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 44: A Little Souvenir Shopping

Chapter 44: A Little Souvenir Shopping

[Side: Betrayed Adventurer]

Breakfast at the hotel was served buffet-style.

The options were incredibly varied, and every single dish was top-tier in both taste and presentation.

Now gathered around a table packed to the edges with more food than any of them could finish, the girls were deep in conversation.

“This breakfast is insanely fancy! I swear, this hotel just keeps getting better! Raynare, you must be loaded to be staying here all the time!”

“I checked with the front desk earlier… One night here costs more than a regular person’s monthly salary.”

“Well, a while back, I started a trading company just to kill time. We expanded all across the Sildiel Kingdom, and eventually went nationwide. The money’s been pouring in ever since.”

“Nationwide…? Wait—what!? That’s not just a trading company, that’s a massive business empire!”

“I got bored of it though, so now I just use it as a wallet. I’m technically still the president, but in name only.”

“No wonder being a rich tycoon seems to come so naturally to you! Honestly, when I first met you, I thought you were some high-ranking noble.”

The three girls stared in shock as Raynare casually dropped that unexpected backstory.

Everyone knew about the Progenitor… but what she did in her free time? That was a total mystery—until now.

“But still, it’s frustrating that even with all this money, I couldn’t win Abel over. We were so close yesterday! Just a little more and—!”

“Fufufu~ If we had made it to the bed… mmm, just imagine~”

“He could’ve given us a real punishment… What a missed opportunity.”

“You guys… it’s way too early in the morning to be saying stuff like that. Abel’s right here, you know…?”

“Well, if he’s not ready, I guess I’ll just stick to seduction for now. It’s not like I can really pin him down myself… A-Anyway, um—yeah.”

Raynare, the mastermind behind yesterday’s madness, scratched her head and gave me a sheepish smile.

“I’m not gonna jump you out of nowhere, okay? So come on back already. Stop looking at us like we’re about to attack you or something, Abel.”

I was sitting a bit apart from the four of them, silently chewing my breakfast while watching them from a distance.

I turned away with a small hmph, stuffing another spoonful into my mouth like a sulky cat.

“Maybe we pushed a little too hard…”

“Abel’s totally acting like a grumpy kitten…!”

“Guess that was a bit too much shock therapy, huh.”

Who are you calling a kitten?

I’m practically a second-timer virgin here!

Getting pulled into something that felt like heaven—or hell—how else was I supposed to react but panic!?

At this point, Elmie—face still bright red and head down—was the only one giving off a soothing presence.

“Gulp. I… I didn’t hate it. I mean… I was really happy that you all felt that way. But I’m still sorting things out in my head, so… just give me a little more time, okay?”

I’d been doing a lot of thinking since last night.

Getting affection from everyone—even Raynare, now that I was starting to see her as a woman—

It honestly made me happy.

But… someone like me leaning on them too much just didn’t sit right.

“Oh~? Well, as long as it’s not something like full-on trust issues, I won’t pry. You did say you’d figure things out in time, after all.”

Raynare narrowed her crimson eyes and gave me a small, understanding nod.

“But just so you know… everyone’s patience has its limits. Don’t think we’ll keep waiting forever.”

“If Abel ends up wanting to take the lead, that’d be totally fine with me~”

“Do you like being seduced slowly, or all at once?”

“P-Please go easy on me until then…! I promise I’ll work on it, really!”

Pinned down by their smoldering stares, I had no choice but to beg for mercy like the cornered prey I was.

…Honestly, at this point, Elmie’s blushing glances felt like the only healing presence left in my life.

“A-Anyway! First things first. Things got kind of derailed after we ran into Raynare, but I’d really like to take care of the reason we came here in the first place.”

“Reason? I thought you were here for a vacation?”

We had finished demolishing a mountain of food and were halfway through dessert when Raynare tilted her head and asked.

Right—

I hadn’t told her yet.

I explained that the real goal of this trip was to return the magic swords.

“Come to think of it… after this, I’ll probably get weaker, you know? If that makes you lose interest in me, then—”

“—Then I should walk away from you, right? I already told you yesterday, didn’t I? I fell in love with who you are, not your strength. You really think I’d lose interest over something like that?”

