The Wrong Hero

Chapter 4 - Friends and Enemies

Dante walked down the main road of the capital, still stuck in his thoughts. People pointed at him and whispered as he passed, but he paid them little mind. Malty and the church were going to be bigger problems than he initially believed. He needed to rethink his plans.

Of course, focusing on any particular topic was somewhat difficult. Between waking up in the middle of the night from his nightmare, to pretending to be asleep as his room was robbed, missing breakfast and having the trial...

God, I need a smoke.

He used another two sticks yesterday, one during a short break with Greenie, and another after supper with Sadeena. After he explained what it was to her, she confirmed there was something similar in this world. It wasn't really sold in towns, mostly something farmers grew on the side to have after a long day's work. It also didn't sound like that stuff was as detrimental to one's health as his cigarettes, so that was something to look forward to. Hopefully it would help with cravings while he got off it completely. He had planned to quit for a while, but kept falling back into it.

"Hey." A voice pulled him from his addiction thoughts as he found himself near Erhard's. It was the man himself who called to him from between a few stalls.

"Erhard." Dante looked the man over. He didn't seem too pleased.

Erhard walked over to him and grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt. "Did you do it?"

"Wha-" Dante was at a loss for words. "What are you...Why would I tell you about it yesterday if I was actually going to—"

"Did you do it?" He asked again, his hold firm.

"...No." Erhard stared at him a moment before letting him go.

"Alright." He said as he turned. "Come to my shop. Through the back. I want that explanation now."

Dante nodded as he moved to the alley. It wasn't too strange, he supposed. Looking into the eyes was a decent way to tell if someone was lying. He'd done that plenty before.

When he reached the back of the shop, he found the door unlocked. Almost immediately after opening the door, his head was pulled down. He felt his face collide with something soft. Two somethings.

"Oh, Dante, how could you~!" Sadeena had her arms wrapped around his head as she pressed it into her chest. "There are better ways to relieve yourself than to take advantage of some poor girl!"

"...Well, I'm glad someone is enjoying my situation." Although, currently, he was also enjoying it.

She let him up and ruffled his hair. "Just a bit of fun."

"Right. Wait, are you wearing my jacket?"

Sadeena gave a quick pose, showing herself off. "Looks good, don't you think?"

It did. With the leather jacket, her long hair, and her wrapped chest, she looked like she was a delinquent straight out of an anime. Aside from the sash-thing around her waist, anyway.

"Oh my, if you stare any harder, you'll make me blush~."

Dante gave his head a quick shake. "R-Right. Just take it off before we leave." He looked past her and saw Erhard down the hall, arms crossed. "Alright, I owe you an explanation." He came into the shop area and stood opposite of the blacksmith.

"That you do."

It didn't take long to tell the man what he knew. How he knew of this world through books and stories, who some of the key people early on would be, the destruction of Lurolona and the plot of Malty and the church. He had to say, Erhard took the news pretty well. Though, he didn't seem to believe Dante at first, but once he mentioned how Erhard's former blacksmithing master chased girls as much as he made weapons, Erhard's expression began to change.