Rapirye.

You would need to add several more words to truly describe her, but this is how the hero and the others called her.

Rapirye, the mischievous princess of the noble elven kingdom of Yggdrasil. Compared to the hero and the others, she had a more active and outgoing personality.

Even though she joined the party later than the saint and the knight, she always took the lead when it came to new party members.

"No matter how much of a leader you are, you should’ve consulted us first!"

The first to speak was the elf. The next to speak was the saint.

"Hmm, the hero did say we needed a magician… but I didn’t expect to meet one this quickly."

The saint exchanged puzzled glances with the elf archer and the knight. Her name was Aria, the only member of the party who had been with the hero from the beginning of his journey.

So, if we were ranking the heroines, she had spent the most time with the hero.

"Rapirye, calm down. Aswel must have had his reasons. Of course, they need to be reasons we can agree with."

The last to speak, leaning against the wall with a cold gaze, was the female knight.

Serlyn Kint. A distinguished knight who became a minor noble through her merits and was even the hero's first teacher. Among the heroines, she was the one who displayed the most seniority in the party.

"If there's even one thing we don’t like about this, we’ll oppose it!"

"Calm down, Rie. I’ll explain everything."

Ah, the king of the harem, indeed. Pet names rolled off his tongue like second nature. Rapirye immediately calmed down.

"Ugh."

"So, Louis? Is it alright if I go talk with my comrades for a bit?"

"Sure. Take your time."

Once the hero had accepted me, there was no way they’d separate from me now. After all, there was a heroine who faced even stronger opposition than I was currently facing and still ended up in the party.

Even though neither the heroines nor the hero particularly wanted her, she still joined the party in the end. And me? I had already proven my worth. There was no way the heroines could stop me from joining.

While the hero took the three of them upstairs, I summoned a pen from the dimensional space and sat in a chair. Since the conversation would likely take a while, I figured I might as well continue my research.

"Alright, let’s skip this section and move on to the next equation needed for the next phase…"

The glowing letters followed the movement of my pen through the air. Soon, the sounds of the outside world faded, and I was fully immersed in my work.

Saint Aria. Elf princess Rapirye. Knight Serlyn.

Though they came from different backgrounds, had different personalities, and even looked different, they shared one thing in common: all three of them were in love with Aswel, the hero.

Sadly, Aswel was completely oblivious to their feelings. Despite this, none of them had given up. Over time, the three of them realized each other’s intentions and made a promise.

—There may be new members joining the party in the future, but let’s make sure we don’t fight among ourselves.

After all, this party had been formed to defeat the Demon King and his forces. If they let love tear the party apart, the one who would suffer the most would be none other than Aswel, the hero.

Thus, the three of them maintained a delicate alliance while each trying to win Aswel’s heart.

And then, it finally happened.

A new member appeared.

The moment they saw the new girl claiming to be a magician, the three heroines couldn’t hide their shock.

"Aswel, before we talk, I have a question."

"What is it?"

"You… don’t have a thing for… smaller sizes, do you?"

Compared to the three heroines, who all had impressive figures, the new magician was notably smaller in that regard.

→ The hero hadn’t noticed any of the three’s affections. → Was there something about us that didn’t appeal to him? → A new member has joined… but she’s small? → Wait, did Aswel personally bring her in? Could it be…?

After deliberating dozens of scenarios, the three heroines came to one conclusion:

Could the hero have a preference for… that?

If that were true, the three of them had no chance from the start.

They watched Aswel intently, filled with nervous anticipation.

"What do you mean, smaller sizes? What are you talking about?"

"Well… it’s just…"

"But first of all, I didn’t personally bring Louis here. She found me while I was accepting a request and asked to join the party."

"So, you didn’t go looking for her?"

"Uh… right? I didn’t know Louis before today."

"Oh… I see…"

The three of them let out a collective sigh of relief. Though nothing had been confirmed, they were at least glad to learn that Aswel didn’t have a specific “preference.”

"…But that only makes it more confusing. Serlyn, Rapirye, and I have known each other for a long time and have built up trust and skills together."

Aria glanced worriedly at Aswel. She was concerned about the fundamental qualities a new party member should have—trust and skill.

"Aria’s right, Aswel. This time, you acted too hastily."

