My Only Use Lies in My Blood
My Only Use Lies in My Blood
"...Hurry."
Kylon reached out to me, urging me to hand over the bag.
Seeing that, I broke out in a cold sweat and racked my brain, wondering how things had come to this.
It seemed that the reason was that I had been caught carrying a heavy bag after coming back from the bathroom.
And above all, the problem was that I had revealed there were no empty bottles in the room.
Who would carry empty bottles to and from the bathroom?
Kylon was at fault for trying to force his way into my room in the first place. No, if he had already half-guessed and came in to confirm his suspicions, then there was nothing I could say.
Of course, my impulsiveness was also a problem, but I didn't want to be caught right now. I had just washed up and felt refreshed, and my mood was perfect, so I wanted to avoid getting scolded here.
"......."
I tightly gripped the bag slung over one shoulder.
Inside were Potion bottles filled with my blood, and at the same time, a knife borrowed from the innkeeper. There were also stockings and a Garter Belt, but that wasn't what was important right now.
As I bit my lip and lowered my head, Kylon let out a deep sigh. Then he slumped his shoulders, strode over to me, and *thump*, grabbed my arm that was holding the bag.
"What did you do? Do you have another hidden knife?"
Although he seemed to have grabbed it lightly, my arm was thin enough to break at any moment, and compared to that, Kylon's body was not just sturdy, but also possessed the Hero's strength, so the pain was acutely evident.
"Ah, no... Ah, it hurts."
Even when I frowned and tried to pull my hand away, he didn't let go of my arm, as if telling me not to run away, and instead pushed my body, making me sit on the bed, while glaring down at me intimidatingly.
"Why do you keep doing such things? I told you not to. I even had sex yesterday that I wouldn't have otherwise, just as you wanted, so what else are you being greedy for, what are you trying to do now?"
What I wanted from him was to progress towards the Ending that might be the key to escaping this place.
But even though I had requested it, all he had to do was screw Heroines, gain strength, and wander around, strengthening the Holy Sword through adventures. It was to the point where I wondered if there was anything he would dislike about it.
Honestly, it was different from the game, so frankly, Kylon's current position was such that he could have sex with any woman he made eye contact with on the street, even if she wasn't a Heroine.
But I couldn't understand why he spoke as if I had ordered him to do such things.
Isn't he enjoying sex, rather? Why is it my fault that it happened in the first place?
He could just enjoy life as he always had, and his strength would naturally increase. I couldn't understand why he was blaming me and trying to suppress my actions, as if there was some problem with that.
So, I opened my mouth as if to complain to him.
"Having sex with pretty women is something you enjoy, so why are you saying I ordered you to do it? You can just enjoy yourself and naturally reach the Ending, so why are you bringing me into this?"
But Kylon, perhaps having his own reasons, let out a hollow laugh as if dumbfounded by my words.
"Ha, hey, you... Do you think I could happily thrust my hips when the only person who came from the same place as me is self-harming in the next room? No matter how sex-crazed a bastard I am, this isn't right."
"......."
Hearing those words, I realized he cared about such things, and my mouth was automatically shut.
As I maintained my silence, feeling Kylon's chilling gaze, Kylon soon pushed me away, reached for my bag, and pulled it towards him without permission.
"If this is how it's going to be, hand over the bag. From now on, I'll manage your belongings in my Inventory."
That couldn't happen. If my belongings were managed by him and I couldn't make Potions, I would be unable to do anything afterward.
The absence of a knife to draw blood and bottles to contain it meant that my place would disappear, so I shook my head and desperately clutched the bag.
"Ah, no. I, I have no other use besides this."
I wanted to go home. That's why I was clinging to the Hero's side.
Therefore, I had no intention of stopping him, no matter who he had sex with. I shouldn't have stopped him in the first place.
So I kept my mouth shut, and when he enjoyed sex, I welcomed it, and if I envied it, I envied it. I didn't object to it.
But that alone wasn't enough. The Saintess in the game would have automatically healed with prayers and such, but since I couldn't do that, I could feel my place gradually disappearing.
Since I couldn't provide healing, the question "Is a Saintess even necessary?" would surely arise.
That's why I carried Potions, a substitute, and acted as a shuttle, distributing them here and there.
If the Hero replaced even that, what on earth was I supposed to do?
Although I didn't need to be protected, since I was a Saintess, I had to be protected at least nominally, which would make me a burden.
But if the Saintess, who was being diligently protected, did nothing, the Heroines currently with Kylon would surely complain from somewhere.
