“If I take too long here, will it affect Kiana?”

  “Oh, it’s about her... Of course, she’s the only one in your mind it seems.”

  Why did I answer him in this way? I slowly faced him before answering however, did I really answer his question at all with what I said? Why did I make this remark instead of answering his question honestly? He’s not wrong to think in that way, he’s not wrong to be worried about her either and yet, somehow that question upset me. It was to the point that it forced me to say this instead of answering him normally. But why? Was it the fact that he’s more worried about her than I? Im-Impossible! That can’t be… I don’t want it to be true. She’s extremely important to my Empress and of course to myself, I shouldn’t be upset when he worries about her in fact, I should feel extremely happy that she has someone that worries about her this much. No-No, it was something else then.

  Maybe it was the way he spoke?

  I have no clue but I can only imagine the face he made after hearing that stupid remark that I’ve made. If he was the one doing this, I would be quite frustrated and even angry, especially consideration the situation he is in. But somehow, he does not seem to be angry at all… I did answer him afterwards but I could easily tell that my tone of voice is rather cold, more than normal I would say. I shouldn’t be feeling like this but, I simply can’t shake this odd and weird feeling inside of my heart. I-I should get out of here before he asks me more questions about her. For some reason I don’t like it when he switches his attention to her… I have to calm down somehow before I do something stupid.

  Magic noises!

  Without making a sound at all… With very little usage of magic energy… She left without the Hero even noticing it.

  ……..

  ……

  …

  At the lobby.

  The girl curvy back gently hits the colossal door as she slowly closes it with it. There was no need for her to open both of them. Not only that, there is also no need to open beyond what is necessary as by the name itself, they are quite big and therefore, their opening space is also large. Her emotions are mixed, convoluted to what she should be feeling at this moment, at that moment is more precise. Should she be angry at the Hero? Since he switched his precious attention towards another woman instead of her? One that he seems desperately to want to save? Or is it because he seems to be rather affectious towards her? Always thinking about her, everything he does has always her in the back of his mind. Always worried about her, worried that his actions might affect her negatively but also his inactions might do the same. Indeed, there is reason and logic that can and will explain why he does what he does, why he feels in such a way but, it seems Miranda is not seeing that logic.

  Ignoring it should be more accurate.

  She’s far too focused on her own emotions that she’s unable to see said logic and reason for his actions. If she could, the “anger” she’s feeling should disappear in a moment’s notice but that is only correct if she was actually feeling said anger. It’s more correct to say that she’s feeling jealousy instead. Though, she’s unaware of such a fact, confusing it with anger instead. Indeed, her closed mind is making her unable to see such a simple fact, one that easily explains why she felt in such a way when the Hero mentioned the protagonist’s name and directed his attention towards her instead. However, while this specific emotion can be explained in simple manners, the other ones on the other hand, are not that simple. This is exactly why she yet again brings both of her hands towards her chest, gently grabbing her shirt with it as she tries her best to calm down. Even though “anger” took over as the main emotion, that does not mean the other ones disappeared with it. No, they simply were set aside for brief moments.

  “Sigh...”

  Even after leaving his side, I still cannot seem to calm down at all. I’m not feeling angry anymore though, I wish that was the case. Now I’m back to what I was feeling before. I can feel that my heart is not beating that fast, but still much faster than normal. No wait, I think there is more to it… Each time that I think about it, I think about what he said, how he said it, his worry that he has for me… Each time I vividly imagine it, my heart rapidly increases its beating yet again. Why is that the case?

  “I-I have to get him out of my mind. Maybe if I occupy my mind, I can calm down? Ye-Yeah, that seems like a solid plan”

  But, what should I do? There is not much to do here and while I could go to the small house he’s currently sleeping in, my Empress did put there a few games and books so that he does not get bored for too long but, for some reason, my entire body is rejecting said idea. It’s almost as if I go there, I will lose my mind. He-He was there for some hours, that might have been enough time to leave some traces of him in there. Just like his scent… Wh-What can I do then? Maybe I could read one of the novels that she likes reading? She said that I could read them whenever I was feeling like it, so… Might be a good way to get him out of my mind? Yeah, seems like a solid plan, much better than going to “his” house.

  Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

  At least, I hope.

  “Let’s see what we have here...”

