Chapter 1: The Unspoken Service of Kate, the Male-Disguised Hero Part 2
「My real name is―Kate Brennan. Kate for Kay is a bit of a stretch, isn't it?」
Looking down at the arena, Kay - no, Kate - told him that she was nostalgic for the past.
She became one of the heroes of our time, appointed by the Church as a hero after being chosen by the Holy Sword, which presides over the fire attribute, at a young age.
But until then, Kate seems to have been a tomboyish girl everywhere.
Her mother was a court magician, her father a knight-errant, and her brother a knight belonging to the Order of the Knights, so she had a complex because she was quite normal compared to her elite family, but she was happy and close to her family. However, her happiness came to an end three years ago when she became a hero.
What awaited Kate when she became a hero was the ugly side of humanity.
The birth of a hero at the age of a child was greeted with as much envy, jealousy and backbiting as it was a joy. Sometimes they looked down on her because she was a girl. Even if a child who had nothing to do with fighting was chosen as a Holy Sword and gained power, if she did not know how to use that power, it would be a waste of treasure. Not a few people blamed her for this.
Many people tried to take advantage of the power that was given to the hero, such as men as old as her father who offered to marry a girl who was not yet old enough to be her father, and others who tried to take advantage of her by rubbing up against her, and she became completely distrustful of people.
Fortunately, her talent as a hero blossomed in no time and she was soon able to fight. At first, she even beat those who looked down on her to a pulp to relieve her frustration.
However, the stress definitely built up, and it is needless to explain that being her person quickly became painful.
The family, who could not bear to see Kate like this, would not have taken any action for their beloved daughter, and after consulting with the Church, it was decided ― instead of prioritizing heroism ― to give her a position as a student and encourage her to grow slowly while she learns how to become a hero.
Some people wanted to take her to the battlefield immediately, but those who said so were forcibly silenced by her parents.
Being a student was not a problem, but as long as Kate was a hero and her gender was a girl, she would not necessarily be approached by dirty-minded people at the school as well as adults. The overprotective family and the Church authorities, who sympathize with her, decide to have Kate dressed as a man and enroll her at the academy as a boy hero named Kay.
(......But that doesn't mean it's absurd to make her dress up as a man.)
「I've always been a bit of a tomboy, so it was easy for me to spend time as a boy.」
In fact, she says, it was also rather fun. As a girl, you have to be picky about your manners, but as a boy, you can be rather rough. She was anxious about attending a boarding school, but thanks to the fact that she was in a single room and that she felt more at ease than she had imagined, she says it was not a hardship.
「But I feel guilty about deceiving everyone. That's why I can't be friends with anyone.」
The way she said this was so lonely that Dino couldn't find the words to say.
But he also understood. This hero is living her life as a student under a false gender identity. It's easy to put it into words, but if an unthinking person finds out, it could become a source of bad words again.
She has already recovered from her distrust of people and is not accused of lack of power because she is a child or a woman. It seems that only some of the upper echelons of the Church and state and a few of the Knights know her true gender.
Because of this thoroughness, it is said that Kay Brennan the Hero, not Kate Brennan, has become widely known and it is now impossible to say that she was a woman.
(......I feel sorry for her)
As she is already a hero, it seems that her family and the Church are consulting with her about where to reveal her gender, and she cannot reveal it at Kate's discretion.
(The more I listen to her, the more trouble she's getting into for dressing as a man.)
「The truth is, I like living as a boy. But sometimes I feel sorry for the girls who confess to me and stuff. ......」
「Ahh」
With her pretty, girlish appearance, Hero Kay is popular with girls. In fact, because he is a girl, she is just a cute little girl in men's clothes, but some girls would fall in love with her if they didn't know the truth.
(I bet her parents didn't expect her to be so popular with the girls either.)
Only people's feelings are unpredictable, no matter who they are.
Kate says that she is heartbroken and sorry that every time a female student has the courage to confess to her, she cannot tell her the truth and has to just say no.
Sometimes she feels the urge to say out loud that she is lying about her gender identity. But there is no way she can do that.
She is afraid that if her true identity is revealed ― as a result ― people will think she is a liar.
Therefore, she has to keep her distance from other students, focus on her heroics, build walls and remain solitary. That was the real Kate Brennan, the heroes.
「―That's why, please don't tell anyone who I really am.」
Kate bowed deeply and hoped. Dino does not know how much feeling was put into that wish.
Dino hates both Holy Swords and Heroes. He thought it was easy to gain power and become powerful. They always stand at the forefront of humans as heroes and continue to fight, leaving those who are making efforts behind. He hated such heroes.
But the hero who lowered her head in front of him was different. For her, being a hero must be painful, even if she doesn't say so.
(Selfishly jealous of and hating heroes ― what was I doing?)
It made me want to punch myself in the face for being so one-sidedly hostile to them, which was so shameful.
「Until one day, when I can tell everyone that I'm a girl myself ― I'll do anything, just don't tell anyone my secret!」
「Just because someone knows your secret doesn't mean you'd be cowardly enough to let anyone in on it!」
He founds himself releasing words on his own.
Most of Dino's mind is occupied with anger. He was angry at both the fact that he had tried to defeat Kate without knowing what was going on, just because she was a hero, and the environment she was in.
