I Am Not the Heroine

Is it really a talent worthy of joining the hero party?

“Big sis! Look at this!”

Nia came running to me with a cheerful smile, even though it was still dawn.

On Nia’s arm, gentle flames were burning, intricately patterned.

“The precision has improved a lot. I just visited the smithy the day before yesterday.”

“That was a huge help back then!”

“I’m glad.”

“Hehe.”

To be honest, all I did was speed things up a bit.

I figured it out completely by chance while passing the smithy just before leaving Lakr.

At most, it had been less than two weeks.

Yet thanks to that difference, the hero party gains a significant advantage in this battle.

“Now that the precision has increased, let’s slowly raise the output. At least… hmm, we should be able to control flames as large as the ones in that big furnace we saw at the smithy.”

“Yes!”

“Here, take this.”

“What is this? Gloves…?”

“I just didn’t give you any. I engraved a spell related to flames so they’ll burn better.”

“Ahhh… Thank you so much…”

What’s this big deal about?

Since Nia’s now a member of the hero party, she has an obligation to receive my support.

“What are you doing today, sis?”

As she asked, I pondered for a moment.

Before the demon race Rastok appears, an incident happens in Lakr.

Namely, a plague.

So if you feel something strange or hear voices urgently calling for a saint, that’s when we’ll need to prepare for battle.

‘Treatment for the plague… I don’t have any materials.’

It’s not that I couldn’t get them by mistake or anything.

Literally, the materials to treat Rastok’s plague do not exist in this world.

I’d have to crush some plants from the demon realm to make the medicine.

But fortunately, we have the existence of a “Saint,” so not too many casualties will occur.

“Hmm… Research.”

Therefore, I need to establish a plan to deal with Rastok and his magical creatures as quickly as possible.

The first step is to ask Nia for fire-sensitive minerals.

This will help her and also be handy for dealing with those creatures.

Since we got some minerals for free thanks to the hero, we can filter and choose which ones to use.

“Nia.”

“Yes?”

Crash.

“Eep.”

“Could you tell me which minerals feel warm here?”

“Warm…?”

Fortunately, with Nia’s help, we didn’t spend a lot of time sorting.

“Good job.”

“Is there anything else I can help with?”

“I’ll call you if needed.”

“Okay!”

After Nia left, I quickly organized the minerals and summoned the workshop door.

Just as I was about to enter and start my research…

Knock, knock.

“Come in.”

Someone came and stopped in their tracks.

Thump.

Why do I feel this way?

Without confirming the identity of the person knocking, why does my heart race?

“Rui.”

“Oh.”

The person who opened the door and entered was Ariya.

*

“Ariya, what brings you here?”

“Oh, if you’re busy, I can come back later!”

“It’s fine. Would you like to sit here?”

Since I had taken out two chairs from the workshop, I also brought out some carrot-flavored snacks I had been saving.

Honestly, a little snack like carrot cookies is no big deal for Ariya, who works so hard every day.

I handed the carrot cookie to Ariya as she gently sat on a chair, but she didn’t eat it.

She just held it, looking as if she had something to say, fidgeting around.

“Is this about the treatment of Lakr’s plague?”

“Ah! How did you know!”

“Well, considering your character, you wouldn’t just overlook a single patient.”

“Ah…”

In the original story, that was indeed the case.

When the first member of the bloodline appeared in Alpharres and caused many citizens to be injured, even after battling just moments ago, she would heal them at the cost of her own life force.

“Is there really no way…”

Seeing her sad expression, it seemed she had faced the Duke of Lakr directly.

I’ve heard he appears like a walking corpse, so it makes sense she feels affected.

Crunch.

I took a bite of the carrot cookie before answering her question.

“There is a way.”

“Really?!”

“Yes. We need to change the constitution and environment.”

“That is…”

“It’s quite difficult.”

First, any changes in constitution require the person’s will and the help of many people around them.

But since she has the support of a marquis family, it can be resolved relatively easily.

However, the real challenge lies in changing the environment.

“Changing the mine city will take a really long time and a lot of resources.”

Between the chaos of the city, citizens may suffer.

Just a day ago, people who were living their lives might suddenly lose their jobs overnight.

“Ah…”

In truth, if the Duke of Lakr’s son had gone on vacation before the plague appeared, it wouldn’t have mattered.

Sending him to a place with better conditions like another territory or an island wouldn’t be a big deal for a noble family.

However, I believe they missed their opportunity when the Duchess of Lakr died around when the illness started appearing.

If they make even a slight mistake now, things could worsen, and they find themselves stuck.

“That’s the general idea.”

“Eh?”

