Have you heard of the Legendary Hero?

You should have heard of him. No one in this world hasn’t.

How could they not, after he saved them all from the impending darkness that had threatened to swallow the world whole?

He appeared out of nowhere, going village to village, town after town, liberating them one by one from the demons’ tyrannical rule. And finally, he took down the source, the Demon Lord herself, in one final epic battle.

And now, with his fight over, his destiny and duty fulfilled, he only wished to rest. Away from the eyes of the people whom he had saved.

He returned back to the village where he was born, where he first departed on his journey.

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[i]This place… it hasn’t changed in the slightest…[/i]

He pondered said thoughts as she stood on the hill overlooking the village.

It was autumn, and Faram Village was as beautiful as ever.

The place was situated on the middle of a plateau, surrounded by hills on all directions. On said hills you could see bountiful plains of wheat planted by the villagers, pretty much the main and only method for the village to survive. They were all ripe for harvest, as it was only the start of autumn. For the next three months the villagers would be busy working on them. They had to finish before winter so that they could buy the necessary provisions for them to survive the winter, which could get quite harsh around these parts.

It was nighttime however, with the full moon shining brightly on the dark sky, so there was not a single soul working on the fields, only scarecrows dutifully watching, observing anything that might threaten their masters’ hard work.

He descended down the hill, taking care not to enter any of the fields and ruining the crops planted on them.

[i]I wonder how everyone is doing… I sure hope no stray demon has come and ruined the village. Everything looks peaceful here though, so they’re most likely perfectly fine.[/i]

[i]...Yes, she should be fine as well…[/i]

As it was midnight, naturally, most of the village were already asleep. So he postponed announcing his arrival. He intended to do it at the morning instead.

Thankfully, his house was away from the center of the village, so he could slip by unnoticed. The village had no walls or watchtowers. The surrounding area had been relatively peaceful, with only a handful of the weakest monsters popping out from time to time. So there was no need of keeping a constant watch 24 hours per day like the other villages and towns, especially after the news of his victory reached them.

Oh, he was sure they already heard of that. It had been two months since he struck his blade to the Demon Lord’s heart. That would surely be enough time for the news to reach all corners of the world, with pigeon carriers being utilized for isolated, far-off villages like this one, and message crystals used for the big cities.

He would’ve returned right away, if not for those kings and nobles stopping him in his tracks, trying to make him marry their daughters.

He sighed. He had no interest in them whatsoever. And he knew they were only doing it so that they would have a hero under their beck and call to increase their own power and influence.

And besides…

He soon arrived at his house. It used to be his parents’ house, but after they perished due to illness, it fell down to him and him alone. He had no siblings or any other relatives, unfortunately.

He pushed the door open. No one used keys or locks around here, except for the latches when winter came and with it, the occasional snowstorms that could just bust your doors and windows wide open. Thievery only happened once in a blue moon and when it did, the culprit was quickly identified and punished. And besides, nothing valuable was stored inside. He certainly didn’t have any gold or jewelry worth stealing.

To his surprise, the inside was absolutely clean, and the lamps were lit.

Someone must have taken care of the place while he was gone.

And the lamps showed they were waiting for him every night, wanting him to return to a warm house and bed.

[i]W-who could’ve...no, it couldn’t be her…[/i]

HIs heart sank. He had told her not to think about him and just live a normal life. That he would return when it was time for him to return.

This certainly showed that she hadn’t been taking his advice in the slightest.

[i]...I can’t delay any longer. I have to go now and meet her right away.[/i]

After dropping his satchel, he returned outside. He started running towards his destination.

[i]Her house should be across the village at the other side.[/i]

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He still took the long route around however, not wanting to possibly attract attention from the sleeping villagers. He knew that if they knew he had arrived, he would throw him yet another party. Every single place that he had frequented from the capital to here did it (if they knew he was the hero, of course).

Unlike him, she was still fortunate enough to live with her parents, so he had to sneak in instead of taking the direct approach. Thankfully, he knew that her room was on the second floor with a window that faced outside, so he could just enter from there.

Once he arrived, he turned to the side of the house. Identifying the window he needed to go through, he then jumped and grabbed at the edge of said window. For a hero like him that possessed superhuman strength, it was an easy feat to do.

With just one hand barely holding into the shallow edge, he lifted his body upwards. He then knocked on the closed, covered window, wishing that she would wake up and realize he was there.

However, after five minutes of knocking, he obtained no response whatsoever. He sighed. [i]That’s right. She had always been a heavy sleeper.[/i]

Thankfully, the window wasn’t locked, so he was able to slide it open from the outside. He then entered the room through the now open window, doing it as silently as he could.

He stood up, looking around the room. It was just as how he last remembered it.

And here she was sleeping on her bed, her entire body covered with her blanket.

He gulped. He could feel his heartbeat rising rapidly. Oddly enough he was more nervous at this matter compared to whenever he had to fight to the death against the demons, even against the Demon Lord herself.

