Nurturing the Hero to Avoid Death

Three visitors stand in front of the large and heavy doors to the worship room.

One of them is a lanky young man with narrow eyes, dressed in black clothes with long hems and holding a cane. On his back is a travel backpack.

Meanwhile, the person in the middle is a girl wearing the same black clothes as Marie, along with a black veil covering her features.

Peeking through the gaps in her veil is her golden hair, its color as warm as that of a wheat field on a sunny day.

When the girl notices us, she flashes a smile in greeting. The color of her eyes is the same as Alfred’s—a beautiful and clear sky blue.

It is at this moment that I become sure of it.

There’s no doubt that this girl is…

Capable of healing many people with her extraordinary divine power and healing powers, she’s the girl who will be revered as the “Holy Maiden” in the distant future after gaining the people’s intimacy, yearning, and gratitude.

And on her other side stands the last visitor, a tall man wearing a long coat that reaches his knees, a shoulder pad, a breastplate, and a gauntlet. In his hand is a cloak with a pattern containing the colors white, blue, and silver.. Complete with the long sword hanging from his waist… I can tell that he’s a knight.

As the kids said, he’s certainly a beautiful knight.

His waist-length hair gently sways behind his back, its color mainly a light yellow that is akin to a bright light. However, the tips of his hair are colored a mixture of light red and light purple, creating an ombre effect.

It almost looks like the color of dawn, when the rising sun has just wiped out the darkness of the night.

A light yet vivid color.

His eyes, which contain the same combination of colors as his hair, are focused on me and Marie.

“…Huh?!” I exclaim, unable to contain my surprise.

Realizing my blunder, I panic and press my hands against my mouth.

Huh?

Why?

Is this real? But why?

Why did this person show up so early?!

He’s the knight dyed in the colors of dawn, a Cathedral Knight from the Fortuna Church.

The knight looks at me, turns to Marie… and for some reason, shifts his gaze to me again. Then his lips curl up in a smile, a hint of interest apparent in it.

I can’t bring myself to smile back at him. I only stand still, stunned and speechless.

Why?

What’s going on?

After all, he’s…

Even though he’s a Cathedral Knight, he becomes Alfred’s ally at the end of the story.

“I am Schwede Scherzer, a Cathedral Knight from the Fortuna Church. Nice to meet you, Marienne-sama and…”

He continues gazing at me, making me realize that he’s asking for my name. I hurriedly answer, “I am Lian Owen.”

The knight’s smile deepens. Somehow, his eyes remind me of the kids’ eyes whenever they find something interesting… or something like that. I don’t know why I feel that way, but this thought keeps bugging my mind.

“Lian-dono, huh? I see.”

Ahh, really. I completely don’t understand what’s happening. What’s with this person? What’s going on here?

I look up at the knight. “U-uh…”

But the knight lifts one of his hands to signal me to stop speaking and smiles. “Lian-dono, let’s talk about the details later on… Marienne-sama, we have come to help you.” Then he places his right hand on his chest and bows his head.

Marie also rests her hands in front of her chest, stares at the three visitors, and makes a deep bow. “Thank you very much, everyone. Ah, I’m really grateful. Welcome, please come in. How can I thank you…”

The narrow-eyed young man hurriedly waves his hands. “Wahh, please raise your head, Marienne-sama! That should be our line. We are very sorry for being late! Good grief… Recently, the number of people requesting help like Marienne-sama has increased… And unfortunately, because of this, the headquarters and branches ended up behind on everything. I hope you can understand our situation… Ah, right! Please forgive me! I should’ve said this in the beginning. I’m an acolyte from the church’s national branch, Charis Pisty. And this girl is…”

“I’m Efa Vierge. I’ve been working as an apprentice for around a year after leaving the branch seminary. I’m still inexperienced, but I will do my best… Please take care of me, Marienne-sama.” The girl bows deeply to Marie, a slightly tense smile on her face.

“Oh my, you don’t have to be that formal. I’m glad that you even came here. Please take care of me as well, Efa-sama. Right, I have to introduce Lian to everyone.” Right after that, Marie pushes against my back.

Still unable to understand the situation well, I take a step forward.

“This is Lian-sama, a very kind person. He always helps me in this church. If you have any problems or questions about things you don’t understand, you can just approach Lian-sama. He’s very serious, gentle, and nice.”

The three’s focus simultaneously turns to me at once.

“H-huh?! Hey, Marie-sama…”

Please don’t introduce me like that!!!

This feels too embarrassing somehow! Besides, her way of explaining my character is very bad! Very very bad! I’m in trouble!

I haven’t really cared about my outward image much recently. But while it’s true that I haven’t been putting much effort into acting as a villain, I still want to keep “Lian” in-character! Plus, I really don’t like having people’s attention on me like this!

I don’t know whether Marie’s trying to imply something with that introduction, but I am extremely shaken by it. In the midst of my nervousness, I can feel cold sweat appearing on my forehead and temples.

This is dangerous. I have to calm down. This is still okay. I can still correct this. I can still falsify my image.

“Is that so…”

The girl Efa looks up at me, resting a hand on her chest with a relieved expression and a smile.

Ahhh, what should I do?

“Um… I’m still inexperienced and ignorant about a lot of things, so I’m sure I will bring you a lot of trouble. But I will do my best! I will be under your care, Lian-sama.”

“Uhh, ah… Yeah, pleased to meet you… uh…”

Efa’s eyebrows relax, and she sighs in relief. She then breaks into a smile, this time a very natural one. Unlike her slightly tense smile from earlier.

“Ah… I’m glad. Actually, before coming here, I was very, very nervous that my heart was about to jump out of my mouth! But… the villagers who guided us all the way here were all very friendly. Not to mention, Marienne-sama and Lian-sama are also just as kind. I sure am fortunate. I will do my utmost best to become helpful for everyone! I look forward to working with you!” pledges Efa, her smile growing even more blinding.

Feeling the dizziness coming, I press a hand on my forehead and muster my remaining energy.

…Ah. Somehow, this girl is so nice that my heart and my stomach start hurting.

As expected from the heroine who managed to grab the hearts of many players. From the girl that was labelled “too perfect and nice to be real.”

Even just within the game, she’s the perfect heroine. Honest, innocent, cheerful, and a bit clumsy. She’s also popular with the female players because her character shines in a good way, successfully making her the number one girl that female players want to have as their little sister.

This… isn’t good.

Impossible. Simply impossible.

There’s no way someone like me can compete against her.

Efa’s face turns cloudy with worry as she gazes at me.

“Lian-sama? Are you feeling unwell?”

“No… It’s nothing…”

Then at that moment, I hear the sound of a door opening. It’s the entrance to the corridor leading to the dining room situated at the back of the worshipping chamber.

When I look back, I see that the newcomer is Alfred, holding a big toolbox under his arms.

“Marie, I was looking for you in the dining room. So it turns out you’re here. I just came to tell you that I finished repairing the chicken coop.”

“Oh my, Al! Thank you so much. You’re a big help. Really, I’m happy that the chickens are healthy, but it’s a problem if they get too energetic and break the net!” Marie places a hand on the side of her face and puffs up her cheeks like a squirrel. At the same time, the three guests look at each other before they burst out laughing.

It is then that Alfred notices the three guests standing beside Marie. He glances at them briefly, but when his eyes land on the girl, they widen.

When Efa looks at Alfred, she similarly widens her eyes in surprise.

I can’t bear to look at their exchange… I turn my eyes to the ground and close my eyes, removing that scene from my sight.

So they finally meet.

The hero and the heroine of this story.