Vol 1: Chapter 3: A Serious Farce

The Path to the Saint Legend
A Serious Farce

"Please ignore me in front of the hero and Aria, no matter what they do to me."

Aleph, who was doing his best to carry the luggage, tells Chris with a look of determination on his face.

Sadly, for Chris, this was all happening according to her plan. 

Anticipating Aleph's superiority, Chris had carefully considered what he'd initially said about being afraid of retaliation from Aria and the others, and this was taken advantage of by Chris.

He's a very considerate boy, but his kindness will never be rewarded...

However, the difficult part for Chris, who aims to become the legendary saint was, just because it goes as she wanted, it didn't mean she understands it all.

"Eh... what are you saying, Aleph-san!? I no longer want to stand by and watch you suffer so much!! I absolutely don't want that (to be honest, watching you get to be such a pain was so funny my stomach hurt)."

In the few seconds it took for her to lift her head, her face turned pale, a single tear spilled from one eye, and her whole body twitched slightly, as if she regretted her own actions up until then - an expression and atmosphere that could only be seen that way from the sidelines was instantly created.

Not only this, she can effortlessly make any facial expression, and tears can be controlled as easily as pressing a pot of hot water... and when you combine this with the face of a saint who calls herself the most beautiful in the world, no one, even a god, would ever dream that her face was just a pasted-on, emotionless face.

"Christina! You've seen what they've done to me, haven't you? So, if it actually happened to you, could you bear it? Besides, since you're a girl, it's possible that things could get even worse..."

"I, I know!! I'm prepared for that... I, I, thought about it too... (If I blatantly look away here)."

"You've thought about it? Then why are you so upset? Sorry, but it only seems like you only realized it now because I pointed it out to you."

"Ugh...! I... (I made it seem like that was the only way it could be seen. What a funny idiot!)"

“So please, I’m glad about Christina’s feelings and determination, but if something irreparable happens because of me… I don’t know what will happen this time!”

Because of the Saint's strange personality, whatever Aleph says ends up being nothing more than a farce. It's a sad reality.

Is this really okay? Is this really a story that should be ended so casually? Isn't this so important to Aleph that it could decide his life...?

"I'm really no good, I'm... I'm only good at talking, but unlike Aleph-san, I make decisions on my own without thinking things through, and end up causing trouble instead... (I'm getting tired of your self-deprecating acting. It's impossible for a great, god-like person like me to be a nuisance. Follow up already.)

"It's not a bother. Your words just now have really saved me. Christina-chan has given me courage once again. There's no way that should be a bother."

"...Thank you, Aleph-san. Well, you've saved me in some way too, hehe! (If I, the most beautiful girl in the galaxy and the cutest in the universe, said something like this to you, you would fall in love with me. I'm a sinful man after all.)"

Christina's behavior, or rather her acting, seems to be gradually straying from her saintly character. She seems to be in a good mood, and it seems she's enjoying it. After all, she might just be an easy target.

However, after a certain amount of time had passed, perhaps becoming impatient with the conversation not progressing, the Wicked Saint finally made her move.

"But if Aleph-san is really in danger, I will absolutely help him even if it means breaking that promise! That's the one thing I won't listen to no matter what you say (Just how much does that burden have to make a beautiful girl like me worry about? If things were different back then, this guy would definitely get the death penalty)."

"Haha, I get it, Christina-chan. Then I'll leave it to you if I'm really in danger!"

“Um, well! I also have a favor to ask of you, Aleph-san… is that okay? (I’m already feeling a bit down, but I need to do this or it will have an impact on the future.)”

"That's fine, but... I can't do much, so it would be helpful if you could make a wish that can be granted."

"So, Aleph-san... could you please call me Chris like you used to? (My only purpose in contacting you was to settle things for ignoring you for the last six months and to make you call me by my nickname, so do you know how much of a pointless conversation we had?)"

Chris was furious inside.

No, it doesn't seem like Chris is in a constantly angry mood; she looks at Aleph with pleading glances and slightly flushed cheeks.

There is hardly any man who could say no to this. There is hardly any man who wouldn't say no to her if he saw her inner self.

"Eh? That's what you mean...? Ahem... No, I get it, Chris."

"...It's been a while, so I feel a bit embarrassed. Once again, I look forward to working with you, Aleph-san! (The good fortune of being able to call me by the most beautiful nickname in the entire century must bring tears to the eyes of this damn lonely guy. Come on, hurry up and cry.)"

From the outside, Chris, who looked ashamed of her past regrets, apologized wholeheartedly to Aleph, received his forgiveness, and even had Aleph call her by the nickname he used to call her when they were close, was one of his childhood friends whose trust had been restored. She then gave Aleph a bright smile, as if all her worries were gone.

