"That... was a close one..." Yuu took a few deep breaths to calm down his racing heart and then glanced over at Eir. "You alright, Eir?"

The blonde demon princess blinked and looked at him. However, her crimson eyes that were sharp were dull and vacant.

Yuu groaned when he saw that. It looked like she was still shell-shocked over the reveal that he was the hero she was looking for.

Well, she'd hopefully get over that soon. In the meanwhile, where were they?

Yuu glanced over at his usual minimap from his navigation skill.

[Eastern Wilderlands]

Yuu tilted his head and frowned. There didn't seem to be any towns or villages nearby. Did he really run that far away?

Well, whatever the case, it was good to get a look around before deciding what to do next.

True to its name, the Eastern Wilderlands were wild and uninhabited. Rough plant life, ferns and the like, were intermixed with tall grass that reached Yuu's thigh. There were trees dotted here and there, but over all it seemed to be a rolling grassy area.

Off in the distance, there were some snowy mountain peaks with trees dotting the lower elevations. From there, a river coursed down, snow runoff from the mountain tops.

It was relatively peaceful.

That made Yuu even more cautious.

Whenever things seemed to be getting better for him, there was always a catch somewhere.

Like when he signed a decade-long employment contract with Company X. It had full health-insurance, a 401K, a year of fully paid time off, and even beautiful secretary girls in the main office that were more than willing to go out on dates for mental wellness checks.

The catch? Yuu'd be working 24 hours a day sometimes, and he could swear that there were days that he worked more than that. Not to mention the fact that Company X was powerful enough to make the Kiryu clan back down...

At least he didn't have to worry about that here.

Yuu stretched and then glanced back at Eir.

It seemed that the shock had worn off since some light had returned to her eyes. She turned to Yuu and then quickly bowed her head. "I-I apologize for not realizing that you were the hero sooner, Yuusuke. O-Or would you rather I call you Master?"

Yuu sighed. "There's no need to act like that, Eir. It's weird."

Eir nodded and slowly raised her head. Seeing Yuu's expression, she let out a sigh of relief. Even so, she still looked cautious since she remained a few steps away. "...Are you truly not a lasvicious fiend that will devour me when I let down my guard?"

Yuu felt his eye twitch, but he forced himself to calm down and said, "No. I'm not."

Perhaps she realized his irritation since Eir nodded and relaxed. "Good. It seems that I did not misread your character then. However, I had to be certain. After all, I am your captive from this day forth."

"Yeah. I suppose it's troublesome being that attractive at times-" He cut off his words, his mind catching up to what Eir said. "Wait. My captive?"

Eir nodded. "I said as much, did I not?"

"...But I don't plan on attacking the Demon Lord or invading the Demon Realm."

In fact, Yuu wanted to stay as far away from both as he could.

"I am aware. After all, you are much too noble of a soul to do such a thing."

Yuu saw Eir's glittering gaze and felt there was a giant misunderstanding happening... but better being misunderstood as noble than cowardly, so he let it pass.

"Even so," Eir said. "Word should have already spread because of my maid Rete seeing you abduct me. Not only that, but when questioned by Kami-sama, you abducted me and ran away as well." She tilted her head and said, "Is that not the definition of a captive then?"

"That's... true. But it's not like I'm keeping you here."

"Yet, my life would be endangered the moment I leave. Kami-sama is already aware that I left to try and disrupt his plans. Thus..."

"...You'd be screwed either way."

Eir's cheeks flushed. "I-I did not think to put it so crassly, but I suppose that is not an impossibility."

Yuu blinked and then sighed, realizing that something probably got mistranslated.

Damn Kami-sama and his buggy world system.

Yuu shook his head and muttered, "I knew my old habits would come to bite me again someday..."

"What was that, Yuusuke?"

"Nothing." Yuu sighed and then said, "And since it's like this, I guess I should reintroduce myself."

"Hm?"

He bowed and said, "I'm Go Yuu... No, in this place it would be 'Yuu Go'. I'm in your care, Miss Hed."

"A-Ah." Eir quickly bowed as well and said, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Sir Go. I will also be in your care."

Yuu raised his body and then looked around. With that squared away... what should they do now?

They were in the middle of nowhere. That was a good thing, considering that it'd be unlikely they would get discovered any time soon. However, it also meant that they needed to find or make shelter before night fell. And, from the sinking sun, that wouldn't be long.

Eir raised her body as well and said, "What do you plan to do, Sir Go?"

"It's Yuu, Eir. And I'm not sure." He frowned. "The plan was to be an adventurer, but with everything going on that seems like a bad idea. And then I'm still wanted by the First Sirius Kingdom too..."

