Heroes and Dragons

10

I nodded vigorously in response.

Gigi hung its head, "But I'm just a villain, and not a very good one at that."

"Even though we don't have a hero's aura..." I approached and stood close, "Being a useless villain, or an NPC like me, we're all part of this world."

Even if we're just a faint chirp of a cicada, a dim star in the sky, or a shadow cast in the mud, the world wouldn't be complete without us, it needs us.

"Gigi, look, a shooting star!" I suddenly spotted a streak of light across the sky and pointed it out, urging Gigi to make a wish, "Make a wish, quick!"

Gigi, somewhat flustered, stuttered for a moment before managing to shout just as the shooting star was about to vanish, "I want to see the world outside too!"

"Huh?" I turned to look at it.

"You always talk about how interesting the world outside is, and I want to see it for myself." Gigi shyly looked away, "Once I've saved enough for retirement, please take me with you. Let's go together."

It took me a moment to realize, Gigi had decided to give up on its dream of becoming the ultimate villain.

But it had found a new goal.

I smiled and extended my finger to hook onto its tiny claw, making a solemn promise, "Absolutely!"

With Gigi determined to save for retirement, there was no need to confront those heroes with hero's auras anymore.

I decided to help Gigi.

My ability to identify hero's auras would come in handy again. I'd go down to the entrance of the mountain first, observe which heroes had auras and which didn't, then rush back to inform Gigi about which heroes it could take on and which it should avoid.

There were plenty of excuses for avoiding a fight: paid leave, renting out the battleground, surprise health inspections by superiors, and so on. I could make up anything, really. Gigi was too honest to come up with such excuses, so I'd act as its spokesperson and fabricate them, managing to dismiss many of those heroes with auras. The ones left without auras were much easier for Gigi to handle.

The gold coins in the little treasure chest kept increasing day by day.