Prologue: Makoto Takatsuki's Dream
"Oh hero, I bestow upon you 50 gald and a wooden stick. Defeat the demon lord and restore peace to the world."
I always thought that setup was crazy. If someone wants you to complete a quest like that, they should at least hand over a hundred million...
Still, the hero defeats monsters and grows stronger. They get legendary artifacts, save the princess, and eventually, they destroy the demon lord. A hero saves the world. They don't shirk away from any difficulty, and they stand up against injustice, overcoming all obstacles in their path. They're the ideal person.
That's why, in the future, I want to become a hero.
— Makoto Takatsuki
"Takatsuki, what's this?" Sasa asked.
"Sasa! Don't just read things without permission!"
It was summer during our third year of junior high. The two of us were studying for our exams, but Sasa had decided she was bored of that and had gone snooping around my room. I didn't think much of it—that was fairly common after all. I figured she was just looking for some manga to read, but look at what she'd found!
"You wrote this, right? When?" "Give that here, right now!"
The thing she'd just read aloud was something I'd written at school, titled "Dreams for the Future." It should have been buried deep in my closet, so where'd she find it?! It was definitely something that I wanted to pretend didn't exist.
"Give it!" I yelled again.
I managed to grab hold of her and retrieve the incriminating
evidence. "Ahhh, you pervert, Takatsuki. What do you think you're touchiiing," Sasa trilled.
"I'm not touching anything!" I protested, sweating. Because of all the excitement, we didn't get much studying done.
Also...her chest was soft.
𝘘
"What's up, Takatsuki? You're staring," Sasa commented, tilting her head and looking back at me.
We were on Fujiyan's airship, having dinner on the way home from Labyrinthos. I was looking at her face, lost in thoughts of the past.
Well, we were in the world of swords and magic that I'd always dreamed of as a kid, I guess. Sorry though, younger me—you didn't get to become a hero.
Sasa had smiled at me while I was reminiscing, and we held each other's gaze for a while.
"Hey, Makoto," Lucy called, grabbing onto me from behind. "Do you want to do some training after we've eaten?"
Whether I liked it or not, I always started warming up as she held on to me due to her high body temperature. She'd been more touchy- feely lately, like she was showing off to Sasa.
"Sure, the normal five hours of mana-control training?" "Geh, I can't concentrate for that long..." she protested. "Well, we can take breaks."
"Okay then."
Even after hearing my answer, she didn't let go of me. It was honestly kinda difficult to keep eating with her on my back like this.
"Lu, off you get," Sasa told her, pulling her off me. "Takatsuki's still eating."
"Ugh, I can't win against your strength!" Lucy complained.
"Hey, Takatsuki, I'll head over to your room tonight," Sasa said. She was the one grabbing onto me now, so the situation hadn't improved at all.
"You did the same last night, though..."
"I'll do the same every night! I'm going to sleep in your bed tonight!"
"Eh, I don't mind." After all, I usually spent the whole night training. Sasa would end up chatting with me for a while and then falling asleep...in my bed.
"Ayaaa, you'd better tell me more about that."
"Wah, you got a lot stronger! Are you using mana?"
Lucy pinned Sasa's arms behind her back, prompting her to laugh and squirm. It was a cute and playful gesture. I guess the two of them had gotten along much better since our stop in the (love?) hotel.
"Takatsuki, I'm coming to train with you today," declared Sasa. Lucy cut in right after. "And I'm coming to your room tonight."
It was a rare occurrence for Sasa to want to join our training, and I suppose Lucy had decided she'd stay around after our session.
"Sure," I answered.
"Aya, you can't use magic, can you? Won't you be bored?" asked Lucy.
"I can practice my skills, right? What about you? What are you planning in his room?"
"Training, obviously. What were you imagining?"
"It just seemed a bit shady," Sasa explained, "that you were more motivated when you thought about going to his room, rather than training outside."
The two of them giggled, maintaining a tight grip on each other's shoulders. We'd be able to have a nice and friendly meeting then, peaceful as ever.
Anyway, past me, let's cut to the chase: you couldn't become a hero, but you did get a party of cute girls.
"My esteemed Tackie..." "Mr. Takatsuki'h..."
Fujiyan and Nina had odd looks on their faces. "What's up with you two?" I asked.
"Nothing..."
"Nothing at all'h..."
I looked curiously at them. I thought I heard one of them mutter something like, "Do your best to avoid being stabbed," but maybe not...?