「Dino?」
「Even if Kay Brennan is actually a girl and she's Kate Brennan ― I'll face you head-on, fair and square, and I'll beat you eventually. That's all I'm saying.」
「...... That's all you said ...... That means you won't tell anyone?」
「It's obvious. No matter how many contacts we didn't have in this way regularly, we've met hands many times. Do you think I would do something so cowardly?」
「Err, I'm not going to answer that question, because it's too much to answer.」
Dino reminds Kate, who has a look of genuine trouble on her face.
(Ah──Oh, come to think of it, my fighting method is basically a concentrated attack on weak points...)
While Kate uses the power of the Holy Sword to reap her enemies with a one-hit kill, Dino uses dark-attribute magic to attack in detail until the opponent is exhausted, then finish them off. He was the type who, if he seized a weakness, would attack it to a single point.
「A-anyway! I would never try to do anything to anyone's weakness. So you can rest assured. I won't let anyone in on your secret, I promise.」
「Yes - thank you.」
Perhaps relieved by Dino's words, Kate smiled with tears welling up in the corners of her eyes, and his heart unexpectedly fluttered.
(H-How comes I didn't realize she was a girl before?)
She is powerful, but because of the benefits of the Holy Sword, her body is slender, frail, and petite. She has a high voice and a cute appearance. She has a boyish impression, but this is probably because the original Kate was a tomboy, but even including that, she doesn't look like anything other than a girl now.
(―Kate is such a cutie.)
「Dino, what's wrong?」
Dino hurriedly replies to Kate, who tilts her head and asks her questions when she is staring at him.
「N-nothing, it's nothing. First of all, knowing your secret won't change me. But if that. Well, you know, if you need any help, you can always count on me. I mean, how should I put it, I've seen you naked, and I'll help you with that as an apology.」
「...... Geez, even though I already forgot about that.」
「S-sorry」
The words he said hastily lacked delicacy, and Kate's cheeks turn red when she remembers that he has seen her naked.
「Dino you perv.」
「I think that's an exaggeration! I demand a retraction!」
It was his fault, but Dino protested, unable to admit to being told he was a pervert.
At some point, Kate seemed to lose her anxiety about her secret being known and smiled.
After that, she told him a lot of things, like a fish out of water.
Perhaps it was a reaction to being lonely. As a tomboy, she must have been bored every day without making close friends.
Kate smiled brightly when she realized that she didn't have to be shy with Dino now that he knew her secret.
Although their contact was all about fighting, they were able to communicate their true nature to each other through fighting. Dino's glad that he felts she could trust him because of that.
He was a little glad to know a side of Kate that he hadn't known before ― that she was cheerful, laughed a lot, and talked a lot.
Dino, who had stubbornly been thinking only of defeating the heroes, will have to change his attitude from now on. Of course, defeating the heroes is his goal, and he still wants to prove that anyone can fight without the Holy Sword, not just relying on the heroes.
(But first of all... I think I should start by becoming friends with heroes.)
Seeing Kate with a reassuring expression on her face and happily chatting with him, Dino decided to do so.
※
Three days have passed since Dino discovered the secret of the Hero Kay Brennan.
He discovered that Kay's true identity was a girl and her real name was Kate Brennan, but he decided to keep her secret. He thought that was enough to convince her.
(I'm being watched again today.)
He noticed a look and turned his head to see Kate watching him intently.
He has made a promise not to tell anyone, and she is probably making an effort to trust Dino, but she seems to be worried. However, he seems to be being watched because of the way she is looking at him from start to finish.
(She was convinced on the spot, but I'd hate it if she thinks I'm going to tell on someone.)
He wouldn't make a promise in the first place if he was going to make a promise that he had started to make himself.
Dino hates cowardice and dirty things even more than the Holy Sword. It's not that he doesn't understand her feelings, but he can't help but feel annoyed and irritated that she suspects him of being someone who would do such a thing.
However, there is no way he could complain so openly. If he did, he would attract the attention of other students, who would wonder what had happened. Dino and Kate don't want that, of course.
(It's a little late for that, but isn't Kate not aware enough of being a hero?)
Even though they have little contact with the students, the heroes are always the center of attention. For better or worse, they are interested. If despite this, they are looking at her all the time, they can't help but wonder what's going on. If someone notices that she is dressed as a man because of this, it would be a disaster.
She is so preoccupied with Dino that she neglects to pay attention to her surroundings. He doesn't know how many times he had lost his nerve in the last few days.
Once she is recognized as a girl, no matter how you look at her, she looks like no one other than a girl, so it has been three days when Dino, who is supposed to be a third party, has been more worried that someone else might notice her every move.
(Maybe I should warn her once we're alone somewhere.)
In the end, there were no major mistakes, but he was mentally exhausted with constant anxiety, so he quickly returned to his room in the dormitory and went to sleep without eating.
However ― while sleeping, Dino woke up when he felt the presence of someone in the room.
In the darkness, he realized that there was definitely someone in the room, and as he tried to reach for the sword that lay beside the bed, a small voice called out his name.
「...... Dino, it's me.」
「――Could it be, Kate?」
The visitor at midnight was ― Kate Brennan, a Hero dressed as a man.
※
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