I look at Kenta’s back and decide to follow him. I think Kyou is able to handle Ara’s… questionable-behavior-at-times by herself, and I want to know more about Kenta. He acts odd and I don’t know why.

It’s strange, I used to think that Kenta was a perfect person, someone who is capable of dealing with every situation, but now… well, I still think that he’s a wonderful person. He’s just bad with people, I mean, really bad. He also doesn’t seem to think highly of himself, and I have to agree that he can still grow to his full potential. This may make him very harsh on others and even more on himself, making him some sort of stinker at times.

What is so good about him? He’s smart, he can quickly come to solutions to problems, can think on his feet, and has a vast range of knowledge. That makes him a good leader, though it may be the reason why he sometimes suffers from it. If he has time to think about his past actions, he sees so much room for improvement… But he’s willing to make the hard choices and knows his limitations.

On the other hand, I’m just someone who refuses to think too much about things. In a sense, Kenta and I are opposites, he’s a wonderful person in the guise of stinker, while I’m a selfish child that others seem to love and call kind.

I still need some time to grow up. I want to learn by watching Kenta, Kyou, and Ara. They’re my first real friends, the first ones that actually looked at me, not my position as a princess, daughter, or sibling. That real me may be the reason why Kenta is often mad at me though.

Kenta retreats behind a tree and starts punching the air. “Kenta?” He knows that I’m following him, because he has good ears as a [Ranger]. Wait, he’s still [Student], I can see it thanks to his chubbiness. It’s rare that I see Kenta in this form.

“What, Rine?”

“Are you angry at them?” I don’t know, because I looked after Ara while she was out and therefore missed most of their conversation.

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Phew…” Kenta likes to make that sound. “I guess I would abbreviate it as: Americans are stupid.”

“What is an American?”

“They’re from another country of my world.”

“Ah, I see.” I was surprised to see that there were human-heroes that look like locals, but I guess his world may be like mine and has a variety of human races that differ in looks depending on the region.

“You do?”

“Yes.”

“…” I can see the subtle movements of his eyes and his face, telling me that he’s currently thinking. “Why?”

“Hn?” I cock my head a little. “Because they’re from another country. I’m always angry at Parlaarians as well, they’re so strange and they tried several times to invade my country, and are responsible for thousands of deaths. Maybe something similar is between you and them?”

“Yes and no. It’s complicated.”

“Explain it to me.”

“Phew…” Kenta takes a deep breath in, most likely thinking about how to answer my inquiry. “I’m just bummed by their shitty attitude and how they have wasted their time.”

“How so?”

“They’ve been here for thirty years. Thirty years as heroes and the four of them can’t even fend off Ara-san. I mean, we’re talking about Ara-san!”

“I think she has improved a lot in the past few months.”

“Seriously!?”

“Kyou and you as well, so maybe you didn’t notice? But thirty years? They must have been very young then.”

Kenta suddenly widens his eyes slightly, as if he came to a realization. “…Rine, I’m bad at guessing ages, especially with westerners. How old do they look to you?”

“In their thirties or forties.”

“…OK, Rine. I may sound weird for a moment, but I try to make sure that the auto-translation-feature won’t lose my intended content. Rine, you’re fifteen years old, right?”

“Yes?”

“So that means, you had fifteen birthdays.”

“Yes?”

“So fifteen summers, autumns, winters, and springs.”

“You forgot the rain season.”

“Rain season is a fifth season!? Also the name… wait, that’s auto-translate, I believe. So, how often did you- erm, was your birthday celebrated?”

“Fifteen times, I believe. I can’t remember when I was an infant though.”

“…phew…” Kenta massages his face, which means that he really realized something and that it amazes him. “Is the flow of time different, after all!?”

“What do you mean?”

“Rine, for how long will you still be growing?”

“Not that much anymore, I fear.”

“Until your twenties?”

“I believe?”

“Around ten years or so?”

“I don’t exactly know.”

“Is it possible?”

“Yes? Why are you asking?”

“Because if I take the time we’ve both been alive and put it into my world’s time, you should be twenty-five years old. If I take the time I’ve been alive and put it into your time units, I would be ten years old.”

“You don’t look like ten at all.”

“And I think even westerners look different from you in their mid-twenties.”

I’m not sure what exactly Kenta is talking about, but I guess that he counts his age differently from me or something like that, and he was concerned whether his strange ‘translator’ may have tricked him somehow. I mean, my world only has one language, as it’s a gift from the gods. …come to think of it, now I know how great of a gift it has to be. Sometimes Kenta, Ara, and Kyou speak words I don’t know and that sound strange, maybe that’s because my world’s language doesn’t have a viable word for it and therefore it stays in their native language? If I imagine that they would only use words that I don’t know, it is frightening.

