Riena’s Side (1)
“Mother, what is it you wanted to talk about? I have to leave for the orphanage soon.”
Summoned by her mother—the High Priestess who served the goddess Athena (and, in other words, Riena’s direct superior)—Riena made her way to the High Priestess’s office at the church headquarters.
“Riena, you’re at an age where it’s time to start thinking about marriage. So, I’ve arranged a matchmaking opportunity for you. Here, take a look—this is the gentleman’s profile.”
“I don’t need it. I’ll pass.”
Without hesitation, Riena pressed her palm against the envelope her mother offered and promptly pushed it back.
“Rejecting it without even a glance? Oh, how heartbreaking… Boohoo.”
“I mean, you can’t just spring a matchmaking proposal on me out of nowhere! That’s totally unreasonable!”
“And what exactly about it is unreasonable?”
“Well, um… I mean… there’s no way he’s more handsome than Hero-sama, right? Marrying someone like that is out of the question.”
“Haah…”
Riena’s mother let out a weary sigh, unable to believe the nonsense coming from her daughter’s mouth.
“Hey, Mom! Sighing so dramatically right in front of me—your own daughter—don’t you think that’s kind of cruel?”
“Riena. Comparing every man to Shuhei Oda-sama, the Hero who saved our world, is beyond unreasonable.”
“Not at all! My standard is, and always will be, Hero-sama. Anyone who falls short is an automatic rejection!”
“If you keep saying things like that, you’ll end up unmarried and past your prime before you know it. The war has already left us with a shortage of men, and there are far more women than potential husbands.”
“O-Old maid…? B-But no matter what anyone says, my bare minimum is Hero-sama. That’s just the way it is!”
“Hero-sama has already returned to his own world. Give it up and lower your standards.”
Riena’s mother spoke with an air of exasperation, watching her daughter daydream like some lovestruck girl.
As she spoke, she made a deliberate downward motion with her hand, lowering it from above her head down to her chest.
“I won’t give up, and I won’t lower my standards! Ah! I know! Since we’re here, let me explain just how incredible Hero-sama truly was. If I tell you everything, I’m sure you’ll understand how I feel!”
“Didn’t you say you had an appointment after this?”
“That’s that, and this is this. I can spare a little time. Now then—this is a special story. It happened about three and a half years after I first met Hero-sama…”
Brimming with excitement, Riena launched into a tale of her adventures alongside Shuhei the Hero.
Riena’s Glorious Memories
“H-Hero-sama, this is really bad! There are at least a thousand magic beasts here! We’re completely surrounded!”
The swarm of monsters packed every inch of space around them, leaving not even a hair’s breadth for escape.
It was an overwhelming, no-win situation—anyone who laid eyes on it would immediately declare it hopeless.
Unable to hold back, Riena let out a panicked cry.
“I see. Those monsters earlier must have been decoys, meant to lure us in. Well played. Looks like their side has someone intelligent enough to command magic beasts. We’ll have to be more careful from now on.”
“U-Um, Hero-sama? Maybe instead of worrying about ‘from now on,’ we should deal with the enemies right in front of us first?! This is seriously bad!”
“Haha, fair point. Riena, you always know exactly what to say.”
Shuhei the Hero smirked at Riena’s half-tearful outburst, as if to say, You got me there.
“But still… I can’t believe my divine revelation was wrong…”
“Well, things like that happen. Nothing in this world is absolute. Don’t let it weigh on you.”
“But because of my mistake, we’ve ended up in this disaster… At this rate, we’re doomed…”
Overwhelmed by guilt over her blunder, Riena’s eyes brimmed with tears.
But Shuhei, as if to reassure her, reached out and lightly patted her head.
“Come on now, all we have to do is take down every last one of them, right?”
As if he didn’t consider their predicament a crisis at all, he spoke with an air of complete nonchalance—like it was the easiest thing in the world.