How many could leap onto a giant of fire in an instant and pierce its heart?

Most wouldn’t be able to.

Even if one were full of determination, they wouldn’t be able to get close due to the unbearable heat, which scorched flesh.

But the Hero wasn’t like most.

Swoosh!

With ease, the Hero climbed onto the giant, arriving near its heart in a flash and stabbed its chest with the holy sword.

‘As expected of a Hero…’

Even though I had given him a robe with heat resistance, it wasn’t something just anyone could do. This was only possible thanks to the Hero's unique will and the solar mana that only the Hero could use.

“Nia Bella…”

“Rozen, just wait a little longer. Your friend will be out soon.”

“Yes... sniff”

Just as I said, the Hero began pulling someone out from inside the giant's heart. The red-haired girl in his arms was none other than Nia Bella.

And the fire giant, now devoid of Nia Bella, began to collapse.

“No!”

As the heaviest part, the head, fell, it threatened to crush the Hero and Nia Bella. It was as if they were about to be submerged in lava.

I quickly retrieved the Master Key, preparing to respond to the next situation.

But I didn’t need to.

“Ah!”

‘I trusted you…’

In the original story, the Hero was burned because of the giant's head. But this time, thanks to the robe I had given him, the Hero didn’t suffer any scars.

I let out a silent sigh of relief, hiding my reaction from Rozen.

“Louis, can you check her condition?”

The Hero, who had extinguished the flames on his body, gently laid Nia Bella down.

It was only then that I could take a proper look at her.

Long, wavy red hair. A small, delicate nose and closed crimson eyes.

And below that... her chest.

‘It’s small.’

It was small.

But that’s only by comparison to Aria, Serlyn, and Lapiria.

“...”

I looked down at myself and then back at Nia Bella’s chest. The difference between me and her was much more significant than between her and the other three.

Simply put, they were bigger.

Much bigger.

I had been relieved, thinking she was small based on the description in the original, but apparently, it just meant she was slightly smaller than the others.

Deciding to ignore the disappointing truth, I turned my attention back to checking Nia Bella’s condition.

“She’s suffering from mana exhaustion. No real injuries or scars.”

It was just a simple fainting spell. Her chest rose and fell slightly as shallow breaths escaped her.

“Thank... goodness…”

Hearing my words, Rozen collapsed onto the ground with relief.

“Hero, please stay with these two for a moment.”

“Huh? Why?”

“I need to deal with the giant.”

Even though the fire giant had lost Nia Bella and was collapsing, it hadn’t stopped its advance. Before all that lunar mana absorbed into the ground, I needed to gather as much of it as possible and transfer it to Nia Bella.

“Master Key.”

I retrieved a large pipe-shaped mana absorption device from the subspace and synchronized it with the Master Key. I had already figured out the principles of mana absorption through Ultima’s holy spear, so creating this didn’t take much time.

“Absorb.”

Rumble...

A gust of wind blew as the pipe began to absorb the remnants of the fire giant. The giant reached out its hand toward the city, as if in a final attempt to fight back, but it couldn’t escape its fate of being sucked into the pipe.

Woooosh…

The heat from the giant caused the pipe to slightly melt, but I managed to absorb all the mana safely.

‘Is Nia Bella strong for being able to create such flames that could melt mythril-coated materials, or is the Hero strong for enduring such heat?’

Well, the answer was that both were exceptionally powerful.

I cast a spell to process the lunar mana into a more usable form, then returned to where the Hero was.

“Hero... Hero... Hero…”

“...”

“Ah, no. I mean, could you… um, let go of... Louis?”

And then I saw the Hero, still holding Nia Bella in his arms.

“No, no, it’s not like that! She just suddenly woke up and grabbed me…”

“Right. Sure.”

“Huh?”

“Well, finish up and come along when you’re ready. I’ll go ahead.”

“Wait, no, wait…!”

Seeing them embrace barely five minutes after meeting made me turn away and head back to the city with Rozen.

‘Well, she’s the heroine, after all.’

Nia Bella had always admired heroes from fairy tales as a child, and as the official fourth heroine, her reaction was only natural.

Thud.

“Let’s go. The city’s probably a mess by now.”

