Hilde sat by Kiryuu’s bed. She avoided his gaze and looked down on her lap. Her fists clenched as she had no idea how to open things up. She wanted to apologize but at the same time she was afraid. What if he demanded compensation for what she did? She literally tried to kill him. It wasn’t something as simple as taking him down to make sure the others weren’t hurt. No, she was out for blood. She almost succeeded too if it weren’t for Vena. She snapped out of her frenzy long enough for Rionna to take her down.

Kiryuu was in a similar boat. Now that they were alone, things were a bit awkward. Neither of them knew how to start. He felt quite embarrassed too. His confident tone from when he asked Shino that he would like to talk Hilde alone was nowhere to be found.

He didn’t know what it was that made Hilde go that far. Looking back, he could recall what he did to Dessa while in a daze. If the Hilde and the others did not arrive, what more would he had done to Dessa? To Shino? To Vena? The thought made him shiver.

“Kiryuu, I… I…” Would a simple sorry suffice? Words are not enough to atone for what she did. All this time she was thinking of what she could do and what he wanted to do that it became difficult for her to speak.

“Thank you, Hilde,” Kiryuu waited to see if she would continue but it was obvious she was having difficulty. So he decided to start by telling her what he really felt.

“If it weren’t for you, I don’t know what I would have done,” he would rather not imagine it. Just the thought made his stomach churn a bit. If he were in her shoes, he might have done the same.

Hilde looked down again. She bit her lips as she tried to come up with a proper sentence to say. Just then, she felt a hand on her head. She jumped a little and her shoulders tensed up.

Kiryuu withdrew his hand immediately when he saw how Hilde reacted. She looked up to him, her eyes on the verge of tears.

“Hilde, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

He pulled back his hand but Hilde suddenly grabbed his wrist. She was shaking. She closed her eyes and slowly moved his hand closer. When his fingers caressed her cheek, she tensed up once more. Her grip on his wrist tightened but she pressed on.

“Hilde, you don’t have to force yourself,” he could see that it was taking a toll on her. Eventually, she stopped when her cheek was cupped in his hand. She leaned against his hand and took in a deep breath. A tear fell from her eye and rolled down her cheek. She sniffled but nuzzled into his hand.

“Are you alright?” He asked.

“I feel… safe,” she said. “Ever since that time… I never thought it was possible. To feel safe in another man’s hand… That time…”

“Hilde,” he cut her words off and used his thumb to wipe away her tears. He realized that she was in this state because of something that happened in her past. He had a gist of things. He thought she was forcing herself to recall those painful memories just so she can share it to him. “Don’t force yourself.”

“It’s fine…” She shook her head and smiled weakly. “I’ve been terrible to you. You need to know…”

“I don’t need to know,” he argued. “I don’t want you hurting all over again just for my sake.”

“It’s for your sake… and mine too,” she insisted. “So take responsibility, alright?”

“Alright,” he conceded and leaned closer. He noticed that her other hand was still clenched into a fist. He gently placed his hand on hers and held onto it tightly. She eased up a bit and told him her story.

Hero.

A title everyone dreamed to covet. A dream everyone wished at some point. It wasn’t impossible. Each and everyone had the potential to grow. Whether it was talent, effort, accomplishments, or even fate. Each had the means to reach it.

A noble’s daughter becoming an adventurer was not uncommon. She was not going to be the successor anyway so she convinced her parents to allow her to train. Though reluctant, they permitted her. After all, they too once had a dream of being a hero candidate when they were young. Her mother was a high ranking adventurer and her father was the successor to their household. They both were unable to reach that dream but they were content. Plus, her father considered it better than marrying her off to some noble. He was quite protective of her in that regard.

However, Hildegarde Schneider was unable to become a hero candidate. Despite her hard work, she was never able to get to that point.

Still, she did not let it keep her down. There was still some glory to be had. That is, being part of a hero’s party. So exerted even more effort. She climbed the ranked of adventurers. Eventually, she caught the eye of a hero candidate. He was a legit otherworlder and had incredible skills and parameters. She was offered to join his party. She noticed that all his party members were female but that was no surprise. After all, there were many who would want to form a connection with a hero candidate.

