Early the next morning, the instant Ningning's door opened, the Hero, who'd been waiting outside it a good while, immediately grasped one thing—
Sis was right.
Something had definitely gotten crossed in their conversation yesterday.
For there stood Ningning in the doorway, stroking a spiked collar around her neck, head dipped slightly, a pair of fake cat ears swaying atop her head, her voice unnaturally sweet and coy:
"Hero goshujin-sama... please don't lay a hand on Ningning, nya. Ningning is very well-behaved, nya. She'll absolutely never run away, nya."
The Hero was so startled by this never-before-seen getup that he couldn't speak for a good while, finally squeezing out:
"What in the world is this?"
"This is proof of Ningning's loyalty, goshujin-sama."
Ningning fawningly nuzzled toward the Hero while twisting her neck hard to show off the collar.
The pure, innocent Hero stared for the longest time without understanding a bit of what it meant, and simply reached out with both hands to gently lift the collar off Ningning's neck:
"We're already friends, Ning-chan. Wearing something like this would just look weird, wouldn't it?"
Watching the Hero reach out and remove her collar, Ningning first froze, then broke into a savage, hidden little smile—
Hmph. Foolish Hero. Did he think she'd meekly submit to capture?!
She'd stayed up all night pouring every ounce of her energy into crafting that collar, and had finally produced this masterpiece, laced with deadly poison, dissolving anything that touched it into a puddle of blood!
She'd not only finish off the Hero, she'd destroy the evidence too, kekeke!
Foolish Hero, if you think you'll be the one to take my first blood, you're still far too green!
Ningning stared gleefully at the Hero's palm, waiting for him to touch the deadly poison inside the collar, rot all over, and die.
But she waited and waited, and the Hero stayed exactly the same, gazing at her with that pure, innocent, pity-inducing smile, not the slightest sign of poisoning about him:
"Heh heh, seeing you smile so happily, so you're looking forward to our Painting Street trip too, Ning-chan! That's wonderful!"
Huh?
That's not right, is it?
Why hadn't the Hero died yet?
The poison in the collar had already seeped out through the spikes; it was all over the Hero's hand!
Puzzled as she was, Ningning could only go along with the Hero's lead for now:
"Mm, yeah, I'm looking forward to it. Say, Hero, could you give me that collar back?"
"No problem. But Ning-chan, I really think you'd best not wear this out; people will take you for a pervert."
"Ah, I know, I know."
Ningning brushed the topic off, took the collar back from the Hero's hand, turned around, and lightly touched a finger to one of the poisoned spikes.
Almost the next second, Ningning's finger turned a greenish-blue, swelling up like a white radish fresh-pulled from the earth, and then the skin split, pus and blood streaming down, the very bone melting away.
Frowning, Ningning murmured the incantation for the highest-tier antidote magic to neutralize the poison, then silently cast healing magic to restore her finger.
Strange, this poison hadn't gone bad.
So why had the Hero shown no reaction at all?
She clearly remembered that a week ago, this Hero would drop dead on the spot from touching the tiniest bit of poison. So why, today, did he stay perfectly fine after touching something this violently toxic?
Strange, so strange!
Behind Ningning, the Hero, seeing her turn away and go unresponsive for so long, couldn't help reaching out to poke her shoulder:
"Ning-chan, what's the matter? Why aren't you saying anything?"
At the Hero's poke, Ningning's body suddenly went soft, and she plopped down onto the floor with a thud.
The deadly-poison collar slipped from her hand, bounced a few times on the ground, and rolled away under the bed.
The Hero jumped, hurriedly crouching down to check on her:
"Ning-chan, why'd you suddenly sit on the floor? Your color's off too... I didn't poke you hard; is something hurting?"
"Huh? Ning-chan, why has your hand changed color? And it looks swollen too?... It looks like it's about to explode!"
"Oh no! Big Sis Baiye! Leilei! Biluo! Help! Ning-chan's hand melted from the fall—"
***
Half an hour later, having pulled off an extreme self-rescue, Ningning changed into yet another fresh robe and came with the Hero to Tati City's Painting Street.
Walking behind and to one side of Ningning, the Hero couldn't hold back, and asked for the eleventh time:
"Ning-chan, are you really not a human-shaped slime?"
"No, I'm not. I told you, that was just an accident."
"Really? But you melted when I poked you a minute ago."
"Really. Just be careful not to touch me from now on, that's all."
"Is that so...? Good, then."
The Hero let out a breath, his eyes returning to the shops on either side of the street:
"Ning-chan, what kind of pet do you think would suit me?"
By this point, now that she'd set foot on Painting Street, Ningning too had realized she'd probably misunderstood this Hero the night before, and asked back:
"Why the sudden urge to keep a pet?"
