I stared ahead, one thought clear. The goddess was a real pain in the neck. I just wanted to sit, breathe, and enjoy a few quiet, lazy days. I thought I’d earned that. But no, she had to show up, dump the world’s mess on me, and walk away like it was all my problem now.

  Honestly, it was my problem too. I'd signed that hero contract knowing peace was never part of the deal. I was even willing, that is, until I learned the awful parts of it. Still, I wasn’t as desperate as before. I had some power now, and two strong followers, for better or worse, probably more for worse. Lost in thought, my eyes landed on the servant as she got ready to leave the room.

  “Ah, wait a second,” I called out fast. “I have one more request.”

  “Yes, my lord?” she said, turning back with her hand on the door handle.

  “Could you please prepare a room for these two ladies?”

  She froze, staring at me like I had just announced a sudden divorce and started splitting the house. Awkwardly, Midori and Aoi looked even more shocked than she did.

  “Hey, where did that even come from? I’m fine here,” Midori said, flopping onto the bed. “And this bed’s comfy. But you can get one ready for this… ugh,” she added, glaring at Aoi like she was a nuisance.

  “Huh?!" Aoi snapped, "I’m not going anywhere." She plopped down on the other side of the bed, lazily dragging a finger across my shoulder. “I’d rather stay here with my lord.”

  “Since when am I your… whatever?” I said, slapping her hand off my shoulder.

  The servant looked completely lost now, her eyes bouncing between the three of us, face red as ever. I jumped in before it got messier.

  “Don’t mind them,” I said, giving Midori and Aoi a sharp glare. “They’re joking, right?” Then I turned back to the servant. “Just do as I said. One room. Please.”

  After she left, I finally let myself collapse, flopping onto the bed, every muscle tight from stress, desperate for some real rest.

  “What was that now?!” Midori asked.

  “I’m not staying in the same room with this snail!" Aoi snapled.

  “Like I’m dying to sleep next to this worm!"

  “And I have zero interest in sleeping with a snail or a worm,” I muttered under my breath.

  “What did you just say?” Midori grabbed my ear, pulling hard.

  “How dare you?" Aoi joined in right away, yanking my other ear.

  I slapped both their hands away and gave them a tired, completely done look. Then my eyes closed on their own.

  “I haven’t slept for two days,” I mumbled. “I climbed snowy mountains, fought dragons, dealt with gods, contracts, and whatever else decided to ruin my life... And right now, the only thing I want is some much needed rest.”

  I cracked one eye open and glared at the two of them. “And with both of you here, that’s just impossible.”

  “Well, um…” Aoi said. “You know…” Her voice softened and shook, like a scared little girl. A professional performance, if you ask me. “I’m new here. It’s my first day, and I’m a little… nervous. If I stay next to you tonight, maybe I—”

  “And why exactly are you nervous?” I cut in.

  “I'm just—”

  “Let me guess,” I said, sighing. “You’re scared you’ll sneeze and wipe out the whole town? Don’t lie and say you’re afraid of demons. I won’t buy it.”

  “What about my mana then?” she tried again, this time sounding more confident, somehow sure it would work. “You know I keep producing it… and by midnight I will—”

  “I’ll be awake by then,” I said fast. “If you let me sleep… Also, since when did this room and bed become so important to you two?”

  “I just don’t want to stay with her.”

  “I don’t want to stay with her either.”

  I sat up, sighed, and rubbed my head. These two had already given me a headache, and just as I was about to completely lose it, the servant finally appeared at the door.

  “My lord, the room is ready as you requested.”

  “Great!” I jumped up. I pointed to the door, glaring at Midori and Aoi. “Out! Both of you!”

  After a chaotic mess and a pounding headache, I finally dragged them out of the room. I collapsed onto the empty bed in the quiet room and sank into a deep, uninterrupted sleep. And when the door sound woke me up, night had already fallen.

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  The servant led me to the room where the others were waiting. Midori and Aoi came along, and we all sat in a circle. The general looked almost recovered, though still a bit fragile, while the old man had bounced back completely. His only problem was age, no magic in this world could fix that.

  “Well,” I said, yawning as I looked at the old man and the general, “I called you here, but… I’m not really sure where to start. So maybe we do it this way, I answer as you ask, or something like that.”

  “That’s quite reasonable, young lord,” the old man said, his sharp, lively voice lifting my mood. “General Takeda already mentioned your mountain trip, but… did you really defeat the dragon there?”

  I turned to the others. Aoi looked completely lost, and Midori looked ready to jump in, but I cut her off before she could speak. There was no way I was letting them ruin this story. My lie was already rehearsed, whether it held or not, time would tell.

  “Oh, that! Yes, the dragon,” I said, suddenly excited. “But it wasn’t just any dragon. No. That mana you’re thinking of? That was the dragon itself. At the mountain peak, they all gathered, formed a massive translucent monster, tore me apart, even broke my bones… I thought I was done. But I used my domain and devoured all of it.” I rattled it off quickly, eyes darting, silently hoping they wouldn’t question it.

