Author: Suisei
Translator: Rinkage

Character page: Here

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Chapter 155 – I thought about the hero

I brought the two, who had been openly flirting in front of the shared carriage, to my usual cake shop. The two culprits looked deeply remorseful after realizing how much attention they had attracted: Merchants and adventurers boarding the carriage earlier were looking at them.

I took a bite of a cake I had ordered and savoured the flavour. As the sweet taste of the cake spread in my mouth, I couldn’t help but feel that the sweetness was mild, even compared to the flirtation between Happiness and Raven. Could Cecilia and I be the same as them? We probably did without realizing it.

“Happiness, it’s a cake. This is the perfect moment for you to feed him. The classic ‘ahh’ exchange that couples do. I highly recommend it.”  [Youki]

I wanted to tease them before making my exit. Raven seemed like he tried to object, but Happiness didn’t seem to be against the idea as she gazed at the bite-sized piece of cake. All she needed to do was to bring it up to Raven’s mouth, but for some reason, she hesitated. Watching her was frustrating as I couldn’t understand why she didn’t just go for it.

“Happiness, you can do it. Don’t worry, it’ll definitely work out.”  [Youki]

“…Of course.”  [Happiness]

“…So, is this a situation where I’m supposed to be fed? I wouldn’t mind doing it the other way around either.”  [Raven]

Despite initially objecting, Raven brought the cake to her mouth as soon as it became his turn. He moved smoothly, without any hint of embarrassment, and Happiness opened her mouth naturally as Raven returned the favour.

“…Happiness, you’ve got some cream on your mouth.”  [Raven]

“…Remove.”  [Happiness]

“…I guess I have no choice.”  [Raven]

Raven wiped the cream from her mouth with his finger, then used a nearby napkin to clean it off. Wiping the cream off with a napkin would be something you’d do for a child, and the fact that Raven didn’t eat the wiped-off cream was typical of him. Even though I was the one who nudged them into this lovey-dovey moment, watching this scene was awkward, to say the least. I felt out of place, like a third wheel.

“…Captain.”  [Happiness]

“What is it?”  [Youki]

“…Do your best.”  [Happiness]

“With what!?”  [Youki]

It seemed she was also messing with me for her own amusement, even while flirting with Raven. She was clearly trying to hit me with a double dose of mental damage.

“…Speaking of which, Youki, I heard from Happiness that Cecilia’s engagement proposal fell through. Well, that’s good news for you, right?”  [Raven]

“Oh, that…”  [Youki]

I glanced at Happiness, and she shook her head. I wanted to confirm if she had told Raven about me and Cecilia, but it seemed she hadn’t. Raven didn’t miss that silent exchange and looked at us curiously.

…Well, I guess it’s fine to tell Raven. We’ve always had a give-and-take relationship.

“Actually, I confessed to Cecilia for the second time.”  [Youki]

“…And what was her response?”  [Raven]

“Cecilia accepted me.”  [Youki]

“…Is that so? Congratulations, Youki.”  [Raven]

Raven didn’t seem overly surprised. He looked calm, but he was clearly happy for me. Happiness, beside him, started clapping even though she already knew.

“…It was a success!”  [Happiness]

“Why are you the one surprised? You were the one who encouraged me back at the mansion.”  [Youki]

“…First time hearing the result.”  [Happiness]

“Well, I didn’t actually say it out loud, but you could’ve figured it out from the way I looked when I came back that day. I don’t think I did a great job hiding my happy aura.”  [Youki]

“…Overconfident.”  [Happiness]

She was probably trying to say that not everyone was paying attention to me and that I shouldn’t get carried away just because I succeeded in confessing.

“Well, either way, it’s good news. Though, I wonder how Yuuga will react when he finds out. It seems he hasn’t returned from the mines yet.”  [Raven]

“Uh, about that…”  [Youki]

I explained to Raven and Happiness that because Yuuga did something foolish, I sent him off to Breitling for training as a punishment. I also mentioned that Caius was helping as a ‘cupid of love’, just in case.

“…Enemy of women.”  [Happiness]

Happiness clenched her fist in anger, seemingly unable to forgive what Yuuga did to Mikana.

