Ord Zenbel, cut into pieces suitable for monsters to eat.
In front of the corpse separated into seven pieces, Friede jumped to me, hugging my waist and cheering that she had believed in me.
"A-As expected of Miss Hilde! Right, there's no way Miss Hilde would join hands with villains like Abyss Priests! I believed in you from the start!"
"Of course. How could I do such a thing?"
I smiled while patting Friede's head.
What a liar. I clearly saw her watching anxiously as Ord and I were talking.
Does she even know? How much I was inwardly worried that she might swing her holy sword before I could extract useful information and find the right opportunity?
Of course she doesn't know. I forgive her because she's cute.
* * *
When I pierced Ord's temple with the dagger, I already had a plan to smoothly handle the aftermath.
The head of an Abyss Priest infamous enough to be called the Nightmare of Bizenwerk.
A plan to take that head to those who wouldn't try to kill me on sight, and use it as a first step to clear my name of false accusations.
However, very regrettably, I had to withdraw that plan.
When I checked Ord's severed head, it had changed into something completely different from before.
"...What is this?"
A smooth head with no eyes, nose, or even mouth. The hairless, smooth skull proved that this was not a human head.
Moreover, it wasn't just smooth, but like some kind of slime, its surface was very slowly melting and turning into liquid.
This couldn't be Ord.
Although Abyss Priests are cursed as not being human offspring, most of them were still racially human.
From the start, I had already realized what this was as soon as I saw it. My muttering "What is this?" was just a sigh of disbelief.
'Tch, I thought I caught him easily... to think it wasn't him but a doppelganger.'
Doppelganger.
A monster that mimics the appearance, memories, and personality of the human it encounters, eats the original, and replaces them.
What I killed wasn't Ord himself, but just a doppelganger mimicking Ord.
I heard he had the ability to command monsters, so he probably used that to control a doppelganger trying to kill him and used it as his stand-in.
"Oh, could this be... a doppelganger...?"
"That's right. That bastard used his head."
Friede, who had finally noticed the state of the head I was holding, clicked her tongue as if disappointed. I felt similarly.
"Haah..."
I threw the head that had started to crumble into the river water and let out a short sigh.
It was regrettable. If this head had been Ord's head, things would have been easily resolved, but it wasn't, it was a doppelganger. I had been completely fooled.
Probably Ord himself is also very perplexed right now, thinking I had completely fallen for it, only to have his doppelganger killed.
"Oh, if this is a doppelganger, then Ord's real body..."
"Probably in Hervor. Judging by how well he knew the situation there, their base must be hidden somewhere in Hervor."
"Ah..."
Friede openly expressed her disappointment. To comfort her, I sat down next to her on a rock by the riverbank and played with her hair, stroking and caressing her head.
After enjoying the texture of her crown for a while like that, before long, Friede's mood seemed to improve as well, and she started grinning again.
Perhaps thanks to my persuading her that although it was disappointing that what we killed was a doppelganger, it might have actually allowed us to end things without any dangerous situations.
After about ten minutes passed like that.
Friede, who had been humming while shaking her head left and right, suddenly seemed to remember something and carefully asked while timidly pressing her index fingers together.
"Um, but... that, you know, is it really okay to have killed him like that...?"
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"Well, I mean. Even though this was the right thing to do... um, from Miss Hilde's position, wouldn't it have been much safer and easier to join hands with them...?"
I wondered what she was talking about.
It seems she suddenly became worried that this choice might make things more difficult for me.
In the midst of the whole world being hostile to me, I had betrayed the only party who offered cooperation from my side first.
Hmm. What should I answer at a time like this...?
I couldn't tell her that I knew the Abyss Priests quite well, and was certain that joining hands with them would only lead to ruin.
Then... Ah, that would be good. A good answer occurred to me.
Along with the idea that it wouldn't be bad to use this opportunity to strengthen our bond further, as we have many things to do together in the future.
"What are you saying, that would put you in danger."
"Huh...? Me?"
"Yes. That guy said it earlier, didn't he? That they were planning to eliminate not just Heid but other heroes too. After hearing such words, how could I join hands with them?"
I continued speaking while gently stroking Friede's hair down and lightly patting her shoulder.
"It's dangerous not only to cooperate, but even to stick around trying to use them. What if they were to discover your identity?"
