S-Rank Adventurer Betrayed by His Fiancée in the Hero’s Party Sets Off on a Journey to Heal His Broken Heart ~The Strongest Betrayed Adventurer Ends Up Forming a Harem Party~ - Chapter 10: A Maiden's Heart, A Woman's Heart

Chapter 10: A Maiden’s Heart, A Woman’s Heart

[Side: The Pure-Hearted Sword Saint]

After Abel was out of sight, the twin sisters, who were part of my party, stared at me with half-lidded eyes and muttered.

“Coward.”

“You chickened out.”

“It was too much all of a sudden!”

The two, knowing how I felt, threw sharp words at me without holding back.

“It was good that you tried to make a move, but backing off isn’t going to cut it. Even if you didn’t plan to go all the way, at least spoiling him a little would have worked.”

“He’s probably feeling really sad and lonely, so if you’d just tempted him, Elmie, he might’ve fallen for you all over again.”

“T-T-T-T-T-T-T-Tempt…!”

Just imagining it made my face burn up.

That’s impossible! Meeting Abel today was a coincidence, anyway! 

My heart and body… wait, no, definitely not the body!

The moment I thought about it, the image of Abel popped into my head—

“Uuuuuhhh…!“

“Aww, how innocent.”

“Well, that’s what makes Elmie so cute.”

They both smirked at me while sipping their ale, clearly enjoying my embarrassment as my face turned bright red.

“If it comes to that, I’ll teach you everything. How to kiss, how to rub him the right way in… certain places… you know, all the skills that make Maria squeal~♡.”

“Or maybe I could teach you how to seduce him? Like the kind of really sexy pose that turns sis into a wild beast~.”

The two of them clung to each other, speaking in meltingly sweet voices. 

Well, in short, they had that kind of relationship—sisters with those kinds of preferences.

Whenever they shared a room, I always had to cover my ears from the sounds coming from next door.

Though, when things got really intense, even that didn’t help.

“Geez…“

They were clearly teasing me about something that would never happen, using me for their amusement. 

They always threw me off my rhythm, but… yes, ever since back then, I’ve had feelings for him—Abel. 

I… I love him. Yes, I do. I love him so much. 

That feeling hasn’t changed at all, and in fact, it’s only grown stronger.

But seriously, what’s with him now?! I mean, I’d heard the rumors, but seeing him after so long, he’s so much stronger than before!

I can’t even call myself his teacher anymore! I used to think we had a special bond, something as strong as what he had with Millia, but now…!

As for when these feelings started… it’s been there since the very beginning. 

From the moment we met, I’ve been in love with Abel.

After all, with such a memorable first meeting, how could any girl not fall for him?

・　・　・　・　・

I had known Frey and Maria even before we became adventurers, and we had been in a party together since the very beginning. 

But this was back when we were just starting out. 

We were on a job to collect medicinal herbs when we were attacked by a group of goblins.

With their green skin and hideous appearance, goblins are one of the most infamous humanoid magical beasts—and they’re considered the worst.

They might be weak on their own, but for beginner adventurers, they can be a nightmare. 

They breed rapidly, and when you’re facing a group with evolved goblin types, it’s too much for one or two adventurers to handle. 

Their females are goblins, but they also target females of other species—particularly human women.

Goblins abduct human women to assault them. 

The fate of a girl taken to their nest is horrifying. 

What awaits her is endless torment and abuse.

She’s passed around and violated, forced to continuously give birth without any rest. She’s turned into nothing but a tool to satisfy their cruelty and lust, used until she dies.

Unfortunately, this kind of behavior is not uncommon among humanoid magical beasts.

Goblins are about the size of a child, but back then, we weren’t much bigger ourselves.

We tried to run, crying in fear, but we were soon surrounded, grabbed from all sides. I thought it was the end.

And that’s when it happened.

—That’s when I met Abel.

Back then, Abel was also a rookie adventurer, but he came to save us when we were about to be captured by the goblins. 

To goblins, men are just meat.

They either kill and eat them on the spot or take them back to their nests for a gruesome feast.

Despite the danger, Abel charged into the goblin horde alone to pull us out.

Millia was away at school, so Abel had come to gather herbs on his own that day, risking his life to save us without a second thought.

Abel didn’t have the strength to take down all those goblins back then.

Using the limited skills of a Swordsman and enhancing his body with magic despite his small magic reserves, he fought them off, getting wounded in the process.

After that, the four of us retreated, fighting desperately to fend off the pursuing goblins. We barely escaped with our lives.

If Abel hadn’t shown up, Frey, Maria, and I would have faced the worst possible fate as women.

It’s something that happens all too often, but for me, it was different. 

I admired Abel, someone of equal skill, for risking everything to save us.

That admiration slowly turned into love before I even realized it.

“But from back then, Abel~ was already head over heels for Millia, wasn’t he?”

“And then they made that Oath of Soulbinding, which really made it impossible to do anything about it.”

Ugh, that’s right.

Abel was always with Millia, leaving no room for us to get closer.

