I Blacked Out
I blacked out.
"...I think he figured it out."
"Haa. It's because of that bastard Philip...!"
Judy and Chloe. Illinet and Cecilia, too.
The women of Evan's party — all four of them, excluding Evan — had gathered for a meeting. Given the impure purpose behind it, they had no choice but to hold it behind his back.
"I had a bad feeling about this. Honestly, it would've been weirder if we hadn't gotten caught. Haa...."
The other women cast questioning looks at Judy's muttered words. She hemmed and hawed under their scrutiny, but eventually spilled the truth.
"Whaaat? Even so, doing that in Evan's own bedroom is a bit...."
"Hah. Not getting caught would have been the strange part."
Cecilia and Illinet, respectively. Chloe, in no position to judge anyone, simply kept her silence.
"I didn't want to either! Do you think I'm crazy enough to roll around with Philip in Evan's room? That perverted bastard kept forcing the issue!"
"Even so...."
"Hmm. Philip is pretty pushy, I'll give you that."
Of course, Cecilia and Illinet weren't exactly in the clear themselves. All four women in the conversation knew that perfectly well.
"What if Evan already knows everything? I feel so bad for him...."
"...There's no way he noticed all of it. You know how oblivious Evan is, Chloe."
"That's true.... Looking at how he's been acting lately, nothing seemed particularly off."
"Now that you mention it, you're right. Evan still seemed fine. There wasn't a hint of resentment or hatred toward us."
"I think so too. He's changed from before, but he hasn't really gotten angry at us. He still doesn't seem to know."
There was a perfectly good reason for the guilt they felt under Evan's gaze.
Not long ago, they had slept with members of another guild.
It certainly wasn't through force or coercion. They had willingly thrown themselves into other men's arms of their own free will. And they had their reasons for it, too.
"...Should we have turned down that offer?"
"It's not as easy as it sounds. It was a chance to turn our whole lives around...."
Currently, they had no affiliation. They had formed a party of five, but a party was all it was — a pitiful group compared to any major guild.
Then one day, Amir and Gale — executives of the Scavenger Guild — came to them with a proposal.
A recruitment offer. The condition: sexual favors, plus offering up their virginity.
An absurd, outrageous condition — they naturally refused. But under the men's relentless temptation, they couldn't keep holding out forever.
And so they offered up their virginity. A choice made of their own will, with nothing but career advancement in mind.
It wasn't something that required seeking Evan's opinion or permission, but it was a clear betrayal — and there was zero chance Evan would take it well. Even if he couldn't openly confront them about it, the hurt would be inevitable.
With reasons like these, the party members had kept the truth locked away inside, hiding it from him.
"So what are you all going to do? I feel bad for Evan, but we can't let an opportunity like this slip away."
Chloe quietly put the question out there. The remaining heroines each shared their thoughts.
"...I've already made up my mind. And it's too late to take it back now...."
"I still can't give a definite answer. Who knows what those Scavenger bastards are really after."
"I'm with Cecilia. Even if we back out now, things can never go back to the way they were. So I'm going to tell Evan myself. That this miserable party is over."
With Judy's resolute tone as the final word, the party members steeled their resolve.
Right. It was too late to reverse course. There was only one option left.
After that, they held a long discussion about how best to console Evan.
One week since possessing this idiot Evan's body.
In that week, I hadn't done much of anything. Just an endless loop of eating, sleeping, and taking dumps. I'd occasionally run into the heroines in passing, but never exchanged a word with them. They must have sensed something off about me too, because they never made the first move to talk either.
Having somehow frittered away seven meaningless days, I was once again doing absolutely nothing. I just wanted to melt into water and flow away.
But wallowing in pessimism and self-pity toward the world could only last so long. It was about time I pulled myself together.
I forced my hazy mind into focus and set about assessing the situation.
"Ha. So when are you sending me home, anyway?"
I spoke into empty air. As usual, the goddess offered no reply. Whether she was hiding out of guilt or because she was scared of my revenge, I couldn't say. I wished she'd show up sooner rather than later. That crazy bitch made a promise — she damn well better keep it.
"Tsk. I'll give her one more chance."
I forced myself upright with some effort. I couldn't keep going on like this forever. And who knows? Maybe if I played Evan's role diligently enough, she'd actually send me back to Earth.
Clinging to that inflated hope, I left the room.
—Click
Just as I was about to step through the open doorway, a woman was lingering right outside. The moment she noticed me, she let out a short gasp and spoke.
"E-Evan. You're up."
"Yeah. Morning."
A woman with long white hair. Light armor, a sword belted at her waist. Judging by the getup, this had to be Illinet — Evan's swordsmanship instructor.
Despite her imposing appearance, her manner was surprisingly cautious.
"Are you planning to rest again today? We've got quite a few quests piled up...."
"You don't have to wait around for me. You guys can go on expeditions without me."
"Ahem. How could we leave you behind? We should do these things together."
Even as she spoke, Illinet couldn't meet my eyes. Was that the guilt talking? She didn't seem able to face what she'd done.
Not that it mattered to me. It had nothing to do with me either way. Without a shred of resentment — without even a flicker of interest — I replied.
"You're right. We're party members for now, so we should stick together."
"Ahem. Has something happened, though? You've seemed drained lately."
"Not really? I'm the same as always, so don't worry about it."
