My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero's

So far, aside from the suspicious weather, nothing had happened, and we had made it all the way to the border.

We were dropped off in the middle of a dense forest, and it seemed this was as far as the carriage could go, since the path was just wide enough for one to pass through. No matter where I looked, there were only trees. Being surrounded by tall trees reminded me of the "Forest of Death" in Beastmen territory, but this forest clearly had signs of life. Was that a squirrel or something on a branch a little ways ahead?

"Thank you for bringing us this far, even though things are so dangerous these days."

"N-no. It's my job. Don't worry about it. I got paid plenty by Lady Konohana."

I bowed to the bear-like coachman who had brought us here, and Nanase-kun and the others behind me bowed as well.

Perhaps flustered by that, the coachman answered awkwardly, darting his eyes back and forth. Despite his large build, the gesture made him seem like a small animal.

"But it's still dangerous, right? It would've taken much longer on foot, and we were able to conserve our strength too. Please be careful on your way back as well."

"...Yeah."

The coachman nodded, then put a foot on the steps to climb back up to the driver's seat. Then, as if remembering something, he turned back to us.

"...If you need a carriage on the way back too, I'll come get you."

"Oh, thank you! But please only if it's within a safe range—!"

Without meeting our eyes, and muttering those words, he quickly drove off. I wondered if my voice had really reached him.

"What was that? His ears went all red, he's ridiculously cute!"

"Cute...?"

Ueno-san squealed and pressed a hand to her cheek, while Tsuda-kun tilted his head.

Girls are the kind of creatures who can find cuteness in anything, so there's no point thinking too hard about it.

"So there he is, the ultimate anti-human weapon: Sato, the people magnet."

"No, it's just normal conversation. Don't give me some weird, dangerous nickname."

"He does it with men and women alike too. No shame at all. Is he secreting some kind of catnip that works on humans?"

"If I were secreting something like that, I'd be a human dumpling by now. Besides, at least it doesn't work on you guys or Mr. Zeal, does it?"

"Fair enough."

Nanase-kun and Ueno-san grinned and teased me, and I felt a little irritated as I shot back.

"Well, well, favor makes you want to return favor. Sato-kun does give off the kind of vibe that makes you want to do that, doesn't he?"

Mr. Zeal said with a wry smile as we chatted noisily.

Of everyone here, only Mr. Zeal knew the mechanism behind why I was so strangely liked by people. As the one responsible for supervising us, he had seen my initial status when it was publicly revealed right after we arrived in this world. My classmates had seen it too, but since I was the hero, they probably only paid attention to my job. As for me, I don't really remember their skills or anything beyond their professions. The only other person who seemed to know was Akira, since she could apparently see other people's status.

The reason I was easily liked by others was the skill "Charm," which had an unnaturally high level from the very beginning. While most of my other skills were only level two or below, "Charm" was level five. And now it had even risen to level eight.

Since things like "Arithmetic," which reflected what I had studied or was good at in my original world, also appeared in my status, it seemed I had been using "Charm" unconsciously even back then.

But in this world, skills like "Brainwashing" and "Charm" that forcibly manipulate a person's body or mind without permission are generally hated.

Of course they are. Nobody wants their body or mind messed with on someone else's whim. When the princess used "Brainwashing" on me, even after I came to, I remember feeling a terrible sense of humiliation.

So I still remember what Saran-san told me when he called me in privately and spoke to me in his office with a serious expression: I should hide it as much as possible. I was a hero, a special occupation, and my face and name would eventually spread across the world, so if it became known that I possessed a skill like that, it could become a weakness.