The Hero’s Party Members Treat Me Well for Some Reason - Chapter 86



The Exile of ???

“…”

As the screams that had resonated for a time faded away, the myriad attacks reached their conclusion.

Shuuu…

As the myriad released the spherical prison, the battered form of the puppet master came into view. Holes riddled his body as he collapsed to the ground. His once handsome face was now grotesquely marred with gaping wounds.

Lily watched the opponent with a heart full of anxiety.

Surely, after being subjected to such torment, he wouldn’t resurrect again. A second resurrection would truly cross the line.

Fortunately, contrary to her worries, that did not happen.

Srrr…

The puppet master’s powers were released. The party members fell to the ground like marionettes with their strings cut.

Lily nearly stumbled from the sudden freedom but managed to regain her balance just in time.

“Luke!”

Once she collected herself, she immediately searched for the hero. The last image she had of him was nothing short of tragic.

He bore various wounds inflicted by the party members, and he had sacrificed one arm and one leg as well.

For an ordinary person, such injuries would be fatal at any moment.

Upon checking, his condition was indeed dire.

Had the command given to the myriad drained his last ounce of mental strength? He too lay unconscious on the ground.

At a glance, he looked no different from a corpse. The red blood still soaking the floor only intensified the gravity of the situation.

“Luke? Luke!”

—

I hope this captures the essence and atmosphere of the original text!

Lily rushed to him in a panic. Perhaps it was due to the brainwashing of the puppet master that she was squeezing out even the nonexistent magic, causing dizziness to rise within her. Her head spun, and her twisted insides brought her abdominal pain.

Yet, she paid no mind and ran to him to check his condition. This was not the time to worry about such wounds.

Fortunately, the hero was still alive. She could see his chest rising and falling, even with only half of his body remaining.

But.

“Re, regeneration isn’t working…”

Thinking back, the one who had used the most magic was the hero himself. He had repeated regeneration countless times to withstand the puppet master’s magic, and in the end, he had exhausted all his magic summoning solitude.

There was likely not a single drop of magic left in the hero’s body now. In other words, if left as he was, he might truly die.

“Yuliss!”

In her urgency, Lily called for the saint to heal him.

But it was useless. The saint was fainted due to the puppet master’s brainwashing. Even if she went to wake her, it was uncertain whether she would awaken.

And to be honest, Lily was nearing her limits as well. She had squeezed out her magic just as much.

At that moment, even taking a few steps was difficult. If she couldn’t keep her wits about her, she felt she would faint right then and there.

“Ah!”

Around that time, her thoughts turned to the potion in her bag.

It was a so-called elixir, a top-tier potion. Until now, she hadn’t needed to use it because of the saint’s healing and the hero’s regenerative abilities, but now the opportunity had come.

Without hesitation, Lily took out the potion and poured it into the hero’s mouth. But even that was not an easy task.

Perhaps due to his faintness, it flowed out the sides as soon as she put it in. Drops of the potion, worth millions, were wasted on the floor.

Seeing that, Lily fell into a half-panic.

“What do I do, what do I do…”

The hero’s life was fading in real-time. If this continued, he might truly die.

She feared that the horrific experience might come back to life.

After a while of restless pacing, Lily realized there was another way.

‘…Right.’

If he couldn’t swallow it alone, someone else could feed it to him directly.

With that thought, Lily made a firm resolution and held the potion in her mouth.

Then, she pressed her lips against Luke’s.

Gulp, gulp…

Only then did the potion flow into Luke’s body.

Slowly… Luke’s lost body began to regenerate. Bones grew, and muscles were woven.

Even though it was a top-tier potion, the healing was not fast, perhaps due to the severity of the injuries.

Because of that, Lily had to keep her lips pressed together for quite a while.

The sensation of soft lips knocked against Lily’s mind.

The feeling of the first kiss was more horrifying than sweet.

There was no kiss that would belong in a fairy tale as she had imagined. The lips she thought would taste of mint instead tasted of blood, and instead of a romantic atmosphere, a terrifying aura engulfed the surroundings.

On top of that, the curse of the hero…

“I believe a person’s body is like an instrument.”

Even now, contact with him brought forth unpleasant memories in her mind. Thoughts of denial and suspicion about him surfaced again. No matter how hard she tried not to think about it, the influence of the curse forced them to the surface.

The sensation of her mind and emotions being manipulated by someone was not a pleasant feeling.