Then, wouldn't I ultimately be excluded from this party?
That fear never really disappeared, it only tormented me.
I was searching for my usefulness to the point of obsession. And this was it.
But Kylon, as if unaware of my feelings, pulled so hard that the bag's strap nearly tore, and the bag, its strap broken, flew into Kylon's hands despite my resistance.
Kylon, having snatched the bag, looked it over, then *tsk*, clicked his tongue.
"Hey, if you do this again, what am I supposed to say?"
"......."
What he held in his hand was a Potion.
A Potion made from my red blood, a Potion that wouldn't clot even when exposed to oxygen.
I just wanted to create a reason for myself to be in this party.
He was taking away my place under the pretext of not wanting me to get hurt.
As the Hero, and simultaneously possessing that power, he, who held his place proudly, didn't know.
How desperately I clung to it.
He simply dismissed it as mere self-harm and told me not to do it.
Kylon quietly looked at it, let out a sigh, then opened his Inventory and began putting them inside.
"Ah, ahh..."
If this happens, I won't even be able to distribute them.
If that happens, I'll just become someone who makes Potions in a safe zone, so I'll have to be separated from Kylon.
Then I won't be able to escape that suffering.
Five bottles disappeared from the bag. And they entered Kylon's Inventory, which utilized subspace.
So, unable to bear that sight, my emotions burst, and I unknowingly screamed and lunged at Kylon.
"No. You can't. Ugh. Don't, don't take away my place...!"
Kylon, flustered by my sudden action, lightly pushed me onto the bed, and my body flew onto the soft bed and *thud*, I collapsed.
It didn't hurt, but the fact that I was so weak that I was sent flying made me feel unnecessarily miserable.
I felt depressed.
As I lay there weakly, looking up at Kylon, he, unable to hide his embarrassment, took out the knife from the bag and put it into his Inventory as well.
"Why, why are you doing this? Who on earth said they're taking your place?"
"Kylon, you're the one taking it away..."
The one taking away my place was none other than Kylon.
Under the guise of being generous, of showing concern, of doing me a favor, under the excuse of not wanting me to get hurt, Kylon kept taking the knife from me with words like "I don't want you to be in pain."
My usefulness, it lies solely in my blood.
"I can't get any effect even with prayers, so why do you keep stopping me when I want to show my usefulness even by using my blood...? If you take them and distribute them, what am I supposed to do when I'm told to just go to a safe place and make Potions...!
So am I just supposed to scratch my body all this time!? If you take all the knives and I can't even make Potions, I'll be no different from a mere citizen who just needs protection, and at this rate, I'll be kicked out of the party...!"
I hunched my body in anxiety and scratched my neck.
Even with Kylon in front of me, anxiety was rising.
The fear of not knowing when I might be abandoned by him, and even if he didn't abandon me, if I voluntarily left the party later for the sake of the Heroines' Favorability Scores, I could see how that would end, which might be why I was afraid.
So I scratched my neck with my hand. I felt the sensation of my neck constantly tightening, to the point where even breathing was uncomfortable right now.
Then Kylon grabbed my arm and spoke as if to make it absolutely clear to me.
"Even if you say that, I won't leave you behind or anything, so just calm down...! Why are you so desperate to do something? I'm just, just going to take you with me, so don't think about anything else."
"B-but the other girls!"
"Ignore what the other girls say! If I hear them say anything, I'll tell them off...!"
No. That's not what I want.
"No..."
That way, nothing can be achieved.
If the Heroines' Favorability Scores drop, we'll drift further from the Ending.
If the Heroines' Favorability Scores dropped because of me, it would be better for me to leave the party.
Otherwise, I would be trapped in this world forever.
So, with the hand that had been scratching my neck now covering my mouth, I spoke, holding back tears.
The way for me not to leave this party, and not to lower the Heroines' Favorability Scores.
The reason I could proudly exist in this party.
"...Just, give me the knife. Then everything will be solved. That way, it's..."
But Kylon shook his head after hearing my words.
"You're impossible. Come with me."
At the same time as he spoke, my body was suddenly lifted.
With the sudden sensation of floating in my body, I widened my eyes in surprise and looked at him.
"P-put me down..."
"We're going out, so be quiet."
Kylon said that, took me out, and burst into the room where he had been with Linda.
Because I was outside, rendered speechless, I heard Linda's surprised voice.
"Kylon's here...! Ah, Saintess-nim...?"
I squeezed my eyes shut and could only breathe with a tremble.
I'm going crazy....