In fact, I felt like I should have practiced riding a bit more.
But despite those concerns, Lux moved smoothly, ensuring I was comfortable.

In the lead was the hero, followed closely by Raphaelia and Aria at an angle, while Serline and I brought up the rear.

Serline Gint. The blue-haired knight.
She was a master swordswoman destined to reach the level of Swordmaster in the future and was the hero’s first mentor.

When the hero was setting off for his journey, she had been stationed at a fortress in the East and joined the party a month later at the request of the hero and Aria.

Overall, her personality and appearance could be described as that of a heroine or a strong woman.

Serline was cheerful, but given her familiarity with the battlefield, she had a much cooler demeanor compared to the other two.
So in a way, I thought she might be the coldest member of the hero's party.

‘And she’s also the one I feel most awkward around.’

With Raphaelia, we quickly became close due to a series of events, and with the hero, natural conversations arose frequently.
As for the saint Aria, her friendly and open nature meant I hardly felt any awkwardness at all.

But whenever it came to being alone with Serline, the conversation evaporated rapidly.
Even when others were around, she spoke easily, but as soon as it was just the two of us, it became so awkward it was suffocating.

It felt like being left alone with a friend of a friend without actually having any friends around.
Neither Serline nor I had dominant personalities when it came to conversation, which is why it turned out this way.

"Ah, Aswell, speaking of which, in Tras..."

The hero and Raphaelia started a conversation, and Aria looked on happily.
Meanwhile, Serline and I were naturally aware of each other, moving slightly behind them.

Fortunately, I had a topic I could bring up with her.

"Serline."

"Hm?"

"Are your gloves alright?"

Right to the point about the gloves.

"Oh, they were really good. The spells you infused helped a lot in battle."

"That’s a relief. I’m planning to work on making shoes this time. Do you have any preferred styles or functions?"

Honestly, if I put my mind to it, I could have easily made the shoes already.
No, I could have equipped myself head to toe with my magical tools and equipment.

But the reason I hadn’t done so was because of the "story development" and the "change in enemy strength."

Sometimes, certain games have such systems.
When a player's level increases, the enemy levels naturally rise as well.

While I can't exactly call this world a game, there are entities that can cause such a thing.
Specifically, the Demon Realm and the demons residing there.

‘If the hero party’s strength suddenly skyrockets, I can’t predict what might happen.’

A B-demon that should appear in location A might not show up, and instead, a demon with several times the strength could emerge.
Even though variables like the magical watermill village have arisen since I joined, I can’t allow for that.

So I planned to take my time, offering things one by one, slowly.

"Shoes? Hm… Sorry, I’ve never really thought about it, so I can’t think of anything right now."

"I see."

"I’ll try to think of something from now on."

"Then I’ll ask you to do so. Since you’re acting as our reliable frontliner alongside the hero, I’d like to put extra thought into it."

"Ah…"

Of course, it wasn’t just for that reason.
In any case, I would also survey the other heroines and the hero.

But still, talking to Serline now and showing concern for her was because I had chosen her as the second heroine to help.

Specifically, this blue-haired knight.

Serline is strong. That's why she could serve as a frontline alongside the hero.
However, that very strength made it difficult for her to approach the hero with romantic feelings.

So far, the topics Serline had discussed with Aswell were limited to just three:

Requests, battles, and training.

How rigid could that be?
Among the three heroines, Serline had the least appeal to Aswell.

Of course, she had been trying her best to appeal to him.
But all she had managed was to move a bit closer when listening to requests or subtly highlighting her teacher-student relationship with the hero in front of the other heroines.

At the same time, the reason she couldn’t appeal more was precisely due to that strong teacher-student relationship.

Even if the time span was only one year, they were ultimately teacher and student.
If it were a typical relationship, they might have been able to approach each other more romantically, but unfortunately, their training focused on the subjugation of demons and monsters.

Was it really okay to harbor romantic feelings while such important matters were at stake?
As a knight, Serline couldn’t even dare to think of it.

However, after seeing Aria by the hero’s side and watching several heroines approach him, she eventually decided to take her chance.

‘Still, I ended up being outpaced by the heroines who came in later.’

By the time she finally revealed her feelings to the hero, it would be nearly too late, and she’d become a complete heroine.
Yes, she would end up in the same place as the others, unable to make a proper appeal, facing the “being discovered” ending.

