I stepped closer, reaching out instinctively, my hand gently cupping her cheek. Her skin was soft, like moonlight-warmed silk. "Angry? Alna-san," I said, my voice filled with all the noble reassurance a hero could muster. "How could I possibly be angry? You... you did all this... for me!"
Her eyes widened for a fraction of a second, and she flinched, pulling her head back slightly from my touch. Ah, of course! She was shy! So delicate! So easily flustered by the intensity of a hero's gaze and gentle touch! A true maiden! It only made her more enchanting!
Alna-san lowered her gaze again, that faint, adorable blush returning to her cheeks. She twisted her hands together, looking incredibly bashful. "Motoyasu-san... do you... do you like me?" she whispered, the question barely audible.
Did I like her?! Was the moon not in the sky? Was the water not wet? Of course I liked her! More than liked her! A maiden as beautiful, as dedicated, as... as strategically brilliant as she was!
"Like you, Alna-san?" I said, puffing my chest out again, projecting the full force of my heroic charm. "Of course I like you! You are magnificent! A true heroine in spirit, even before the Waves begin!"
She looked up at that, searching my face. "But... I thought... I thought Motoyasu-san liked Myne-san?"
Myne? That little firecracker? Oh, she was pretty, yes, in a loud sort of way, and she clearly admired me (as all women of taste did), but... Myne wasn't Alna-san! Myne hadn't orchestrated a grand romantic drama involving a villainous Shield Hero just to be by my side!
"Myne?" I laughed, a light, dismissive sound. "Alna-san, you misunderstand! While Myne-san is a valued party member, and she clearly looks up to me, my heroic heart was... was captivated by you from the moment I first truly saw you. The way you stood up to that Naofumi... the fire in your eyes... It was... it was breathtaking!"
Alna-san seemed to relax slightly at my words, though her expression remained serious. She took a deep breath. "Motoyasu-san... if... if that is true... if you... if you truly prefer me... then... then you have to remove Myne-san from your party."
My heroic posture stiffened slightly. Remove Myne-san? But... she was the princess! And she was Myne-san!
"Remove her?" I asked, a flicker of confusion crossing my face. "Alna-san... do you... do you not trust me?"
"I trust you, Motoyasu-san," she said, her voice firm now, her gaze steady and intense. "Absolutely. You are a true hero! But... I do not trust Myne-san."
She leaned closer, her voice dropping to a confessional whisper that sent shivers down my spine – shivers of intrigue, not fear, because heroes were fearless! "Motoyasu-san... when... when Myne-san was in the Shield Hero's party... I saw things. I... I saw her try to... to seduce him."
My heroic brain utterly short-circuited. Myne-san? Seduce? That lowlife Naofumi? The very thought was preposterous! Unbelievable! Myne-san was devoted to me! Everyone knew that!
"Seduce?" I scoffed, though a tiny, unsettling worm of doubt began to squirm in the back of my mind. Alna-san sounded so certain... "But... why would Myne-san do that? She... she is in my party! She looks up to me!"
"I don't know why," Alna-san insisted, her eyes wide and earnest. "It... it makes no sense to me either! She... she is a princess! Why would she lower herself... for him?" She shuddered delicately, as if the very idea was repulsive. "But I saw it, Motoyasu-san! And... and I believe... that it is why the Shield Hero... removed her from his party. He... he saw her true nature. And he... he wanted nothing to do with it."
She spoke with such conviction, such a heartbreaking mix of disbelief and certainty. It was... it was difficult not to believe a maiden as beautiful and seemingly sincere as Alna-san! If she said Myne-san, the princess, tried to seduce that lowlife Naofumi... then... then perhaps Myne-san wasn't the pure maiden I thought she was? The worm of doubt grew, wriggling uncomfortably.
"I... I still can't believe it," I mumbled, though my heroic resolve was wavering under the weight of Alna-san's revelation.
"Motoyasu-san," Alna-san said, reaching out and gently taking my hand, her touch sending another jolt through me. "I know it is difficult. I... I could not believe it either! But... but you are too precious! I... I cannot leave even the slightest possibility that someone... someone disloyal... someone who would even consider lowering herself for him..." She squeezed my hand, her gaze intense. "...is by your side."
She leaned closer, her voice dropping again, becoming a conspiratorial whisper that was for my ears only. "And... and Motoyasu-san... Myne-san is a princess. She... she is important. If... if something were to happen to her... while she is in your party... if she were to get injured... or worse... Motoyasu-san... you would be held responsible! The kingdom... the King... they would punish you!"
A cold wave washed over me. Punishment? For a hero? The very idea was anathema! And getting injured... or worse... Yes, Myne-san was a bit reckless sometimes! And she was important! If she got hurt while I was responsible for her... Alna-san was right! This was a genuine heroic danger!
"I... I could not bear it, Motoyasu-san," Alna-san continued, her voice trembling with feigned emotion. "To see the hero who saved me... punished... because of someone... someone like that!"
Her concern for me, her genuine fear for my heroic well-being, was overwhelming! She wasn't just a beautiful maiden; she was a wise, caring companion! She saw the dangers I, in my heroic focus, might overlook!
"You... you are right, Alna-san!" I declared, my mind made up. Myne-san was a liability! A potential stain on my heroic record! And she had dared to potentially try to seduce that lowlife Shield Hero! Unforgivable! "I... I will remove her from my party! Immediately! It is... it is the heroic thing to do! To protect myself... and my party... from potential disloyalty... and... and potential punishment!"
Alna-san's eyes widened, and a slow, radiant smile spread across her face. It was a smile of pure, unadulterated gratitude, a smile that banished the moonlight and illuminated the entire balcony! It was the most beautiful, the most precious, smile I had ever seen!
"Motoyasu-san," she whispered, her voice filled with heartfelt emotion. "Thank you. Thank you so much! You... you truly are a hero!"
Hearing those words, seeing that smile, made every moment of the day, every awkward encounter with that Shield Hero, every bit of feigned performance... worth it! I had saved a maiden, gained a loyal, beautiful companion, and protected my heroic reputation all in one night!
Alna-san looked at me for another long moment, that breathtaking smile still gracing her lips. Then, with a soft sigh that sounded like contentment, she turned.
"I... I should return to my room now, Motoyasu-san," she said softly. "It is getting late."
"Of course, Alna-san," I replied, projecting my most heroic, understanding aura. "Rest well! Dream of glorious adventures with your hero!"
She nodded, a final, lingering look, then turned and walked towards the balcony door. I watched her go, her form silhouetted against the inn's lit hallway, the image of that precious smile burned into my memory.
Yes. This was it. This was the true start of my heroic legend! With Alna-san by my side, a beautiful, loyal, utterly devoted maiden I had rescued from that villain Shield Hero, there was nothing I couldn't accomplish! And that lowlife Naofumi? He was already fading into irrelevance, just a minor obstacle overcome on my glorious path to true heroism!