Feuerberg’s name also derives from another language. Founder Hagen was also a hero, after all. While I know the meanings, it’s mostly because I was taught them. There is a whole book Hagen wrote, the Book of Names, where he has names for places, weapons, titles, and such in his native language and this world’s language so that his descendants can stay with the naming scheme. I used to be proud of that, but now that I think about it, doesn’t that make it all unnecessarily complicated? Wouldn’t it be easier to just use our language instead?

Ah, I should pay more attention to Kenta! We were talking about our age, right? “So you’re ten or I’m twenty-five, right?” Wait… there is something odd here. “Shouldn’t we age equally? I mean, it doesn’t matter if we use this or that unit of time, right?”

“Exactly! I mean, if it were just those Americans, I would put it into the ‘maybe it’s a hero-thing’-category, something like a decelerated aging progress. But you haven’t been a hero until recently.”

“My ancestor was one, though.”

“So people besides your family grow slower? I like to believe that if this was the case, something would have given me a hint, like a rumor or such.”

“Ah, right.” It’s not like everyone is a descendant from heroes, after all. Otherwise it wouldn’t be such a big deal for some royal families.

“What else is possible… If we assume something like a universal flow of time, which causes aging, it’d be easy to explain. This world works faster than the universal flow and therefore you can do more within the same aging process. Aging was, if I recall correctly, related to cell breakdown due to too many divisions. So maybe there is something in this world that slows the process…” Kenta gives me a telling glare: “Maybe even slowing down the mental development.”

“…are you calling me stupid again!?” That’s mean!

“Yes and no?”

“Why don’t you know that!?”

“Because I know shit about child development.”

“What does it have to do with this?”

“Sorry, Rine. I’m just onto something and by now I’m too used to talking with Ara-san about my random thoughts.”

“Hehehe.” I can’t help but giggle. If Kenta speaks to me like I’m Ara, it makes me so happy that my heart wants to jump out of my chest. I know how much Kenta values her.

Kenta raises his eyebrows, then lets out a sigh: “Phew… Wanna do some WP-grinding while waiting?”

I put my finger on my chin. I don’t really know how I feel about that anymore. When we started, it was bliss. After my encounter with Lvo, an alfr hero who showed me who I really am, I felt guilty but did it out of obligation. Now… I don’t know.

“Let’s do it.” The only way to learn how I really feel about it is to try it. I sit down on my knees and present Kenta my lap. “Here you go.”

Kenta takes my hand and rests his head on my thighs. I look at his face, though it’s difficult because of my bosom. His small eyes return my gaze. “Hey,” he starts slowly, “how much do you know?”

“Know about what?”

“The curse and such… I mean, did Kyou-san tell you?”

“About what?”

“…Rine, what do you think of me?”

“You’re very dear to me.” Ah, is Kenta blushing? At least his face looks funny, all wrinkled.

“You know how the curse treats Ara-san?”

“Buh, even I notice it if she talks about how she’s sexually attracted to you repeatedly.”

“…your feelings might be the same. Something the curse made up.”

“Ah, Kyou told me about that possibility.”

“So she did… What are your thoughts about that?”

“No matter the cause, I feel like I feel. You’re dear to me and I think you’re hard-working, smart, and the moment you make a decision, it has weight. I also think that you look cool.”

“…one more word…”

“You can accept the compliments.” I’m serious, after all.

Kenta’s face moves slowly, his narrow eyes show how he tries to think of an answer, but then he just sighs, as if giving up on that. “Phew… after all this, you’re still too gullible.”

“It’s fine for the moment, right? Because you are watching over me.” Ah, he blushes again!

“Shut up.”

“OK.” Maybe I said too much. I just stay silent and watch Kenta, as he’s in deep thought again. Then he suddenly switches to [Ranger] again, his muscles begin to grow and his belly becomes slim. “Something the matter?”

“I just forgot to switch back. Better to have my senses enhanced.” Kenta is always wary. I think that I’ve never seen him fully relaxed before, so I’m a bit concerned about his health. Even when reading he’s-

Wait, he still has my book. “Did you read the Tales of Miriam Leise?”

“Almost finished.”

“What do you think?”

“That both of them are idiots.”

What!? I feel angry about this comment, as Kenta has just insulted my favorite characters of all time, Miriam and Fabian Leise. “Why do you think so?” This is strange, why does my anger sound so cold?

