Chapter 6: Demon Extermination

"Is...is that story true? No, if Lord Trust says so, it must be true, but I can't believe it..."

The next morning—or rather, noon.

When I woke up in Trust's room, everything had been cleaned up perfectly.

That said, the pleasure hadn't been so gentle that I could dismiss what happened as a dream. The slight discomfort deep in my thighs served as proof.

Incidentally, Trust must have cast healing magic after sex because my body felt fine. If anything, having climaxed multiple times left me feeling refreshed, as if my sexual desires had been purged.

...

Now, Trust seemed to have steeled himself enough to decide to tell the city's representative everything that had happened. Currently, the representative was listening to Trust's story with great shock.

Well... Hero Trust and his companions had accomplished many great deeds in this city. It must be hard to believe that the heroines who fought alongside him for the people had betrayed him.

"I don't want to believe it either, but it's the truth. If it weren't for this girl, Filiar, I would have been executed by their hands."

"I see... I was surprised to hear Lord Trust arrived battered and with an unfamiliar girl, but now I understand the circumstances..."

Given how much Trust had built up his reputation, his story was easily believed. After all, he was still the Hero, however changed.

"Lady Filiar, was it? Lord Trust... We are truly grateful that you saved our hope."

"Eh!? Um... yes. I only did what anyone would."

"Even so, for a young girl to stand against the demons requires extraordinary courage. We honor that bravery."

I was being showered with excessive praise.

While I'd been praised by parents and teachers for academics before, the nature of this admiration was clearly different.

Of course, logically, I understood. I'd saved the Hero and barely escaped with my life. Though it could be summed up in a single sentence, the difficulty was obvious to anyone. That said, it's not like I was particularly amazing, so whether I could feel happy about it was... questionable.

"Representative, Filiar is my lifesaver. And I've sworn to fight alongside her. So, could you tell the people of this city that she's my companion?"

"Of course—I would have done so even without being asked. As for Lady Filiar—"

As he spoke, the door opened, and someone entered. From the looks of it, just an ordinary man. A fairly average appearance.

"We're in the middle of an important discussion. If it's business, save it for later."

Though he said that, the representative seemed to at least listen to the whispered message. ...Something must have happened. Soon after, the man left.

"Did something happen?"

"Yes. A village about an hour's ride from here is being attacked by a horde of monsters."

Monsters... the beings that plagued the people of this world.

They were distinct from demons—if demons were the intelligent, sworn enemies of humanity, monsters were more like dangerous beasts threatening people's livelihoods. Back when this was a game, Trust and his party fought them frequently. If demons were the RPG-style bosses, monsters were the trash mobs.

"Attacked by monsters? Will they be alright?"

"Of course. The locals are defending it, and we'll organize a proper extermination squad to depart immediately."

Naturally, even in the city Trust had saved, incidents still occurred. If I'd appeared at the start of the game—the early stages—I might have been able to predict where and when events would happen. But now, I was already in an unknown time and place. The only option was to solve each incident as it came.

"Shall we go as well?"

Trust, ever the Hero, volunteered.

Yeah, that's the kind of person he is. If someone's in trouble, he charges in without hesitation. You could call him a clichéd, old-school protagonist, but... I like this side of him. So... even if my feelings are influenced by the love potion, it's not just that, huh?

But wasn't it too soon for Trust to go monster-hunting? It hadn't even been a full day since he returned to this city. We'd barely escaped the demons' pursuit. Of course, the enemy wasn't stupid. The closer we got to human-controlled territory, the fewer but stronger the enemies became. They'd used underhanded tactics—stealing women to add to their ranks and making former allies kill each other. Shouldn't we be more cautious?

"Um... may I say something?"

"What is it?"

"Is there a chance the monster horde is part of the demons' strategy?"

"There are theories that demons can't control monsters since they're different species, but..."

Monsters were beasts. Demons were a race. Though both were enemies of humanity, the two weren't believed to be connected. Still, even if they couldn't command monsters, they could guide them.

"...Given the timing, it's possible. We've sent scouts toward the fallen city as a precaution, but if the Demon King's army attacks while Lord Trust is away, it'd be a severe blow."

"But it's only an hour away, right?"

"Yes, geographically, it's about an hour by horse."

"Then, conversely, I think I should go check if it's a demon strategy using monsters."

That was another way to look at it.

Indeed, determining whether the demons were using monsters as part of a plan might be necessary.

"Besides, I want to gain as much combat experience as I can right now."

His words carried a tinge of regret.

Trust had lost to the Demon King. No matter how mentally cornered he'd been, the Demon King was still a formidable foe. To defeat him, he needed greater combat ability and refinement. ...In that sense, I, who lacked practical experience, also needed to fight.

"Lord Trust, I'll accompany you."

"Thank you, Filiar. I'm counting on you."

"Yes!"

"It seems you've decided before I could... but that's just like you, Lord Trust. Very well, I'll entrust the monster extermination to you."

"Thank you!"

And so, we were off to hunt monsters.

Another battle so soon after yesterday's... but this was a world of war, and Trust was the Hero. I didn't know what lay ahead, but no matter how much we struggled, I'd lead him to a happy future. That feeling welled up inside me.

"But Lord Trust, you've changed..."

"Yes... I had experiences that forced me to change."

After all that had happened, Trust had no choice but to change as a person. But I didn't think that was necessarily a bad thing. Some grow kinder from their wounds; others grow crueler. I believed Trust was the former.

"Then, I'll make arrangements immediately. Lord Trust and Lady Filiar, please hurry to the site."

"Yes!"

...

"Ah..."

Just as we were about to depart to slay the monsters, I realized something.

Before me stood two horses.

