The Hero’s Party Members Treat Me Well for Some Reason - Chapter 88



The Exile of ???

The curse.

It was the condition I chose to become a hero, and it is currently the shackle that binds me the most. This foreign substance lodged halfway in my soul, always causing me trouble.

The goddess of the sun, Ennen, sadly said there was no way to escape this curse.

It was a price paid for a deal, and even she said it was impossible to remove it herself. While it was possible to escape by abandoning my body, there was no way to eliminate the curse from this body.

That’s how it was supposed to be…

‘No curse?’

Listening to the saintess, she said she couldn’t feel the curse. Upon hearing that, I hurriedly examined my body.

‘Huh.’

It was true. The suffocating sensation I always felt had vanished.

Though my body was heavy right after the battle, the air I breathed felt incredibly refreshing.

I thought it was just a matter of mood, but it turned out that it was all because the curse had disappeared.

‘Wait, then did I feel this way before…?’

My thoughts naturally continued.

Thinking back, I had felt a strangely refreshing sensation every time I entered this space.

At that time, I thought it was due to the unique air of this place. But it turned out that I felt that way because the curse had vanished.

I just hadn’t realized it because there was no one to confirm it for me.

Well, this is a place where even the status window breaks down. There was no way to know.

Anyway, I couldn’t help but be quite surprised.

Just confirming the fact made my heart pound. I was feeling a glimmer of hope right now.

Perhaps, the hope that I could free myself from this wretched shackles.

“By the way, this place… this energy, I can roughly guess what it is.”

As I was having such thoughts, the saint opened her mouth again.

While I was fervently thinking, it seemed she was surveying her surroundings.

To me, the space looked like nothing at all, but it appeared she sensed something. Judging by her expression, she seemed to have some knowledge about this place.

“The Exile of the Shattered Moon.”

Finally, she spoke.

The Exile of the Moon. It was quite a significant name. Unable to contain my curiosity, I asked her.

“What is that?”

“It’s heresy. Specifically, the heretical deity that was revered as a great crime for supporting the Demon King.”

With that, she continued her explanation.

Long ago, there had been not only the Demon King but also other evils.

There was a time when there was a religion that believed in the goddess of the moon, not the sun.

However, even then, the Sun God religion was already widespread across the continent, while the religion that revered the moon goddess was merely a handful.

But importantly, it certainly existed. They even unconditionally opposed the goddess of the sun, Ennen.

-How dare they insult her

To have a religion that was hostile to them. It was obvious how the Sun God religion would act.

-Burn those b*stards. If they desire it so much, I will ensure they never see the sun again.

They designated the moon goddess as heresy and began the hunt.

Thanks to that, the religion, which was only a handful, quickly disappeared. They resisted until the end, but the difference in power was simply too great.

Thus, the religion that vanished remained forever as heresy under the name of the Sun God religion, and records were even burned, forgotten in the memories of people…

Except for a few, including the saint who had to study theology.

‘No wonder…’

I thought to myself.

‘I thought I wouldn’t find it even if I looked for a book.’

It was because the records had been deliberately erased.

I even thought that at least in fairy tales or novels, the word ‘moon’ would appear.

In this world, the concept of ‘moon’ is so negative.

“Goodness···.”

The saint, who had explained everything, spoke to me with a pale face.

“Why on earth did you come to a place like this? Heresy!”

Her face showed a hint of fear, almost to the point of terror.

“This cannot be allowed···. While the goddess may tolerate black magic··· this is a different matter. No matter how much of a hero you are, you could still be punished for heresy!”

“Is that so? Goodness, I didn’t know.”

I calmly feigned ignorance.

In truth, I had a vague awareness of it.

After all, if you got caught in the game, you would be deleted without hesitation. If caught, something definitely bad would happen.

But now that I had come this far, I was more curious. Why had Ennen rejected the moon to such an extent?

Even if it had opposed itself.

And······.

‘If it was a concept they wanted to erase so badly, why did they even show it in the game?’

If they were going to hide it, they should have hidden it completely. Thanks to that, I was able to gather information in the game and find this place.

‘···No.’

As I thought that, I decided to change my perspective a bit. I realized my assumptions were fundamentally off.

It wasn’t that they hadn’t erased it.

‘They couldn’t erase it.’

That’s why it existed in the game, albeit in broken letters, and only when used could it be barely recognized.

