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 21: Look at Me

Chapter 21: Look at Me

[Side: Betrayed Adventurer]

“What the hell are you doing!?”

A sharp yell snapped me out of it.

The next moment, Elmie was right in front of me, snatching the katana from my hand.

With no strength in my grip, my hand let go easily, and the magic sword fell to the floor with a loud clatter.

“Ha… haah…! What… were you trying to do…?”

What was I doing? Oh… right.

It hit me then.

I finally understood what I’d been doing, and why she was panicking.

Of course, she’d be this upset. Her friend had almost—

Her friend had almost killed himself.

“What kind of… face is that!?”

Elmie’s eyes widened as she looked at me, her body trembling.

What kind of face was I making?

I hadn’t even bothered to use recovery magic, so I probably looked like someone who hadn’t slept in a week.

Yeah, I must’ve looked terrible.

“And your room… is that… is that what I think it is?!”

Elmie glanced around my room, her eyes darting from the scattered clothes and magic swords to the pile of empty potion bottles on my desk.

“This many empty bottles… don’t tell me you haven’t slept at all…?!”

Her hands gripped my shoulders, but she flinched immediately.

She must’ve been startled by how weak I felt.

Ah… she’s about to cry.

Don’t make that face… no, it’s my fault you’re making that face.

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”

“…!”

—Stop it.

I can’t keep leaning on Elmie, my mentor, my benefactor.

I’ve already depended on her too much. That’s what I keep telling myself, and yet—

“I don’t know what to do anymore…!”

“…Damn it… you stupid… idiot…!”

Elmie muttered as she supported my shoulders.

I couldn’t tell if she was talking to me or to herself.

“Abel! Come to my room! The twins are there now. Just… come with me, okay?!”

With her voice trembling, tears threatening to spill, she wrapped an arm around me and helped me out of my room.

・　・　・　・　・

After that, I just let myself be guided.

When we reached their room, they sat me in the middle of the bed, and the twins immediately started asking what had happened.

Then, without warning, they hugged me from both sides.

Frey, in particular, was bawling her eyes out as she apologized over and over.

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…! It’s my fault for making you remember everything…!”

“No… it’s not your fault, Frey. I was just overthinking on my own… I’m okay, really.”

Even with my raspy voice, I tried to reassure her, but she just hugged me even tighter and cried even more.

On the other side, Maria clung to me, pressing her head against me as she apologized through sobs.

“I’m sorry…! I didn’t notice how much you were hurting… I was so caught up in my own feelings…!”

“No, it’s my fault for hiding it. But… I can tell you care about me. Thank you for that.”

My voice came out soft, like a whisper, but when I said those words, they hugged me even tighter… maybe a bit too tight. It was starting to get hard to breathe.

Feeling bad for making everyone cry, I just stayed still, but then Elmie stepped in. She gently pulled the twins off me and handed me a cup of freshly brewed tea.

Her expression left no room for refusal—it was a “drink this now” kind of look. So, I slowly sipped it until the cup was empty.

By the time Frey and Maria had calmed down, Elmie spoke up.

“Abel, are you feeling a little better? Why… why would you even think of doing something like that?”

“I’m sorry… I just don’t understand myself anymore.”

Her question, filled with sorrow, made me lower my head as I answered.

“That pile of empty bottles in your room… all of them were potions, weren’t they? Stamina boosters, energizers… stuff like that. You’ve been chugging them nonstop, haven’t you? And those dark circles under your eyes—have you even been sleeping?”

“To be honest… not since I saw Millia cheating.”

“You mean since the day you ran into Millia? That’s been… a whole week!?”

“Has it really been that long…?”

Once I started talking, I couldn’t stop. My words tumbled out, little by little.

I talked about how much I used to love Millia. About my childhood.

I told them what those three years meant to me, the hope I’d held onto.

I admitted how much it hurt to be betrayed, how sad and broken I felt inside.

How, even then, I couldn’t bring myself to hate her—the person who had once saved me.

And most of all, how…

…how losing the meaning behind my life left me completely lost.

I had no idea what to do anymore.

And most of all—

“I’ve lived my whole life for Millia. She saved me, and I fell in love with her… but it was all pointless.”

Millia cheated. She betrayed me.

That fact alone erased everything I had lived for, everything I had believed in.

Even though I thought I’d run out of tears long ago… they kept spilling from my eyes, one after another.

“All of it was meaningless… my whole life… I was worthless…! Maybe I don’t even have a reason to live anymore…!”

I didn’t even have the strength to scream. My hoarse voice was the only sound as I poured my heart out.

I clutched the bedsheets tightly, unable to do anything but stare at the floor.

The three of them… didn’t say a word.

Eventually, once my tears had finally stopped, Elmie stood up.

She turned off the magic tool that lit the room, leaving only the pale moonlight shining through the window to illuminate the space. Then, she sat back down in front of me.

“Abel.”

“…Ah…”

Her voice made me look up.

Her expression—it was a mix of seriousness, sadness, quiet anger, and a kind of deep gentleness.

“Look at me.”

Then, without any warning, she slipped off her light clothing.

[Side: Pure-Hearted Sword Saint]

“Look at me.”

I said it, and then I pulled off my tank top.

Why did I do it? Honestly, I don’t know. But maybe… maybe I thought this was the only way to reach the big idiot I’ve fallen for.

