I’m Not the Heroine

Aswell.

I left Miara in the room and moved to another place with him.

While I sorted my thoughts to persuade him about Miara’s joining the party, I subtly brushed my fingers against his.

"Heh."

Aswell naturally took my hand in his.
His boldness embarrassed me, but at the same time, I was pleased that it seemed like he noticed how I felt.

"Aswell."

"Yeah, Louis."

By the time we arrived at a suitable spot, I turned to face him.
Now, how should I continue the conversation?

Even though I had thought about it several times, my mouth wouldn’t open easily.

The reason was Aswell.

For him, Miara was simply an assassin who had tried to kill him, and nothing more.
I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, so it felt very difficult.

It was then.

"Louis, I’m ready to hear whatever you have to say. So feel free to talk."

"…Alright."

Phew.

I slowly took a deep breath and opened my mouth.

"I… I want Miara to join our party."

"I see."

His reaction was calmer than I expected.
I felt a strange sense of uncertainty, but I continued speaking.

"What she did, trying to kill you, is a grave sin. I don’t intend to justify that. But at the same time… I want to focus on the skill she showed in being able to attempt it."

Though she failed, Miara tried to assassinate Aswell.
The key here wasn’t the act of trying to kill, but the fact that her identity wasn’t revealed until she made her move on the hero.

"Stealth and mobility. Those are the weakest elements of the hero’s party. If she joins, we can strengthen both."

But that wasn’t the key point.

If I stopped there, the conclusion might be, "Wouldn’t it be better to just ask the Emperor to assign someone to us?"
After all, with the Emperor’s direct support, we would be safe from threats like assassinations.

So, I brought up Miara’s family history.

"Back when I was with my master, I read about the Rimfelt family."

"Her family, huh?"

"Yes. The invisibility and mobility magic their bloodline possesses are incomparable to any teleportation magic on the continent."

In the original story, it was mentioned that the Star of the Highlands taught such vision magic to their operatives.
But that was just a diluted version.

It is the Rimfelt family, particularly Miara, who could freely travel through the Empire in the hands of the Emperor and even find a way to move into the demon realm.

I kept appealing to Aswell about Miara’s necessity, and every time I did, he nodded and added his own comments.

‘…What is this?’

And I began to feel increasingly confused by his reactions.

He was supporting an assassin who had tried to kill him.
And yet, instead of getting angry, he calmly listened.

Honestly, I had expected him to be angry.

But...

"I understand. Louis, I get what you’re trying to say."

"Ah… yeah…"

He still used his gentle tone with me, but the coldness hidden within it sent a shiver down my spine.
After this, I felt like I should do something nice for him.

I had a feeling I was going to be restless about this.

"Aswell, I…"

"Actually, I’ve been feeling the same way. The best thing would be to decide together with everyone, but given the situation, we can consider it a temporary alliance for now."

"Uh… but."

"And above all, Louis, didn’t you almost remove the constraints you had placed on her? If that’s the case, then it’s fine."

Aswell’s gaze was sharp and clear as he spoke.
But I couldn’t shake the strange feeling I had in his eyes.

It felt like he wasn’t looking at me—or Miara—but beyond us, seeing something else.

***

She spoke.

She wanted to bring Miara, the assassin, into the party.

To be honest, I felt a bit hurt.
It went beyond hurt—I almost became angry.

But I was able to suppress these feelings, and it was because of a dream I had a few days ago.

'In the end, is she the last member of the party?'

The party members from the eyes of the ancient heroes, seen from a distant past.
Among them, there was always one assassin.

In this hero's party, Miara filled that role.

That was why Aswell accepted her proposal.

It wasn’t because he pitied Miara’s past.
If he were his old self, he would indeed feel pity for her, given her tragic past.

Her family had fallen, and all her loved ones had perished. On top of that, she had continued to assassinate while under the constraints placed by her enemy.

But more important than that was the way she persuaded him.

[I want Miara to join our party.]

In this moment, Aswell felt something strange.

She clearly knew about the Rimfelt family.
There was no issue with this part since she had learned it while with her master.

The problem lay in the timing.

'It hasn’t even been 3 hours since the assassin struck.'

She arrived with no forewarning, no signs, and in that situation, she was so intoxicated by the drug that she couldn’t act rationally.

Yet, as soon as she overcame the effects of the drug, she freed Miara from her constraints and made her proposal.

It was too fast.
If at least two days had passed, Aswell would not have questioned it. But only three hours had passed. She had barely known Miara for that long.

And yet, she defended Miara, as if she had known her all along.

'How?'

Now that he thought about it, Aswell recalled the way she had acted and spoken when she recruited Niabella into the group, as if she already knew about Niabella's presence and suddenly encouraged the recruitment of a mage.

What if that, too, had been intentional?
What if she knew the future?

"..."

"Aswell?"

Aswell looked at her, who was gazing up at him.
In her pure eyes, there was an inexplicable sense of anxiety.

Aswell felt a strange sense of comfort from her gaze.
It was so strong that he wanted to wrap his hands around her face and kiss her right then and there.

"It’s nothing. Shall we go now?"

'For now... let’s leave it be.'

Niabella, Miara. And many other thoughts came to mind.
But for now, Aswell decided to forget them all.

Because she had done something for him.
And on the other hand… because of the woman he had seen through the hero’s eyes.

***

"…What?"

Miara was curious whether what she had heard was true.
Without realizing it, she squinted her eyes and asked the hero in front of her.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes."

"You want me to join the hero’s party?"

"That’s right."

"What…?"

Was he out of his mind?

She wanted to say this, but the hero's gaze was so serious that she couldn’t bring herself to do so.

'Is the hero crazy...?

Just a moment ago, she had tried to kill him.
So, she had been waiting for either him to kill her or for the constraints to trigger and end her life.

But neither of those things had happened.
In fact, he was trying to recruit her.

"…Can I ask why?"

Wondering if this might be some kind of trap, Miara asked, and the hero pointed to the side.
A white-robed mage was looking at her.

"Louis has proven your usefulness. I believe it is reasonable, so I’m telling you this."

"Usefulness...? Does the hero’s party need an assassin?"

"Specifically, it’s the ability for stealth and mobility that we need."

"…"

Miara fell silent, not having considered this aspect at all.
Then she asked the hero.

"…Do you trust me?"

It was a question directed at the hero, but the mage was included in that as well.

"No."

"Then why…?"

"You’ll prove it yourself in the future."

"…"

The hero already saw her as necessary.
The very abilities she took pride in—stealth and mobility—were exactly what they needed.

'Could this be a trap?
Or could it be salvation?

In truth, it didn’t matter to her anymore.
Miara’s life had already fallen to ruin and was nearing its end.

For someone who had been closer to death than hope, no trap would stir much emotion.
And yet, at the same time, Miara wanted to hold on to hope once more.

"…Alright. I’ll join the hero’s party."

But it wasn’t as simple as just joining.

"Can the mage place a magic similar to a constraint on me?"

"…What?"

"Since we don’t trust each other, if the hero holds my leash, I’ll be able to trust a little more."

That way, Miara herself would feel more at ease.

The white-robed mage glanced at the hero before nodding deeply.

"…Understood. Please close your eyes again."

Miara, as her vision blurred, noticed the hero’s gaze—Aswell’s—watching her.

And the next day.

"…I am Miara Rimfelt. I was the assassin who tried to kill you."

"I am Aswell. The hero and the leader of the hero’s party."

"I’m Louis. The supporter and enchantment mage of the hero’s party."

Miara Rimfelt temporarily joined the hero’s party.