I Am Not the Heroine

The day the hero party leaves Alpares, the grand city.

So many people showed up to see us off.

“I’m truly sorry that we couldn’t offer you more hospitality.”

“Not at all. It’s more than enough.”

As the Count of Alpares was chatting with the hero, he felt a burning gaze fixed upon him.

‘…Who could it be?’

It was none other than the Count’s daughter.

She was hiding behind the Countess with lovestruck eyes fixed on the hero.

If she had succeeded in becoming the heroine from the original story, he would have made efforts to connect them, but unfortunately, she had just turned 14.

For various reasons, the hero was doing his best to avoid being left alone with the young lady.

He was listening to the conversation between the Count and Countess, while the three heroines were busy chatting with people they had gotten close to.

“Rui.”

“Ah.”

As I stood there blankly observing them, someone called out to me.

It was the maid assigned to me.

“Maid.”

“Please don’t use honorifics. More importantly, you’re leaving today.”

“Yes. Thank you so much for all your hard work.”

I couldn’t express how much easier she had made things for me.

Bowing my head sincerely, I was met with a smiling maid.

“Don’t mention it. I owe you, so there’s no need for thanks.”

“……??”

With a puzzling statement, the maid slowly backed away.

For some reason, several jealous maids were jabbing at her.

But my assigned maid kept her smile intact, as if saying, “Dogs may bark, but…”

‘Well, I guess it’s fine.’

“Alright, shall we get going?”

With the hero’s farewell, everyone began to mount their horses.

“Lux, long time no see.”

Purr…

“Ah, sorryyyy, don’t lick me.”

For some reason, it seemed that Night Lux, with a furious expression, was licking my face since we hadn’t met after the Fortress incident.

I hurriedly tried to stop him and mounted him.

“The citizens have decided to see off the hero party.”

“Ah…”

As the Count of Alpares opened the mansion gates, everyone gasped in awe.

“Hero-nim~!”

“Thank you for protecting our city!!”

“Wowww! Long live the hero party!!”

Countless citizens were cheering for us along the long road leading to the Northern Gate.

‘…This is something incredible.’

Although it was my first time seeing such a scene, the others had likely experienced similar moments in the capital or other cities.

Yet, seeing their eyes glisten with joy, it seemed they were genuinely happy.

The hero party slowly advanced, starting with Tempest carrying the hero, greeting the people.

I silently followed behind them.

But.

“Rui-nim!! Look this way!!”

“Our city’s savior!! Just a light!!”

“Huh?”

Things seemed strange.

People weren’t just cheering or calling out the name because it was the hero party; there was a more distinct intention behind calling me.

‘Why?!’

My official contributions at the Gloom Fortress consisted solely of protecting the walls and enchanting the equipment of combat troops.

Compared to the hero’s achievements in completely destroying the Gloom Fortress, mine felt like nothing…

“Ugh! I locked eyes with Rui-nim! From now on, I must study magic…!”

“Damn it, worship her! Just shut up and worship her!”

“The citizens of Alpares officially declare their support for Rui-nim, and from now on, any slander or insulting behavior towards Rui-nim will be considered insults toward the citizens of Alpares…!”

“……??”

Something seemed very off.

“Pff… Oh…”

“Heehee…”

“Huh?”

Even the three heroines seemed to hear that, each trying to hold back their laughter.

‘What the heck is going on?’

Amidst my confounding emotions, I happened to lock eyes with the hero.

“Uh… Rui.”

“Yes?”

“About that favor you asked before you fainted…?”

“Y-Yes…?”

“Well, I kind of failed.”

“Huh?”

I had definitely asked the hero to spread the word that “I did this.”

However, it seemed he was now saying it had “failed,” while avoiding my gaze.

“I wanted to keep it a secret for you, but there were just too many witnesses. Still, it spread as a rumor that it was a special technique I helped you with…”

“Pff… Hahaha!! Look at Rui’s flustered face!! Hahaha!!”

“Rapirie…! You shouldn’t laugh… Puhaha!”

“With the Goddess of Artillery Rui on our side, I really feel secure.”

“Hahaha!!!”

“W-What do you mean, Goddess of Artillery…?”

I quickly turned to the direction of the citizens and saw some waving small banners with writing on them.

[Goddess of Artillery, Rui of the hero party! The citizens of Alpares cheer for you.]

[Rui-nim, show us your artillery one more time.]

[The heroine of the hero party is Ru……]

“……”

In the end, I chose to mentally escape.

