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 19: A Brief—Temptation

Chapter 19: A Brief—Temptation

Four days had passed since the battle with the Blood Wolves.

That day ended with a conversation with Kamul, followed by a celebratory party. Since then, I’d spent a few days living in Cahel.

It’s been a short time, but a lot happened.

First, I ran into Mr. Harriston.

I was walking through the streets of Cahel when I spotted him preparing for a journey.

“There’s no time to rest. ‘Providing what’s needed, when it’s needed, where it’s needed.’ That’s my motto as a traveling merchant,” he said before heading south.

Man, he’s so cool. I think all guys are naturally drawn to dashing, mature gentlemen like him.

As for Alvia, the Guild Master… What in the world did that old hardliner Kamul send her?

Ever since that day, whenever I visit the Guild, she rushes out at top speed to handle my requests personally.

And she’s… incredibly accommodating, almost overly polite.

Did Kamul send her some report about her subordinates messing things up? There’s no way it’s just because of what I did.

Yeah, it’s probably that. Definitely.

There was also a moment when things got tense between me and Elmie’s group, but overall, no major issues.

I’d taken on several requests with Elmie and her group.

Most of them were either monster subjugation or investigation missions, but we often ran into unexpected incidents along the way.

Thanks to that, the balance in my guild account had visibly grown. I was finally out of the broke zone. Though I heard some dismantlers weren’t too happy about that.

There’s also been a noticeable increase in injuries among lower-ranked adventurers, which is concerning.

Since working nonstop isn’t exactly sustainable, today we decided to take a day off.
Elmie and Maria went shopping for supplies, being the leader and the one in charge of finances and the Magic Bag, respectively.
For some reason, they were very reluctant about going.

As for me—

“Ufufufu… It’s been so long since I last cut your hair, Abel~.”

I was sitting on a chair in the garden of the inn we were staying at, The Earth’s Rest Lodge, with a haircut cape draped over me.

Frey was busy trimming my hair.

She’s surprisingly good at it—great, actually. With her dexterity and sense of style, I used to ask her for haircuts all the time.

Today, she wasn’t wearing her usual light armor but casual clothes instead.

A cream-colored off-shoulder dress, cinched below the chest, emphasized her feminine curves.

Her soft fingers gently stroked my hair as she worked.

“Ever since we met again, I’ve been itching to cut your hair. It’s just so fun~.”

“Ah, now that you mention it, I haven’t really paid attention to my hair at all. It must’ve looked pretty unkempt.”

“Wild isn’t bad—you pulled it off, actually. But cleaned up, it’ll look even better. Your hair is so pretty, it’s fun to work with.”

“Is it really that great, though?”

The hair falling onto the cape was a dull white.

White hair isn’t unheard of, but it’s still somewhat rare.

Mine, however, isn’t pure white—it’s slightly gray, almost ashy.

It looks dirty to me, and since it changed color when I was a kid, I’ve never been fond of it.

“For someone who doesn’t take much care of it, your hair texture is enviable.”

“Ah, right… there are hair care products and beauty potions for that kind of thing.”

I vaguely remembered accompanying someone for window shopping once. I’d thought about learning more at the time, but then my travels began, and the idea faded.

“If you’re interested, I could teach you~. Speaking of which, we talked about staying together for a while, but what are you planning to do next?—Oh, tilt your chin down a bit.”

“Mm… I still don’t want to see Millia. Even if she’s looking for me, I’d rather avoid running into her, so I was thinking of heading south.”

“I see… I’m sorry for bringing it up.”

“It’s fine, really. Don’t worry about it.”

“…Why the south? Are you thinking of relaxing at a resort to refresh yourself?”

“No, there’s an old lady there who gave me one of my magic swords. I’m planning to return it to her.”

“What!? You’re giving away a magic sword!?”

Frey froze mid-cut, clearly shocked.

Huh? Did I forget to mention this before?

“Yeah. There’s no point in me keeping it anymore.”

“But if you give up the magic sword, you… You finally learned to use magic! And now you’ll lose that…!”

She’s right. I won’t be able to use magic anymore.

