Couple Breaker
A very brief silence fell over us.
Sara, who had gone rigid like a doll, soon turned to me and began radiating pure killing intent.
“You… Are you threatening me right now? Is that worthless thing really so important? Is satisfying your pathetic lust that fucking important?!”
“It’s not like that. You think I want to be doing this? My semen is the cure!”
I had no choice but to reveal the truth. If I didn’t, Sara might actually smash the potion. And if that happened, it would all be over. Abel would die, Sara’s sacrifice and all my efforts would turn to nothing.
At my words, Sara let out an awkward laugh.
“Your semen… is the cure? Don’t lie. There’s no way that’s true.”
“It is true. Otherwise I wouldn’t be doing something like this. Do you understand now? Then hand over the potion. I need to treat him immediately.”
I shook off the hand gripping my collar, snatched the potion from her, and walked past Sara toward Abel. The dazed Sara hurriedly followed after me.
“It’s a lie, right? It has to be a lie! Say it’s a lie!”
She kept asking desperately, and when I ignored her, she grabbed my arm and forcibly spun me around. The hand clutching me was trembling violently.
“Say it’s not true. Please… just say it’s a lie.”
“……”
I couldn’t say anything. Even if I lied now, she wouldn’t believe me. And more than that, I didn’t want to lie to her in this moment.
Sara, who understood the meaning of my silence, clung to me as if she were about to collapse.
“Then everything you did back then… was on purpose? Why? Why would you deliberately make me hate you? Don’t tell me you were trying to atone with something like that? Huh? Answer me. Why did you do it?!”
With just the simple fact that my semen was the cure, she had pieced together the entire situation. That was why she was suffering so much. This foolishly kind woman cared more about the wounds she had inflicted on others than the ones she had received herself. She was regretting all the harsh insults and hateful behavior she had thrown at me under the pretext of rape, and she couldn’t bear how pitiful I was for having endured it all.
I had kept it a secret because I expected this exact reaction, but it had all been for nothing.
My teeth ground together on their own.
It’s still okay.
It wasn’t too late. I could still turn everything back to how it was before. I brainwashed myself with those thoughts.
I burst into mocking laughter.
“Puhaha! Don’t tell me you actually thought I was doing it out of remorse? Why did I do it, you ask? Because it was fun, obviously.”
“…What?”
“What’s the fun in normal sex? I can do that anytime I want. If I’m going to fuck a girl who already has a boyfriend, I might as well enjoy the real flavor of it. She can scream ‘no, no’ with her mouth all she wants, but the moment I shove it in, she cums her brains out. Do you know how hilarious that is? Even you, Professor, kept saying my cock was pathetic while panting and moaning every time I fucked you─”
I almost died laughing, you know?
Before those words could leave my mouth, Sara’s palm slammed into my cheek.
Slap!
A burning pain spread across my face. I touched my cheek and lifted my head to meet Sara’s eyes. Tears were streaming down her face as she spoke.
“I was so stupid. To think I actually felt sympathy for someone like you, even for a second. I’m the idiot for ever pitying a bastard like you. I won’t believe a single word you say ever again.”
Having declared that like a solemn vow, Sara wiped away her tears, turned her back on me, and walked away.
I watched her retreating figure and smiled.
This is fine.
It felt like someone was forcibly ripping my heart out, but at least I had stopped Sara from completely breaking down. That was enough. I hoped she would now live happily with Verdan without feeling any more guilt.
…A small part of my heart felt cold.
I stood there for a moment, lost in an inexplicable emptiness, before shaking it off and hurrying my steps.
It didn’t take long to reach the others. I immediately used the potion on Abel. After unbuttoning his shirt and pouring the potion evenly over his abdomen, it was absorbed through his skin and began purifying the demonic energy inside him. If simply pouring it on hadn’t been enough, I would have had to make him drink it. The thought of the first person to ever consume my semen being a man made me want to vomit just imagining it. At least if it were a woman, I could have felt some sense of depravity.
I’m not even gay.
With that lingering discomfort, I finished applying the potion and stepped back. Yuni immediately rushed over and clung to Abel.
“Abel. Abel, are you awake? Abel!”
“Ugh…”
Her desperate calls must have worked, because Abel groaned and slowly opened his eyes. The girl’s face reflected in his dark pupils.
“Yuni…?”
“Yes, it’s me! Thank goodness! I’m so relieved!”
Yuni let out a joyful cry at the sight of Abel, who had barely survived, but she couldn’t bring herself to get any closer. She was afraid of aggravating his wounds.
Seeing that, Abel smiled softly, then his expression hardened with determination as he sat up and pulled Yuni into his arms.
“A-Abel?”
“I’m glad you’re safe too, Yuni.”
“…Yeah.”
The flustered Yuni buried her face deep into his shoulder in embarrassment and gave a small nod at his whisper.
The only one smiling at that innocent, wholesome scene was Verdan. Neither I nor Sara—who knew the truth—could easily share in that joy.
Soon, after finishing his affectionate display, Abel’s gaze turned toward me.
