The Hero

Ataru didn’t move an inch, he wasn’t sure what the Hero was capable of, but his instincts were telling him that they could end him in a split second. “What are you talking about, what demon?” He feigned ignorance. The Hero tilted their head towards Rosalind.

“You can hide your horns, but you can’t hide the stench of your mana. Answer my question.” They took a step forward.

“Look, I told you we don’t–” Ataru blinked, and in that moment he found himself being flung over the Hero’s head, crashing into a wooden crate on the side of the alley. He tried to get up, only to stagger to the ground as his vision went blurry.

“Please, stop!” Rosalind screamed as she attempted to run past the Hero, only to be stopped by the edge of a longsword pointed at her neck.

“The Demon King is dead.” They spoke, their voice stalwart and without a hint of emotion. “The war is over, are you seeking revenge?” Rosalind remained still, her eyes staring down towards the cobblestone pavement.

“I… Just want to become a duster.” She whispered, her hands clenched.

“Not good enough. What is your motive?” The Hero maintained the blade’s position. Rosalind’s hands shook. Even from where he was laying Ataru could tell she was trembling.

“What answer would be good enough for you? What would it take for you to leave me be?” She raised her head, looking the Hero in the eyes past their silver plated helm.

“The truth.” Said the Hero.

“I don’t know! I’ve never even had the right to choose! And I’m not going to let you change that!” Her hands began to glow blue with magic, at the same moment the Hero suddenly turned around to catch a fast flying object aimed straight for the back of their head. It was a brick, at least it was before they crushed it into pebbles in their hand.

“Damn.” Ataru grumbled as he stood to his feet. “If that was my right arm you’d be seeing stars.” He said, before rushing towards them. The Hero attempted to move, only to realize that their legs were frozen in place by magic cast by Rosalind. The ice quickly enclosed the entire form of their body. “Let’s get out of here!” He reached out for Rosalind’s hand, only to hear the familiar crack of ice shattering. It hadn’t even been a second. They were stronger than the creature they struggled with in the forest, Ataru wondered if they really were a monster. The pommel of their longsword smashed into his stomach before a kick sent him flying into the city streets. Rosalind moved to cast another spell, but was swiftly grabbed by the collar and thrown to the ground. Her hat fell from her head, revealing her horn.

“What?” The Hero stopped, and only stared down at her. Rosalind quickly put the hat back on before standing to her feet.

“Why can’t you just leave me alone!?” She raised her hands to prepare another spell. The Hero let out a tired breath and sheathed their sword, surprising Rosalind. “Very well. I understand now.” They brushed off bits of ice from their shoulders before turning to leave.

“Huh? Just like that?”

“Just like that.” They walked out of the alley, leaving the two just as suddenly as they’d popped up.

Still groggy from being thrown like a ragdoll, Ataru ran over to Rosalind. “What happened?” He asked.

“I don’t know, they just… left.” She said, her voice shaking. Her hands stopped glowing, and she looked behind her towards the direction of the inn.

“Should we go?” Ataru asked.

“Yeah.”

They silently walked the rest of the way until they entered an inn with a rickety sign above its door labeled ‘Gourmet inn.’ “Maybe the food’s good at least?” Ataru said as they stepped upon a creaky wooden floor. Rosalind didn’t answer, her head was tilted down, and the brim of her hat hid her face. He wasn’t sure what to say, heck he wasn’t even sure what the problem was. He couldn’t exactly relate to how she could be feeling, he wasn’t the child of a demon tyrant. Rosalind handed him a handful of silver coins, fourteen to be exact. They needed to stay here for at least a week, apparently the rooms here had the same value as a bowl of beef stew.

He walked to the reception desk, which was currently shrouded by a fading black curtain. He noticed a bell in front of the curtain and promptly tapped it. It didn’t ring. He tapped it a few more times before finally giving up. “Hey, is anyone back there?” He called out, only to be met with the sound of the building settling. After calling out once more and hearing nothing, he grabbed the curtain and opened it. “Whoa!” He gasped as he saw a body sitting in the chair behind the reception desk. It was an old man with an impressive beard and short, stocky body. “Please tell me the first dwarf I’m meeting isn’t a corpse…” Ataru said to himself as he leaned in closer to the man. His mouth was wide open and he was completely still.

“Surely not” Rosalind approached the desk as well, leaning forward. A fly buzzed around the man’s head, circling him like a buzzard before diving straight into his open mouth. The old man’s eyes shot open as he began coughing, the two of them fell backwards with a scream.

“Wha, who in the.” He grumbled, smacking his lips as he looked over the desk at the two young people on the floor. “Now what are y'all doin’ on the floor there?” He asked. Ataru picked up the scattered coins he’d dropped before walking to the desk.

“Sorry about that, we’d like two rooms for the week.” He said, setting down the money in front of the man. The old man squinted at the money before looking Ataru in the eyes. “Ain't enough. This here’s enough for one room, youngin’.” Ataru looked back at Rosalind. Make that the price of two bowls of beef stew.

“What? Why are you trying to get two rooms? That’s not very efficient, is it?” She asked. He walked over to her and flicked the brim of her hat.

“Didn’t we stay in different rooms in the outpost? I thought you’d, you know, have an issue with this sorta thing?” He said. Rosalind raised a brow at him as she adjusted her hat.

“Those rooms were too small for more than one person, also they didn’t cost money. Why would I have an ‘issue’ with this?” She flicked him back on the forehead.

“Because I’m a guy?” He asked, rubbing his forehead, almost as if he was directing the question at himself as well.

“Is that how things worked in your world? Are we to be wed simply because we share the same room?” She retorted back instantly. Ataru’s face was becoming red, and he was running out of things to say. It wasn’t as if he was the type of person to do anything strange, but he assumed a girl would be uncomfortable sharing a room with a guy like him. Why did he think that again?

Rosalind walked up to the desk. “Yes, this is for one room.” She said, the old man nodded and took the money before fumbling with a ring of keys. He eventually took one off and handed a key with the number five etched into it to her. Ataru, still trying to piece together his thoughts, was dragged along to the room.

“Oh thank god.” Ataru whispered to himself as they entered their room. There were two beds, thankfully. If there was only one he was fully prepared to sleep on the floor. His mother raised a gentleman after all.

“I’ll be taking a shower first.” She said, before heading into the connected bathroom. Ataru sat on his bed and stared at the boarded up window, his hands interlocked under his chin. What should he be doing? He’d never had to sleep in the same room as another girl before. Was there some set of rules he should be abiding by? He sat there quietly, mentally mapping out possible interactions. He created an entire tree with branching possibilities.

By the time the door opened he felt ready, his mental tree was like a powerful sequoia, impervious to outside attack. Whatever happened next, he was ready.

“You can head in now.” He heard Rosalind speak. Part of his mind told him not to look, but it was slow and arrogant. After all, he’d thought of everything, how could he be caught off guard? And so he turned his head, and saw before him Rosalind, draped in nothing but a towel.

“Clothes?” He spoke just a single word, his mind barely able to function.

“I had to wash the robe, and I forgot to buy a spare. It’s fine, there’s a towel for you too. We’ll buy a cheap set of clothing in the morning. Our clothes should finish drying by the time we awake, I set up a wind spell that should do the trick.” She cupped her chin in thought. “I’m running low on money, we may have to buy something second hand.”

“Right…” Ataru decided to stop thinking, as the only thing running through his mind was the word ‘curves’ over and over. He just hoped he’d be able to sleep tonight.