CH 2

Translator: Lore_Temple

You have to do work to eat and live.

Especially if you live in a poor village.

Therefore, there was no one present in the inn in the early morning, except for some lodgers and the innkeeper.

The empty hall on the first floor.

Two beautiful women were seated, with their faces looking low-spirited.

“Sigh, what’s happening for real?”

The blonde beauty with a warm impression sighed.

The owner of those beautiful emerald green eyes, her name, Ophelia.

She is the Saint Candidates of a Church that believes in the teachings of Goddess Iris, and she is also a woman with a broad and warm heart.

“That’s what he said. What happened to him all of a sudden?”

The woman with the name Eri shook her head with puzzlement etched on her face.

Characterized by her sheep black hair, she is both an outstanding wizard and the second daughter of the Duke of the Kingdom of Prona.

She couldn’t understand the changed mindset of the Hero. Cloud is a person who has sincerity embedded deep in his bones. He was always the last one to go to bed and always the first one to get up.

However, something seems to have incongruously changed in him, to become so lazy that now he doesn’t get up from the bed.

Thanks to this, the party was unable to leave the village for several days.

-cluck, cluck.

At the sound of footsteps descending the stairs, Ophelia and Eri’s heads turned in expectation. The inkling of that little bit of anticipation disappeared when they saw the woman who had come down alone.

“Still no?”

The three women all sighed together.

The woman with short and dark navy blue hair and eyes nodded her head with a guilt-ridden expression.

“If he don’t even listen to you, there’s really nothing we can do…”

Eri shrugged her shoulders with hopes laid off.

This is because the woman who went to wake up Cloud is none other than his cherished childhood friend.

Cloud used to always listen to his childhood friend Neria.

But now he even shunned her and continued to lay on the bed.

This means he has already made up his mind.

“What’s the reason for this?”

“…That… does the Hero knows?”

“No way. You all know how dull Cloud is, right?”

“Eri, nothing is absolute in this world.”

“That’s but…”

Eri’s mouth closed.

A social banquet is to be held in the Imperial Capital next month.

And there, the three women are supposed to move to another Hero’s Party.

If the Hero knew about it… it made sense with what he is doing now.

“…even if he knows that doesn’t change anything.”

“That’s right, but…”

“Okay then. Let’s just leave it be. Cloud will want it too.”

“I guess, haa.”

But it won’t change the fact that they were changing the Parties.

Only because Cloud was an incompetent Hero.

A month has passed since I took possession of this weak body. Unlike how I thought, these heroines, who were annoying to no end for the first few days, gave up for some reason soon after…

“Hero. We must be moving today.”

The Saint Candidate who likes exposure play spoke to me.

Wow, just look at that slit right from her chest and that side slit. Do such big breasts and ass even exist? The fact that I was inside an adult game hit me once again.

Hahaha.

Damn, but how did she even became a Saint Candidate?

A succubus is all I see.

Ignoring her as usual, I kept on chewing my bread, she sighed as if she had already predicted.

“If we don’t move today, we will be late for the Imperial Social Banquet… Since the Hero won’t go, we also have no choice but to go alone.”

“The Imperial Social Banquet?”

Oh, that event?

The Imperial Social Banquet, a get-together event held at the capital of the Empire, which is also the center of the continent, and is famously known for gathering all kinds of celebrities and for also being a great place to make quality friends.

Of course, the other Heroes will be present there as well.

Whenever Cloud goes there, he will often face all kinds of maltreatment and persecution because of his commoner background and humble ability.

But for me right now, that wasn’t least important.

‘If it’s the food of the Imperial Capital, wouldn’t it taste very good?’

I had enough of these bread and soup continuations.

Now I can’t even look at the face of the soup that gave off a chicken smell.

The hell is this world.

It’s obviously a different world from my old one, but the food is still the same.

Still, if it’s the Empire that is located in the center of the continent, the level of cooking must be higher.

And if it’s an imperial banquet, any simple dish there, sprinkled with some spices will definitely be a hundred times better than this bland soup.

Um~

“Yes, Hero. If we don’t leave right away…”

“Let’s go.”

“Time is… yes?”

As if she didn’t expect my answer, Ophelia blankly widened her eyes. I didn’t really care, because I was totally ready now.

“Let’s go, to the Empire.”

I packed whatever measly possessions I had and passed Ophelia who blankly stared at my figure as I walked down the stairs.

As I walked down the stairs, the tsundere Eri and my childhood friend Neria who were absent-mindedly sitting at the table looked at me in shock.

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“Ah, did you come down to eat? No, the innkeeper surely delivered your meal?”

