I Am Not the Heroine

Rapirie.

It takes a few more lines to truly denote her, but for now, the Hero and his comrades called her by that name.

Rapirie, the mischievous princess of the noble Elf kingdom, Yggdrasil.

She had a more proactive and lively personality compared to the Hero and others.

So, even though she arrived later than the Saint and the Knight, she ended up taking the lead in introducing the new party member.

“No matter how much you’re the leader, you should consult us first!”

First up was the Elf.

The next to speak was the Saint.

“Um, the Hero did mention needing a Mage, but… I didn’t expect to meet one so soon.”

The Saint glanced back and forth between the Elf Archer and the Knight, looking troubled.

Her name was Ariya. She was the only one who had been on the journey with the Hero from the beginning.

So, if you consider the ‘heroine hierarchy,’ she had been the closest to the Hero for the longest time.

“Rapirie, just calm down for now. Aswel must have had his reasons. Of course, those reasons need to be agreeable to us.”

Finally, the Female Knight, leaning against the wall with a cold gaze, spoke.

Serelin Kint, a skilled knight who became a noble through her own merits, was even the Hero’s first mentor.

In this party, she showed the traits of a senior heroine as well.

“If there’s anything we don’t like, I’m going to oppose it without question!”

“Um, Rie. Just calm down. I’ll explain everything to you.”

Wow, truly the king of harems.

Nicknames flowed out as if breathing. In an instant, Rapirie’s spirit seemed to wilt.

“Ugh.”

“Uh… Rui? Can I talk to my comrades for a bit?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

Since the Hero had accepted her, the chance of breaking apart was nonexistent.

After all, there was a heroine who was far more vehemently opposed than I was.

She didn’t particularly desire to be in the Hero’s party, yet she ended up joining.

But me, who had proven my worth, being driven away by the heroines’ opposition? That was impossible.

While the Hero took the three upstairs, I sat down and summoned a pen in the split space.

Since the conversation seemed like it would take a while, I thought I’d continue my research in the meantime.

“Hmm, for now, let’s skip this part, and the equations needed for the next process are…”

As letters shimmered in the air following the pen, I soon lost myself in my research to the point where the surrounding sounds were drowned out.

*

Saint Ariya.

Elf Princess Rapirie.

Knight Serelin.

The three of them had different environments, personalities, and appearances, but they shared one common point.

They all liked the Hero, Aswel, the leader of this party.

Unfortunately, no one had directly confessed their feelings due to Aswel’s complete cluelessness, but they didn’t give up.

As time passed, the three learned about each other’s feelings and made a promise.

– Since new allies might join, let’s avoid fighting among ourselves for now.

After all, this party was formed to defeat the Demon King and the Demon Race.

If the party broke apart over love, the one to suffer the most would be the Hero, Aswel.

Because of this, the three maintained a precarious alliance, striving to win Aswel’s heart.

Then, the moment came.

The appearance of a new ally.

As soon as they laid eyes on the new woman who called herself a Mage, the three felt a shock.

“Uh… Aswel, before we talk, can I just ask one thing…?”

“What is it?”

“Is it possible… um… that you don’t prefer smaller ones…?”

Compared to the three, who had none of them shy about their sizes, the newly arrived Mage was quite small.

-> The Hero was oblivious to the affections of the three.

-> Is there something about us that she doesn’t like?

-> A new comrade has joined? But… she’s small?

-> Wait, the Hero brought her along himself? No way…?

The dozens of agonies culminated in just one speculation.

Is the Hero into that kind of thing?

If that were true, then from the start, the three would be hopeless.

Perhaps that’s why, with tension in the air, the three just stared at the Hero.

“A small one? What do you mean by that?”

“Um… Well…”

“More importantly, I didn’t bring Rui myself. She sought me out while I was accepting a request and wanted to join the party.”

“Oh, she didn’t come looking for you herself?”

“Uh… right? I didn’t know Rui beforehand.”

“Aha…”

The three sighed in simultaneous relief.

It wasn’t confirmed yet, but they felt grateful that a certain preference hadn’t been revealed.

“…But in that case, it raises further questions. Serelin, Rapirie, and I have had plenty of time to assess each other’s skills and trust.”

Ariya looked at Aswel with a concerned gaze.

She was worried about the fundamental truth, meaning the trust and minimum level of skill that party members should have.

“Ariya is right. Aswel, you acted too hastily this time.”

Ultimately, they had to reach the Demon King’s castle.

Although they’ve all grown a lot during the past year, that was only possible due to their fundamental talent and skills.