“…Yeah, you’re right.”

“And besides, if you do get weaker, that just means I’ll be stronger. Wouldn’t that make it a whole lot easier for me to pin you down~?”

…Okay, now I’m suddenly getting nervous about giving these swords back.

“S-So, uh… anyway! Everyone probably has stuff they wanna do today, so how about we split up for now? I was thinking of heading to the guild.”

“Sounds good to me~! We’ve gotta visit the church soon anyway.”

“I need to contact Lady Ciel too. Guess I’ll stick with big sis today.”

“Then I’ll go replenish our supplies. Maria, can I borrow your magic bag?”

So the twins were off to the church.

They needed to pray and get in touch with Ciel.

Now that I thought about it, she did say to use the churches along the journey to keep in contact.

She’d been kind of like a behind-the-scenes informant, sharing updates about the Hero’s party and Millia’s movements.

We really owed her one… I’ll have to thank her properly next time.

And Elmie was going shopping.

“Oh, and make sure your gear’s ready for battle—just in case. We might end up needing it.”

“…Is something going on?”

“I’m not sure yet, but we might run into some monsters. Even if we don’t, the person who gave me this magic sword lives a bit outside the city. So yeah, I’d rather everyone be prepared.”

That was why I wanted to go to the guild.

I was finally going to meet one of the people I owed the most—

And when that time comes, I wanted to bring a proper gift.

Once we agreed on where and when to regroup, we each headed off to take care of our morning plans.

At this pace, I could probably go return the sword by this evening.

If not, then definitely tomorrow.

“So, Raynare—what about you?”

“I’ll come with you today, Abel. Actually, I’ve got a little something to do at the guild too.”

“At the guild?”

I looked over at her, curious.

Did she have a request to submit or something?

“Well, if you’ve got business there, then sure.”

“Oh, it’s very important business.”

…And I didn’t think twice about that line at the time.

If only I’d known how much trouble it would cause later.

・　・　・　・　・

Becoming an adventurer was surprisingly easy.

At the guild, anyone could register—child or elder, real name or not.

The only thing that truly mattered… was ability.

“Now I’ve got one too. That means I’m officially like Abel—well, technically, an adventurer just like you. And hey, this thing works as an ID too. Not bad! Kukuku!”

—And if I couldn’t stop someone else from becoming an adventurer,

That was not my fault!

Raynare let out a delighted laugh as she spun her brand-new guild card around her finger, using one corner as a pivot point.

How was she even doing that?

When she channeled magic into it, the name “Raynare Drake” appeared in glowing letters.

She must’ve used her old male name, “Raidlake,” as her family name now.

So that was the big errand she mentioned earlier—

Registering as an adventurer.

“If I remember right, E-ranks—rookies—aren’t allowed to join A-rank parties, right? So once I level up, you’ll let me join, yeah?”

“I don’t mind, but… We’re slowly gathering people who are all stronger than the actual leader. Maybe it’s time we think about changing who’s in charge…?”

“Are you okay, Abel? You look… kinda worn out.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just… you know. Thanks to a certain someone.”

“Hahaha! What’s the matter, Abel? If you’re feeling drained, want me to give you a little healing? Hmm~?”

Raynare’s outfit had only slightly changed—

Now she wore tight, black swim shorts on the bottom paired with heels, but up top, it was still the same old aloha shirt.

She casually lifted her massive chest with both hands over the tight fabric, flashing a smug, infuriating grin.

I looked away with a sigh.

It all went downhill back when she was registering at the guild.

At the Adventurers’ Guild, when you sign up, you have to give a few personal details for your guild card.

Raynare proudly declared her race as Vampire and her title as Progenitor.

The moment those words left her mouth, the receptionist’s eyes nearly popped out of her head.

It’s not like she didn’t want to call her out—

But when you’ve got an S-Rank adventurer (me) standing right next to her, it gets harder to question things.

She gave me a silent look, like, “Is this for real…?”

I just gave her a slow, sympathetic nod in return.

After that, things got hectic.

Someone tried calling for the guild master.

Some idiot tried picking a fight with her just because she was a vampire.

