No to Being the Suffering Heroine!

“Hey, put this on.”

After a while, Friede returned and suddenly shoved a new outfit she had tucked under her arm at me, urging me to wear it.

“Oh, thanks! I’ll wear it well.”

The clothes she handed over blatantly reflected her taste, making me want to laugh inside.

‘Sheesh… but at least it’ll be comfortable to sleep in. Only for sleeping, though.’

It was a thin, pure white nightgown that was translucent enough to slightly show skin. Honestly, wearing it felt even more revealing than not wearing anything at all—there was no way I could wear it outside of the bedroom.

Well, by tomorrow, my usual padded armor would be dry and ready, so all I actually needed was sleepwear. I figured there was no need to buy outer clothes.

“How does it look? Does it seem okay?”

I twisted my waist and legs a bit, striking a model-like pose with a mischievous grin.

“Hehe, ahem! It fits perfectly! I think it looks great!”

With a reddened face, Friede nodded vigorously while cutely clearing her throat. Her reaction was like that of a middle school student who had developed a crush on their tutor—quite a sight to behold.

In terms of ridiculousness, my current appearance couldn’t compare.

“By the way, didn’t you buy any underwear?”

Since the only thing Friede handed me was this nightgown, the areas that would normally be covered by underwear were fully exposed.

Of course, it wasn’t completely naked, as it was covered by the nightgown, but…

‘…Can we really call this covered?’

The material of the gown clung tightly to my skin and was so thin that outlines and skin color showed through easily.

“Oh, um, now that you mention it…! I totally forgot! I’ll go buy some now!”

“No, it’s fine. This is enough.”

Friede seemed to suddenly remember as she flustered about, trying to dash out again, but I grabbed her arm and pulled her back to stop her.

Once was enough for running errands—this isn’t some hybrid dog training. I felt bad making her run around again when she hadn’t even washed up yet.

“More importantly, what’s in your hand? It smells delicious.”

I quickly changed the subject.

It was the bundle of cloth that Friede had brought along with my nightgown. I asked her what was inside, pointing at the smell.

Its aroma clearly hinted at food…

“Oh, this?”

Placing the bundle on the table in the corner of the room, Friede opened it and revealed the contents.

“I realized I hadn’t eaten anything since noon, right? So I bought some late-night snacks.”

Sausages grilled to a golden brown, seasoned with salt and pepper. A whole chicken prepared the same way, and another chicken coated with spicy sauce.

Plus, she brought grilled onions and warm soup to go along with it.

‘…Isn’t this barbecue chicken?’

Aside from the fact that they had grilled whole chickens instead of cutting them up, it looked just like the barbecue chicken from my original world.

It was such an appetizing late-night snack that just looking at it made my mouth water.

“Hilde must be hungry too, right? Let’s eat together.”

“Friede, I love you!”

I rushed to hug Friede, beaming with joy.

She had gone out twice for me, and instead of being annoyed, she even thought about my hunger and brought me this feast. Isn’t Friede an angel?

I was overwhelmed with gratitude and pride.

“Um, w-well…! Y-yes! I love you too!”

Friede trembled, startled by my sudden affection, nodding her head vigorously while snuggling up to me.

It was incredibly amusing, like a malfunctioning robot that had been accidentally switched on.

◆◆

The three of us shared the late-night snack. Watching us eat, Eleadra begged for a little bit for herself.

I wondered if it was okay to give food to a vampire, but surprisingly, she ate it well.

But apparently, that couldn’t quell her vampire thirst, as she still needed to drink blood afterwards.

I tried to offer my blood like last time, but for some reason, Friede insisted that I didn’t have to keep doing that and donated her own blood instead.

It didn’t have any particular meaning, though.

“Bwweeeek…!”

After tasting Friede’s blood, Eleadra gagged and vomited every drop like a kid who had eaten rotten fish.

“…Huh? Why the sudden change?”

Did vampires have food preferences too? I was more surprised by her reaction than the comparison to a unicorn beastfolk being assaulted by a whore.

“Uuuuu….”

Eleadra wiped the blood that dripped down her chin with the back of her hand, pouting.

“This tastes bad, like a bathroom…!”

“B-bathroom?! What are you talking about?!”

Eleadra assessed Friede’s blood as identical to the taste of toilet water. In an instant, Friede, now feeling like a human bathroom, exploded in rage, claiming she wasn’t a toilet.

If she didn’t take back that outrageous slander right away, she looked ready to whip out the holy sword and start swinging.

“Calm down, Friede. The kid said that without knowing any better.”

“But she said it tasted like a bathroom! After I went through the trouble of giving my blood…!”

I could tell we were heading toward a knife fight, so I intervened when Friede complained about why only she was being targeted.

‘Hmm… clearly, that was an outrageous insult.’

I could understand how Friede felt. If someone told me my blood tasted like excrement, I would probably feel offended too.

“Well, maybe… it’s because your blood is ‘special’?”

“…Special?”

“Yeah. Friede, you are ‘that.’ Naturally, it wouldn’t suit a demon’s taste.”

The Hero.