I’m not weak enough to lose to just anyone, but it’ll still be a major blow to my strength.

All of my magic swords are incredibly powerful. While I do have a few other swords, none of them come close to this level. Getting another sword of similar caliber isn’t realistic.

I’d definitely lose my S-rank status.

“It’s fine. I became strong to protect Millia. So… there’s no reason for me to stay strong anymore.”

“Abel… I see. If you’ve decided that firmly, then I won’t say anything more.”

“…Thanks.”

What followed was a long stretch of silence.

The only sounds were the snipping of scissors and the gentle rustling as she combed through my hair.

It might have been a somber moment… but I couldn’t really focus on that.

Because—something was pressing against me!

Every time Frey moved, something soft, heavy, and incredibly prominent was pushing into me from behind.

Something unmistakably her.

Frey had always been the type to get physically close, and this wasn’t the first time she’d teased me like this.

But if I weren’t so laser-focused on Millia in the past, this could’ve been… dangerous. Very dangerous.

“All done.”

“Whoa!”

Lost in my thoughts, I suddenly found a mirror thrust in front of me.

Looking up, Frey had somehow moved in front of me, holding the mirror with a pleased expression.

“So, what do you think? A little different, right?”

“Ah, yeah… It’s nice. Looks good.” 

I replied awkwardly, still flustered as I caught sight of her leaning forward to hold the mirror.

My hair was trimmed neatly. The bangs and sides were shortened enough to stay out of the way, while the longer length at the back gave it a relaxed look—probably Frey’s personal touch.

“Really? I’m glad you like it~… fufu.”

Behind her smile, I could hear a playful laugh, brimming with amusement.

—She’s definitely doing this on purpose!

I knew it—she was deliberately teasing me with all this unnecessary contact.

“Alright, let’s take off the cape, shall we?”

“Yeah, yeah, go ahead…”

I grumbled as she moved behind me, clearly enjoying herself.

After brushing off my head, I felt the ties of the cape slowly loosen, the fabric sliding off.

When the knot at the back of my neck came undone and the cape finally dropped to the ground—

“?!”

Frey’s arms suddenly slid down around me, and then—squish!

A soft but substantial something pressed against the back of my head.

Her arms tightened around my neck and chest, pulling me into a snug embrace.

“F-Frey, enough with the—”

But before I could finish—

“Abel… why don’t you try doing something naughty with me?”

A sultry whisper tickled my ear.

It was Frey’s voice, but laced with a seductive tone I’d never heard before, sending shivers through my entire body.

“W-What the… Hey! There’s a limit to how far you can take a joke, you know?!”

“I’m not joking~. Big sis really wants to do those kinds of things with you, Abel.”

“Wha—why all of a sudden…? No, wait…”

“It’s not sudden at all~. You’re just hesitating. Is it because you’re still hung up on how things went wrong with Millia the first time?”

“How do you even know about that!?”

“Any woman can figure it out just by watching. Don’t worry, your experienced big sis will take the lead. I mean, haven’t you occasionally heard Maria getting all worked up with me?”

…Yeah, I’ve heard it.

Which is why I can’t understand this. Why would Frey, the sis-con lesbian, be doing this now…?

While I was stuck in my confusion, her embrace tightened, pulling me even closer.

My head sank deeper into the soft, heavy fruits behind me, while her arms, moving with a teasing grace, reached for the collar of my shirt—sliding inside.

“Hey, s-stop…!”

Her fingers stroked against my skin inside my shirt.

“And didn’t something happen with Maria the other day, too?”

“T-That wasn’t like that! It’s not what you think…!”

I remembered what happened a few days ago.

Maria and I had been alone together, and she’d made a rather bold request.

“Um, Abel… I have a favor to ask. Can you… hold me? As tightly as you can?”

I was surprised at first, but when I asked, Maria explained that by “hold,” she meant a hug. That seemed harmless enough, so I wrapped my arms around her.

But then she kept saying, “Tighter, hold me tighter,” over and over. By the end, I was practically squeezing the life out of her.

