I Was Kicked Out of the Hero’s Party Even Though I’m His Girlfriend

When Maru then introduced himself by stating his position and name, the Hero’s party members looked at each other’s faces in surprise, confirming that he was indeed the person they knew.

“Thank you for coming to greet us. I am Duke Toledo.”

“Duke, our Kingdom of Basilite strongly supports House Toledo’s eastern expedition. You must be tired from traveling such a long distance – I hope you can put down your heavy burdens for a while and rest comfortably.”

“I’m delighted by such a warm welcome. Is His Majesty well?”

“He awaits his first meeting with you, Duke. And during your stay, several major events…”

While Maru conversed with Duke Toledo, Kiera stared at him blankly like someone in a daze.

Maru, who had lost weight and developed a more sturdy physique than before, carried himself proudly and never once looked at her.

As if they were complete strangers.

Her mind was full of questions.

‘How did he rise to success?’

Beside her, Yoris was teasing Lucy with a playful smile.

“Are you going to let this heaven-sent golden opportunity slip away? You even tried to hire a porter as his replacement because you missed Maru so much, saying you needed someone to take your anger out on? There he is. The person you’ve been longing for is right there. Why don’t you go say hello?”

“Shut up, trash priest. I told you to stop!”

Lucy’s face turned red as a ripe persimmon as she hurled insults at Yoris.

Yet her expression was bright.

She was grinning while quietly sniffling so others wouldn’t notice.

“This is Hero Kiera. Please exchange greetings.”

Duke Toledo politely gestured to Kiera who was behind him.

Maru briefly gave her a glance before jumping down from his horse.

He approached and lightly kissed the back of her hand.

“Welcome, Hero. Please rest comfortably during your stay.”

“Did you have connections here?”

To Kiera’s question, which showed some urgency perhaps due to curiosity, Maru merely gave a slight smile.

“I apologize for the personal question. Then, excuse me.”

Maru turned around and looked at Duke Toledo.

“From now on, my subordinates and I will escort you.”

“W-wait a moment!”

Josef approached on horseback and extended his hand.

“I am Josef, eldest son of House Toledo. You should greet me too.”

“Yes, thank you for visiting. Let’s go now.”

Maru quickly finished the greeting and mounted his horse.

“Please follow me. Knights, escort our honored guests!”

“Yes!”

Two hours later.

On a warm afternoon with spring-like sunshine.

The courtyard with a magnificent tree planted in it was cluttered with numerous pieces of luggage.

They were all belongings of House Toledo.

Amid servants busily coming and going to organize the luggage, Maru was also in the courtyard giving instructions while monitoring various situations.

“Which building is the guest keep you mentioned?”

When a servant carrying a heavy load on his back came to ask, Maru looked at a subordinate nearby.

“Go with him and show the way.”

“Yes!”

As soon as the two left, another person came.

It was a retainer of House Toledo.

He was holding bundles of hay tied with string in both hands.

“What do you mean paradise grass isn’t allowed in? Is there a country that doesn’t allow smoking this?”

“Our kingdom does. Smoking that here is punishable by death. Boys, confiscate it.”

“Yes!”

“N-no! How are we supposed to endure such a difficult journey without this!”

“We’ll hold onto it and return it when you leave. This paper lists prohibited items, so please voluntarily surrender anything you might have.”

“My, what a strict kingdom.”

As the retainer left shaking his head with the paper in hand, Josef soon came.

“Hey there. Remember me?”

“Lord Josef, right?”

“Correct. You have a good memory. Hahaha.”

“What brings you here?”

“Well, you see. I looked around the rooms and the Hero’s room seems too modest. So I was wondering if you could provide the largest room in the palace?”

Maru shook his head.

“The accommodations provided for honored guests visiting the palace are fixed. Changes are difficult.”

“Don’t be so inflexible, let’s think about this reasonably. We’re talking about the Hero here. How can you treat the world-famous Hero poorly? What if she later complains somewhere about having a hard time staying in the Kingdom of Basilite?”

“We don’t mind. As I said again, the rooms for honored guests are fixed. I ask for your understanding despite any inadequacies.”

“Ha, how frustrating.”

Josef laughed as if in disbelief.

Then with a slightly arrogant expression, he shrugged his shoulders.

“Listen well. Our House Toledo is known as the most influential family in the Kingdom of Lupalum.”

“I’ve heard as much.”

“Then shouldn’t you be more considerate? If we are treated well, the future relations between the Kingdom of Lupalum and the Kingdom of Basilite…”

While Josef was rambling on at length, Maru gestured to a subordinate to bring pen and paper.

“Being acknowledged by House Toledo means being acknowledged by the Kingdom of Lupalum. Then the Kingdom of Lupalum will acknowledge the Kingdom of Basilite, and His Majesty will praise you and bestow many rewards. And you will become a person who goes down in this country’s history… Hm? What are you writing?”

“Ah, please don’t mind me and continue what you were saying.”

Maru had a subordinate bend into an ‘L’ shape, spread paper on his back, and was busily writing something.

Josef came closer to look at the paper and tilted his head at the text written at the bottom.

“To: Kingdom of Lupalum Noble Ethics Committee…?”

