Ken is going on a date with Arako. It's kinda funny, as any outing with those two can't be remotely romantic, but it's also strange, as now I'm the only one who hasn't had a date with him from the cursed ring's perspective.

Not that I particularly care, but that bit of like I have for him makes me feel uncomfortable about that. These feelings are there because the cursed ring tries to make me fall in love with him.

For Rine-chan, it seems even worse. She often sighs and I guess she's a bit jealous, but she also is more careful about her behavior towards Ken. She used to be more overbearing and close, now she holds herself back. It's better for everyone, but that doesn't mean that I don't feel sympathy for her.

Why does he want to look around anyway? I missed my opportunity to ask him, so I need to do so later.

We have changed into more comfortable, and even more important, cleaner attire, while also making sure that we show our weapons. Brandishing them is punished with a fine, but wearing them shows everyone that we're not worth being robbed and will also underline the fact for the retailers that we kill monsters for a living.

The real question is whether we show that we're heroes and therefore have our backpacks with their pocket-dimension in it or if we try to hide it and just take some of our monster-parts out of the backpacks, put them into sacks or such, and claim that they're just a foretaste.

Yes, it'd be better to go that way. I'm sure that at some point, everyone will know that the Lion's Squad are heroes, but I don't need to accelerate the process. If I believe that it'd be better to reveal that fact, I can do it anytime.

I look in my steel mirror while combing my hair. There is no second chance for a first impression. I've already cleaned my hair clips until they shine again, I just wish I had one or two more accessories. A bracelet or something like that. As we're usually traveling and fighting, wearing one would only have demerits, but for situations like that... No, I need to keep the finances of our party in mind. Saving money is important. Still...

I carefully apply some makeup. Not much, I have a pretty face and doing too much just distracts from it. Then I put my hair clips back and bring my bangs in order. This is the best I can do with the means I have.

“Here, Rine-chan.” I give her my makeup case, as Rine-chan didn't pack one after running away, as she thought she wouldn't need one, and she hadn't been a hero back then and therefore had a much more limited storage. It's kinda sad to see how little use even mine gets, but there were no opportunities to dress up before.

Rine-chan starts slow, but as her body remembers again how to move, she brushes her foundation quickly and soon she's even cuter than before. She takes more make-up than I do, maybe because that's the amount she used on banquets or whatever she did when she was still acting like a princess.

As far as I know, Rine-chan studied most of her time, things like dancing, magic, tactics, economics, history, and such. She told me how she often sneaked out of her classes to train with her instructor instead, as fighting is a hobby of hers.

“Rine-chan, you look cute,” I praise her makeup-skills.

“Thanks. You look beautiful, Kyou-san.” It's strange how these compliments differ from those I used to give and receive. Rine-chan is so honest that each praise from her is just refreshing. It makes my heart warm. “I noticed when we worked on Ara, you're very good with makeup.”

“Okaa-san taught me,” I say with a hint of sadness. It's strange, I miss my mother, but because I'm a hero, it feels so distant and mute that it's unreal. “I used to sneak into my parent's room and practice when she was cooking. Now that I think about it, I'm sure she knew. I mean, how can't she notice her makeup vanishing.”

“I was taught by my etiquette teacher. I didn't like her much.”

“Why?”

“Hm...” Rine-chan's forehead furrows for a second. “I think she didn't like me, and then I also didn't like her. I never saw it that way before, but her smile seemed... well... put on, even though I wasn't aware of it.” This shows how much Rine-chan matured since she's traveling with us. I also hate to admit it, but I think this is the result of Ken being so ardent about her thinking for herself...

Still, it makes me feel bad for entirely other reasons... if she can remember plastic smiles, will she be able to remember when I used to trick her? Or was her teacher just so bad at hiding her disdain? Well, I want to distract her from following this logic: “Do you miss your former life?”

“Sometimes. I miss mother and father, and my siblings. Also my instructor, though he was very strict. Studying not so much. Making appearances to the public was also very boring. I mean, I do nothing and should be content with my subjects being pleased with my presence when I could use that time to help them cultivate their fields for a day or listen to their worries and try to improve their lives on my end? Ah, but the balls were fun! I got into a fight with my mother, because I wanted to pick my own dress once, then she- ah, sorry.” She apologizes after a silent tear runs down her cheek, blurring her makeup a bit. She cleans and restores it quickly. “Let's go,” she says in an unnatural dry voice.