That’s why I decided to help Serline this time.
As a witch heroine, I needed to make significant progress before the new heroine arrived, ensuring I wouldn’t be left behind in the competition.

So why hadn’t I helped her first? It was due to trust.

"Louis."

"Yes, Serline."

"Umm… it seems you’ve gotten quite close to Aswell."

Ah.

Upon hearing her words, I immediately realized.
She, too, was likely putting up the same “guard” that Raphaelia had shown. Guarding against what?
Of course, it was a guard against becoming a heroine.

So she was trying to hide her feelings by saying she thought they had gotten close.

This was the same line used on the late-arriving assassin heroine in the story.

"I guess since I just arrived, he’s been really accommodating."

If I flat-out denied it from the start, it would only lead to suspicion.
In times like this, I needed to slowly break down my image while simultaneously building a new one.

"I see…"

"And he talked a lot about you all, too. For example, how you, Raphaelia, shoot arrows."

I could see Serline flinch at that.
Seizing the opportunity, I continued in a nonchalant tone, pretending not to notice.

"On the first day I arrived, he told me a few things. Thanks to that, I was able to select spells to incorporate into the gloves."

Knowing about you all is a great strength for me.

Serline fell into silence for a moment.

"… Um, did Aswell say anything about me? I’m a little curious…"

"About you, Serline?"

"Yes…"

I wasn’t going to share my own feelings.
I was going to convey what the hero felt.

And the source of that was the hero, as well as the hero from the story.

"He really said you are the most reliable person in the party."

"Wh-What?!"

"He said you support him without any shortcomings when fighting at the front and that sometimes you even guide the direction of battles, feeling like a true mentor."

"Uh…"

"So he said you’re someone he can rely on more than anyone else."

"Ah, um, is that so…? Oh…."

Calmness and Serline were synonymous.
But right now, that demeanor completely shattered.

Unlike Raphaelia, whose face turned red when flustered, Serline’s words quickened considerably.

‘Let’s stop here for now.’
I just needed to share how the hero felt; I could slowly reveal the fact that I wasn’t a heroine and other plans later.

‘There’s plenty of time before we reach the citadel.’
Until then, I could approach her little by little, as if I were befriending a wild wolf.
If I did, there would come a moment when her guard would fully drop, and she’d approach me more familiarly.

"Everyone, let’s take a short break before the meadow ends!"

At the hero’s words, we each dismounted to rest.

"Ugh."

I hopped down with Lux’s help, then set down a makeshift chair nearby and sat down.

Snort.
Lux took a few steps and approached the four horses, who were watching him cautiously.
Then he confidently strode up to them, quickly asserting himself over Tempest and starting to graze with the other horses.

‘Could it be that Lux has royal blood?’
He must have the genes befitting a leader of animal herds.
Otherwise, there’s no way he could confidently lead the Emperor’s horses like that.

"Louis."

"Yes, hero."

"Is there anything you’d like to eat? I was thinking of making a simple snack."

"Hmm…"

"I was thinking of frying bell peppers and meat and putting them in bread…."

"Ugh."

"Oh? You don’t like bell peppers?"

As soon as I heard the word “bell pepper,” I shook my head vigorously in refusal without even thinking.
The hero seemed noticeably taken aback, not expecting me to reject it so immediately.

"Please leave the bell peppers out for me."

"Ah, okay! I see you don’t like them. Hmm…."

"No, it’s not that I dislike them; it’s that I don’t eat them."

"Ah, I get it."

Oh yeah. Sliding past that, the hero seemed to accept it.
Ever since I transformed, my taste for bell peppers had completely changed.

That unique crunchiness and faint aroma felt like a complete rejection to my senses.
If someone were to call me childish for not being able to eat bell peppers, I wouldn’t care.

Well, to be honest, I do care, but…
No, rather, I’d be more irritated, but it couldn’t be helped.

In the end, the fact that I hated bell peppers was true.

"Hero."

But even so, I had my weapon.

"Huh?"

"I may not eat—no, I don’t eat bell peppers, but I do eat carrots well."

That was the truth—I was good at eating carrots.

"So please don’t misunderstand."

I looked the hero in the eye, making sure to state it clearly.

Hehe.
In this moment, the image of “childish Louis” blooming in the hero’s heart must have shattered completely.

I couldn’t help but smile proudly as I watched the hero hurry away.