His gaze moved up to the top of the paper.

I, Josef, eldest son of House Toledo, true to being the greatest playboy, will sleep with all the women in the Kingdom of Basilite! Hehehe!

…as Lord Josef boldly declared before me, I believe this to be a highly problematic statement and am informing you.

“I never made such a statement!”

Josef tore up the paper furiously.

Maru said with a trace of a smile:

“You kept being unreasonable so I played a little prank. Anyway, we cannot change the room. Please understand that everyone has been assigned rooms appropriately according to their status after careful consideration.”

“How incredibly rude to play pranks on me! I will immediately go to your direct superior, the prince, and demand punishment!”

“Do as you please.”

“Hmph!”

As Josef left fuming, Maru continued with his work.

“Don’t let people go near that area.”

“Yes!”

At that time, Kiera was walking along an outdoor corridor connecting buildings.

As she walked along the corridor with an arched awning on the ceiling, she unconsciously stopped when she spotted Maru working with his subordinates in the courtyard.

“……”

Looking at him again, Maru had changed a lot.

His body, which used to always have a turtle neck posture, was now straight and upright, and unlike before, his physique was firm and angular.

And his confident voice.

His bright smile toward his subordinates.

He wasn’t the same person from a few months ago.

He had changed drastically.

Suddenly she felt curious.

She wanted to ask what had made him like this, and how he had risen to success.

‘If you have money and power, I might be willing to meet you again. Your personality did match well with mine.’

Without realizing it, she stepped into the courtyard as if drawn.

Just then, someone caught her eye in the second-floor building overlooking the courtyard.

Kiera reflexively stepped back.

And quietly watched.

“Guardian, for tonight’s banquet, at the table where His Majesty sits, it’s just Duke Toledo and his eldest son, the Hero’s party of four, right?”

“Yeah. Add a seat for their knights’ captain too.”

“Ah, I’ll need to prepare one more chair. Understood.”

Maru stood with his hands on his hips, warmly watching his subordinate’s retreating figure as he ran off somewhere.

Then suddenly something dropped from above onto his head.

When he picked it up to check, it was a pink handkerchief that smelled nice.

“Excuse me~ Mr. Geezer Knight standing there~”

When Maru looked up puzzled, Audrite was leaning out the second-floor window with a bright smile.

“Pardon me, but that’s my handkerchief, could you bring it up?”

“This?”

Maru held up the handkerchief.

“Did you drop it on purpose?”

“No I didn’t~”

“It seems like you dropped it on purpose.”

“I dropped it by accident?”

“Hmm~ I’m too busy to go up there right now. Can’t I just keep it?”

“You can’t. That’s an expensive silk handkerchief~”

“Even better then. I wanted to use something expensive.”

“How mischievous! If you come up, I’ll give you something better~”

“Really? You have something better? Then I should go.”

Maru walked toward the outdoor corridor with a bright smile.

At that moment, Kiera stepped back in surprise before stopping.

She soon changed her mind and stood still as if nothing had happened.

While secretly expecting to see how he would react, Maru passed by without even glancing at her and went straight into the building.

“…Is he ignoring me?”

Could it be, he’s determined to act like he doesn’t know me?

‘Who is that woman?’

Meeting Maru after so long, questions came pouring out.

Kiera looked up at the second floor.

Through the wide open window, she could see Maru and the woman meeting.

The two chatted happily with endless laughter.

The woman responded well and was very proactive.

Looking at it, that woman seemed like she was trying to seduce Maru.

Somehow it made her feel uncomfortable.

“I don’t like how well they’re getting along…”

Kiera gently bit her lower lip.

When evening came, the palace was filled with all kinds of food smells – roasting meat, freshly baked bread, fish.

A welcome banquet was being held in a large hall.

Since it was an event hosted by the King, all the nobles living in the capital attended without exception.

As a result, the banquet hall was more crowded than ever.

While everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves listening to the sweet music played by the band, only one mage couldn’t smile.

That mage was Lucy.

She was distracted by something other than the lavish food.

Throughout the banquet, she just stared blankly at Maru in the distance.

‘Should I go apologize…’

Earlier today, when she reunited with Maru, she was overjoyed like meeting an old friend and wanted to run over to talk to him.

‘Hey mutt~ How have you been?’

But in the end, she couldn’t.

Held back by the past.

She was regretting everything she had done to Maru in the past.

‘He’ll probably get caught by bandits and die on his way home. Hahaha.’

Lucy kept sighing repeatedly as she recalled the scene of parting with Maru.

“I was a demon…”

During the period when Kiera lost her Hero’s power, Lucy had matured quite a bit after experiencing heartache as a companion and enduring various criticisms from people like “why isn’t the Hero stepping forward.”

Now in her heart, after spending time with Kiera after Maru left, something seemed off.

‘Is Kiera really the Hero? A Hero who’s different inside and out like a poisonous flower…? That’s not the image of the righteous Hero I wanted. A Hero should have… embraced the pathetic Maru from those days, even if it meant persuading her companions.’

Lucy was only now realizing what justice meant.

“But beating him up was pretty fun.”

She had only half realized it.