I'm Not the Heroine

Chapter 49

Late at night, I left the estate to soothe my body, tired from the long hours of research.

It was the same time when Aria and the Hero returned.

"Oh, Louie."

"You're back. Where’s the Hero...?"

"...I'll go inside and rest first."

"...?"

"Goodnight, Hero. Louie, shall we talk over there?"

"...Sure."

Did something go wrong?

The Hero's avoidance of eye contact was honestly surprising.@@@@

I followed Aria to a quiet corner of the estate garden.

It was so peaceful that even speaking softly felt like the whole world could hear us.

"Did something go wrong..."

"Louieee...! I was so nervous...!"

"Huh?"

The composure she held moments ago vanished as she suddenly hugged me and whimpered.

The stark contrast between their reactions was making my head spin with confusion.

"My heart was pounding so fast, and I was so worried the Hero would notice...!"

"I see. Calm down now."

I tried to soothe her by gently patting her head.

It took a while before she finally calmed down and pulled away from me.

Though to be accurate, I had been the one pulled into her embrace.

"So, the Hero’s awkward behavior earlier must have been because he felt embarrassed around you."

"...Yes! That’s probably it."

Aria averted her gaze while answering.

Even though the Hero had clearly avoided looking at me earlier, I decided not to press the matter.

'...I mustn't overthink it.'

There’s no point in assuming he cares about me. After all, I'm not the heroine here.

[No matter what, I’ll prioritize you.]

Thump.

'...He only said that to bring Nia to the party.'

If both parties were happy, I shouldn’t be concerned.

Now it was time to move on to the next topic.

"So, how did the investigation go?"

"Everyone agreed! Some even volunteered to spread the word to their neighbors. It’s moving faster than expected."

"That's good to hear."

As expected, the combination of the Hero and the saintess was powerful in winning the trust of the people.

'Looks like I'll have to move quickly too.'

I might need to pull an all-nighter tonight.

"Louie."

"Yes?"

"Please don’t stay up all night because of me..."

"...Did I say that out loud?"

"Huh? Say what?"

It seemed like I had only thought about it, not spoken it.

But how did Aria sense that?

"...Wait, were you seriously thinking about staying up all night?"

"Well..."

"...Please don’t. I don’t want you overexerting yourself because of my request!"

"I won’t. I’ll brush my teeth and go to bed."

"Promise?"

"Yes..."

"Uh... yeah, I guess?"

"And what’s with the finger poking my cheek?"

"Oh, it looked so soft I couldn’t resist... Hehe."

This was unacceptable.

As her senior in the Hero’s Party and her magic teacher, I couldn’t let this go unpunished.

Just as I was about to get up to say something, all the strength left my body.

'...So warm.'

The gentle warmth of Nia’s hand on my face made the exhaustion melt away.

"It’s nice and warm, right?"

"...Yeah."

"I give Rosen a massage whenever she’s tired, so I’ve gotten pretty good at it."

"...Then do my shoulders too."

"Sure!"

After a short while, I felt refreshed, as if a storm had passed and left me clear-headed.

I had gone to bed early, woken up early, and now received Nia’s special massage—any remaining fatigue was completely gone.

Honestly, I wouldn’t mind having this every day.

"Would you like me to do this again...?"

"Yes."

I answered immediately and left the room with Nia by my side.

"Oh, Louie! You’re up!"

"Marquis."

We encountered the Marquis of Lacr in the hallway, and his complexion had visibly improved.

It seemed like he had found a way to cure his son’s illness, which had lifted much of the stress from his body and mind.

'Once I finish speaking with the Marquis, I should get back to work on the development.'

Seeing his hopeful expression made it hard to remain idle.

"After our conversation yesterday, I’ve gathered the necessary people. When would you like to meet them?"

"People? What kind of people?"

"The city’s materials management team, land surveyors, and complaint department representatives—those who handle the city’s operations."

Ah.

It seemed the Marquis had arranged for additional personnel to assist with the project.

"Hmm... It’s better to meet them as soon as possible."

I needed a lot of manpower for things like gathering materials, even though I had planned to make the prototype first and then ask for help afterward.

This would certainly speed things up.

"Very well. I’ll summon them to the estate immediately. Butler!"

"I’ll contact them at once."

Even the servants seemed to be in high spirits, perhaps because they now had hope for their master’s recovery.

After parting ways with the Marquis and his staff, I turned to Nia, who had been fidgeting behind me.

"Nia, can you help me today?"

"Of course! Whatever you need!"

With Nia’s instinctive talent for magic, I could definitely put her to good use.

'As for the Hero...'

I briefly considered asking for his help but shook my head.

Given how he had avoided eye contact yesterday, he probably needed time to think on his own.

'...'

The Hero was already gone from the estate.

That likely meant I wouldn’t see him at all today.

A small, lonely feeling settled in my chest at the thought.

"...Shall we go?"

"Yes!"

Even with more help, there was still plenty of work to do.

I returned to my room to prepare for the meetings ahead.