I may have hit a nerve there. Rine-chan may be a hero now, but she isn't from another world. I don't know if the anti-homesickness condition applies to her as well. “Yes, let's go,” I say with sympathy and take her hand. It's time to face the retailers.

We may be the most beautiful and intimidating people on the street. Most men look our way, even if subtly, even some women. We're armed with beauty and weapons, we mean business. This feels great and gives me another confidence boost. I’ve had way too few for a while, but now we're in a city with people around us. This is my turf!

“We have a simple objective: To sell our monster-parts for as much as possible,” I explain to Rine-chan to set her mind on task. “We have many regular monster-parts from around here, some from around Aroahenn, and rare parts from the Spirit Swamps. What is the foremost problem with rare monster-parts?”

“As long as nobody knows what they do, it's hard to find a buyer willing to pay a price that reflects their rarity.”

“Exactly! What can you do when you have to sell a ware that's sketchy?”

“I don't know.” ...I should have expected it, as Rine-chan's mercantile knowledge is more on the buyer's side.

“The answer is advertising. Make sure that what you have is presented in the most attractive way. We have two retailers, so let's first sell to both of them.”

“Both of them?”

“Yes, the parts from the Red Rock Canyon. As it's close, they will have a standard price.”

“So we won't get tricked... but why both of them?”

“First, we'll show them that we have quality with what they know. This suggests that we know what we're doing. Then we ask for a proposal for our Aroahenn-goods. With this, we establish that we travel around and have parts that they would usually not even get. I think that established traders will either sell to craftsmen directly or will ask for a higher price, as they had to buy and transport those parts as well. Those retailers will want to either get money they wouldn't usually get or in the other case, cut down one interim. We will deny both offers though, saying that we want to hear the other one first.”

“Then we ask both to the table?”

“Right. We let them know that it's about the parts we showed and even more valuable ones. We need to hide what exactly those valuable parts are, otherwise they can prepare arguments to beat down the price. We need to be swift and lead the conversation, relying on our [Persuasion] to make them unable to talk back efficiently.”

“Kyou, this seems shrewd.”

“Rine-chan, this will be a battle in its own right. What did your instructor said about fairness in battle?”

“'You can give yourself a handicap for the sake of a challenge, but never be fair, Stupid Disciple.'”

“You see? We're not doing a competition or a duel, this is a real economic battle, and if we lose, we will live in shame and poverty.” We may have plenty of funds, but we don't know how much the decurse-attempt will cost and the journey is still long. We also have winter to consider, and therefore may need to spend funds for appropriate clothes.

However, Rine-chan doesn't show any anxiety. On the contrary, she seems to be excited and focused. “It's time to show them how dreadful heroes can be.”

―○●○―

“You have to visit Dinn's Drinkyard! You can find the best ale in town there,” promises the guard to a sighing Kenta-kun. After reporting on which inn we're staying, the guards told him the best places for food and beverage close to it.

Is the guard flirting with him? I mean, Kenta-kun may look appealing to me, but I'm cursed to be sexually attracted to him. What is this guard's excuse? I mean, Kenta-kun doesn't seem to be handsome by human standards, though Katarine-san sees potential with him, while Momo criticizes his facial expressions. I find them funny, they move a lot and I’ve slowly started to be able to read his mood properly by looking his face.

It's a strange mixture of movements of the eyebrows, nose, lips, cheeks, and jaw that gives humans such a variety of facial expressions, while their ears vehemently deny to move accordingly, and their spirit is plain strange. Their spirits are usually pa'ar. If an alfr spirit is pa'ar, it's a sign of excitement and anxiety, but for humans, it's the default state, though they belong to the species that changes that spirit the least due to battle or other sources of extreme emotional burden.

Let's see if my hypothesis is right. Kenta-kun's eyebrows are low, his mouth stretched, his nose flaring: “Kenta-kun is happy, right?”

“Fuck no!” At least I got under his skin, so being wrong is not so bad. “Phew... Let's just scram.”

I nod as an answer, while the guards call out to him: “See you later, Red Ranger.”

“...I hate it.” His words are so soft that a human couldn't hear them, but it's as easy for me as it’s to listen to the argument of a wife with her husband inside that house over there because nobody cleaned the kitchen and they're shifting the blame. I already know the ultimate solution: Nobody cleans the kitchen. Yet going there to suggest it would take effort, so I withhold my wisdom and let the humans handle this easily solvable problem.

I follow Kenta-kun, who looks at buildings carefully before deciding upon a direction. “You said before that you want to do reconnaissance. For what purpose?”