“Don’t worry. I made sure to give him a good punch.”  [Youki]

“…Not enough. Fifty full-force punches.”  [Happiness]

She started shadowboxing, signalling that Yuuga should be punched as much as possible. It made me wonder what would happen to Yuuga if I really hit him with fifty full-force punches. Considering the ‘crime’ he committed, it would probably not be too much. If I were to omit Yuuga and Mikana’s names from my story, what kind of reactions would people give? Depending on the answers, I could probably decide how many punches to give Yuuga.

“Maybe I didn’t hit him enough. Raven, what do you think?”  [Youki]

“…I’ll refrain from commenting on the punches for now. From what I have observed during our travels, Mikana was actively making advances towards Yuuga. Both Cecilia and I noticed it. Mikana also helped Yuuga the most. So, knowing that, I can’t just overlook it.”  [Raven]

Raven folded his arms, recalling the time when they travelled together. Honestly, I was questioning why Yuuga was chosen as the hero. Who made that decision anyway?

“Wait, Raven. Are you saying you’ll help out in some way, too?”  [Youki]

“…I’m not sure what I can do, but I’ll assist.”  [Raven]

“…Full-force punches.”  [Happiness]

“…Happiness, I’m not helping in that way.”  [Raven]

It seemed that Happiness still felt Yuuga deserved to be beaten up even more.

Well, maybe once he returns, she should just punch him to her heart’s content. Given the situation, as long as Raven doesn’t intervene, we won’t need to worry about the knights showing up, even if the hero gets assaulted on the streets.

“All right, I’ll teach you some techniques. Left, left, right, left, right combo to knock Yuuga out!”  [Youki]

“…Understood!”  [Happiness]

“Would knuckles be better as a weapon? Or maybe gauntlets would be a better choice?”  [Youki]

“Wait, wait. Why has it been decided that Yuuga is definitely getting hit, and why is Happiness the one to do it?”  [Raven]

It seemed that Raven couldn’t keep up with the flow of the conversation. Happiness, on the other hand, was brimming with enthusiasm.

“Raven, look at Happiness’s fist. If she trains, she might be able to graduate from magic-based combat.”  [Youki]

“…I like seeing Happiness fight with her fan.”  [Raven]

Upon hearing what he said, Happiness stopped shadowboxing.

“Of course, if she wants to switch, I won’t stop her. I’ll even support her. But thinking that I won’t be able to see her fight with her fan anymore… well, it’s a little sad.”  [Raven]

“Raven, you… you’ve really changed, huh? I can’t imagine you saying such things previously.”  [Youki]

Happiness appeared to have stopped punching the air and took out her fan instead. Did Raven say that to make her stop? Or did he genuinely mean it? Either way, it seemed he managed to change Happiness’s mind, but…

“…I’ll slice him, fifty times.”  [Happiness]

“Hey, wouldn’t it have been better if she just stuck to punching?”  [Youki]

Happiness’s fan was made from her own feathers. When infused with magic, it would become a specialized weapon with considerable strength. It wouldn’t be a joke anymore if she were to attack Yuuga with that. I shot a glance at Raven, silently pleading with him to intervene as her boyfriend and as a man.

“…That’s dangerous, Happiness. Try throwing a punch instead.”  [Raven]

Raven held out his palm, prompting Happiness to throw a punch. Considering that her target was Raven, the impact of her punch merely made a soft, non-threatening ‘pat’ sound upon contact with his palm.

“…Not satisfied.”  [Happiness]

“…That’s how your punches are, Happiness.”  [Raven]

He patted her on the head, and a gentle and warm atmosphere filled the space.

However, I hadn’t forgotten. After the three of us saved the mermaids, Shike-chan and Misaki-chan, I took a full-force punch from her and got sent flying. That punch wasn’t anything as cute as this.

While the idea of her using her fan seemed to have been abandoned, I still felt out of place in this warm atmosphere.

“Hm?”  [Youki]

Feeling resigned, I decided to people-watch for a change of pace and spotted a familiar face: Mikana walked past with a serious expression.

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