Chapter 6: If you want me to do it, then I promise I will.

The next day.

For some reason, Raiga and I were waving at the crowd from horseback.

I was wearing a different dress from yesterday. Embarrassingly, it was a bit more revealing—though really, it only showed a slight glimpse of my chest.

Even so, for me, it was still too much.

Combined with being in front of a crowd, I could feel my face turning bright red.

Raiga was wearing a modified version of a knight’s uniform we found in the wardrobe room.

Even the white horse he rode had custom stirrups that matched his outfit.

If the girls from our school back on Earth saw this, they’d probably scream “Prince charming!” and faint on the spot.

How did it come to this...?

Let’s take a moment to look back.

“You two will be participating in the parade.”

That one line from King Risharl was where it all began.

“What do you mean by that?”

“The people are frightened by the ‘Demon Dragon.’ We’d like to show them the brave figures of the ‘Hero’ and the ‘Saint’ to ease their fears.”

“This was part of the plan from the beginning. It’s also a way to formally announce the success of the summoning.”

Karen-san added that.

Apparently, it wasn’t just some whim of the king’s.

Since the reasoning was perfectly sound, I couldn’t argue against it.

What popped into my mind was a certain nighttime parade held in a certain dreamland—me, standing on a massive float lit up with lights, smiling and waving...

No, no, no.

“It’s a simple affair, just riding on horseback and letting the people see you. Unfortunately, we don’t have the luxury of putting together something grand.”

King Risharl laughed cheerfully.

I thought it might seem a little plain or disappointing... but actually, I was relieved.

Karen-san had her eyes downcast.

…Originally, she was supposed to be the one in the parade. I wonder what she must be feeling.

But I didn’t have any words to offer her.

Because it was me—due to some unwanted twist of fate—who stole that role from her.

“Yuto, can you even ride a horse?”

Raiga’s honest question cut in.

“Of course not. I’ve never done it. …What about you?”

“Hmm? I can ride. I used to do it a lot over summer breaks at our ranch.”

He replied like it was no big deal.

Oh right, that’s just how he is.

Not that his parents work on a ranch or anything. He’s from the owner side.

Yep. This guy’s the spoiled rich kid type.

But he never throws that around.

I doubt many classmates even know.

Raiga doesn’t brag, and when he invites friends over, he always takes them to a small house that isn’t his main home. He brings girls there saying something like, “My parents are gonna be home late today,” even though no one lives there. Probably.

By the way, since our school’s far away, he apparently built that house with his own pocket money.

Not his parents’ money—his own.

When he entered junior high, his parents gave him a million yen and told him, “Turn this into at least a hundred times more by the time you graduate high school. If you can’t, we’ll cut you off.”

I can’t even begin to imagine a world like that.

I vaguely remember he nearly hit the goal by the time we entered high school using stocks and investments, but I wasn’t interested, so I forgot the details.

Anyway, knowing all that, it’s no surprise he can ride a horse.

The real problem is me.

What am I supposed to do?

“There’s no need to worry, Lord Yuto. You’ll be riding with Lord Raiga.”

“…Huh?”

“There’s no way you can sit astride a horse in that dress. You’ll ride sidesaddle.”

“…Huh?”

King Risharl and Karen-san answered matter-of-factly.

Wait, what?

Me?

You want me to do that thing from shoujo manga? The one where the girl rides on the back of a guy’s bike?

No way!

I wanted to laugh it off—but there was no way I could say something like that in this atmosphere.

And that’s how we ended up here.

Very much against my will, I had my arms wrapped around Raiga’s waist, clinging to him as we rode the horse.

At the start of the parade—

“What’s going on? Wasn’t Lady Karen the ‘Saint’?”

“So the rumor about her Stigma disappearing was true!”

—the crowd was buzzing with confusion.

But King Risharl quickly smoothed it over with a booming voice:

“Karen’s Stigma vanished because she used its power to summon the ‘Hero’ from another world. Yet, her strong will also called forth the ‘Saint’ from that same world. Give your respect and gratitude to Karen and the two who have come to us!”

It was a complete lie.

Just a convenient stitching together of circumstances.

But even if someone were to doubt it, they’d have no way to verify it.

Still, I think it was for the best.

If Karen-san had been accused of being a false ‘Saint,’ it would’ve broken my heart. A lie that spares everyone pain—sometimes, that’s the kindest truth.

“Lord Raiga! Please, defeat the Demon Dragon!”

“Lord Yuto, you’re so beautiful!”

“Lady Karen, thank you for guiding us!”

Each time the elf citizens shouted words of support, we’d turn their way and wave.

Over and over. I struggled to keep my forced smile from faltering.

“Raiga-sama, Yuto-sama, pleathe defeat the Demon Dwagonnn!”

Then came a sudden, lisping voice.

I looked over and saw a small elven boy shouting with all his might. His father, probably, was giving him a shoulder ride, while his mother helped him keep balance.

A family.

Something in my chest felt warm.

“Yeah! I swear, we’ll bring peace back to this land!”

I replied with a genuine, heartfelt smile.

“I ended up making a promise…”

Seeing Yuto muttering blankly, I slapped his shoulder with a laugh.

“You haven’t changed at all. Still a sucker for kids.”

The parade had ended, and ever since I helped him off the horse, he’d been stuck in that dazed state.

“Oh, shut up, Raiga. What was I supposed to do? He was so earnest.”

Yuto claimed to hate people and really didn’t talk to anyone in our class. But when it came to little kids, he was different. Especially ones under seven—he loved them. He was always volunteering to help out with childcare stuff.

…Not because he had some weird fetish. He wasn’t into shotas or lolis or anything like that.

He just sincerely liked children.

When I asked him why, he once said, “No reason, really.” But I think I know. Back when he was definitely still a boy—though now she’s a girl—that thing that happened when he was seven probably explains it.

Yuto came from a pretty normal family.

Two parents, one child. I heard he used to want a little brother or sister, but it never happened.

That is—until he was seven.

On their way home from an outing, a drunk driver crashed into them. His parents were killed instantly. Yuto survived only because his mother shoved him out of the way at the last second.

Maybe being around small kids helps him remember the happiness he once had.

“I wish I could’ve held my own child someday…”

Yuto murmured.

He often said that during volunteer work—I’d tag along sometimes too.

“If other people’s kids are this adorable, then my own would be even more so.”

He was a boy with a deep longing for family, born from experience.

He once told me, almost in passing, that his dream was to get married someday and build a new family in the house where he used to live with his parents.

And I—I've always wanted to support that humble dream of his.