Chapter 3: I Just Want to Cuddle!

"So, you didn't find it." The Demon Lord was inquiring into her servants, although increasingly her questions had started to become statements. Her impatience caused her large wings to slightly unfurl in annoyance.

"The potion must have been taken by that cunning pastry mastermind!" was the reply.

"Sigh..." She said aloud, before actually sighing. "He would take just about anything if he thought he could use it as an ingredient. He stole marrow bones once, from the Bone Cemetery!"

"The cemetery where we bury bones when we don't know where they came from?"

"Yeah, that's the one." The Demon Lord, more commonly known within her home as Valerie, re-furled her wings and walked back to her favorite couch to relax. The couch was a velvet black, with flanged pillows on either side decorated with small cartoon bats. All demons who walked into her lair knew this as the "Cuddle Couch," but none did dare approach such a lavish luxury that their Lord so readily attended.

In one practiced motion, so swift it could even be called devilish, she laid onto her side while grasping a pillow tightly between her arms. An angry scream could be heard muffled from the pillow. Such a demonic act of outrage had startled her subordinates into scampering away, all except for one.

After a moment, she allowed her muscles to relax. She looked up wistfully at her Secretary of Defense - Rhea, who slowly walked up while tilting her head to be slightly more level with Valerie's. While Valerie was a high class Vampire, if a bit petite, Rhea was more of a tomboyish Succubus. She always beamed with confidence, no matter where she was.

"Sup?" Rhea's tone was friendly and sympathetic, while trying to remain a positive force for her Lord. "Feeling okay there?"

Valerie's eyes darted back and forth. Did she tell her how she was feeling? The nervousness of losing a precious item, for plans that she could not disclose freely due to its very nature? She squeamishly adjusted her grip on the pillow several times and closed her eyes before squeaking out a retort. "I'm fine... Just another setback is all."

Rhea took a moment to process how her Lord had responded. Slowly after, her face formed into a kindly grin. "Hey... It's okay. I'm here for you. You're not alone anymore. You can rely on me too."

"Yeah, I know." Valerie let out with a gasp of breath, eyes watering slightly. "This just should have been over with already. Maybe I should just, I don't know... Stop? Give up now, and stop pretending this could work before I disappoint myself?"

Before the words had finished exiting her mouth, Rhea leaned in to hug her precious friend. "Val, I know it's hard. You don't need to do anything, but I can't feel assured seeing you unhappy. I want you to see yourself for the sweet thing you are. That starts with self acceptance, whether you have the potions or not."

As Valerie sniffled in the hug, Rhea increased her grip just enough to show her love and care. When the Demon Lord was no longer tense, her Secretary of Defense loosened to give the other a chance to speak.

"I just thought maybe if I had used it one more time, I could be seen as something other than scary by all my subjects. Everyone's afraid of me. They all see me and run away." She patted the velvet couch. "I even made this cute little couch for cuddling, but they just... They just run away!"

The potion in question was a magical transfiguration spell, though it was limited in ability. Unbeknownst to her, the potion could, in truth, only reflect the user's innermost personal reflection of themself, their true self. The seller of the potions was adamant that "she could not handle his strongest potions," and so only allowed creations that could be considered benign out into the world. This didn't stop these artifacts from finding rumors that spelled of corruption through power, as all things related to the Demon Lord often found themselves whispered as.

While Valerie was content with her own form, she was not content with the other's perception of her, and wished an easy solution. However, even then, the supposed solutions met with logistical problem after another, and the relative low security of her palace - nobody seemed to believe the most powerful being needed guards - met with her items being whisked away.

Deep within the demonic castle, located in the "living room" area, Valerie let herself be soothed by her dearest friend.

---

"Horiyahh!" the hero yelled, valiantly, as she swung her practice sword.

"...You never used to make sounds when we fought. Why now?" Mallow let in.

"Heehee," she responded. "That's because I never got to enjoy the sound of my voice before!"

Loretta let out a small chuckle as she watched the scene, of Aria playing a mock battle against the rogue. She was starting to warm up to this new version of her friend. No, that isn't quite right. She... she was like this when we were kids too. Loretta seemed to remember something, jostling her noggin.