“Remember Goldbrunn?”

“Which part?”

“The part of me being chased throughout the city.”

“Silly Kenta-kun, how can I remember things that I wasn't part of? I just helped you solve your problem, remember?”

“...” This is a funny face, I think he’s experiencing a so-called 'brainfart'. He just continues as if I've said 'Yes' though: “I didn't know shit about the city and I decided to have at least some basic knowledge of this place in case something like this happens again.”

“I see. Poor me, you've given me hope of a proper date, and you've smashed it... you didn't want to spend time with me at all.”

“Stop the artificial drama. You know why I asked you to tag along?”

“Because you weren't sure whether I would just sleep until you're all back or will socialize.”

“You know that your form of 'socializing' has been very shitty recently?”

“I'm just a poor alfr girl that has been away from home for too long and yearning for some pranks. I'm very disappointed with you, because you just don't deliver.”

“Fuck, why are all you girls hell-bend to make my life miserable!?”

“Because it's fun- ouch!” Kenta-kun flicks my forehead with his unreasonable human brutality, cutting my sentence short.

“Phew... you know that the only reason why we even stopped here is because you've altered our course by jumping on the loser-heroes?”

“They were almost adorable, aside from their appearance, hygiene, and manners. I'm still disappointed that I couldn't keep them.”

“...just what happened with the hero-sage I met in Aroahenn?”

“She got enough sleep, regular meals, baths, and she's forced to do chores. If you want her back, convince Momo to let me do as I please.”

“...I'm tempted, but I don't fight losing battles if I can help it. Also, I believe that being forced to live a somewhat regulated life is beneficial for all of us, including yourself,” Kenta-kun says with a serious voice. I also agree that there is fun in my current lifestyle for at least a decade or so, but it's also a chore!

I decide to change the topic. “Do you still want to stick to the route we planned with Oro'hekk?” Kenta-kun's ranger-mentor and the leader of the guards of Aroahenn once went with me to Zethtrin, that's why we made the new route. Even with this unexpected halt in Vwranen, we would have arrived at Krowhn only two days later.

“We can skip the next city, when we sell here... though there is still the whole joining-a-caravan business to consider.”

“You don't like the idea?” I'm personally fond of it, as I could just sit in a wagon and let the draft animals pull me while I do some more research. I have new manuals to work through. Kenta-kun or Momo will translate them and I will make cross-references and try to unmantle more and more of the hero-system.

“I hate it. It'll slow us down and, while we can make some money, protecting them is still an unneeded responsibility.”

“You can always ditch them, if things get worse.” That's the logical way to do it. “Also, as we wouldn't be the only mercenaries in a large caravan, we can make it harder for Correo to gather enough forces to corner us.”

“If you hadn't told him that we're heading to Zethtrin, we could have given him more bases to cover!”

“Kenta-kun, Correo said he will leave us be for the time being.”

“You're only speaking so fondly of him, because you stole that pendant from him!”

“Affirmative.” Of course, Correo only said that he needs to consult with the deity, who is most likely named Orinael. Even with my precise memory, I harbor doubt whether I memorized that name correctly or not. Nonetheless, depending on how long it takes him to consult her, he may be back very soon.

“... shit, he may just now have laid a trap in Zethtrin instead... dammit!” Kenta-kun has a valid point. “Why did you told him?”

“For several reasons. First, Correo had a very strange position within the group. He didn't belong to Lent-dono or Masahiko-dono, but as he's supposed to be some kind of mastermind, I was wary and thought that he could discern the truth with skills like [Pryer's Nose] or [Truth Detector] and may have access to other skills. As we have no basis to judge whether he's a hero or not, so the variety of his arsenal is unknown. Yet he also manipulated at least Masahiko-dono's group and even if Correo is a hero, he couldn't just use [Persuasion] to convince them, as it works only on non-heroes. So I was faced with the decision to either divulge only lies and be subjected to whatever he has to force me to tell all truth or mix lies with some essential truths to make him second-guess everything with his [Abilities] and [Skills] that were able to manipulate the heroes.”

“Did it ever cross your mind that maybe he just used good lies and arguments without using a [Skill] at all?”

“...I'm the hero-sage.” Why should I ever consider that someone would use something such unhero-like means?

“Phew... let's just hope that this won't turn out even worse than before... I guess other reasons were to suck up to Inoue and his posse, and to spread confusion... I'll let that slide, OK? Still, I have the right to say 'I've told you' if it bites us.”

