12

The sound of birds chirping and the warm sunlight streaming through the window wake me up.

"Ugh…"

As I stretch and get out of bed, I see Lily, who is sound asleep, hugging my waist tightly.

'She's like an angel…'

But wait, is it the change of seasons?

Why are my lips so dry?

Feeling the dryness on my lips, I touch them, and the cracked texture, as if all the moisture has been drained, is transmitted to my fingertips.

This could be solved with just a bit of lip balm. But, there's probably none here.

Feeling a bit disappointed, I gently loosened Lily's arms that were wrapped around me, being careful not to wake her.

As I opened the door and stepped out, I saw Dania in the kitchen.

"You're up early."

"Oh my, did you sleep well, Hera? Breakfast is almost ready, so just wait a bit longer."

Dania was cooking, wearing an apron. Paired with her beauty, it felt like my eyes were clearing up from the early morning.

"Hehe… It feels like I'm the only one being taken care of."

"If it's you, Hera, it's totally fine."

Seeing her smile seductively at me, I couldn't help but stare at Dania blankly.

"Huh? Is there something on my face?"

"N-no, I was just lost in thought."

'Get it together. Right now, I'm a woman.'

In the world of Indomitable Hero, same-sex relationships weren't prohibited by law, but they weren't exactly looked upon kindly either. All the couples in the novel were heterosexual.

Of course, that didn't mean there were no people who liked the same sex.

There was exactly one person—despite being a woman, she felt attraction toward other women.

She was a saint, one of the protagonist's companions.

But aside from her, there was no one else.

As for Dania, her preferences were only hinted at in the story's setup, but she likely liked men.

"Really?… By the way, Hera, did anything happen last night?"

Last night… I only remember sleeping.

"Nothing happened. Why?"

"Hmm… It's nothing."

Dania spoke in a suspicious tone, raising one eyebrow.

"Breakfast is ready. Could you wake Lily up for me?"

"Sure, I'll do that."

Having already tasted Dania's cooking once, I headed to Lily's room, imagining how delicious that fragrant food must be.

"Lily~ Let's get up and have breakfast together."

"Mmm… I want to sleep a bit more…"

Still in her growing years, Lily seemed reluctant to leave her bed.

"Well… if you keep sleeping, you won't be able to eat breakfast with your sister… Are you okay with that?"

Lily adored Dania. I figured she wouldn't want to miss out on spending time with her.

As if my guess was spot on, Lily quickly tossed off her blanket.

"I-I don't want that!"

She shot up from the bed and stared at me with a surprised expression. I patted her head.

"Then hurry up and let's go eat."

"Okay… but only if you give me a kiss."

How could she be this adorable?

I kissed Lily on the cheek, just like I did yesterday.

***

After finishing breakfast.

As Dania and I chatted about various things related to the West, I decided it was time to tell her my thoughts.

"Sister, I couldn't say this properly yesterday, but the truth is, I don't intend to play king here."

The only kind of management I'd ever done was in a few construction games I played.

There's no way someone like me could properly manage a district of a city.

I didn't really want to, anyway.

"Is that so? Then what do you want to do?"

"I just… I just want to live comfortably here with you and Lily."

Upon hearing my answer, Dania chuckled and fell into deep thought for a moment.

Then, as if a great idea had struck her, she clasped her hands together, making a clapping sound.

"If that's how you feel… How about making a deal?"

"A deal?"

"Yes, that's right…"

I listened to Dania's words all the way through.

Drax as a rather large city, so it was divided into four zones: east, west, south, and north.

Each zone had a 'king' ruling over it, and in the west, that person had been Bram.

The kings of the north and east weren't much different from Bram.

But the southern king was special.

He was a merchant. Although he didn't possess great strength, he was an excellent merchant. He succeeded in attracting several merchant guilds to resource-poor Drax.

Thanks to him, Drax was able to sustain itself until now, and he became a king who confidently managed his zone.

With Bram dead, the person closest to the western throne was me.

If I didn't want to play the role of king, Dania suggested making a deal for that position altogether.

"Hmm…"

It wasn't a bad idea. If he was a merchant, he was likely to be greedy for the power and wealth Bram held.

If I could get comfortable support from him in exchange for the western king's position, there was no reason to refuse.

More importantly, I wouldn't have to worry about the headache of managing the city.

