Prologue
"Bring him back to meeeeeeee—!!!!!!"
In the end, the Hero could not hold out.
Her eyes brimming with tears, she frantically looked around, searching for the porter.
It had been a foolish choice.
She should never have let him go, but her half-baked pride had brought about this disaster.
"Haa... haa..."
The thought of being left utterly alone made her dizzy, blurring her vision.
She felt sick to her stomach, consumed by the paranoia that every single person around her was waiting for the right moment to stab her in the back.
"Rin... Rin...! Where are you, please...!"
Gasping for air in a fit of hyperventilation, Lucy finally broke down, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Riiiiin—! I was wrong... I was wrong... hic...!"
"Lucy, no matter how much you scream, the porter isn't here. Give it up already."
"His name is Rin! He's not just some porter!"
The Saint tried to step in, unable to watch any longer, but the Hero violently shook her off.
Clang!
When Lucy went so far as to point the Holy Sword, Hnoni, at them, Nydrian and Arciel froze, their expressions hardening.
Of all times, the Hero had to go berserk when even their mage wasn't around.
And right in the middle of the royal court, under the gaze of countless onlookers.
"Fine, fine. But Rin isn't here—"
"Don't you dare speak Rin's name with that filthy mouth of yours!"
"Then what the hell do you want me to do, you narcissistic bitch?!"
Even the foul-mouthed Saint, Arciel, finally snapped.
She wanted nothing more than to slap some sense into her, but her opponent was the Hero.
Cutting off her own arm and throwing it at Lucy had a higher chance of success.
I suppose I have no choice.
The High Elf, Nydrian, held her breath and nocked an arrow tipped with paralytic poison. But the moment she did—
Thud!
A dagger thrown by the Hero embedded itself in the wall, right next to her face.
"Hero, what do you think you're—!"
"Do you think I don't know? Just like back then, just like that day! You're trying to stab me in the back again, aren't you?"
Arciel gasped.
No one else besides them knew the truth of what the Hero was referring to.
Damn it, we really should have kept the porter around!
She had been a fool to think it was safe to talk to Lucy just because she had seemed stable the past few days.
"In the end, only Rin matters. Rin is the only one who treats me like a human being, the only one who cares about me."
The Hero was sinking deeper and deeper into her own delusions.
As her whispers grew darker, a thick, black aura began to billow from her body.
As the ominous energy began to dye their surroundings in shadow, a panicked Arciel shouted.
"Nydrian, shoot!"
"Ah, seriously—!"
The arrow tore through the air with a sharp whistle, only to be effortlessly caught and snapped in half by the Hero's hand.
Even the fragments of the arrow were consumed by the black aura, crumbling into ash.
"See? What are you trying to take from me this time? You took my arms and legs last time, so what is it now?"
"Hero, that's not what we meant..."
"Hmph, fine. I'll do exactly as you say."
"Arciel!"
Nydrian tried to defuse the situation, but the hot-tempered Saint couldn't control her anger and provoked the Hero further.
"This time, I'm taking Rin."
She froze.
It felt as if time itself had ground to a halt.
The Hero stood completely still, staring at them without a single movement.
The light in her eyes had long since vanished.
As everyone held their breath, watching the scene unfold, Lucy slowly raised Hnoni.
"Come to think of it... you people... have never... begged for my forgiveness... not even once..."
The dark aura flared up like a raging wildfire.
Within the shadows, only her eyes gleamed with a sinister, crimson light.
"And yet... you want to take Rin from me too...?"
"God, you talk too much!"
The Saint equipped her Dragon Scale Gloves.
As she slipped them on, divine power crackled around her fists like violent lightning.
"Bring it on. A good punch will put you right to sleep. I'll make sure you're tucked in nice and tight until we bring the porter back."
At that, a violent storm of darkness erupted as the Hero shrieked.
"I... can't sleep... without the sound of Rin's heartbeat—!!!!!!!"
And so, the furious Saint and the sighing elven archer bared their teeth once more against the Hero they had already betrayed once before.
Meanwhile...
"So, if I just write down the recipient's description, you'll deliver the letter for me?"
"Yes! Filled with love, hatred, or information—we deliver anywhere! Guaranteed!"
"Then please deliver this to Hero Lucy."
"Huh?! The Hero? I-if you don't mind me asking, what is your name...?"
As the mailman reacted with shock, the masked man quickly waved his hands in dismissal.
"Ah, I'm just a porter. It's just a letter to let her know I'm doing fine on my errands."
"I see! Since the demons have returned, the Hero's party must be incredibly busy. I'll deliver this as fast as I can!"
"Thank you."
Watching the mailman vanish into the distance using a high-speed movement technique, Rin the porter stretched lazily.
Wow, that's a top-tier ultimate skill, and a mere mailman is using it like it's nothing.
"It's been quiet even though we've been apart for a while. I wonder if Lucy's dependency has gotten a bit better?"
Several days had passed, yet there was no news from the imperial capital.
If it were the old Lucy, he would have heard rumors of her destroying a building or beating someone up by now, but there was nothing.
"That's a relief. She must be doing much better. I guess she's finally ready to move on from me."
Of course...
"You hid him, didn't you? He's mine! He belongs only to me! Rin... Rin...! Without you, I..."
"Damn it! Shoot her with a paralytic arrow and shut her up!"
"This is only happening because you provoked her, Arciel!"
...she was not doing better at all.