After the events in the audience room, Ryner went back to the library and studied with Kelly until sundown, much to her dismay. Saying goodbye to the tired teacher, he ate a late meal and took a bath. Walking down the hallway, he thought about what he just heard from Nicholas before separating from him.

“(According to that bishop, the summoning magic that the Elea kingdom monopolizes was given to them by the gods. Is that true or just another misconception? If it is true, then maybe those kids got the gods’ blessings which is why they are S rank. But, what do they want? Is there really a calamity coming? I’m pretty sure my doodles don’t prophesized anything.)” [Ryner]

He thought about the possible involvement of the gods that had already turned his fortress into the planet’s core and pondered on their objectives. But, he gave up after a while because there were too many possibilities that went from the gods being dutiful to wanting entertainment.

Putting these worries aside for the moment, he proceeded towards the room of a couple of girls to settle some business with them.

Aria, who had just finished taking her bath after training alone, was in front of her room. Everyone was dealing with what happened at the ruin in their own way and training was her style. She thought that Ryan and Jayce might be sharpening their skills as well, swinging a sword or punching an imaginary foe. But, she didn’t see them at all and wondered if they were alright.

“(That muscle-head aside, Ryan was seriously depressed. Really, today was just horrible.)” [Aria]

She remembered what happened during the day and couldn’t help but feel depressed. But, knowing that she couldn’t stay like that since she wouldn’t be able to protect Elena or anyone else, she strongly shook her head and motivated herself once more to get stronger.

“(Damn it, I wish I had some gum right now.)” [Aria]

When they accepted to fight as heroes, she knew what they were getting themselves into, but she never gave much thought to it. It was like Ryner said, her situation was too similar to a game. Coupled with the feeling of invincibility after getting magic and the VIP treatment she received as a hero, she thought that nothing could hurt her. After all, she was strong in her old world as a delinquent and now she was stronger than most humans.

“(There are hundreds of monsters out there that could kill us… Yeah, you’re right. And we just met one of them.)” [Aria]

She remembered the time when Ryner scolded them, how he warned them that they could die and others could die. After going through that deadly situation and seeing three knights killed in action, his words had a huge impact on everyone. Among them, Aria committed his speech to memory and swore to become stronger so that she wouldn’t lose her best friend or anyone else.

Sighing, she unlocked the door with the key given to her and turned the doorknob.

“I’m back.” [Aria]

She said as a habit while taking a step inside.

“Aria, welcome back. Um, please close the door quickly.” [Elena]

Answering her was Elena who was also in the room and shyly requested the door to be closed. The reason was simple: She was in her underwear.

“Ah sorry. Were you in the middle of changing?” [Aria]

Aria asked as she hurriedly closed the door behind her. Her best friend, who was standing by her bed, was clutching a white nightgown in her hands and was using it to cover her front. She, who was the school’s idol, was a gentle girl that gave off a sense of purity. But, weirdly enough, her taste in underwear didn’t match her image at all.

“(Black with lace…)” [Aria]

She was wearing a black bra and panties that one would see on a mature, busty woman. When Aria once asked her why she liked to wear these types of underwear, Elena innocently answered with a “Don’t you think the mature ones are cuter?” and she couldn’t say anything back in the face of that bright smile.

Truly, these didn’t suit Elena at all. But, another thought filled Aria’s mind as her eyes naturally moved to the chest area.

“(Big as always…)” [Aria]

The ex-delinquent couldn’t help but remark as she stared at the two huge swells peeking out from behind the nightgown. Her friend was the type who looked slimmer with clothes on and now that she was half-naked, one could clearly see that her figure was more than mature enough to wear some sexy underwear. Since she looked like a kind and innocent girl, the contrast her body gave off in those black bra and panties created a certain naughty look. In short, Elena Coleaf had big breasts.

“(As expected of an F cup. Mine can barely compete with her.)” [Aria]

Aria nonchalantly thought in her mind while evaluating her best friend’s physique that few high school girls possessed. Then again, she also had a figure that many would envy. While she stood there and harbored such casual thoughts, Elena wasn’t dressing herself up and only looked downward with the nightgown held to her chest.

