Chapter 12: In front of the hero, nothing of practical use is destined to escape

Translator: Michiko

Editor: Elena

“Gio, is it possible that this gem is ridiculously expensive…?”

Reiru doubted the value of the pendant he wore around his neck after the crown prince took notice of it. 

A beautiful blue gem with gold flakes inside. It was given to Reiru by Gio before he left on his journey to defeat the demon king. 

He was repeatedly reminded to keep it on his body because it was a charm, and not to take it off even when he took a bath. 

But Gio asserted,

“This was given to me as a reward for killing one monster as a part of a job, so it was practically free. Besides, wearing this makes it easier to connect with my magic. I can’t use teleportation magic, but with this, I can sense when something is wrong with you.”

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“Mbld R’zz yzps jdso kq psxlvbkdt byrrldp vs usw?”

Qks okeldle bkp lulp kd pwarakpl yv Slkaw’p iwlpvksd.

“Elzz, R byhld’v vakle kv cwv… xyucl usw’e jdso.”&dcpr;

“Txx.”

Ywnb vs Qks’p pwarakpl, Slkaw oyp lypkzu nsdhkdnle yde tldvzu pvasjle vbl rldeydv.

Ebld Slkaw zlqv vbl sarbydytl, bl blpkvyvle oblvbla sa dsv vs zlyhl kv clbkde. Tl osdelale kq bl pbswze rwv kv kd vbl pyql yzsdt okvb vbl tsze nskdp vbl rakdnlpp bye tkhld bkx. Jwv kd vbl lde, bl osal kv yp kv oyp.

Slkaw alyzzu oydvle vs vyjl Qks’p zlvvlap okvb bkx vss. Jwv vbspl zlvvlap olal yzps yeealpple vs vbl nbkzeald yv vbl sarbydytl, dsv fwpv vs Slkaw.&dcpr;

Ohld yxsdt vbl qlo rlapsdyz clzsdtkdtp Slkaw bye, vblal olal qlo vbyv nswze pvaknvzu cl nyzzle Slkaw’p rlapsdyz rasrlavu. Tl bye pkxrzu clld wpkdt obyv bye clld esdyvle vs vbl sarbydytl yp bkp sod. Omnlrv qsa obyv bl dllele qsa bkxplzq, lhld vbl nzsvblp vbyv Slkaw tsv qasx vbl zyeklp sq vbl vsod yde Qks olal rypple sd vs Ekzzkl yde vbl cwzjkla szela jkep.

However, the pendant was exclusively given to Reiru by Gio. 

Gio had given it to Reiru in person and insisted that he put it on right away. Even though Reiru had initially refused, Gio pressed on saying that it was a necessary thing, and he finally let Gio put it around his neck personally.

Reiru was told that he couldn’t allow anyone to touch it, and when he worried that the children would be curious and want to touch it, Gio explained that it was crafted in such a way that normal humans couldn’t see it.

Apparently, the pendant had many other magic charms applied to it. Gio had begun to explain them at great lengths, using technical terms that Reiru had never heard of before, but seeing Reiru’s bewildered look of not being able to understand, Gio concluded,

“Anyone who wears this gem other than you will die. So don’t ever take it off. You can’t sell it or lend it to someone else. Do you understand?”

Reiru shuddered, wondering why Gio gave him such a dangerous thing. However, he had always noticed some magic-nerd tendencies in Gio, so he was convinced that Gio had simply gotten too absorbed in his efforts again.

After being told that much, Reiru decided it was safe to consider it to be his own. 

Reiru felt timid about owning such a luxury item at first, but he was happy that Gio was concerned about his safety. 

Of course, Gio was being considerate because if anything happened to me, there would be no one left to take care of the orphanage. Still, it’s reassuring to know that Gio would be there if something bad happened.

Even though I thought I would never see Gio again after I left the orphanage, I felt that we would always be connected by this blue gem that resembled the color of his eyes.

…But if it’s extremely expensive, shouldn’t I return it after all? 

Gio shrugged his shoulders as Reiru looked up at him.

“It’s really not that expensive. A lot of young people in the capital have it.” 

“Really…?”

When Reiru looked over at Gio’s friends, they nodded in agreement.

“Ah…right. Young girls in the capital often wear them.”

The swordsman snickered to himself, “Like daughters of wealthy merchants or nobles.” 

If it was a small-grain sized stone, a commoner could buy it for his lover, but the one Reiru was wearing was the size of a thumb tip.

Lazurite was often said to be worn by the second princess, which made it popular among the ladies of high society. The price had skyrocketed, and the fact that it could only be obtained from a limited area in a small country across the sea had resulted in a shortage of stones available in the market. It was rumored that nowadays, even the nobility couldn’t easily obtain it.

“That’s right. The price of a gem isn’t much.”

“Compared to the cost of the defensive magic contained within,” the mage thought to himself. 

Only a very skilled technician type mage who specialized in magic-tool crafting would be able to create something of this scale. The mage could see that a number of magic charms had been hidden in the gem, based on Gio’s well-cultivated magic.

