Chapter 43
Adrian looked at the two of them and let out a short sigh.
“…Actually, there is one way. Just a moment.”
He bent down under the dining table, fiddled around a bit, and pulled out a folder.
It seemed to be one of the documents he had found while rummaging through the historical archives three days before Darren and I left.
“There has never been a case where there was only one hero chosen by the goddess, but there have been cases where the number was so small that forming a party was impossible. And the solution back then was…”
He flipped through the neatly handwritten documents and began explaining the method.
“One of the secret arts the goddess’s heroes can use is temporarily sharing their blessing with those around them.”
“Oh, that’s a great idea! If we use that, we can share the goddess’s blessing with all of us!”
Darren pounded the table before I could finish, acting as if everything had been solved.
Of course, it was very good news for me.
Fighting alone was tough, but if I could share my blessing buff, that would be wonderful.
Still, I was a little worried.
I had never seen or heard of such a secret art in the game, so it was hard to believe easily.
Everything has pros and cons, after all.
“…Naturally, there is a downside. It consumes a lot of magical power. We don’t know how long it will take to remove the source of the darkness in the forest… Maintaining this secret art for that long will be a huge burden for Elaine.”
“I see.”
And just as I feared, there was a downside.
In the game, it takes at most 30 minutes to clear a dungeon.
But if you ask whether 30 minutes in real life is the same as 30 minutes in the game world, the answer is no.
Two minutes in real life equals one hour in the Edaphosia game world.
So 30 minutes translates to a whopping 15 hours…!
I would have to maintain a high magic-consuming secret art for 15 hours.
But there was no better option than this for now.
“…Well, let’s just do it.”
I said firmly and poured countless magic recovery potions onto the table.
They were from my inventory.
This blueberry-flavored ion drink…! I’ll finish this for sure!
“Oh, wait, what is all this…?”
“How is your pocket dimension made? Why do you have so many potions…?”
Leo and Darren spoke with confused voices.
Even Adrian, unusually, looked a bit taken aback.
“Uh, um… You were so busy moving around and prepared all this, huh.”
“Yes, it’s better to be prepared than sorry! If we want to survive, we have to be this ready!”
I said confidently. Because I was confident!
“…Cool, Elaine. My friend.”
Darren gave a thumbs-up.
Though I wanted to ask why I was his friend, I held back.
Because, to be honest, some sort of friendship had grown between us.
Still, I wanted to ask for another reason.
Because this guy had been mean and made Rena cry.
Roommate loyalty, after all!
But well, he did seem willing to apologize.
Since we had to enter the dungeon together tomorrow, it wouldn’t do any good to argue now, so I just held it in.
“Well then, Elaine, you should go in first. We need to check on Rena’s situation and deliver the decided plan.”
“Yes, yes!”
Putting the potions back into my inventory, I sighed and opened the door.
Luckily, it wasn’t locked.
Though it wasn’t a room I used alone, since Rena looked pretty upset, I thought she might have locked it.
But apparently not.
Looking inside, Rena was still sitting on the bed, sniffling as if she hadn’t gotten any better.
“…Are you feeling a bit better?”
“…”
I spoke softly, but got no answer.
“Um, if you want to be alone, I can leave.”
I hesitated to say this, but Rena shook her head.
“Hmm, no.”
I awkwardly sat on my bed. I had no idea what to do next.
Should Darren apologize first? Or wait for Rena to speak first?
Before I could think much, Rena opened her mouth.
“Do you think so too? That I’m the type who judges people by their family background, treats people badly… Do you think I’m that kind of person?”
“No, no… You’re not like that. I think you’re just clumsy at dealing with people, but you don’t judge people like that.”
At times like this, honesty was best.
Sugarcoating things wouldn’t fool Rena, nor would it help her.
“…And Darren said he didn’t mean it sincerely. He said he wants to apologize.”
“…”
Rena quietly fell into thought at my words.
Sometimes, staying silent is the best help.
After a short silence, she sighed deeply.
“Why am I like this?”
