* * *
“Ugh, happy now? What’s so great about seeing each other’s ugly mugs? Goddammit…”
“Now’s not really the time for you to be mouthing off, is it?”
Herros.
The haunt of the adventurer guild’s HQ—until he vanished after getting his ass handed to him by me at the marketplace.
That bastard had swung an axe in a civilian area, and while trying to dodge, I’d gotten a cut on my cheek.
Bati had used an entire potion just to heal that little scratch.
Come to think of it, even back then, Bati was really affectionate toward me…
Man, I was such an oblivious idiot.
Well, self-blame can wait.
“If you leave on your own before I count to five, I won’t kill you.”
I drew a dagger from inside my cloak and held it in my hand.
I’m a nice guy, generally, but if someone draws a weapon on me first, I don’t go easy on them.
Adventurers are like beasts—if you don’t put them in their place, they’ll keep trying to climb over you.
Maybe it was my mistake not to finish him off last time and letting Bati chase him away instead.
Aimone was right.
What kind of nerve does this bastard have, crawling back here like this?
Seeing him show up in that suspicious getup, hood up and face hidden, it was clear he wasn’t exactly a welcome guest.
And yet, he still forced his face into view… Isn’t that a little too shady?
What’s he planning?
He wasn’t in his right mind the last time we saw him, either.
And then he got wrecked by the guy he liked—Bati.
If he were the vengeful type, it wouldn’t be surprising if that love turned into hate.
To be specific, there was a real chance he’d teamed up with Gaspar to cook up something shady.
“……”
Heros didn’t answer.
But he didn’t run away either. Instead…
“Hey, this bastard’s crying?”
Vasco said, visibly uncomfortable.
“Yeah, I can see it too…”
What the hell is this guy crying for?
He used to stick to pretty-boy Bati like glue, and now he’s this slightly weaselly-looking guy bawling his eyes out—it’s kind of nauseating.
Seriously, what a pathetic sight.
“T-That’s not what this is!”
And now the one who messed up is yelling, too.
I considered restraining him, but he honestly didn’t seem like much of a threat, so I left him alone.
Still, the moment he raised his voice, Vasco, Aimone, and the other adventurers nearby all snapped into combat stance.
Outnumbered like this, he wouldn’t try anything stupid.
Whatever he’s here for, he must at least value his own life.
“You think I wanted to come here? Everyone here’s your buddy! No one’s even sold me a single potion since that day… fuck!”
“I don’t care about your sob story, so keep it short.”
I pressed the dagger, gleaming with golden aura, against his neck.
“Can’t you see there are people waiting behind you?”
Heros flinched and tried to step back, but the line stretched long behind him—no way to escape.
He stretched his neck up as far as he could to avoid the blade, looking absolutely ridiculous.
“I… I wasn’t going to come. Swore I’d never step foot here again, damn it. But then I heard… the nobles… saying they needed to crush Lord Zerbin…”
“You’re saying you heard nobles talking like that? Get real.”
Unless you’re personally invited to a noble’s ball, there’s no way an adventurer gets to be in a place where such hush-hush conversations happen.
Even with favoritism, nobles don’t usually bring adventurers to their parties.
Because they’re commoners.
Nobles want to be escorted by knights in those places.
No matter how good-looking or skilled an adventurer is, if their status is low, they’re not invited.
And Heros, who’s not even that good-looking or particularly skilled?
“I’m telling the truth! After everything went down, I couldn’t stay here anymore, so I tried going to the capital… but I couldn’t even get my wounds treated, and I had to leave Swindlin…”
Heros panted as he spoke, fat tears rolling down his square jaw.
He was clearly wallowing in self-pity.
Not that I care.
“When I got to the capital… snf, I was a wreck. But then, on the outskirts… a priest said I looked pitiful and made me a temple guard…”
What?
“I couldn’t go back to Swindlin anyway, so I tried to make myself useful… worked really hard to stand out… snf… and then, they said I was doing great and brought me to a ball just once!”
Come on.
Like that makes any sense.
Even if the priest was unusually kind, there’s no way they’d show that kind of unprompted generosity to some unknown adventurer.
How long had they even known each other?
Long enough to bring him to a noble’s ball?
Nobles would whisper behind his back about how low their standards had sunk.
…Is what I wanted to say.
But thinking about Dieter’s case, maybe it’s not entirely impossible.
I’ve seen plenty of adventurer-priests, but I’ve heard that some noble-born priests are clueless in the weirdest ways.
They didn’t join the clergy out of faith, but because they were second or third sons who couldn’t inherit titles.
Their families donated a ton of money to get them a position, and they just laze around at some backwater temple.
This bastard… for someone who acts like this, he sure is lucky.
Why does he get to live so long?
I didn’t want to admit that Heros’s second chance at life seemed to be going well, but his story didn’t have any glaring holes.
And I’m… well, when it comes to people other than Bati, I tend to pick up on things quickly.
I can usually tell right away if someone’s lying.
And this time, he wasn’t.
“So? You came running here saying you want to help us?”
“No! I mean—no, so please put the dagger away. I just wanted to be useful, so I ran here as fast as I could. I mean it!”
I didn’t put the dagger away.
“Why? Bati smashed your skull, didn’t he? Even broke your arm—must’ve made the trip to the capital hell.”
“T-That was… my fault. I’m… reflecting…”
“Your voice is getting smaller. Doesn’t sound like you’re sorry.”
“…I was wrong.”
“Say it more politely.”
“I-I was…”
“Can’t hear you.”
“I was wrong, sir…”
Well, that’ll do.
It’s not like I’m trying to make up or anything—just good enough to get some information out of him.
“I’ll hear you out, for now. Follow me.”
Since we might be getting into sensitive stuff, I moved to a place a bit away from the line.
Heros gave Bati a sorrowful look.
Probably thinking the same thing as the others— ‘Why’d it have to be Raul Florentzi? Why him, of all people?’
But at least he didn’t say it out loud.
“Stop looking at me.”
Bati’s tone was frosty. That kind of coldness—I like it.
“Before I kill you.”
Okay, maybe not that much.
“He’s here to help, I told you.”
“And I’m supposed to just let the guy who hurt you walk free?”
“Bati…”
What now?
That’s… kind of touching.
Honestly, we brought him because we needed the info, not because I liked him.
So I’ll admit it was satisfying to see Heros burst into tears again after Bati’s cold rejection.
Cry your eyes out!
No—actually don’t.
I need to hear what he knows.
Maybe just quietly sob or something.
* * *