The indiscriminate sanctions that were imposed when used were the evidence of that.

Thanks to this, my thoughts only deepened.

‘What could it be···.’

What was the reason for hiding it to such an extent, beyond mere religious sanctions?

And what exactly was this ‘moon’ related item that could survive even in the game?

This was the first time I had heard anything related to the ‘moon’. After over 900 episodes, I had discovered a new facet of this world.

From noble mtl dot com

“Next time, please don’t come here again.”

“Yes, understood. Since I got it, could you please not tell the goddess?”

I replied casually, not forgetting to ask her to keep it quiet.

Of course, I intended to come back again. There were still too many unresolved points and too many things I was curious about.

I felt that until I had unraveled this curiosity, I wouldn’t be able to fully trust Ennen.

“Alright. Hoo…”

She nodded with a skeptical look in her eyes.

It seemed she sensed that my response was somewhat half-hearted. Still, since she only had a suspicion, she appeared to reluctantly accept it.

Having concluded the conversation, I prepared to leave.

“Shall we go now?”

“No, just a moment.”

To be precise, I had only made preparations. As I tried to take a step, she once again grasped my face.

“Ugh.”

Fumbling.

Her slender fingers gently explored my face.

The expression on her face while doing so seemed quite joyful, as if she were smiling.

What on earth is this? The curse should have already been confirmed.

I asked her, “…What is it?”

“Hehe, so this is how you really look?”

She continued speaking with a grin.

“I didn’t really notice because of the curse, but you’re actually quite handsome. Your features are very distinct.”

Her hand traced my nose.

“Your nose is quite prominent.”

Then she began to touch my lips.

“Your lips are really soft.”

“…Human lips are naturally soft.”

“Hehe, if it weren’t for the curse, you would have made many women cry.”

Feeling awkward, I managed to say something.

How should I react? It was the first time she had approached me like this, and I had no idea how to respond. Perhaps it was because I had only received hostility until now, but this kind of kindness felt strangely unfamiliar.

What was even more surprising was that her unusual behavior was far from over.

Suddenly—

A soft sensation enveloped my skin.

She didn’t stop at just exploring my face; she embraced me!

Her delicate arms wrapped around me. A warm body heat gradually transferred to me.

Her large… well, that large something touched my chest. She remained still in that state for a while.

“Hehe, originally, just the touch would give me the feeling of bugs crawling all over me, but now it feels completely fine.”

What kind of expression am I making right now? I’m not sure.

I felt warmth rising to my face. If you looked at me now, I would probably have a bit of a blush.

I wanted to ease the flush with ‘blood flow control’, but damn, I didn’t even have the energy for that right now.

“Do you know? Actually, after catching the food spirit, I once hugged it. I wonder if you knew?”

At that moment, she lifted her head. Her eyes met mine.

Maybe because we were in an embrace, our faces felt incredibly close. If I concentrated a little, I could almost hear her breathing.

With a slight blush on her cheeks, she was still smiling with a somewhat playful expression.

Earlier, she had said to never come into this place, but now she seemed to be enjoying it the most.

I turned my gaze away and replied for no particular reason.

“Well, somehow, you were sleeping on top of me…”

“Oh my, was I? When I woke up, I was sleeping on the floor… Did you move me on purpose? That’s too much.”

She answered with a face that showed no signs of injury.

I felt dizzy.

Was she originally this kind of person?

“Anyway, when I hugged you back then, I only felt really bad. What do you think I feel now? Huh?”

…No, she was originally this kind of person. I just hadn’t realized it because there hadn’t been an opportunity to show it.

In the game, she sometimes showed this playful side that would fluster the protagonist.

But usually, this kind of behavior should come with some fondness…

‘??’

Wait a minute, isn’t this flirting?

I almost lost my mind at the surprising realization, but fortunately, that didn’t happen.

Because before that, she was already distancing herself from me. Her delicate hand slipped away, and my body regained its freedom.

“Ahh…”

I let out a sigh mixed with relief and regret. I’m glad I managed to keep my sanity, but I also feel a deep sense of loss… Damn, I don’t even know.

“I would love to talk more here, but… it seems like our companions will start looking for us soon. I wish the mansion were a bit bigger. Shall we head out?”

“I agree.”

I nodded vigorously at her words.

Thus, the small incident in exile came to an end.

**