Eir laughed. "Yes. I suppose running away from Kami-sama himself would do that."

Yuu laced his fingers behind his head and said, "It's a good thing we're in the middle of nowhere then. Won't have to worry about being hunted down here. Though we kinda need shelter still." He paused and then said, "You wouldn't happen to know anything useful for that, would you?"

Eir flushed and averted her gaze. "My apologies. My talents lie more in domestic affair management and combat."

Yuu sighed. "Thought that might be the case."

It looked like he didn't have any choice.

Yuu rolled up his sleeves and said, "I hate using it since I'm straying further from humanity each time... but let's go."

"E-Eh?"

Yuu waved Eir down and said, "I'll sort out the shelter. Just relax and keep an eye out."

Now... time to play some M-Craft.

Eir stared at Yuu with wide eyes. "So that is the power of the hero..."

She had heard that the hero was powerful beyond reason, but to see it for herself was awe-inspiring.

Yuu had jogged over to the trees in the distance.

At first, Eir thought he might use some magic spell to prepare lumber. It was what made the most sense considering the ominous amount of mana he emitted.

But he simply punched the tree.

Ordinarily, Eir would have found it ridiculous. Even her father wasn't skilled enough to fell a tree in a single blow without pulverizing it to dust.

Yet, when Yuu threw out his fist, not only did the tree not explode, it fell apart into neatly measured planks.

But his incredible feats did not end there. After creating a pile of lumber, Yuu walked over to a hilly portion of the fields and swung his fist again.

Eir expected him to do so in order to flatten the ground.

Well, he did just that. However, like with the trees, instead of disappearing, the chunks of grass and dirt flew into the air in neatly shaped cubes.

Eir shook her head and decided to ignore the hero for the moment. There had already been enough revelations for her today. Any more and she might faint from disbelief.

To destress and relax, Eir decided to practice her sword arts. Since there were no monsters around and Yuu was preparing their shelter, it was the only thing that she could do.

Eir drew the short sword that she kept at her right side and cut through the air. Controlling her breathing, she stepped forward and went through the motions her father taught her.

As she did, although her intent was otherwise, she found her mind drawn towards Yuu.

Even though she saw it first hand, it was still hard to believe that such an unassuming young man was the hero.

The oracle given to her father said that the hero would be a lust-filled fiend. With divine protection, he would conquer the Demon Realm and then find concubines to live a life of luxury. In short, it was to be a man who thought only with his lower head.

Yuusuke- No. Yuu was not like that.

Eir frowned and drew her sword back before slashing the air again.

It was not as if he was a celibate monk. Although he was subtle about it, Eir had long become accustomed to those who stared at her body because of her beauty. Even so, while he acknowledged that she was beautiful, indeed, he himself stated that she was attractive, he took a step back and treated her with respect.

Eir paused, suddenly remembering how he had swept her off her feet multiple times without her consent.

...Perhaps it was not completely accurate to say that he treated her with respect, but at the least he did not lust for her body as the oracle stated. Moreover, he treated her as an ordinary person even considering her true identity.

That was... different.

Eir felt her heart speed up at the thought. She frowned and sped up her attacks to match while pondering on that.

A person- No, a man who appreciated her talents, rejected her sacrificial resolve, and saw her for who she was rather than an object of worship or lust.

Suddenly, the story of how her mother fell in love with her father didn't seem so ridiculous.

While Eir didn't see the charm in a muscle head who beat up everything in his way and tried to be the strongest, it was… nice being able to just be herself around Yuu.

Previously, she had said that she would swallow her pride to become the hero's lover in order to save her father and people... but if it was Yuu, that might not be too bad...

Elsewhere.

"Gah! Lost again?"

A beautiful young woman in sparkling silver chainmail held out a map to the sky. After careful pondering and scanning the surroundings, she frowned and shoved the map back into a bag at her side.

"Hero Yuu...! Do not think that you can hide for much longer! Even if I must comb the entire country, I, May Din Sire, will find you!" She raised her fist up in the sky and shouted, "Do you hear me?!"

Was it because of sheer dumb luck, divine guidance, or coincidence?

Despite being completely lost, Princess May Din Sire let out a roar and charged, running directly towards the Eastern Wilderlands.

Back at the Eastern Wilderlands, Yuu felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He shivered and turned to look at Eir but saw that she was in the middle of intense training.

"...I must be imagining things." Muttering that to himself, Yuu went back to gathering supplies to set up camp, completely oblivious to the thoughts of both princesses.

HappyVainGlory

Yay! An update! If you've made it this far, thanks for reading! I'd really appreciate it if you left a comment with your thoughts, but either way, I hope you enjoyed!