"Do we have camping gear?" I asked Luke.
I knew there was a lot of supplies inside this room, but I didn't expect that there would also be camping equipment.
Luke himself said that the campfire setup was prepared too, along with the tent.
And he was looking for it right now in the pile of items and boxes.
"I remember it should be somewhere around here…" he muttered while continuing to search.
"Yukito-san, who will keep watch first?" asked Hime, tugging the sleeve of my robe so I would look at her.
"Hmm… first, maybe Luke and I will take the first shift, we can still stay awake for a few more hours," I said.
Yuu-chan, who heard this conversation, immediately cut in between us.
"Ever since we left, Hime and I have been inside the whole time until we arrived at this village. And I don't want to stay inside anymore," said Yuu-chan.
"Well, that's…"
While I was thinking about what answer I should give Yuu-chan, Luke found the firewood for the campfire and showed it to us.
"Look at this!" he said.
——
Krak, krak.
The campfire was already lit, and it let us feel the warmth coming from it.
Luke only needed to pour a bit of oil onto the pile of wood, and the fire ignited immediately.
Could it be that the wood already had some kind of flammable substance in it? That would be dangerous if a fire broke out.
"Hime-san, Yuu-san, go inside first, we'll wake you up around twelve," said Luke.
"Hmm… I'm also getting a little sleepy… come on, Hime…" said Yuu-chan in a quiet voice that clearly showed how sleepy she already was.
Yuu-chan… earlier she insisted she didn't want to be inside again, but now she's sleepy and wants to sleep inside… Hah…
"Is it okay for us to leave the two of them alone when we fall asleep later?" asked Luke.
"Don't worry, you've seen Hime's identity as a rank C adventurer, right? Even though she's actually much stronger than that rank," I said.
"I know about that… but I'm not so sure about Yuu-san," he said.
"You don't need to worry, Yuu-chan isn't as strong as Hime, but the difference isn't that big. It's just that they can't really be relied on for close-range combat," I said.
They both use magic, and that requires an incantation to activate.
Hime uses her staff, and maybe she can defend herself, but Yuu-chan is different.
Yuu-chan uses magic directly from her hands, without using an item like a staff.
Ah, right, Yuu-chan is my status screen, and that screen was given by that old man… is Yuu-chan actually stronger than Hime?
If I consider their backgrounds, I'm pretty sure Yuu-chan is stronger… ah, whatever, there's no point thinking about things like this.
"If you say so… then it must be true," said Luke.
"I just want to ask, what time is it now?" I asked Luke.
For some reason, I wanted to know what time it was so I could feel more at ease if it was almost twelve.
"Hmm… it's still half past eleven, we still have one hour and thirty minutes before we sleep," answered Luke.
"That's still long…" I muttered.
—
To keep ourselves awake and not fall asleep, we brewed tea and drank it together.
Warm tea tastes really good when enjoyed in the middle of a cold night like this, and near the warmth of a campfire.
"Ahh… right, Luke, have you met me somewhere before? I feel like I've seen you somewhere," I said.
I remembered seeing Luke's face somewhere… but I forgot when and where.
"Maybe during the Abbys attack a few days ago? When all the adventurers in the city guarded the front gate and defeated all the monsters?" Luke asked.
"That could be… speaking of that attack, you must know about the hero who was summoned with me, right?" I asked.
Because he was close to Charles-san, he should have heard the news that the Necvalion kingdom had just summoned a hero from another world.
"You mean, Kuro or whatever his name is? Yeah, I know about that," he said.
"That hero formed a party, right? So why didn't they go to defeat the Abbys troops? Why were Hime and Yuu-chan the ones who had to take on that responsibility?" I asked.
I knew the questions I asked were quite many and related to complicated matters.
But I always held myself back, so that I would have moments like this later, to answer all my curiosity.
——
(Luke's side, while answering Yukito's question)
I came to the event where Sephira Hime argued with the king, and I saw you there.
Suddenly you grabbed Hime's hand and took her out of the castle, and since then, Hime has been hated by many people because she dared to oppose the king.
After the event ended and the citizens dispersed, I asked someone about what had happened.
And that's when I learned that two people had been summoned to Necvalion to protect this city from the threat of an Abbys invasion.
One of them had an incredibly powerful status skill, but the other's stats were only that of an average adult.
But now, your status screen must have improved, right?
I rushed back to the church and told Charles-san what I had heard.
And he immediately prostrated and thanked God for what had just happened in this city. He said that a miracle would soon occur, and a peaceful era for humans and semi-humans would arrive soon.
The next day, the hero came to the church, bringing several people whom I assumed to be his party members.
There was a large man with tremendous physical strength.
Beside him, there was a woman who might have been a mage, and she kept complaining about the church.
And another one, probably the youngest among them, who seemed to be the healer of the party.
They asked Charles-san to check whether they were the chosen ones who would save the world or not.
And the hero, wearing golden armor, had already threatened Charles-san not to play around with them.
The result was shocking — not a single person in that party was chosen.
Charles-san knew he must not lie because it would be a sinful act, yet at that moment he chose his own safety.
He told the hero that their task in this world was to complete all the difficult missions in the guild, and when they succeeded, they would become true heroes.
They immediately left the church while slamming the door quite hard.
Charles-san fell to the floor, and I quickly helped him.
"Last night I dreamed that someday, two people would come here. They both possessed extraordinary magical attributes."
"And beside them, there was a man with terrifying strength, coming to this church — and they were the ones chosen by Him."
That's what Charles-san told me at that moment, and I could see his gaze looked empty.
And after saying that sentence, he fainted.
I don't know if it was a vision of the future, and whether the people he mentioned were your party, I don't know.
The hero's party will only take missions from the guild, and they probably won't join the fight against the Abbys unless they are given a reward.
I've heard many rumors saying they like to extort money from the missions they complete.
That should be enough to answer your question, right?
——
(Yukito's side)
"…I understand, thank you Luke, I'm really glad I could hear the truth from you," I said.
"But you said you wanted to be in the hero's party, right? Then why did you join this party instead? Generally speaking, shouldn't you go with them instead of us?" I asked.
"I… feel that if I go on an adventure with all of you, my life will become more colorful, and a new world will open up before me," he answered.
"There are many things I want to do in this world, like eating delicious food, or maybe marrying someone and creating a family with her."
"But before that, I want to carve my name into the history books that tell the story of our party's journey, in case we really manage to defeat the Abbys."
"Maybe when we eventually face them, we won't fight alone. Maybe other kingdoms will help us defeat the Abbys."
"Even now, rumors about a party moving toward Virosia to defeat the Abbys have already spread in Necvalion."
"It's only a matter of time before the rumor spreads across the entire world, and our names will be known," Luke continued.
I… was grateful to have a new companion like him. I was sure he would never disappoint us.
Thud.
I moved closer to him and wrapped my arm around his shoulder from behind while smiling widely.
"For now, let's just finish this tea~!" I said.
"Of course!" he replied.
Yeah, having a male companion like him made me feel like I had gained something new.