In the end, they would have to reach the Demon King’s castle. While they had grown tremendously over the past year, that growth had only been possible because of their talents and abilities.

Serlyn, who had been Aswel’s teacher, pointed out his misstep.

Faced with the combined looks of concern and distrust from the three, Aswel smiled gently.

"I understand your worries. After fighting alongside you for a year, how could I not?"

Then why can’t you understand our feelings!

The three of them barely held back the urge to scream.

"But despite that, I had a reason for bringing Louis in so quickly, without even asking for your opinions."

"And what reason is that?"

"As I was talking to Louis, she did something that made me realize something."

Aswel recalled the moment. To Louis, it had been a completely mundane action, as easy as breathing, but to him, it had been nothing short of astonishing.

"You all know about dimensional spaces, right?"

"The space within a space? A small pocket dimension?"

Rapirye, who had the most knowledge of magic among the three, answered.

"Exactly. Rie, can you explain it to the others?"

"Uh, sure~ Simply put, it’s a magical space that only the caster can access. The form of the space can vary depending on the caster’s preference."

"But… so what? Is it a difficult spell?"

"It’s… not easy. You need to reach a certain level of understanding about space in order to use it. But, Aswel, dimensional spaces alone aren’t enough to judge someone’s skill."

Creating a dimensional space is a difficult spell, but it’s not something only a handful of magicians can do.

If we made dimensional space a requirement to recruit magicians, we’d be flooded with applications.

Aswel, however, still wore an incredulous expression as he recalled the event.

"Rie, you’re right. Dimensional space is fairly common. But Louis didn’t cast a magic circle or chant any incantations."

"…What?"

"She just flicked her hand, and the space opened. Inside was a vast storage filled with magical tools. She didn’t even break a sweat."

"…That’s impossible, isn’t it?"

"Uh… I’m no expert in magic, but don’t you need to chant or use a circle to cast something like that?"

Even Aria, who had little knowledge of magic, couldn’t believe it. So it was only natural that Rapirye, who understood magic better, froze in place.

A dimensional space cast without a necessary magic circle or incantation? If that were true, then what about the other magic Louis could use? And what about all the magical tools she had in there?

Rapirye swallowed nervously. She had already started to feel the strain of being the sole long-range support for the party.

"Louis said she wouldn’t be able to provide the large-scale firepower we needed, but she did say she could maintain our weapons and equipment."

"It’s true… my armor has felt tighter lately…"

Serlyn adjusted her armor and thought of the magician below. Could that delicate girl really maintain equipment like a blacksmith? It was hard to imagine.

"So… Louis came all this way just to help us?"

"No. She had three conditions for joining as a member."

Three conditions?

Rapirye, who had been silent for a moment, finally spoke up.

"I knew it! She wants something! Obviously, she must have some ulterior motive toward Aswel…!"

"She wants the byproducts from the monsters we kill. Oh, and she also asked not to be assigned cooking or night watch duty."

"…Oh."

With that, Aswel cleared his throat, drawing the attention of all three.

"After watching her use magic, I felt it. We need Louis in our party. If we bring her in, our journey will go more smoothly."

His blue eyes filled with determination. Faced with those eyes, no one could object.

"Well… if you put it like that…"

"You are our leader, after all…"

"I’ll keep an eye on her."

Satisfied that the discussion was over, Aswel flashed a cheerful smile and thanked them.

"Thank you!"

The four of them went down the stairs to share the news with Louis, who was waiting below.

"Louis, we’ve convinced them! From now on, you’re officially part of the party…"

"...What the…"

What they saw when they reached the bottom of the stairs stopped them in their tracks.

A girl with long, snow-white hair, wearing a robe that seemed too large for her small frame, was sitting at a desk, fast asleep with an ornate pen still in her hand.

But it wasn’t her that had drawn their attention. Above her head, hundreds of glowing golden letters floated in the air, forming dozens of sentences.

Among the swirling letters were various tools and materials floating around, merging and separating, crafting something in the middle.

It was nothing short of a surreal scene. The four of them had thought magic was just about summoning elements to attack enemies, but this completely shattered their understanding.

Meanwhile, the girl who seemed to be responsible for creating this scene was fast asleep.

When the magic made a soft, refreshing sound, the girl slowly woke up, rubbed her eyes, and looked at the four of them, speaking in a casual tone.

"Have you finished your conversation?"