Serelin, who was also the Hero’s mentor, pointed this out to Aswel.

Under the mixed gazes of worry and distrust, Aswel smiled gently.

“Everyone, I understand your concerns. We’ve fought and supported each other for a year; it’s not like I wouldn’t know that.”

But why don’t you get what’s in our hearts!?

The three barely held back what they wanted to say.

“However, I still have a reason for quickly bringing Rui on board without consulting you.”

“What’s that?”

“While I was talking to Rui, she did something.”

Aswel recalled what had just happened.

With a perfectly ordinary expression, she had done something akin to biting into a piece of fruit while breathing.

But upon seeing this, Aswel couldn’t accept it.

“Space of Space, you know?”

“Referred to as a pocket dimension, little dimension, etc.?”

The one with the highest understanding of magic among the three, Rapirie, answered.

“That’s right. Rie, could you explain it to the others?”

“Hmm~ Simply put, it’s a spell that creates a small space only accessible to the caster. The shape of the space isn’t fixed, and it takes on the form that the caster wants.”

“But why? Is it a difficult spell?”

“Difficult…? Well, you have to reach a certain level of mastery to understand spatial knowledge and… well, I think that was the case. But just so you know, Aswel, using the Space of Space doesn’t necessarily mean you are skilled.”

The space-magic was indeed difficult.

But it wasn’t a kind of magic that only a limited number of people could perform.

If the recruitment for Mages was based on Space of Space magic, hundreds of applications would flood in because it was relatively common.

Then Aswel recalled the event, still unable to believe it.

“As Rie said, the Space of Space magic is treated like that. But Rui… activated the Space of Space without using any magic circle or incantation.”

“…Huh?”

“It was as if she were pulling something out of a bag. She simply flicked her hand sideways, and the space split open, showing me a Space of Space full of magical tools. She didn’t even look like she was struggling at all.”

“…Does that even make sense?”

“Um… I don’t know much about magic, but wasn’t it necessary to recite incantations or create formations to activate it?”

Even Ariya, who had no magical knowledge, blurted that out.

So it was only natural for Rapirie, who was familiar with the limits of magic, to hesitate.

If Space of Space magic could be cast without magic circles or incantations, what about other magic?

What about all the various magical tools she possessed?

Rapirie unexpectedly swallowed her saliva.

She had been feeling some limits in managing ranged support alone.

“Rui said she couldn’t provide the large firepower we needed but would help maintain our weapons and equipment.”

“True, lately my armor has been feeling a bit constricting…”

Serelin adjusted her armor, recalling the Mage below.

Could that delicate figure and face really assist with such tasks? It felt hard to imagine.

“Uh… So, did Rui come all this way to help us?”

“No, she had three conditions to join us.”

Three conditions?

Rapirie, who had been frozen for a while, opened her mouth.

“I knew it! She wants something! Surely, she has some ulterior motives toward Aswel…!”

“She said she wanted the remains of the Magical Creatures we’ve defeated during our battles. Ah, and she’d prefer to be excluded from cooking and watch duties.”

“Uh…?”

Aswel coughed lightly, drawing the attention of the three.

“I felt one thing when I saw Rui using magic. That we should bring her on board as a comrade. Doing so will improve our journey significantly.”

His blue eyes were filled with determination.

Regrettably, no one could oppose what he said.

“Hmm… well, if you say so…”

“The Hero is the leader after all…”

“…For now, I’ll keep an eye on her as well.”

Once Aswel felt the discussion was over, he thanked everyone with a cheerful smile.

“Thanks!”

Having wrapped up the conversation, the four of them descended the stairs to relay the good news to Rui.

“Rui, we succeeded in convincing everyone! So now you can officially join our party…”

“…What?”

As they reached the bottom, they were greeted by a scene.

A girl with waist-length pure white hair.

She was wearing a robe much larger than her frame, holding an antique pen in her right hand, and resting her head against a desk as she drifted off to sleep.

However, what caught their attention wasn’t her, but what was above her.

Hundreds of golden letters danced in the air, forming dozens of sentences.

Amidst a storm of letters, various devices and materials swirled around, and at the center, they clung to each other, creating something.

A truly unreal sight.

It shattered the perceptions of the four, who thought summoning elements through magic to attack was all there was to it.

The girl who seemed to create this spectacle was still fast asleep.

Then, as the magic emitted a clear sound, she rubbed her eyes awake.

Looking at the four staring at her, she spoke nonchalantly.

“Have you finished your discussion?”

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