My Childhood Friend Told Me to Go Marry the Most Beautiful Woman in the Kingdom, So I Seriously Started Improving Myself—and Somehow Ended Up Making Women Fall Hard - Chapter 110 & 111

Chapter 110: The Weight of What Was Lost (13)

Side: Rina Carhoi

I felt awful.

Only now… did I truly realize it.
I had lost Hort.

The fist that sent Magnum flying still burned.

I won.

I borrowed the power of a demon… and I should have won.
And yet, something deep in my chest kept sinking.

The cheers from the training grounds felt far away.
The applause, the noise… all of it felt thin, like paper.

I had gained the fame of a court mage.

Beating a duke’s son like that… the news would spread quickly.

But that fame wouldn’t lift up “Rina Carhoi” herself.

—“The spirit mage who finished things with her fists.”
—“There’s definitely something behind it.”
—“She’s suspicious.”

Those looks followed me everywhere.
And they weren’t wrong.

The moment I won, when all the spectators turned toward me…
I saw it clearly.

There wasn’t a single trace of trust in their eyes.

All they held was curiosity… and fear.
Nothing more.

(Your victory is sweet. To them… it’s nothing more than entertainment.)

Asmo’s voice echoed in my ears, amused.

The price of victory.
I could feel something inside me… steadily shifting toward the demon’s side.
There was no denying it anymore.

There was no going back.

Even if I realized it now… after losing Hort…
I couldn’t return to what I was before.

Even when I looked at Magnum, lying at the edge of the training ground… I felt nothing.

I should have felt relieved.
But I didn’t.

The face that came to mind… wasn’t his.

It was Hort’s.

Back then, at the entrance of the royal castle, his expression had been cold.

…It should have been.
And yet, Hort got angry at Magnum… for my sake.

Even though I was the one who threw him away.
I was the one who abandoned him.

Because I was foolish.
Because I could only think about myself.

“…Idiot.”

I didn’t even know who I was saying it to.

Probably… myself.

I won.
I gained fame.
But… what did that even give me?

The only thing that became clearer… was that I had lost Hort.

Only now did the word “lost” begin to feel real.

I can’t take it back.

Even if I apologize… it’s too late.
Even if I become stronger… it’s too late.
Even if I win… it’s too late.

Having made a contract with a demon…
I can no longer stand beside him.

That realization left a bitter taste in my throat.

The hallway back to my room felt longer than usual.

The palace walls were spotless.
The floors were polished.

But that cleanliness… felt like it was accusing me.

The moment I closed the door, my knees gave out.
I dropped into a chair and let out a breath.

My reflection caught my eye in the mirror.

My cheeks were slightly flushed.
My hair was a mess.
And my eyes… looked clouded.

I turned away.

(How pathetic.)

Asmo muttered.

I didn’t respond.
If I admitted it… I felt like I would break.

Knock. Knock.

Someone tapped on the door.

At this hour?
I frowned.

There weren’t many people who would come to my room.

More than that… the atmosphere felt different.

Low. Polite. And strangely sweet.

“Priestess. Everything is prepared.”

“Priestess”—only they would call me that.

The ones who noticed my connection with Asmo…
They had approached me like shadows before.

I stood up.

My fingers trembled slightly as I reached for the door.

When I opened it, a man in a gray robe stood there.

Half his face was covered with cloth.
Only his eyes were smiling.

“…What do you want?”
“We have prepared the sacrifice. Please… lend us your power.”

That polite tone felt disgusting.

It sounded like a request… but didn’t feel like something I could refuse.

I bit my lip.

“…A demon summoning?”
“Yes. We require your power, Priestess. Your contractor… will serve as the key to open the proper gate.”

A chill ran down my spine.

This… was the path I had chosen.

All my life, I wanted to be needed.
By my family. By the academy. By the court.

Being “expected of”… was my value.

That’s why I got carried away, thinking I had been chosen by Magnum—an elite noble walking the perfect path as a court mage.

Being needed… made me happy.

But now… it’s different.

Even if the man in front of me asks for me…
I don’t feel happy at all.

It just makes me sick.

The one I truly wanted to be needed by… was Hort.

And only now did I realize that.

And I lost him.

That loss alone felt real… everything else felt empty.

“…I, a priestess?”

A faint laugh slipped out.

Was I needed by someone?

No.

Because the ones asking for me… aren’t even human.

They’re not seeing me as Rina.