Right in front of me, Abel sat in stunned silence, staring blankly in my direction.

Tears stained his face, and he looked as if he might fall apart at any moment.

All I wanted, more than anything, was to help him.

Thinking about it now, Abel’s obsession with repaying his so-called debts… it probably all stems from Millia saving him.

She gave him everything when he had nothing.

If someone experiences that as a child, it’s no wonder they grow up clinging desperately to the idea of treasuring everything they’ve been given.

That’s why he’s still chained to Millia, why he can’t see anything else but her.

“It pisses me off.”

I muttered under my breath, not sure if I was talking to myself or to him.

I was frustrated—at Abel, who refused to look at me.

At Millia, my ex-friend, the unfaithful woman who still held his heart hostage.

And at myself, for never noticing how deeply he’d been hurting… and for failing to take his pain away.

“Yeah, you’re right, Elmie.”

“That’s true. It’s infuriating.”

It seemed the twins had come to the same conclusion as me, because without hesitation, they started mimicking me, slipping out of their clothes.

Their bare upper bodies revealed curves that swayed as they moved.

“W-What are you…?”

Abel stammered, flustered, as his vision was suddenly filled with bare skin.

Even as he tried to look away, the three of us made sure he couldn’t.

We showed him our bodies—not scarred, not broken, nothing left as a reminder of pain.

We showed him the forms we were proud of.

“What do you think of our bodies, Abel?”

“They’re almost completely free of scars, don’t you think?”

“Or… do you find them ugly?”

Abel’s head shook weakly, side to side.

“They’re… beautiful, I think…”

“For adventurers, don’t you agree?”

Adventurers always bear scars.

The longer you’ve been in this life, the more wounds you carry. Even with the healing powers of holy magic, deep wounds often leave marks behind.

“The longer someone’s been an adventurer, the more scars they’ll have. So, Abel, why do you think our bodies are so… unmarked?”

“T-That’s because… you three are strong…”

“No, Abel,” I said, cutting him off gently.

These bodies of ours are the result of dreams we never stopped chasing.

And, more importantly—

“It’s because of you, Abel…! That first time we met, when those goblins attacked… you saved us! That’s why we’re still alive, why we’re standing here, why our bodies are this beautiful…!”

Abel, your life itself is proof that we’re still alive.

—The fate of women captured by goblins is nothing short of horrifying.

Those creatures, capable of impregnating humanoid species, don’t care about the mother’s wellbeing.

They brutalize and violate, driven solely by their vile desires.

Even if someone is miraculously rescued from their dens, they’re often left broken.

Their bodies and minds shattered, many can’t bear the pain and end up taking their own lives.

Back then, when we were just rookies, if we had been taken by those goblins, the same would have happened to us.

But we weren’t.

We’re still here, untouched, our bodies unmarked—all because Abel saved us.

Because of him.

And yet—

“Stop only looking at what’s been done to you… and start seeing what you’ve done for others!”

“We’re here, our bodies untouched and beautiful, because of you, Abel!”

“Abel, you being alive saved us! We’re alive because of you!”

We reached out to him, Frey, Maria, and I.

Gripping his shirt, pulling ourselves closer to him.

Our emotions ran high, tears threatening to fall as we pressed against him, bare, vulnerable, yet full of purpose.

We wanted him to feel it—our warmth, our hearts beating, the proof that he protected something precious.

“Don’t say you’re not worth anything…! You’re so important to me!”

“You’ve saved so many lives, Abel… don’t you see how much your life means?!”

It wasn’t just us. Abel had grown strong. Now, he’s hailed as one of the strongest—an S-Rank adventurer.

There’s no doubt that during his journey to aid the Hero’s Party, he saved countless others.

That’s the Abel we all fell in love with—the one who’s always there to save someone.

“I… I’m… am I really…”

Before anyone realized, Abel was crying again.

But this time, his expression wasn’t the same broken look he’d had earlier.

“am I… allowed to live…?”

““”YES! We want you to live!”””

Finally—he looked like he had found something he had lost.

There was relief in his expression.

“Ah… ahh… aaaahhhh…!”

Abel’s hands moved, wrapping around each of us.

He clung to us, holding tightly, as if we were his lifeline.

I felt his tears fall onto me, hot and full of pent-up sorrow.

Sobbing, crying, and finally—accepting our embrace.

Under the glow of the moonlight streaming into the room, we held onto each other.

And at last, together, we drifted off to sleep.

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Hello, it’s Sora Akatsuki here.

Finally… I wrote it!

At last, I’ve reached this turning point in the story.

Writing a protagonist who’s been emotionally crushed is incredibly challenging, yet oddly satisfying at the same time. But from here on, Abel won’t be weighed down anymore.

It’s time for the usual, determined Abel to shine.

Please continue to enjoy the story as we move forward!

Supplementary Notes:

Recovery Magic (Non-Attribute):
A spell that accelerates the body’s natural healing process.
Though slow, it can also recover fatigue and can be used by anyone.
Requires magic power and physical stamina to cast.

Healing Magic (Holy Attribute):
A miraculous spell that heals wounds at an astounding speed.
However, it does not recover fatigue and requires a special holy attribute to cast.
Consumes only the caster’s magic power.