A day had passed.
When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was the ceiling.
"…Ah."
It wasn't the white hospital ceiling I had stared at for years.
Instead, wooden beams stretched above me, faint morning light slipping through the small gaps in the roof.
Right… I'm not in the hospital anymore.
Slowly, yesterday's events returned to my mind.
The rain.
The river.
The girl with pink hair.
The cabin.
I lifted my left hand slightly, testing my body.
Then suddenly—
Something soft.
"…What is this?"
My fingers had touched something warm and soft beside me.
"Ahn~"
A quiet voice let out a small, sleepy sound.
My body froze.
Slowly, I turned my head.
The pink-haired girl from yesterday was sleeping beside me, wearing simple pajamas. Her long hair spread across the pillow, and her face looked peaceful in the soft morning light.
"?!"
I immediately jumped out of the bed.
The sudden movement caused her to stir. Her eyelids slowly opened, revealing her dark eyes.
"Ah… good morning, Satou-kun."
Her voice was calm, as if nothing strange had happened.
"Ah—sorry, miss!" I blurted out. "I didn't know you were sleeping in the same bed!"
She tilted her head slightly.
"Satou-kun… what's wrong?"
She looked at me with a puzzled expression, clearly confused. Her brows knit slightly together, as if she didn't understand why I was suddenly acting so distant… or why I had called her "miss" earlier.
"…Actually, I lost some of my memories," I admitted.
For a moment, her expression turned slightly sad.
But then she smiled gently.
"It's okay, Satou-kun. You can count on me—"
Grrr.
My stomach suddenly growled loudly.
We both froze.
Then she giggled.
"But first," she said with a bright smile, "let's have breakfast, shall we?"
---
After breakfast, she began explaining everything.
About the village.
About herself.
And about me.
Apparently, I was an orphan raised in the church's orphanage.
The church itself was managed by her family.
"Rosalia is a noble family," she explained. "But my parents also serve as priests in this village."
She continued while pouring tea.
"We've known each other since we were children."
She gestured around the cabin.
"My parents gave me this place… and we've been living here together."
I blinked.
Together?
But before I could ask anything, she continued her story.
"A few days ago, I went outside the village and was kidnapped by bandits."
Her voice became quieter.
"You chased them into the forest to save me."
"I managed to escape while you fought them."
Her eyes lowered slightly.
"After that… the rain started. The villagers searched for you for hours."
"I'm just glad you came back."
I nodded slowly.
"So that's what happened…"
Then I looked at her.
"Thank you for explaining, Miss Rosalia."
She suddenly leaned closer and poked my nose.
"Nope."
"It's Dia-chan, you know~"
A wave of heat crept up my face, and I quickly looked away, suddenly very aware of how close she was.
As a Japanese person, calling a girl by her first name like that felt incredibly embarrassing.
"I see… D-Dia-chan."
"There, there~"
She smiled happily and gently patted my head.
---
Three days passed.
The more time I spent with Dia-chan, the more I realized how amazing she was.
She used healing magic to treat the villagers every day.
And she never asked for any reward.
She was kind to everyone.
And honestly…
She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen.
The villagers were also very friendly toward me, especially after hearing that I fought bandits to save Dia-chan.
Though…
There was still one thing I hadn't quite gotten used to.
Every night, when it was time to sleep, Dia-chan would naturally climb into the bed beside me as if it were the most normal thing in the world. Before I knew it, she would wrap both of her arms around my left arm and rest her head against my shoulder.
At first I tried to stay perfectly still, afraid that even the smallest movement might wake her.
But after three nights, I had realized something.
She wasn't doing it in her sleep.
She was fully aware of it.
And somehow… that made it even harder to get used to.
---
That afternoon, the village suddenly became lively.
A crowd had gathered in the center of the village.
Curious, Dia-chan and I headed there as well.
When we arrived, I saw two unfamiliar men standing among the villagers.
One of them had light blue hair and wore light traveling armor. A sword rested at his side.
Beside him stood a tall, muscular man with large metal gauntlets covering his fists.
The blue-haired man stepped forward and spoke politely to the crowd.
"Excuse me. Does anyone know where Dia Rosalia is?"
Something clicked inside my head.
Light blue hair.
A tall muscular companion with gauntlets.
And Dia-chan…
My eyes widened.
Wait…
I slowly recalled something from my old memories.
Something I had read countless times while lying in that hospital bed.
Then the realization struck me.
"…Ah."
This is the first hero story I ever read.