[Earlier That Day]
Lucy patrolled the settlement, just as she had done the previous day—and the one before that.
Ever since the Hero left and entrusted her with defending their territory, Lucy took it upon herself to watch over the denizens of the small village.
With a sword on her hip—made from the parts of an S Class Beast she had slayed herself during her time as an Adventurer—Lucy looked around ever so diligently.
There was no sign of danger, but the girl refused to take any chances.
'This is what he told me to do, after all.' She smiled to herself, glad that the Hero gave her such an important task.
As she explored the outskirts of the town, leaving the North and moving closer to the South, Lucy remembered her first encounter with the powerful young man that she now respected.
It was beyond mortifying that she had once suspected the Hero, Sam, of being a fraud and had even out rightly despised him.
She thought of herself as strong and had looked down on him as weak.
