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After having a talk with the gentleman whose identity was uncertain—whether he was Lucius or Arthur,

I gathered my party in one place and declared.

“Master, where’s Lucius?”

“He’s still out there. He seems a bit embarrassed to speak.”

“What?”

“I thought it would be better for Lucius to talk about this himself, regarding the names Lucius and Arthur. But since he’s shy, I’ll speak on his behalf.”

“You’re saying this…?”

“Why? Do you have a complaint?”

If asked if I’m a spokesperson for the Hero,

I can only admit that, currently, that seems to be the case.

“Since Lucius feels embarrassed to speak for himself, I’m saying I’ll talk instead. Lucius agreed with this.”

“Lucius…”

Rosmas, Droniel, and Yan all took turns glancing at Lucius and me.

What in the world could be troubling Lucius about the name ‘Lucius’ so much?

“Lucius is feeling an identity crisis between his past as the young hunter Arthur and his current self as Hero Lucius.”

“Identity…crisis?”

“Yes. Uncertainty about himself. That’s complicating Lucius right now. I share some responsibility for this.”

I bowed my head to my party.

“I’m sorry. I may have pressured Lucius too much to fulfill his duties as a Hero.”

“No, it’s fine, Witch!”

“I wished for Lucius to be a Hero. But even though it has been some time since we started our journey, Lucius still has remnants of his past.”

“Remnants of the past, you say…?”

“When Lucius was Arthur.”

For reference,

everything I’m saying right now is a lie.

—Master, I still don’t understand. I should get used to being called Lucius, but it isn’t easy.

—So it’s okay to unify the name to Lucius then?

—…For now, yes.

Lucius allowed himself to be called Lucius.

To be precise, the other party members permitted calling him ‘Lucius.’

—So you can’t say why you dislike being called Lucius by others?

—That’s correct.

—You can’t say that to anyone else either?

—…Even more so.

Sigh. Fine. If you insist, there’s nothing I can do.

I still don’t understand why he feels awkward about hearing the name Lucius.

—Anyway, it’s fine for me to call him Lucius, and he’s okay with others calling him Lucius too?

—Yes.

—You can’t say the reason, so just accept it, right?

—…I’m sorry. That’s all I can say.

—It’s okay. It’s nothing new for Heroes to have such things happen.

But the situation of Heroes saying, “I can’t say it, but there’s a reason, so please understand,” is something I’ve experienced far too often, so it doesn’t surprise me.

Sometimes Heroes speak unreasonably.

And it’s my role as the professional troubleshooter in the Hero party to handle that.

“Lucius is currently confused in many ways.”

“Confused…?”

“Yes. The self he was as Arthur and the self he is as Lucius.”

The confusion of identity tied to names.

“That’s a lie.”

It’s merely an excuse I concocted to remove Lucius’s troublesome situation.

“Lucius is still a rookie Hero. But since he decided to step up as a Hero, he’s tried to act as Lucius, reassuring himself repeatedly. But it seems that burdened him a bit.”

“…What about being called Arthur?”

It started with Rosmas.

With a gloomy look, she pressed me.

“Why did you make me call him Arthur only?”

“That’s because of your purity.”

“…Huh?”

The shadow that clouded Rosmas’s eyes slowly disappeared.

“Rosmas, when we arrived at Normans, it was just you and me in the party, right?”

“Yes, yes.”

“At that time, I was forcing him to be Hero Lucius. I was wearing a bright smile due to my duties as a Hero, yet I didn’t know I was hiding it. That’s when I met you.”

I patted Rosmas on the shoulder.

“She’s the first woman I saved myself. Though I used the power of a Hero, she’s the purest woman. By saving you, Lucius had a moment to reflect on who he was as Arthur, thinking back to simpler times.”

“Such…”

“…….”

Droniel pouted her lips in dissatisfaction, but Yan muttered, “I encountered him too…” However, the top priority right now is Rosmas.

Lucius said, right? To call him Arthur. It was because he wanted you to remember him as Arthur.

“Arthur…Lucius?”

“Every time you called him Arthur, it allowed him to recall the time he spent in the village. That must have been a great source of strength for him. It’s undoubtedly tragic that all the villagers perished, but the memories of the village still reside within the name Arthur.”

“Ah…”

Rosmas covered her face with her hands.

“Just by calling his name, Arthur….”

“Right. He could recall a comfortable and happy version of himself that wasn’t Hero Lucius. That was the point ‘before’ he started to shine in Normans.”

I then extended my hand from Rosmas to Droniel.

“But as he flourished in Normans and met other Heroes, he grew. Things changed. The village youth Arthur entered his memories, while now, as a proper Hero Lucius, he was expected to transcend that. The one who showed up was….”