“Yeah, yeah…”

Rozen, for some reason, sighed and glanced at Nia Bella as we left the scene.

When we arrived back in the city, it was… just as chaotic as expected.

"Place the documents over here, and the confirmed criminals over there."

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Move quickly!"

Serlyn was directing the city guards and adventurers with military precision.

“Lady Serlyn.”

“Oh, Louis? Is it over?”

“Yes. We safely rescued Nia Bella and took care of the giant.”

“Ah… but where’s Aswell?”

“Well… he seemed busy, so I left him.”

“Hm? Anyway, I’m almost done here too. These people have been very ‘kindly’ helping me.”

Flinch.

At Serlyn’s intimidating tone, some of the passing guards trembled. It seemed she had used a carrot-and-stick approach to get them to cooperate, possibly forgiving minor crimes in exchange for their assistance.

Since arriving in this city, I’d seen Serlyn act more like a noble than a prosecutor.

“And what about all this? Are you just going to leave it here?”

The ground was littered with evidence of embezzlement and captured criminals. There was no way our ever-moving Hero’s party could handle all of it.

“There’s a Count Kalken nearby. A master who often trains with me.”

“I see.”

Unlike Serlyn, who was only a minor noble, an actual Count could handle this kind of situation. He would likely take the evidence and use it to his advantage.

“And Lady Lapiria and Lady Aria…?”

“They’re over there.”

I turned my head in the direction Serlyn pointed, seeing both women glaring at people with cold expressions. One was dealing with city officials, the other with church representatives, both nearly on the verge of a rampage.

‘They’d probably make excellent tax collectors or inspectors after this Hero party disbands…’

Honestly, they seemed more lively than when fighting demons or monsters. But I kept that thought to myself; after all, they were the Elven Princess and the Saintess of the Hero party.

“Oh, they’ve arrived.”

At Serlyn’s words, I turned to see the Hero stepping off Tempest with Nia Bella. His perfect escort, gently taking her hand as she descended, was almost too smooth.

“She’s pretty…”

I silently agreed with Serlyn’s comment and approached them.

“L-Louis…”

“Lady Nia Bella. Here, take this.”

“What is this…?”

I handed her the lunar mana that I had processed with the Master Key. In the form of a glowing pill, all she had to do was swallow it, and it would reintegrate with her body.

“Ah… thank you…”

Holding the pill carefully in both hands, she looked like a large baby bird.

Quiet yet resolute Aria. Strong yet shy Serlyn. Cheerful yet serious Lapiria.

Nia Bella had a different atmosphere from the other three heroines.

Her gentle demeanor, soft voice, and calm yet hopeful words gave her the aura of someone who could be mistaken for a foreign saintess.

It was hard to believe that she was the witch who controlled the giant of fire and devastation.

“Aswell, I’ve almost finished here. Thanks to everyone’s cooperation, we got a lot done.”

“Ah, right…”

Serlyn spoke, but the Hero kept glancing in my direction. His gaze bothered me enough that I awkwardly moved toward Nia Bella, who was standing silently.

“Lady Nia Bella.”

“Ah, yes!”

“Could we talk for a moment?”

“Oh, um… sure…”

I turned to Serlyn and the Hero.

“We’ll just be a moment. It won’t take long.”

“Alright.”

“...Sure.”

After a brief walk, we arrived at a small alley.

“Nia Bella!”

“Rozen!”

It was an emotional reunion between the blue-haired and red-haired girls. The two hugged each other tightly, tears streaming down their faces.

“I’m sorry… I should have listened to you…”

“You idiot! Why did you sneak out in the middle of the night…! sniff Don’t ever do that again!”

I stood back, allowing them to share their moment until they finally composed themselves and approached me.

“Thank you, Sir Louis.”

“Yes, thank you.”

“It was nothing. The Hero did all the work.”

All I did was give him a robe.

Thud.

“Anyway, I called you here because I have a proposal for you, Lady Nia Bella.”

“A proposal…?”

“Yes.”

I cleared my throat and delivered the line I had rehearsed over and over.

“Lady Nia Bella, would you like to join the Hero’s party?”

“Ah…?”

It was a scout invitation before any job offer could come her way.