Interlude II: Fractured Bonds
Scratch, scratch, scratch.
In a darkened room lit only by the faint glow of a magic-stone lamp, the sound of a pen moving diligently across paper filled the silence.
Seated before a rather large and finely made desk, a petite brown-haired girl poured herself into magical research, comparing one scholarly text after another.
Nod… nod…
Whether from sheer exhaustion or something deeper, her eyes kept slowly sliding shut, only to snap open again a moment later.
Her skin had gone dry and rough from long neglect, and the heavy dark circles beneath her brows made plain at a single glance just how poorly she was faring.
"Ah… no… Stay awake…"
She shook her head against the relentless tide of drowsiness, trying to drive the sleep away — but the thick shadow of exhaustion was not something so easily banished.
In the end she gave up fighting it and slumped forward onto the desk. Setting an alarm spell so she could snatch even a few minutes of rest, she closed her eyes.
…It was never like this when I was in Leon's party.
Marie Adel, once the mage of Leon's party, dredged up old memories she had long since shoved into a corner of her mind.
As the only one among them with any real magical knowledge, her voice had carried considerable weight within the hero's party.
Marie, what does this say?
Leon — the stubborn, single-minded hero who was weak as a fool yet always put others before himself.
Miss Marie. There appears to be a trap here. Would you check whether there are any other magical traps as well?
Tiris — the party's reliable tank, the big-sister knight who took every thankless chore upon herself.
Lady Marie, please assist with the healing! Hero Leon's wounds are far too—!
Noren — the priestess who always wore a gentle smile and devoted herself to mending the party's injuries.
Marie, I found this in the dungeon. What kind of artifact is it?
Philia — Leon's childhood friend, nothing particularly special about her, yet a tireless hard worker who managed the party's finances as their hunter.
Five of them, including herself. No one would have called them exceptional — yet being together had warmed the heart.
…Though now they had all been scattered to the winds.
Come to think of it… I haven't heard a single word about how any of them are doing…
She herself had joined Hero Roman's party.
Tiris, Noren, and Philia had joined Hero Abel's. Beyond that, she knew nothing of what had become of them.
And Leon…
"…Leon."
Hero Leon.
He had vanished from the exchange gathering leaving only a single note saying he was going to seek out the Sword King, and he had never once shown his face at any gathering since.
That note… was it the right choice…?
Only two people knew that Leon had left a note before disappearing: herself, and Hero Ragna Roman.
The reason was simple. She had been the first to find it — and instead of informing the other parties, she had brought it straight to Ragna.
In response, Ragna had decided to suppress the note entirely.
"Since things have turned out this way, let's say Leon fled because he couldn't bear the duties of a hero."
Hero Roman's plan had succeeded to a degree; Leon's reputation had plummeted. And after that, every trace of Hero Leon simply vanished. No one anywhere claimed to have seen him. He never returned to the exchange gatherings. He disappeared completely.
Rumors multiplied. Whispers that Hero Leon must be dead began to circulate. Around that time, the Holy City offered only a single statement — He is not dead — and thereafter made no further mention of him.
Even Prüen Kingdom, Leon's homeland, which was said to have suffered an attack by the Demon King's forces, yielded no word of Leon either.
Where in the world was he?
"…Well. It's too late to start thinking about it now."
She had intended to betray Leon.
For her own success.
As the daughter of a concubine and the third daughter of her house, the only way to win her family's recognition had been to complete a truly excellent hero's party.
"…I was so sleepy, yet now I can't sleep at all. I should just finish this."
What she was working on now was the refinement of magic.
Ordinary magic, by its nature, was already the finished product of a long history of mages. To attempt to change it meant one of only two cases: either practical constraints made it impossible to implement a formula as written, or the standard form fell short of what the caster wished to achieve and so had to be reshaped.
Simple spells were easy enough to modify. High-tier offensive magic, however, was extraordinarily difficult to rework.
And yet Hero Roman had assigned the task to her.
As the Magic Tower's rising star, this should be trivial for you, no? If you're only going to be dead weight in combat, then at least provide this much support. Don't make me regret bringing you along… whatever the reason was.
She remembered the cold, sunken eyes with which Roman had looked at her.
Not the man who had wanted her with a sweet voice amid pleasure so intense it scrambled her mind on the bed — but a Hero Roman who was utterly cold, almost inorganic. The memory made her body shudder of its own accord, and she jerked upright.
Of course, there was no one else in this narrow room. Cold sweat beaded on her skin. Feeling as though someone were watching her, she glanced around again and again until she finally confirmed she was alone, then collapsed back into her chair.
"…Yeah. I have to… work hard."
She could no longer even remember what it felt like to rest with a clear mind.
Even so, she could not stop.
For the day she would return to the kingdom and finally be recognized by her family… for that day alone.
The central continent of Filgrea.
The desert region known as the Gold Road, which divided the central continent from the eastern continent.
Bordered to the north by the mountain range called the Hundred-Thousand Great Mountains, this vast desert was home to magic beasts whose defense and vitality were extraordinarily high — creatures so strong that only seasoned mercenaries or adventurers of considerable level could hope to face them.