“…Me.”

Droniel.

A woman who knows the time when Lucius was Arthur.

“He had finally gathered the will to live as Hero Lucius, only for the emergence of Droniel to slightly shake those thoughts. You understand, right? You also kept your identity as Droniel hidden.”

“…I understand, but.”

“You figured that out well enough. I don’t think we need to speak more on that.”

The present uncertainty isn’t Droniel.

There are still matters I need to settle with Droniel, and I’ll have to soothe her separately later.

“I’m not particularly blaming you. If anyone should be blamed, it should be Lucius for being confused knowing you were alive—”

“Lucius did nothing wrong! Ah, I mean Arthur….”

“It’s okay. I understand. And… everyone, from now on, call him Lucius.”

I gave a thumbs up to the three of them.

“Lucius will continue to be Lucius. And one day, when he defeats the Demon King and restores peace, he’ll have to make a choice.”

A choice.

The word carried a significant weight, and the three of them swallowed at once.

“Which existence to live as. So remember well. What you should care about isn’t whether it’s Arthur or Lucius, but…”

I raised a finger, pointing at each of them.

“Terubation. Odrone. Dierre.”

The three of them are wise women.

“You understand what I mean?”

“What’s that about?”

“Does the Witch not have a surname?”

“Me?”

Ah.

Now I get it.

‘Is it concerning?’

If it’s the case of me tying the knot with Lucius.

It’s such a ridiculous thought that all I can do is laugh, but could they possibly overlook even a 1% chance of that?

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have a surname. Not now, nor will I in the future. And you all should think carefully. I’m a person from 500 years ago. Not of a different race, but a ‘human’.”

I pointed back and forth between Rosmas and me, shaking my head.

“Would you want to live with someone who’s 500 years old?”

Aside from being insane.

“Right?”

The three of them nodded gravely.

*

A little while later,

While the Master went to call Lucius again, the three of them looked at each other and let out a sigh.

“…What should we do?”

“What do you mean? We can’t back down from here.”

Droniel clenched her fist and glared.

“Lucius is experiencing an identity crisis? Does he look like someone who would worry about such things?”

“…Certainly not.”

“What does that mean then?”

Yan pointed in the direction the Master had disappeared, wide-eyed.

“Is it a lie that Lucius is going through an identity crisis?”

“It sounds like an excuse made up by the Master.”

“Excuse…?”

“The reason Lucius is hesitant about being called Lucius isn’t that.”

“You didn’t notice, did you?”

“Not at all… I’m a new recruit here.”

With Yan’s words, Droniel looked up at the sky.

“…Ah. Right. You might not understand this subtle difference. Okay, I get it. But our positions are different. That’s not about an identity crisis…sigh.”

“Not so?”

“There’s something Lucius can’t say. The Master cleverly brushed it off as an excuse.”

“Is that so? I thought…”

Yan clasped his hands over his chest and smiled.

“I was worried that just because of me, Hero Lucius might be troubled, but it seems I’m relieved.”

“Lucius would never worry…because of you?”

“Wasn’t it? I thought it was because of me he was worried.”

“Ha…”

The two of them touched their heads.

“There’s a limit to self-consciousness, Saintess. No matter how much you are a Saintess, don’t think Lucius would be concerned for you. That’s just an illusion.”

“Hmm… Right.”

Yan then asked,

“So, are you and the Master dating?”

“…….”

“…….”

Silently, they dropped a bombshell.

“If the Master is saying such things to protect Lucius, that can’t help but seem like the case.”

“The case?”

“It seems like the Master is trying to keep women like us in check.”

The two fell silent.

“Wouldn’t you agree? If that’s the case, it’s very possible.”

“That can’t be. The Master just said that but doesn’t see Lucius as a romantic interest.”

“She could be playing us. A person sealed 500 years ago? With an appearance that’s at least similar to ours—or even a year younger than us. If Lucius were someone who cared about appearances instead of the inner character?”

“That can’t be true.”

Droniel confidently patted her chest.

“Lucius didn’t fall for me even when I tried to charm him!”

“…Does that mean you think you’re beautiful?”

“Hmph, obviously. Even in the village, and in the territory, it’s hard to find a woman prettier than me. Among the women I’ve met so far, only those who are similar or better than me are…”

Droniel looked around then lightly clicked her tongue.

“Never mind.”

“Um… I can foresee such a future.”

“What future?”

“The future where the Master and Lucius become lovers.”

Yan’s eyes sparkled as he stroked his chin thoughtfully.

“Let’s think about it once. What will it be like when they become lovers.”

 

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