And then—

“Ah…! Hah, ahh…! Ngh—ah…!”

She let out damp, breathy noises right by my ear.

When her body started trembling and twitching, I quickly let go. But the sight I was met with…

Maria, her eyes moist and brimming with tears, flushed red, with her tongue slipping out from her drooling lips, was—

“～～～～～!!”

“Your face is all red, you know? Are you sure there’s nothing going on?”

“There’s not! She just stumbled off and went home, that’s it!”

“In that case, why not continue from there? You could do it with your big sis—”

“Wait! No! I’m soul-bonded to Millia, so I can’t do things like that!”

And just like that—freeze.

The hands exploring my chest stopped.

Frey wasn’t the type to force things, but if I didn’t convince her quickly, things might escalate in other ways.

“That’s why you should only do things like this with someone you truly love.”

“Then… if you weren’t bonded to Millia, it’d be okay, right?”

“Not bonded to Millia…? But I already am—”

“Are you going to break your bond with her?”

“…”

—It was a choice I had never considered.

No, I had actively avoided thinking about it.

“Big sis has been wondering for a while now… Why haven’t you broken your bond with Millia?”

“…Breaking a bond comes with a significant punishment. Plus, you need proper evidence…”

“Evidence? Can’t you just use your abilities to deal with that? And as for the punishment, since it’s clearly 100% Millia’s fault, it should be much lighter for you, shouldn’t it?”

The concept of bonding stems from ancient traditions of monogamy—being tied to one and only one partner.

It was later solidified into the current Oath of Soulbinding under the name of religion, turning it into a sacred promise to the gods.

While divine punishment isn’t a literal consequence, breaking the bond is considered a grave insult to the faith it’s sworn under.

Depending on the circumstances, the religion—in our case, the Southern Sky Faith—can impose severe penalties as a form of retribution.

Frey was arguing that in my case, the punishment would likely be much lighter.

“I know how much you cared about Millia, Abel. Over the past few days, it’s become painfully obvious how much you’re still hung up on her.”

She whispered this irritably into my ear, her tone sharp.

Her hand, which had been resting against my chest, gripped my shirt tightly.

“That’s why I’ve been so curious—why did you love Millia so much?”

…Why did I love Millia? Why did I care for her so deeply?

When Frey asked, memories began to surface.

It was because—

“Get lost, you shameless pervy sister!!!”

With a sudden shout, Frey went flying.

“Ow—owww!!! Kicking your big sis like that, what’s wrong with you!?”

“Shut up, you perv! You’re the one who broke the Maiden’s Pact!”

“Yeah, Frey! What the hell are you doing?!”

When I turned to look, Maria had her leg raised high, and Elmie had my head pulled close, growling like an angry beast as she glared at Frey.

Apparently, Elmie had untangled Frey’s arms from me at lightning speed, and Maria had taken a running start to send her sister flying.

Elmie was dressed in a long-sleeved top and a short skirt, showing off her slender legs.

Maria, on the other hand, wore a blouse and fitted pants that emphasized her bold, curvy figure without holding anything back.

Both outfits were stylish yet practical for movement.

“Abel! Did she do anything to you?! Like… inappropriate stuff?!”

“Uh, no, nothing happened.”

“Ugh! See, this is why I didn’t want to leave Abel alone with you, sis! You always pull this sneaky crap!”

“Oh, come on! We were finally alone together!”

As the three of them bickered noisily around me, I found myself sinking into my thoughts, lost in the depths of my mind.

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Hello, this is Sora Akatsuki, and guess what? My phone suddenly decided to grow a vertical line on the screen.

It’s smack in the middle, making everything harder to see and killing my productivity.

I’m currently waiting for a replacement… sigh.

Anyway, the story is heading toward its climax, so I’ll do my best to keep the updates coming.

I’d be so happy if you could stick with me until this chapter’s conclusion!

Also, I received a gift—thank you so much!

And on top of that, another author of a story I’ve been reading gave me a star recently.

Lately, there’ve been so many things making me happy.

Thank you for your continued support, and I hope you’ll keep cheering me on!