  “I see… a mana dragon, well, very unexpected,” the old man said, stroking his beard and staring at the floor for a long moment. Then he met my eyes again. “And how did you recover from your injuries? You look well, which I’m glad about, young lord, don’t get me wrong... but—”

  “Oh, that… well, uh,” My eyes drifted to Aoi. “Aoi. Yeah. Her high level magic. That’s how.” And I could already feel myself sinking deeper into the lie.

  “Lady Aoi is a healing mage? That’s wonderful,” the general muttered, thinking out loud.

  “Oh, no, not exactly. I mean, sort of, but... not really,” I mumbled, sinking deeper into trouble with every word.

  They both stared at Aoi for a long, stressful moment, then glanced at Midori. Midori looked at me, confused. I scanned the room, waiting for my lie to be exposed. I just hoped it wouldn’t.

  “My lord,” the general said, “could last night’s rain and the sudden arrival of spring... have anything to do with all this?”

  “Y-yes, sure,” I forced a smile. “Like I said, I swallowed the dragon. But controlling all that mana felt like carrying the weight of the world. So I shaped it into a mana ball, or whatever you call it, and launched it into the sky… then came lightning and rain… yeah, that’s what happened.”

  They both looked stunned, clearly having a hard time believing any of it. But it wasn’t a total lie. If you ignored the dream parts, everything I said matched what actually happened. At least, that was enough for me to not feel like a complete liar, just a part time one.

  “This is truly a miracle,” the old man murmured, eyes wide. “But ever since I met the young lord, he has always brought us miracles.”

  “Yeah, that’s kind of… true. But,” I said, steering the conversation away before it got worse, “if there are no more questions, and now that your homeland is safe… I think we can head back.”

  “As you command, young lord, I’ll start preparations right away,” the old man said, eyes shining. “We should be ready to move in a few days, but the journey itself will take about two weeks, I guess…”

  “I-I didn’t command anything, but… anyway, we’re not in a hurry, so take your time,” I said, and all this talk about the mountain reminded me of that strange cave we saw, it was perfect for changing the subject.

  “Also,” I said, “we came across dwarf skeletons in the mountain, and probably caves and stairs carved by them. Do you know anything about this or… what happened to them?”

  “Yes, we know the dwarves in the mountain, young lord,” the old man said, nodding. “We lived nearby for a long time but didn’t interact much… dwarves don’t like sunlight, and they aren’t very friendly with other races either,” he leaned closer and whispered, “A bit barbaric, actually.”

  “I see,” I muttered, my eyes darting quickly to Aoi and back to the old man. “So it seems the dragon in the mountain probably caused their deaths.”

  “Quite likely. And honestly, it’s impossible to think any living thing could survive in that dense mana field.”

  “You’re right,” I muttered, recalling what we’d gone through. “After experiencing it myself, I can’t disagree. It’s sad… even if they weren’t very friendly, they were your neighbors for a while, so I feel sorry for them.”

  “Still, young lord,” the old man said, looking at me with proud, shining eyes, “if you hadn’t stopped it, that menace would have spread even more and taken more lives.”

  This reminded me of the other spreading danger the goddess had mentioned. A sudden unease washed over me, and I fell silent, still unsure. The heavy quiet of the room pressed down on me. Finally, I looked at the old man, took a deep breath, and continued.

  “Uh, it’d be good if you gathered the people tomorrow morning so I can make a speech.”

  “Of course, young lord, to let your people hear of your miraculous victory—”

  “No, no, not for that,” I cut him off before he could embarrass me further. “I mean, it’d be better if you explained this to them before I arrive. I... I have another speech in mind.”

  “What kind of speech is that, young lord?”

  “I’m thinking of going to Celestia, the human lands, for a while,” I said. Then, before his face dropped, I added, “But don’t worry. I’ll come back often. I just have some things to handle there, and I need to learn more about this world too…”

  “Oh, I see. And yes… humans, especially with their ties to the elves, have made great strides in magic and knowledge. Going there will inevitably make you stronger and more knowledgeable.”

  “I hope so.”

  “But,” the old man said, eyes sharpening, “you must be very careful with your domain, young lord, especially with berserk.”

  I tensed instantly. Yeah, that berserk thing. I still couldn’t tell if it was a blessing or a curse, but either way, I had to figure it out. I couldn’t control it yet, and I didn’t even know if control was possible.

  “I’d like to talk with you about this later. I think I need to understand it better…”

  “Sure, young lord. I’ll do my best.”

  “Then,” Midori cut in, “if everything’s settled, when do you plan to leave? I mean, when do we go?”

  “Soon… maybe sooner, I’m not sure,” I muttered. “I just need some rest first, and there are a few quick things I have to take care of before leaving.”

  “Reasonable,” Midori replied.

  “Anyway, I’m tired,” I said, forcing a deep, fake yawn. “We can talk about the rest tomorrow.”

  As I got up, everyone else followed. The general left first, and I nudged Aoi and Midori toward the door before they could say something my stupid lies couldn’t cover. The old man, however, stayed behind.

  “Oh, young lord,” he called out as I was leaving, “may I have a quick word?”

  “Huh? Sure,” I said, motioning for Aoi and Midori to leave.

  I walked toward him, and he leaned in, his voice low and his face uneasy. “This… is about Lady Aoi,” he said, and my body tensed up at once.