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 31: The Recorded Message! [Sage's Side]

Chapter 31: The Recorded Message! [Sage’s Side]

[Fallen Sage’s Side]

“Abel!? L-Listen… that night—!”

“Calm down. This is a ‘recording crystal’ containing a message from him.”

A recording crystal.

Unlike a farseeing crystal, which allows real-time communication of sound and images, this magic tool lets you play back recorded content anytime.

She calmed the flustered Millia and explained the situation.

“I also have a few things to pass along with it. I’ll play the message while adding explanations where needed.”

“C-Ciel? What do you mean? Didn’t you say you would help—”

“…I’ll start the playback.”

Millia, filled with anxiety, watched as Ciel silently activated the crystal.

“—First of all, well done on defeating the Demon King. You’ve probably heard about me already, but I’ve been doing my best here too. I even made it to S-Rank…”

“Abel…!”

Hearing Abel’s gentle words of appreciation, Millia let out a relieved breath.

It felt just like the old days—when they would return together after finishing a quest.

(W-What… he doesn’t seem that angry? He’s still as kind as ever, and it doesn’t look like he’s holding a grudge…!)

She had braced herself for him to bring up that night, but instead, his words made her recall their past adventures together.

“There’s so much to talk about. Three years… it’s been a long time. But let’s not do it here. This isn’t something I should just talk about by myself. Let’s get straight to the point.”

“…He’s more composed than I expected. I heard S-Ranks were more hot-headed.”

“That’s because Abel is kind! He always forgives with a smile! Really, if he was going to be like this, a farseeing crystal would have been enough. He’s so shy—”

Hearing Abel’s unexpectedly calm tone, Ed murmured his surprise, realizing he was different from what he had imagined.

Millia, feeling pleased, started boasting about what kind of person Abel was to Ed.

But the next moment…

“I know everything you’ve done, Millia. …You were cheating on me.”

“…Huh?”

“I know about your affair with the Hero. Everything you did over the past three years, all the gifts I gave you… it was all meaningless.”

The smile that had been on his face disappeared, and his expression hardened.

His gaze, once gentle, now sharp and piercing, sending a chill down her spine.

His voice remained steady, but it carried a deep sense of resignation and disappointment—so much that it was hard to believe he was the same person.

Millia had never seen this side of him before.

“Abel…? Don’t look at me like that… This isn’t like you.”

She muttered in a daze, but it was pointless.

It was just a recording. No matter what she said, it wouldn’t reach him—just like their relationship after the affair started.

“I loved you enough to risk my life for you… but I’ve had enough. Let’s end this.”

“W-What… no way…!”

Millia almost blurted out, Why?—but stopped herself.
She knew the reason all too well.
Even so, she couldn’t help but think that Abel, being the kind person he was, would just smile and forgive her.
At worst, if she cried and begged, maybe things would somehow work out.

But the next words shattered that hope.

“―He instructed me to show you this recording. As for why he didn’t tell you in person… ‘I don’t even want to see her face. I don’t know what I might do.’ Those were his words.”

“Abel… who never once got mad at me…? No… no way… Is he really that angry?”

The Abel in Millia’s memory—what little there was of it—was always smiling.

He would sometimes nag her, but he never truly got angry.

Even when they fought, no matter how much she complained or caused trouble, he would always just sigh and apologize with a troubled smile.

She couldn’t imagine him being this furious.

(Abel finally made it to S-Rank! I can’t let him go! Being with an S-Rank adventurer would make me way happier than with the Hero!)

“I… I’m not giving up yet…! There has to be something…!”

Millia, still trying to come up with excuses, didn’t even realize the cold gazes directed at her—from King Randed, Ed, who was once her companion, and even Ciel.

Inside the recording, Abel’s voice continued.

“You might not remember, Millia, but… you once saved me. When my village was destroyed, and I had nothing left… I loved you partly because of that debt I owed you.”

“Huh? What are you talking about… But if that’s the case—!”

“But I’ve already repaid that debt. If it weren’t for me, you would have died multiple times, Millia.”