  There aren’t many of them but it seems she has acquired a few more than last time that I counted them. If I remember correctly, there were eight light novels but only three series. Now, there are fifteen and five series. Quite the increase compared to last time though, a few months have passed so it shouldn’t be this abnormal. Hmm, she really likes magic and stuff like that, doesn’t she? One of the series it’s about a boy that ventures into a dungeon, slowly getting stronger as he conquers the dungeon. There seems to be some sort of level system where each level determines the strength of that individual being that level 1 is the weakest one. Ah, it seems gods are also present in the story but these ones, their roles are more so supporting rather than ruling over the mortals though, much more active than what we have in the real world. This really doesn’t seem to be that bad at all. It seems that boy lived in the countryside, that is, until his grandpapa died. From that day forward he decided that he wanted to do something for his life, maybe because he lost the main pillar of his life but either way, he decided to go to a famous city that was built around a dungeon. A massive city where the gods live, one where riches and girls are “available” to him to conquer. If he worked for it, at least that is what his grandpapa told him.

  “Listen closely, my grandchild...

  He’s calm but his voice is filled with love as he speaks to his grandson. He’s no older than 5 years old however, he’s a child with a bright future ahead and that’s why he’s having this conversation with him. Indeed, he wants to fill his grandson with ambition for the future, one that will allow him to go far and wide. He wants him to find a goal, a dream, one that will make him work for it even this early in his life. He wants him to be successful, to have a full and also a fulfilled life, a life that once he reaches the same age as his grandfather, he can look back at it with pride and happiness, never wanting to have done it differently. Not a single regret is what he wishes the most for his grandchild.

  Have I ever told you the stories of those that venture themselves throughout the world?

  Are you talking about adventurers?

  Indeed, he has already talked to his grandson about those who have and are venturing throughout the world, several times now. He’s not repeating himself nor has he forgotten about it because of his old age, he still has yet much to give to the world in that realm. No, he’s just making sure his grandson has not forgotten all the tales that he has told him throughout his short life, all the glories that he knows of, the legends he heard and witnessed, the myths that actually aren’t myths. A set of tales purposely chosen by him, all in hopes this day would come sooner than later. And that day is today it seems.

  Indeed, my child, it seems your memory is quite good. What can you tell me about them? I’m having a little bit of trouble remembering some of them… I might have eaten too much cheese yesterday.

  It’s a lie, not only does cheese not cause lapses in memory, he also knows well those stories after all, they are deeply engraved on his soul. He could never forget about them, he probably would forget the name of his grandson faster than those stories, showing just how meaningful they are to him. Yes, they were the drive that allowed him to live the life he had, allowed him to be here, in the middle of nowhere in a wood hut living alone with his most precious thing in life, his grandson. Unfortunately, the harsh and cruel reality of life took both of his grandson parents to the other world, leaving his grandson all alone if he didn’t decide to take care of him but, thanks to him, his parents were able to be taken care of after death by a kind goddess, allowing them to be reborn in the future. Able to get together yet again and this time, with hopes of having a full life. The best set decisions he could have made in all of his life as otherwise, he wouldn’t be here with his grandchild.

  Of course! The adventurers are manly men that go out into the world! They fight monsters, strong, scary monsters like a Dragon! The-They also gain a lot of money from making the world a safer place!

  Haha! That’s it but, aren’t you missing something else? Fighting Dragons is no easy task after all.

  Wh-What is it?

  This is it, the opportunity that he was waiting for, one that he himself created. With this, he’s forcing his grandson to think about what he could have missed, making him remember everything that he told him, all of those tales, all of those myths, everything until now. The child is a little confused as he tries his best to remember what he could have potentially have missed. He crosses his arms together, tilting his head sideways while at the same time, closing his eyes and frowning his eye brows, all in an attempt of remembering what he might have missed. He’s currently sitting on the lap of his grandfather but that still didn’t stop him from doing so. A few seconds go by and he has yet to remember… A whole minute goes by and nothing has changed… Until and extremely surprisingly to the grandfather, the child remembers exactly what has been told to him.

  Ah! Are you talking about all the cute girls out there in the world?

  Oh my! You really did remember, didn’t you? Yes, everything you said is correct however, I do know of a place where you can acquire everything you talked about but that is if you work extremely hard for it. Not only that, you have to become a Hero first.

  In a faraway city where a dungeon resides. A dungeon where the monsters get progressively stronger as you delve deeper and deeper into it. A dungeon whose spoils are ever increasing as you get deeper into it. In this city, gods live among the mortals, giving them blessings with a simple condition. You see my child, nothing in this life is free, however, this is the gods we are talking about and what they simply want is to have a big family! You will be part of their family in the case you would want to have their blessing. A blessing that will allow you to get strong, strong enough to become a Hero, saving all of those lives in the process. But in the middle of all of this, what’s most important is indeed the cute girls all throughout the city!

  Re-Really?

  Of course! They are everywhere, even inside of the dungeon!”

  ……..

  ……

  …