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 50: A Thread of Life

Chapter 50: A Thread of Life

Returning the sword—

That had been my first reaction.

An escape I clung to after Millia betrayed me.

With Elmie and the others by my side, I didn’t need to run anymore.

But… that didn’t change the way I felt.

The magic swords I held now—

I had gathered them all for one reason: to save Millia.

Some still carried the weight of unfinished grudges.

Some were borrowed—never truly mine to keep.

They weren’t something I should hold onto forever.

—And to be honest,

I just didn’t want to think about Millia anymore.

Back when I was fighting with those swords,

She was always on my mind.

Every single moment, it was her.

There wasn’t a time when I wasn’t thinking about her.

Even now, just having a magic sword at my side

Was enough to make her face flicker back into my thoughts.

The truth is, I still haven’t moved on.

That familiar ache—it still hits me sometimes.

So I made up my mind.

If nothing else, I could do this one thing.

Let go. Draw a line. Bring closure.

“This sword… saved me more times than I can count. I’m still alive because of it. Thank you.”

It had become something complicated for me—

But even so, I owed it a lot.

That sword had saved my life time and time again.

With deep gratitude, I bowed my head.

—But Granny Crim’s reply wasn’t what I expected.

“Siiigh… It’s sweet of you to say that, really. But I’ve got no intention of taking it back.”

“What…? W-Why not?”

“It’s something I didn’t need anymore—that’s why I gave it to you in the first place.”

She gave a small shrug, almost amused.

“I mean, who wants their own shed fang and claw handed back to them?”

…Okay. When you put it like that, I guess she had a point.

Still—

Even if I didn’t want to keep it for myself,

That sword was something I’d begged for—just to save Millia.

Now that I couldn’t fulfill that goal,

Keeping it felt wrong. Like I was clinging to a broken promise.

“It’s all over your face. You’re still not convinced. But listen—it’s better to hold on to strength when you’ve got it. Humans are reckless idiots. And without that sword, you can’t go all-out, can you?”

“I’m still strong without it. That absurd magic power? That’s mine. And I’ve got three years of experience to lean on.”

“Even so… Aren’t those girls important to you? What if something happens and you can’t protect them? Are you really okay with that?”

Granny Crim’s gaze shifted—

Toward the three Radiant Sword girls quietly watching nearby.

And toward Raynare, too.

“Of course not! Elmie and the others… they’re important to me! If they’re ever in danger, I’ll protect them with everything I have!”

“Then you should keep the strength to do that. Didn’t your breakup with that ex of yours happen because you were too weak?”

“Ugh… Gghhh…”

Damn it.

You can’t win a war of words with a dragon who’s lived for thousands of years.

The moment she brought up the past, I had nothing left to say.

Because… she was right.

I couldn’t keep up with the Hero’s Party because I was weak.

If I’d been stronger back then, maybe things wouldn’t have ended the way they did with Millia.

Granny Crim’s logic was sound. It made perfect sense.

But even so—

All of this was starting to stir up memories I really didn’t want resurfacing.

“Ugh… I get it, but still, it’s just…”

“Besides, there’s something I wanted to give you.”

“…Something you wanted to give me?”

Still slumped over, overwhelmed by the emotional whirlwind,

I barely registered her sudden shift in tone—until her next words knocked me off balance.

“That’s right. But you never come visit! I was this close to having the Adventurers’ Guild send a message before it was too late.”

“Wait—too late? This isn’t about something like… food going bad, is it?”

“You’re always the one bringing food, remember? No, it’s not that. This has to do with timing—something that’s only possible now.”

“Oh… now that you mention it, you did say something earlier about good timing…”

That’s right—Granny Crim did say something like that, just like Elmie mentioned.

It was before I introduced everyone, back when we were just chatting.

Still… what did she mean by timing?

Was it seasonal? Celestial? What kind of thing had a time limit?

“Yeah. You really came at the perfect time. Any later, and it probably would’ve been too late.”

While I was still trying to make sense of it,

Granny Crim spoke with a quiet, almost nostalgic tone.

And then—

She said something I never expected to hear.

“I’m going to die soon. I’m glad I got to see your face one last time, Abel boy.”

“…What?”

—What was she saying?

Granny Crim…

A dragon…

An Elder Dragon… dying?

My mind stalled.

I couldn’t process it.

But Granny Crim just kept talking on her own, like it was nothing. Like it was just another topic of conversation.

“That’s why I want you to take my power, Abel.”

“…W-Wait. What are you talking about? Granny Crim, dying? That’s got to be a joke, right?”

Why would she say something like that—

With that face?

That peaceful expression.

Like someone who had done everything they needed to.

Like someone fully content, with no regrets left behind.

Why would she say something so heavy… so final…

With a look like that?

“And now you’re saying you want to give me your power? Come on. That has to be a joke too. Elder Dragons don’t just die. Not from being killed. Not from illness. That’s not how it works.”

The number one cause of death for dragons… is being killed.

They get into fights with other creatures, or they rage through human territory and end up taken down by S-Rank adventurers like me.

