It was a more exhausting morning than usual. And I wasn’t the only one feeling that way.

"I told you not to overdo it."

"Haha, sorry…"

The Hero, sporting deep dark circles, gave a sheepish smile. Serlin, with a sly grin, poked his side playfully, strengthening their bond.

The other two members of the party exchanged knowing glances, silently envying the ease of Serlin's relationship with the Hero. As for me… I was standing there, barely managing to stay upright, on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion.

"Louis, are you alright?"

"Ugh."

"What’s up with you? You didn’t get any sleep either? Just hang on a bit longer. We’re leaving soon."

"You didn’t get any sleep either"? That made it sound like I, just like the Hero, had stupidly stayed up all night thinking of ways to restore trust. I wasn’t like that idiot. And said idiot was carefully avoiding looking in my direction.

Still, the undeniable fact was that I was sleepy. In the end, I couldn’t hold back the drowsiness and felt myself swaying, my eyelids drooping.

"Louis."

The Hero’s voice, distant a moment ago, suddenly sounded right next to me, but I couldn’t be bothered to respond. Right now, sleep was more important.

. . .

"…Huh?"

"You’re awake?"

A strange ceiling… no, it was a familiar sky. And a familiar face, a familiar angle, a familiar position.

That’s right. At some point, I had ended up riding on horseback, nestled in the Hero’s arms.

"Ugh… My head…"

I reached out, summoned water from one of my magic spaces, and took a sip. The ice-cold water instantly cooled my overheated body, waking me up.

"…How long have we been traveling?"

"About an hour."

That wasn’t too long, but considering we were moving, I had gotten a decent nap. Fortunately, we were still far from the flower field where Lapirie needed help.

Last time, we had moved quickly due to the urgent situation in the village, but now there was no need for haste. Even the white horse was walking at a leisurely pace.

"Since everyone worked hard yesterday, we’re taking it slow today."

"Then why not leave tomorrow?"

"We’re going slow, but if we left tomorrow, we’d arrive late at the next stop."

"Makes sense."

After that, silence fell between us. I wasn’t much of a talker to begin with, but the Hero was different.

Normally, he would ask questions the moment I showed any sign of doing something. But now, even when I glanced at him, he only avoided my gaze without responding.

I wondered why he was acting this way, and then I remembered what had happened yesterday. He must have spent all night training after hearing I had fought an orc.

"…Hero."

"…Huh?"

"Do you feel guilty toward me or something?"

"…"

So it was true.

I was somewhat shocked by this realization. I mean, sure, I had introduced myself as a support mage rather than a combatant, but to be treated as if fighting an orc was something I should fear, as if I needed to prepare for a bloody deathmatch… that was insulting!

The mess they’d seen me in was just from tripping into a ditch, not from the fight with the demon, where I didn’t get so much as a scratch. The robe I wore only activated its defenses against hostile intent or when I willed it, not against mundane things like ditches.

"Hero."

"…Yeah?"

"I wasn’t hurt. The reason I looked so bad yesterday was because I tripped into a ditch, that’s all."

"You don’t have to pretend for my sake, Louis."

What? Pretend?

"Hero, do you like the gloves I gave you?"

"Of course! They were so useful in yesterday’s battle."

"Those gloves contain more than ten different magic spells. Do you really think I wouldn’t include magic for my own defense?"

"…"

"I introduced myself as a support mage because my magic is primarily for support and crafting. But if I want to, I can use it for combat, too."

A scythe used for cutting grass can be turned into a weapon if swung at a person. Take the drill I made, for example—I had originally crafted it to dig tunnels, but it ended up killing a demon.

"So please, don’t feel bad because I had to deal with a single orc. That would just be an insult to me."

"…!"

Imagine if word of this situation spread.

The mage of the Hero’s party fought an orc and came back all beaten up. The Hero, feeling guilty, trained day and night to become even more perfect.

People who didn’t know the full story would think:

-How did that mage even get into the Hero’s party when they struggle with an orc? -The Hero shouldn’t have let someone like that into the party. -If the Hero’s too tired in an important battle because of this, what then?

"I… didn’t think of that."

This is why being too emotional and overly considerate of your comrades can backfire. It could lead to unexpected complications. The Hero moved with the trust of many people, so the consequences were even greater.

'Better not mention the demon.'

Trying to prove my strength could lead to the others being called in, and before I knew it, there’d be a full-blown hearing. It was more important to establish trust based on the facts at hand for now.

"Hero, take my hand."

To earn his full trust, I decided to show him how much mana I possessed.

