When I slowly opened my eyes, I saw a familiar face. A pretty face.

But…

I’m afraid to stare.

Why?

Because it’s The Saint’s face!

I don’t feel like getting nuked by a blue droplet of death…

“How are you feeling?” The Saint asked. Her smile was innocent and pure. I can kind of understand why that guy’s so protective of her…

I shook my head in response, saying, “I feel great,” while getting up and stretching. 

“I’m glad,” she replied with a gentle smile. “After all, you’ve been passed out for the past three days.”  

…really?

“Huh!?” I exclaimed.

Three whole days!?

Aska, Julia and Hilda then walked into the tent. Our eyes met, and… it was Mister Alum’s eyes that met mine.

I… suddenly feel a bit nervous….

“Sorry for the trouble…” he sincerely apologised. He dragged Mister Hilos into the tent.

“Sorry bout that lad,” he said, scratching his head.

You… don’t seem that sorry, though…. Knocking me out for three whole days and all!

The others then walked up to me without saying anything. Julia had a troubled look, as did Hilda.

On the other hand, Aska seemed sulky and pinched my arm, “Ow! Ow ow ow!” I retorted. “What’s this for!?” I questioned as I groaned.

“You’re a massive idiot,” he said as he then turned to the side, making a ‘Hmpf’ sound.  

I felt happy that he worried like this, and a warm and gentle feeling whelmed my chest.

But Aska wasn’t happy when he saw me like that though….

“Why’re you smiling!? I’m mad, you know!?”

“Ahaha… nothing really,” I replied and shrugged.

Aska’s eyes twitched. “You got some nerves…” he said.

The Saint then giggled and said, “You two seem close.”

Julia and Hilda were eyeing me as well. Aska seemed a little taken aback, so he stayed quiet and scratched his cheek with a faint blush…

Hey!?

Why are you blushing!?

They’ll misunderstand, you know!?

And these two will have my head!

“Isak…” Julia said.

Then Hilda followed her with a, “You’re.”

“Not.”

“A.”

“Rival.”

“Right!?”

THE TWO OF THEM TOOK TURNS!?

It really freaks me out, you know!?

‘Gulp’

“…I’m not,” I firmly stated.

It felt a little difficult to utter that because of the pressure. And now it seemed like I was making an excuse.

I turned to Aksa, crying for help with my best pleading demeanour.

Aska, help me out, bud!  

He shrugged and ignored my pleadings with a smug grin.

You won’t get away with this!

— :::: —

Later when Isak felt better, I left the tent and was going to cook something.

Although very cautiously, we’d been able to do some hunting without him.  

We only took down E-Ranked beasts, though. But that was plenty. 

But as Hilda and I were about to start cooking. A man approached me.

“Supp,” the young man casually called out. 

…really? This again!?

And taking a closer look. He has silver-coloured eyes and platinum blond hair, tall and good-looking.

Beside him was a girl. She seemed a little frail and is my height.

D-Definitely slightly, maybe perhaps a little taller than me…

She has white hair and red eyes—suddenly, a shock jolted throughout my body as I took a closer look at her face.

It was as if time had stopped, and I was about to panic. But, as that was about to happen, I took a deep breath and held it in, calming myself down.

—this girl, is she the same girl? Who I’d tried to save? How’s that even possible? She’s supposed to be dead!

The man gently smiled, asking, “Are you Aska?”

‘Gulp’

“…that I am,” I cautiously said.  

Hilda, for some reason, grabbed my hand. It was reassuring, and I felt better. But that didn’t stop me from overthinking.

“I see! My name’s Noel, and this is my little sister Freja. Do you recognise her?” 

!!?!?

“I-I do…” I shakenly replied.

And then, the girl’s eyes sparkled. “N-Nice to meet you! And thank you for saving me that time!” she expressed while grabbing my hand. 

…she’s… a little cold…?

E-Even if I have a vivid memory of her. Did she look like this?

“S-So… you’re a boy, I’ve heard…” Freja said, sounding a little embarrassed.

I slowly nodded, not understanding where this was leading, until she said. “A-And… when my heart stopped… did you… try to rescue me?”  

It left me speechless, as… I was unable to save her. That’s why. All of this is too much. Why is she here? Am I hallucinating? Is this a bad dream?

Was she revived somehow…?

“Sorry… I wasn’t able to restart your heart at the time… but is that why your hair and… eyes seem different?” I inquired.

Freja softly smiled, although her expression was slightly pained. “I’m grateful nevertheless,

I tried my best not to shake, and Hilda could probably tell as I grasped her hands tighter by the second. Her brother was looking at me, and he could probably tell how shaken I was. 

