Chapter 5: My Hero

Returning to the present, at lunchtime, around noon, Gio and Ve knocked on the door of Sat's room, where he was still resting, not in bed, but in front of one of the windows. When he heard the knock, he was watching and listening to Dricea singing, who almost had her back to him, as she was intent on watching a mountain, the one and only mountain in that direction, far, far away from the castle and the city.

He had no desire to move from there, the robot girl's singing, although it annoyed him a little to admit it, calmed him down. However, as soon as he heard Ve's voice calling to him, beyond the door, he immediately moved away from the window, albeit with a hint of reluctance.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," so, he opened the door. Besides Gio and Ve, there was also the servant of his acquaintance "Gio, Ve... Excuse me for before, for the theatrics... And also for trying to hit the king. If Dricea had not intervened and I had hit him... Besides me, they could have punished you two as well."

Answering him was Ve, but not before hugging him "You have nothing to apologise for, Sat, I mean it. And I bet my brother feels the same way." Gio nodded "Not to mention that anyone else, after ending up in another world, and without warning to boot, could have reacted the way you did."

"But... Not you two... You... You acted like grown-ups, like the people we are, including me." his eyes grew moist "Fuck... I feel like crying again..."

"Cry, cry... Cry as long as you feel the need. I, and my brother too, will be here to comfort you."

"No, you won't." said Dricea, after suddenly appearing behind Sat's back, under Ve's astonished eyes, because of how quick and agile she had been "It won't be you two who will console him, but me. In fact, in a couple of days, he and I, my hero, will set off on the journey at the end of which I will reunite with my creator, then, you two can be the ones to console him again. I hope I have made myself clear."

Sat, at this point, parted from Ve "Let me ask you something... Who do you think you are? Who the fuck do you think you are?!" he put his hand around her neck, squeezed her as hard as he could, but he didn't seem to be doing anything to her, in fact, he wasn't doing anything to her "My hero this way, my hero that way! I am not your hero, get over it! I'm not yours, full stop!"

"Are you finished, my hero? If I were a human like you, you would be hurting me."

"You... You..." anger pervaded him, prompting him to throw himself at the robot girl, who allowed him to drop her to the ground "I'll kill you, do you understand?! I'll kill you!"

Ve and Gio couldn't believe their eyes, Sat had never acted like this. More to the point, there was no reason for him to act the way he was acting. Something, or someone, had changed him, and for the worse. At least, that was what Ve thought; Gio, on the other hand, found it simply rather exaggerated.

Nevertheless, they both threw themselves at their friend, trying to get him away from above Dricea, as expressionless as she had shown herself to them so far. The servant also threw himself headlong towards Sat, even though he knew he would never, ever be able to hurt her.

"Sat, stop! Fucking stop!" shouted Ve at him, finally, with the help of Gio and the servant, she managed to pull him away from Dricea.

"Thank you, but that was unnecessary." so saying, Dricea stood up "If being called my hero by me bothers you, I will avoid doing it again. How do you want me to address you, then?"

"Sat... Call me Sat."

"Alright, Sat, I'll call you that. See you later, now." like that, she went out the door, instead of out the window.

After the dust settled, Gio and Ve filled Sat in on why they had gone there to call him. No less than to have lunch.

Therefore, all three of them, escorted by a servant, reached a large hall, i.e., the royal dining room, where the king, the queen and their two children, a boy and a girl, a few years older than her little brother, were waiting. The queen, unlike her husband, appeared to be no more than forty years old.

The lunch continued in complete tranquillity, although Sat felt a little uncomfortable, dining at the same table as the king. Fact is, after a while the tension eased, and the ruler spoke up "So, first hero, how did it go with the demoness? Did she accept?"

"Yes, she accepted. Thank you again, for agreeing to my proposal."

"Proposal? What proposal?" asked Ve curiously to her brother, sitting beside her.