After finishing my daily routine of hunting demons, which I have been intensifying recently, I was brandishing an iron sword for muscle training in a slightly open area of the Demon Forest. It was several times heavier than the En – or rather, an adamantite sword.
"Fuuuh…Fuuuh…" (Yuki)
Conscious of the form that Remiro, the previous hero, had taught me in the village of elves, I swing the sword with no hesitation.
I could feel every muscle in my body screaming.
Sweat was pouring out of me, and my breath was ragged.
Next to me, Rir was using his [Divine Speed] skill to continuously dash.
He was faster than anyone else.
Beyond his own limits, even faster.
The muscles in his limbs flexed as his normally reassuring features turned frantic, and for once, his fluffy fur seemed hot and painful.
Muscle training was as important as ever in this world.
As one's level increased, so did one's muscle strength, but for example, in the same level range, the more physically superior one was, the higher one's status became.
It was a gradual process, but… well, this kind of gradual approach was necessary to become stronger.
Rome was not built in a day.
–And then, when we were continuing our muscle training…
Perhaps it thought we were being careless when it saw us, but it slowly approached us from the shadows of the forest.
It waited for the right moment and leaped toward me at once.
"Fuuuuh, get out of my way, you idiot!" (Yuki)
"Gaaaaah!" (Monster)
I swung my adamantite sword, and with a snap, I punched it right in the head.
The quadrupedal tiger-looking thing screamed and was blown away. It was further thrown away by Rir, who was running around with his [Divine speed] skill, slamming it into the ground and rendering it motionless.
"Ku…?" (Rir)
"Well, I don't know what happened. That thing just came out of nowhere. Ah, I'm going to take a bath when I get back." (Yuki)
I sat down on the spot and took off my top shirt.
The climate in Demon Forest was basically tropical, so training here was freaking hot.
The grassland area was set at a more comfortable temperature, so maybe I should train there… but I didn't want to do it there because it would be a little embarrassing to be seen in the middle of training like this.
"Ku…" (Rir)
"Haha, I have no doubt that your fur is the best, but I feel sorry for you at times like this. Look, you're covered in blood. I'm going to wash you off." (Yuki)
I used primordial magic to create a shower of water, which I poured over Rir, and my pet basked in it, looking pleasantly surprised, and then shivered.
Naturally, I, who was standing next to him, was directly exposed to the water.
"Whoa, hey, haha, you did it, you son of a… Eat this!" (Yuki)
As Rir and I were fooling around while getting drenched, we suddenly heard a cute scream coming from nearby.
"Hyah, what?" (Nell)
I turned my head in the direction of the voice, and there she was, soaking wet from the aftermath of what we were doing.
"Oh, Nell! Welcome back, you just got back?" (Yuki)
"Yeah, I just got back and came to see Oni-san but ended up being soaked from head to toe. Haah, now I'm all drenched." (Nell)
I laughed and replied to Nell, who let out a sigh.
"Oh, sorry, sorry. It's so hot around here, so we were just taking a dip. We were sweating so bad. Right, Rir?" (Yuki)
"Kuu." (Rir)
Then she stared at me, who was half-naked, and said, "I was so excited to see you, Oni-san, but now I feel like I'm being drenched with cold water."
"But you've been physically drenched." (Yuki)
You said it so well, Hero.
"So to make up for it, I'm going to touch your abs!" (Nell)
"Eh–wahhhhhh, wait, you, ahihihihi… hey, I said wait!" (Yuki)
Nell stretched out her arms and started to touch my abs.
"Hmmm, no, no, Oni-san! This is your punishment! I will touch you until I feel like it!" (Nell)
"Okay, okay, just calm down!" (Yuki)
"Well, this is a good one! I must tell the [Committee for the Good Sit-ups] about how great it is!" (Nell)
"Where is this committee?" (Yuki)
"At home, of course!" (Nell)
And so, after making me writhe for a while, Nell finally seemed satisfied and removed her hands from my body.
"Haah, haah… Oh, you… That made me more tired than when I was doing the muscle training…" (Yuki)
"Oh my, by the way, all the daily fatigue on my part has been wiped away in the last few minutes! I think I'll call it the 'Oni-san Recovery Tool'." (Nell)
"Don't name it." (Yuki)
When did you start to become "that" kind of character… not that I don't appreciate it.