“Permission granted.” In times like these, I remember why I like Kenta-kun. He doesn't dwell on things and dismisses everything that he can't change. That's much more reasonable than every other human I’ve met so far.

I feel a throbbing between my legs, I think I'm horny again. Being cursed had severe biological effects on me. Aside from a monthly menstruation which differs greatly from the annual I had before, I feel some human-strong sexual impulses at strange moments and my vagina moisturizes uncontrollably.

Maybe I should ask Kenta-kun if I can get back to the inn to masturbate. That calms me down somewhat, though it was not possible to make it a routine. When I tried to do it recently in camp, Momo pulled my ears so strongly that I almost fell unconscious. Alfr ears are sensitive, so it's important to treat them with care.

Another urge rises. I want to ear-plug with Kenta-kun. I did it once, and that feeling was dangerous, intoxicating, and very strange. Yet despite all of these urges, I'm the one who is in control and, while it may take a while, they will disappear

“Kenta-kun? I'm horny again, so would you mind if I get back to the inn to masturbate?”

“...you're kidding, right?”

“No? I mean, you were the one who told me how to do it and I think you may be the only person I can be open about it.” Before Kenta-kun, I've never masturbated before, and while I'm in control of these feelings, it's very distracting, so it makes sense to take care of it earlier rather than later.

Kenta-kun's face distorts very humanly. I like that, it looks funny. “Ara-san, do you expect me to say 'Go ahead, have fun'!?”

“I wouldn't call it fun. To be honest, it's a bit unsettling and I feel humiliated after the deed, especially as I keep thinking of wanting the real thing for a short while... by the way, Kenta-kun, this doesn't mean that I consent to having sex with you.” The cursed ring makes me desire Kenta-kun's body, but that's it. It also makes him desire me, even if there should be no biological reason to do so.

“Why do you make it sound like I would jump on you the moment I get an opportunity?”

“So you want to say that I'm not attractive?”

“Not a bit” This isn't what you're supposed to say! This is a boring reaction! “But be honest for a second... do you really think I would do that?”

Oh, is he bothered about what I think of him, after all? “You're human, Kenta-kun. Humans act upon emotions and urges, and while you have control over them most of the time, I know there are also times when you will fall into a more primitive state. It's usually when you're fighting, but that doesn't mean that it can't be triggered by other means. So while I trust you enough to let you sleep next to me, I'm careful enough to not let you lose yourself. Also, seeing how the ring affects me, I can only imagine what sexual frustrations you—as a human—have to bear, and I respect how much you have that side of yours under control. When you fall, I might fall as well. If I fall, I may drag you with me. That's why we need these borders. I'm your friend, Kenta-kun, and that's what I want us to be.”

“...heck, you're never that open.”

“I think I needed to remind myself of what I said as well. We only need to endure it until Zethtrin, then we should be able to break the curse.”

“...” Kenta-kun scratches his head, then he clenches his fist for a moment, until he relaxes again. “Thanks, Ara-san. You're the only one who I can talk to about stuff like that.”

“What about Momo and Katarine-san?”

“...phew... complicated. Let me say that: You're my only friend in this place.”

“So you had friends in your world?”

“...honestly? I don't know. There were people I got along with, but I guess my standards are screwed up because of you. Maybe surviving together does something like that. Or rather, if they're friends, you and the others are companions to me.”

“Then I'm your best companion-friend across all dimensions, Ara'ainn, the hero-sage!”

“You're the quirky weirdo that somehow grew close to me.”

“Almost the same.”

“No shit...” Kenta-kun scratches his head again, then he asks slowly: “...still want to head back?”

...strange. My arousal has subsided at some point of that conversation. “It seems to be fine. My underwear is still drenched, but I can bear with it. It's worse when I sweat, so let's continue our so-called date.”

I widen my eyes a bit, as I see something I haven't seen ever before. The corner of Kenta-kun's lips are rising ever-so-slightly, reminding me of a smile. I'm not sure if a human would even notice that. “Yeah, let's do that. Here.” He takes his hand in mine, and I feel how my heart-beat accelerates unreasonably. “Let's farm that one if we're at it.”

Now I wonder if that is romance, a rather foreign topic for me. I read about it a lot in different tales and stories, as sex is a driving force for every human hero, but... could it be? Are sex and romance two different subjects? Could it be that common theme of heroes is not related to sex, after all?

I want to learn more about it. It's about heroes, after all.