That night they celebrated. There was a feast and everyone was treated to drinks. Eventually, the hero candidate and one of the other party members, an elven woman, went up to a private room. The woman seemed hesitant but still went with the man. Hilde enjoyed the feast for a bit more before she went up to her own room.

She encountered the man as she went up as their rooms were just by each other. He invited her into his room but she declined. She did consider that he was a hero candidate but she barely knew him and so she refused.

Warning: This is a depiction of Traumatizing Events and is Skippable. Summary: Hilde was dragged into the room by force. She found the other woman dead, with their neck broken, and with signs of sexual abuse. She was also raped and kept crying out for help.

As she walked away, the man grabbed her from behind and dragged her into his room. She was thrown inside and the man started locking the door. Hilde sensed something off. To her horror, she found the elven woman from a while ago sprawled on the bed. Her clothes were torn off and there were countless bruises on her body. There were markings on her neck which was bent in a horrific angle.

Hilde backed away but a hand grabbed her by the hair. She closed her eyes from the pain and tried to scream for help. She felt like vomiting when she felt and tasted something disgusting in her mouth. She tried to get away but she couldn’t so she bit down as hard as she could. This elicited an anguished scream from the man. He punched her in the face before treating his injury. She fell onto the floor and started to vomit from disgust.

Hilde tried to crawl away, even though her vision was hazy. Trying to ignore the urge to vomit again, she reached out for the door but a hand gripped her ankle and dragged her back. He grabbed her hair and slammed her face down on the floor before pulling her head back.

Hilde’s eyes widened and she started to scream. She felt as if she was being torn apart. She flailed her arms, trying to get up and get away but the man grabbed her wrist and continued to ravage her. She continued to cry and scream, begging for help.

It was then that the door burst open. A woman rushed in and swung her blade at the man. Hilde only heard screams as her consciousness faded.

At that time, Rionna was also an adventurer. In fact, she was also a hero candidate. She mercilessly chopped off the man’s arms and legs using blades of light and kept him alive by healing magic. When Hilde’s father found out about the incident, he almost hired for assassins to discreetly dispose of the man. The man was an otherworlder and thought being one, along with his status as a hero candidate, would save him. However, the truth was otherworlders were common. They might be considered a bit special but were still not above the law.

Rionna was able to convince Hilde’s father to leave it to her. She was a fairly prominent person and had her own sphere of influence. She shared her plan and it was enough to quell the father’s burning hatred. There was not even an execution or an announcement. Rionna made sure to tell the man that he will be forgotten and no one would remember him. The public will never know what happened to him and his very existence would be buried from memory. Rionna never told Hilde what she did but her father knew that it was a long and painful death.

“Rionna saved me,” Hilde said. Her eyes were filled with tears as she finished telling Kiryuu about that incident. Despite the painful memory, she still brought it upon herself to let him know. “If I were stronger then, maybe I could have saved that woman too.”

Kiryuu slowly pulled Hilde towards him. It startled her at first. He made sure to stop if at any point she wanted to pull away. Hilde hesitated for a moment. Eventually, she let herself be pulled into an embrace.

“You’re strong, Hilde.” Kiryuu said and stroked her hair. All this time she was living with such a heavy burden. No wonder that was how she had been acting ever since the first time they met. “You’re a brave and incredible person.”

“So… this is how you do it, pervert,” Hilde blushed and chided him. Despite teasing him, she was still trembling every now and then. She felt vulnerable still and was afraid that if he were to suddenly attempt something, she would be unable to resist. Slowly, however, she started to feel at ease. She felt that nothing like that would happen. There would be no repeat of what happened that time.

“Eh? What do you mean?” He responded, attempting to lighten the mood.

“You womanizer,” she said, despite burying her face on his chest. She was able to calm down. She even truly felt that she could trust him a little more now. Of course, she couldn’t help but scold him a bit. “Do you prefer weak women?”

Kiryuu furrowed his brow a bit. He pulled back a bit and gently tilted her head up so she can face him. Then, he flicked her on the forehead.

“Ow!” Caught by surprise, Hilde responded with a swift uppercut. Kiryuu, however, caught that fist, albeit barely. It was only possible because Hilde wasn’t at full power right now.

“I like the strong Hilde that could kick my ass,” he admitted. “That doesn’t mean the vulnerable side of you is something I’ll reject either. I’ll accept all of you,” his eyes were sincere and his words were genuine.

