Chapter 4
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Illusion
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I took a moment to carefully rummage through my memories.
Being able to name her noble house was proof she was an aristocrat.
I knew quite a few noble families inside and out, but I'd never heard of House Belial.
I stared at her blankly for a second.
Well, if she were a noble lady, she wouldn't be living the adventurer's life in the first place.
'...A fallen knight family, maybe?'
The hints of refined poise leaking out here and there, and her curt way of speaking.
A disgraced knight house in ruins, with her training the sword to restore it.
It was a scenario that even explained her slightly unhinged vibe.
"...Ahem, ahem."
I cleared my throat awkwardly before diving straight into business.
"So, you'd like to join our party?"
"......Yes."
"Why are you speaking so softly? As an A-rank adventurer, you could join a much better party... so why ours...?"
Her face twisted in confusion the moment I probed her like that.
'...Something's up.'
The most dangerous thing in an adventurer party is internal strife.
And the most common crime in high-rank parties: adventurer hunting.
Where a high-rank adventurer joins a low-rank party, kills the members, loots them, and reports it as a monster attack.
I started grilling the suspicious woman in front of me even harder.
"Let me be direct. You have the strength to solo a high orc village, so I'm curious why you want to party up."
"......Ah, uh, that is..."
"......Hard to talk about?"
"......Th-that's, um, you see..."
She hesitated for a moment, then shouted at the top of her lungs.
"......I-I don't have any friends...!!"
".......Huh."
"......."
"....Ah, I see...."
In that instant, every eye in the adventurer's guild—people laughing and chatting, pouring drinks—locked onto us.
Just as Belial's face flushed beet red in real time.
The guild doors burst open, and in came some guys humming cheerfully.
My party members.
"Edward oppa~!!"
".....Ugh."
To anyone else, it might look like a young dad reuniting with his daughter. But Elysia here, a 4th-circle mage, was actually older than me.
.....Something about spilling a massive batch of potions on herself during alchemy, and they mixed just right to lock her into a young body or whatever.
Her calling me "oppa" was just for show, to avoid weird looks from others. Or maybe to tease me.
Watching us curiously from the side was Karin, the apprentice priestess.
Both B-rank adventurers—a priestess and a mage—precious assets in a party where those roles were rare.
With my aura broken and unable to perform at knight level, a priestess and mage were absolute must-haves.
Belial glanced furtively at Elysia clinging to my arm, then awkwardly greeted the party.
After discussing with the members, we concluded there was no reason to turn down an A-rank swordswoman as our frontliner—
And just like that, we kicked off the party formation drinks.
Isabella sipped her beer in troubled sips.
She wasn't much of a drinker, but unlike Adel, she didn't avoid it entirely.
The Adel from her recovered memories had despised indulgence, shunned women, and never touched booze or drugs.
"Yay—another round!"
"......Ugh. Elysia."
"You got it~ Glug-glug-!!"
What had driven him to this point?
"......."
Grip—
No matter how she tried to forget, flashes from the underground dungeon haunted her mind.
No, wasn't she a perpetrator too?
...When she first found him there, she thought her breath had stopped.
He was clearly alive.
Thanking Gaia, she tried to rush to Adel—
[....Haha, Aris, it's really nothing, I swear?]
[......]
But courage failed her.
On what grounds?
What would she even say?
Go back to the imperial palace?
....To the man who'd fled because he hated everything...?
"......."
Revulsion toward herself began to swell.
Slap—!
She stared into the mirror and quietly slapped herself.
"......."
Even so, she wanted Adel.
Selfishly, trashily, disgustingly so.
She wanted to see him again, talk to him.... love him.
Three days later.
Her conclusion: disguise herself.
A messy compromise of guilt and longing.
She bought disguise magic scrolls aplenty with her money, and finally.
"You want to join our party?"
[You want to learn the sword with me?]
Him.
She met him.
"By the way, what's your name?"
[What is your name? I wish to know it.]
"....Isa—"
She clamped her mouth shut.
She'd almost blurted out her real name.
Disgust and nausea roiled in her, and if the truth came out, this bond would shatter...
