Unfortunately, my plans to either throw Han Se-ah onto the bed or impale her there remained just that - unfulfilled fantasies.
"Wow, it''s the Hero!"
"Is the Hero unconscious? Did she overexert herself using magic to protect the north?"
"My, my... what kind of relationship do you have with the Holy Sword''s owner?"
The reason was simple - too many watching eyes.
The viewers beyond the camera would probably just laugh if I bounced Han Se-ah on the bed like a rubber ball, saying things like "Nice bounce" or "That''s teacher''s reward." But seeing Betty the maid and the small heads gathering around her, I had no choice but to maintain my image.
Call it an occupational hazard.
As an adventurer needing noble connections to make good money, instincts honed over 11 years prevented me from spiking Han Se-ah into the bed in front of sparkly-eyed maids.
These weren''t just random commoners - the gossip of noble household maids significantly influenced adventurer hiring.
"Why are there so many maids? They all look super young too. Maybe this is like an orphanage or welfare facility where they take in kids, feed and house them. Child welfare laws? You think those exist in this medieval land? Get him, he''s breaking game immersion!"
-The biggest culture shock in this game is NPC personalities lol
-At taverns the first thing you learn is kicking out kids begging for food, what welfare?
-For real, when that pretty tavern lady vlogged about secretly giving bread, 12 times more orphans showed up next time begging for food
-Give them an inch and they''ll take a mile, medieval or modern
-After feeding them breakfast they came back for dinner, so she reset and never gave food again
Especially since these maids looked more like cute kids than beautiful older sisters. I wasn''t some edgy chuunibyou character who could German suplex Han Se-ah in front of young girls squealing with excitement about meeting the real Hero and Holy Sword owner.
"Now everyone! We mustn''t be noisy while the Hero rests, right?"
"Yes, Betty!"
I looked around carefully.
The gathered maids in their uniforms looked at most high school age, some as young as late elementary school.
Going by height, they seemed around the same age as the orphans we saw with Irene at the temple. Maybe Han Se-ah was right about the Sibedevs taking in children with nowhere else to go.
Though I couldn''t throw Han Se-ah on the bed, I did briefly press down on her blanket while pretending to tuck her in, as the noisy little crowd kept staring.
"Um, Sir Roland? Are you really Sir Roland?"
"Hey, Asha!"
"Yes, I''m Roland."
-Meanwhile the kids still believe the Roland 3m theory - is Olek the culprit or did they catch it from him?
-Seeing how pure white Olek''s brain is, he probably doesn''t have the intelligence to influence others, more like he seriously believed the kids'' nonsense lol
Thanks to all this, Han Se-ah, who''d been quiet in Friedrich viscounty, started going wild with her camera the moment her mana exhaustion debuff wore off.
Come to think of it, though Han Se-ah looked like a university drinking goddess or super-social butterfly with 500+ phone contacts given her looks as a fitness gaming streamer, she was actually an extreme homebody with strong otaku tendencies.
Besides her pre-Heroes Chronicle fitness content that was basically body showing, her gaming content showed she enjoyed niche otaku games and male-oriented weeb games.
"Hero! Did you really meet the Goddess?"
"Of course! Our whole party was summoned before the Goddess together!"
The Margrave and Lady, and even Olek''s older brother the heir, must have good personalities too, as the apprentice maids were as friendly as middle school girls.
With these cute little 1-2★ buffed girls gathering around calling "sister, sister!", everyone''s faces had long since melted. Grace, who grew up an only child and quietly looked after Katie like a sister, and even Katie who acted like the baby of the group, seemed to enjoy being called sister.
Irene, well, she was already beaming contentedly just seeing these children who could have been starving orphans with healthy, chubby cheeks, calling it the Goddess''s blessing. Naturally, their sincere effort to block monster waves reflected their genuine faith in the Goddess.
"Ah, Sir Roland!"
"What is it, Olek?"
It was such a warm and beautiful scene that if you brought someone dark-hearted here, they might melt away with a "Gah, I''m being purified~" like in a cartoon.
While secretly browsing the internet as our group forgot their worries watching the beauties doting on the cute girls, Olek approached me in fresh clothes. Looking at him now, it was fortunate he took after his mother rather than his father.
A hairy muscular monster acting crude would seem beastly, but a handsome young master taking after the Lady acting clumsy came across as character design.
"Everyone else seems caught up with our kids. Want to grab a drink, just us men?"
"Just us men?"
"Ah, I don''t mean anything scandalous with women! Actually... there''s this tavern where some guys spread rumors about you being a 3m giant hybrid, hehe."
The kid awkwardly scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. Seems he''d been dwelling on the shame of hitting on strangers at first sight.
It was nice that he wanted revenge on the rumor-spreaders rather than me. And instead of using his position and power to crush them, he planned to show off by bringing "the real Sir Roland!" - really showed his good nature.
"So why me?"
"To build friendship... okay that''s an excuse. Actually, they made drinking bets about meeting the hero party in the Kingdom. Want to come drink for free?"
But why did he seem so... lacking upstairs?
Never thought I''d see a Margrave''s son trying to scam drinks from tavern drunks through bets. Still, I didn''t refuse since I might get quest information.
Honestly, I was curious what nonsense they''d spout too.