Volume 3 – The Hero, the Fake Hero, and the Benefactor Hero

“…Nn…”

I woke up to the soft radiance of the sun and saw that it was morning, just as I had expected.

Then, I got up.

I always found it easy to get out of bed as soon as I wake up, so I never felt sleepy in the mornings. Whenever I was sleepy at night, though, I always felt sluggish.

I think I had a weird dream today… like I was a hamster… oh well.

I rubbed my eyes, combed my hair, and blinked a few times. When I turned the blanket over a bit, I was more or less wearing clothes, but the discomfort in my body was evident.

“Ah… Heh.”

I broke into a smile.

Hey, world. Good morning. Good afternoon. Good evening.

I’m Ookawa Shouryuu—or Shal, a hero summoned from another world and ended up becoming the lover of the demon lord after many twists and turns.

I have no idea which world I’m talking to, but I just wanted to say good morning. It’s a beautiful day.

Now, if we look back half a day ago…

Last night, I realized that I was in love with Azel and went out to the streets at night, where demons were still very much jubilant.

Of course, I was like a sitting duck as my combat abilities were sealed, so I was kidnapped and almost fell into slavery, but somehow I survived.

Azel noticed that and saved me just in time.

But damn, he was really cool. It might seem imprudent, but it made me happy.

After I was rescued, I woke up in Azel’s bed. With a topless lady-killer sleeping next to me, my mind was filled with indecent thoughts.

Despite being inexperienced, I invited Azel and was held by him. The unfamiliar pleasure had taken over my head, and—in the heat of the moment, I confessed my love to him.

Yeah. No matter how many times I thought about it, it was a shameless thing to do.

I had poorly planned on doing this or that but never followed through with it at all… Before I could even start on any of those, I had skipped straight up to saying I-like-you.

I was glad that Azel had accepted it, but it was such a sloppy and dumb confession. To have him go out with me was a miracle in itself.

To start with… I didn’t have the cleverness to scheme at all.

Even then, I tried to get him to think of me as a love interest using physical contact and a bold approach which was far too difficult.

It was complete recklessness. I liked Azel so much that on impulse, that I… no…

My ideal situation, you see…

This is just my personal image of boldness, but it was something like… leading Azel. And then, uhm, making him feel good somehow, yeah?

Well, he’d think it was okay to hold me, not thinking about whether I was in love or not, right?

Then, I would calmly tell him something like, “It’s not bad doing it with me, isn’t it?” and slowly get him hooked physically while also finding out his preferences.

It was a grand scheme to ensure my body that had been under the pretense of being experienced, would get accustomed to sex in the process.

There was no way I could’ve done it had I thought it through, but that time all I felt was I have to do it! I’ll do it!

The result was, of course, you guessed it.

In the end, I was shown the true essence of the demon lord’s potential as he led me, captivated me, and developed my body completely in one go.

…It was a bit frustrating—just a little bit.

Nevertheless, it was a memory of a blissful night where we shared our feelings.

“The way my body creaked and the way it felt in there was uncomfortable, though… Heheh.”

I leaned back on the soft cushions with a cozy feeling and gazed at Azel’s lovely sleeping face next to me for a while.

Azel looked so cool and beautiful even when he was asleep, and I never got tired of staring at him. It made me smile naturally.

I was watching him, unconcerned about my languor and hunger, when Azel groaned a bit, the morning sun dazzling him.

“Mm.”

“N… ngh…”

I gently cast a shadow with my hand, but he squirmed, his onyx eyes peeking out of his slightly open lids.

Then I smiled sweetly at him.

“Good morning, Azel.”

“……Shal?”

“Yes.”

“…W…hy… Huh?”

“Why? Because we slept together last night. …We did a lot of things.”

“A lot… —~~?!?!”

Puff!

“Hm?”

“You idiot! I’m still not ready for the morning chirm!!”

Morning chirm?1朝チュン (asa chun) – A way not to directly depict sex scenes, showing a scene in the morning (normally a couple on bed) after a change of scene or a fade out, suggesting an act has taken place. Usually used in works that should be kept SFW.

For some reason, when I smiled, Azel screamed while his face flushed up to his ears and escaped, leaping away into the shadows of the room.

It was so unexpected that I couldn’t help but tilt my head.

I moved to face Azel, who had fled to the far corner of the room, and sat down in the middle of the bed, minding my hoarse throat, creaking joints, and lower body, which had nothing but discomfort.

“ggh… ghuu~ Ghhuu~…!”

He seemed to be in a great deal of agony, with his head in his hands. He just woke up, yet he was already having an attack of his chronic disease.

Azel’s skin was all boiling red, but he looked so troubled that it made me feel a little anxious.

—Don’t tell me, he regrets it…?

One-night stands were a common occurrence. But it felt so good, and I even had a feeling that Azel gave me a yes…

My eyebrows drooped when I tried to reconsider that fact.

I could only remember fragments during the midst of it, but he kept on saying he likes me within all those fragments. That’s why I thought our feelings were mutual. I was so happy to see him sleeping. If I were mistaken all along, it would feel so lonely.

“Azel… Why are you running away…?”

“!”

The thought of it made me lose confidence, my shoulders hunched and my voice rough, spitting out pathetic words.

“I ain’t running away! I-It’s strategic, uwooh…!”

Then Azel came back, knocking over the furniture at a great speed.

Speaking of, Azel… Doesn’t that hurt?

His shin hit the table hard… Ah, the table got broken. Even though he had such puffy skin… His defense bonus was amazing.

“Shaal! I-I like youuuuuuu!”

Azel shouted only those words as he came back to my side, though I was worried about his shin. He then kicked a chair away and hid in the corner again at great speed.

…So, it wasn’t a one-night stand.

I let out a loose smile.

“I like you too—!”

“Aaaaaaahhh!”

Crash!

By returning the same words from the bed I was in, I was convinced that the feelings he had for me, which I thought was just a dream, were undoubtedly real.

What a blessing. Morning chirm. I’m happy.

I was so happy, even though Azel had smashed the chipped table into pieces. We should fix it together later.

My first morning chirm was full of happiness.

On a side note, Azel hid in the shadows of the room for almost the entire day.

He was so embarrassed that he didn’t leave my side for more than a certain period of time, except for biological reasons. Wadler had come to see what was going on and was left astonished once again.

Wadler had a look similar to that of a father but still gave us his blessings, so I was very happy with that as well.