Today's drill is over!
I hurry to finish cleaning up as I head to my all-time routine.

'Rocco?'　Are you going to go to him again?

I nodded my head coyly as Laurent spoke to me.
Paul then propped his proud shield against the wall and asked me.

'You're quite keen. Do you like it that much?'
Yes.

I love it.
Yeah, I like it. I love it.
This is great. It's good-looking, it's cute.

"Is Roland on a date with his wife?
'Yes. My wife and I were thinking of going to King's Landing for some sweets.
Love you guys. I'm going to have to deal with the kids today. We're supposed to train them.
You look happy, Paul, don't you?

Both Laurent and Paul are married.
Laurent is still a newlywed and Paul has twin children.
But I'm not married yet and I don't have a girlfriend.
I don't know because I've never had one, but I'm terribly jealous of the two of them.

As I've said many times, I think he's the right man for the job, too.
Yeah. I don't mind him.
....

Laurent and Paul both chuckle at me as if they are watching something funny.
Of course I intend to do that too, but it's a bit embarrassing when others say it.

''Well I'm off.
Yeah, have a good day, okay?
Have a good day.
Yes.

He looked up at the sky and felt the hot sunshine and thought about buying a water bottle before he went today, and his legs seemed to rush him to hurry as fast as his heart was beating.


We reach our destination.
An open place in the woods that is sometimes tucked away in the middle of the woods.
There was the man he was looking for, as usual.
........or rather, I knew he was there because I had heard a loud voice a long time ago.

From a distance, I could see that he was concentrating on me.
His eyes were closed and he didn't move a single muscle with his weapon at the ready.
There were three, no, five demons that were trying to attack him.
A 'Forest Wolf' that specializes in coordination.
Demons are not supposed to have thinking heads, but forest wolves hunt in groups.
It's one of the wonders that researchers in the kingdom have been studying the mysterious behavior of such demons, but it's one of the wonders that has yet to be solved.

The Forest Wolf lowers itself once and pounces on them all at once.
Dangerous I don't think........
I was surprised to see him the first time I saw him, but his technique is so beautiful that it's mesmerizing to watch.

A few knives between his fingers.
When they are released, they pierce into Forest Wolf's brow without an inch, as if they were sucked in, and then go straight through.
And all the knives that went through were lined up vertically straight on one tree.

Falling with a thud, Forest Wolf takes out the magic stone and fizzles out and disappears.
He places the dropped fangs into a large bag on the ground and retrieves the knives that are lined up in a straight line.
I take a step forward as I see him wipe up the blood that has arrived with a cloth before tucking it into his cloak.

''...Good morning. Gonza.
'Rocco, Mr. Rocco. You're back again, aren't you?
Yeah. Here we go again.
''I've said many times that I'm not that good at this, right?
I don't think so.

He showed his abilities admirably in the last competition.
That's why Laurent and Paul approved of him.
I invited him to join the 'guardians' after the tournament, but he refused, just like before.

''Well you're happy with the invitation.

That girl he was referring to would be that girl from the cat race who had defeated him in the tournament.
That girl who fought the Knight Commander........
That fight to the death was so vivid that it was fresh in his memory.
The girl who followed the knight commander's true intentions at that age.
His goal is to strike a blow to that girl, which is a long way off if he's going to be honest and make it a goal.

'I see...'
....
Hey, why don't we take a break?

My mind boggles just a little bit when he talks about that girl.
So I took out the water bottle I had brought with me and suggested he take a break.
He must have been hunting for a long time, because his shirt is changing color from sweat.
It's a little hot today, so it's important to stay hydrated.

"Don't push it," he said. You'll be more efficient if you rest in moderation.
...you understand. Get some rest.
Yeah. That's good. Okay. Then sit down, sit down.

When I try to sit down in the center, he grabs my arm and makes me stand up.
He then takes a large handkerchief out of his pocket and lays it on the ground.

''Well you're going to get dirty if you sit on it.
Yeah. Thank you.

His gentlemanly behavior makes my cheeks loosen up a bit.
After thanking him and placing it on the handkerchief he laid on my bottom, I open my water bottle and hand him the contents in a cup.

'Today it's a fruit water mix of peaches and sortilemonia. The salt and sugar make me feel energetic.'
Hey, thanks for everything.
Don't worry about it. It's just something I like doing.

She held it firmly in both hands to prevent it from falling off and handed it to him.
He held the handle tightly and took it to his mouth.
He's cute as he drinks it delicious.
And his chubby tummy is cute, too.

'Poopy-poopy.'
'Ha, you don't want me to touch you because you're embarrassed...'
Why?　I think it's cute.
Only Mr. Rocco would say something like that...

I don't think so.
Gonza's big belly is cute.
A much bigger Gonza than me.....
I have a dream to ride on top of Gonza.

"How are you doing?
'Well, so-so, I guess. But you've still got a long way to go.

He looks up at the sky and looks far ahead.
He's a cool guy with high aspirations and a goal to work towards.
I had known him before the tournament.


