I'm Not the Heroine

Chapter 51

Due to working all night, I collapsed into sleep.

When I woke up, the sun was already setting.

“Huh...?”

My head hurt as if it were splitting, likely because I slept for too long.

“I hope Nia managed to deliver it properly...”

The sooner the results come out, the more time we’ll have to prepare against Rastok.

To be honest, I just hope there were no delays because of the design aspect.

‘...Come to think of it, I think I saw the Hero.’

Was the reason I ended up lying on the bed because the Hero brought me here?

As that thought crossed my mind, I quickly shook my head.

“Why would he bother with me?”

It’s far more likely that Lafirie, seeing me sleeping on the floor, put me on the bed instead.

But then, what about the voice I heard and the Hero’s face I saw before falling asleep?

Maybe it was just something I imagined after not seeing him for a whole day...

“...”

I don’t know. I slowly got up, trying not to feel dizzy, and stepped out of the room.

The mansion was quiet, but the harsh, desolate atmosphere from before had almost disappeared.

It now felt like the peaceful calm one would expect in a serene country house.

‘If I leave the Hero’s party, living somewhere like this wouldn’t be so bad.’

Finding a decent house in the countryside and living a peaceful life... To be honest, it would be quite lonely living alone, so it would be nice to take someone with me.

For example, Nia.

“...But would Nia want to go with Rosen?”

Of course, she’ll live with the Hero, but after that, she’ll probably stay close to her childhood friend Rosen.

What about Lafirie?

Lafirie would return to the Elven Kingdom and succeed to the throne, so that wouldn’t work.

Serlyn has her own estate and mansion, so she wouldn’t move to the countryside either.

Aria would likely be given a home by the church.

‘That older sister... I’ve already lived with her for about a year, so I don’t want to do that again.’

‘The assassin heroine? Hmm...’

She would probably refuse my offer, wanting to stick close to the Hero.

‘...In the end, I have no one.’

Was my social circle always this small?

Well, I haven’t exactly tried to make friends since I came to this world.

Most of the connections I have were naturally formed while learning magic.

Still, I couldn’t help but sigh at how few connections I had.

“...?”

Why did I look down just now?

I don’t know anymore.

I should ask Nia about the prototype’s progress.

A little later, I met Nia, who smiled brightly as she gave me feedback from the others.

“They said the effects are great!”

“You’ve already completed the experiment, huh?”

“Yep! I told them that you wanted the results as soon as possible. They grabbed it and rushed off immediately!”

Hmm.

Did they do that just because of the ‘Hero Party’ title?

If that’s the case, I feel a bit sorry.

There’s no need to rush to the point of running around in such a hurry.

“They did say it would be better if the size could be adjusted depending on the size of the blacksmiths’ forges and mines.”

“That was already something I was considering. So, there’s nothing else to worry about.”

“Exactly! You’ve worked so hard. If there had been any complaints... I would’ve fixed them myself.”

Hearing the ‘Witch of Embers’ say she would “fix it” sounded a little intimidating.

“What about the others?”

“They’re all resting. Oh, as for the Hero...”

“What about the Hero? Isn’t he resting too?”

“He came to the mansion this morning but left right away. He said he’d handle all the requests from the nearby villages.”

So, the Hero came to the mansion?

‘...’

Then was the vision I saw before sleeping really him?

“...”

“Big sister?”

“I should be finished by late tomorrow. After that, it’ll be up to you.”

“I’ll make sure to pass that along.”

The worker scribbling furiously in his report suddenly thanked me.

“Thank you for doing so much for our city.”

“...I’m just doing what I’m supposed to. No need to thank me.”

Feeling a bit awkward about the praise, I tried to change the subject, but the worker’s expression was serious.

“No, we are all truly grateful to you and the Hero Party. Thanks to you, our city, which had been falling apart, is starting to come back to life.”

It seemed there had been many internal issues. But with the Hero Party addressing the major problems, other aspects were gradually improving as well.

“Our city supplies important resources across the empire, but because we’re so far from the capital, we hardly receive any support. And then the incident with the Marquis...”

“I see.”

“That’s why... I wanted to express my gratitude.”

I couldn’t refuse the gratitude at that point.

I averted my eyes and nodded slightly in response, as did the worker and the others watching from behind.

Later that evening, Nia brought me news about the Hero.

“It looks like the Hero won’t be coming back tonight.”

“Oh...”

“A group of monsters appeared, and since they’re nocturnal, he’s staying in the village to handle the request.”

“I see... Alright, I’ll head inside now.”

“Good night.”

Our timing was off again.

But this was the usual way of the Hero Party.

Unless something big like the siege at the Twilight Fortress occurred, we would be scattered across various cities, each handling our own tasks.

Once the battle against Rastok begins, he’ll return. I just have to wait until then.

“...”

Still, I couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of loneliness.

With that thought, I faced the next day and returned to the mine to continue processing the ore.

Something felt off, though.

“...!”

“Hurry... Move...!”

The miners, who usually managed to stay cheerful through hard work, now wore grim expressions as they rushed about.

Wondering what was going on, I was about to approach them when someone burst out from the crowd of miners.

“Move, please!!”

“What the...”

One of the miners, looking panicked, was pushing his way through the crowd while carrying another miner on his back.

The miner on his back... something was wrong with him.

His limbs were melting like soft cheese. His face had turned blue, possibly from the shock.

‘A mining accident...?’

But what kind of accident would cause such injuries?

I asked one of the nearby miners about the situation.

“A lot of miners died while working in the distant mountains. We don’t know the cause. The guards are on their way now.”

The distant mountains?

The farthest mountain from Rakru... there are several candidates.

One of them is the mountain where Rastok is hiding until the battle begins.

But Rastok isn’t responsible for what happened to them.

‘What is this?’

In the original story, there was no mention of Rastok being discovered by miners or miners dying en masse.

These injuries aren’t from monsters or magic related to Rastok.

So, why are they injured like this?

For a moment, a certain demon came to mind.

But I quickly erased that thought. There’s no way she could be here.

“...Master key.”

I summoned the master key and glared at the distant mountain.

Something strange was happening.