Chapter 103 – With an Old Colleague.

“How about something like this?”

Seeing Krusha spinning around and spreading the hem of her skirt wide, Tiaran rested her chin on her chin for a moment and answered.

“I feel like my body is small, but my mind is the same!”

“Eh, is that a compliment?”

When she did not understand what he meant and asked again with her confused face, Lucia slapped his arm with her innocent face.

“Krusha is about clothes, not body!”

“… Ugh?!”

Only then did Krusha realize what Tiaran’s words meant and covered her face with her chest.

“How can you hide something that catches your eye?”

He was confident because he spoke honestly. They were currently choosing clothes at a nearby clothing store, but they had to go back a little while.

“If you’re planning on participating in the celebration, wouldn’t it be better to match your dress with a suit?”

“Dress?”

Lucia, who had received the letter from Tia Ran, quietly checked the contents and spoke as if she had remembered something, and Crusha tilted her head.

“To put it simply, it’s banquet clothes. Although it has quite a few other uses as well.”

“It’s not bad, but aren’t those things all made to order?”

Moreover, clothes are currently produced entirely by hand. Even in the case of dresses and suits, they were more expensive because they were professionally produced at a place called a boutique, similar to a blacksmith.

“Because it’s a celebration. There’s no need to wear such expensive clothes. Looking at the contents of the letter, it doesn’t seem like there is a special dress code.”

“He’s more considerate than I thought.”

“Consideration…?”

When Krusha heard Tiaran’s story, she remembered what Sizak had shown them before and made a strange expression. Well, if you just look at him, you’ll only see him as a flirtatious nobleman.

“It’s a consideration. Not having a dress code is the same as telling you to come in comfortable clothes.”

“Ugh, I see.”

In any case, it was safe to say that it was out of consideration for those who were adventurers who would not understand the types of dresses. As it is a celebration, it is only natural.

“… I’ve been thinking about it for a while. Don’t you somehow know a lot about aristocratic society?”

While Lucia was explaining things to Krusha, she suddenly felt uncomfortable about the fact that Tiaran was strangely familiar with the culture among the nobles, and when she asked, she answered indifferently.

“Anyway, you used to be a hero, right? Back then, you were sometimes invited to banquets and such.”

“Yes, Garion was always out of sight.”

“There’s nothing we can do about it. The cult members tell us to turn on the lights and be quiet.”

Benia also agreed to his story, so Lucia had nothing to say. So they came to the store to get a banquet dress tailored.

“Ah, are you buying it for me too?”

“You say it’s a vacation? I’ve already come all the way here. I could stop by the celebration.”

Tia Ran dragged her with her to her quarters.

“Well, then would black be better? Or would white be better?”

“Black!”

Benia looked at him for a moment and chose two dresses that she seemed to like.

“… Aren’t you choosing too roughly?”

When Tiaran pointed to the black dress without a moment of hesitation, Benia spoke with suspicion, but he spoke in accordance with his own aesthetic sense.

“I would have thought about it if it was just black hair. Your eyes are red, right? So black is better.”

Black should not be considered a dull color. Dresses tend to be made of materials that reflect a lot of light, so if you wear jewelry or other accessories with them, they become more glamorous than you think.

“What do you think is okay with me?”

Anis, who was eavesdropping on his story next to her, watched Benia’s back as she entered the dressing room carrying a dress and came up to him and asked.

“You are white.”

“My hair…”

“Were you planning on wearing a ring?”

As Tia Ran watched Anis lower her head sullenly, her story came to mind. She said she was happy to be a warrior, but at the same time, she seemed to miss a normal life.

“You know that they can’t coexist, right?”

As she watched Anise hesitantly nod her head, she checked her surroundings for a moment to see if anything, but there was no sign of her to overhear.

“It’s scratchy! How do nobles wear something that stings like this?”

“If you move carefully, you can move it without getting stung.”

“Ugh, but isn’t there a less stinging dress?”

“This is soft enough too!”

Lucia was grumbling in her dressing room to help Krusha get dressed, but she was also trying her best to fit her into the right dress, and Benia was also changing.