I was glad to hear that my wife was doing well.
I chuckled and then my expression turned a little more serious as I asked.
"So… how's things in the country?" (Yuki)
Nell also responded with a serious look on her face, unlike before.
"His Majesty took the incident caused by the [human supremacists] quite seriously… and decided to send in the army to control the country. That calmed things down." (Nell)
…The military was deployed to suppress ideals?
"That's… quite a feat." (Yuki)
In my previous life, being rough and rowdy would matter to one's image, but in this world, it was rather common.
However, I didn't think that the King of Alicia would do something like that.
He was a good person, after all.
Basically, if he had not been in the position of king, he would have been like a kind neighborhood uncle and would have been able to live his days in peace.
But he made such a heavy decision.
I wondered how many conflicts he went through to do so.
"I didn't want to give that king a hard time. That happened because of our carelessness…" (Yuki)
"…Kun." (Rir)
Rir cried in a heavy voice.
That was an unpleasant incident that made me realize how unprepared I was.
I thought I was prepared for many things, but reality taught me it was not enough at all.
It was a big mistake that caused a lot of trouble.
Nell shook her head at my words.
"No, it wasn't Oni-san or Rir-kun's fault. Originally, that matter happened because of the strange ideals of other humans that we had to deal with. This time, it was exposed in a bad way. It has always been a fact that humans, who mostly cared about those who are identical to them, are more inclusive than other races." (Nell)
"I can only hope that prejudice will be eliminated in future. It may take some time, but…" (Yuki)
"Well… yes. As a Hero, I would also like to help regarding this matter in the future." (Nell)
After saying this, Nell changed her tone of voice and said in a seemingly conscious manner.
"Oh yeah, I've changed my job." (Nell)
"Eh? What happened!?" (Yuki)
"Well, from now on, I won't be doing anything to maintain security, and I'll be doing mostly demon-subjugation work. So, I'll be doing less work than before, and I may be able to come back here more often. The main reason is that the threat of other races has diminished. Maybe it's part of trying to get you in a good mood, though." (Nell)
"I see… you may have your own reservations about it, but for me, if I get to spend more time with you, all the better." (Yuki)
"Hmm, well, if it's a result of the country moving forward, I guess I should be happy about that. If there is no longer a need for a [Hero], it will be a good thing for the country and for me. If that happens, I will be able to touch your abs as much as I want, and I will be able to hug you as much as I want!" (Nell)
"Whoa, hey, you… I'm not very clean right now, am I?" (Yuki)
"I'm not too different from you after getting soaked myself." (Nell)
She laughed and hugged me tightly, and I laughed too and hugged her back.
My wife's body was comfortable, soft, and smelled good.
"Oh, by the way, Nell, I was thinking of heading to the dwarves' village… soon… Do you want to come with me?" (Yuki)
"Dwarf village? Did you say Dwarf village? A village of dwarves, full of Weapons?" (Nell)
Nell came up to me with a powerful yelp, and I involuntarily jerked my upper body back.
"Ah, right. I don't know if it will be a place full of weapons or not, but I wanted to talk to them about the dungeon. I thought it would be a good time to pay them a visit." (Yuki)
I promised to visit their village during the war.
Now that I have more time, I think I would take this opportunity to visit them.
"I'm going! I'm going, I'm going, I'm going! Ehehehe… the home of the dwarves with the world's finest blacksmithing skills…! The sacred land of weapons…! When, when are we going!?" (Nell)
Nell-san, you were a little too excited.
"I'll go there soon. If you're going, I'll go according to your schedule. How about it?" (Yuki)
"…I've already taken care of all the urgent work, and I'm pretty free right now… Hmm, okay, just wait a minute! I'll be right back to finish the details! I'll be back as soon as I can." (Nell)
"O, oh, okay." (Yuki)
As usual of the Hero with a weapon fetish.
If we were going to the dwarves' village, we would probably have to go to the beastmen's village along the way. Since things were going so well, why don't I invite Lyuu as well to go with us?
I should ask her later.