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 32: Punishment and Atonement

Chapter 32: Punishment and Atonement

Author’s Note:

Excuse me for the preface.

Due to the needs of the story, I have made a few revisions to previous chapters:

[Chapter 03]

The amount of financial aid provided by Abel has been revised to “more than 40% of the total expenses.”

[Chapter 11]

The mention of the miracles that Ciel can perform has been removed.

[Chapter 30]

Abel’s statement, “I want them to break up,” has been changed to “I just want them to suffer a little…!”

Also, a note has been added specifying that the Hero’s Party was summoned in the afternoon.

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“H-Huh… Excommunication… What!?”

“Excommunication…? No, wait—what do you mean by the curse!?”

As the two panicked, Ciel calmly continued explaining their punishment.

“Millia, for betraying a devoted partner and indulging in greed driven by lust, you have been cursed with ‘The Curse of Unfulfillment’ and ‘The Curse of Diminishment.’“

These curses would prevent her from experiencing any form of pleasure and make her reject anything she considered valuable.

For someone who had drowned in vanity and lust, it was the perfect punishment.

“As for Yuto, despite having a fiancée, you were consumed by your desires and even led a sacred Oath of Soulbinding to ruin. Therefore, you have been cursed with ‘The Curse of Impotence’ and ‘The Curse of Female Rejection.’“

For the so-called Hero, who had become arrogant and toyed with women, the punishment was obvious—

He would lose his ability as a man and would no longer be able to touch any woman.

“Wha…!? Wait… Does this mean what happened last night… I couldn’t get it up because of this? And now you’re saying I won’t be able to touch women at all!? No way!”

In disbelief, Yuto reached out to grab Millia—

“―Gah…!? Argh, it hurts!!!”

The moment he touched her, an intense pain shot through his hand, forcing him to pull away.

When he looked, a dark red pattern had spread across his skin in a branching shape.

“This is a curse cast using dark magic. Even a Hero like you can’t resist it—it’s engraved directly onto your soul.”

“N-No way…”

Curses, in this world, were a type of dark magic that used catalysts like strands of hair or nail clippings from the target. (In this case, the Saintess had secretly gathered those materials beforehand.)

Due to their powerful effects and their guaranteed accuracy, the Souther Sky Faith actively recruited not only users of holy magic but also practitioners of dark magic.

Officially, they claimed it was to counteract specialized curses and train holy magic specialists.

However, the truth was much darker—

They were the shadowy enforcers of the faith, executing those who dared to defy them.

“Curses… Excommunication…!? Why is this happening to me!?”

Meanwhile, Millia wasn’t just devastated by the curse—being excommunicated hit her even harder.

Excommunication didn’t just mean being cast out as a follower…

It meant she could no longer rely on the Souther Sky Faith for anything.

Normally, even non-believers could receive the faith’s blessings in exchange for donations.

These blessings included services such as:

Ceremonial Rites: Handling weddings, funerals, and other major life events.

Divination: Conducting job evaluations and revealing skill details through divine oracles.

Charity: Offering food to the needy and providing healing through holy magic.

Other religions existed outside the Souther Sky Faith, but none held nearly as much power on this continent.

Any group that ignored the influence of the Souther Sky Faith was labeled a “heretical cult.”

In other words—

Being excommunicated was practically the same as being told she had no place in society anymore.

“This curse and excommunication… they can be lifted. But only if you atone for what you’ve done to him.”

“So that’s what this is about…!? Damn it, Ciel! You used your Souther Sky Faith against us! What do we have to do!?”

“Ciel, please…! I’ll apologize to Abel—I’ll do anything, just help me!”

“…Listen to the rest.”

Ignoring their desperate pleas, Ciel averted her gaze and resumed the recording.

“—So, did you hear about the penalties? I heard they’re pretty harsh, but of course, there’s a way to lift them. The conditions have already been shared with the Souther Sky Faith.”

“First—compensation to me. The amount is—wait, seriously? That much…? Ahem… Five billion El.”

In the recording, Abel, sitting on a sofa, hesitated for a moment, his voice trailing off as he looked away awkwardly.

But once he finished speaking, both Millia and Yuto froze in shock.

On this continent, ‘El’ was the common currency.

A regular citizen could survive on 50,000 to 100,000 el a month, and earning 300,000 el monthly was considered a high salary.

And now they had to pay five billion el.

“W-What!? That’s highway robbery! There’s no way we can pay that! It’s all about money in the end, huh!?”

“Abel… how could you…!? That’s impossible for us!”

After spending three years in this world, Yuto had at least learned the value of money, even if he didn’t know how much had been spent on him.

As for Millia, an A-Rank adventurer, she immediately protested.

Even an A-Rank party, after taking on dangerous missions, would only earn a few hundred thousand el per person.

Without being able to rely on the Souther Sky Faith, how long would it take them to pay it all back?

“…I bet Millia is complaining like crazy right now. But listen—this amount isn’t just compensation for the emotional damage you caused me. It also includes all the money, supplies, and everything else I sent you.”

“Huh… that too? Ugh… Ahem. Anyway, have you heard about the stampede that happened recently in Cahel?”

“Stampede… oh, the one from three days ago…?”

Millia recalled the sudden emergency dispatch order. Just when they had finished preparing, the mission was abruptly called off.

“Yeah, I handled most of it by myself. The reward? Nearly one billion el.”