“You know, Aria… I thought about some things after what happened.” [Elena]

Elena began talking with a serious and somewhat sad expression which surprised her roommate.

“Yeah? What did you think about?” [Aria]

Aria asked as she walked closer to her. Elena looked at the small drawer next to her bed. A red string with two round, golden bells was carefully placed on top. It was given to her by a certain man that also gave her the biggest scolding of her life. Remembering what he said at the ruin, she closed her eyes for a moment and looked at her trusted friend with a resolute expression.

“I think I should do my part as a hero fighting for world peace. I think… I should get married.” [Elena]

“… Huh?” [Aria]

That was all Aria said as she looked at the half-naked girl with a dumb expression. Her brain couldn’t process the information at all.

“I thought about what I could do to help everyone out and this is what I came up with. I could marry a noble, work as a healer and treat the injured.” [Elena]

“W-wait a moment! Why do you have to get married?! How will that help anyone?!” [Aria]

When Elena further explained herself, Aria blinked a few times and loudly exclaimed while gesturing with her hands. She couldn’t understand how her friend made such a leap in logic to come up with that solution.

“But, the king told us, remember? If we married nobles or royalties of other countries, we could help solidify the relations between them, improve cooperation and reduce conflicts. We’ve received many marriage interviews from nobles of this kingdom and from others, didn’t we?” [Elena]

Elena was only seventeen years-old, but marrying young wasn’t a rare thing in this world. There were many who married at her age.

When she finally understood the reason, Aria’s fist was shaking and she got the urge to punch that stupid king, but that would make her a criminal and land her in a ton of trouble. So, she controlled herself and proceeded to talk her friend out of this idiotic idea.

“I don’t know if what he said was true, but Elena, that was just him trying to use us to increase his political power! Everyone in the class knows that! That’s why Kelly strongly protested against it! Ryan and Jayce also always go to deal with the interviews in our place! And I’m pretty sure that he was only half-serious since keeping us in his country would be better! Besides, didn’t you want to find someone you love?! How can you accept marrying a guy you’ve never met?!” [Aria]

“I do want to go out with someone I love. I want to hold hands and um… Kiss too. But, Ryner said I should take things more seriously or someone else might die the next time. And I thought I did. When we killed monsters for the first time and I had nightmares that night… I thought I had resolved myself after that. But…” [Elena]

Elena tightly grasped her nightgown and hugged it to her chest. When she imagined what it would be like to be with the one she loved, she gently smiled and blushed a bit. But, remembering the scolding, she knew that she couldn’t take things so casually if she didn’t want the same thing to happen. Her smile was clouded by sadness and seeing that, Aria clenched her teeth and grabbed her friend’s shoulders.

“That doesn’t make sense, you damn idiot!” [Aria]

“Eh?! Wai-kya!” [Elena]

She pushed the half-naked girl on the bed and looked at her in the face. The nightgown fell on the floor and an angry Aria was on top of a stunned Elena.

“Ryner wanted us to take things seriously so that we wouldn’t have to witness any tragedies! If you don’t want to die, if you don’t want anyone else to die, then stop messing around and fight seriously! That’s what that scolding was about! He didn’t tell us to get married! So why are you bringing this up?!” [Aria]

After she was done saying her piece, Aria waited for Elena to talk. At first, she only stared at the black-haired girl silently, but tears soon gathered in her eyes and her expression turned sorrowful. Her mouth opened and she said her reason in a quivering voice.

“But… But I don’t want you to die.” [Elena]

Those words caught Aria by surprise. Elena kept her gaze firmly locked with her best friend and ignored the fact that she was crying.

“Back then… You were about to be killed… *sniff* I couldn’t save you… I don’t want my friend to die. *sob* I don’t want us to go through that again.” [Elena]

In the ruin, she was powerless before the Predator and could only watch as Aria was about to get killed. That feeling frightened her and it drove her to find a way to be useful to everyone. She had a huge mana pool, but she wasn’t good at fighting. Being able to use healing magic was a blessing in disguise since it meant that she had to stay away from the frontlines. But, she realized that a healer couldn’t save everyone. If she couldn’t fight, then she couldn’t protect her friends. What if Ryner didn’t make it in time? That thought scared her so much her body would tremble in fear.