A familiar sight in manga and anime, but seeing them in person, they were quite large. Not that size was the issue. What I meant was...

"U-um... excuse me... I've never ridden a horse before..."

"Is that so?"

Yeah, I'd never ridden a horse. But how many people raised in peaceful Japan could? Countless excuses popped into my head, but the fact remained: I couldn't ride. Wh-what do I do...?

"Then, let's do this."

While I was fretting, Trust lifted me onto the horse's back. Then he mounted the same horse, positioning me in front of him as if cradled.

"Filiar's small and light. Even with your weapons, it shouldn't be a problem."

"I-I see."

Still, Trust could ride a horse so naturally. In the game, travel scenes were usually skipped unless there was a special event, so I hadn't known about this skill. I guess it's only natural for a Hero to know how to ride?

"Let's go, then?"

"Yes."

As I nodded, the horse set off.

Since we didn't know the current situation at the site, we were moving at considerable speed. It was bumpier than a car, but my past riding experience kept me from feeling sick. Though if this went on for hours, I might get nauseous.

...The sensation of cutting through the wind was somewhat like riding a motorcycle.

Suddenly, I glanced at Trust, whose body I was leaning against.

"......"

His face was serious, thinking about where we were headed. Honestly, he looked cool. In the game's setting, his appearance was described as "average," but I'd say he was above average—maybe even upper-mid tier.

Moreover, as a combat specialist, he was seriously muscular. Probably single-digit body fat. But not like a bodybuilder—only the muscles necessary for battle were developed. That's how I remembered him from last night.

It might be weird to say about a guy, but Trust was the type who looked slimmer clothed. With his armor on, his muscles were hardly noticeable. But... being held like this, with my back against him, I could feel them clearly. This must be what a warrior's body is like. Of course, part of it was that my own body had shrunk...

Anyway... staring at Trust wouldn't help. I needed to prepare myself for the upcoming battle. Right—my magic was support-based, so I could enhance abilities. Then, I should cast a speed-boosting spell on the horse. I quickly began chanting. Ugh... almost bit my tongue.

"Feather Charge!"

I cast the speed-enhancing spell on the horse. Immediately, its speed visibly increased.

"Filiar, thank you."

Noticing the spell, Trust patted my head in praise. ...It made me a little happy. Well, the love potion's effect was also at work—I'm just a weakling who melts at head pats. Making excuses to myself, I leaned back against Trust.

...

"That's it!"

We arrived at the site in thirty minutes—half the usual hour-long trip. The place was more of a large village, with plenty of fences... though many had been destroyed by the monsters.

"Lord Hero!? But the Hero was supposed to have already left on his journey!?"

The villagers who had evacuated from the monster invasion rushed over upon recognizing Trust. Just like in the previous city, the Hero's name wasn't just for show. The moment they saw Trust's face, their despairing expressions brightened, and their spirits lifted. Some were even praying.

"Someone, tell me where the monsters are!"
"Over there, Lord Hero!"

Trust immediately turned his horse in the indicated direction. We raced through the farmland, moving like the wind.

Soon, the scent of blood and iron—the same smells I'd encountered repeatedly just days ago—filled the air. Then, the clashing of metal reached us. I could already see the monstrous figures—the monsters.

"Let's go, Filiar!"
"Yes!"

I leaped off the horse, using the momentum to swing my kodachi. I cleaved a monster cleanly from head to toe as I landed. Blood—the monster's blue blood—splattered, staining me. But I paid it no mind, dashing toward the next target.

"Lord Hero!?"
"It's Lord Hero! Lord Trust is here—!"

Looking around the battlefield, I saw villagers—farmers, presumably—fighting sporadically with whatever weapons they had. The moment they spotted Trust, their morale visibly surged. ...Maybe Trust was even more incredible than I'd imagined. Even in the game, there were many scenes of people thanking him, but the depth of gratitude here felt far more real.

"...!"

And then, I saw something that made me realize why.

Trust was slaughtering the monsters with godlike ferocity. His longsword flashed, cutting through them at blinding speed. Every motion was precise, every strike fatal. Against lesser demons, it might be a fight, but against these monsters? No contest. In that case...

"Feather Charge."
"Thank you! Haaah!"

The same support spell I'd used on the horse. If his strength and skill were already sufficient, speeding up the extermination was the best move.

"G-Gi!"

A monster screeched, swinging its club at me. I dodged and countered with my kodachi. Unlike Trust's one-hit kills, it took me two, three, four strikes to bring it down.

Of course, the old me had neither the strength nor the experience to fight. But when I came to this world, I gained abilities that included the basics of combat. How to hold a weapon, footwork, evasion, defense—all the fundamentals were ingrained in my mind. The same went for magic. Otherwise, I wouldn't have stood a chance.

But I still lacked experience. These techniques were just knowledge—instincts etched into my brain. They weren't backed by real practice.

"Filiar!"
"Gi—"

Trust cut down the monster I was fighting from behind. A glance around showed he'd already finished off most of them.

"Are you okay?"

He asked with a worried expression.

"No, seriously, isn't this too much?"

I had seen Trust fight firsthand during our escape to Nelisford, so I knew his strength, but now he seemed to have shed another layer.

I guess this is what they mean by "hero."

It's hard to believe this is the same person who clung to me crying last night.

"Filia?"

"Ah... yes, I'm fine. Not a scratch on me."

"Good... alright! Everyone, lend me your strength! We'll wipe out these monsters!"

"Ooooooooh!"

The farmers roared in response to Trust's words.

The monsters stood no chance against the people's fierce assault, their morale boosted by the hero's appearance. One after another, the monsters fell.

Eventually, some even began fleeing.

And so... in less than an hour, the tide of battle had turned completely, and the monsters were defeated.