I'm Not the Heroine-Chapter 85

Aswell maintained his vigilance while continuing to think.

‘Should she be one of my companions?’

He recalled the five companions from the memories of past heroes. One of them had been like the woman in front of him, wearing a hood and wielding daggers.

But Aswell couldn’t be certain just from that.

If it were like with Niabella, he might understand, but the current situation was entirely caused by her.

From her aggressive stance, her goal was most likely assassination or inflicting injury.

To carry out such an assignment "forcefully" was something Aswell couldn’t fully comprehend.

‘Even if, by some chance, that’s true, I don’t think I could forgive her easily.’

Clink.

Aswell gripped the Holy Sword, preparing for the next attack.

‘Let’s hold out until Louis regains her senses.’

He believed she would recover soon, so he only needed to hold out until then.

But then, the next moment, Aswell almost lost his composure.

"More importantly, a hero sleeping with a woman... That wasn’t in the intel. Is she really that precious to you?"

For a brief moment, there was a glimmer of murderous intent directed at her, not him.

"······."

Aswell, now thinking that the woman was targeting Louis, suddenly lunged forward.

"Ugh······!"

Clang!

"I won’t let you hurt Louis."

With those words, Aswell grabbed the woman by the neck and threw her out the window.

Just as he was about to follow, a voice called from behind.

"Aswell······."

"······Louis!"

Her voice, calm as if her senses had returned.

But her face was still flushed, and her voice was laced with embarrassment and allure.

She was pressing her thigh with one hand while using her other hand to grab Aswell, saying:

"Please... don’t kill her."

Her pleading voice, directed toward him, caused Aswell to feel anger for a moment.

‘She’s the one in pain, yet...’

Was she really trying to protect someone else?

Well, she probably isn’t completely a man.

If the memories of past heroes were true, the woman who had come was likely to become a companion. But that was just from the memories of the past heroes, and the person who mattered was the one right in front of him.

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But despite his anger, Aswell didn’t lash out.

"······Alright. I’ll be careful."

"I’m sorry···."

Breathing heavily, Louis collapsed onto the bed. Aswell quickly moved toward the window and headed outside.

Cough! Cough!

Once outside, he saw the woman clutching her throat and coughing.

For some reason, he had begun to feel lighter since just a moment ago.

With a body that felt as if it could bounce up at any moment, Aswell rushed straight at the woman.

Clang!

"Ugh···!"

"Is your goal to assassinate me?"

"Yeah... I’d love it if you just died···!"

"Why?"

"Because I just hate you···!"

‘Looks like we’re not going to have a proper conversation.’

If that’s the case, there’s only one way.

To subdue her and interrogate her.

Aswell didn’t even realize it himself, but his words and actions had become increasingly violent since earlier.

Meow~.

With the sound of a cat meowing from somewhere, the woman’s figure vanished.

Instead of chasing her, Aswell closed his eyes and focused on his other senses.

Rustle.

The battlefield expanded.

In the darkness, where sight wasn’t necessary, it was more advantageous for him.

As a result...

Clang!

Before the woman could rush at him, Aswell turned his head toward the direction of her movement.

He then nonchalantly raised his Holy Sword and blocked the two daggers once again.

"······Ah."

The woman, with a surprised expression, tried to retreat, but he didn’t let her.

He quickly restrained one of her hands with his left hand, without the Holy Sword, and then used it to knock away the dagger with his sword.

In the process, he immediately aimed for her throat, effectively neutralizing her.

"What’s your name?"

"······Miara. Miara Rimfelt."

The woman who had attempted to assassinate the hero, Miara, finally raised both hands in surrender.

***

[Remember this. The death of a hero is necessary for our world.]

Miara came to the Empire with such an order.

She had heard that the hero’s skills were still not very impressive. And though all the party members were women, none of them had a special affection for him.

Therefore, she planned to get him as intoxicated as possible and, if she couldn’t kill him, to take him out in other ways.

However, everything turned out differently from what Miara had anticipated.

‘I heard the hero’s hair was black.’

The hero’s hair, which she had been staring at while lying on the floor, was gradually turning black.

Until just a moment ago, when they had been fighting, his hair had been completely white.