The friend who would encourage her to liven up, to get out and enjoy life together. The friend she had needed as a kid to get her shy self to open up, to see the world through open eyes. At some point though, their roles had shifted. Aria had stopped being the carefree child, and instead became a brooding adult. The pressure of responsibility, and the weight of a title such as "The Hero," seemed to have dampened his spirits. Loretta put in the extra effort to try to keep Aria happy and in good mental health. Now though, she wondered, was it just something so obvious she couldn't see it right in front of her? Did she refuse to see it? Now that the girl was back to a carefree attitude, had her role as support become redundant?

"Oof!" Aria stumbled across the field, after attempting a complicated maneuver with her sword. While she had managed to disarm her opponent, she overstepped and tripped in the process. "Ha, I think my balance shifted a little, now that I notice." Aria's cheeks reddened as she remembered the changes to her body, only really seeing them for the first time the last night at the inn before. At the same time, it gave her a spring in her step that she hadn't felt up to this point.

"Pfft," Loretta walked over to help Aria up, a smirk not so slowly forming on herself. "I guess you do still need my help, after all."

You are reading story The Hero Just Wants to be Cute! at novel35.com

"What?" Aria looked up with a toothy smile. "What could I do without you?" She let out a pant from her exercise.

Mallow shared a small smile as he saw the two getting along, just as he knew they used to. Things may be different now, but they seem to be in a good way, he thought. Then spoke, "Don't tire yourself out too much, hero. We still need to get you back to base, and supply for the trip to the Demon Lands."

"Eh..." Aria's enthusiasm wavered, for the first time that day. "I really do have... important things to do, you know?"

"Oh? Important huh?" Mallow's eyes narrowed. "Like when we went to that tailor?"

"Having clothes that fit is important! What if I couldn't move as easily?"

"Yeah, sure. But, we didn't go to an armory. In fact, I think most of your armor still fits fine. However," His vision seemed to peer into Aria's subconscious. "We might not have the budget to buy any more given all those dresses you had to pick up."

If Aria had any moment to reveal an affinity for space time magic, opening a portal to withdraw into to hide her embarrassment, now would be the time for it to manifest - as her cheeks turned scarlet. In place of that, she hid behind Loretta.

"I just... I just want to enjoy this!" She pouted. "Doesn't everyone want to be cute and wear dresses?!"

"Well, uh, actually I-" Mallow's sentence would not be finished.

"It's crazy! So much so, you could spend your whole life training as a distraction, becoming the strongest human being, getting labeled as a hero, the "Savior of Humanity" - and yet you're not allowed to just be a cute girl?! Who's idea was this?!"

Loretta squeezed Aria's hand, gently reminding her that she was not alone. That she had friends to support her, at least one person who could sympathize, if not understand, her struggle.

"It's okay, Ari," she let out in a warming, calm tone of voice. "You can be the person you want to be. Even if that is... a cute girl."

Aria gave a small hug in response, with a small flutter hearing the word cute. "Really? You don't think it's weird?"

"Weird?" She chuckled, with a small wink. "Everyone's a little bit weird, don't you think? Besides, wanting to be yourself is probably one of the lesser weirdo traits out there."

The hero gave a small pause to think.

"I'm probably not going to stick with the church, you know?"

"That's okay," Loretta let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. "They've been getting a bit stuffy anyway."

"It'll be new, doing things not as the hero, but just as myself. It's a little scary."

"I could see that. But you know, none of this means you can't be a hero, in your own way." Loretta, now slightly taller than her friend, reached out to pat the hero's head. Some mirth began to appear in her voice as she spoke. "You're a big girl now, you get to make those decisions for yourself. It might be scary, but it'll be real."

Aria's brain needed a quick reboot after the head-patting, but soon started back up with some nodding. "I get to make my own decisions, and the first one is to try on all of those dresses!"

"Heh, we'll have to get home first, then we'll have all the time we want."

"You know, the best part about the hero's journey is the return home." Aria giggled in the security of herself.

You can find story with these keywords: The Hero Just Wants to be Cute!, Read The Hero Just Wants to be Cute!, The Hero Just Wants to be Cute! novel, The Hero Just Wants to be Cute! book, The Hero Just Wants to be Cute! story, The Hero Just Wants to be Cute! full, The Hero Just Wants to be Cute! Latest Chapter