I Am Not the Heroine

Water Mill.

It looks like a gear, but its size is similar to or even bigger than an average household.

Most parts are made of wood, giving it that delightful creaking sound.

Creeeak… Creeeak…

When I gently pressed the stopped water mill with my hand, it started to move slowly.

I really liked this sound.

“I said that, but I really wanted to see the water mill.”

“Maybe. I understand.”

I heard some whispering behind me but chose to ignore it.

Right now, enjoying this child’s sound was my priority.

The water mill helps people a lot.

It connects two bodies of water that are far apart and assists in various tasks using the power of the water that turns it.

It literally functions like a gear.

But what’s added is that it moves with the power of water.

“Hmm, shouldn’t we start wrapping this up? It feels like we’re going deeper into the water mill…”

“…No way.”

A similar thing is a windmill.

Unlike the water mill that operates with water, the windmill works with wind.

And unlike the exposed water mill, it’s attached to the top of a building and turns from the inside.

Despite that, since both in this world are made of wood, you can hear that delightful wooden turning sound from both.

Creeeak… Creeeak…

Ah, what a nice sound.

It’s probably because it’s made directly by the Great Mage that the sound seems even better.

What could be the source of this sound? Inside here? Then if I just go a little deeper, I might find out…

“Huh?”

Splash.

“Oh no, I fell in!”

“We need to get her out fast!”

“Rui!”

…
…

“…There’s indeed a very powerful spell cast here. It seems to have pulled me in with my mana.”

“………….”

“It’s not that I was curious and went in. It’s just that a small mana storm occurred, and I lost my balance…”

“…Rapirie, do such phenomena actually exist? I’m a knight, so I don’t really know, but you do, right?”

“……Could be?”

“Anyway, thank you for rescuing me, Hero.”

“Uh…”

“Anyway, don’t get me wrong. I have no interest in that water mill whatsoever.”

Achoo.

“Rui, I got it, so let’s dry off now. I’ll dry your hair…”

“Rie, I’ll leave Rui to you. I also need to… change my clothes.”

“Ah, sure!”

“Once you’re done, come to the Village Chief’s House. The manager is waiting.”

The hero, who ended up stripping off his armor because of me, squeezed the water out of his clothes as he went up.

“I’ll do it… Ugh.”

“I’ll do it. Just stay still.”

Since all my clothes under the robe were wet too, the only option was to change.

Rapirie began to dry my hair with a soft towel.

“Rui, was this part of your plan too?”

“Yes?”

At that moment, Rapirie began to say something strange.

“Isn’t it that you fell so that Aswel got wet too?”

“And…?”

“Weren’t you trying to naturally take off Aswel’s armor and show off his toned body…?”

No way, this perverted elf, did she really dive in for that?

I was about to refute immediately.

“Uh, or maybe I really did like the water mill…”

“…Actually, it’s true that I wanted to show something nice to Rapirie.”

But if I deny this fact, the only remaining option would be ‘I fell because I really liked the water mill without realizing it.’

So in the end, I nodded in agreement with Rapirie’s claim.

“So that was it…! As expected of Rui!”

I didn’t know what was so ‘as expected,’ but I was glad I handled it well.

Thanks to Rapirie, we quickly changed clothes and headed outside toward the Village Chief’s House.

“Oh, you’ve come!”

Behind the warmly welcoming Ariya stood a man.

A middle-aged man. His beard was dark and unkempt, as if he hadn’t taken care of it for a while.

“But what’s with his eyes?”

There seemed to be about 50,000 stories behind those sorrowful eyes.

I grabbed the hem of Rapirie’s clothes and subtly stepped back.

Soon, the hero entered the Village Chief’s house with the chief.

“Thank you so much for accepting our request, Warrior party!”

It started with a formal expression of gratitude. Afterward, he talked about the grief that befell the village due to the past mages not being able to fix it, sharing various stories.

“…So although Wenstone is helping here, there hasn’t been any significant result…”

“Wenstone? He’s a third-class mage.”

Just “first class”? What does that even mean? Did something special happen that prevented him from improving?

Fortunately, the hero, upon receiving my eager gaze, instinctively asked.

“‘Just’ means…?”

“………It’s a thing of the past. Anyway, now I’m a third-class mage and can only handle magic at that level. Warrior, are you here to fix the water mill?”

“Ah, it’s not me. Our party’s mage… Rui?”

