The next morning, the four members of the hero’s party emerged from their doors with peculiar expressions.

“Hm…”

“Haha…”

“Something feels off.”

“Yeah, I feel the same. It’s like…”

They felt none of the usual fatigue that comes with outdoor camping. And why would they? They had slept in rooms with hot water and soft beds, almost no different from the inn they’d stayed at before.

The person responsible for their comfort, however, was still behind her closed door.

“Is this some kind of magic? I feel like something is surrounding us.”

“No wonder it felt so strange—it was magic all along.”

On top of that, there seemed to be a specially designed magic circle protecting them. Truth be told, it was way too comfortable.

No matter how heroic the party was, they were still human. They wanted to sleep in a more comfortable place and avoid taking night watches whenever possible.

That’s why the small, white-haired mage’s magical rooms were so appealing to them. But precisely because they were so comfortable, they couldn’t rely on them anymore.

“…I’ll be camping outside from tonight.”

“As much as I’d love to sleep like that every night, it’ll ruin us if we get too used to it.”

The hero’s party operates day and night without rest. Monsters are active at all hours, and even higher beings like demons follow the same pattern.

“Hmm, maybe we should take turns using it once every few days? It feels like a waste not to use it at all…”

“We shouldn’t have accepted Louis’ keys in the first place.”

That one night—when the hero’s party abandoned their usual watch duties and camped in luxury—had left a lasting impression. The comfort was too tempting, and the promise of never using the rooms again seemed impossible to keep.

“…Well, we should start getting ready.”

“Right.”

Lafiré took on the task of waking up the mage. The others handled breakfast preparation, reconnaissance, and organizing supplies.

Knock, knock.

“Yesss…?”

“Louis, breakfast is ready.”

“Mmm…”

“Uh, uh. Louis, your clothes.”

“Oh.”

Lafiré quickly pushed Louis back into her room after realizing she had come out in her pajamas. Thanks to her quick thinking, a repeat of the previous accident was avoided. The hero’s party had now fully grasped that their formidable mage was terrible at mornings.

“Haaa…”

The white-haired mage continued yawning until the hero helped her onto the horse once again.

Today was going to be busy. Not only did I need to finish the research on the gravity-reduction enchantment I’d been working on since yesterday, but I also had to prepare for the event that Lafiré was eagerly awaiting. On top of that, there was a task I needed to handle in the village we were heading to.

‘If this isn’t what it means to be a career woman, I don’t know what is.’

Besides my appearance and personality, I was no different from a cold, urban woman. Leaning against the hero’s arm, I scribbled down equations for the enchantment with my pen.

‘The next item to make should be shoes.’

The gravity-reduction enchantment would be best applied to shoes. The examples I had given the hero would also be most effective when applied to footwear.

‘I’ll need to check their feet.’

Unlike gloves, shoes require checking the user’s foot size and shape. Since feet bear most of the body’s weight during long travels, it’s crucial to ensure the shoes fit perfectly to prevent injuries.

“Hero.”

“Hm? What’s up?”

“Show me your feet later.”

“…My feet?”

“Yes, I need them for something.”

Although the hero didn’t reply, I took his silence as a sign of agreement and flipped to the next page of my notebook. The other heroines would likely show me their feet if I asked, so checking them wouldn’t be an issue.

‘Maybe I’ll design the shoes to match the gloves.’

Although making shoes is more complicated than gloves, the process can be streamlined with enchantments. Since I took on this body, one of the best things I’ve noticed is my improved sense of aesthetics.

Thanks to that, none of the items I’ve made ended up being “functional but ugly.” If that had been the case, I would’ve needed to hire a personal designer to carry around.

“Hero, we’re almost there. I can see the terrain from the request.”

At Aria’s words, I glanced up. The road still stretched across a vast plain, but a mountain loomed in the distance.

Considering that the village that sent the request, Intrel, was located on the mountainside, it seemed we were getting close.

Creaaaak.

The four of them seemed to be slowing down, so I shifted my position in the saddle.

“Louis, we’re about to run.”

“Yes.”

With that, the pounding of hooves echoed as the horses sped forward, shaking the ground beneath us. As expected of the horse gifted to the hero by the emperor—it ran swiftly yet smoothly, and my seat didn’t hurt much even at this pace.

Soon, the mountain became clearer, and we saw the small village come into view.

Intrel Village.
Located between the southwestern and southern parts of the empire, it acted as a mid-point between the southern plains and the western territories.

Thanks to its location, the village had several inns and restaurants catering to travelers, including adventurers and mercenaries. However, despite the presence of such groups, the village had requested the hero’s party for help because of a special situation.

