On my way back to the inn.
As I walked along the night road lit by magical street lamps, I met an unexpected person on the way.

'Hey, Will. Have you had a chance to talk to your parents yet?'

'...... Irene. Why are you here?

Under the stars at night, waiting for me on the side of the road was, of all people, the princess of this country.

She's one of the best swordsmen in the country, so perhaps it's not appropriate for her to be so careless without an escort.

But even so, it's the middle of the night.
What would a girl of her age be thinking, standing alone in the street at night?

Eileen appears at the end of my path, standing in the middle of the street, smiling at me.

'I heard that Will was going to talk to your parents tonight,' she said. I was so curious about the outcome that I snuck out of the castle.

'...... You're as free as ever, you know. I can't imagine the footwork of a princess.'

'Is that a compliment?

'No, this time it's a compliment.'

'Tsk. Oh well.'

I walked past Irene, and she followed me.

Just the two of us on the street at night.
It reminds me of when we were kids.

Only back then, it was always Irene who walked ahead of me.
Now... from behind me, Irene asks me.

'How was the talk with your parents?

'Well, I don't know. I think it went as well as could be hoped for.'

'Really? That's good. So, have you and Mr. James made up?

'I'm not sure I'd call it reconciliation, it sounds like a child's quarrel. But yes, I think the broken relationship has been restored to the way it should be.'

'Yes. I'm really glad to hear that.

Reconciliation... I remember that my mother, Felicia, used the same word.
From their point of view, that may have been the story.

For a while after that, Irene and I walked in silence through the night.
It was not far to the inn, and Irene ended up following us all the way there.

When we reached the inn, Irene called out to me again.

'Hey, Will. Can I come with you to the ......?

'You mean, follow you into the inn?

'Uh, ...... well, that's it for now.'

'......? I don't mind.

I went through the door of the inn, questioning the slightly slurred reply.
Irene followed me.

When I passed through the door, I found myself in a bustling tavern.
This inn, like many others, is both a tavern and an inn on the first and second floors.

In the tavern, there was a lot of revelry going on at tables here and there, suggesting that the place was thriving.

'Oh, Will, you're back! You too, Princess, come here!

From one of the tables at the end of the tavern, a slightly red-faced Satsuki raised her hand and called us.
Of course, Mee and Cyril were at that table, drinking with us.

However, they don't seem surprised that Irene is with us. .......
I'm not sure if they've been told about it beforehand.

I went with Irene to the table where they were.
At a round table for four, Cyril brought a chair from nearby and made a seat for five people.

'Oh, it's the hero's return!

''Isn't that Princess Irene next to you?

'Hey, hey, what's going on?

There were murmurs from all over the tavern, and at the same time, all eyes in the tavern were focused on us.

When Irene and I took our seats with Satsuki and the others, our table became the target of the curious eyes of the entire bar.

The title of hero.
One man surrounded by four beautiful girls, and even the princess of this country among them.
It would be strange not to attract attention.

In other words, it was inevitable... but to be honest, I didn't feel comfortable.

'What do you think, William? How does it feel to be the undisputed hero?'

Cyril chuckles and makes fun of me.
She seems to be drunk as well, and there's a slight blush on her cheeks.

'...... No, this is different. It's more a product of my performance than my ability.'

'I don't understand. Even the greatest heroes in the world may have been feted in this way.

'Well, ......, it's possible.

The hero image I admire is not like that.
Such childish thoughts come out of my heart, but this may be my childishness.

'Well, well, who cares about heroes? Will is Will.'

'Yes, sir. But William and the others are here, so we'll drink again.

Satsuki and Mee said, and ordered more drinks and snacks from the waitress.
It's a bit of a big deal, probably because they've earned a lot of money from this quest.

...... But in this atmosphere, it's hard to say what I was going to tell Satsuki and the others.

You can easily imagine that if you do that, you will not be able to say anything at all.

You can't be lax about the atmosphere.
If I miss this opportunity now, I'll become a man who can't say what he needs to say... I feel that way.

I've made up my mind.
I take a deep breath.

'Satsuki, Mee, Cyril... there's something I want to tell you.

When I said this in a serious voice, the three girls tilted their heads, 'Hmm? I said in a serious voice, and the three girls nodded their heads.

The atmosphere was inappropriate.
There was no mood at all.

I've heard that women value the mood very much.
Given that, I'm not sure if we should do this some other time.

But... I can't.
I cut off my hesitation and said to my three fellow adventurers.

'Satsuki, Mee, Cyril. I love you guys. I love you. So... please keep up the good work.



When I said that, the three of them froze in place.
They looked at me as if they had been petrified by a cockatrice's gaze.

Next to me, Irene put her hand on her forehead as she said, 'Oh no ......'.

And after a moment...

'''Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

The cries of the three girls echoed throughout the tavern.

Later, I heard from them, 'Isn't it impossible to propose to all three of you at once? or, 'No matter what, in a bar like that. But it's William, so it can't be helped,' and so on, for the rest of my life.

But that's also my...
I felt that it might not be so bad if I thought of it as one of our stories.



Would it be so strange for me to start being an adventurer after graduating first in my class at the Academy of Magic?

If I were to convey my current thoughts to the person who was thinking like that back then, they would be this.

I don't care if you say I'm crazy.
Do what you want.

Because this is my life... my life that I've decided to lead.