“Aska, Al has told me about you, you’re a good kid, so I believe that when you threw her into the river, it was so that nothing could’ve eaten her corpse. Thanks to that, she was able to revive… as conflicted as I feel about all of this, I am grateful, so… don’t beat yourself over it, okay?”  

…revive? You can revive in this world? Wait... did he know I was the one that threw her into the river? Did that just make sense to him? 

“—though… I’m not human anymore,” Freja somewhat sadly expressed.

Not… human?

“Freja, what do you mean?” Hilda inquired. She’d been quiet all this time, holding my hand. But… she probably knew the girl.

“…Miss Hilda, it’s nice to see you again,” Freja replied with a gentle smile. Her expression darkened. “I… I’ve become something known as a Lich. You know? Like those zombie-like creatures in video games—”  

Noel then pulled on Frejas cheek, stating, “What are you talking about? You’re not a zombie, nor are you actually dead. A Lich has a slightly different meaning around here, you know?”

A… different meaning?

Noel seemed to have noticed confusion and said, “A Lich is a creature between life and death. While her body is alive and her soul is intact, the connection between the two is barely in balance. At least, that’s what Ame said.”

“I-I see…” I replied.

…huh? Ame? Is he referring to The Saint? So casually?

Wait… he did mention Al, as in Brother Al?

It’s Freja’s brother, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him at school… he also seems older than us—a university student, maybe?

But… that makes no sense. After all, everyone that’s been sent through the spatial quake was from my school.

Then, a bit abruptly, Noel said, “By the way…” while glancing at our grill. “Are you cooking? Can I join?” he casually asked.

Freja stared at him with a fed-up look. “I’m sorry for my brother… he’s good at cooking and enjoys it. He probably has ulterior motives as well,” she said.

“Hey, Freja… don’t say I have ulterior motives! I, in fact, want to cook a meal for them as a thank you!” 

Noel then came up to me and placed his hands on my shoulders while looking me in the eyes.

…I could tell.

—THIS MAN IS GREAT AT COOKING!  

And as if some sort of connection was formed between us, we smirked. “Noel, right? Tell me, which of those vegetables is better suited for grilling or shimmering?” I asked, pointing at the vegetables on the cutting board.  

With a smug look, he said, “I’ve been cooking since I arrived in this world… from my experience, these are best suited for grilling, with these crunched up, acting like spices. These are delicious, shimmering with meat.”

!?!?!

I was amazed! I’ve not cooked with a lot of ingredients since I arrived! And to think he’d gotten this far!

“Please, would you join me in cooking!?” I eagerly requested.

Hilda and Freja stared at us as if we were exotic creatures. And then, suddenly, I felt a glare and an immense killing intent.

As Noel and I slowly turned our heads toward that killing intent. There stood a beautiful girl. She had light brown hair that was silver-grey, and her light green eyes, that is supposed to be beautiful, felt deadly.

Both Noel and I gulped at the same time, and I could feel his sweaty palms on my shoulders.

“So this is what you were up to~?” the girl asked. Her tone was clear, concise, yet so harsh.

“Ch-Chely, you’ve got it wrong!” Noel flusteredly exclaimed.

Holy shit! This guy is hella scared of her! 

I swiftly activated [Eye of Concept] and saw a massive amount of mana radiating from her. Her mana and capacity were off the charts! Even more than Brother Al and Saint Amethely!

I slowly backed away from Noel and made my way to Hilda and instinctively standing in front of her.

Freja, who saw me doing so, smugly, smiled and covered her mouth… I, of course, ignored that part. But she seems to have fun in this situation.

A sadist?

“I know, ehehe~,” the girl said and giggled. “I was just teasing you.”

Noel sighed, “You scared me there…” he replied. 

And the girl named Chely then said something terrifying, “I’m aware that you already know cheating means punishment worse than death,” with a cute and innocent smile.

THIS LADY!?

“…I dare not,” Noel said. “Besides, Aska is a boy—”

“I know! I still got jealous! He looks like a girl! Did you know how heavy my heart sank!?” Chely replied in a sulking matter. 

“Chely…” Noel said, walking up to the girl and hugging her.

…what am I watching?

Even Freja agreed as she muttered, ‘Ugh… I don’t want to see my brother like this…’

I could feel something warm and soft on my back, and soft arms then wrapped around me.

…and Hilda is taking advantage of the confusion to hug me.

My heart was throbbing, and yup, I was at a loss for what to do. I already knew that Hilda was a crafty girl. But… is it strange to call her precious?

Also… haven’t I heard the name Chely before?

…huh? Hero Chely? There’s no wa—Amethely Ilis… Chely Ilis…

…..

…

WHY IS THE HERO HERE!?