Was it expected that she would have such talent to join the Hero’s Party?

"Sister! Look at this!"

Nia came running toward me with a bright smile from early dawn.
On her arm, a faint flame burned with intricate patterns.

"Your precision has improved a lot. And we only visited the blacksmith two days ago."

"That visit really helped me a lot!"

"I’m glad to hear that."

"Hehe."

Honestly, all I did was speed up the process.
In any case, Nia would have gained this realization shortly before we left Lacr, likely by walking past the blacksmiths.

At most, it would’ve taken her two more weeks.

But the difference in timing would give the Hero’s Party a significant advantage in the upcoming battle.

"Now that you’ve improved your precision, let’s gradually increase the output. At the very least… yeah, you should be able to handle flames like those in the big forge at the blacksmith's."

"Yes!"

"Here, take this."

"What is it? Gloves...?"

"They’re the only ones I hadn’t given to you yet. I added a heat-resistant magic inscription to help your flames burn even brighter."

"Wow... Thank you so much..."

No need to thank me for something this small.

Since Nia is now a member of the Hero's Party, it’s only natural that she receives my support.

"What are you doing today, sister?"

Her question made me pause and think for a moment.
Before the demon Rastock appears, there’s one event that happens in Lacr.

An outbreak of a plague.

So, if something feels off somewhere or if I suddenly hear urgent calls for a saintess, then I know it’s time to prepare for battle.

‘The ingredients for the plague cure... I don’t have them.’

It’s not like I made a mistake and forgot to get them.
The truth is, the ingredients to cure Rastock’s plague simply don’t exist in this world.

You’d have to go to the Demon Realm, crush the plants from there, and turn them into medicine.

However, we’re fortunate to have a saintess, so not many casualties will occur.

"Hmm… research."

So, instead of focusing on a cure for the plague, I need to develop a plan to swiftly deal with Rastock and his monsters.

The first step in that plan involves the fire-sensitive minerals I had intended to ask Nia about.
These minerals will not only help Nia but also be useful in dealing with those monsters.

Thanks to the Hero, I had acquired the minerals for free, so I just needed to sort through them.

"Nia."

"Yes?"

Rumble.

"Eek!"

"Could you identify which of these minerals feels the hottest?"

"The hottest…?"

Thankfully, Nia’s help saved me a lot of time sorting through them.

"Thanks for your help."

"Is there anything else I can do?"

"I’ll call you if I need more."

"Okay!"

After Nia left, I spent some time organizing the minerals and then summoned the door to my workshop.
I was just about to enter and start working when...

Knock knock.

"Come in."

Someone’s footsteps stopped at the door.

Thump.

Why did I suddenly feel nervous?
Why did I have this strange feeling before even knowing who it was?

"Louie."

"Oh."

The person who opened the door was Aria.

"Lady Aria, what brings you here?"

"Oh, if you're busy, I can come back later!"

"It’s alright. Would you like to sit here?"

Since I had already taken out two chairs in my workshop, I decided to bring out the carrot-flavored snacks I had been saving.
To be honest, I didn’t mind sharing a bit of carrot snacks with Aria, given how much she endured every day.

As she sat down gracefully, I handed her the carrot snack, but she didn’t eat it.
Instead, she held it in her hand, looking hesitant, as if she had something to say.

"Is this about the illness affecting the Marquis of Lacr?"

"Gasp! How did you know?"

"Well, knowing your character, I can’t imagine you’d overlook even one patient."

"Ah…"

That’s how she was in the original story as well.
After the devastating attack in Alpharhes, even after the battle had ended, she used up her life force to heal the injured citizens.

"Is there really no way to help?"

Judging by her sorrowful expression, she must have met with the Marquis of Lacr in person.
I heard he was barely alive, practically a walking corpse, so it must have tugged at her heartstrings even more.

Crunch.

I took a bite of my carrot snack before responding to her question.

"There is a way."

"Really?!"

"Yes. Change his constitution and environment."

"That’s..."

"It’s difficult. Very much so."

Changing his constitution would require his willpower, and a lot of people around him would need to assist him.

But with the Marquis's powerful household, that could be resolved easily.

The real problem was the environment.

"Changing the infrastructure of a mining city like Lacr would take a long time and a lot of resources."

During the process, the city’s citizens could suffer.
People who had stable jobs just yesterday could suddenly find themselves unemployed.

"Ah…"

If only the Marquis's son had left for a retreat earlier, none of this would’ve mattered.
Sending him to a territory or an island with better conditions would’ve been a trivial task for the Marquis’s family.

However, the disease had already begun to manifest, and I knew that the Marquis's wife had passed away around the same time. They had missed the right window of opportunity.
Now, any misstep could make things worse, leaving them unable to take action.