But that only happens to the young ones—before they’re strong enough to be called Elder Dragons.

But Granny Crim?

Someone on her level?

Even an S-Ranker might not stand a chance against her.

So the idea that she was dying…

It didn’t feel real.

It didn’t make sense.

“That’s not what this is. I’m dying… because of old age.”

“…Wait. Then—when we got here and everything was frozen over…?”

“I told you, didn’t I? My control over magic’s been slipping with age. These days, all it takes is one lapse, and the whole area ices over.”

So the freezing when we arrived…

It wasn’t on purpose.

It was her magic leaking out.

She couldn’t control it anymore—

And that overflow had started freezing the world around her.

“No way… Granny Crim, you’re…”

“Sorry, but even I can’t stop this. Unlike that Progenitor over there with her handy immortality skill, dragons live and die like everything else. My time’s just… come.”

But still—

It felt too sudden.

…Then again, death always feels sudden.

That stampede when I was a kid was like that too.

One moment everything’s normal, and the next, it’s not.

“I see… It’s going to feel lonely without you.”

“Sorry about that.”

“Um… but how did you know? That your time was near, I mean.”

“I’m a dragon, kid. You just know. Feels like it’s finally time to pay my dues— …Not that I’ve ever paid any, mind you!”

Granny Crim answered Elmie’s question with a booming, carefree laugh.

Even while talking about her own death.

And honestly, I had no idea how to respond.

I was still trying to make sense of everything—these swirling, tangled emotions—

When she casually dropped another bomb on us.

“So here’s the deal. After I die, I want you to use my power, Abel. Humans pass things on to their kids when they go, right?”

“…Huh? Wait—why me? Wouldn’t it make more sense to pass it on to a dragon relative or something?”

“Dragons don’t do that kind of thing. And every mate I ever had? Dead and gone. My useless daughters won’t even come near me. But the moment they do sense I’m about to croak, all I get is, ‘Ugh, finally, the old hag’s on her way out.’ So yeah, I got pissed and froze them solid. Dropped ’em into the sea.”

“Cheh,” Crim clicked her tongue with a snort, rolling her eyes.

The sheer venom in her tone made Elmie burst out:

“W-Wait, you froze your kids!?”

“They’ll thaw in a few hundred years. No big deal.”

“That’s your idea of discipline? If it were me, I’d have gone way harder.”

“Uh… what?”

For long-lived races, I guess stuff like this was just part of everyday life.

Meanwhile, us short-lived humans were sitting there—completely horrified.

“With everyone around me being that awful, you just ended up looking extra sweet. Like a grandkid, you know? That’s why I figured I’d leave something behind for you—just like humans do.”

“I see… and I really do appreciate it. But I can’t accept it.”

“Hmm? And why not? I’m offering it, so just take it already!”

Granny Crim raised her voice—

But come on! Can you really blame me!?

I came here just to visit someone who once saved my life.

And now suddenly she tells me she’s dying and wants me to inherit her power!?

How am I supposed to answer that on the spot!?

I hadn’t even gotten over the first bomb she dropped!

“You’ve already done so much for me, Granny Crim. And now you’re asking me to take something even more important from you… I just—”

“Ugh! You’re so hung up on debts and obligations! If this old lady says she wants to give you something, the least you can do is accept it with some grace!”

“I haven’t even repaid you properly for the magic sword yet! And now you throw the whole ‘I’m dying, inherit my power’ thing on top of that!? Can’t you space it out a little!?”

“That stuff doesn’t matter at all!”

So much for the emotional moment earlier—

Before I knew it, we were yelling at each other like it was a full-blown argument.

“U-Um… hey, you two? Arguing’s not going to solve anything, you know?”

“Abel, calm down, okay~? You need to talk, not yell~”

“Lady Crim too! Please, take a breath! Abel’s just a little… stubborn sometimes…”

As things heated up between me and Granny Crim,

Elmie, Frey, and Maria jumped in between us, trying to calm things down.

But yeah—

That wasn’t enough to stop Crim.

If anything, it just pushed me to yell even louder.

“Come on! Can we not have one quiet, heartfelt moment here!? That first bomb you dropped already messed me up enough!”

“And what’s with that attitude!? If your elder offers you something, just take it and quit whining!”

“Why!? How does that make any sense!?”

The house was turning into a full-on battlefield of noise and clashing emotions.

And yet—

The only one staying completely calm through it all…

Was Raynare.

“This really is just like watching a grandkid argue with their grandma. One’s got zero emotional sensitivity, the other’s hopelessly stubborn… geez.”

With a long sigh, she shook her head and looked away—like she couldn’t care less about the chaos unfolding around her.

＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

Hello, this is Sora Akatsuki.

Thanks for waiting—

We’ve finally made it to Chapter 50!

I thought I’d be fine with the changes in my environment,

But they ended up affecting things more than I expected.

That said, the title and final act of Volume 2 are already fully planned out,

So I’ll be pushing forward with writing as fast as I can!