And, of course, a couple of fools tried hitting on her because she’s gorgeous.

It all ended with a one-sided beatdown—Raynare handled them without breaking a sweat.

To avoid even more chaos, we wrapped up the registration and my own business quickly, then made a quiet exit.

Well… mostly quiet.

“I really hope Old Man Kamul doesn’t chew me out for this later…”

Kamul Belt—the guy in charge of keeping order within the guild.

Now that a Progenitor with S-Rank-level strength had suddenly become an adventurer, things were bound to get a little shaky.

And whenever that happened, it was always Kamul who got stuck dealing with the fallout. Poor guy.

If he found out I was the reason for it all, he’d definitely come after me with complaints… and honestly, I wouldn’t even have an excuse.

Guess I’ll send him some stomach medicine afterward.

“Man… vampires already don’t have the best reputation among adventurers as it is…”

“Hmm? Is that so?”

“Oh, you didn’t know? It’s kind of common knowledge.”

See, the thing is—

Vampires are technically part of the human race.

So why are they called “oni,” a word normally used for beasts or monsters?

That’s because of how often they’ve been involved in violent blood-drinking incidents.

Kind of like being labeled a murderer or an arsonist—it’s not a race thing, it’s a reputation thing.

To vampires, blood is like a drug.

It gives them this sweet, euphoric high that they crave regularly.

They have to drink it from time to time…

But when they go overboard and get drunk on that high, some lose control and start attacking people at random.

Human blood, apparently, is the most delicious of all.

Because of that, vampires have occasionally ended up as bounty targets—

Sometimes even with full-on extermination orders from the guild.

“On top of that, powerful vampires have this skill that lets them turn others into vampires, right? People don’t exactly love the idea of being forcibly changed into a race that can’t even go out in the sunlight.”

“New adventurers are usually warned with, ‘Be careful around vampires.’ There was even a case where someone got attacked mid-quest.”

Elmie chimed in to back up my explanation.

“Because they live so long, most of them are clever, experienced, and skilled… But that also means you never know when one might turn on you. So while adventurers don’t outright hate vampires, they definitely see them as a threat.”

“I see. I’ve lived a long time, but somehow I never caught wind of that.”

“Well yeah, it’s kind of an unspoken rule among adventurers. Something we tell each other to stay safe—but not really something we’d mention to outsiders.”

“So be careful, okay? You might not look like a vampire who’s affected by sunlight, Raynare… But there are people out there who specialize in vampire hunting.”

“Understood. I appreciate the warning… Not that I expect to lose to anyone like that, of course! If they’re stronger than me, sure—but good luck finding one! Hah!”

Figures.

If she can go toe-to-toe with an S-Rank, most adventurers wouldn’t even stand a chance.

“—Ah, there it is. That port ahead… that’s our destination.”

After chatting for a bit, we finally reached our destination.

Ahead of us was a well-maintained port, clearly more developed than the small beach cove we’d visited yesterday.

It was larger, with plenty of piers that could handle more traffic, and it looked like a lot of ships should have been coming and going from here.

But…

“Hmm? Hey… doesn’t something feel off?”

“You’re right. For a port, there aren’t any ships docked. By this hour, the fishing boats should’ve all returned… Though, I do see people around.”

“Abel, why’d we come all the way out here anyway? I kinda just followed along, but were you planning to pick up fish or something?”

“Not exactly. I heard that a certain monster I’ve been wanting to hunt just happens to be nearby. Looks like the townspeople were evacuated because of it, but—”

Right then—

The seawater at the center of the bay suddenly erupted.

Something massive broke through the surface and revealed itself.

＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

Hi, it’s Sora Akatsuki (your favorite fool), back after a short delay because I got totally absorbed in a super hype scene from one of my favorite novels.

Vampires—a race with long lifespans and insanely powerful special abilities…

In exchange, they become delicate-skinned, blood-addicted junkies.

Guild Card

Name: Raynare Drake

Race: Vampire

Job: —

Skills: 《Transformation》

Magic: 《Blood Magic》《Non-Elemental Magic》

　　　　　《Basic Four Element Magic (Fire, Water, Wind, Earth)》