Chapter 5: You Smell So Good

The blue sky stretched endlessly, with white clouds drifting far and wide.

Ella had stood beneath the Old Castle countless times, looking back at this thousand-year-old fortress.

Yet never before had her feelings been as complicated as they were now.

She wouldn’t say, “I’ll definitely come back,” because that would be unlucky. But she knew, sooner or later, that day would come.

The Hero Squad finished packing and prepared to depart.

“Our first mission was a smashing success,” Zero said brightly.

“Mission accomplished!”

Her smile was as radiant as the sun.

Vina smiled too, though hers was more meaningful.

“Yes, besides the mission itself, we got ourselves quite a ‘big’ reward.”

Even Celes, usually so serious, allowed herself a faint smile, finally, she could relax a little.

Leah also put on a charming smile.

With the sun shining down and the Goddess of Light watching, she couldn’t afford to sulk.

Only Ella didn’t smile.

Those who want to win never wear a smile.

“Let’s go. Once we’re out of the forest, there’ll be someone waiting for us in Town.”

***

To say someone was waiting was an exaggeration.

In reality, they’d just arranged for a few carriages ahead of time.

They’d prepared enough that each of the five members of the Hero Squad could have a carriage to themselves.

Ella took the initiative to ride with Zero, and the sunny girl happily agreed.

“I want to get to know you all better,” she said sincerely.

“I hope we can become great teammates.”

Her ruby eyes sparkled brilliantly, so beautiful, who could ever doubt her?

“No problem, but,” Zero said a little apologetically, “I don’t actually know that much myself.”

Ella was a bit surprised.

“Aren’t you all companions?”

“We are, but we’ve only been together for a month. This is our first time acting as a team.”

Zero explained, “A month ago, we were all brought together for team training, and then we came here.”

Ella’s cute little face twitched.

So BYD brought me here for live-fire training, huh.

“Before that, Celes was the daughter of a distinguished military noble, the youngest Sword Saint in history, and known as the ‘Kingdom Rose.’”

Ella nodded along, pretending to listen carefully, but thought to herself, Rose?

She’s more like ironwood, steady and unshakable.

“Miss Leah is the current Saintess of the Church of Light, and the most gifted Pope Successor in the church’s history. She has countless zealous followers.”

Heh, a healer.

“As for Vina, there’s not much to say. She’s a super-genius from the Magic Court, extremely, extremely powerful.”

Ella compared this with the intel she’d received earlier.

It was all true.

“And you?” she asked curiously.

“Me… I come from a small place,” Zero’s voice grew softer.

“I don’t have the kind of background they do.”

Oh~

Got it.

The others are all noble ladies with power and influence, and they probably look down on Zero, the girl from a small town.

They don’t have much to talk about, so when she met Ella, a friend she could actually speak to, she opened up immediately, letting Ella take advantage.

Heh, heh, heh.

Can’t blame me for being cunning.

The real issue is the discord within your team.

But Ella still had a question:

“If you’re all so special, how did you end up forming a team together?”

Each one was a treasured gem of their own faction, forged over a thousand years.

How could they be willing to let them go?

“Because of a highly respected elder, Rolls, the great hero from decades ago. He’d already retired, but a month ago, he personally visited each of us, gathering us together.”

Zero pointed in the direction of the Demon King’s Castle.

“He sent us on this mission, saying the current Demon King is a formidable foe and perfect for our training.”

“……”

So it was that old man’s doing!

After that, Zero said she was going outside to get something to eat, leaving Ella alone in the carriage to think.

That fool has been completely tricked by me, but the other three aren’t so easy to handle.

The swordswoman and the healer rarely interacted with her, so it was hard to judge.

The little mage had helped a lot with her team application, but she seemed a bit suspicious.

Better be careful around her…

“Hey, Big breasts, what are you thinking about?”

Ella’s body jolted.

She hadn’t noticed Vina slip in.

Vina leaned her chin on her hand, gazing at Ella from the seat beside her.

“Nothing… um, I have a name, you know.”

“I know, I know. But ‘Ella’ just sounds so cute and whiny. Ella, Ella, Ella~”

“……”

Definitely trouble.

Ella forced a smile, trying not to look annoyed.

“If you don’t mind, just call me Little Ella.”

“Alright, Little Ella. Were you two just talking about the team?”

Vina giggled.

“No need to be so wary of me. I can chat with you too, you know.”

Ella politely declined.

“I just wanted to get to know everyone. Zero already told me a lot.”

“Not necessarily. There are things you’ll never hear from her. For example, did you know Celes is a perfectionist with obsessive tendencies?”

Seeing Ella’s surprised expression, Vina grinned wider.

“And I bet you didn’t know Celes likes to pile pressure on herself until she gets all repressed. When she’s like that, she says the strangest things.”

“Really? She must set the bar too high for herself.”

Ella placed her hands neatly on her knees, speaking with gentle understanding.

“And Saintess Leah, she has countless followers and always puts on that holy, gentle face. But do you know what she’s like in private?”

“Hmm… maybe with all the stress, she just wants to relax a bit in her personal life.”

“And me?”

Vina pointed at herself.

“You know, I joined this team because everyone seemed interesting. As long as it’s fun, I don’t care if we fail the mission. Can you understand that?”

Ella fell silent.

Honestly, that one’s tough to argue with.

“And Zero, how much do you know about her?”

Wait, there’s something off about Zero too?

Ella blinked in confusion.

“She said she’s from a small place. Nothing special.”

“Nothing special? Hahaha!”

Vina burst out laughing, only stopping after a while.

“Let me tell you, none of us know where Zero is really from.

The only thing I do know is that her background is a top-secret matter within the Kingdom. It took a ton of connections and political maneuvering from Rolls, our mentor and the former great hero, to get her here.”

“…You’re kidding.”

Is that for real?

Don’t tell me I’m being tricked.

“You’ll find out in time. For now, let’s move on to the next topic.” Vina scooted closer, her little face nearly brushing Ella’s neck. “You’ve learned our secrets. Now, what about yours?”

Eek, her breath tickles.

“I… I don’t have any secrets. I’ve already told you everything.”

“Is that so? Then tell me, Miss Ella.”

Ella felt a small hand resting on her thigh, and a soft breath at her ear—

“Why do you smell so good?”