Millia… Abel cared for her so deeply from back then, and yet she betrayed him, ignoring all of his efforts…! 

My fists clenched involuntarily.

“If only you’d pushed harder back then.”

“You could’ve ended up in a harem with him.”

“W-What!? Stop it!”

I raised my voice in response to the two teasing me. 

They always pick on me, but honestly, they’re no different!

“You two like Abel too. Why are you only picking on me…?”

“Hmm… yeah, it’s true. We both like Abel.”

“That’s right. We’re not really interested in men, but… Abel is different. We can’t help but want him.”

For once, the always composed twins had a faint blush on their faces.

Though they’re typically into women and have a deep bond with each other, I know that they see Abel as special.

The way they treat him is like how they treat each other.

“But we already have someone we love. We wouldn’t ignore our friend’s feelings and get greedy.”

“That’s why we thought we’d let Elmie have her chance with Abel first before we did anything.”

The Souther Sky Faith that Frey and Maria follow teaches that human emotions are sacred.

It’s the very doctrine that accepted and saved the two of them, despite the hardships they faced being both in a same-sex relationship and sisters. 

Since they already have each other as partners, they’re prioritizing my feelings over going after someone they like themselves.

“You two…!”

“Well, if you and Abel get together, it’ll be easier for us to join in, right?”

“Exactly~. Someday, the four of us together… Ufufu♪”

They were definitely thinking something indecent. 

They’re imagining a future where we all form a harem with Abel at the center…!

Well, I guess that’s something you often hear about with harems, but still…!

“In any case, it’s good you didn’t make a move today, Elmie.”

“Yeah. He’s still heartbroken from being betrayed, and even though Millia did what she did, their Oath of Soulbinding is still in place.”

“Hey, come on!”

Isn’t that kind of thinking backward!?

Besides, if something happened between me and Abel right now, he’d end up looking like the bad guy.

Breaking the Oath of Soulbinding by getting involved with someone else is definitely something people would hold against him.

“It’s better not to rush. Let’s just stay by his side~.”

“From the way things went today, it seems like we can at least have the same kind of physical closeness we used to have three years ago.”

“Yeah, you two were always pressing your soft, round figures against Abel back then.”

I found myself staring at the twins with a half-lidded gaze. 

We’ve been eating pretty much the same things, so why are the two of them… so curvy?

Meanwhile, because I train as a swordswoman, I’ve got more muscle and less of that soft, feminine figure.

“It’s rude to call us ‘round,’ you know~?”

“Elmie, you’ve got the ideal slender figure for a girl, though. And you’ve got breasts too.”

“Not when I’m looking at those in front of me…”

“But now, you might actually have a chance.”

“Huh? A chance at what?”

Frey looked me in the eyes and said.

“The Oath of Soulbinding… being annulled.”

“I… that’s…”

I swallowed hard.

If one party betrays the other, or if the relationship is deemed impossible to continue, the Oath of Soulbinding can be annulled.

In a case like Millia’s, where she committed a serious offense, the church that oversaw the vow is said to deliver punishment.

That could mean losing access to benefits provided by the church, like food distributions or medical services. 

You wouldn’t be able to do essential things in life, like have your job or skills assessed or even get married.

There are even baseless rumors that, in severe cases of betrayal, the church’s darker forces take action.

If Abel became free, it would mean so much for us. But still…

“To annul the Oath of Soulbinding, you need a valid reason, or undeniable proof that one side is at fault, right? For example… proof that Millia was cheating.”

A gossip article wouldn’t be treated as real evidence.

Plus, when the Oath of Soulbinding is annulled, even the innocent party might be punished for failing to uphold the vow.

I can’t let Abel take that kind of risk.

“Besides, the Hero’s party has the Saintess from the Souther Sky Faith. Since she’s in the same party, if we don’t have solid proof, she’ll just dismiss it as lies.”

“Yeah… you’re probably right.”

Maria averted her eyes at my words.

The Saintess holds a high position in the Souther Sky Faith, so the twins must have mixed feelings about it.

If she was part of the same party, there’s a good chance she knew about the cheating and chose to ignore it. 

With someone like her in such a powerful position, annulling the Oath of Soulbinding would be difficult.

“Sigh… There’s no point in overthinking it. Let’s call it a night, shall we?”

Frey, who had been absentmindedly running her fingers along the rim of her mug, stood up with a sigh. 

It was true—before we knew it, it had gotten late.

“I’ll head to the church for some prayers, it’s been a while~.”

“Oh, I’m coming too!”

Even though she had quite a bit to drink, Frey walked steadily toward the inn’s exit, and Maria quickly stood up to follow her.

Can you even go to the church this late at night?

“I’ll cover the bill, Elmie, so you go ahead and get some sleep!”

With that, our group’s financial manager ran off after her sister.

“Sigh…”

Left alone, I propped my chin up with both hands, squeezing and stretching my face a bit as I did.

“I wonder what Abel’s thinking… I really want to be there for him.”