A Cruel Reunion
"Haa... Haa..."
I was out of breath.
Clutching the leather pouch of magical ore my father had handed me, I had run day and night, crossing mountains and rivers.
If it had been a normal delivery, I would have hitched a ride on a merchant carriage or rented a horse to save my strength.
But driven by the single, desperate desire to see Selphy's face and talk with her as soon as possible, I ran without rest.
I just wanted to reaffirm our feelings for each other, see her smile at me again, and finally put my mind at ease.
"I should... wash up before I go in."
My destination, the border city of Paparn, was now only a day's journey away.
It sat at the westernmost edge of the kingdom, a buffer zone separating the human territories from the contaminated lands where monsters roamed.
With the monster lands right before its eyes, one might wonder who would ever choose to live in such a dangerous place. However, I had heard it was a bustling city sustained by trade—a hub for merchant caravans delivering military supplies from the kingdom and various fiefdoms to fend off the occasional monster raids.
It would be best to find an inn inside the city and wash up there, but vacancies were never guaranteed in any city.
More than anything, I didn't want to waste a single second. I wanted to see Selphy immediately.
Splash!
"Phew!"
Finding a nearby river to wash away the smell of sweat, I bathed and changed into fresh clothes.
Then, I set up a temporary shelter in a spot unlikely to be disturbed by wild beasts.
Camping outdoors was second nature to me.
I would rest my body for the night and enter the city at the crack of dawn.
"Selphy... I'll see you soon..."
Perhaps due to the exhaustion weighing down my body, my vision quickly grew hazy.
...Abel! Thank you!
For some reason, I felt like I could hear the voice of a brightly smiling, blonde girl, and see her face.
Crunch, crunch...
In the distance, the towering city walls and the guards inspecting travelers came into view.
True to its reputation as a trading city, an endless stream of merchant carriages passed through the gates.
"A peddler? Or a laborer?"
The guard, wearing a pauldron bearing the kingdom's crest rather than the city's, questioned me. In response, I lightly shook the bundle in my hand.
Seeing the holy sword emblem drawn on it, the guard nodded.
"Ah, a delivery for the Hero. Do you know where he is?"
"I was actually about to ask. Could you tell me?"
At my polite inquiry, the guard nodded and gave me rough directions to the inn where the Hero and his party were staying.
"Pass!"
With his shout, I passed through the gates and entered the city.
As expected of a trading hub, the streets were lined with merchant guild buildings and bustling traders.
The busy movements of the townspeople working as porters filled my vision.
"It's... morning."
The sky, which had been a deep, bruised blue when I left the forest, was now clear and bright, with the sun hanging like a brilliant white disc. It was a perfect day.
A perfect day to reunite with Selphy.
Step, step.
I quickened my pace, navigating the streets until I reached the district where the inns were clustered.
"...I can tell immediately."
I realized I hadn't even needed directions.
While the other inns were only about two stories high, the building where the Hero's party stayed was an overwhelmingly massive structure, standing at least four stories tall.
Judging by its luxurious exterior, it looked like a place reserved for nobles or royalty.
"Selphy is in there..."
My eyes slowly traced down from the top floor of the building to the main entrance.
"Hehe, what are you doing~!"
"Haha!"
The laughter of a man and a woman echoed as they walked out of the entrance.
As they drew closer, their figures, practically glued together, became painfully clear.
The man was tall, with rich, golden hair.
He wore a lavish, uniform-like attire, adorned with golden ornaments symbolizing the kingdom on his shoulders and chest.
With practiced ease, he wrapped his arm around the waist of the woman beside him, his hand casually squeezing her breast as if it belonged to him.
"Ah... so early in the morning..."
The woman didn't seem to mind. In fact, she clung to his arm with both hands, leaning her body against his coyly as they walked.
She had vibrant, shoulder-length golden hair.
She wore vestments similar to a priest's robes, yet slightly different...
No. No. No. No. No.
Shouldn't I have looked at her face first?
Because I didn't want to believe it, I kept focusing on her clothes and other details instead. I desperately hoped it wasn't who I thought it was.
I wished with all my heart that it was someone else.
But the anxiety I had dismissed as mere doubt was now standing right in front of me, a harsh reality.
The man perfectly matched the appearance of the Hero, whom no citizen of the kingdom could fail to recognize.
And the woman... she had the face of the Selphy I remembered. She was giving the Hero the very same smile she used to give to me.