She grabbed him by the collar and pulled him close. She was about the kiss him but stopped and pushed him away. She bit her lip and averted her gaze. He smiled and placed his hand on her head. She didn’t tense up this time around.

“Take your time,” he said and patted her head. “Until those wounds heal, I will be waiting. So do your best, alright? Besides, I’m always here for you, you know.”

Hilde pondered for a bit before breaking away from him and standing up to fix her wrinkled clothes. She wiped her eyes for a bit.

“Thank you, Kiryuu,” she said and smiled. She then leaned over to kiss him on the cheek before turning around and heading towards the door. “I’ll leave it to you to explain things to Vena, alright?”

“W-wait now. Hold on.”

“Pervert,” Hilde teasingly said and opened the door to exit the room. That was the plan but…

…four people fell forward rather comically. Apparently, they have been eavesdropping.

She can understand that Shino, Vena, and Raful were here. The presence of Dessa certainly made her question things.

“So, can anyone tell me what’s going on here?” Kiryuu voiced out the same concerns.

Kiryuu was well enough to walk so they all went out to get something to eat. When he asked where they were, he was informed that they were in the infirmary near the church. He had some questions but Raful looked like he should have been the one resting on the bed. After a cup of coffee though, he seemed to have recovered well enough. They ate silently as all of them were exhausted. Kiryuu and Hilde had been recovering. Shino and Vena had been staying by them respectively. Raful has been doing damage control. Dessa went through several processes with the authorities for her sentence. They were all supposed to eat earlier but curiosity got the better of them.

It was almost in sync how they all sighed after their meal. Kiryuu stared blankly into space, trying to process all of what had just transpired. It was a bit too much to take in. There was also that thing that occurred.

‘Do your best to get it under control.’

Those words rang in his head. He wondered if what he did back then was because he wasn’t able to control whatever it was yet.

His train of thought was derailed when Vena, who was seated beside him, leaned against him comfortably. She laid her head on his shoulder so he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

Hilde, who usually sat across him, was now seated beside him. She mimicked Vena, albeit a bit more awkward. It took her awhile before she was able to lean against him. She was flustered and hesitant to do so but she still managed to do it nonetheless. Kiryuu gently placed his arm around her with his hand by her shoulder. He thought that it might make her feel more comfortable or safer if it were that way.

Kiryuu looked across the table and found the other three looking at him with smug expressions on their faces. Not to mention, he was also gathering the stares from other people seeing as he has a flower in each hand. Shino’s aggression towards Hilde faded after they had eavesdropped. She felt bad that she acted in such a way. She knew the gist of things but overhearing the details felt painful.

“Hmph,” though flustered, he scoffed it away and pulled both Vena and Hilde closer. When he did, Shino and Dessa seemed to be celebrating while Raful had a mellow expression, as if he was seeing her daughter all grown up. Vena was flustered but she felt happy regardless. Hilde was still getting used to it but she didn’t dislike it.

“Anyway,” he tried shifting the topic. “Remind me again why Dessa is here?”

Raful had gotten the gist of things from Aislin regarding the decision they had arrived to. As for Kiryuu, Raful had to explain that Dessa was not fully at fault as well. He explained her ability and how she lost control of her desires.

“It was an oversight on our part. I’m sorry,” he conveyed what Rionna mentioned before. Otherworlders were always peculiar. Unexpected things occur around them so she blames herself for lacking vigilance. For Raful, he still blamed himself for Kiryuu’s injuries. Kiryuu, for the most part, was surprised that even the queen was involved. He figured that he caught the attention of the queen when he was appointed as a hero candidate but this was a bit too much to take in.

Raful told him that the queen was an adventurer in the past as well so she was fairly acquainted with the guild. She was also quite close with Raful, Hilde, and Vena. He said how it had not been for the subjugation, it would have been difficult to come up with a decision that would appease both the government officials and the churches. Subjugation magic is one of the most difficult to perform as it links two beings similar to a master-slave bond. However, this bond links the souls as well. The stronger the target being subjugated, the higher the difficulty. Dessa (also known as Asmodeus) being a demon lord means that it was unthinkable for her to be subjugated.