An explanation that I refused their proposal entirely for your sake. It was an answer I deliberately thought up and uttered, but it was half sincere.
"Oh, um, so. Was it all... for my sake...?"
"Yes. I can't force you to do something wrong just for my safety, I can't put you in such danger."
If I were to lose the only hero I can trust while trying to neutralize threats that can be sufficiently resolved with just the Valkyria's helmet, wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse?
"I won't do that. It's natural, isn't it? Because I'm your pa... partner."
I quickly changed the word "party member" that was about to reflexively come out to "partner" while lightly touching Friede's cheek.
An appeal line I came up with on the spot, recalling all the experiences of my life, though they were all just indirect experiences.
"Miss Hilde..."
The effect was excellent!
No, it was beyond excellent, it was a critical hit.
Friede, who had been wearing an expression like a child watching their parents divorce when Ord was alive, now had an expression like a mistress watching a divorcing couple.
An expression mixed with joy, a sense of victory, satisfaction, and possessiveness.
Good. Let's deliver the finishing blow here!
An instinctive intuition suddenly surged. An intuition that this one hit would be enough to knock Friede down.
"About the expression 'Miss Hilde'... doesn't it feel a bit distant? How should I put it, like drawing a line of politeness between us..."
"Oh, oh? Is, is that so, Miss Hilde...?"
I spread my index finger and lightly pressed it against Friede's lips to stop her. Then I bent my waist and whispered in her ear.
"Friede. Not 'Misa Hilde'. Call me Hilde. For my sake."
As if hiding my cheeks that were reddening from the awareness of saying embarrassing words, in Friede's gaze looking at me. With our cheeks gently pressed together.
"Because that's what I want. Because I don't want to put a line between us. So please. Can you do that for me?"
It was a perfect line. To the extent that I couldn't help but applaud myself. Then, what would be the effect?
"Hueeeeek..."
Ah, Friede broke down.
"Oh, Friede?!"
Friede staggered, her face turning bright red as if burning. I was startled and supported her back as if embracing her.
"Heu, ah, uh, hue..."
Friede let out inarticulate groans while entrusting her body to my arms. It was an utterly perplexing reaction.
'...No way, she's becoming like this?'
Was the effect too excellent? She didn't just fall for my words, she almost completely melted.
How frightening, my talent.
I never imagined I had such talent. If I had known, I would have used it in my previous life. Though I feel it might not have been effective then.
It was after several tens of seconds had passed that Friede, who had been breathing heavily for a long time, finally came to her senses.
"Miss Hi-Hilde... no, Hilde...?"
The first words Friede uttered after finally regaining her language were my name.
My name without the honorific as I had asked. I smiled brightly at her.
"Yes. That's right. Call me like that. Friede."
"...Ugh. This, this isn't right... no, but this is Hi-Hilde's! Hilde's fault! That's what it is!"
Oh, was she still not in her right mind?
Friede rambled incoherently while trembling with her head down and hands clasped. Before I could ask what she meant, her hands firmly grasped my arm.
"Um, Friede...?"
My arm being pulled forcefully. I took a few steps forward, staggering as if led by her hand.
"Let's go!"
It was a shout filled with tremendous force. You could say it was filled with a firm determination to refuse refusal.
I asked the meaning of those words in a bewildered tone.
"Go? What do you mean all of a sudden...? Where are we going?"
"We need to find a place to rest until tomorrow! Because this place is a bit...!"
...I decided not to ask what was wrong with this place.
I was dragged along by her like that, running, and was seated inside a small cave nestled in a corner of the forest.
Friede chased out the family of large foxes living in the cave, then cleaned up the cave so quickly that even rangers would applaud, and spread her cloak on the floor like a blanket.
Then, as soon as she confirmed the safety of the entire surroundings, she laid me down on that cloak as if she couldn't hold back any longer.
"Oh, ohh...?"
It was so sudden that there wasn't even time to react.
I was just going "ohh" in confusion, when I surrendered my body to the blanket under her hand lightly pressing on my shoulder.
What is this? Something's wrong.
This wasn't what I had intended at all?
It seems the bond-strengthening line I had come up with after much deliberation had worked too well on Friede. Enough to blow away her patience.
And so I was also very well eaten up.
All night long.
...Though whether out of caution for possible attacks or not, we didn't go all the way, just repeatedly kissing while embracing.