“…What?”

“Wait… one billion… seriously!?”

Hearing Abel’s words, the two were left completely speechless.

He had earned almost 20% of the demanded amount in a single job—alone.

S-Rank adventurers weren’t just about power.

They stood at the top of the world not only in strength but also in wealth and influence.

“…He handled it alone?”

“So that’s why the emergency dispatch was canceled…”

Ed was just as shocked as the others, while King Randed nodded in understanding.

Three days ago, upon hearing about the stampede, the kingdom had been preparing to mobilize its army. However, within just a few hours, the emergency request was withdrawn, and everything was reported as safe.

Now, he finally understood the reason behind it.

“S-Rank adventurers… can make that much money…!?”

At first, Millia had planned to maintain her bond with Abel while secretly continuing her affair with Yuto.

She aimed to secure a position that would grant her both wealth and influence.

But now, she realized the amount Abel had casually earned far surpassed anything she could have schemed her way into.

The true weight of what she had lost hit her like a ton of bricks.

“Money isn’t the issue. That’s why the conditions aren’t just about paying me back. What I expect from you two is sincerity.”

“And the second condition—I have to give my approval. If you two can genuinely show me that sincerity, I’ll ask the Souther Sky Faith to lift the punishment.”

Sincerity. Something intangible, completely subjective, and entirely dependent on Abel’s judgment.

In other words, he was making it clear that forgiveness wouldn’t come easily.

“…Damn it.”

“Why… If you have that much money, just forgive me already…!”

Yuto cursed under his breath, while Millia collapsed, whining in frustration.

Their reactions were predictable—neither of them truly grasped the weight of what they had done.

And so, unaware of how deeply they had wounded Abel, they continued their slow march toward ruin.

“Oh, and while I’m at it—Kingdom of Sildiel, your Majesty, I know you’re watching.”

After laying out the conditions to the guilty pair, Abel suddenly spoke up, as if he had just remembered something.

This time, his words were directed at the Kingdom of Sildiel—the ones who summoned and supported the Hero.

“Hmm…!”

“…Tch.”

“There’s something I need to say to you.”

Ed and King Randed stiffened.

Ed swallowed hard, realizing that his own actions had played a part in creating this situation.

“If you hadn’t summoned the Hero… If the Holy Knight traveling with him had been more cautious… Maybe none of this would have happened.”

The Kingdom of Sildiel had long safeguarded the secrets of the legendary Holy Sword and the ancient method to summon people from another world.

The Holy Sword was said to have the power to vanquish evil—but it could only be wielded by a Hero.

And only those summoned from another world could become Heroes, possessing an incredibly rare and unique job.

That was why Sildiel Kingdom had summoned a Hero from another world to defeat the Demon King.

Abel pointed out the harsh truth—

If the kingdom had never summoned the Hero, or if Ed had made different choices, perhaps things wouldn’t have fallen apart.

Maybe he and Millia could have remained together, living happily even now.

As they braced themselves for Abel’s next words,

what came out of his mouth was something they never expected.

“But—I’m not interested anymore in a sponsor who just summoned the Hero, assembled a party, and threw them into the fray. That includes you too, Sir Holy Knight.”

What the Kingdom of Sildiel did was simple—they summoned the Hero, formed a party, and created a system that directed all urgent matters to the elite Hero’s Party, acting as intermediaries for aid from various sources.

They never saw the need to closely monitor the party’s internal affairs.

Even Ed, who once protected Abel’s former lover, didn’t know much about him.

Considering all that, Abel didn’t hold any particular grudge against him.

“That said, I don’t have a good impression of you. Even if this is my homeland, it’s where the Hero is—and I’d rather not get involved with it anymore. …So from now on, I’ll be rejecting all your requests. Send them to other S-Ranks.”

For an S-Rank adventurer to sever ties with them, it might seem like a small issue.

But for the kingdom, it was a major blow.

(The Four Swords… among the S-Rank adventurers, Abel was the most reasonable. He never turned down direct commissions and always handled them carefully, keeping collateral damage to a minimum…)

The kinds of tasks entrusted to an S-Rank were large-scale disasters that could affect entire regions—crises that could even threaten the nation.

Among the notoriously difficult and eccentric S-Rank adventurers, Abel was the easiest to work with.

And now, they had lost him.

“Since you’re the ones who summoned him, at least take proper care of your Hero, will you?”

With those words, Abel severed ties with the kingdom.

They could no longer rely on him.

(It can’t be helped… We pushed a kind and level-headed young man to his limits.)

King Randed, who had once spoken with Abel in person, recalled his gentle demeanor and shook his head regretfully.

—The truth was, Abel had only been accepting the kingdom’s requests for Millia’s sake.

He took on those dangerous tasks to lessen the burden on her and her party.

But now, that reason no longer existed.

“Your Majesty… I deeply apologize. My actions have cost us our connection with an S-Rank…”

“Save your apologies for him. This is simply the result of our own actions, and he only responded in kind.”

“…Understood.”

In exchange for achieving the grand goal of defeating the Demon King,

the Kingdom of Sildiel had lost their valuable link to Abel.

“Just accept it, all right? Without me, the Demon King would still be out there… so I think it’s only fair, don’t you?”

“…Ha?”

The person who reacted with visible irritation to Abel’s words—

was none other than the Hero, Yuto.