They’re reaching into my hollow heart… treating me like a role, like a tool.

“There is nothing to fear. You are chosen, Priestess. If you succeed, your fame will turn into true faith, and no one will be able to doubt you.”

Priestess.
Fame.
Faith.

So… to avoid suspicion for summoning a demon…
They want me to sink even deeper into darkness?

A small laugh escaped me.

“…So I won’t be doubted, huh.”

Nothing else mattered.

The ones in front of me… weren’t even trying to see me.

Where did I go wrong?

I already knew the answer.
And yet… I couldn’t go back.

(So then, my master… what will you do?)

Asmo’s voice echoed, amused.

I looked straight into the man’s eyes.

Then forced the words out from deep in my throat.

“…Who is the sacrifice?”

The man smiled.

“Please rest assured. It is not someone who would dirty your hands, Priestess. We have prepared someone… useful.”

That way of saying it… was the worst.

Useful.
Useless.

Has value.
Has none.

It felt like the very words I once used… were being thrown back at me.

I clenched my fist.

The heat from fighting Magnum still lingered.
But it wasn’t pride.

Just… emptiness.

“Take me there.”
“Yes!”

I wasn’t just a woman drowning in despair.

I would see it for myself—what lay at the end of the path I chose.

How terrible demon summoning truly was…
What kind of road awaited me…

Leaving the castle, I stepped into the darkness of the royal capital.

(Will I fall… or rise? I’ll have them show me.)

Chapter 111: Let’s Go Hear Their Feelings (1)

Side: Hort Rubel

After leaving my sister’s house, I raised my fist and took a deep breath of the capital’s air.

“I’m gonna do thisー!!”

Even I knew what I was about to do wasn’t normal.

My sister’s words.
Gina’s words.

After hearing them… I wanted to settle things with the “responsibility” I felt deep in my chest.

I won’t run from their feelings.

I decided that.
And because of that… I already knew who I would meet first.

♢

I headed toward the Adventurers’ Guild.

It was still early morning, so she might already be out on a job.

But the first person I wanted to see… was Nagi.

She was the first one to confess to me.

I saved her, and we lived together—eating and sleeping side by side.

On the day we parted, she told me she liked me.
And in response… I turned her down, saying my goal was to date the most beautiful woman in the kingdom.

It wasn’t like I had anyone specific in mind.

Even so… despite those pathetic words of mine, Nagi told me she would wait… that she would grow stronger.

Ever since the day she confessed, I couldn’t stop thinking about her.

It was only natural my sister slapped me.
And it was only after Gina pushed me… that I finally started thinking about it properly.

No matter how I looked at it… I had been completely selfish.

Now that I’d decided to face these feelings… I couldn’t help but wonder—
Had Nagi’s feelings changed?

“Hort!”

When I turned at the call, Nagi was waving at me.

That same smile she always showed when she found me.

Just imagining that smile breaking… made my chest tighten.

“You’re not working today?”
“Yes. I made today a rest day.”

Meeting her like this… felt like a miracle.
I couldn’t help but feel happy.

“What is it?”
“I came to see you. Do you know a place where we can talk… just the two of us?”
“Then, how about the training area at the Adventurers’ Guild?”
“Yeah, that sounds good.”

Led by Nagi, I entered the Adventurers’ Guild.

There was an underground training area, and anyone registered as an adventurer could use it.

When we stepped inside, no one else was there.
It was the perfect place for the two of us to talk.

“So, what is it?”
“First… I want you to hear my goal.”
“Yes.”
“I’ve decided… I’m going to become a Crown Knight.”
“…Hm? Hort, you were already aiming for that.”

The moment I said it, Nagi’s eyes widened slightly.

The thought of asking if she still liked me… made me feel both embarrassed… and pathetic.

But I had already made up my mind.

“Nagi. You confessed to me before, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“…Back then… I couldn’t give you a proper answer.”

I swallowed.

“…Now, I can say it. I… have feelings for you. I wanted to protect you. I wanted to keep smiling with you.”

“…Hort!”

Nagi called my name like she’d lost her breath.

“But at the same time… I ended up caring about others too.”

The words caught in my throat.

“Normally, I know you’re supposed to choose just one person. I know what I’m saying sounds terrible… That’s why I want to ask.”

I looked straight at Nagi.

“Nagi… do you still like me? Even now? I… also have—”
“……”

Nagi didn’t answer right away.