Eri and Neria alternately looked at me and Olivia in confusion.

“He said he would also go to the Imperial Social Banquet. Let’s go.”

They both blankly stared at me with shock in their eyes, just like Ophelia who had hurried out to answer from behind me.

Now you can’t wish kindness and merriment from a kidnapped person like me, can you? But I’m also not a total shut-in, okay?

Even a shut-in otaku goes out to buy hamburgers, right?

Oi, oi. Don’t look at me with those eyes, haah, yeah honestly that kinda hurts.

Whatever, I just left the two of them alone and got out of the inn. Ophelia and the two girls looked at each other and hurriedly followed me from behind.

“What happened? You adamantly kept yourself locked up in your room for a whole month, so, why did you suddenly change your mind?”

Eri crossed her arms, characteristic of being a tsundere, she spoke in a cheeky manner.

Surprisingly, none of that looked cute to me.

“Are we going by foot? Isn’t there something like a carriage here?”

“How can there be something like a carriage in a village like this?”

“No way, are you thinking of travelling by foot then?”

“No, you two don’t have to worry about that. I heard that there are some horses in this village. We can borrow them.”

Neria shook her head and reassured.

“Really? Then let’s go there. Guide me.”

“..I get it.”

With a bitter expression on her face, she turned her back and started leading. As I was walking after her, someone nudged me from the side. When I looked back, Eri was looking at me with a dissatisfied expression.

“Why are you talking like that? You can speak a little more kindly to her.”

Of course I ignored her, again.

So we kept walking in silence for a while and soon arrived at the stable.

Though I repetitively ignored her, Eri kept staring at my face for a while, then sighed away and looked down, I was left wondering if she was annoyed with the poor grass buddies.

“Ah, respected warriors, any need for this humble self?”

The owner of the stable who spotted us approached with a smile.

“We want to borrow some horses, we would like to use them to get to the nearest city.”

Neria came forward to handle the conversation.

“If it’s to the nearest city… it won’t be too far. How many are you planning to rent?”

“Three, please.”

Three?

Ah, it seems there is one of us who doesn’t know horse riding. Probably Eri or Ophelia. One is a wizard and another a nun, so they might be unable to ride horses.

I decided to understand with an open mind and looked at the horses in the stable.

‘That white horse seems to be in the best condition from this bunch.’

It’s not a city, but a rural village in a countryside area. But the horses still look quite well kept.

Still, this one is better for me.

I put one foot on the stirrup and got on the horse with one jump.

– Neigh! Neighhhgh!

As a suddenly stranger got on his back, it neighed with its front hooves raised in the air with frenzied agitation.

“Woah, woah, good boy.”

I lightly stroked his mane and reassured him.

Only then the hysterical guy soon calmed down, as if he had never been agitated before. I lightly stroked the horse’s back and waited for the other party members to follow.

However, no matter how much I waited, none of the three showed any signs of mounting a horse.

“What are you all doing? Let’s get going.”

“Um… Cloud, I can’t ride if you sit there.”

Neria smiled awkwardly and scratched her cheek.

“…you’re a knight… you don’t know how to ride a horse?”

A knight who can’t ride a horse?

Oh man, this worldview, freaking insane.

“What nonsense? Of course, she can. You have to come down so that Neria can handle the horse.”

Oh, so it’s Cloud who can’t ride h….

Wait what? …just wait for a moment—what kind of bullshit is that?

“..Eri, Ophelia, do you two know how to ride a horse?”

“Of course I do.”

“Yes, I know, but… Why do you ask this, Hero?”

Two people naturally nodded their heads.

…so that’s what they meant? Uh.

Cloud didn’t know how to ride a horse, so he always used to ride with Neria, behind her?

In front of this backasswards reality, I couldn’t stop kneading my forehead.

A Hero can’t ride a horse?

A freaking Hero?

Under which kind of sun were you born, dude?

“But now I know how to ride.”

“…What?”

“Now I know how to ride a horse.”

“No, what are you talking about again?”

I lightly patted the horse on the back. Then the horse slowly began to trot forward.

“Ang?!”

“Uh…?”

“…This…?”

The three heroines were very surprised even though I just showed them a simple capability to ride a damn horse. So in meanwhile, I also showed them some horseback riding tricks that only some experienced teaching assistants can do.

Result—

“What is happening…”

Neria was astonished as she looked back with a stiff face.

“I can’t believe it…” Eri kept muttering as if possessed.

“Oh benevolent Goddess…”

Ophelia knelt down to her knees, covering her mouth with her hands.

There was nothing I could do but laugh at this absurd situation.

Haha, Cloud, you damn punk. Just what were you?