I walked past Illinet and continued.
"Let's head down. It's been a while — time to clear a dungeon."
"R-Right. Understood."
As I descended the stairs, a chorus of voices and noise rose up to meet me. Arriving at the first floor moments later, I found the place packed with people — a sea of bodies. Mercenaries already knocking back drinks first thing in the morning. Adventurers consulting the counter girls to register quests.
Among them were Evan's companions.
I walked toward those familiar faces. Illinet. Judy. Cecilia. Chloe. Taking in all four women at once, I felt... something. A strange sense of renewed impression.
"Ugh, finally! Because of you, seriously!"
Evan's childhood friend Judy snapped at me in irritation.
"Don't you think a whole week is a bit much? We've missed dozens of quests because of you!"
"Ah, shut up."
"What? You little—!"
My dismissive, brow-furrowed response only made Judy's tone more vicious.
"There's a limit to how much I can put up with! We were worried because you looked like you were struggling, but this is way too far! And if something's bothering you, why not just talk to us about it? Huh?"
"Dunno. Just stuff going on. Let it go."
"Nooo! I'm asking because I'm curious! Curious! Just let me ask!"
I was wondering how to handle this when Cecilia stepped in and spared me the trouble.
"J-Judy. Please calm down for now. Your voice is getting too loud."
"Ugh! This is so frustrating!"
I pulled my gaze away from the bickering Cecilia and Judy. Then Chloe reached a hand toward my forehead.
"You don't have a fever, do you?"
A gentle touch, paired with a worried tone. Chloe seemed genuinely earnest in her attempt to comfort me, but I brushed her hand away with a flick.
"What's with all the fuss? I'm fine, seriously. Let's just go."
"What the hell. I was just worried about you."
"There's a limit to worrying. This is overprotective. The person on the receiving end is about to die of exhaustion."
"...Evan, you're acting weird today. This isn't like you at all."
Not like me? Hmm. This was the first productive conversation I'd had with these people. And an accurate observation, at that. I covered my flustered reaction with a cough.
"You said we were busy. Stop dawdling and let's get to work."
With that, I headed for the reception desk. Just before I could address the receptionist at the counter, Judy spoke up first.
"I already picked up a quest. There was that whole mess with the Giant Hog pack recently, right? Well, their den got discovered."
She held out a sheet of paper. The quest details were written on it.
"It's D-rank. Pretty generous pay for the rank, though. Seems doable — what do you think?"
She cast a look around at the party members, seeking agreement. The others thought it over briefly, then nodded. I didn't raise any objections either.
"Okay, then. This is the one."
After that, we geared up. Protective equipment to absorb external impacts, followed by artifacts that enhanced physical ability and mana. Watching the party members layer on piece after piece of equipment, I thought to myself that they sure were going all out with the fuss.
Are they all safety-obsessed or what? It's just a few piglets. Why the overkill?
No, wait. Evan's party was D-rank, wasn't it. And according to the novel's descriptions, these bitches were incompetent even for their rank. Four of them couldn't even take down a single ogre — that said it all.
A ragtag bunch of rejects.
The only reason the party still held together was entirely thanks to Evan. Evan wasn't exactly competent either, but he wasn't completely useless.
Heh. My future's looking bleak already.
Recalling the novel's hopeless plot developments, I felt my breath catch. I never had worries like this back in my old hero party. Those really were the good old days.
Then Karen's irritating face suddenly floated into my mind, and I scowled. On second thought, maybe there never were any good old days.
While I was killing time with these pointless thoughts, my companions seemed to have finished gearing up and were ready to leave. I rose from my chair and joined them.
"Hmm? Judy. Your lace is undone."
"Yeah, yeah. I know."
Still not quite ready, I guess. I sat back down in the chair and waited.
"...."
But what the hell? No matter how much time passed, Judy didn't move a finger. She just said she knew. If she knows, she should tie it and get going. What is she doing?
"Judy. Your boot lace is undone. Aren't you going to tie it?"
"Huh?"
Judy tilted her head at my puzzled question.
"I said I know. Why?"
"?"
At first, I didn't get it. But looking at the foot she'd extended toward me, I finally understood.
"...Don't tell me you're expecting me to tie it for you?"
"You're being really weird. Are you sick? Why have you been acting like this all of a sudden?"
"Uhh.... Aren't you the one who's sick? Why would I tie your boot lace?"
"Because I don't know how to tie them. That's why you always do it for me."
...What kind of bullshit did I just hear?
So an adventurer heading out to kill monsters... doesn't know how to tie her own boot laces? Why? How do you not know that? Is that even possible?
I understood perfectly, but I refused to accept it. That couldn't be. That just shouldn't be allowed.
"What are you doing? Hurry up and tie it."
"...Huh."
I let out a short hum, searching for something to say. But no matter how hard I tried, nothing came to mind.
What am I supposed to do with this absolute waste of a woman....
As I was sighing internally, someone tapped my shoulder from behind. It was Cecilia. She held out a flask filled with blue liquid and said:
"Um, Evan. Could you open this for me?"
"...You can just pull the stopper and open it yourself."
"Ugh. I don't have the strength...."
Oh, for fuck's sake.
I nearly blacked out on the spot.
"Ah, shit, I just did it myself! Evan! Is this how you tie it?"
No— I blacked out.