Help! My Overprotective S-Rank Master Who Loves Me Too Much Won't Let Me Go on Quests! - Chapter 41: Aria-san, Please Forget the Promise!

Chapter 41: Aria-san, Please Forget the Promise!

“Hey, hey! It’s a promise! We’ll both get stronger, and the next time we meet, we’ll defeat all the bad guys and scary monsters, complete lots of quests, and have fun together, okay?”

“Yeah! It’s a promise! When we meet again, we’ll both be S-rank adventurers, right?”

“If Adin-kun becomes an S-rank adventurer, then I’ll have to become an SS-rank adventurer!”

“Is that even a thing?”

“If it doesn’t exist, I’ll make it exist! I’m seven and you’re four, so I’m three years older than you. I always have to be stronger than you!”

“I’ll get stronger quickly too and become an SS-rank adventurer!”

“Then by that time, I’ll be an SSS-rank adventurer!”

“That’s unfair!”

“It’s not unfair~!”

In the middle of that conversation, the scene suddenly cut off, and I found myself sitting up in bed.

“Was that… a dream?”

…That promise from back then.

A promise I made with that girl whose name I’ve now forgotten… Yeah, I need to become an S-rank adventurer right away and find her────

“Adin-kun, you looked like you were having a bad dream. Are you okay?”

Aria-san, who was lying next to me, watched me with a worried expression and spoke softly.

“Ah, Aria sa──── Aria-san!? W-why are you in my bed!?”

It took me a moment to react, probably because I had just woken up, but this was the most important thing to address… or so I thought. But Aria-san replied with a calm face.

“You looked like you were in pain, so I got worried and decided to sleep beside you… Anyway, are you okay?”

It seemed Aria-san had been really concerned about me and chose to sleep in the same bed because of that. Since this wasn’t the first time we’d shared a bed, I put aside my initial shock and answered.

“I’m okay. It wasn’t a painful or sad dream… It was just about a promise I made with a seven-year-old girl quite a long time ago. In the dream, we had promised to become S-rank adventurers and go on adventures together. But I haven’t even come close to fulfilling that promise, so if I looked like I was suffering, maybe it was because I felt guilty about not even getting close to my goal while dreaming.”

“…If it’s making you suffer, then just forget about that promise.”

“…Huh?”

Aria-san sat up like I did, meeting my eyes as she spoke.

“You don’t have to chase after becoming an S-rank adventurer just because of something a seven-year-old girl said that once. There’s no need for you to put yourself in danger by taking on difficult quests.”

“Being misled by a seven-year-old girl..? Why would you put it like that────”

“Aria-san! Adin-san! Something terrible has happened!”

Just as we were getting into a serious conversation, the door to the room flew open, and Milena-san burst in.

“Milena, we’re in the middle of something important────”

“A horde of monsters is advancing toward this town! We’ve just received the report!”

“What…!?”

A horde of monsters…!?

“At this rate, they’ll invade the town in less than twenty minutes. We don’t know why this is happening all of a sudden but for now────”

“We’ll intercept them, right? Just leave it to me.”

“By yourself…!? Wait, master! That’s too────”

“If I handle it alone, Adin-kun won’t be in danger, so it’s fine. Adin-kun, stay here and wait, okay?”

“Please wait────”

“You remember what happened during that succubus subjugation, right?”

“Ugh…!”

…Back then, I didn’t listen to Aria-san and acted on my own, and I almost got seriously hurt.

Looking back, since that demon was Etenera from the Demon King’s army, maybe things could’ve worked out if we had just talked it out. But that’s just hindsight now.

“Well, I’m going now.”

“……”

I couldn’t stop Aria-san as she spoke those words, and all I could do was watch her leave the room… leaving just me and Milena-san behind.