Because You’re Not the Chosen Hero.

Arnold’s eyes snapped open. He looked at Caro sleeping beside him—and honestly, wasn’t this the kind of scene that made your heart race?

Before going to sleep, the two sisters never showed up. Caro had already been exhausted, so she finally gave in to the fatigue in her body and went to bed.

Arnold had planned to sleep on the floor. But Caro told him to get on the bed, saying it was big enough anyway. As long as Arnold didn’t have those kinds of desires toward a loli’s body, there wouldn’t be any problem.

Could Arnold admit that?

Of course not.

So after calming himself down a little, he lay down on the bed too.

And then—nothing exciting happened at all. Caro fell asleep very quickly. She said nothing and did nothing. Every ambiguous little scenario Arnold had imagined, every possibly romantic development, none of it happened.

So he went to sleep too.

Come to think of it, this was the first time he had dreamed about the past.

About the time Cassipero expelled him.

Looking back on it now, he could more or less understand why Cassipero wanted to drive him away—the Demon King’s daughter... Humans shouldn’t show mercy to demonkind. Especially not when the other side was the Demon King’s daughter. But he had still held back. He had still let her go.

Letting someone like that escape could bring enormous harm to humanity. As a human, maybe he really didn’t deserve the title of “hero.” Being called a False Hero, being called a hypocrite, maybe that was only natural. In a way, he really had betrayed Cassipero... so honestly, it made sense.

Cassipero wanted to become humanity’s hero. She had also earned the title of Demon Hunter. With someone like him by her side—at this point, there was nothing to resent.

And yet, even if he said that, the pain in his heart didn’t disappear.

Back then, when he had asked Cassipero for the reason, this was how she answered.

“Because you’re not the Chosen Hero.”

Was it because of the night? Because it was the middle of the night, and he was more emotional than usual? Or because Caro was right beside him, making him feel at ease? He let his heart drift and traced back through his feelings.

“Who do you think I became an adventurer for?”

It was as if he were questioning Cassipero, and also himself.

“There shouldn’t have been a Dragon Slayer in this world to begin with.”

That was his answer.

...

“Because you’re not a hero.”

Late at night, Cassipero opened her eyes as well. She hadn’t had a proper night’s sleep in days. Ever since the moment she made Arnold leave—

the team had started falling apart.

Monsters and demons they used to defeat with ease now required every member of the party to fight with everything they had. The new member simply couldn’t meet the team’s needs. There were only so many people at Heroic Rank... and all the pressure had fallen onto Cassipero.

She was injured.

In truth, she had been injured a long time ago. Ever since the moment people started calling her the Demon Hunter—ever since she heard that Arnold had slain a dragon alone... she had charged into the Wind Demon clan by herself and killed their chief.

But she had suffered severe injuries. Her strength had declined. She was no longer as powerful as before... Even Arnold didn’t know about this. So she couldn’t force herself to carry the team the way Arnold had. In truth, her strength wasn’t that different from the others. She was only a little stronger. That was why the pressure on the team had become so overwhelming.

Was it jealousy? Or unwillingness to accept it? She harbored some ugly feeling toward Arnold. Why was he the one who could kill a dragon, bathe in dragon’s blood, and go even further, while she was the one left with injuries that would never fully heal, her strength nearly at its limit?

Every time she saw Arnold fighting, she felt pain.

She felt like she was suffocating.

And when Arnold let the Demon King’s daughter go, she was completely enraged.

Arnold had betrayed her.

He had betrayed the promise they made at the very beginning.

...

“Arnold, what do you want to do in the future?”

Back then, the girl holding the simplest wooden shortbow came to the fields and asked the boy who was digging with a hoe.

Arnold thought for a moment. “What do I want to do? I just want to farm the land well. Then maybe save up enough money to buy a decent house in town, get married, and live my life...”

“How boring!” The girl showed open disgust at the boy’s dull dream. “Come be an adventurer with me, Arnold. Once I choose my class, I’m definitely becoming an adventurer!”

Arnold scratched his head. “Are adventurers really that great? I think being a farmer sounds better. I heard really amazing farmers can grow food that ends up on the king’s table.”

“...Then you might as well pick swordsman and become a blacksmith.”

Arnold seriously considered it. “That’s actually not a bad choice. Being an adventurer doesn’t seem good at all, right? You could die really easily... I’m not that into it.”

“You call yourself a man?”

Arnold stopped swinging the hoe and looked at Cassipero very seriously.

“My mom told me a real man is someone willing to take responsibility for the people he likes, the people he cares about. Adventurer is a very irresponsible job—just like my dad.”