"It's not sudden. Actually, I've wanted a pet for a long time."
The Hero reached up to scratch the back of his head, smiling bashfully:
"Because no one's ever paid me any attention, and no one would be my friend."
"Big Sis Baiye's always got a stern face, Biluo won't so much as look at me, and Leilei will talk to me with her blackboard, but I know she's a little afraid of me..."
"Maybe I... just wanted someone who'd keep me company."
When did this straight-pitch Hero suddenly turn into a love-starved little pitiful-type? Ningning grumbled inwardly.
She turned her head and looked at the Hero, smiling as ever, her gaze suddenly coming to rest on the high ponytail at the back of 'her' head.
Such a shame.
If the Hero were a soft, sweet-smelling girl, a face like this would strike straight at her heart the moment she saw it, bewitch her utterly, leave her unable to stop.
But alas, the Hero was male.
And she didn't want to get feminized yet.
"But still!" The Hero suddenly beamed, bending forward slightly to say to Ningning, "I'm so glad you're willing to be my friend, Ning-chan! I'm really happy right now!"
"Mm, I'm happy too."
Ningning gave a faint smile and gently smoothed over this topic that filled her heart with guilt:
"Actually, I think keeping a pet is a fine idea, best if it's a battle-pet. Battle-pets understand people, and they can help out in a fight."
The Hero nodded over and over:
"Mm... good point! As expected of Ning-chan, you know so much!"
"So where's the shop that sells battle-pets?"
At the Hero's new question, Ningning cast her mind over this eroge's combat system and began to explain:
"As I recall, strong battle-pets all have to be found and subjugated in person."
"You mean there aren't any for sale in the city?"
"Most likely not, and even if there were, the quality would be pretty poor. My advice is to find a chance to subjugate one in battle."
"Mm! Thank you, Ning-chan! I'll keep a sharp eye out for a battle-pet on our future adventures!" The Hero threw both hands up, brimming with energy, and declared it loudly.
"No... you'd best keep a sharper eye out for danger, Hero, and try not to die so easily." Ningning couldn't help but retort.
At that, the Hero lowered his hands and scratched his head sheepishly:
"Ha ha ha, that's a fair point!"
"But Ning-chan, it just occurred to me. You've never once called me by my name, have you?"
Ningning's breath caught hard, and she laughed it off awkwardly:
"Um... I, I'm just not used to using people's given names..."
"But you call everyone else by their names," the Hero said.
Caught red-handed, the White Mage immediately dropped to her knees in a slide:
"I'm sorry, I was wrong, the truth is I don't actually know your name at all, that's why I've been calling you 'Hero' this whole time, please don't hit me, gyaa!"
"Ha ha ha... Ning-chan, you're so cute. I won't hit you."
"Though, come to think of it, I really don't think I ever told everyone my name... so is that why everyone just calls me 'Hero'?"
"So then, Ning-chan, I'll tell you my name; don't you dare forget it, okay?"
The Hero ran a few steps ahead, came to a stop before Ningning, bowed lightly, and turned back with a smile more dazzling than the morning light.
The crimson ponytail streamed in the wind, rimmed by the rising sun with a ring of glittering silver.
"My name is Winnie! Not 'the Hero,' it's Winnie!"
The Hero's crisp voice struck at Ningning's heart, and that delicate face, set off by the morning light, battered at her mental defenses too—
How had she never noticed before that a boy who went the cute route could be this heart-stealing!
If Ningning weren't digging her fingernails hard into her own palm, she'd probably have willingly let herself be feminized on the spot.
The Hero's psychological attacks really were fearsome.
Still, so the Hero's name was Winnie.
A bit odd, but it did sound nice.
Not for a moment did Ningning realize that she had completely gotten the Hero's gender wrong, lost as she was in her own inner world.
Until an excited cry from the Hero jolted her awake:
"Ning-chan? Ning-chan! Look, look! It's a battle-pet!"
Huh? So this starter village really did have a battle-pet shop?
Ningning thought hazily, and, following the direction of the Hero's pointing finger, looked up, and immediately froze, mouth agape—
For there, a giant man-eating-flower maiden, scientific name Anawen, had propped both hands on Tati City's wall and poked her verdant green head over it, gazing down at the panicked crowds within.
That day, humanity remembered the terror of being ruled by the Demon race...
Wait, that's not right!
Why was Anawen, a major boss in the plot, one of the Ten Great Cadres of the Demon Lord's Army, showing up at the starter village?!
And also, why had the Hero's brain gone wild enough to want to subjugate a cadre of the Demon Lord's Army as a battle-pet?!