“The queen must be really strong if she can subjugate you. I guess that’s a former hero for you,” Kiryuu said and shrugged his shoulders.

“Erm, about that,” Raful scratched the back of his head. He turned to Dessa, who took it as her cue to stand up and place her hands and head onto the table.

“Please take good care of me, Master,” she said.

The Demon Lord, Asmodeus, is hereby sentenced to serve under the Hero Candidate, Kiryuu.

That was the official sentence. It was enough to dissuade any high ranking noble or church official from trying to volunteer in ‘watching over’ Asmodeus. Aislin almost wanted to go with that decision just to make it easier to get rid of those people. Even if Asmodeus was the weakest of the seven demon lords, she can easily get rid of those kinds of people if she wanted. A slavery crest won’t work on her due to how powerful she is and the only reason they were able to confine her in the dungeon is because of how weakened she was after her encounter with Kiryuu. She was quick to recover but Aislin’s presence served as an inhibitor to her actions.

Regardless, there was at least some good that came out of this. The incident gave Aislin some insight regarding which nobles or church officials need to be investigated on. She also had to make sure to keep an eye on Kiryuu without provoking him. Him being chosen as a hero was not a far off chance. She would be surprised if he wasn’t chosen. Asmodeus didn’t dislike the idea of being his familiar either so that was one less thing to worry about.

After all of it was done, Aislin left it to Raful to inform the involved parties and locked herself in her room for about a week. All of the paperwork was done anyway so she spent that time loafing around.

“I see. So that was what it was,” Vena muttered. When they encountered Dessa again, she noticed a thin red line from her that went to the room Kiryuu was in. It was her that suggested they wait for Kiryuu and Hilde and they eventually ended up eavesdropping. It was also a bit because of jealousy.

“Master, you are amazing,” Shino looked at him with sparkling eyes.

“I know, right?” Dessa raised her head and agreed with Shino. “If it’s him, I have no complaints. Such a powerful master. I never thought I’d ever find someone who can subjugate a demon lord~”

She then turn to Kiryuu and blushed. “I will provide you with my best service, Master,” she shot him a wink and tugged on her shirt a bit.

Seeing how Kiryuu was reacting quite well to Dessa’s teasing, Vena clung onto him and pouted as she was looking at Dessa’s chest.

That night, in order to celebrate their recovery and Kiryuu’s supposed victory, they all decided to go to a tavern. Rionna somehow made it too. She had to rely on Raful to aid her in walking since she was really exhausted. After all, she had to use a copious amount of mana just to make sure Kiryuu survived. She said it was almost as if she was on the brink of casting a resurrection spell. It was a breakthrough though, as it was impossible to bring back the dead without turning them into monsters like zombies or ghosts. As she was trying to treat him with everything she can, she started to understand more about healing and recovery magic. Still, it was very taxing for her. She was supposed to rest for an entire week.

However, when they came to visit, Kiryuu let slip that there would be a feast and booze. She immediately demanded to be brought along, even if she had to be carried there. Since Raful was also exhausted from the previous happenings, Kiryuu first offered to carry her.

“Oh my~” She had the energy to tease him. “Are you going for me too~? I’m so weak you can probably sneak me away. You can do such perverted things to me and I won’t be able to resist~”

She stopped when she received a chop on the head from Raful. At first, Kiryuu carried her in his arms but Vena and Hilde objected. Instead, she was carried on his back instead. However, her mischief did not end as she continued to press her chest against his back while moaning in his ear.

Eventually, Raful carried her on his shoulder. She complained about being treated like a sack of potatoes but eventually got tired. She actually fell asleep and woke up just as they arrived at the tavern.

That night they enjoyed the feast. Kiryuu found that he can hold his alcohol, which surprised him to an extent. Raful was a lightweight in that so he avoided drinking too much. Rionna was the heaviest drinker of all of them and it was clear why she wanted to celebrate with them no matter what.

The next morning, Kiryuu woke up with a bit of a headache. He avoided having a contest with Rionna so he did not end up fully drunk. He then felt a shuffling on the bed beside him.

“Good morning,” a still sleepy Vena greeted him and kissed his cheek. She then snuggled close to him and leaned her head on his chest. Nothing but the sheets covered the two of them, their clothes strewn across the floor.