The Hero’s Party Members Treat Me Well for Some Reason - Chapter 80



Facing the Truth (1)

“Damn···.”

Thud!

McGuff let out a light curse.

Seeing him nervously set down the great sword, it seemed he was quite annoyed.

It was understandable. The battle had ended without anything being properly concluded, so it was only natural to feel frustrated.

However, just because the battle was over did not mean the situation was resolved. There were many things to take care of.

[Congratulations!]

[Your level has increased!]

In the midst of it all, my level was rising.

I hadn’t exactly defeated an opponent, but the density of this battle must have been quite high. I had gained enough experience points.

Well, it was about time for an increase.

McGuff commanded in a heavy voice.

“… Call back the evacuated troops and assist the injured and the puppets.”

There was a mountain of things to organize. Starting with the healing of the injured, purification of the puppets, and recovery of the damaged buildings and roads.

Among the injured, there were even those with serious wounds. Some of them were in such critical condition that they could die if not treated immediately.

“Kuban!”

Ulysses shouted urgently as he rushed to the fallen Kuban.

Kuban’s condition was serious. His entire body was charred from the electric shock, and blood was continuously pouring from his mouth, steaming.

It meant that even his insides had been burned.

I’m not sure if I can survive, but now that Ulysses is here, I have no choice but to pray.

The other puppets are planning to call in reinforcements for purification. Just in time, Camilla and Adele had rushed off to summon the guards.

There’s still so much to do. Healing the injured is important, but the truth is, this was the most crucial task.

I quickly moved to check the spot where the puppet had departed. Along with the puppet’s blood, the lingering magic of the scroll remained.

Since they had used teleportation, I needed to trace back those coordinates. That was the only way to find their hideout.

“Lily! Hurry over here!”

I called for Lily, our team’s mage, for a task I couldn’t handle.

“…Lily?”

But something seemed off.

Her hands were trembling, and her breathing was slightly ragged. She looked as if she had faced trauma, a hint of fear in her eyes.

She had been like this since encountering the puppet, but it seemed to worsen upon witnessing the teleportation.

Damn it, why is she acting like this…?

I wanted to give her some time to collect herself, but unfortunately, there wasn’t much time to spare.

The magical residue fades away with time.

So, I spoke a bit more firmly.

“Lily! Get a grip. Are you going to keep spacing out? We need to track the location.”

“Ah, uh, sorry…”

Fortunately, she snapped back to reality at my words. She hurried over to the teleportation site and began analyzing the residue. Her hands were still trembling, but her breathing had calmed.

I silently watched her focus.

“…”

At this point, even a fool would understand.

Something was definitely wrong.

There was something unknown, something that shouldn’t be there. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be showing such a different side. The girl who seemed fearless was now terrified, and I, covered in curses, could see her shrinking back.

“Lily.”

“…Yeah?”

So, I spoke to her seriously.

“Let’s have a talk in a bit.”

It was time to face this properly.

*

To be honest, I also had a tendency to avoid things out of fear.

Seriously talking and communicating with each other.

After all, my body is covered in curses, distorting me as a person. No matter what I say, there’s no credibility, so no matter how much I shout and speak, it won’t be properly conveyed.

Having received a significant penalty in fate, I can only communicate in parallel lines.

So, even if I try to engage sincerely in conversation, I’ll only end up getting hurt. Therefore, I should firmly shut the door to my heart from the beginning and maintain a thoroughly business-like relationship.

This has been my usual attitude.

However, this time it seemed necessary to change that thought a little. If I keep increasing the areas I don’t know like this, it could negatively affect the battle.

And for some reason, I couldn’t find the usual hostile demeanor in Lily now.

She only showed a submissive and somewhat frightened appearance.

Of course, I still had my doubts about whether this was an act… but if it wasn’t.

Perhaps we could convey our true feelings to each other, rather than having distorted communication.

“I’ve finally got everything sorted out. You’ve worked hard.”

It was quite some time later that I found myself sitting alone with her. There was a mountain of cleanup to handle.

After dealing with the puppets, gathering the injured, and tracking the coordinates, it was already around sunset.

As I sat on a bench in the street, I could see the beautiful sunset in the distance. The sky was beautifully tinged with red, creating quite an atmosphere.

Atmosphere is a good device. A calm and emotional ambiance makes it easier to draw out the other person’s true feelings.

“Lily, I’m not a fool.”

I slowly opened my mouth. Until then, she had been tense, consistently looking down at the ground.

“When a person suddenly changes, you can notice something has changed just by watching for a little while. Especially if the change is dramatic.”

She must know I’m talking about her.

“I’d like to pretend not to notice, but with such a big difference, I can’t help but be curious.”

I cautiously asked her.

“If it’s not too much trouble, may I ask what caused that change in your attitude?”