But she wanted to talk more.
Even in this position, stay by his side.
Relish this twisted relationship— it had ensnared her completely.
".......Ugh....."
"......."
The Adel before her slumped against the table, utterly disheveled.
If she'd seen this three years ago, it would've stirred some dark, inexplicable urge...
But now, all she felt was guilt that tore her apart.
Even with his head bowed, the torture scars peeked out.
Burn marks from fire.
Knife slashes on his face.
Bruises and wounds that hadn't fully faded.
To this wrecked Adel, those damn female adventurers kept pouring drinks.
Each time, she subtly stole his glass and drank instead, but she instinctively sensed the priestess fancied him.
".....My, you sure can hold your liquor?"
Watching Belial down the beer in front of Adel, Karin smiled slowly.
".....And you, as a priestess—is it okay to drink like that?"
...Her pride stung.
Isabella had never been outdone in bust size except by Saintess Lena, but this priestess matched her.
She didn't want to blaspheme, but right now, she half-agreed with the debate that Gaia was a breast fanatic.
"Ufufu, as long as you're not a saintess, it's fine? You can drink, marry, have kids."
".....Convenient."
She snapped back sharply, when—
Thud—
"......Ugh...."
Adel's head lolled, slamming into the table as he collapsed.
Leaving the wobbly Elysia behind, she hauled the sleeping Adel up from the table.
"....Wh-where are you going?"
"Huh? To Adel's inn, obviously."
".......!!"
This wouldn't do.
Forget lofty thoughts of bonds—she had to stop this lewd priestess from invading his room.
".....I-I'll come too."
"Ufufu, Edward. We're already at the inn?"
"......."
"Oh my, he's out cold...."
"W-wait. Hold on....!!"
As they slowly started undressing Adel, Isabella frantically stopped her.
".....Wh-what are you doing...?!?"
"Huh? Oh..."
Karin pondered for a second, then yanked off Adel's top shirt covering him.
".....H-heek?!!"
Her hands shot up in panic, but through the gaps in her fingers, she clearly saw his body.
"......."
And it was in a gravely serious state.
Far beyond the faint torture marks visible through clothes—an indescribable horror.
Witnessing his body like this, she grew eerily calm.
They say people freeze when overwhelmed by information.
That was her exactly—frozen solid.
".....A-ah...."
Her lips parted and closed repeatedly as her eyes slowly scanned.
Then Karin approached his wrist and began to heal.
"Hmm, you barely did anything today. Looking much better."
"......"
What did that mean?
She didn't want to understand, yet one word circled her mind relentlessly.
"My, so sensitive despite appearances...? Adventurers often have scars like this, but yours are different.
At least years of sustained torture.... Been to some dungeon, huh? No idea what crime a pure soul like you committed..."
"........"
Stop.
I don't want to hear more.
The plea echoed in her, but like a drug, she couldn't stop listening to Karin.
"Well, he says he won't do anything that stupid again.... But his condition was awful. So I'm giving him intensive treatment.... Alcohol numbs the pain, after all."
Karin flashed a bright smile and wiggled her fingers.
"Priestess heals hurt, right? Not as bad as mass-produced potions, though."
"......Ah..."
Karin glanced at Isabella and slowly stepped out of Adel's room.
".....Oh! Don't pounce on him, okay? Doing awful things to a drunk isn't ladylike?"
Slam—
The door shut, leaving her staring at Adel.
What on earth had happened?
No, she knew.
Fragments from the underground dungeon.
.....She wanted to share his pain.
'On what grounds?'
"........."
"......Ugh.... Stop...."
His hand reaching into empty air looked so pitiful.
Her tattered heart aching, she slowly gazed at his face.
Squeeze—
Interlacing their fingers, Adel seemed to relax, his face peaceful again.
....This moment felt like a drug to Isabella.
His bare upper body's mysterious scent captivated her.
Just a little, just stroking his hair a bit—surely okay.
As she tremblingly adjusted her hand,
".....Bel...ial?"
Adel, whom she'd thought fast asleep, rubbed his eyes sleepily and spoke.