Of course, Lily ignored it.

“It’s okay.”

She knew it was all fake anyway. She realized that even her own thoughts might not truly belong to her.

When a voice in her head seemed to doubt him, she could simply doubt that doubt.

Thus, she denied the suspicion with faith, and then further into blind faith.

She decided to transform her thoughts.

By that time, the hero’s body was mostly restored.

“Ugh…!”

Lily pulled out the ice spear she had thrust in one last time and kissed him again.

As the hole in his side healed, she finally pulled away her lips. Before her stood Luke, now whole once more.

“Ha, hehe… It worked…”

Seeing him like that, Lily smiled softly, as if relieved.

And then she fainted.

*

[Congratulations!]

[Your level has increased!]

[Your level has increased!]

[You have summoned solitude with immense effort!]

[From now on, this summoned entity will heed your commands.]

[Quest accomplished!]

[You have acquired ‘Puppet’!]

—

I hope this captures the essence and atmosphere of the original text!

.

.

[May luck be with your future.]

“… Luck is bullshit.”

That was the first thing I said as soon as I woke up.

Damn it, how can you mess things up like that and then wish for luck?

Whether during the reign of King Chung or now, no matter how I think about it, the situation of ‘forced destiny’ seems too much.

Variables are given their due, and at the last moment, the opponent revives in a stronger state.

To be honest, I only managed to handle this fight well, but there were too many times when someone could have died.

What if the puppet master had ordered all my party members to commit suicide instead of attacking me? What if I hadn’t been able to stop the Thunderbolt? What if Camilla had taken a direct hit from the first Thunder Dragon?

Each scenario was a minefield. Thankfully, I handled it well enough to end with just a ten-year lifespan.

Ha, but I won anyway…

I stopped my complaints and got up from my spot. Just like last time, I had been sleeping on the ground.

It seems I faint every time after a battle.

“Ugh, spit! Why is my mouth so wet?”

As I got up and examined my body, I realized that my mouth was particularly damp.

Did I drool while sleeping? I don’t remember having such a habit.

“Ah.”

As I thought that and looked around, I began to understand what had happened.

An empty potion bottle was rolling on the floor. Nearby, Lily was sleeping with a tired expression.

The thoughts naturally followed.

‘She must have fed me a potion.’

Well, my injuries were pretty serious. She must have wanted to give me something.

I was quite grateful for her care. It made sense that my mouth was wet since she had fed me while I was unconscious.

“Hmm? But the potion was definitely red, not clear…”

As the question in my mind began to crawl out, something approached me.

Slithering.

It was a slime. My second summon, the Everchanging.

Though it was a dark red color, its small size made it seem quite cute.

On one hand, it was fascinating. That such a tiny creature had made a huge contribution to the destruction of a nation.

“Hehe.”

I thought as I looked at the rather cute little creature of solitude.

‘They say stories with pets usually end up failing.’

The reason is that pets tend to take up quite a bit of space in the narrative.

In severe cases, there are people who would waste an episode or two just playing around with their pets.

In such cases, the outcome is predictable. Two people, feeling bored, gradually drift away, and the work collapses.

This was true whether it was a game, an anime, a webtoon, or a novel.

Of course, there are many works aimed at a specific audience that enjoys playing with pets… but usually, those works are the exception.

So if this is a branch of a work, I hope it fails a bit.

From noble mtl dot com

‘Damn it.’

To think it would treat me so harshly and then laugh joyfully— I can’t stand that sight.

Anyway, as I entertained such absurd thoughts while watching the slime, my party members began to rise one by one.

“Hero! Are you okay?”

The saintess was the first to stand and check on my condition.

“Ugh…”

“My head hurts… What happened?”

Next, Adele and Camilla got up. From their reactions, it seemed like they had lost all their memories again.

Well, considering I had been brainwashed, I decided to just give up on that front.

The last to rise was Lily.

However, she showed a rather peculiar reaction, suddenly blushing as soon as she saw my face.

That was a reaction I had never seen before. Well, given that she had stabbed me in the side, I figured she was just feeling sorry.

“Looks like everyone’s up.”

As the party members gathered, I opened my mouth.

The battle was over, but there were still things to do. Fortunately, it wasn’t anything too difficult.

In fact, it was more on the enjoyable and exciting side.

“Then let’s split up and investigate the mansion.”

Alright, it’s time for some thrilling farming.