Ord Zenbel was sliced into tasty-sized pieces for the monsters.

In front of the corpse split into seven pieces, Friede jumped up to me, hugging my waist and cheering, “See? I knew you were trustworthy, Hilde! You wouldn’t team up with wicked folks like those Abyss Priests!”

“Of course not. Why would I do that?”

I smiled while petting Friede’s head.

What a lie. I clearly saw her nervously staring at me and Ord having a conversation.

Would she even realize how anxious I was, worrying she’d swing the Holy Sword before I could extract useful information?

Of course not. She’s too cute, so I’ll let it slide.

—

When I stabbed a dagger through Ord’s temple, I already had a plan to tidy things up afterward.

The head of the notorious Abyss Priest, called the Nightmare of Biesenberg.

I intended to take that head, which wouldn’t immediately try to kill me, and use it as a tool to clear my name.

But sadly, that plan had to be discarded.

The moment I checked Ord’s severed head, it had transformed into something entirely different.

“What the heck is this?”

A smooth head without eyes, nose, or mouth. The lack of even a single strand of hair proved this was not a human head.

And not just smooth; the surface was slowly melting like some kind of slime, turning into a liquid.

There was no way this was Ord.
Although Abyss Priests are hated creatures, most of them are still human by race.

In fact, the moment I saw this, I already figured it out. My muttering “what is this” was just a lament of disbelief.

“Tch, thought I caught him easily… who would’ve thought this was a Doppleganger instead.”

Doppleganger.

A monster that mimics the appearance, memories, and personality of a human, eats the original, and takes its place.

What I killed was not Ord himself, but merely a Doppleganger that imitated him.
I heard they have the ability to control monsters, so it probably used that to dominate the Doppleganger trying to kill it and took its place.

“Uh, is this a Doppleganger…?”

“Yep. That guy was clever.”

Only then did Friede, noticing the state of the head I held, click her tongue in disappointment. I felt the same.

“Sigh….”

I threw the mushy head into the river with a short sigh.

What a bummer. If that head was Ord’s, things would have been so simple, but instead, it was a Doppleganger. I really fell for it.

I bet the real Ord is probably super flustered right now since I just killed his Doppleganger.

“Well, if this is a Doppleganger, then the real Ord is….”

“Most likely with Hervor. Since he seemed to know the situation well, their hideout must be hidden somewhere near Hervor.”

“Ah….”

Friede openly sighed in disappointment. I tried to comfort her, sitting beside her on a rock by the river, petting her head and joking.
After enjoying the feel of her scalp for a while, it seemed Friede also lightened up and started smiling again.

It was a bummer to have killed a Doppleganger, but maybe thanks to that, we could finish this without any danger.

About ten minutes passed.
While shaking her head and humming a tune, Friede suddenly looked like she remembered something and timidly asked, “Um, is it really okay to just kill it like that…?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“I mean, it feels like the right thing to do, but… um, wouldn’t it have been safer and easier to team up with them, from your perspective?”

She seemed worried that my choice might make things harder for me.
In a world where everyone was against me, I basically betrayed the only one who offered to cooperate.

Hmm. What should I say…?
I couldn’t tell her that I knew Abyss Priests well enough to be sure teaming up with them would only mean my demise.
Then… Ah, that would be good. A good answer popped into my head.
Since we’d have many things to do together going forward, it wouldn’t hurt to strengthen our bond through this opportunity.

“What are you talking about? That would just put you in danger.”

“Huh…? Me?”

“Yeah. That guy just said they plan to eliminate not just Heid but other heroes too. After hearing that, there’s no way I could team up with them.”

I softly brushed Friede’s hair and lightly patted her shoulder as I continued.

“Cooperating would be risky, and just hanging around could be dangerous too. What if they discovered your identity?”

My rejection of their proposal was entirely for her sake. It was a deliberately concocted answer, but part of it was genuinely felt.

“Uh, wait, so it’s all for me…?”

“Yeah. I can’t force you into something wrong for the sake of my safety. I can’t let you fall into such a dangerous situation.”

If I lost my only trusted partner while trying to handle a threat I could’ve dealt with wearing a Valkyrie helmet, that would be a complete disaster.

“I wouldn’t let that happen. Of course not! I’m your… partner, after all.”

I instinctively switched “party member” to “partner,” lightly caressing Friede’s cheek.
Though it was all just indirect experience, I’d quickly crafted this appeal from all my life experiences.

“Hilde…”

The effect was outstanding!

No, it was beyond outstanding; it was on the level of a critical hit!
Friede, whose expression had been like a kid watching her divorced parents while Ord was alive, now looked like a mistress watching a couple get divorced.
Her face mixed emotions of joy, triumph, satisfaction, and possessiveness.

Alright. Time to land the finishing blow!
My instinct flared, telling me this could take down Friede in one shot.

“You know, calling me ‘Hilde’ feels a little distant, doesn’t it? It makes it seem like there’s a barrier between us…”

“Uh, um… Really, Hilde?”

I stretched my finger and gently pressed it against Friede’s lips to hush her. Then I bent down to whisper into her ear.

“Friede, don’t call me ‘Hilde.’ Call me just ‘Hilde’ for me.”

As I gazed into Friede’s eyes, realizing I had made her blush with my embarrassed words, we softly leaned our cheeks against each other.

“I want that. I don’t want any distance between us. So please, can you do that for me?”

What a perfect line. I couldn’t help but applaud myself. Now, what would the effect be?

“Hueeeh…”

Oh no, Friede broke!

“Uh, Friede?!”

Her face turned beet red like it was on fire, wobbling unsteadily. I was shocked and supported her back.

“Hee, ah, um, hueh…”

She leaned into my arms, making incoherent sounds. What a bewildering response.
‘…Wow, is she really reacting this much?’
Even if my words had an incredible effect, this was too much. She was practically melting!
I’m scared of my talent.
I never imagined I had this ability. If I had known, I would’ve used it in my past life. Although, it probably wouldn’t have worked back then.

After a long while of panting, Friede finally regained her senses after several tens of seconds.

“H-Hilde… No, Hilde?”

Finally regaining her speech, the first thing Friede said was my name, omitting the honorific I had asked her to drop. I smiled gently at her as we faced each other.

“Yeah. That’s it. Call me like that, Friede.”

“…N-no. This isn’t right… No, it’s your fault, Hilde! You started it!”

Oh, was she still out of her mind?
With her head down, her clasped hands trembling, she babbled nonsense. Before I could even ask what she meant, her hands suddenly grabbed my arm.

“Uh, Friede…?”

She pulled me hard, and I stumbled forward a few steps because of it.

“Let’s go!”

What a powerful shout, filled with unyielding determination!
I asked in a confused tone what she meant.
“Let’s go where?!”

“We have to find a place to rest by tomorrow! This place isn’t suitable for us!”

I decided not to ask what she meant by that.
I was then dragged along as she rushed me toward a small cave nestled in the woods.
Friede drove away a giant fox family from inside the cave and quickly tidied it up so well that even the patrollers would applaud.
After checking for safety, she laid a mantle like a blanket on the floor and, without holding back, pushed me down onto it.

“Uh, um…?”

It all happened so quickly, I couldn’t even react.
I just stammered and let myself be enveloped by the mantle as she gently pressed down on my shoulder.
What is happening? Something seems off.

This wasn’t what I had intended!
It seemed that my carefully crafted bonding line had hit too close to home for Friede, completely obliterating her patience.
And it worked incredibly well on me, too.
All through the night.

…Maybe to guard against potential ambushes, I didn’t go all the way and just kept kissing her instead.