Her voice was filled with self-doubt.
In the game, Rena had always shown a proud, aloof side, so this was quite a shock.
“So, what’s wrong with you?”
Flustered, I stammered out the question.
She came from a prestigious family, has magical skills, is a member of a highly competitive prestigious hero party.
And on top of that, she’s pretty.
With so many advantages, it was baffling to hear her say such things.
“…It’s just so hard to deal with people. If I like someone, I should just say so. If they’re cool, I should just say so. But being honest is so embarrassing.”
Rena buried her face in her hands and said this.
In the game, we just accepted it as ‘she’s just a tsundere character.’
But now this world was real, and that tsundere character was my real-life roommate.
It felt strange that she was having these worries.
“Hmm, telling me these worries honestly is being honest already. You’re good at being honest.”
“You are you. My roommate. My… comrade…”
Her face turned red as she said this.
“…Cute. Having a little sister like this wouldn’t be bad.”
I often thought that when I saw his twin brother, Leo.
I wished all the twins could be my little siblings.
Rena’s shy way of saying “You’re my comrade!” was quite cute.
It was touching that deep down, she was accepting me as a comrade.
Like an older sister proud of her younger sibling, I looked at her with a proud gaze, which only made Rena’s face turn redder.
“T- take those eyes away!”
“Ah, sorry. I’m just a little happy. Hehehe.”
I laughed happily, and Rena didn’t protest, just gave me a gentle glare.
“Hmm, actually, I think people are all different. No one is perfect at everything. You already have many strengths. Maybe it’s okay if you’re not skilled at human relationships.”
“…”
Rena pursed her lips and frowned.
She didn’t seem to like what I said.
After all, telling someone stressed about clumsy relationships “You have other strengths, so it’s okay!” might not be comforting.
“That’s what I think… but if you’re unhappy with who you are now, how about trying to be a little more honest? No one is good at it from the start. Say thank you when you’re thankful. Say sorry when you’re sorry.”
I added: start small.
Rena thought carefully with a very serious expression.
I didn’t know if she would accept my advice.
But if this could help her grow a little, it would be good.
In the game, she was always consistent as a sharp-tongued character.
But real people can always grow.
And a little later…
“…Okay. I’ll try, just like you said.”
After thinking it over, Rena spoke cautiously.
I felt pretty proud hearing that.
“Oh, I hope it goes well.”
Sincerely.
Thus ended our little counseling session.
Now, there was the matter of the guy who made her cry.
“So, are you going to accept Darren’s apology?”
“…Hmmm.”
Rena rubbed her red eyes and thought for a moment.
Then she spoke.
“He said he didn’t mean it seriously, and… he’s also a comrade in the hero party. It’s probably better to reconcile.”
“Yeah, good thinking. We’re going into the forest tomorrow morning anyway.”
I nodded and told her what had happened outside, and her eyes widened.
“That happened? That’s good. He seems like a good person. Brave, too.”
“…”
I was momentarily speechless at her praise for Ferdia.
In the game, the two of us clashed like oil and water.
But now, seeing Rena praise Ferdia was surprising.
You never know what will happen in life, huh? That saying was exactly right.
“Um, then… I’ll call Darren. You two should talk it out.”
“Y- yeah.”
Rena nodded with her tear-stained face.
Usually, crying makes faces puffy and unattractive.
But with her cat-like cute face, the red eyes and slightly swollen lips somehow made her look fresh and charming.
I left her there and got up from the bed.
Outside, Darren, Leo, and Adrian were still sitting at the dining table waiting.
Especially Darren looked like he was about to have his neck snapped from waiting so eagerly, his eyes almost bloodshot.
“So, how did it go?”
He asked anxiously.
I sighed softly and said,
“…She’ll accept the apology. When you go in, don’t mess around—just apologize, okay?”
“Yeah, got it! Thanks, buddy! I’ll buy you a meal! Drinks on me!”
Before I finished, he jumped up noisily from the table and stormed toward the door with scary determination.