“Luan. I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Same here. Why do you always end up involved whenever something like this happens?”
“Ahaha… Yeah. It is pretty strange.”
Abel scratched the back of his head awkwardly, then greeted Verdan and Sara as well. After hearing what had happened while he was unconscious, he kept thanking both me and Sara.
“Professor Sara, thank you so much! And Luan, thank you too. I’ll repay this debt someday.”
“You’d better. Stay on your toes. You never know what I might ask for.”
“Of course! I’ll prepare myself!”
Abel just laughed, looking genuinely happy. In contrast, Sara kept shooting me glances full of distrust and suspicion, clearly worried I might make some ridiculous demand.
How long had I endured those stares? Eventually, the sound of footsteps came from one side, and the Holy Knights appeared. The knight leading the charge looked at the dead troll and ogre, then at our group, and seemed to grasp the situation as he saluted.
“We came running after receiving an urgent message, but it looks like the situation has already been resolved. We offer you our deepest respect.”
He then exchanged an awkward glance with Abel.
So they had already coordinated beforehand?
No wonder Abel had charged at the monsters without hesitation. He must have had backup. The real question was why the Holy Knights had arrived so long after everything was already over.
Apparently thinking the same thing, Verdan asked on our behalf.
“I didn’t expect the Holy Knights to show up. Were you stationed nearby?”
“Yes, that’s correct. If we hadn’t been caught in the barrier on the way, we would have arrived much sooner. We are truly ashamed.”
“A barrier, you say?”
“Indeed. It appeared to be a type of spatial magic. We ended up completely lost. The same path kept repeating no matter which way we went, and breaking through it took quite a long time. We sincerely apologize.”
So there was a reason for their delay after all. I had suspected as much—Ethan Gloucester had already made his move in advance.
We got lucky.
I didn’t know when he had set up that barrier, but we had nearly been trapped by it and failed to arrive in time. From now on, I would need to prepare thoroughly so something like this wouldn’t happen again. First, I had to figure out how to neutralize the surveillance magic. Since completely blocking it would only raise suspicion, I’d have to find a way to deceive it instead. If that didn’t work, I could always ask Deborah. The master of the Gray Magic Tower should be able to create an artifact capable of fooling Ethan Gloucester’s surveillance magic. When else would I use my connections if not at times like this?
While I was quietly forming a plan, the Holy Knights began cleaning up the scene.
“We will take care of things here. You may all go on your way.”
“Haha! Then we’ll leave it to you. Excuse us. Kids, let’s head back.”
And so, under Verdan’s lead, we descended Mount Verdia.
What a fucking day.
In a back alley of the residential district, Sara and Verdan were walking side by side.
“I never imagined things would turn out like this. I was truly shocked.”
“…Yeah. I couldn’t have imagined it either.”
Just when she had finally gathered her heart and was trying to start anew, she had ended up entangled with Luan again. Was this some cruel joke from the heavens?
Thanks to that, she no longer knew how to face Verdan.
The memory from earlier resurfaced. When she had said she had a secret, he had wanted to ask more but ultimately held back his curiosity. Even though her clumsy excuses had clearly signaled that something was wrong, he had let it go purely out of trust in her.
And she had betrayed that trust.
Of course, as a result, she had learned that the pleasure she felt during sex with Luan was due to the aphrodisiac. But she wasn’t happy about it. Because this incident had also taught her that if something similar happened again, she would make the same choice.
If Verdan ever found out when she was in a similar situation someday, she wasn’t sure she could endure it. Accepting his heart in the name of atonement would be an even greater betrayal. It would have been better if they had never started in the first place. That would have been the true path to protecting him.
While Sara was lost in her own thoughts, Verdan suddenly stopped walking.
When she looked up, she saw a house. The striking red roof belonged to the place where Sara lived.
“We’ve already arrived. I wanted to spend a little more time with you. What a shame.”
“…Thank you for walking me all the way here.”
“Of course. Well then, go inside. See you tomorrow.”
Verdan waved at her with that gentle smile. Sara waved back, then turned around and stood in front of the door.
Just as she was about to unlock it─
“Sara. Can’t you tell me what that secret is?”
Verdan’s low voice froze Sara in place. She slowly turned to face him.
“……”
“I know you said it has to stay a secret. But I’m just so curious… Haha. You really can’t tell me?”
Behind his playful smile was hidden anxiety. Verdan had instinctively realized that the relationship between Sara and Luan might be the worst thing he could possibly imagine.
Sara wanted to ease that anxiety, but in the end, she turned away.
“I’m sorry. I promised to keep it a secret.”
“I see. Haha! Sorry for asking something so difficult. I’ll be going now. It’s getting late.”
At her firm refusal, Verdan looked flustered but pretended to check his watch and quickly left.
Sara stared at his retreating back. The moment he completely disappeared from sight, her legs gave out and she collapsed on the spot.
“Hic… Sob!”
Her vision blurred. Tears rolled down her cheeks, gathered at her chin, and shattered against the ground.
She cried endlessly right there.
“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”
She kept repeating her apology to Verdan over and over again.