He gently shook her shoulder, wanting to wake her up without alerting the rest of the house of his presence.

“Uuuuu…”

She let out a groan as he did, making him quickly retract his hand away. She then turned around, from sleeping facing to the side to facing towards the front. Her blanket shifted with her.

Revealing the fact that she wasn’t wearing anything underneath said blanket.

It took him by surprise, nearly making him lose his balance and fall down. He quickly averted his gaze, not wanting to stare at such a forbidden sight.

He never expected her to be the type to sleep naked.

[i]I-I must abort. I-I can’t see her when she’s dressed like that.[/i]

Before he could leave through the window however, he heard another groan coming from her.

“Adam, is that you?”

He froze. It's too late to abort now. She's woken up.

He turned around, only to find that she was sitting on her bed, fully naked from the waist up as her blanket had fallen off.

"I see… So you have returned at last…"

"Y-yeah. I-I've beat the Demon Lord after all. So I come back. Just as promised."

An awkward silence fell between them. She was just staring at him with her all-too-familiar blank expression. Adam, on the other hand, was finding the wardrobe beside her to be really interesting all of a sudden.

"A-alright," he finally broke the silence. "I'm going to go back now. Just… dropping in to say hello. Oh, and thanks for keeping my house while I'm away. That was you, right?"

She didn't answer. Instead, she replied with one single word that would take him even more off guard than he already was.

"Stay."

He blinked.

"Stay. Sleep with me."

[i]D-did she just say--[/i]

"Sleep with me, just like we used to do in the past."

She motioned towards the empty part of her bed. It was barely enough to accommodate two adults. They would have to sleep together terribly closely.

He looked her in the face. There was no hesitation in the slightest painted in that expression.

Now he knew that what she meant was not “sleeping” in quotation marks. But actually sleeping side by side just like they used to do when they were little.

He remembered that day fondly. Back then, he was much more cowardly than he was now. He was a crybaby that would be pushed around by the other children of the village.

And Maria would always be there to protect him.

She too was an introvert the same as him. But she was always much more strong-willed and brave than he was. He looked up to her, almost like she was his big sister.

So, when his parents perished, her family took him in. And he had to share the same bed as her.

It didn’t last forever, naturally. As they both grew up, her parents naturally thought it would be inappropriate. He eventually had to return to the now empty house and slept there.

But, for a few years, they lived and slept together. He was teased for it by the other boys for sure, but he would take that over sleeping alone. He remembered how warm Maria felt and how it saved her from all the recurring nightmares caused by the trauma of losing his parents.

And she was now referring to those times. For old times’ sake, she asked him to sleep with her once more.

[i]She must be feeling nostalgic. I can understand. We haven’t met for a year after all.[/i]

And so he decided. He would oblige on her request.

“Alright, I will,” he answered. “But y-you might want to put on some clothes first,” he added with a blush.

She paused hearing that, Looking downwards, only now she realized she had been flashing him her bare breasts all this time.

With a blush of her own, she quickly lifted her blanket upwards.

“Don’t look. I’m going to wear my clothes now.”

He turned his back towards her as she requested, waiting until the sound of her movements and the ruffles of her clothes disappeared completely.

“I’m done. You may turn around now.”

He did, and immediately, he was once again frozen by the sight.

But this time, it wasn’t a forbidden one. It was a sight anyone could see.

It was the sight of just how breathtaking her beauty was.

Her long black hair draped so perfectly over and behind her shoulder. Her sharp eyes were as alluring as ever. Even he thought her constant flat expression was attractive, as when she smiled, a very rare occasion to be sure, it was like finding the rarest flower in the world.

And her small, almost flat chest made it so he wouldn’t be distracted by them, unlike when he met and conversed with other, beautiful (though still less, of course) females in his journey.

“Now, we can sleep.”

She sat back on the bed, once again gesturing him to do the same. He complied, taking his boots off first before doing so. She then threw herself on the right side of the bed, and he gestured for him to take the left.

He obliged as well, and immediately he could feel just how small the bed was. His right hand was touching with her left.

“T-this is a little cramped, isn’t it?” he commented nervously. “Guess we both grew big over the years.”

“Indeed we did,” she replied. “But it doesn’t matter, since we can sleep like this.”

Without warning, she turned over to his side and hugged him as if he was her pillow.

“M-Maria?”

“It is indeed you, Adam. Your scent. It is familiar to me. Though I see you have become more muscled over your journey.”

At first, Adam didn’t know how he should react. He was about to release himself from her grasp, before he realized that she needed this. She might never know it but he knew she had missed him terribly.

Or, at the very least, that was what he had hoped from her.

He decided to give her a gentle pat on the back of her head. How ironic, he thought to himself. She was the one who used to do it to him back in the day.

A gentle rhythmic breath could be heard coming from her. It seemed she had fallen asleep already.

He smiled. His proposal could wait. For now, they should sleep indeed.

It didn’t take long at all until her warmth drifted him off to his dreams.