"Uh..."
I needed to call out her name, but my lips refused to move. Only a faint, choked gasp escaped my throat.
Step...
Just then, the Hero and Selphy stopped walking. As they turned their heads with smiles on their faces—
"A-Abel?!"
Spotting me, Selphy cried out my name in sheer shock. Her pupils dilated as she frantically looked around, before quickly casting her gaze downward to avoid my eyes.
That was a habit of hers whenever she did something wrong.
Haha... Whenever she got into big trouble, she would act like that in front of her mother... Back then, I always had a hard time comforting her when she cried...
"Hmm? Someone you know?"
The Hero looked back and forth between me and Selphy, asking her with an amused expression.
"Uh... Ah...! Well...!"
Flustered by his question, Selphy stammered.
"He's just... an acquaintance from the village I lived in before I became the Saintess, Sir Hero."
She explained, letting out a strained laugh.
Just an acquaintance? After telling me she loved me, that she wanted to be with me forever... every single day since we were children...
"Hmm? Doesn't seem like just an acquaintance to me."
The Hero muttered loudly enough for everyone to hear.
"This fellow seems to think otherwise."
He turned his gaze toward me, wearing a smirk that practically demanded an answer.
Hearing a stranger judge the relationship between Selphy and me made something boil deep inside my chest.
"Selphy... I've only ever loved you, from the very beginning until now. And you..."
The single question I had desperately wanted to ask her finally burst out.
"...You love me too, right?"
"Abel..."
Selphy softly called my name, her face clouding with sadness.
That look hurt, but what tortured me the most was the fact that she couldn't give me an immediate answer.
I felt a single tear escape my eye and trace down my cheek.
"Pfft."
A nasty chuckle cut through the air.
"Well, now. I'm not really fond of women who are already taken."
The Hero pulled his arm away from Selphy and clasped his hands behind his back.
"Well? What do you say, Sera?"
He looked down at her, his eyes smiling with an unreadable emotion.
At that moment, Selphy looked up at him, her face turning pale.
"T-Taken?! That's absurd! We have absolutely no relationship!"
She shrieked, her face completely white.
"No relationship? Then why is that guy crying like his whole world is ending?"
"That's...!"
Selphy glanced at me with terror in her eyes, then quickly turned back to the Hero.
"Since we were kids...! He just followed me around, claiming he liked me! I never had any interest in him, but he kept...! He kept doing it!"
...Selphy?
"He's a creep...! Please don't abandon me, Sir Hero!"
She cried out, on the verge of tears.
I wanted to comfort her... but even though she was only five steps away, she felt infinitely distant.
"Pfft, hahaha!"
The Hero slapped his forehead and burst into loud laughter.
"So! What you're saying is, that guy is a delusional stalker who keeps clinging to you even though you, the Saintess, hate him? Is that it?!"
He shouted, making sure everyone gathered around could hear.
"..."
Selphy remained silent for a moment.
"Yes... that's right."
She hung her head low and whispered.
Thud...
I no longer had the strength to hold the leather pouch. It slipped from my fingers.
The bundle of magical ore I had brought to help her spilled onto the dirt.
"Ah... Ah..."
If I let my guard down for even a second, my legs would give out and I would collapse right there.
Was I dreaming...?
The bright light I had nurtured in my heart since childhood had vanished, leaving behind a hollow, gaping void.
Step.
Only when the presence reached right in front of me did I slowly raise my eyes.
The person standing before me was not Selphy, but the Hero.
He placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Don't take it too hard, buddy. That's just how things are, right? The Saintess belongs to the Hero. She was made for me."
He spat out words that were impossible to just stand and listen to.
"What the hell are you—!"
I clenched my fists, trying to yell at him to stop talking nonsense.
Suddenly, he yanked my shoulder and leaned in close to my ear.
"Did you know? That bitch has a mole on her ass. And you should hear the squeals she makes. It's honestly embarrassing how loud she is every night."
"Don't you dare talk about Selphy like that!!"
Unable to hold back any longer, I grabbed him by the collar.
He didn't budge an inch. He simply looked down at me, his red eyes narrowing.
His gaze was filled with absolute superiority and sadistic pleasure.
I realized it then. This man was evil.
Selphy was just... she was just being deceived by him for a moment.
As the Saintess, it couldn't have been easy for her to defy the leader of the party, the Hero.
