Chapter 27 - Welcoming Aina

(AN: Sorry for the late update.)

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Aina was silently watching the interaction of the hero and his companions with interest. She was trying to find some signs of the "true" nature of the hero.

Aina stubbornly held her belief in the depraved nature of the hero after what she'd heard from his room last night.

So far, Aina has gathered some profile regarding the hero, or as he called himself—Merlin Pendragon.

First of all, he was handsome…outrageously so; it was his most noticeable characteristic. She was still flabbergasted by his super attractive face and unique aura.

How could someone be this handsome?! Aina had never seen someone as handsome as him in her whole life!

Aina had to admit that she was physically attracted to him; it was hard not to be attracted when he seemed so perfect, aesthetically speaking. Even now, she was still flustered when she was around him.

At first, Aina assumed that it was some kind of spell, but she found nothing foul with her flustered and captivated state. The hero's charm was natural, which was so scary; he could make any straight woman infatuated with him.

It was her first time reacting like that around a man; Aina had no interest in men, her interest only for arcane arts, which was also one of her reasons to volunteer herself to assist the hero in his mission. Then, it occurred to Aina that Merlin's charm maybe was one of the powers that belonged to the hero.

Aina had read all documented legends of the legendary hero…or at least, all public information that the royal family had spread out; when she read about the hero's unique power to unleash the latent potential in women, her scholarly spirit was inflamed.

Indeed, one of Aina's reasons to come here from a faraway place and volunteer herself was her curiosity and interest in the hero's special power.

Was it magic unique only to the hero? Was it something different that she never heard before?

Unbeknownst to her, some information about the hero wasn't made public; Aina wasn't aware of the method the hero uses to unlock the potential of women.

After making a mental note of the hero's physical profile, Aina moved to his personality next; from what she'd gathered within a limited amount of time, the hero seemed to be a calm person, if not a bit cocky. He was also confident and smart. But, she also believed him to be lustful.

Aina wasn't fooled by his charming mask; she knew that the hero was a scoundrel; a perverted beast; the Dark Lord of the Night!

Her belief was kind of extreme, and she might be reprimanded for slandering the hero, but she believed that she wasn't wrong! She had the proof; she'd heard it last night!

The hero had used his poor companions' body to satisfy his beastly urge! He was a lustful scoundrel, and he still dared to call himself a hero? Shameless!

Aina was disappointed, scandalized, and revolted when she discovered the depraved nature of the current hero; he was unlike the previous hero who was a noble and righteous figure who was also hailed as the savior of the world.

"So, Miss Aina, would you be kind to share your specialty with us? What craft are you proficient with?" Merlin asked politely, snapping Aina out from her thoughts.

When Aina heard his smooth voice, which was like honey, she instantly lost her composure and became flustered; her face heated up, her heart strongly throbbed, and she became self-conscious and reserved.

After regaining her composure with some difficulty, Aina replied, "M-My specialty is magic that transmutates elements!"

'Curses! Don't stutter, you fool! Don't let this wolf see a sign of weakness he can use to sink his perverted claws in you!' Aina scolded herself after stammering.

Aina continued soon after, "I'm good with elemental offensive magic, but I'm not good in defensive and support magic. I'm also an Alchemist, knowing how to brew potions with various effects as long as I have the required materials."

"I see…we only have one magic practitioner, Tianne, and she is a talented cleric who can use support magic so well. If you join us, your strength will help us," Merlin commented with a pensive expression.

Both Tianne and Aina flushed deep when they heard Merlin's indirect praise. But, unlike Tianne who was over the moon from simple praise, Aina was cursing inside because she'd fallen for such a thing; Aina was still distrustful of the hero because of her bias.

Merlin continued, snapping Aina out from her thoughts, "That being said, I would gladly accept you in this group, though I still stand behind the decisions of my companions."

When Merlin turned his attention to Filia and the rest, they began speaking, one by one.

"I welcome Miss Aina in our group with open arms." (Filia)

"Having a spellcaster who's skilled at offensive magic and an Alchemist to boot is a good idea." (Tianne)

"Are you sure that you're volunteering not because of some ulterior motives? I bet that you want to figure out if the legends about the hero's ability to empower his companion are true or not!" Llusse raised her eyebrows skeptically.

Unlike the other two, Llusse had been holding on to her doubt since Aina approached them back then. However, she'd been waiting for the right moment to voice her doubt.

Of the hero's companions, Llusse was the most distrustful and skeptical one. If not because of Merlin's charm, she would have a hard time acknowledging Merlin's status as a hero just like what happened to the original Llusse in the show, who was doubtful of Naoki until his power as a hero was proven.

"All right. No need to be so distrustful to her." Filia tried to tone down Llusse's doubt. In return, Llusse just harrumphed and turned away while crossing her arms under her chest.

"Humph! All right. I don't mind for another long-range combatant in our group," Llusse finally gave her consent.

All the while, Aina was flushing deeply; it wasn't due to Merlin's charm this time. She was self-conscious because she had also thought about that when she planned to join the hero's group.

     After listening to the decision of his companions, Merlin turned his head to Aina. "Well, you heard them loud and clear, Miss Aina. I welcome you in our group of misfits," he exclaimed with a welcoming smile.

     "Thank you," Aina said and dipped her head in gratitude.

     Right at this moment, Natalia approached their table and spoke to them after getting there. "Good afternoon. The lunch is ready. Would you like to have lunch now?"

     Merlin and his companions looked at each other and unanimously agreed. After that, Natalia returned to the kitchen to bring out their lunch.