While it was truly happy to have people who believed in and supported me, there was no way I could endure this sober.

As we exited through the Northern Gate, I mechanically waved my hand in denial of my newly-acquired nickname.

Just then, just before leaving the gate, I spotted someone and hurriedly dismounted Night Lux.

“Rui?”

“I’ll be right back; I just want to see someone.”

Recognizing that I had spotted them, the person grinned and headed towards an alley.

“Diayurshil.”

“Oh my, I was just going to watch you leave.”

The ‘someone’ was Diayurshil, who had taught me jewel crafting techniques.

She was still wearing a captivating smile.

“If possible, I wanted to go to the mansion and see you off, but… looking at the situation, I figured that wouldn’t work.”

“I see.”

“So, did the techniques I taught you help?”

“Of course! The gem crafting technique you taught me has been immensely useful.”

Without her teachings, I probably wouldn’t have been able to craft the tracking bracelet we used within the fortress.

Though I still hadn’t mastered the technique completely and the bracelet’s durability was about to expire… the potential carried by the technique was immense.

“Thanks to you, I was able to gain the upper hand in battle.”

“Really? Then I ended up being a big help to the Goddess of Artillery?”

“Ah.”

“Hahaha. I knew you’d dislike that nickname! It was coined by the captain of the Western Gate guards, who’s terrible at jokes.”

So that was where it came from.

I had kept the walls standing by helping him, yet I couldn’t understand why it was being thrown back at me in this manner.

“Anyway, where are you off to now?”

“Um, I think we’re heading north.”

And I’ll probably meet the witch who granted me a favor.

Upon hearing that, Diayurshil waved her hand lightly and said, “Right. Then travel safe. I’ll be cheering for you.”

“Thank you.”

“By the way, how’s that opal you gave to the hero doing?”

Opal? Why bring that up all of a sudden?

I had seen the hero wearing it on his chest every day.

“Yes.”

“Hmm, so do you know the meaning of that Water Opal?”

It sounded like the opal wasn’t just any opal, but a Water Opal instead.

But I hardly had any knowledge about gems, so I couldn’t answer.

“Is there a meaning to it?”

“Well, if you don’t know, that’s fine. Now really, you should go. Everyone’s waiting.”

“Then, goodbye.”

After exchanging a short but intense farewell, we exited through the Northern Gate.

And after finishing up our greetings with the guard at the Northern Gate, we finally reached a place devoid of crowds where we could relax.

*

“Haah…”

“Thank you, everyone.”

“These farewells are indeed joyful, but also tiring.”

“Still, everyone’s happy, so I’m alright. Hehe.”

While Rapirie and Ariya chatted, I observed Serelin discussing plans about our next destination with the hero.

“Where did you say we were heading next?”

“Here, the nearest city near the northwestern mountain range should be our primary goal.”

“Then it’s going to get a bit chilly.”

I stayed out of both conversations, organizing my thoughts on my own.

Having completed the major event at the Gloom Fortress, the hero party was now slowly moving northward.

They would make their way clockwise, traveling through the northwest and then into the northern region.

‘Then that’s exactly halfway.’

Since I had joined the hero party in the southern region, it felt like we were making a large semi-circle around the Empire.

So what would be important about the journey to the North?

‘Soon, I’m really going to meet the witch heroine.’

There was indeed an episode regarding the witch heroine that had been mentioned so often.

According to the original story, they met after passing through two towns, so the event should take place within a month at the latest.

That was what happened in the ‘original’.

But I also had one more thing to do.

‘When should I trigger Ariya’s affection event?’

The main reason I had placed Ariya last was due to her immense standing as a heroine in the original story.

‘She was practically considered the main heroine.’

Thus, I had intentionally saved her for last.

However, it was now time to actually help her, so I needed to start planning.

‘The problem is…’

Should I do it after meeting the witch heroine, or before?

Each had its own clear pros and cons, making it hard to choose one over the other.

“Hmm…”

Ultimately, as Rapirie finished her conversation and was sipping water, I approached Ariya.

“Ariya.”

“?”

She looked at me while drinking.

I always felt this way, but it’s best to discuss matters like this with the person involved.

“I can tell you have feelings for the hero.”

“Pff!! Ah, I’m so sorry!”

But yeah, I clearly misjudged my timing.

Now that I had opened my mouth, I needed to carefully choose my next words as she hurriedly wiped her wet face.

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