"To dare lay hands on the Hero..."
A flash of light gathered in his hand, and a sword materialized in less than the blink of an eye.
Slash— Stab!
"Cough...!"
It was too fast. The tip of the blade pierced my lower abdomen, just below the navel.
Thud!
I collapsed to the ground, clutching my stomach.
"Kyaaa! Abel!"
"Sel... phy..."
I saw a panicked Selphy running toward me, a white light gathering in her hands.
So she didn't... hate me after all.
But the Hero grabbed her mid-stride.
He held her back as she tried to reach me.
"Now, now! Everyone, don't worry! See, there's barely any blood on the tip of my sword. I just gave him a little warning poke in a non-lethal spot."
"What...?"
"You said it yourself, Sera. He's a creep. If we want to get rid of him for good, we need to teach him a lesson he won't forget."
At the Hero's words, Selphy's gaze briefly shifted to me, scanning my state.
The light in her hands faded. She closed her eyes as if making a decision, and then—
"Y-Yes! You're right. I was sick and tired of him anyway."
She clung to the Hero's side and refused to look at me again.
I wanted to tell her no... that he wasn't someone who would cherish her, that she would only end up hurt. But—
"Cough... Ugh... Argh...!"
My muscles were paralyzed, and no words would come out.
The Hero's claim that he hadn't stabbed a vital spot was true.
He had only lightly pierced the area below my navel, avoiding my liver and other major organs.
There wasn't even much blood. It was a wound that would have healed on its own if left alone.
Crack, crackle...!
The problem was that the Hero hadn't just stabbed me.
As the blade broke my skin, he had injected a sticky, toxic mana into my body.
Crackle, pop!
"Gurgle...!"
It surged through the remaining half of my Mana Road, relentlessly tearing the pathways apart.
My entire body was paralyzing, and blood boiled up to my throat.
At this rate, my heart would stop, and I would die.
"Oh! This is magical ore."
The Hero picked up the pouch of magical ore that had rolled next to me and stood back up.
"Look at this, Sera. Even though he's a crazy stalker, I guess he brought you some magical ore since you're from the same village."
"..."
He spoke cheerfully to the silent Selphy beside him.
Drip... drip...
Bloody saliva dripped from my mouth. My head spun so violently that I couldn't even lift it to look at Selphy's face.
What kind of expression were you making right now...? Strangely, I couldn't even remember what your smiling face looked like anymore.
"Sel... phy... Sel...!"
I saw the feet of Selphy and the Hero walking away, heading back toward the inn.
Thump-thump-thump... thump... thump...
Ah... I couldn't hold on much longer.
I could feel my racing heart gradually losing its strength.
Was I going to die here? I couldn't... My father and mother would be devastated.
They had worked so hard to raise and teach me as their son.
I was already a disappointing son who had failed their expectations by losing my Mana Road.
Even so, they had told me it was okay. I had promised myself to do my best to repay their kindness.
"Someone... please... help me...!"
If I received emergency treatment, I might at least survive, even if my Mana Road could never be restored.
Yet, out of the crowd of onlookers, not a single person stepped forward.
It was only natural. They were just spectators who had gathered to watch the Hero, the Saintess... and a madman.
Now that the Hero had shouted it for all to hear and the Saintess had confirmed I was a creep, no one would want to help a lunatic who had just been punished by the Hero.
That bastard had probably calculated all of this.
What would Selphy think when she saw my cold corpse lying here?
Did it even matter anymore?
Patter!
Through my fading consciousness, I heard the sound of someone running toward me at full speed.
"Are you alright?!"
Along with a clear, refreshing voice, slender arms supported my body, and a face came into view.
"Can you see me? Say something, please!"
She was a beauty with hair the color of clear water and mysterious violet eyes.
Was she a lake fairy, the kind that supposedly appeared right before death...?
"There's a Saintess in my party...! I'll ask her to heal you right away!"
At those words, my slipping consciousness suddenly snapped back.
"No... don't... The Hero and..."
What about Selphy...?
Yes. Selphy, who had branded me a madman, was no different.
"...The Saintess... did this..."
"What?"
The fairy—no, the woman—looked at me in surprise for a moment. Then, her expression quickly turned calm, as if she understood the situation.
She grabbed me firmly.
"I'm taking you somewhere you can lie down, so hang in there!"
Lifting me onto her back, she ran swiftly in the opposite direction of the inn.