“······.”

What does it have to do with the puppet master? Why has she, who used to show her dislike so clearly, become so docile?

I listed my curiosities to her one by one. Until then, she had been silently listening to my questions.

Seeing her gaze deeply settled, it seemed she was thinking about something profoundly.

After a long silence, she cautiously opened her mouth.

“······Do you believe in regression, Luke?”

What followed was a story that I simply couldn’t believe.

*

One mistake. One rescue.

And one defeat. The first death of a comrade.

The price paid to her after the defeat was not the finality of death.

Rather, it was an endless suffering, more miserable and terrifying than death itself.

The reason the puppet master is feared is not just for its strength, but for its cruelty. That brutal and perverse nature was perfectly suited to destroy a person.

Lily had to accept that cruelty with her fragile body, unfiltered. Days of pain and hopelessness continued.

At first, Lily thought that the pain would last forever. She felt utterly powerless in the face of the disaster known as the puppet master, which possessed many elixirs.

The immense fear of eternity nearly drove her mad. By the end, she was on the verge of breaking down completely.

However, that despair and fear met an unexpected end. In a square of some city, while everyone was committing suicide, time suddenly stopped.

It seemed like neither her own power nor a natural phenomenon, but rather the authority of someone.

“I saw you there.”

As time shattered, it recombined.

The scenery of time reversing was a wondrous sight, even for her, a sorceress.

As she blankly gazed at the landscape, she suddenly realized that those moments were revolving around someone’s journey.

No, it would be more accurate to call it a trial rather than a journey.

“It was really… rolling.”

Her voice, calmly conveying that information, was filled with many emotions.

“Every single day, getting hurt, breaking apart. There were times when it was so desperate that it was hard to watch. Yet, we continued to look on with cold eyes…”

What she saw among the broken pieces was a hero so different from her own thoughts.

“But you kept getting back up. Honestly, I didn’t believe it, but it was true that you caught the ghoul… and it was true that you caught Olek under the sewer. That looked really amazing. It was so different from what I had imagined. No, you must have always been like that… I just didn’t know.”

“……”

“Now I know that many curses are attached to your body. I also understand that those curses might be the price you paid to become a hero.”

A long silence followed. After a while of catching her breath, she seemed to be trying to conclude her story and opened her mouth again.

“From the perspective of someone who has seen everything, I’ll say it to you once more.”

The last words she uttered were filled with a great deal of emotion.

“I’m really, really sorry…”

“……”

“Because of us, you had to make such a choice… I’m truly… truly sorry…”

Her voice was now brimming with moisture.

Droplets gathered in her bright red eyes. Whether it was from emotion or the weight of guilt, it was hard to tell.

She struggled to contain her emotions as she unraveled the story.

“······.”

And until that moment, Luke had been unable to say a word.

“Um······.”

To be honest, he was quite confused.

The flood of information was so overwhelming that it felt like his mind had gone numb. The story was so unbelievable that, on one hand, he felt doubt creeping in.

Damn, is all of that real?

If it is real, have I already lost and come back from death once?

Is there any chance that she made it all up?

No, there’s too much she knows about me for it to be fake.

She even figured out the curse I carry.

Countless thoughts swirled in Luke’s mind, only to scatter moments later.

In the midst of it all, the silence became uncomfortable, prompting him to utter meaningless words.

“Well… it’s just so much astonishing information that I can’t really… Ah!”

It was then that something flickered through Luke’s mind.

Having discovered a clue, he opened the status window without hesitation.

‘Status Window.’

Many pieces of information surfaced, but he ignored them all and clicked on the [Noble Sacrifice] skill.

Then, the skill information appeared.

+

[Noble Sacrifice]

From ancient times, the devotion that risks one’s life has been the most grand and noble law.

Especially for a hero like you, your life holds even greater significance.

On the day your breath ceases, a miracle will occur in the world.

※ This skill automatically activates upon the death of the user.

※ The value of your life significantly increases.

※ Your life holds absolute value, regardless of lifespan.

+

The only skill among those I possess whose usage I do not know.

A skill that, despite its subject, has a special effect, and yet carries a slightly faded golden aura compared to before.

I used to think the dimming light was just a matter of my mood, but now I know for sure.

‘Has it already been used…?’

Only now does it feel like the puzzle is coming together a bit. Her suddenly changed attitude, the gaze that seems to look at me with pity.

There were many things I wanted to say, but there was an answer I needed to give first.

A long time has passed. During that time, the chasms of emotion in our party had deepened significantly.

We had fought many times, and there were quite a few wounds in our hearts, but…

“…Thank you for apologizing first. Really.”

It felt like the chasms of emotion were being somewhat filled now.

It has been over a year since the hero party was formed.

Today, for the first time, I felt like I heard the true feelings of my party members.