‘Wasn’t there a conscription order issued in the west?’

This was because of the Twilight Citadel, which I had mentioned before. Currently, that area was overrun with monsters.

As a result, many villages and towns had been suffering, and adventurers and mercenaries were flocking there. So why hadn’t the hero’s party gone straight to the citadel?

For one, the adventurers and mercenaries were already dealing with the immediate threats. But more importantly, the monster population near Intrel was growing at an alarming rate. The noble in charge of the Twilight Citadel had also sent a letter saying, [We’re fine for now.], allowing us to focus here.

“Oh, Hero!”

“It’s the village chief. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Thank you so much! It’s been so dark and hopeless, with even the children forced to ration water…”

“We’ll take care of it, so don’t worry.”

The hero gave them a reassuring smile. Just that small gesture seemed to bring the villagers more hope than winning a battle.

‘Is this what it means to be a hero?’

One smile, and both heroines and extras alike were entranced. Honestly, it was almost suspicious, making me wonder if he had incubus blood. But since there was no such description in the novel, he was just a pure human.

“Everyone, gather up. Let’s discuss the plan.”

At the hero’s call, the four of us gathered around him. The five of us entered the chief’s house to hold a meeting.

I pulled out my notebook and pen to take notes, then projected a semi-transparent map into the air and waited for the hero to speak.

“The village guards have identified two main types of monsters: goblins and orcs.”

“They’re not particularly tough.”

“Right. But there are too many for the villagers to handle. At some point, their numbers grew too quickly for them to manage.”

I marked the monster den on the map based on the hero’s information. The others were initially surprised by the floating map, but soon nodded in understanding as they examined it.

“Thanks, Louis. This is their base. But there could be more scattered around. After all, this was discovered about a week ago.”

In that time, the villagers hadn’t been able to scout the area properly. Goblins and orcs are notorious for multiplying rapidly, so there was a high chance their numbers had increased since the last sighting.

‘If we had been any later, the village might’ve been under attack.’

Once monsters reach the limits of their territory, they start hunting for new food and land, attacking anything nearby. It was likely they would’ve launched an attack tonight or tomorrow night. The animals near the river were probably already dead.

“We’ll prioritize exterminating the monsters. But we also need to defend the village. Everyone clear?”

“Yes. Even if goblins and orcs are weak monsters, they’re still dangerous.”

“The river is on the opposite side of the mountain from the village, and it flows north to south. The monster den is here, so their attack route will likely be…”

As the hero continued, I added lines to the map, refining our strategy.

“To thoroughly eliminate them, we should attack from two sides. Aswell, you’ll start here, and I’ll take the plains…”

“Since your view will be limited in the mountains, I’ll wait and intercept any stragglers heading toward the village…”

As the three main attackers discussed strategy, Aria and I quietly listened. This battle wasn’t particularly difficult, but it would take time. As a result, Aria, the saintess, wouldn’t be needed much.

Thanks to the gloves I’d given them, even the risk of minor injuries was low, so she wouldn’t have much to do. Aware of this, Aria offered to stay behind in the village.

“I’ll make some holy water and potions for you all. It’s probably better if I stay and help the villagers.”

“That would be helpful, thank you.”

Finally, everyone turned their attention to me. The hero asked:

“Louis, what about you? You can come with us or stay here.”

“With just the three of you, you’ll be able to take care of all the monsters.”

“I’ll stay.”

“Alright then. Let’s all prepare and meet at the village entrance.”

With that, the three of them left the house, determination on their faces.

“I’ll head to the clinic. It seems like there are many elderly patients here.”

“Okay.”

In an instant, all four of them had left. Now alone in the house, I sat down for a moment before opening the door to my lab and stepping inside.

I rummaged through a pile of magical tools until I found two metal rods. Each rod was small and L-shaped, with various enchantments engraved on them. They were about the size of a ruler and could easily be mistaken for switches or batons.

“Hmm, how do you activate these again?”

I couldn’t quite remember how to turn them on, as I had made them a long time ago. Maybe they needed to be hit to activate? Or perhaps twisted like a switch?

Crack.

“...Twisting was not the right method.”

I tossed the broken rod back into the lab and grabbed a new one. Then I began hitting it, causing glowing blue characters to slowly appear and swirl around the rod.

The rod started to spin on its own, before finally pointing in a specific direction—the opposite side of the mountain, toward the plains.

“So, that’s where you’re hiding.”

Now, I was off to catch a rat. A rat hiding near the hero’s party, one that wouldn’t provide any growth or lessons even if they managed to catch it.

Creak. Creak.

Holding the slowly moving rod in both hands, I followed its lead toward the direction it pointed.