Finally understanding her feelings, Aria’s stupefied expression tightened and she spoke in a determined tone.

“Then, I won’t die.” [Aria]

“*Sob* Huh?” [Elena]

“I’ll get stronger. So strong that I won’t lose no matter who the opponent is! That’s why you don’t have to worry!” [Aria]

She smiled and looked at her crying friend with warm eyes.

“I promise I won’t die. We’ll get back home safely, ok?” [Aria]

“… Really?” [Elena]

“Yeah, so don’t show me that sad face again.” [Aria]

“*Sniff* Unh.” [Elena]

“Good. Then, forget about getting married. Just steadily get stronger and do what you always do. You’ll help a lot of people just by being you.” [Aria]

Elena nodded and wiped her tears with her hands. Her head wasn’t filled with the worst possible outcomes anymore and she sheepishly smiled at her best friend.

“Hehe, you’re so cool, Aria. I’m glad we became friends.” [Elena]

“That should be my line.” [Aria]

The two girls softly laughed, happy that they worked their problems out. At that moment…

KNOCK KNOCK

“Hey, is the door locked? Oh it’s not…” [Ryner]

““Eh?”” [Aria, Elena]

Right after knocking, Ryner barged in the room without waiting for an answer and froze in place along with the two heroes who were in the bed. Before him, Aria was on top of Elena with her hands and knees on both sides of her body. Moreover, the ridiculously embarrassed girl that was lying on her back was wearing sexy, black underwear. From a third person’s perspective, it looked like Aria had Elena get undressed and pushed her down on the bed.

““…”” [Ryner, Aria, Elena]

Everyone stared at each other in silence. Ryner’s sleepy eyes were more opened than usual. Aria was wordlessly closing and opening her mouth like a fish while blushing. Elena’s face was becoming redder by the second and steam seemed to be coming out of her head.

After a few seconds that felt like hours, Ryner quietly retraced his steps and exited the room. Then, just as the door was closed, it flung open again and he popped his upper body in from behind with a black, rectangular phone in his hand.

“Ah, let me take a picture to commemorate your first time. Say chee-wait, I’m joking! Don’t shoot those icicles at me!” [Ryner]

Elena desperately restrained Aria who seemed ready to turn that shameless man into a pin cushion. After making a small commotion, the three of them settled down and begun talking.

“So, what is it that you want?” [Aria]

Aria grumpily said as she glared at him who stood in front of her while casually glancing around the room. She was sitting on her bed with Elena on her right who now wore her nightgown. Ryner pulled out from his pocket dimension a set of black headphones that the two recognized and put it around his neck.

“Well, in short, I want you two to stop spying on me.

““!!!”” [Aria, Elena]

“I know because I’ve been eavesdropping on your conversations using the presents I gave you. They’re actually listening devices. From now on, just fake your reports to the king and tell him that I’m not doing anything. Alright?” [Ryner]

He said with a brilliant, but obvious fake smile. Not beating around the bush, Ryner went straight to business and revealed everything. The two girls were speechless from this sudden revelation. The pervert that tried to take a picture of them actually knew that they were spying on him.

“Uh ah Ryner that’s well uh waaah!” [Elena]

Elena was panicking and her eyes were swirling. Her hands were balled up and held to her chest as she hurriedly tried to explain their actions, but only a series of incoherent words came out of her mouth.

“T-then, since the day you gave us this, you’ve been-“ [Aria]

“Yeah, I’ve been eavesdropping for four days, but you guys have been at it longer, right?” [Ryner]

Aria composed herself enough to talk again and put a hand on Elena’s shoulder to calm her down. She raised her left hand to look at what was wrapped around her wrist: a red string with two round, golden bells.

“… What gave us away?” [Aria]

“You two are too nice. If you’re gonna spy on me, then you should act like nothing’s wrong. I suggest taking acting classes.” [Ryner]

“… *sigh* I’ll remember that.” [Aria]

After a while, Aria sighed and raised both hands as if giving up. Elena finally calmed down and anxiously looked at Ryner. Instead of trying to cover up their wrongdoing, it was better to admit it at this point.

