together.
Meanwhile, Tifi, and the priest continued talking while sipping tea.
The tea was from a ‘Love Hotel’ brand.
A calming, pleasant scent filled the room.
In the soft glow of the lamp, he started the conversation.
”So, Tifi. I’m sure you’ve got something important to tell me, right?”
”Ah, you can tell?”
The priest set his cup down gently, asking with a soft smile. Tifi smiled back, a little embarrassed.
”Of course. You’ve always tried to tell me good news with that face of yours.”
The priest smiled, nostalgically, as if recalling old memories.
”…As expected, Father. Actually…”
”No, Tifi. Let me speak first.”
I cut off Tifi’s words.
”Well, um… Tifi and I, we got married.”
In that instant, the priest’s eyes went wide.
”…I see, I see!”
Then he smiled brightly.
”Tifi, you were so small back then… and now, you’ve reached that age…”
His joy was deep, almost like a proud parent.
No, he had raised Tifi.
His happiness was completely natural.
”Yes, after I came back here, Mr. Taro helped me. And I realized I wanted to be with him.”
”I see… Congratulations, Tifi.”
He looked at Tifi, offering his blessings.
”Father… thank you so much.”
Tifi blushed, wiping away a tear.
”Well then, Mr. Taro.”
”Yes.”
I firmly shook his hand and said.
”Please, take care of Tifi.”
”Yes, of course. I’ll protect her with everything I have.”
That’s when it hit me.
Right, there was something I still regretted about my marriage with her.
”…We still haven’t had the wedding ceremony yet.”
In this world, commoners don’t really have proper weddings.
They just gather their close ones and share a meal.
Lifia and Tifi say that’s fine with them.
Still, I want to do something a little more proper.
That’s how I feel.
When I told them, the priest’s eyes lit up, and he immediately made a suggestion.
”In that case, how about holding the ceremony here at the church? No, please, let me arrange it… Ah, I remember, Tifi once said if you ever married, you’d want it to be here.”
”Father, that’s an old story…”
Tifi blushed and shyly looked away──she was so cute.
”We’re happy to help. It’s not possible right away, but we’ll get it done soon, I promise.”
”Of course. Let us bless you both. The children will be overjoyed, too.”
The conversation continued as the night grew late.
For her, for our wedding, and for our new life, I have to stop the stampede.
I swore that to myself.
* * *
The next day, Kéa sets off again.
She leaves early in the morning.
Heading towards the ‘Shadow Forest’, where a stampede is expected.
”I’m off!”
Kéa says with a smile, then runs off.
She cuts through the wind, disappearing from sight in an instant──so reliable.
Once Kéa arrives at the ‘Shadow Forest’, we can warp there using the ‘Love Hotel’ function.
We can move quickly to stop the stampede.
But our real priority is the town of Saoriba.
The town where Tifi’s family lives.
This is the final defense line.
If we can, we want to hold the line at the front.
I don’t want monsters to get any closer.
Further west, near the ‘Shadow Forest’, there are villages and towns──we’d like to save them if we can.
Honestly, I don’t like doing anything that benefits the kingdom.
The royals summoned me, then exiled me.
But the people who live here aren’t at fault.
They’re just living normal lives.
If I can, I want to help them.
Within my abilities, of course.
After seeing Kéa off, we continue gathering information in the town of Saoriba.
The town was already buzzing with activity.
The streets were bustling with more people than usual, carts rolling by without a break, merchants’ voices flying all around.
”Just as I thought, there’s a lot more movement. I’ve never seen the town like this.”
Tifi scans the town with a serious look.
Indeed, thanks to the spread of Speed’s info, prices had skyrocketed.
Especially food that could be preserved──prices were jumping, making it hard for commoners to afford.
I decided to donate food to the church.
I picked stuff that seemed like it’d keep from what I bought in Dungeon City and the ‘Love Hotel’ goods.
The ‘Love Hotel’ even sold popular snacks like sticks and calorie-friends.
For now, this should keep the kids from going hungry.
But there’s something to watch out for.
The ‘Love Hotel’ goods come in packages with Japanese writing.
If the other heroes saw that, there’s a risk my abilities could be exposed.
I’d rather avoid that.
So I asked the priest to handle and dispose of those packages.
That should keep any extra info from getting out.
”Mr. Taro, this food… what on earth…? No, never mind. Thank you so much, really.”
”It’s for Tifi’s family. Of course I would.”
I reply to the priest’s words of gratitude.
This is Tifi’s home, they’re her family.
I’ll do whatever I can.
It’s only natural.
As I was doing that, the day turned to dusk.
Then I got a call from Kéa.
A ring in my head.
One of the ‘Love Hotel’ abilities, the intercom function.
’Milord── It’s Kéa! I’ve reached the ‘Shadow Forest’!’
Kéa’s lively voice comes through.
She made it in a day.
That’s Kéa for you.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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