‘The store owner is good at keeping his promises.’

They had rented an entire boutique with the owner’s permission. Because the victory festival was taking place, people from the territory flocked to other areas, so there were few customers, and since it was a remote area, there was little demand for dresses.

“Are you still hesitating?”

“… Yeah, do I really deserve to be a hero?”

Although the monster’s incident had been overtaken, the fundamental problem that made Anis hesitate still remained. Moreover, the celebration that was about to take place was essentially an event that would publicize the fact that they were a hero party.

‘Ugh, this is because of me.’

You must have already been doubting yourself. The person who wields the holy sword, putting the meaning of a hero to shame, suddenly appeared right in front of me.

Of course, fanatics of the cult would not be able to acknowledge a being like Tiaran who seemed to completely deny the goddess’s arrangements, but Anis was different.

‘There must have been a problem in Benia.’

In particular, Benia saw Anis as a disciple rather than a warrior. However, because she revered him as a dragon for some reason, even if she hid it from the outside, her attitude toward Anis would have been even more so.

In the end, his unplanned presence became a variable.

‘Whoa, I can’t help it. I didn’t want to get involved with the religious bastards.’

Tia Ran looked at Anis, who was unable to raise her head with a sullen expression again, and then opened her mouth.

“Then will you leave me as the hero?”

“Eh?”

Her eyes widened as she heard his story. She was so surprised that her ring made her eyes, which had previously been blue, appear gold.

‘Isn’t there a function to suppress power?’

As she waited quietly for Anise’s answer, her eyes began to tremble.

“But then I…”

“I have to go back to the village?”

“… Yes.”

Connell, who had already put her in a nightmare, somehow became a monster. Since she was killed, he no longer exists, but the problems in the village where Anise lived have not gone away.

‘It’s hard to think about what the countryside was like in the Middle Ages.’

In a world like this, where the countryside is already closed, there is bound to be even less interaction with the outside world. Even if Anis quit being a warrior and went back, it was unclear how he would be accepted among them.

However, there was something Anis overlooked.

“Why do I have to go back if I quit being a hero?”

“If I’m not a warrior, I’m useless.”

“Why are you useless? Even if you’re not a hero, aren’t you part of my party?”

“Oh…?”

Even if Tiaran appears externally as a warrior, it does not change the fact that Anis is also a warrior and can wield a holy sword.

“Even if I worked as a hero in the past, it’s like I’m in your party now.”

“Well, that is.”

“And the more people who can handle the holy sword, the better.”

In any case, the Holy Sword is a powerful weapon. Especially for demons, it is like a weapon that exerts even stronger power. One of the things that makes a hero great is the fact that he can wield such a holy sword.

What is the essence of a weapon? It’s good to be powerful, but isn’t it also important to be easy to supply and manage, and that anyone can use it at any time, rather than just being strong?

“It’s good to be able to use such weapons together when necessary.”

If it’s good, it’s good, but it’s never a loss. As Anis looked up at him blankly, I thought something was missing and added the last thing.

“And what if you’re not a hero? Didn’t we decide to date?”

Whether Anis was a warrior or not, weren’t they lovers anyway? Even if there are a few.

“Ugh, wow. Hmm!”

Upon hearing that story, Anis burst into tears and buried her face in his arms.

“Okay, okay. Cry as much as you want.”

Tiaran patted her back as she was sobbing. Suddenly, he noticed that Benia was unusually quiet and when he looked, it seemed like she had just come out of her dressing room.

‘I guess I heard everything.’

She didn’t bother to call Benia. In any case, she was largely responsible for Anise’s suffering.

‘Is Anis lovers with Garion?’

Benia was frozen, holding on to her shield.

‘Why? Why why?’

Surely it wasn’t normal to have only one hero? So why do two people who were thought to be incompatible end up being so friendly?

‘Garion… Was my hero, right?’

Benia could not remove the beige screen and just stared at her hand holding it tightly as if squeezing it.
Her heart ached.

‘Anis made Garion leave my side. ‘Why?’

She couldn’t understand this feeling.