“There’s no need to change the entire city’s infrastructure. We can just replace the problematic parts.”

For example, the chimney of the smithy.

If we install filters that reduce air pollution in such areas, it would be a considerable improvement.

“But it means we need a lot of materials.”

Just the materials are necessary.

In any case, creating them using a master key will take time, but eventually, it will be accomplished.

There’s just one thing in the way…

‘I can’t focus on just that.’

I was just trying to come up with a plan to stop Rastok when I got sidetracked.

What should I do then?

At that moment, a good idea popped into my head.

“Ariya.”

“Yes?”

“How about executing a plan at this moment?”

“What plan…?”

“A plan to increase the hero’s favorability.”

“Ah, ah!”

Ariya’s cheeks turned red instantly.

I explained to her how to combine the two plans.

“There are no requests in Lakr that the hero can solve. So if you say, ‘I want to change the city’s environment,’ he’ll probably help.”

“Could that really work…?”

Of course it could.

Even aside from having feelings for Ariya, she is a saint.

The hero knows it would be foolish to ignore her words.

“So what should we do…?”

“First, we need to hear the thoughts of the city’s citizens.”

There will surely be those who perceive the installation of filters and magical devices as meddling with their smithies.

Even aside from that, understanding other inconveniences or points they wish were fixed can be reflected in the development of magical devices later on.

“Also, it would be good to keep track of patients with similar symptoms to the plague or anyone showing signs of it.”

“That makes sense.”

“Then, I’ll do what I need to do in the meantime, and once I’ve made some progress, I’ll focus on developing magical tools. Until then, if you can move along with the hero and handle that work, it’ll be great.”

“Leave it to me!”

“As for the materials… I’ll ask you to handle that once your work is somewhat finished.”

“Okay!”

It’s impossible for Serelin, Rapirie, or even Nia. Of course, it’s impossible for me too.

But because she’s a saint, and the person helping her is the hero, they can conduct such a large-scale investigation easily.

‘Perhaps the church and the adventurer’s guild will lend a hand.’

Since they are the official support for both, they’d be glad to help.

If dozens or even hundreds of people work together, it won’t take long.

Especially the adventurer’s guild, they are optimized for such tasks.

While I rapidly solidified my plans, I could align the general schedule with the city purification plan and magical tool designs.

‘Things might get a little busy.’

But it wasn’t a bad thing.

If I had been too relaxed, I would have found a way to keep busy anyway.

“Then, what about the hero?”

“Oh.”

Now that I think about it, I haven’t talked about that part yet.

“What do you think is the charm that Ariya should show the hero?”

“U-um, I don’t know…”

“Come on, just tell me one thing.”

“My chest?”

“……”

Ariya subtly supported her ample assets.

I really wanted to argue, but since it was the truth, I couldn’t help but stay silent.

For a moment, my gaze fell on my own chest in contrast to Ariya’s.

‘……’

I looked away. Honestly, that made me a little annoyed.

‘That should probably happen after their relationship progresses a bit more.’

“Yes, uh huh.”

I could feel steam escaping from Ariya’s face.

“The charm Ariya should show is… definitely her embrace.”

“Embrace…?”

When I suggested she show her ‘unexpected charm’ while helping Serelin and Rapirie, it was a good plan.

But Ariya should capitalize on her natural embracing nature from the start.

The reason is simple.

“Up until now, you and the hero have been close comrades. So listening to him or healing him might have felt like a sort of ‘loyalty’.”

“Ah…!”

So here, the hero’s perception needs to shift.

“Then, we should do some healing!”

“He’ll have to be injured for that to happen.”

That’s something I don’t want to see.

“If you don’t use divine power and follow my instructions, it will be sufficient.”

“I-I’ll be attentive!”

Thus, a long session of strategizing for Ariya continued.

By the time all discussions wrapped up, Ariya was both accustomed and still blushing.

“Then I’ll give it a try.”

“Yes. So please do your best.”

“Sure!”

As I was about to see Ariya off, she suddenly turned around and hugged me while holding the doorknob.

I could have choked… but thankfully, she seemed to understand, leaving just enough space to breathe.

“Thank you, Rui.”

“Yes?”

“Thank you for listening to my childish whining. Really… thank you.”

“What for?”

I could do this much for a saint.

Yet, Ariya seemed to be interpreting it more deeply, her gaze filled with immense gratitude and warmth.

“I am, Rui… I mean…”

“?”

“Never mind. Just know that Rui is always our comrade. I’ll support you.”

“…Thank you.”

With that, our conversation came to an end.

Looking outside, the sunset was gradually deepening.

It seems I won’t have much time left today to finalize my plans.

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