“…” Kenta is thinking about something. “Phew.” Now he has given up on whatever he was hesitant with. “Miriam charges into danger without any plan, so without Fabian, she would have been killed a dozen times over. In the first part, Fabian tries his best to get her attention, but messes up, because he just can’t say anything worthwhile, and even after she recognizes him and marries him, he’s still in doubt at every corner. It’s like the story is repeating the same stuff over and over again without getting anywhere and just changes what they face without changing what personal issues they have to overcome, it’s like both of them never grow.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Miriam can be so bold because she trusts Fabian and her friends, while Fabian is in love with her, of course he’s embarrassed at times and asks himself if he’s worthy of her affection. He always wants what’s best for Miriam. You can see it especially when he faces his rival, Lord Kurbeck!”

“You mean when Fabian almost left Miriam because Kurbeck was the better man?”

“Yes, he was ready to sacrifice his feelings for what he thought was better for Miriam.”

“That’s bullshit.”

“WHAT!?”

Kenta turns his face directly at me and his resolute eyes make my heart skip a bit: “If there would be someone I like, I would make myself a man that’s capable of doing what’s best for her on my own.”

…that’s why you’re so cool! “Still!” I say despite feeling my cheeks getting hot, “It’s romantic and what you said is exactly what Fabian does!”

“Pff…” He snorts! Kenta snorts! Kenta is mean again! “Ugh…” I hit his torso to show him my displeasure. I know, it’s not how it’s supposed to work, but I’m just so angry!

You gain 1 WP. Having your husband on your lap is supposed to be a sign of closeness. Please don’t use this time to hit him.

I know!

Kenta rolls from my lap and rubs his chest. He still holds hands with me, unwilling to break the action that will earn us WP. I think part of what makes me angry is this kind of impersonal dutifulness he shows. I mean, the whole point of the WP-actions is to make us become closer, right!?

What am I to you? A friend? A comrade? A nuisance? Something else? Maybe before I can learn who Kenta really is, I need to ascertain what kind of relationship we have. Is he so mean to me at times because he doesn’t put any barriers between us? Is it because we’re close enough or because he just doesn’t like me?

He said he liked me better than before we met Lvo, so… wait, this may just mean that Kenta hates me less than before? No, if he hated me, then… “Kenta!” I want to ask him what he thinks about me, but he already told me that I’m a royal pain in his behind. “Do you like me at least a bit?”

“Will you twist my arm again if I answer wrongly?”

“The truth is always right.”

“The truth also hurts.” Is he being philosophical? “I don’t know, alright!? Seriously! I mean, I’m obviously attracted to you due to the curse despite everything, but that’s not me, you understand!? So I don’t fucking know if what I feel isn’t just built on a shit-ton of lies!”

“I see…” Of course, it makes me sad, and I’m about to tear up. I tell myself that Kenta needs to think over and question everything, even himself and his feelings, so it’s only natural that he holds doubts. Still, I wanted to hear that he thinks of me as a—something.

The silence between us is awkward, but I can’t think of something to say. Kenta scratches his head and then says: “Let’s just switch.” He sits down and offers me his lap with little to no love.

I’m about to decline as I don’t feel like it, but then I think about how every drop can help and that’s a team-effort from all of us.

We end this lap-resting without any words and even the hand-holding, so it has been a while. Then I take out my current handcraft project. After attaining the [Tailor]-class, I became very good at making clothes. I still want to make that coat out of leaves of the Spirit Swamps, just like the ss’rak wear them. They’re water-repelling so they should be good for Deepdrop, but somehow the ss’rak have processed the leaves in a way that makes them less brittle and I don’t know how. Therefore I’m now making a fur-coat for the upcoming winter instead. Horn-chaser pelt may not be that fluffy, but is thick enough to work.

Kenta swings his spear. Only basic exercises, but I can see his earnestness in every movement. There is something I’m wondering about, but I wait until he has finished the set before asking him: “Kenta? Who has taught you how to wield a spear?”

“Mostly [Pikeman]. I mean, the class. Though I learned the basics from a hunter before I got it.”

“I see.”

“Something you want to tell me about it?”

“Erm… well, you use very strong and large movements. That’s for monster-hunting, right?”

“… …dammit, Rine!”

“What did I do?” I cock my head as I don’t know why he would curse now.

“Phew… forget it…” He scratches his head and then continues his exercise, though he’s more mindful about each single motion. After a while he finishes and wipes the sweat from his face. “Would you spar with me? Need to try some of it.”

“Sure.” Kenta is always someone who faces challenges head on. Begrudgingly, but head on.