Author: Suisei
Translator: Rinkage

Character page: Here

The hero is back.

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Chapter 153 – I punched the hero

“Is Youki-kun here?”

Without knocking, the hero, Yuuga, barged into my room. His face was covered in mud, and his gear was coated entirely with dirt. Considering that he was visiting someone else’s room, his manners were severely lacking.

“Oh, you’re back.”  [Youki]

Despite his appearance, I didn’t get angry. I responded calmly and with composure. Starting off in an aggressive tone would be savage, wouldn’t it? No, I definitely wouldn’t do that. Instead, I decided to greet him with a refreshing smile.

“Well, have a seat. And here’s a drink. It’s just water, though. Here.”  [Youki]

“Huh? Oh, thanks.”  [Yuuga]

Yuuga sat on the chair and accepted the glass of water, looking puzzled.

“So, what’s up?”  [Youki]

“Yeah, but before that… Youki-kun, this might be rude, but… were you always like this?”  [Yuuga]

“Hey, hey, what are you saying? I’m me.”  [Youki]

I denied his words as I sat and sipped my drink. From any angle, I looked the same as I always do. What could be different? However, Yuuga’s suspicion deepened. He gazed at me as he put his hand to this chin, thinking for a moment.

“You’re definitely not acting like your usual self!”  [Yuuga]

It seemed his opinion remained the same. What a stubborn hero. Considering his status, he should be magnanimous.

“What are you talking about? Well, whatever it is, tell me already.”  [Youki]

“Oh, eh, yeah, got it… It’s about the time I was sent to the mines, sweating, and working hard.”  [Yuuga]

It was unknown whether he had just given up asking me about it or he was being honest, but he finally started getting to the main point. It was about the time when he was working on the quest.

…

“Hah, hah, it’s so hot.”  [Yuuga]

Yuuga was in the mines, clearing away dirt and calming the panicked demons. He wasn’t wearing his usual armour but pants and a tank top. He had a headband around his forehead, and his prized holy sword was strapped to his back. His gesture of wiping sweat might look picturesque, but there weren’t any women in the mines to cheer him on. The only ones around were miners, most of whom were much bigger size than Yuuga.

“Hey, kid. What’s up? You worn out? If it’s too tough, you can take a break. Leave the dirt to us and focus on calming down those panicked demons.” 

A miner working beside him casually spoke to him. From Yuuga’s perspective, the miner wasn’t much older than him.

“No, I can still keep going. Because…”  [Yuuga]

Just as he was about to say, “Because I’m the hero,” he shut his mouth. He remembered Mikana telling him not to cause any unnecessary trouble. Yuuga had thought that just putting on glasses and changing his gear wouldn’t be enough to hide his identity, but it turned out not to be the case. Apparently, Mikana had laughed, saying, “It seems like we’re not as well-known as we thought.”

“Hmm, oh. Is it because the young lady who came with you is working hard? Man, that’s amazing. Magic sure is convenient.” 

The miner’s gaze was directed at Mikana, who was carefully using earth magic to dig through a tunnel blocked by dirt and debris.

“As a man, you don’t want to be the first to take a break, huh? Or maybe you want to show off in front of her, eh, kid?”

“Mik… Mina and I aren’t like that…”  [Yuuga]

It seemed that Yuuga was using the alias ‘Yuu’, while Mikana called herself ‘Mina’ for this job. They just dropped a syllable from their real names, but surprisingly, their identities were still not exposed.

“Oh, really? I thought she was your girlfriend since she came to a rough place like this with you. Some of the guys were hoping a female adventurer would show up when we put in the request. But we laughed it off, thinking, ‘Who’d come to a place as grimy as this?’. The reward isn’t great either, to be honest.”

“Then why did Mina…”  [Yuuga]

“Maybe she followed you here. You’ve got the kind of face that looks like you’d be popular with the ladies. Me, though? I haven’t even got a wife, or any woman around me.”

Mikana was accompanying him mainly because she wanted to keep an eye on Yuuga and make sure he didn’t cause any trouble, so there wasn’t much to read into. Although she did have feelings for him, that wasn’t the main reason she came along. However, the surrounding miners were all brawny and muscular, so there were no accidental romantic encounters or issues involving women. As Yuuga talked with the miner, it seemed his troublemaker tendencies kicked in, with Mikana, the only woman in the mine, getting caught up in it.

After finishing the conversation, everyone took a break. Without hesitation, Yuuga approached Mikana and sat down beside her.

“Yuu, what’s up? I gave you your lunch this morning, didn’t I?”  [Mikana]

On the first day of the job, the two of them ate lunch together, but the miners around started teasing them, so they decided to eat separately. Despite that, Yuuga still sat beside Mikana, making her wonder.

“Yeah… it’s just…”  [Yuuga]

Yuuga casually brushed it off and opened his bento, while Mikana responded with a simple, “Well, okay. ” They both started eating lunch, feeling a slightly awkward atmosphere. As Yuuga started eating, he looked at Mikana, covered in dirt, and thought of something.

“Mina, um… are you okay?”  [Yuuga]

“Okay? What do you mean?”  [Mikana]

“You’re not overexerting yourself, right?”  [Yuuga]

“Huh!?”  [Mikana]

Mikana was so surprised that she nearly dropped her bento. She probably never expected to hear such words from Yuuga.

“What’s going on? Did something happen?”  [Mikana]

“I’m the one asking you, Mina.”  [Yuuga]

A harsh reality hit Yuuga. It just occurred to him that when he started worrying about someone, they would worry about him instead. She probably thought he had hit his head or something.

“I’m serious when I’m asking you this.”  [Yuuga]

“Seriously?”  [Mikana]

It seemed that Mikana still didn’t quite understand what Yuuga was trying to convey. After thinking of ways to express his feelings, he decided to just hug her, leaving her stunned. Her reaction was understandable, as being hugged out of the blue would make anyone baffled. However, Yuuga, being the bold hero he was, seemed to think that his gesture had successfully conveyed his feelings, and he even took a step further by whispering into her ear.

“If it ever gets too hard, I want you to tell me.”  [Yuuga]

After whispering sweet words into her ear, he gently patted her head. It was probably at that moment that Mikana was utterly overwhelmed. It was easy to tell, even if I didn’t witness it myself.

Apparently, the miners around them started cheering and clicking their tongues; well, in a place with no woman around, doing something like that was bound to provoke a reaction. However, the following words out of his mouth left Mikana completely frozen.

“By the way… Mikana, do you like me?”  [Yuuga]

Yuuga dropped a bomb at the worst possible moment.

…

“…And after that, she wouldn’t speak to me at all. We had to take separate carriages on the way back, and by the time I went to the guild, she had already settled everything, including the report.”  [Yuuga]

“Ah, I get it. The reward was split evenly… All right, I understand. Now, stand up. Stand straight.”  [Youki]

“Huh? W-Why?”  [Yuuga]

“No questions.”  [Youki]

Reluctantly, Yuuga got up from his chair, and I let out a small sigh. I loosened my arms, took a light step to find my rhythm, and cracked my knuckles.

“No way…”  [Yuuga]

He seemed to have sensed what I was attempting to do at that moment. However, it was too late. Before he could react, I threw a punch right at his face without hesitation.

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