The reality is that it's hard to believe that it's just a posed face, formed by using facial muscles randomly.

Afterwards, Chris and I followed the heroes while continuing our conversation for a while.
Once we could see them, we distanced ourselves from each other and pretended to continue walking in silence.

Hayato looked at us suspiciously at first, but Chris replied in a cold, emotionless voice, completely different from their earlier conversation, "I thought that if we were attacked by monsters, all of our luggage would be destroyed, so I was watching from behind," so he didn't suspect anything further.

But Chris, she was able to make a voice like that. It was hard to believe she was the same girl who had been crying as loud as she could just a moment ago. Maybe she was normally like that.

"Oh no, because your luggage was late, it looks like we won't get to the next town until night."

Aria muttered this in a loud voice, even though she was talking to herself, Finne and Lily nodded in agreement.

Normally this would have been a situation that would have irritated me to some extent, but right now it didn't upset me at all.

I'm no longer alone.

Just now, my childhood friend was there, calling me by my nickname like in the old days, talking to me normally, and telling me what was on her mind. I never expected that just not being alone would give me this much peace of mind.

"...Tch. You trash, don't ignore me."

Perhaps displeased by my nonchalant attitude, Aria clicked her tongue softly and glared in my direction for a moment, but after that she didn't do anything and just continued walking down the street in silence.
It was night and the town we arrived in was a small, slightly deserted town.

Of course, it wasn't that we had business here, but rather that our destination was a place called the Fire Dragon Cave that was said to be nearby.

Since it was getting late, we decided to stay at a small inn in this town. It was already quite dark outside, so we hurried inside the inn and tried to go to the reception desk, but we were stopped by three rebel-looking adventurers standing near the entrance.

Perhaps judging by their appearance, Finne thought it would be troublesome, so she went to the reception desk by herself and started talking about something.

"Hey hey, we're just a lonely guys' party, and you two guys are showing off with four cute girls around?! Hey, you guys! Aren't you jealous?"

"You're right, this is practically picking a fight, you know? How are you going to take responsibility for this?"

The two adventurer men suddenly started picking a fight for no apparent reason, and even Aria and the others, who usually think crazy, were confused.

You guys are confused, but if you ask me, you're on the same level as these guys.

"We don't have them as servants or anything, they are important companions in the fight against the Demon King! Isn't that a bit rude?"

Well, there aren't four, but you have three people serving you, so how dare you say that.

I gradually became angry at our side for picking a fight.

If you think about it, the hero's party is full of shitty people, excluding Chris.

Is it because I have a bad personality that I secretly root for those adventurers?

"Huh?? You guys are probably having a blast every day, switching things up all the time! I can kind of tell when I'm looking at them, whether they're in that kind of relationship or not!"

"My head's starting to hurt, I can't believe such vulgar people are adventurers."

No, I think you're right. These guys are so noisy with that creaking noise every day.

...Of course, Chris is excluded! But this guy has amazing insight despite his rough appearance. If he became a merchant, I think he could become a big shot.

"What the hell, you brat! Choose between giving up the girl or dying."

"Phew... what a pain."

The hero shrugged his shoulders, and in the next moment, with speed beyond the reach of the eye, he pointed the tip of his hero's sword at the man's neck.

"Did you say you wanted to die?"

"Hii!! Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!"

The man's legs gave way and he and his two companions ran out of the inn at high speed.

Even though he was rotten, he was still a hero... His strength was incredible. I was overcome with a mysterious feeling of defeat.

"Hayato is so cool!! I love you so much!"

"Of course, Hayato-sama is the most wonderful person in the world!"

"Hayato-sama, tonight, um, with Lily..."

"Oh Lily, that's not fair. I'm with Hayato too..."

"Hey hey guys, let's not fight. I'm not bothered even if there are three of you together."

What is this...are they monkeys in heat?

Things have gotten so serious that I can't even remember what they used to look like.

Certainly, I think the hero should be praised for what he just did, but...

Suddenly, I looked over at Chris and our eyes met, causing her to give a wry smile.

Good, it seems I wasn't the only one who felt this way.

“It’s nice to entertain everyone, but let’s have a meal first! Finne, does the inn provide food?”

"Yes! They'll be serving it in the dining hall! Hayato-sama, I asked them to cook enough for 5 people servings♪"

"Great, that should be fine!"

"I'm really hungry of food, and also hungry for Hayato-sama!"

"I would rather eat Hayato-sama more than anything..."

Without paying any attention to the three girls who had started squealing and making a commotion again, or rather, unable to pay any attention to them, I recalled what Finne had said with a look of shock on my face.

"Five servings..."

I had an extremely bad feeling.

And when I sat down at the inn's dining room, my hunch quickly turned out to be correct.

Author Note: I think it's about time for Aleph to get angry.