It was really just a coincidence that I saw him.
I was alone in this forest deep in the woods, going to pick up some berries and bringing them back to him, eating the desired berries.
He had just escaped from a large rock bear.
A rock bear with its outer skin covered by a rock.
Although his knife was strengthened, it still didn't come close to shattering its hard epidermis.

As it should be, Rock Bear is the strongest demon in this forest.
They are few in number, but if you encounter them, they will either run away or be killed.
I tried to help him.
But his eyes didn't do anything to call for help.
As he ran away, he threw several knives simultaneously, and surprisingly took him down, adjusting all the knives so that they all pierced Rockbear's forehead at the same time.

I was mesmerized by the feat.
It was beautiful, and my body shuddered.
As I stood there in a daze, he noticed me.

'You're in danger!'

He screams and throws several knives at me at the same time.
Attacked?
Wrong. When I turned around, I saw another rock bear there.
And the knife that was thrown from behind me, avoiding me, struck the rock bear in the forehead as it came from behind.

In front of me, three more steps would have been enough for its claws to reach me.
If I could notice it, I could deal with it from that distance.
But I couldn't notice Rockbear's approach.

''So, it's okay!　You're not hurt, are you?'

A man as big as a bear, approaching me with concern.
A bear, bigger than me and taller than me.

'So, you're okay?'
"Yeah. I'm good. Thank you for helping me.

A gentle bear who looked worried when he saw me not speaking.
That was the first impression I had of him.

Since then, it had become my daily routine to go into this forest several times to look for him.
After visiting several times, conversing with him, and hearing about the circumstances of his efforts, I was indignant.
I was indignant that such men were in the same Order, and then I was in tears.

Me, Laurent, and Paul are now called 'guardians' or something like that, but not long ago we were all fallible members of the Order.
I'm a half-baked wizard who can only use water magic.
Even if my level is low, I'm a dropout who can't use magic of other attributes such as fire and wind.
Laurent and Paul also had their own problems.

When we formed a team and served as a lord and successfully missed our allies and we too survived, the reputation of those around us quickly changed.
The king also gave us the title of 'guardian' and we were happy to be able to protect someone else.
More and more people talked to me.
But I wasn't happy at all when I was invited to dinner by people who had made fun of me in the past.

The reason I am a 'guardian' is not because they are important to me.
It's because the people they will eventually protect are important to me.
I believe that if I save one of them, they will save two of my people, so I will continue to be a 'guardian'.
Even though I know that we will eventually die on the battlefield.

I invited him to the tournament.
I was confident that he would do well in the current situation.
Fortunately, he has a recommendation slot as a guardian.
He was willing to talk to me to test his skills.

That evening, I spoke to Laurent and Paul.
They said two words and gave me permission.
And.

"Spring has finally come to Rocco...
'Yes. I kind of feel like my daughter is going to be a bride.
'I see, this is what it feels like to have a daughter as a bride......... I hope we'll have a boy........'
''We have........one daughter........ ''We've had enough of this kind of mood for one time...''

I was teased.
It's not like that.
I just want a lot of people to see his dedication.
He just wanted a lot of people to recognize him for his continued efforts and his strength to the point of beauty.

''I hate you both.''
'Liar, liar, liar!　It's a joke!''
'Yes, that's right!　See, we're going to be in the tournament too, so we can't mess with the teamwork.'

Then don't make fun of me.
Besides, he doesn't deserve a dick like me.
He has a big body and I'm sure he'd prefer a nicer bodied woman.
Thinking about that, I felt a little sad for some reason.


'Yes. We don't know when we're going to die. I tell my wife every day that I love her, too.'
"Paul...Laurent...?

I didn't know at the time what they were talking about.
But when I saw his heroics at the convention and heard the applause so many people gave him, I was as happy as I could be.
I wanted to give him a pep talk, too, so I couldn't stand still and went over to him when he returned to the waiting room.
Then I saw that he was crying.
He was crying because he was happy and frustrated.

Seeing him, I gently approached him and hugged him tightly.
He noticed my presence and pressed his face to my small, modest chest and continued to cry quietly.
And I found myself loving him.

Another day, when I met him alone in the woods, I told him all about my feelings.

'Hey, me. I'd like you to go out with me.'
''Yes..... ........eh?　'What?'
Did you just say "Come in"?
'No, you're not!　What, Mr. Rocco?
No?
'It's not that I'm no good or anything but I'm still not good enough for you, Rocco...'

It's not.
He's disproportionately good looking to me.
His straightforward stance can make a lot of people shake their heads.
So if anyone is unworthy, it's me.

''So........you want me to go out with you when I become more confident in myself.......''

Gonza was embarrassed, but he put it firmly into words.
I nodded, tears streaming down my face as I heard his words.

I missed it, but it was recent.
So I will tell him how I feel today too.

'I love you.'

Whenever I told him how I felt, he would get embarrassed and turn red in the face.

You like it.''

Gonza answers me shyly, but firmly.
I am happy and hug him.
He suddenly collapses and I end up on his stomach.

Oddly enough, my dream of riding on top of him has already come true, and I can't even remember how many times I've dreamed of it.