"That’s the conventional approach."

"…What?"

"We don’t need to change the entire city. Just fixing the problematic parts will do."

For example, blacksmith chimneys.
If we could install filters to reduce air pollution in places like that, it would improve the situation significantly.

"Though it would require a lot of materials."

Materials are all we need.
The construction itself can be done with the Master Key, and while it may take time, it will be completed eventually.

The only issue is...

‘I can’t focus on just that right now.’

After all, I had been in the middle of planning how to deal with Rastock when Aria showed up.

So what should I do?

Then, I had a great idea.

"Lady Aria."

"Yes?"

"How about we execute a plan?"

"A plan…?"

"A plan to raise the Hero’s affection for you."

"Ah! Ah…!"

Aria's face turned bright red in an instant.
I explained to her how we could combine both missions into one.

"Since there aren’t any significant requests for the Hero to handle in Lacr right now, if you tell him you want to improve the city’s environment, he’ll probably help you."

"Do you think so…?"

Yes.

Even if he doesn’t act out of affection for Aria, she’s the saintess.
The Hero knows it wouldn’t be wise to ignore her wishes.

"So what should I do…?"

"First, you need to listen to the opinions of the city’s residents."

There might be people who think that installing filters or magical devices would interfere with their blacksmiths or other businesses.
By investigating any concerns or inconveniences, we could incorporate that information into the development of magical devices.

"Also, it would be good to identify patients suffering from similar symptoms as the Marquis or those showing early signs of the illness."

"I see."

"While you handle that with the Hero, I’ll focus on my tasks. Once you’ve made some progress, I’ll start developing the magical devices. How does that sound?"

"Leave it to me!"

"As for the materials… I’ll need your help after you've finished the other work."

"Understood!"

Serlin, Laffiel, and Nia wouldn’t be able to handle a task of this scale.
Even I couldn’t.

But Aria, being the saintess, with the Hero supporting her, could easily lead such a large investigation.

‘The church and the Adventurer’s Guild will likely offer their help.’

Since both organizations officially support the Hero and the saintess, they’ll be willing to assist.
With dozens or even hundreds of people working together, the investigation won’t take long.

Especially since the Adventurer's Guild is highly efficient in these matters.

In the meantime, I’ll finish planning and prepare the designs for the city’s purification devices and magical tools.

‘Things are going to get busy.’

But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
If I had free time, I’d probably end up finding more work to do anyway.

"So, what about the Hero…?"

"Oh."

I realized I hadn’t explained that part yet.

"What do you think is the most appealing quality you should show the Hero?"

"Eh? I... I don’t know…"

"Just name one thing."

"My… my chest?"

"......"

Aria shyly glanced at her own ample chest.

As much as I wanted to argue, I couldn’t deny that she had a point.
For a brief moment, my gaze shifted to compare my own to hers.

‘......’

I quickly averted my eyes.
I had to admit, I almost got a little upset.

"…That’s something to consider when your relationship has progressed a bit further."

"Y-yes."

Fwooosh.

It almost looked like steam was rising from Aria’s flushed face.

"The real charm you need to show him is your nurturing nature."

"My nurturing nature…?"

When I had helped Serlin and Laffiel, I encouraged them to show their ‘unexpected’ side.
But Aria had to use her nurturing character, which was already evident, as her weapon.

The reason was simple.

"So far, the Hero likely sees you as more of a comrade. When you listen to him or heal him, it probably just feels like a duty between allies."

"Oh...!"

In other words, the Hero’s perception of her needed a ‘shift.’

"So, should I heal him?"

"That would require him to get injured, and I don’t want that."

I didn’t want to see that.

"Just follow my advice without using your divine power, and it’ll be enough."

"I-I will listen carefully."

And so, the strategic briefing for Aria went on for quite some time.
By the time it ended, she had grown more accustomed to the plan, although her face still held a rosy hue.

"O-okay, I’ll give it a try."

"Good luck."

"Thank you!"

As I prepared to see her off, Aria, who had her hand on the door handle, suddenly turned around and hugged me.
It was almost suffocating… but fortunately, she had learned to leave me enough room to breathe.

"Louie."

"Yes?"

"Thank you for listening to me. Truly… thank you."

"It was nothing."

For the saintess, this much was the least I could do.
But the warmth in Aria’s eyes as she gazed at me was filled with overwhelming gratitude.

"I, um, I think you and the Hero…"

"Huh?"

"...No, never mind. Just, Louie, you’ll always be one of us. We’ll stand by you."

"…Thank you."

And with that, our conversation ended.
By the time I looked outside, the sun was already setting.

It seemed I wouldn’t have much time to work on my plans today after all.