Blessed by the goddess Eliane with the ‘Hero’s Mark,’ expected to be the next strategic weapon to eradicate demons and the Demon King.

Of course, there weren’t many who took their responsibility as a hero seriously, and Friede had been acting like she completely tossed her responsibilities aside…

‘But still, she is a hero.’

Once the Hero’s Mark has been granted, it only disappears upon death or if the person falls to becoming a demon.

As long as the Hero’s Mark remained, even if she had disregarded her divine responsibility, she was still one of four heroes.

In other words, Friede’s blood was the blood of a hero. A part of the weapon designed to exterminate demons.

And vampires belong to the high undead, one of the eight demon kinds.

For Eleadra, Friede’s blood might not have been a refreshing sip, but a poison that would damage her body the moment she drank it.

Eleadra’s disgusted response, as if she had put something inedible in her mouth, likely stemmed from that reason.

“Uh… yeah, I guess that could be it…?”

“Right, so let’s not get too mad, and just consider it a natural reaction. If it’s because of the ‘mark,’ it’s unavoidable, right?”

“It’s not like I’m very angry, though….”

Of course, she wasn’t. I saw her contemplating whether to draw the holy sword or not, grasping at nothing in mid-air.

Oh man, this girl had a temper.

It was a good thing I stepped in swiftly, or else the innkeeper would have been wailing, and the villagers would be in despair from a catastrophic bloodbath.

◆◆

After giving Eleadra a little bit of blood, I healed the wound on my fingertip and flopped down onto the bed.

Writing the report for Argantir would have to wait until tomorrow. I was tired, and honestly had no clue what I should even write.

‘Your dispatched personnel were wiped out by monsters and doppelgangers, and as luck would have it, the only survivors are us outsiders.’

Just writing this alone would make Argantir go, “What the hell are these guys?”

And the follow-up would be even more serious.

I discovered a daywalker vampire trapped in the lower levels, and by sheer coincidence, this monster mistook me for its mother. So, we managed to survive?

And I brought that thing back up to the surface? But if by any chance it goes berserk or regains its sanity, the country could be doomed?

‘Hmm…’

If I were Argantir, the instant I read that report, I’d think these idiots were making a fool out of me and would have ordered me to cut off my fingers and tongue.

Even if I clenched my fists, not wanting to get on the hero’s bad side, the least I would do is issue an expulsion order telling them to get lost from this land.

Until the monster problem gets resolved, I doubt Herbor would want anything to do with me.

As a prince responsible for the safety of his country, it would be completely understandable to act that way, and even if such orders came flying my way, I wouldn’t have had the right to complain.

Thinking about it left me utterly at a loss for how to report. So I just pushed it till tomorrow.

‘Please, my future self!’

After a good long sleep, maybe I would come up with a good excuse. I held onto such hope.

◆◆

As mentioned earlier, the bed was spacious enough for two adults to roll around without issue, which allowed us to avoid unnecessary squabbles over space.

Eleadra took the left side. I lay in the middle. Friede occupied the right.

It was a relatively neat arrangement. Not everyone seemed satisfied with it though; Friede kept pondering whether she should lie in the middle until the very end.

Perhaps it was due to her anxiety that it might be dangerous to have me and Eleadra side by side, but she also didn’t want to sleep right next to Eleadra…

Still, even if she insisted she would sleep in the middle, there was no way Eleadra would agree to that, so after much deliberation, she ultimately decided to give up the middle spot.

Instead, she whispered to me.

Though lying down, she said she would be awake for another four hours or so, and after that, she wanted me to wake up with her and keep watch.

“Sure, that sounds good.”

I agreed.

While Eleadra was surprisingly well-behaved for my expectations, that didn’t mean I could just sleep soundly.

Who knows what they could be plotting while we slept?

I couldn’t just trust completely after merely a day of watching them.

It would be difficult enough if they were human, let alone with a vampire involved.

So, despite it being a hassle and tiring, switching off for watch duty was the smartest—and essential—thing to do.

“Yawn… sleep well, everyone….”

“Hilde too.”

“Mom, are you going to sleep? Then I’ll sleep too!”

And so, the three of us lay down together in the bed.

The mattress was as fluffy as a cloud, and the thick comforter was extremely warm.
My eyelids began to droop.

◆◆

About five minutes later.

“Ugh… Friede, don’t touch my chest while I’m sleeping….”

Feeling a familiar sensation poking around my collarbone, I mumbled a half-asleep protest, wandering somewhere between being awake and asleep.

“…That’s not my hand. Should I chop it off?”

With a cold voice, Friede replied, pretending to be asleep to go on watch.

‘If it’s not your hand, then whose is it…?’

I was too drowsy to understand what she meant by chopping something unfairly. Although the answer coming from the opposite side revealed its identity to me.

“Mommy….”

The regressed vampire clung to me and murmured in her sleep. Like a fetus in search of nurturing milk… no, more like an infant craving breast milk.

“No, don’t chop it….”

I didn’t have the energy to shake her off, so I just let it be, thinking she would give up after a while.

Since it was just sleep-talking, I figured it wouldn’t last long anyway.

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