“Kuchun”
The adorable sneeze of Fuyu Sagara echoed in the special underground cell.
As the season transitioned into winter, a soft veil of snow gracefully pirouetted down upon the city of Londia, marking the arrival of the first snowfall.
Although the temperature in the special underground cell where the hero was imprisoned remained relatively constant throughout the year, the stone walls still felt colder than usual.
“Esteemed Hero, have you caught a cold?”
“It’s nothing serious.”
Although she pretended to be indifferent, this sneeze was surprising even to Fuyu.
When she was first summoned to this world, Fuyu’s power existed outside the realm of this world’s rules and logic.
She could barely be affected by the attacks of the Demon King, and even the viruses that cause colds could not harm her body.
Although she lost a significant portion of her power upon defeating the Demon King, she had never experienced any health issues before.
However, after four years since being summoned, it seemed that the hero’s abilities were starting to decline.
“It seems like my powers are gradually weakening,”
“Esteemed Hero…”
Barton’s worried face wore an expression akin to that of a critically ill patient, which amused Fuyu, prompting a small giggle from her.
“I’m not going to suddenly drop dead, you know. Please don’t be so worried,”
Fuyu knew she was lying.
In truth, she wanted him to worry about her and always keep her in mind. Although she wasn’t aware of it, Fuyu had begun to experience the joy of relying on others for the first time in her life.
“Is there anything you want?”
Barton asked, as he usually did.
The first thing that came to Fuyu’s mind was an omelet.
A warm, misshapen omelet made by Barton. Fuyu yearned to taste it once again.
“Not particularly,”
She wanted to say it, but Fuyu wasn’t the type to express her desires openly.
“Is that so? However, we should still buy you a blanket. I’m worried about the Esteemed Hero’s well-being. If you really don’t want me to, then I can buy it myself,”
“That won’t do!” Fuyu exclaimed.
Though she wanted him to worry about her, burdening him was not her intention.
“Fine… Use my deposit money to buy the blanket,” Fuyu said.
When Fuyu observed the relieved expression on Barton’s face, her heart also felt a sense of fulfillment. However, Kimberley, the fairy, watched this scene with a frustrated feeling.
“Oh, come on… Can’t you two become a little more familiar with each other? You guys…” Kimberley said.
“What do you mean by ‘familiar’?”
“First of all, it’s about how you address each other. Why call her the esteemed Hero? You could just call her Fuyu, like how I do Barton,” Kimberley suggested.
“Hey, hey, the Esteemed Hero is the heroic savior of the nation. Everyone in the country refers to her as the Esteemed Hero. It’ll be too presumptuous…”
Barton was concerned that it was rude, but deep down, Fuyu was delighted.
Everyone referred to her as the Esteemed Hero, but she had no interest in that matter.
She thought it was irrelevant.
However, recently, she had started to wish that Barton would call her by her name.
Upon reflection, she realized that he was the first person with whom she spoke about things other than battles. Due to her overwhelming power, even in combat, she was always alone, without any comrades by her side.
Vague and unfamiliar emotions began to sprout within Fuyu.
“Yeah, that’s true. Prison guard Wolf, if you’re okay with it, you can just call me Fuyu,”
Fuyu suggested in a calm manner, trying not to reveal her inner turmoil.
It was a single word that made her feel extremely nervous, as there had never been anyone she could consider a friend, regardless of gender, until now.
In a way, she was more nervous than when facing the Demon King.
“Should I call the esteemed hero Fuyu? Is that even okay?” Barton questioned.
“Of course, it’s fine. I also… think it’s better…”
“Well, that’s how it’s going to be, Fuyu. But hey, Fuyu, calling him prison guard Wolf doesn’t sit right. Since Barton calls you by your name, you should do the same. You can call him Barton, just like I call him,” Kimberley added.
“B-B-Barton?”
“Yeah, that’s right. But, is it difficult for you to say? If that’s the case, you can call him Prison Wolf like the other prisoners do.” Kimberley said.
“Ah?!”
Barton didn’t want Fuyu to know about such a nickname, but it seemed like he was a little too late in stopping Kimberly.
Fuyu immediately became interested.
“What’s that?” she asked.
Beside Barton, Kimberley couldn’t contain her excitement and gleefully recounted the events that had unfolded before.
In the end, the two of them began calling each other Fuyu and Wolf.
For Fuyu, calling someone by their first name was simply too embarrassing.
Barton wondered how Wolf could be less embarrassing, but it seemed like a trivial matter in the grand scheme of things.
What mattered more was that the distance between them had closed, and that made him happy.
Calling him Wolf felt much better than Prison Wolf. That was the feeling he had.
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