That silence hurt more than being cut down.

After a moment, she let out a small breath, and her expression turned serious.

“Hort. I want you to spar with me.”
“…Spar?”

Nagi nodded.

“I want to see… what Hort is carrying.”
“Alright.”

I picked up a training sword.
Nagi drew her blade as well.

No spirits. No magic.

We faced each other, with Inazuma watching.

From the very first clash, I could tell.

Nagi had grown stronger.
Strong enough to be recognized as an A-rank adventurer.

Fast. Sharp. No hesitation.

The blade striking mine was straight… so honest it was almost frightening.

“…!”

Second strike. Third strike.

Sparks flew.
Each clash sent numbness through my arms.

The skill she had built through her adventures pressed in on me, speaking louder than words.

I didn’t use magic.
Nagi didn’t use spirits either.

That’s exactly why… there was no room to fake anything.

But I had crossed swords many times with Commander Adelheid… and with Haua.

Nagi smiled.

“Amazing! Hort, you’re strong!”

She acknowledged me.

The Nagi who used to be like a child… was gone.
Her strength had reached the level of a high-ranking adventurer.

And I had grown stronger too.

Even without words… everything was conveyed through the sword.

I let her blade slide off mine and closed the distance.

Then I drove in with my shoulder.
Knocked her blade aside, and stepped in to sweep her footing.

Nagi’s balance broke.

“…!”

The match was decided.

Her blade slipped away, and my sword stopped at her throat.

“…My win.”

The moment I said it, my chest burned.

Nagi smiled, a hint of frustration on her face.

“…You’re strong.”

And then—

The foot she had braced with slipped.

She was falling—

The moment I realized it, my body moved on its own.

“—Careful!”

I tried to catch her, but the momentum was too strong, and my footing gave way too.

“Whoa—!”

The next moment, I fell to the ground, pulling Nagi into my chest to protect her.

“…A-Are you okay!?”
“…I’m fine.”

Her voice was close.

Something soft and warm pressed against my chest.

Nagi had buried her face into me.

“N-Nagi?”
“…Hort’s chest… is solid. And hard.”

“That’s… probably from training…”

I had built more muscle than back when we used to sleep side by side.

Without lifting her face, Nagi spoke quietly.

“Hort is strong.”
“……”
“He has the kind of strength that protects.”

Back then, I had protected the younger Nagi.

Thinking about those days made my chest tighten.

Nagi slowly lifted her face.

Her cheeks were red.

Her eyes were slightly wet.

But she was smiling.

“Nagi liked Hort before… and still loves him now.”
“…!”

I couldn’t find the words.

“…I—”

My throat trembled.
Nagi grabbed tightly onto my chest.

“If Hort had chosen someone else… Nagi might have killed that person.”

“Eh?”

“But… knowing that Hort has feelings for Nagi too… and that he cares about the others as well… that made Nagi feel relieved.”

Killed…?
With how strong Nagi was now… it didn’t feel impossible.

“Nagi doesn’t want to let Hort go. That’s why… if Hort becomes someone important and loves others too, Nagi can accept it. Back on Onigashima, important men had multiple wives. Strong, important men… have that kind of value.”

Nagi buried her face into my chest again.

Like a child, she clung to me over and over, looking happy.

Then, with a small smile, she gave her answer.

“Is that really okay?”
“It is… I’m glad.”

I finally let out a breath.

“Nagi, someone might come soon… shouldn’t we separate?”
“No! Nagi is enjoying Hort’s scent after so long! And Hort just said he has feelings for me—this solid, muscular Hort! Right now… Nagi gets to enjoy this!”

Wait, someone’s definitely going to walk in, right?
This is a training area—anyone could come at any time!

“I’m not letting go!”

Feeling Nagi’s warmth, I wrapped my arms around her.

I wanted to accept this weight.

So, still holding Nagi close… I stood up.

“Hyah!”
“Nagi… you’re still like a stubborn child.”
“My body is properly that of an adult now! Hort can bury his face in Nagi’s soft chest too. So Nagi has the right to bury her face in Hort’s muscle chest!”

That logic makes no sense at all!

But to get her out of sight, I lifted Nagi up and set her down.

“I get that you want to stay by my side. We can do that anytime. But next time… let’s do it somewhere private.”
“Muu… fine then! But next time, Nagi will be waiting while wearing the bra Hort gave me!”
“Buh!?”

Nagi smiled happily.