"It sounds like a good plan."

"But we need to show clear proof that we took care of Bram's forces."

"That's not difficult."

As proof that we caught Bram… Well, I could just take his head with me.

After all, it's been a tradition to take the head of the enemy's general to announce victory.

"It'll take quite a while on foot, but if we ride horses, we can get there within two hours. We can leave now if you'd like. What do you think?"

Ugh.

"Horses? I don't know how to ride a horse…"

I had never ridden a horse before, now or in the past.

I'd heard that your back aches terribly the first time you ride a horse…

"Haha… I know how to ride, so don't worry."

Reassuring me, she spoke confidently while looking at me.

Hmm. In that case…

"They say strike while the iron is hot. Let's head out right away?"

Off to take care of the western zone.

"I'm coming too!!"

A strong determination to never let them go alone.

When Lily heard our story, she begged us to take her along as well.

"No, Lily."

However, Dania firmly refused. Lily looked at me with a wounded expression.

"Hera, Unnie… Can't you take me too?"

Seeing the look in Lily's eyes softened my heart.

In the end, unable to resist Lily's plea, I tried to convince Dania.

"We have to ride horses, but neither you nor Lily know how to ride one. It's too dangerous."

It was an argument I couldn't refute.

The maximum capacity for one horse is two people. If Lily were to come along, there would be a chance she could fall off while we're galloping.

I looked at Lily and spoke calmly.

"There's nothing we can do, Lily. But we'll be back soon… Can you bear with it just this once?"

When I looked at her with a pleading gaze, Lily's face flushed slightly.

She mumbled to herself for a moment before finally deciding to take a step back.

"… A wish."

"Huh?"

"I'll wait, so… grant me one wish when you return."

Lily's request for me to grant her one wish.

Surely, it wouldn't be something like separating me from my sister, right?

It couldn't be. How could Lily, such an angelic child, ask for that?

"Alright. I promise I'll grant you whatever you wish for!"

I extended my pinky finger to Lily.

"You definitely promised to grant me anything…"

Lily said as she wrapped her finger around mine.

"To think I'd be competing with Lily…"

Dania seemed to mutter something from behind, but I didn't catch it.

***

We borrowed horses from the stable and started our journey south.

"Huff… Huff…"

"Hera, stay closer to me."

"B-but…"

At the moment, I was riding the horse with Dania. The position wasn't uncomfortable, but there was one big problem.

I was sitting with my back against Dania.

And from behind, I could feel a certain soft sensation pressing against my back.

That soft thing gently touching my back was surely Dania's chest.

"Your chest is… is pressing against my back, sister."

Dania tilted her head curiously as if she didn't understand.

"We're both women, so what does it matter? Come here."

"Haa…!"

She wrapped both her arms around my waist and pulled me firmly towards her.

The large pressure of two soft objects pressed against my back.

'This… this stimulation is too much!'

My face started heating up.

I thought that maybe a breeze would help cool me down, so I waited for the horse to start moving quickly.

"…?"

But Dania, still hugging me, didn't budge.

Could she be unwell? I thought I could hear her breathing heavily from behind.

"Sister?… Are you okay?"

"Sss—ha… Yes. I'm satisfied now. Let's head off."

With a soft whinny, the horse started galloping forward as Dania nudged it with her feet.

The refreshing wind began to hit my face.

"Wow… It feels nice, sister!"

"Haha… Does it?"

It was refreshing, yet somehow warm.

It was quite an experience.

***

In the dead of night.

The great Empire of Karaz. And within the deepest part of the empire lay the city of Einhart.

In that city, there was a massive mansion so large it could be mistaken for a castle.

A middle-aged man walking down one of the mansion's corridors suddenly stopped and opened a window, looking up at the sky.

As if on cue, a brown-feathered falcon swooped in an arc and flew through the open window.

Attached to the falcon's leg was a long piece of paper. After the man untied the paper, the falcon spread its wings again and flew back into the sky.

"The king of the West is dead… And the opponent was a girl?"

The man read the paper and began to ponder for a moment.

Then, with a snap of his fingers, the paper was burned away without a trace.

As if nothing had happened, the man continued walking down the corridor.

"It's an interesting event, but… there's no need to report it."

After all, the lord he served wasn't interested in such matters.