A Chosen Hero Who Doesn't Want to Be a Hero

"Your student that you taught earlier..."

"Yeah, what's wrong with her? I don't see any problems with her except for her cooking magic, which needs some improvements." I said, as I was taking a sip of the cold chocolate I had just poured back after finishing my and Beth's favorite drinks.

"Are you really sure you want to refuse her offer earlier?"

"Her offer? Which offer are you talking about, Beth?"

"Duh... It's about her offer when she asked you to go to the festival next week, you idiot. What else is her offer that I am talking about besides her asking you to go there?"

"Well... about that," I said while stroking the nape of my neck to cover the awkward feeling I felt because I heard a question from Beth, whose answer I had clearly given when my student was still in private class earlier. "I have decided not to go there this year, too, Beth."

"Again? Aren't you interested in going there at least once? The festival is like a haven."

"I'm going to answer your question earlier again. Yes, Beth. I'm not interested in going there. And... Wait a minute."

"What's wrong? Have you suddenly changed your mind?"

"No. I think I'm starting to remember things now. Could it be that she was the student who yesterday made the fried rice creations that almost blew up my class at that time? If so, explain why I was so familiar when I saw the results of the food that exploded earlier."

"What? Ukh, damn it! You really spoil the mood, Marleen."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I was just about to tell you that I overheard your conversation when I came here earlier and saw you two looking so engrossed in your business." She said, gesturing for me to add the contents of her already empty glass, to which I responded by pouring a pitcher of cold chocolate drink, which was now half of my pitcher capacity. "Finally, she has the courage to tell you what she felt about you earlier. It's great for her to take initiation to tell someone how she feels, rather than wait until the person she likes will tell her his feelings in person."

"Huh? What the hell are you talking about? I have no idea what you mean just now."

Beth raised her eyebrows when she heard my question as she put down her glass, which she hadn't drunk after I poured some of the contents of my teapot on the table. "Don't tell me you didn't know that one of your students that you offered private classes to earlier had had a crush on you for a long time?"

"Really? I don't know anything about that." I replied, responding to his question casually while returning to enjoying the cold chocolate that tasted sweet in my mouth. "You know, I'm really bad at remembering names. I don't even remember my student named Shanon, and now you're adding a new fact by saying that she liked me for a long time."

"But just admit it. She is really your cup of tea, right?"

Come to think of it, what Beth told me earlier was true. I don't deny the fact that I've always liked cute-looking women. With two big doll-like eyes, a small nose, and small red lips. Both cheeks are flushed red, with wavy hair or pigtails. If possible, no taller than me, so that the cuteness is maximized.

"See? You already imagine your ideal type of woman in your mind. Come on, just admit it! Your student was indeed your ideal type, right?"

Sighing softly, I responded by shaking my head, trying to cover up the fact that what she said about me being busy thinking about my ideal type of woman was true. "Never mind, Beth. It's just a child's statement. No need to take it seriously. And again, I'm pretty sure that after she graduates, she will forget about me and be busy with her new life, just like my other students once they finish their education at my school. So why think too much about what she said earlier? I'd rather focus on my job as a good teacher for her and help her to develop her skills as a cooking wizard than think about what she said earlier."

Hearing my answer, Beth responded by picking up the glass she had placed on the table earlier and finishing it quickly, before she put it back on the table with a loud enough sound that I started to worry. Not because I'm worried about my best friend, of course, but I'm worried about the glass table I use to entertain my best friend at this time. If I let her keep doing it, my beloved glass table will be shattered in the near future, and I really don't want anything like that to happen to my favorite glass table.

Maybe it's time for me to consider the suggestion of one of the traders in the market that I met a few months ago to replace my cutlery with bamboo-based tableware that is environmentally friendly, and that certainly does not endanger the safety of my beloved glass table. Yeah, it looks like I'll be doing it in the near future. Maybe I'll go to one of the merchant stalls in the market where I met at that time tomorrow, remembering that I have to go to the market to stock up on groceries for both my cooking practice and myself, I mumbled as I tried to grab one of the glass collections that I had lent to Beth earlier and intend to replace it with one of the much safer plastic cups for the future of my beloved glass table, which I'm sure will shatter if I don't do it soon.

Unfortunately, I failed to snatch my glass from her hand, because next Beth glared at me as if asking me not to snatch my glass from her hand. And to add to my misery, she asked me to refill his empty glass and drink it down to a third of the contents before hitting my beloved glass table again with the glass, which managed to make a sound effect that I didn't want at all. Her two eyes still continued to stare at me with a sharp gaze, which made me realize the difference in my physical strength with Beth, and I was forced to let her continue what she was doing with the glass and my beloved glass table, which had shown a few cracks thanks to her physical strength that was not at all a match for me.

"Here, that is why you still have no lovers yet, Marleen. You are really heartless! At least you have to understand that poor little girl's feelings, Marleen..."

"Do you really have a boyfriend yourself?"

Beth then responded to my words by draining the contents of her glass and asking me to refill her empty glass with new cold chocolate, which I reluctantly did because I didn't want to taste Beth's tantrum, which was definitely much worse than letting her finish the drink I'd barely even had. "Not yet. But at least I've been in a relationship a few times. So obviously, I can't be compared to you, who haven't even had a romantic relationship with anyone yet."

"Before finally being dumped because of caste problems? Or cheating? It's okay, no need to be shy about it. I understand that you still don't have the courage to return to a romantic relationship with other people if you remember your dark history with your ex-lovers." I replied while patting her shoulder lightly and drank back my cold chocolate quickly so I could fill it with a new one. Even though at a glance from her physical form, my best friend's body looks small, when it comes to food and heavy work, she will transform into someone who can really be relied on.

"At least I have some experience with falling in love and dating a lot of people, even though all of my relationships didn't end well. But you, you are different, since you haven't even dated anyone yet..."

"Stop making fun of me, Beth. I know it would be hard for someone like me to find a lover. You alone are more than enough for me, Beth."

She immediately choked upon hearing what I just said, making me reflexively thrust my handkerchief from my pants pocket and give it to her, which she accepted without saying anything. I was surprised since I had no idea that it was something wrong with my words that made my best friend immediately choke when she heard them?

"If someone else said what you said earlier, I might think that what you said was a declaration of love!"

"Huh?"

"It turns out that you really are not aware of the effect you gave from your words just now, huh?" She said, shaking her head and returning my handkerchief full of the remains of her cold chocolate drink, which I had to accept reluctantly because, once again, I did not want to feel the fist that might land on my stomach if I were to say my objection to the handkerchief she returned to me in that dirty state. "Even though you're the ideal type to be my boyfriend, why am I not at all interested in you, huh?"

"Rest assured, Beth. I'm not interested in you either. Even if you are the last woman in the universe, though."

"But seriously," She said while draining the next glass, into which I swiftly poured a new one. "Are you sure you don't want to accept her declaration of love and let your relationship with her be only as a teacher and student? Aren't you interested in trying to approach her as your girlfriend in the future?"