She was about to argue, to cling to that debt as a reason to stay, but—

“Now that the debt is gone, you’re just an old childhood friend who cheated on me even after we were bound by the oath of soulbinding. And now that I’ve repaid you, I’ve had enough.”

His final words came with a sharp, unwavering tone—filled with complete rejection.

“You and that so-called Hero, who messed around with another man’s woman and mocked me… don’t ever show your faces to me again.”

“A-Ah… nooo…!”

Millia collapsed to the ground, her voice trembling with tears as her eyes stared blankly into the air.

“A-An S-Rank boyfriend… I finally had one… but still… ah, there’s still our oath…!”

Millia wasn’t thinking about her memories with Abel as childhood friends.

All she saw now was his S-Rank status and the happiness that came with it.

Even now, she couldn’t give up on that dream.

Then, she suddenly remembered—the Oath of Soulbinding couldn’t be broken so easily.

To dissolve it, “one party must request it” and “solid proof” was required.

Finding such proof during their travels with the Hero’s Party wouldn’t be easy.

If she could meet Abel and cry, pretending to regret everything, maybe—

“Oh, and by the way, the oath has already been annulled. By the time you see this, it should be void. You can ask your friends for the details.”

“…Huh!? W-Wait, Ciel!?”

“Yes, it’s true. I was suddenly called in for questioning, and… the annulment was finalized in less than a day. I’m sorry, Millia…!”

It was a lie.

In truth, this woman—right after her conversation with Abel—had secretly brought Millia’s infidelity to light and carried out the annulment in secret.

Everything had already been set in motion, just waiting for Abel’s confirmation to make it official.

As a high-ranking priestess, the Saintess was skilled in the art of political maneuvering, having survived the ruthless factional struggles within the faith.

Behind her gentle facade, she knew how to navigate the dark side of power.

“As your friend, I truly feel sorry for you… but as the Saintess, I couldn’t help you in this situation…”

“N-No way…”

Ciel spoke with a composed expression, feigning sympathy.

From a young age, she had been trained in the art of deception and diplomacy.

“Well, isn’t this for the best? You’re finally rid of that weak guy! Besides, it’s another world, so it’s not like you have to worry about things like alimony or—”

Yuto, the Hero, casually threw out those thoughtless words as Millia crumbled to the floor.

In a world without proper legal systems, he had assumed there wouldn’t be any consequences for cheating.

He had taken things lightly, believing that what happened with Millia wouldn’t hold any real weight.

But he had underestimated something crucial—

A world where magic existed.

The love and vows they had exchanged three years ago.

“Therefore—As a penalty for the annulment of the Oath of Soulbinding, both Millia and the unfaithful party, ‘Hero’ Yuto, will be cursed.”

“…C-Cursed!? What!?”

Yuto, who had been treating the matter as someone else’s problem, was suddenly hit with a harsh reality.
The Oath of Soulbinding was a sacred vow, a promise to love only each other, recognized by the religious order—in this case, the Souther Sky Faith.
Breaking that vow was akin to spitting in the face of their faith.

Those who annul the oath—especially the guilty party—face severe punishment from the Souther Sky Faith.

“This is just the formal explanation, but in reality, it’s a judgment for those who have committed a mistake. Since the oath itself has no binding force, strict measures are taken instead. Especially in the Souther Sky Faith, which values people’s feelings above all else. …Millia, you didn’t exactly not know about this, did you?”

The oath of soulbinding didn’t have any physical force to compel them.

And that’s precisely why choosing to love only each other, without any compulsion, was considered so precious.

“Well… I-I knew that… but I didn’t think I’d get caught!”

“Wait a minute! You never told me about this! Don’t drag me into your mess!”

“I thought you knew!”

As Millia finally broke down into tears, Yuto shouted in frustration, realizing he had been unaware of the consequences.

But it was too late.

What was done was done, and the punishment was already set in motion.

“Considering the dedication of The Four Swords Abel, your actions have been judged as ‘extremely malicious.’ Therefore, the penalties will be the most severe—excommunication and two curses each.”

Despite the pitiful argument between the guilty pair, Ciel, far from acting like a compassionate Saintess, delivered the judgment without mercy.