'Technically, it’s not all my mana, but still.'

But since I could use it, I figured it counted as mine. I extended my hand confidently, imagining the Hero’s surprised face when he saw the amount of mana I had.

"…Uh, huh?"

The Hero acted strangely, avoiding my gaze for some reason. Wondering what was going on, I grabbed the reins and then took his hand myself, interlocking our fingers.

This was the best way to directly show someone your mana.

'And none of the other heroines will notice.'

They were either dozing off on their horses or checking their equipment—busy with their own tasks. For me, this was just a small act to build trust, but for the other heroines, it could easily lead to misunderstandings, so I had to be cautious.

"Uh, well…"

"What’s wrong?"

"N-nothing. So… why are we holding hands?"

"I want to earn your trust."

With those words, I closed my eyes and channeled the mana circulating through my body into our joined hands. To make up for any possible deficiency in the mana stored in my body, I drew from the devices linked to my internal mana circle.

The Hero’s expression shifted from slight confusion to outright shock.

"…This is…"

"Mana. The mana I can use anytime."

"I don’t know much about magic, but I can tell that the amount of mana you’re showing me is incredible."

"Then can you trust me now?"

I shrugged, smirking as I saw the tension in the Hero’s face melt away.

"Yeah, I believe you. I’m sorry I didn’t before."

"Good."

I smiled, finally releasing his hand. His hand was so much larger than mine that I had to use some force to pull mine free.

'His hands are pretty rough.'

It was no surprise, given how often he trained with his holy sword. Unfortunately, neither the sword nor his gloves had the power to soften his hands.

"Since I feel bad, I’ll grant you a wish later."

'Yes!'

The Hero’s wish? That was a big deal. Maybe I could ask him to let me use the Demon Lord’s heart as a material after we defeat the Demon Lord.

A spell or magic tool made from the Demon Lord’s heart! Just imagining that glorious future made my heart race.

"Everyone, we’re almost at the next camp. Hang in there a bit longer!"

The next camp?

At the Hero’s words, I pulled out a map to check our location. While I had been talking with the Hero, the time to execute my plan had been steadily approaching.

I peeked behind me at Lapirie, who was following us from a distance. She was smiling absentmindedly at the sky, but when she sensed my gaze, she turned to look at me.

I gave her a nod and a thumbs-up. Lapirie, not understanding at first, tilted her head in confusion before her face turned bright red.

'Everything will go smoothly as long as we follow the plan.'

Not far from our next camp, there was a small group of monsters. The Hero and Lapirie would need to deal with them.

To do that, I had to make sure Arya and Serlin stayed behind.

'Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to look after them, too.'

A short while later, we arrived at the camp. It was located in the middle of a forest full of towering conifer trees, close to the road and a nearby stream, with flat terrain perfect for setting up camp.

"I-I’ll go scout the area!"

Lapirie, her face still red, quickly shouted and dashed off. The first part of the plan was in motion—Lapirie was now out of the picture.

The second part was for me to keep the two remaining heroines occupied.

"Lady Arya, Lady Serlin, would you like me to check your equipment?"

"Equipment? If you’re talking about gloves, they’re still fine."

"Same here! Despite all the activity yesterday, they’re holding up well."

"No, I meant your original equipment. Like your armor."

I directly pointed out their, ahem, considerable assets, causing the two of them to look a bit embarrassed and glance over at the Hero.

"W-well, if you don’t mind…"

"Me too… It’s been feeling a bit tight lately…"

And the final part.

"Then I’ll prepare the camp…"

"No, Hero, I actually have a request for you."

"Huh? What is it?"

The goal was to get the Hero to go with Lapirie.

"There’s supposed to be a flower field nearby. I need a rare flower that blooms there. Could you fetch it for me?"

"Oh, then I can go get it after I finish setting up camp—"

"No, it has to be now. The flower only blooms before sunset. I’ll handle setting up the camp."

Setting up the camp was a trivial task. All I had to do was unlock the supply chest. But the Hero hesitated, as if sensing something was off.

I sighed internally and leaned in to whisper to him.

"…You’ve already seen me naked."

"!!!"

Technically, it was true. He had only seen my shoulder and stomach, but it still counted. And after that incident, he had promised to do anything I asked, so he couldn’t refuse.

"Alright, I’m sorry about that."

"If you’re sorry, then please go get the flower. You’ll know it when you see it."

The Hero practically ran off into the forest, and soon enough, Arya and Serlin emerged from their tents after changing out of their armor.

All that was left was to resize their armor and wait for the results of the plan.