Cassipero fell silent.

Because Arnold’s father had become an adventurer.

And then died during an adventure.

And then...

“Why did you become an archer?”

Her mother’s voice was harsh as she questioned her.

“Didn’t I tell you to choose a class that could actually make a living? Why did you become an archer? What can an archer even do? We don’t have money to buy you a bow. We don’t have money to find you a teacher either!”

Arnold had chosen swordsman. He seemed to have some savings, and he went to apprentice at the blacksmith shop in town. Cassipero had known this would happen if she chose archer.

But she still wanted it...

The wooden shortbow she had made herself was snapped in half by her mother.

Sometimes, so-called dreams were really fragile.

And when she was hiding in a corner and crying,

Arnold appeared.

He handed her something—a real bow, and a quiver.

A short sword hung at his waist.

“Huh?”

Arnold smiled and rubbed Cassipero’s head.

“Didn’t you want to be an adventurer? Wasn’t it obvious Auntie would react like that? So, thank me. I made myself a short sword, and then I left all my savings with my master. I mean, uh, I don’t know if it’s enough, but anyway, use this bow for now. Once you get stronger and start making money, you can pay my master back for whatever’s missing.”

Back then, he had clearly reached out his hand to her.

Back then, he had clearly given her a dream.

Back then, he had clearly said:

“Your wish is my wish.”

So why—why did he betray her wish?

He was obviously so strong, so why wasn’t he the Chosen Hero? Slaying a dragon, bathing in dragon’s blood—this was the kind of story a Chosen Hero should have. If he were the Chosen Hero, then she could accept it. She could accept his great achievements. She could stand calmly at his side...

But he wasn’t.

He wasn’t the Chosen Hero. He shouldn’t have the magnanimity to want to save even his enemies. He shouldn’t have the kind of power that made everyone stand in awe. He was supposed to be that boy who only wanted an ordinary life...

So why wasn’t he the Chosen Hero?

Her thoughts were like a hurricane over the sea, sweeping wildly through her heart. They tore her heart to pieces. Ugly feelings and beautiful ones brewed together inside Cassipero. In the end, after a long silence, she came to a conclusion.

“We need to dismiss one more person.”

That was the most rational answer.

For their team, having no frontliner had already become a fatal problem. They weren’t like those other parties where everyone had high agility, or some extreme niche setup.

Their team’s strength was balance. And normally, a balanced team should have two frontliners. But Arnold had been so strong that they could focus more on damage output instead. That was why their team had four backliners. But now—a normal frontliner couldn’t hold the line long enough for them. The mage’s wide-area attacks couldn’t be given up. The priest’s healing and recovery were vital. She herself could replace Karin’s role.

Karin’s position was assassin, meant to cut down the enemy backline, but... Cassipero had enough damage herself. It wasn’t as if she absolutely couldn’t hit the backline. With long-range attacks...

Karin had to be replaced too. Replace her with two pure tanks. People who didn’t need to deal damage at all. People who only needed to stand at the front and hold the line.

That was the most rational way to think.

But... dismiss Karin too?

Did she even have the right to make that call? Would Karin agree? And what about the others... Who would they even find next? If they needed two frontliners, then they wouldn’t have to be that strong...

What was Arnold doing right now?

Demon Hunter Cassipero still couldn’t sleep tonight.

...

“!”

Caro was a terrible sleeper—Arnold realized that fact in an instant, because Caro suddenly wrapped herself around him in her sleep, clinging to him like an octopus.

It was like she had mistaken him for a pillow. The girl’s hot breath brushed against his face, and Arnold instantly fell into a state of intense agitation.

Her slender thigh rested across his waist. She pressed tightly against him and let out soft, vaguely suggestive, half-muddled sounds.

Was she dreaming?

What was she dreaming about?

But, but—

This was amazing!

Thank goodness he’d shamelessly tried to keep Caro here tonight. And should he thank Cassipero too? Because dreaming about her had woken him up, which was why he could enjoy this bonus from Caro while fully conscious.

No, no, no. Normally, if Caro hugged him like this, he definitely would’ve woken up anyway.

This was bad, bad, bad!

She smelled so good! Seriously, why did Caro smell this good? He hadn’t seen her use any perfume or anything like that, but there was still this inexplicable fragrance around her.

He gently moved his hand and placed it on Caro’s thigh.

So smooth!

The shocking sensation made him pull his hand back in fear.

He was afraid of waking Caro up.

At this rate, he probably wasn’t sleeping tonight.