“Um, Ryner… We’re sorry.” [Elena]

“Yeah, our bad.” [Aria]

Elena bowed deeply and Aria lowered her head while ruffling her hair.

“Don’t worry about it. Keeping tab on suspicious guests is pretty normal. Not a bad move from the king, but I want you two to stop now. There are some things that I don’t want people to see.” [Ryner]

Ryner waved his hand and continued to talk to them casually.

“Really, like what?” [Aria]

“Aria! We shouldn’t pry into his affairs so much!” [Elena]

When Aria asked on reflex, Elena rebuked her and tried to apologize to Ryner. Now that her spying was revealed, the guilt was coming back to torment her in full force.

“Well, for one thing, you know what kind of dreams I have every night.” [Ryner]

When Ryner pointed this out with his raised index finger, the girls closed their mouth and became stiff. They restlessly looked around the room with the black-haired one crossing her arms in front of her chest and the brown-haired one fidgeting with her hands on her knees.

They didn’t know what to say. Just looking at his face suddenly became hard when he confronted them about this. They had seen something that they shouldn’t have. They had seen his weak side that he never showed to anyone, the vulnerable side that he kept hidden during the day.

“Um, we really, didn’t mean to see that. We’re very sorry and, um… I-if you’d like, we could, maybe, tal-“ [Elena]

“That’s fine. So long as you don’t tell anyone else and never speak of this again.” [Ryner]

Ryner cut off Elena who had gathered her courage and preemptively rejected any help they might want to give him. Elena understood that he wouldn’t let her get close to him to help from his strong tone of voice, so she stopped talking and sadly nodded. It was a total rejection. Aria looked at her friend from the corner of her eye and decided to give her a hand.

“Ryner, you-“ [Aria]

“I have nightmares. Let’s just leave it at that. Besides, everyone does.” [Ryner]

“(But not every night like you.)” [Aria]

She wanted to rebuke, but wisely chose to stay quiet. It was a failure. Sometimes, people weren’t ready to let others close to them. She understood this because of her time being alone.

“Anyway, the second reason why I want you to stop spying on me is because some of my secrets are harmful to you. For example…” [Ryner]

Ryner said with a serious expression and raised his middle finger.

“What happened last night.” [Ryner]

“…!” [Aria, Elena]

Instantly, the two girls furiously blushed as they remembered the scene of a naked Maya on top of Ryner.

“*Cough*Yeah, there are some things we really don’t want to see.” [Aria]

Aria coughed and pretended to be calm, but she couldn’t hide her red face. Elena was looking at her legs and was going “awawah” with her hands on her blushing cheeks.

“Glad to see that you understand. By the way, did you perverts enjoy the show?” [Ryner]

Ryner shamelessly asked such a question with a straight face to which Aria angrily responded.

“Who are you calling a pervert?! We stopped watching the moment we saw what you were doing! Right, Elena?!” [Aria]

“Uh?! Ah, yes! We stopped watching right away! We didn’t peek on you in secret or anything! We were told to keep an eye on you by the king! So, it was a job! We didn’t enjoy it! We didn’t enjoy it one bit!” [Elena]

She sought the help of her best friend to defend their reputation, but this one was acting a bit too panicky and was blabbering on needlessly.

“Why are you panicking?” [Ryner]

“I-I-I-I’m not panicking at all!” [Elena]

Ryner asked while tilting his head and Elena answered in a shrill voice with her clenched fists in front of her chest.

After finally calming the two girls down, especially Elena, Ryner got the conversation back on track. The heroes revealed that Elena had the ability to see anyone she wanted as long as they were within three kilometers. Ryner realized how useful as well as dangerous this ability could be, so he was slightly relieved that the one who possessed it had a gentle disposition. She probably wouldn’t abuse such a gift.

“Anyway, if you stop spying on me, I’ll stop eavesdropping on you. As proof, I’ll give you these headphones. It’s what I use to listen in on your conversations.” [Ryner]

“What the hell, so you weren’t listening to music before going to sleep…” [Aria]

He took off the headphones that were around his neck and passed it to a tired-looking Aria who couldn’t believe that he was eavesdropping on them while they were spying on him.