Another peculiarity: rather than kingdoms, the region was dotted with city-states formed by mercenaries and adventurers gathered around oases. The desert's harsh environment simply made large-scale kingdoms unviable. A further distinction worth noting was the frequent appearance of labyrinths throughout the area.
Naturally, these labyrinths were extremely difficult to clear — and the items that could be obtained from them were correspondingly valuable. That was why the place was called the Gold Road: not merely because the fine sand glittered like gold, but because it was a land where one might strike it rich overnight.
"…Where's Abel?"
"Hero Abel has gone to Cairore."
"…To the casino, then."
"Mm. Most likely. If he follows his usual pattern, I expect he'll be gone for two or three days."
In one of the cities established along the Gold Road — Suedna — Hero Abel and his companions had taken up residence and were conducting their activities.
Hero Abel's party was extreme in its combat composition: virtually all of its fighting strength was concentrated in Abel himself.
Calling it a party was generous. Most of its members were little more than sex partners for whenever Abel felt the urge. That very arrangement had accelerated Abel's growth far beyond that of the other heroes' parties, and in truth he had become strong enough to carve his way through the local magic beasts without difficulty.
The flip side, of course, was that almost no one within the party could rein him in — meaning there was no way to curb his debauched lifestyle.
"…Noren."
"Yes, Miss Philia?"
"Is there any reason for me to stay here?"
"…"
Once a girl as fresh as a flower in bloom, she had been worn down and withered until her spirit was nearly spent.
And Noren could easily guess why.
"Are you worried about Hero Leon?"
"…Yeah. He left without saying a word to any of us… without saying a word even to me, his childhood friend… Where could he possibly be…?"
"…"
"Why… why did he leave without saying anything…? Leon…"
For no reason other than to protect her childhood friend, she had offered up her virginity and endured sexual acts she never wanted. Through it all she had forced herself to push away the pleasure and heat that kept accumulating inside her, whittling away at her own soul.
Leon's disappearance, coming on top of all that, must have struck her as a tremendous blow.
"Noren… I want to see Leon…"
"Is that so…?"
"Yeah…"
"…Then let's go look for him."
If they remained here any longer, Philia's mind would likely shatter completely. So Noren gently stroked Philia's hair as she spoke.
Let us leave this place, she said, and go find Leon.
"Then for now… let's return to the Holy City. From there… we can begin searching for Leon again, carefully."
"…Okay."
They had decided. Yet in one corner of Noren's heart, a thought poked its head up unbidden.
Do we even have the right… to go and meet Hero Leon…?
In the end, they had not betrayed him.
Hero Leon had vanished before they ever left the party, after all.
But would Hero Leon truly have disappeared right before the exchange gathering for no reason at all…?
What if…
What if he had discovered their filthy secret?
The thought crept slowly through a corner of her mind — but she chose to say nothing of it to Philia.
"Y-You're serious?"
"I'm telling you I am. You don't trust your senior?"
"W-Well… it's just hard to believe."
Ah — the clink and rattle of chains.
The one who would punish her for her sins had arrived!
"Hah… hah… hah~♥ Woof! Woof♥♥"
"Good girl, good girl. Tiris. Been behaving yourself?"
"Auuung♥"
"I-It's real…? Is she some kind of insane criminal?"
"You've probably heard of her. This woman used to be a member of a hero's party. She's doing penance here as the price for betraying both her hero and her kingdom."
Sin… that's right! I'm a sinner!…
If I don't want Master to abandon me, I have to stay here quietly and pay for my sins!… Only then Master won't throw me away!
So please! Hurry! Hurry!!…
"Whine♥ Whiiine♥♥…"
"No, this is completely… she's an animal."
"A bitch, yeah. A bitch."
Stroke, stroke.
"Hah♥ Hah♥"
"I-Is this really okay?"
"For crying out loud, I'm telling you it is. This woman is basically a slave. Hero Leon's slave. And he said that until he returns, the rest of us working security can use this bitch however we like. Just keep her clean, he asked — she might still be useful later."
"Haaauuuuh♥♥♥"
Spurt — fwoooosh♥
Leon, Leon, Leon, Leon, Leon, Leon, Leon.
Lord Leon, Lord Leon, Lord Leon, Lord Leon, Lord Leon, Lord Leon.
My Master, my Master, my Master, my Master, my Master.
I'm here. I'm right here, just like Master told me, still listening to Master's words.
So… so…♥…
"Hwaaaang…♥"
"Ugh, what the— why's she doing that?"
"Ah, she does that whenever she hears the hero's name. Anyway, this woman clamps down pretty nice, and there's no risk of catching anything, you know? Better to use her from now on than waste money wandering the brothels."
The guard kneaded the pretty blonde's full, rounded breasts as though crushing them, then drove his cock straight into her already slick, dripping cunt. With every thrust she poured out moans thick with pleasure, delighting the male who used her.
The rookie guard watching could no longer hold back his own lust. He stripped off his pants and joined in the bitch's violation.
Before long the basement was filled with the bitch's ecstatic moans as she pleasured the males.
Those moans would continue until her master returned — until her master forgave her sins.