“I’ll fix it.”

I said while glaring glaringly, hiding behind Rapirie.

Then Wenstone chuckled.

“Oh, smile, huh?”

“What, is something funny about the hero’s party? Fixing a water mill should be a breeze, right? If you have any questions, feel free to ask. If not, don’t bother me.”

With that, Wenstone exited the Village Chief’s house.

“Uh, I’m sorry, Mage. Please forgive Wenstone’s rudeness.”

“Rui, he seems to have some history… Rui?”

“…How dare he provoke me.”

I was trying to fix it quickly due to scheduling anyway.

But with him acting like that, I would fix it at super speed, making sure he would be grateful while crying rivers of tears.

“Let’s go.”

“Huh? Rui?”

“You need to help me finish quickly.”

This isn’t just a simple repair request. It’s a battle against the audacity of a third-class mage who dares to provoke me.

*

I first picked up a pen and began sketching the overall structure of the water mill in mid-air.

“Rui, what should I do?”

“For now, just stay put.”

I’ll find something for you to do eventually. Until then, just sitting quietly and cheering would be enough.

“There’s no apparent issue on the surface, and I don’t see any faults in the water mill itself…”

I sketched and disassembled the 3D model of the water mill while observing from the side, the front, and beneath… I needed to clearly identify the problems during this process to make future tasks easier.

“Anyway, I should try to retain as much of the original materials as possible…”

Now it’s time to examine the spells inscribed on the water mill.

After removing the golden water mill, I walked towards the real one.

“…Warrior?”

“Ah, sorry. I thought you were going to fall again.”

Suddenly, feeling something grab the hood of my robe from behind, I was puzzled, only to hear that response.

Good grief, if someone saw me, they’d think I was so engrossed in the water mill that I fell into the puddle.

“Warrior, please don’t be surprised.”

“What now?”

When I touched a specific part of the water mill, a dazzling array of colors burst forth suddenly.

I felt the warrior’s hand, which was grabbing my hood, twitch.

Looks like he wants to hide his surprise, but unfortunately for him, I already noticed.

“I changed it to show the spell. So, this is the inscription made by the creator of the water mill.”

“Ah, I see…”

“Are you surprised?”

“……N-No?”

“Hehe.”

The revealed magical spells waved out in fountain-like forms radiating in all directions.

The shape of a spell varies by mage, and mine curls in a spiral like a whirlwind.

“I understand why previous mages failed.”

“Really?”

“Yes. All the magical letters inscribed in the spells have been twisted and difficult to decipher.”

Probably due to this, multiple attempts from prior mages attempting to decode it were found across various spells.

The commonality was that they all quit within the first ten letters.

“I can’t do it with just a pen.”

I summoned a pen engraved with golden patterns. For the first time in a while, I pulled out my staff.

“That’s…”

“This is the staff I usually use.”

After developing the pen, I seldom used the staff anymore.

The pen itself served as a mini staff, and most importantly, it was convenient.

Yet, I never discarded the staff because high-level spells had to be cast with it.

My white matte-finished staff harmonized with golden lines and patterns, and at its tip, a blue crystal was embedded.

And that blue crystal was encircled by two large and small white rings that floated and spun in the air.

“I’m only telling you, Warrior. This staff’s name is Master Key.”

While “Master Key” indicates that it can participate in most types of magic, the true reason is connected to my unique magic.

To manifest my unique magic, I have to use the Master Key, hence the name.

“It’s a beautiful staff.”

“Thank you.”

Compliments about the staff reflect praise to its owner.

I firmly gripped the Master Key with both hands and closed my eyes.

“Open.”

Chiin.

The two rings responded to my command and began rotating at high speed.

“Analyze. Decode. Repeat. Auto.”

Then, I input four spells aimed at the water mill.

Seconds later, a platinum light burst forth from the Master Key, enveloping the spells.

“Just leave it like this for now.”

“Huh? Is that it?”

“Yes. The rest will handle itself. I just need to stay here until then.”

“Ah…”

“You really shouldn’t have brought me along. You can leave now.”

“But you said I have to wait?”

“Yes, but I can wait alone.”

While waiting, I can continue my research with the pen.

During that time, it would be beneficial for the warrior to build relationships with the heroines…

“I’ll wait with you.”

“…Huh?”

However, with that single remark from the warrior, my entire plan was thrown into disarray.

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