The mage remembered, “Speaking of which…” 

For a time, Gio frequented the magic engineering department of the royal palace. There was a mage in the engineering department who had a reputation for being very skilled in the art. He must’ve asked that person to set up this gem. If it was that person’s work, then it was no doubt a satisfactory outcome for Gio.

When the mage had seen Reiru wearing this pendant before, he thought that Gio had given it to Reiru in order to protect the orphanage as its representative. Now he knew that was a misunderstanding. Of course, it was also meant to protect the orphanage, but above all else it was meant to protect Reiru.

As long as Reiru wore the gem, which was imprinted with Gio’s magical power, he would never be able to escape Gio, no matter where he went. Because Gio can use the gem as a mark to teleport to Reiru.

“Hey? That’s why, don’t worry about it.” 

“O-ok. I understand.”

Reiru, who had no way of knowing the truth, tucked the pendant under his shirt with care like a precious object.

Meanwhile, a hushed conversation was unfolding.

“That stone activated an attack spell when His Highness touched it earlier, right…? It was fortunate that His Highness neutralized it in an instant, but if it had been an unskilled person, it could have blown off their arm or something. He’s too possessive… With that, no one with the ability to see magic would ever lay a hand on the young man. It could be seen at a glance that even if the young man himself doesn’t have any magic power, there’s someone dangerous looming behind him.”

“If you look carefully, you can see it has a lot of detailed settings. Owner… in other words, there are various types of magic that could be used in response to Reiru-dono’s vital signs… Eh, can you even pack that kind of advanced magic into such a small gem under normal circumstances? Did they allocate some of the military’s budget to develop it?”

“Gio is quite overprotective when it comes to his mate. I can’t believe he’d make Reiru wear something like that, and on top of that, he wouldn’t be at ease unless Reiru also had an escort? I think he’s got wolf blood in him from somewhere.”

The whispered conversation did not reach Reiru’s ears. But Gio seemed to hear somehow and he said curtly and frankly, 

“How long are you guys going to be here?”

“Gio, don’t you have to go back, too? You’re busy, right? I’ve heard that preparing to become a nobleman and marry the princess is a lot of work.”

“Who told you that?”

“The princess herself, and these people, I think they’ve said something like that before.”

“Reiru, what the princess said was a lie. I had no intention of marrying that woman from the start.”

“Huh, why!?”

“There’s someone else I like.”

“Ohh!,” His friends gasped. 

They were very curious to know if Gio had finally felt like confessing his deep hidden love.

“N-no way… Even though you and the princess talked about your love for each other… Are you saying that you were just enjoying each other’s company?”

“Hah? What do you mean by that?”

Reiru looked up at Gio with dismayed, criticising eyes. 

Gio looked back at Reiru in puzzlement. His friends did the same. 

It’s true that the rumor of a love affair between the princess and the hero is widely known in the world, but they didn’t understand why Reiru would support it.

“You know that one story, where the princess used to go out on the balcony of her bedroom at night, and Gio used to climb up the tree to see her. In the daytime, their status differences prevent them from talking to each other in public places, but at night, during their brief secret rendezvous, their uncontrollable loveー”

Reiru was completely and emotionally invested in the play he had seen for the first time in his life, to the point where he completely believed it without questioning. 

“No, so what are you talking about?” 

“It’s about you and the princess.” 

“It’s the story of the play that Reiru-sama saw.”

Gio exhaled in frustration after understanding Milvance’s supplement.

“Reiru, it’s just a play. It’s a made-up story. It’s fiction. It’s a fictional story different from the truth. Do you understand? If a mere commoner knight who’s not even an imperial guard can sneak onto the balcony of the princess’s bedroom, that would be bad, because that would mean the royal palace’s security is too lax. I could count the number of times I’ve had a proper conversation with the princess on one hand. Of course, it’s unlikely that we would be alone together. That kind of play is made to be entertaining so that the audience will like it.”

“Eh, then is it also a made-up story that you got into a fight with your friends and almost blew up the temple in the castle, and the king got mad at you?”

“No, that’s true, young man.” 

“I was frightened at that time.” 

“That was Gio’s fault.” 

“To be precise, we were just trying to stop Lord Gio from getting into trouble with the people from the temple.” 

“Somehow it finally became like an internal dispute between us and ended.”

Gio grimaced at the people who were interrupting him.

“You guys go home. You’re in my way.”

Gio was very blunt.

“Eh, I don’t want to. I am curious about what will happen next.” 

“Well, well. Since we are at fault for complicating things, let’s leave for now.” 

“I’ll ask you about it later, okay?” 

“Where should I put the love potion?” 

“Then Milvance-chan, you should go back with me too.” 

“That’s right. Because an escort isn’t necessary anymore.”

Once the bustling group had left, Gio made eye contact with Reiru as if he had been renewed.

They were alone in a room that turned silent in an instant. As he was caught in Gio’s blue eyes, which reminded him of a quiet fighting spirit, Reiru idly thought that this guy was really handsome.

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