"Hmm?"
Hearing Alicia suddenly bring up the Inner Demon, who had long since been buried, Gwen raised an eyebrow slightly and looked at Alicia in surprise.
"Hmm...
I know you've long since outgrown that childish way of thinking."
Resting a slender, pale finger lightly against her soft pink lips, Alicia met Gwen's gaze and said with a smile:
"Still, while the Inner Demon's extreme pride and arrogance are hardly worth emulating, there are times when you should have a little more confidence in yourself—
You're far more outstanding than you think, you know~?"
"A hero usually refers to someone whose talent and martial prowess surpass those of ordinary people, who possesses valiant qualities, accomplishes what ordinary people cannot, bravely fights enemies others find difficult to contend with, and earns others' admiration."
Mysterious promptly chimed in:
"As long as someone fulfills most of those criteria, they are worthy of being called a hero.
If someone insists that a person must perfectly meet every one of those standards, possess no selfish motives whatsoever, and has everything they have done denied because of even the tiniest insignificant mistake, then that person was most likely someone whose interests had been touched and who was maliciously slandering them, or... someone completely wrapped up in their own nonsense, demanding impossibly harsh standards from others."
Though Mysteries' voice remained as gentle as ever, the emotions within her words were conveyed to Gwen with perfect clarity.
"..."
Although Gwen felt warmth at Alicia and Mysteries playing off each other, his expression held a trace of confusion.
"Have I shown any unusual behavior lately?"
As he spoke, Gwen began reflecting on his recent conduct—
Other than deliberately not reining in his presence and seeming a little suspiciously mystical, he hadn't done anything unusual, had he?
Still, even though he