Chapter 5: Keys and Comfort

If you wanted unrestricted access to a place, who should you befriend? The leader? Or a key figure?

Wrong.

‘The gatekeeper.’

The gatekeeper was entrusted with protecting the place. In other words, they were responsible for the safety of the people within. Therefore, earning the gatekeeper’s favor meant they were essentially vouching for your safety.

In this case, Raphilia was the gatekeeper of the hero’s party. Of all the current heroines, she was the most wary of Rui.

So, if she showed herself to be friendly with Raphilia, she could naturally gain the favor of Aria and Serin as well.

‘I’m very genius.’

If being smart was a crime, she was definitely committing a world-altering level of offense. So smart.

“Seduce… how…?”

Raphilia looked around and asked in a low voice. Lost in thought about the hero, a faint blush colored her cheeks.

“Rui, do you know how to seduce men?”

Raphilia asked with an innocent face.

“…Of course. I’m very good at it.”

“Ooh…”

Fortunately, she wasn’t asked to demonstrate by seducing a random man from the village right then and there. Worried Raphilia might catch on, she quickly got to the point.

“How do you usually act in front of the hero?”

“How I act…?”

“Like, your bright personality or cool demeanor.”

“Hmm… I try to approach him casually and act friendly.”

“You need to change that image.”

“Change it?”

“Yes. Think about it. The hero has a very kind personality.”

“Right?”

“But imagine one day, you get injured in battle. The hero approaches you, grabs your injured arm, and gets angry.”

“Hmm… An angry Aswell? I can’t quite imagine it.”

“Just imagine it. He gets angry and says, ‘How dare you get hurt without my permission!'”

Simply put, she was asking how it would feel if she approached him with a bad boy, tsundere-like attitude. Raphilia, who had been struggling to imagine the scenario, suddenly blushed crimson.

This elf princess seemed to blush easily.

“U-um. That’s… not bad.”

“Now, apply that in reverse.”

“You mean I should get angry when Aswell gets hurt?”

The elf princess was on the right track, but then she stumbled.

“Do you think the hero will ever get hurt?”

“…That’s true.”

“And getting angry doesn’t suit you. The image you should project is ‘seriousness’.”

“Oh, ooh…”

“I asked the hero yesterday, so I roughly know our next route. There’s a flower field along the way…”

“Mm-hmm. And, and?”

With that conversation as a starting point, their meeting lasted for about an hour. By the end, Raphilia was practically bursting with laughter, imagining her success with the hero.

‘Was that strategy too much for the elf princess?’

Still, she pretended to rub her nose with pride.

“Thank you, Rui…! Oh, but…there’s a problem.”

“What is it?”

“The flower field is a bit off the road, right? How do I get Aswell there…?”

“That’s for you to figure out.”

“How can I! It’s scary!”

“…I’ll take care of that.”

She had the perfect excuse from yesterday’s incident with the hero. She could use that to send them to the flower field.

Two days later, the hero’s party left the village and set off on their journey. They had been staying in the southern part of the empire.

Now, they planned to slowly move towards the western part of the empire, following rumors related to monsters and demons.

‘The most important events are… the witch heroine and the Twilight Fortress.’

Both would happen within three months. That meant they had plenty of time.

‘Of course, there will be constant battles.’

In this world, monsters popped up whenever they pleased, threatening people. They weren’t native creatures; they somehow teleported directly from the demon realm, making them difficult to predict.

So most villages and cities maintained forces to deal with monsters, but sometimes that wasn’t enough. In such cases, if the hero’s party was nearby, they would step in to resolve the issue.

The village the hero’s party was heading to had sent such a request. The river they used for water had been occupied by a group of goblins and orcs.

So, how would the hero’s party get there? Fortunately, they weren’t resorting to the brute-force method of walking.

But they were using a mode of transportation she had never used before: horses.

“Sorry, Rui. I couldn’t get a horse for you.”

Pfft.

‘Is he a prince?’

A pure white horse, its groomed mane swaying, waited for the hero. Beside it, the three heroines’ horses gathered around the white horse.

She remembered hearing that the white horse was a gift from the emperor. It was supposedly a fine breed. The heroines’ horses seemed to know this as well, constantly trying to stay close to the white horse.

Incidentally, the horses matched the gender of their riders.

“So, it looks like we’ll have to ride together until we can find a horse for you…”

“Hmm.”

She looked around for a cart to carry her luggage, but unfortunately, there wasn’t one. She would have preferred to stay holed up in her lab and only come out when necessary, but the limitations of her magic prevented that.

The lab’s door was fixed to spatial coordinates, so it couldn’t follow a moving horse. That meant she had to ride with one of the four.

“Then, with Raphilia…”

Riding with any of the three would undoubtedly result in a stiff neck and back from their ample bosoms, but she couldn’t ride with the hero either. If she did, the three heroines would glare daggers at her, and she couldn’t ignore that.

