After enjoying a leisurely boat ride, we decided to head for the Hero’s Hill, as Olivia-san had requested. Olivia-san’s Teleportation Magic brought us to the foot of the Hero’s Hill, and we followed the tourist route up the hill.
Since it was outside of the tourist season, there were no people at all, and the atmosphere around us was somewhat tranquil.
The Hero’s Hill is a relatively sacred place in the world, so there were no elaborate structures built around it. The hill where the monument is located and the path leading up to it were well-maintained, but the rest of the hill was left in its natural state, which gave the place a nice atmosphere.
Since it’s a long way to the monument, there are wooden benches along the way so that the visitors can take a rest while climbing.
Well, it’s not so hard that it could be compared to climbing a mountain, so taking a break along the way isn’t really necessary.……is what I thought when I just started the climb but……
[……Haahhh…… Haaaahhhhh…… Hyiiiiihh…….]
[U- Ummm…… Olivia-san, are you alright?]
[T- There’s no problem…… Haaahhhh…… at all…… Hyiiihh……]
No, there’s a lot of them, right? Problems, I mean…… Even though we’re not even halfway up the hill yet, she looked pretty out of breath, or rather, she looked pretty desperate.
This should have been a fairly gentle slope, but she looked as if she had just finished passing the halfway point of a mountain climb.
[…….I don’t think it’s just my imagination though. You looked pretty tired, you know? Eh? But why……][I was careless…… Haahhhh…… Because…… this place is…… out of Friendship City’s range……]
[Ahh……]
Hearing Olivia-san’s words, I was reminded of something. I heard that Olivia-san is able to display power comparable to that of the Supreme Gods within the Friendship City due to the power comparable to authority bestowed upon her by Shiro-san.
But outside of the city, she’s only apparently as powerful as an ordinary person……
[Anyway, there’s a bench a few more blocks here, so let’s take a break there.]
[No, there’s no problem. I can’t afford to inconvenience Miyama Kaito-sama……]
[I also want to rest, so let’s take a break!]
It’s just a guess, but Olivia-san, without her authority, is about as physically fit as an average person without physical strength.
At any rate, I let Olivia-san sit on the wooden bench, and taking a drink out of my magic box, I handed it to her.
[Olivia-san, here you go.]
[M- My apologies.]
[We don’t really need to rush, so let’s take our time.]
What I handed to Olivia-san was a sports drink. The reason why there are sports drinks in my magic box is that I was recently able to stock up on a large quantity of them.
It was originally created at the request of Aoi-chan and Hina-chan. Alice’s weapon store is located in the basement of my house, and Aoi-chan and Hina-chan often do their shopping there…… At first, that secret shop of hers really was just selling weapons and armor, but gradually, the selection of goods for adventurers was increasing.
Thereupon, Alice asked Aoi-chan and Hina-chan what additional products they wanted, to which they told her that they wanted to drink something like a sports drink instead of just plain water, so Alice made it for them.
I’ve also resumed jogging for quite a while, so I bought a good number of them and put them in my magic box.
Also, as a little side note, the sports drink was well received by Lilia-san and the others, so Alice started selling it at a trading company ostensibly headed by Nia-san, one of the Ten Demons.
(T/N: For those who forgot, Nia’s codename is Moloch, that skewer maniac.)
It seemed to be selling well, especially among adventurers and knights, making her very pleased.
[……It’s alright now. I apologize for the inconvenience.]
[No, Olivia-san…… With the way your legs were shaking there, you don’t look okay at all……]
[It’s alright. At worst, you can just leave my body behind. I can return to the Friendship City as soon as I feel like it……]
[H- Hmmm.]
Now then, what do I do here…… I honestly don’t feel that Olivia-san would be able to make it to the stone monument at this point. She clearly doesn’t feel like one of those people who’s used to exercising.
……Well, I can’t blame her, considering that without her authority, she was almost exclusively praying and almost never even went outside the Cathedral.
The person herself said to leave her behind, but the place we’re heading to now is somewhere Olivia-san herself requested to go, and I don’t really feel comfortable just leaving her there.
[……I understand. Olivia-san, I will carry you from here on out.]
[Wha!?]
The slope is really gentle and the distance isn’t that great, so it would be possible for us to reach the site with no problem even when I’m carrying Olivia-san behind my back. Well, the question is whether or not Olivia-san would agree to that.
[Y- You can’t! That’s absolutely no good!!! I extremely apologize that I had troubled you. However, having to burden Miyama Kaito-sama is just……]
[……Olivia-san.]
Well, though I say that, I knew that Olivia-san would be like that, and I don’t really want to get into that topic of doing something or not again……
When I grinned at her with this thought in mind, Olivia-san clearly looked pale.
[Please reconsider! I’m begging you! I would be crushed by guilt, so please reconsider……]
[I’ll carry Olivia-san on my back to the monument. This has already been decided, so please follow…… This is an order.]
[Ahhhh…… How cruel.]
I mean, even if I asked her “What should we do?”, she’ll definitely just tell me to go back without even considering my thoughts on doing such a thing, so I basically had no choice but to push through.
Perhaps sensing that I would not give in on this matter, Olivia-san’s shoulders slumped with a look of resignation on her face.
<Afterword>
Serious-senpai : [I had already expected that it would be likely for a piggyback ride to happen because they’ll be climbing a hill, but it really turned out this way huh…… However, I will not underestimate it. The degree of closeness in a piggyback ride is closer than a princess carry. In other words…… It’s going to be a flirt fest in the ? ……D*mn it all.]