As his hair color changed, his speed, which she had barely been able to match in the room, became so fast that it seemed like he had already anticipated her moves.

Did this mean that his strength was growing with every passing moment?

But there was even more confusing information.

‘I heard he didn’t have a special attachment to anyone.’

"Give me the antidote to the drug you sprinkled."

Instead of interrogating her, he demanded the antidote first.

She distinctly remembered that the hero had been almost unaffected by the drug.

If that was true, then it meant the woman magician in the room had some significance.

‘Just because she’s a companion? But that doesn’t seem like it...’

The hero’s eyes were filled with anger.

"My right pocket."

Thud!

With a swift movement, the hero grabbed the potion from his pocket and headed straight for the second floor. Watching him, Miara felt an unfamiliar emptiness.

"·······I wish I could be in her position."

At this moment, Miara could have fled, but she didn’t want to. Instead, she got up and walked to the room where the hero and the magician were.

"Louis, drink this. It will make you feel much better."

"Hah… hah…"

The hero gently poured the potion into the mouth of the red-faced magician. It seemed like that wasn’t enough for him, though, as he even put the potion in his mouth and fed it to her himself.

‘So they’re lovers.’

In that case, it was somewhat understandable why he was so angry.

After feeding the potion to Louis, the hero still seemed anxious, and Miara finally spoke up.

"He’ll recover soon. It wasn’t even a strong drug."

"······You didn’t run away."

"I got caught."

The hero seemed to ponder for a moment before speaking to Miara.

"Come in."

"······Huh?"

"Louis, it seems like my companion wants to see you."

At those words, Miara turned her head toward the magician.

‘He wanted to see me?’

But Louis must have been completely out of it due to the drug, right? That drug was especially potent for beastmen.

Even beastmen, who have high resistance to drugs, are significantly affected by it. There’s no way a woman magician, who isn’t physically strong, could have maintained her composure.

Did she hold on with sheer willpower?

"······I’ll stay here."

In the end, Miara slumped down in the corner of the room.

Her curiosity about the two of them grew stronger, yet she had already come to accept the consequences of her failure in the mission.

***

The world spun in circles.

My whole body felt hot.

Especially my lower abdomen, which felt unbearably tingly and hot, making my legs twitch uncontrollably.

"As… Aswell..."

I kept calling out to him, like a child searching for their mother.

He had gone outside.

It seemed that the assassin heroine had arrived.

So, I managed to squeeze out a few words, begging him not to kill her.

But Aswell’s response... I couldn’t remember.

Instead of my memory, the desire to stop Aswell from leaving grew stronger.

"Ugh…"

I exhaled roughly, and instinctively, my hand tried to reach down. I wanted to relieve this suffocating feeling.

At that moment, someone entered the room.

It was Aswell.

[Louis, drink this.]

He then fed me something.

But since I couldn’t drink it easily due to my heavy breathing, he blocked my mouth with his and poured it directly into me.

I felt the liquid travel down my throat, and as it flowed through my body, the heat that had been burning me began to gradually subside.

"Aswell…"

"Yeah, I’m here. It’s okay."

In an instant, my body cooled down, but there was still a lingering warmth. Without realizing it, I pressed my body against his.

I hugged him slowly, without him noticing, as gently as possible.

"It’s okay, Louis. Everything is fine…"

"Aswell…"

Then, after about ten minutes, I was finally able to clear my head.

Before me was Aswell, looking at me with a worried expression, and in the corner, I saw the assassin heroine, Miara Rimfelt.

It seemed that Aswell had only neutralized her, as I had asked.

Now, all that was left was to remove the "restrictions" that had been placed on her by the organization that had commissioned her assassination.

Once that was resolved, she would be free.

I needed to get up right away and grab the master key.

But the things I had done just moments ago came back to me.

"…Louis?"

"…"

"Hey, is there something wrong with the potion? Louis’ face is red again!!"

"Uh? That can’t be…"

Miara’s voice sounded closer, with a hint of panic.

But soon, her tone relaxed.

"Ah… It’s not a side effect of the drug."

"Then what is it? Why is Louis avoiding looking at my face?"

"She’s probably just embarrassed."

I wanted to die.