I'm Not the Heroine

Chapter 4

Hmm.

The reactions aren’t as great as I thought.

'Are they the type to imagine magical tools as something flashy and extravagant?'

Even in my previous life, there were lots of similar preconceived notions. Like how people assumed computer science majors could fix computers or that English majors spoke like natives.

Magical tools in this world were treated similarly.

'But they shouldn’t be unfamiliar with this, though.'

That kind of thinking would be typical of commoners who rarely see magical tools. But for heroes, princesses, saintesses, and even lower nobles, they would have encountered magical tools in everyday life.

Ignoring their lukewarm responses, I continued explaining the gloves.

“As an example of a suitable enchantment... Hero.”

“Huh? Uh, yes?”

“Would you mind trying on your gloves?”

“Oh, sure. Yeah, I’ll do that...”

The hero’s gloves were black with a white sword pattern engraved on them. To be honest, the reason I was so tired earlier? It was because I had painstakingly carved out that pattern eight times over.

“Are they uncomfortable?”

“No, they fit perfectly...”

“That’s the first enchantment. The gloves automatically adjust to the size of the wearer’s hands.”

No matter how sturdy or well-performing a glove might be, it’s useless if it doesn’t fit the hand. That’s why the first function I added was to make sure they fit snugly.

I used an elastic material as the base for the gloves. Hearing my explanation, the other three members also began putting on their gloves.

“My hands are a bit small, so even the gloves given by the church were quite loose... but these fit perfectly.”

What? Her chest is big, but her hands are small? What an imbalance.

Aria’s praise was met with silent nods of agreement from the other two.

“But it seems like that’s not the only thing. There’s... a cooling effect?”

“During intense combat, sweat tends to build up. So I added ventilation functionality.”

This feature especially appealed to the hero and Serlin. After all, they were more likely to engage in intense frontline movements compared to Aria or Lafiré.

When gloves get soaked with sweat, it can be incredibly uncomfortable, which is why some mercenaries and knights avoid wearing them altogether.

“Other common features include water resistance, stain protection, and minor puncture recovery.”

“Oh, wow...”

“It’s... more than I expected.”

“Uh... yeah...”

Strictly speaking, water resistance isn’t necessary for something that only covers part of your body, like gloves. After all, if water gets in through your wrist, it’s over.

But I wanted to include it. Why? Because I believed water resistance was a basic feature of high-end items. Like how smartphones in my previous life came with water resistance as a standard feature.

The stain resistance feature was added to reduce the hassle of cleaning, while puncture recovery ensured small holes could automatically repair themselves. Both were inspired by new materials I had seen in my previous life, mixed with suitable resources and applied to the gloves.

“Now, for the personal enchantments. For both the hero and Serlin, there’s a weight adjustment feature.”

“Weight adjustment?”

“Yes, it can either reduce or increase the weight of what you're holding. Hero, try lifting a cup and think about how you’d like it to be heavier.”

“Got it. ...Wow, it actually works.”

The hero’s hand trembled slightly as he lifted the wooden cup. If he was just pretending to cover up a mistake I made, he deserved an award for best actor.

“It really works.”

Serlin, on the other hand, easily lifted a chair that was quite heavy. This was proof that both weight-reduction and weight-increase enchantments worked properly.

“Reducing weight, I get. But why would you need to make something heavier?”

Lafiré, who had been watching the two with curiosity, directed her question at me.

“I didn’t think of any practical use for it. As a mage, I rarely use physical strength. But I thought it could at least be useful for training purposes.”

At the very least, it could help with strength training. My answer earned nods of approval from both of them.

“Ugh...”

“It’s me, Lafiré. Can I come in?”

Lafiré?

The elf princess’ voice quickly pulled me out of my sleepy haze. Remembering yesterday’s mistake, I quickly changed my clothes and opened the door.

‘Still big today.’

“Can I come in?”

“Yes, please. Oh, be careful there.”

Lafiré carefully avoided the scattered tools on the floor and sat down on a chair. I perched on the edge of my bed, waiting for her to explain why she had come.

“...I tried out the gloves you gave me this morning.”

“Already? At this hour?”

“This hour? It’s already past 10.”

10 a.m.? That’s basically dawn.

“Anyway... they work. My accuracy improved. Out of 50 shots, I hit 47. That’s seven more hits than usual.”

That was about what I had expected. As the creator of the gloves, I felt a quiet sense of pride.

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“And, um... I wanted to apologize.”

“Apologize?”

“Yes. For being so harsh yesterday.”

“Huh...?”

Harsh? Did Lafiré act sharply towards me? I couldn’t recall anything of the sort.

“When Aswell suddenly brought you along, I thought you were another person aiming for him.”

“Ah...”

There was no way. I had zero interest in the hero.

“It’s happened a few times before. Each time, Aria gets all flustered, Serlin’s mostly absent, and Aswell, the guy in question, has no clue.”

Aswell may be a model hero in many aspects, but when it came to reading the room, he was absolutely hopeless.

“So I decided I’d be the one to fend those people off.”

“I see.”

Apparently, a few women had shown up in the past, trying to spend the night with the hero, aiming to have his child. Each time, Lafiré had used her position as an elf princess and her wisdom to drive them away.

"So this time, I thought it was the same. I’m really sorry for that."

Lafiré was showing more maturity than I had initially given her credit for. In the novel, she was mostly portrayed as someone infatuated with Aswell, and I’d judged her lightly because of that.

'Hmm, alright. You’ve passed.'

I made a decision. Lafiré would be the first heroine I would help to prove that I wasn’t chasing after the hero.

"I joined the party to gather materials."

"I heard."

"And I’m not interested in the hero at all."

Even yesterday’s pajama incident hadn’t left any impression on me emotionally—I was that indifferent.

"Really...?"

"Yes. That’s why I’m thinking of helping you, Lafiré."

"Helping me?"

Lafiré tilted her head slightly in confusion. I gave her a smug look. As someone who had read the entire novel more than twice, I knew the hero better than she did.

Soon, the hero’s party would leave this village, and they would pass by a place perfect for triggering an event. That would be Lafiré’s stage. I just needed to stir the situation a little, leave them alone together, and sit back with some popcorn.

"How to seduce our clueless hero."

Lafiré’s eyes widened in surprise.@@@@