But then something unexpected happened.

“No. Wish can’t carry anyone else. He has a bit of a temper.”

“Eh?”

Wish was the name of Raphilia’s horse. She looked at the creature with a bewildered expression, and it glared back at her as if asking, “What are you looking at?”

Honestly, the horse was rather large, and its threatening gaze made her involuntarily step back towards the hero.

“Then, with Seri…”

“I’m wearing armor, so it’ll be quite uncomfortable for you. Are you sure?”

“Hmm…”

It wasn’t just the armor. There were also various weapons and equipment, and even some armor on the horse itself. Riding like that would probably feel like lying on a bed of rocks.

“Aria…”

“Oh, I’m fine!”

“…I’m not fine.”

She almost felt a glimmer of hope, but then she saw Aria’s impressive chest and gave up. One wrong step by the horse, and her neck would be snapped.

“Why…”

Only one option remained.

“Then ride with me.”

“I suppose I have to.”

The hero wore simpler armor than Serin, so it would be relatively less uncomfortable. Of course, the trade-off would be the three burning gazes directed at her.

“Get o- oh, wait. Let me help you up.”

“Huh? No, it’s fine.”

Before she could protest, the hero hopped off the white horse, put his hands under her arms, and lifted her up. She flailed in the air for a moment before managing to grab the reins and clumsily climb onto the horse.

“…I could have gotten on myself.”

“Sorry, sorry. I’ll help you up by holding your hand next time.”

Actually, she couldn’t have gotten on by herself. The horse, like its owner, was quite large, and she couldn’t even reach the stirrups.

She ended up dangling like a child sitting on a high chair with their feet off the ground.

“Alright.”

And once again, the hero lightly jumped onto the horse behind her.

“Huh? Why am I in front?”

“Huh? Where else should I put you?”

Wasn’t she supposed to be in the back? With the hero’s arms holding the reins in front of her like this, she felt trapped. His broad shoulders and torso felt like an inescapable prison.

“Hmm.”

“Tell me if you’re uncomfortable.”

“I’m not uncomfortable.”

‘The stares from behind are uncomfortable.’

She was self-conscious of the three people following behind. Even though the horse was large, the space was limited, and with the horse’s movements, it was inevitable that she would be pressed against the hero.

‘This won’t do.’

Trying to ignore them, she took out her pen and continued her research. She also took out some paper so as not to disturb the hero or the horse, and started scribbling words.

“Are you doing research?”

“Yes.”

“What kind of research?”

“You wouldn’t understand even if I explained it.”

“Ahaha… that’s true, but I’m curious. About what you do.”

“Gravity reduction formulas.”

“Gravity…?”

“Simply put, if I apply this to your shoes, you’ll be able to jump higher and fall slower.”

“That’s amazing…”

“I know.”

She heard a chuckle and looked up to see the hero smiling at her. She had simply stated a fact, and she didn’t understand what was so funny.

Time passed, and the first night of their journey arrived.

“We should arrive tomorrow morning. Let’s set up camp here.”

“Okay!”

“Should I take the first watch?”

After enjoying Aria’s delicious cooking, the four busily prepared tents, a campfire, and other necessities. Watching them, she set up the door connected to her lab in a corner of the campsite.

“I’ll sleep there.”

“There…? A door?”

“What is that…?”

What was it? Her sweet lab, of course. There was a bed inside, so she could sleep there.

“Wow…”

The saintess gave a vague reaction and clapped. Raphilia and Serin frowned and turned away from her. And the hero… he gave an awkward chuckle and folded up the tent he was about to set up.

‘Was he making that for me?’

The hero had already set up his own tent. The other heroines had set up theirs as well, so the only one left was hers.

“Just a moment.”

She clutched four keys in her hand and came back out.

“Please take these.”

“Huh?”

“Turn them like you’re opening a door, in a suitable spot in the air.”

Click.

As the hero turned the key, a door appeared in mid-air. With expressions of disbelief, the remaining three heroines also turned their keys, and brown wooden doors appeared.

“They’re trial versions, but they’re usable.”

Among the many trials and errors she went through while putting her lab into subspace, these four keys held in their hands were four of the successes. The spaces they opened were smaller than her lab, but they were still the size of a small studio apartment, enough for a person and their belongings.

“You can sleep there if you want. There are basic furniture and magic tools for washing. Oh, if you prefer sleeping outdoors…”

“As if!”

“Thank you!”

“Thanks!”

The three heroines quickly responded and went inside with their luggage. There were makeshift beds, so sleeping shouldn’t be a problem.

Lastly, the hero.

“…I’ll put it to good use. Thank you, Rui.”

“You’re welcome.”

He thanked her and disappeared inside. Looking at the four doors floating in mid-air, she cast protective magic around them before entering her own lab to sleep.