“There’s also music in this thing. Just press the button here and then this here to access the playlist. I’ve crammed five hundred songs as a cover-up in case someone gets suspicious of me, so take your pick.” [Ryner]

“Five hundred songs just so people believe you’re listening to music? Your preparations are pretty excessive.” [Aria]

“No, it’s normal.” [Ryner]

Ryner pointed to a few buttons that were on the side of the headphones and Aria nodded a bit happily since she got her hands on some music which was a hobby of hers. On the side, Elena hesitantly raised her hand and voiced her worry.

“Won’t the batteries run out? There are no chargers in this world and someone tried to charge their phone by using lightning magic, but it exploded.” [Elena]

“No problem, I’ve got a futuristic solar charger in case I ever need to charge my cellphone after being summoned in a medieval-like world.” [Ryner]

“Who the hell prepares for that? Did you also carry a camping set with you all day long?” [Aria]

“That’s a secret, now just take it and remember our deal.” [Ryner]

Ryner casually passed to Elena a black, rectangular-shaped device that was thirty centimeters on each side with a height of fifteen centimeters. It had a solar panel that folded in two at the top and two retractable cords on each side for a total of eight cords.

“Thank you very much. I’ve never seen a solar charger like this before. Where did you get this?” [Elena]

“That’s another secret.” [Ryner]

She expressed her gratitude upon receiving it and asked out of curiosity where he got this solar charger, but he refused to answer.

“Hey, are these headphones really the only way you’ve got to eavesdrop on us? You don’t have another device, do you?” [Aria]

At that moment, Aria entered the conversation and voiced her suspicions since Ryner may be trying to fool them. They would stop spying on him, but he could secretly continue to listen in on all of their conversations using another pair of headphones for example. She believed he had that sneaky side to him. But, Ryner denied her doubts using the best way that he knew. He stood with his back straight, put one hand behind him and raised the other next to his face as if swearing an oath.

“I promise that I’m not lying when I say that these headphones are the only way to listen to the bugs in the bells of the hair ties I gave you two. Please believe me. I always keep my promises.” [Ryner]

Aria suspiciously stared at him for a dozen of seconds, but seeing his serious and earnest look, she chose to believe him and nodded her head. Elena was gently smiling at him because she thought that it was wonderful that he was so serious about keeping his promises. It was a trait that she wanted her future boyfriend to have.

“Yeah, we’ll stop spying on you too.” [Aria]

“Unh! We believe you!” [Elena]

Ryner abandoned his rigid pose and his sleepy-looking expression easily returned, making the girls smile wryly. He then went to the drawer next to the bed and picked up the red string with two, round, golden bells on each end. He nearly dropped it on the floor, but quickly crouched down and caught it before showing it to the two girls sitting on the bed.

“Feel free to keep these. After all, they do double as an apology gift.” [Ryner]

“First you try to give us a skull. Then, you give us hair ties that you bugged. You sure you wanted to apologize?” [Aria]

“Now, now. They’re cute and I’ve gotten used to them. It would be a waste to throw them away.” [Elena]

“Elena, your taste in cute things is a bit questionable…” [Aria]

“Huh? Why?” [Elena]

“Well…” [Aria]

“Probably because of the underwear you’re wearing.” [Ryner]

“Waaah! Please forget about that!” [Elena]

With their business taken care of, they had a light conversation with a few laughs and Ryner left their room after a short while since it was getting late. Although it didn’t sit well with the girls that they had also been spied on, they were glad that they peacefully came to a solution with Ryner and decided to fake their reports to the king. Thinking about it, they had been doing that for a while already.

Aria was pretty satisfied, mostly because she got a nice set of headphones and could listen to music again. Elena was also happy, but she had a slight regret. In the end, she couldn’t reach out to Ryner. She couldn’t help him with his pain. So, she secretly decided to try again the next chance she got and to offer to heal his scars if she was alone with him.

Leaving the room and walking down the hallway, Ryner was checking the photo on his cellphone. It was a picture of Aria on top of a half-naked Elena with the two of them in bed.

“(Alright, blackmail material… Check. New bug… Check.)” [Ryner]

He touched a few icons that appeared on the touchscreen and verified the sound system of the small listening devices that he slipped in their room when he pretended to drop the hair tie. They were black, round disks that were barely two centimeters in length. He stuck one underneath the corner of the drawer and another one under the bed.

“(Sorry kids, but although I keep my promises, I can’t be sure that you’ll keep your words. You’re humans after all.)” [Ryner]

He harbored such thoughts with a sleepy-looking expression and put his phone in his pocket dimension as he headed for his room.

“Welcome back, Master.” [Maya]

When he opened the door, he was greeted by a smiling Maya that was red in the face and standing in front of him. Her slim tail was wagging like a dog happy to see its owner coming home.

“I haven’t seen you all day today. Did you stay locked up in your room?” [Ryner]

He asked as he closed the door behind him, pretending not to notice that she was panting and fidgeting.

“I noticed a little problem when we came back from the ruin. But, since I saw that you had to take care of some things, I decided to wait here until you came back.” [Maya]

Maya answered as she walked towards him and hugged his arm to her chest. She shuddered slightly from the sensation and dragged him towards the bed.

“Oi, by problem, you mean…“ [Ryner]

“Yes, I don’t seem to be pregnant.” [Maya]

She said with a smiling face, but her eyes were slightly hazy. Ryner knew that she wouldn’t be pregnant, but he thought that he could keep her instincts in check if he thoroughly satisfied her. However, he was wrong.

Thinking about it, after going through a dangerous situation, the female of a race would instinctively wish to leave behind offspring to ensure the survival of her kind. Furthermore, Maya seemed to be a feline-type of beastman and cats had heat cycles until they carried children. If she was similar to them, then he had to deal with her until the end of mating season.

“Even though we did it so much, I’ve become like this again. This means that I’m not pregnant.” [Maya]

She pulled Ryner and made him fall on the bed with his stomach facing up. Exhaling hot breaths, she got on top of him and slowly approached him on all four like a cat in heat.

“That’s why, please help me calm down again.” [Maya]

With her hands on both sides of his head, she looked at his face from above with no intention of letting him escape. She waited in his room and skipped both lunch and dinner. She was starving and her master was her meal. She didn’t even take a bath, but after waiting for him all day long, she didn’t care anymore. Fighting against the Predator made her instincts kick in full gear.

“Wait, right now’s not a good time for this because I got a lot in my mind that I need to sort out and-don’t lick my ear!” [Ryner]

She crouched down and licked his earlobe as her breasts pressed onto his chest.

“Isn’t it fine? Come on, Master. Let’s mate~!” [Maya]

That night wasn’t too restful for Ryner. But then again, he never slept much, so his body could handle it... Though Maya was quite demanding.

“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!” [???]

In the dead of the night, a figure was kneeling on his bed and punching his pillow. The moonlight streaming through the window was the only source of light in the otherwise dark room.

“Damn it! How could I!? A hero! Lose to some! Monster!!!” [Hero]

His voice was laced with wrath, indignation and frustration. His pride was deeply hurt and he threw the pillow across the room.

“*Pant pant* No, that’s no good. I shouldn’t act like this.” [Hero]

Taking deep breaths, he managed to calm himself down and sat on his bed, but his expression was still dark.

“A chosen hero shouldn’t act like this.” [Hero]

He repeated that to himself like a chant and soon, a sinister smile appeared on his face as he calmly rationalized his current predicament using an extremely subjective point of view.

“This sort of thing doesn’t happen to main characters in novels. I shouldn’t go through this. I should be respected. I should be revered. I should have all the men jealous of me. I should have a harem of beautiful women. For that, I need to prove my strength.” [Hero]

Reaching that conclusion on his own, the hero decided to put the plan into motion sooner than expected. As such, he needed to contact the messenger and have him pass on a message to the ones helping him.

“I need to show the world. I need to show everyone.” [Hero]

While he was planning it out in his mind, he gleefully thought about the results his actions would bring and could easily imagine everyone kneeling before him in awe.