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 53: A Grandmother’s Heart, Lost on Her Granddaughter

Chapter 53: A Grandmother’s Heart, Lost on Her Granddaughter

Last time on S Rank…

(It’s been a while—thanks for sticking around!)

Carina, a dragon girl and Granny Crim’s granddaughter, showed up out of nowhere.

She’d sensed Crim’s time was drawing to a close and came hoping to inherit her power—

But instead, things spiraled into a heated argument.

Carina was furious that Crim kept doting on humans—especially Abel—instead of her.

Tensions rose as she locked eyes with him, ready to blow.

Crim tried to scold her,

But Carina’s voice turned sharp—cold enough to bite.

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That tone…

It felt like the temperature around us actually dropped.

“So it’s true, isn’t it? You care more about that human than me now, Grandma.”

“That’s not it. But humans are—”

“I’ve heard enough!!!”

Carina snapped—shouting with her head still lowered.

“Lately, all you ever talk about is humans, humans, humans! Why do you care so much about those weak little creatures with their tiny, pathetic mana!?”

“Carina…”

“And now you’re just handing your power over!? I’ve been by your side this whole time! I’m the one who’s admired you more than anyone! I’m the one who chased your footsteps the hardest!”

“…Here’s the thing—I like humans because they’re interesting. They make food, tools… all these clever little things, born from their weakness. Stuff we dragons could never even think of. And besides—becoming an Elder Dragon? It’s not something to aspire to. It just… happens.”

“I don’t understand!!!”

Granny Crim probably thought she was choosing her words carefully—

Trying to gently talk Carina down.

But once someone’s fired up that badly…

Yeah, whether you’re human or dragon, “gentle reasoning” just makes things worse.

“I understand now. If you won’t give me your power, Grandma… And you plan to hand it over to that human—Then I’ll just take it.”

Just like I’ve always done.

The second she said it, everyone tensed up.

“That said… I’m not stupid enough to actually challenge you, Grandma.”

Carina might’ve been furious, but she wasn’t reckless.

She knew better than to pick a fight with a legendary Elder Dragon—even one near the end of her life.

“So instead—I’ll wait. The moment you pass away, I’ll be there to claim your magic. Yes… I think that’s a perfectly reasonable solution.”

She didn’t plan to fight.

She was going to wait for her own grandmother to die—and take her power the moment it happened.

“…Hearing you say that breaks my heart. And Carina, let’s be real—there’s no way you could handle my magic.”

“Oh, but I will. I am your granddaughter, after all. The only issue will be the scavengers, I suppose. A dragon like you? When your time comes, all kinds of lowlifes will come sniffing around. Even other dragons.”

“…What? Tch. So I can’t even die in peace, huh.”

“It saddens me that our next meeting may be your last, Grandma.”

As Carina spoke, a pair of shimmering wings of ice spread wide behind her.

They looked like wings of a bird—
A graceful reflection of her own elegant form.

“Oh, that’s right. You—human.”

Still hovering in the sky, Carina suddenly pointed straight at me.

“After I’ve claimed Grandma’s power… I’ll kill you. I can’t forgive you for stealing her time away from me.”

“Go ahead and try. I’ll gladly cut down a spoiled, tantrum-throwing dragon.”

“All bark, I see… Well, whatever. I’ll be looking forward to it. Until then, farewell. Grandma.”

And just like that—

The young dragon, blue as a storm-tossed sea, vanished into the sky.

All she left behind was the chill in the air…

And what used to be a sunny cliffside garden, now completely frozen over.

・ ・ ・ ・ ・

“Sorry about that… Looks like my granddaughter caused quite the mess.”

Granny Crim looked genuinely apologetic.

Back in her cozy home, we sat awkwardly around the dinner table, trying to pick up where things had left off.

“It’s not your fault. I mean… family stuff, right? Sometimes things just don’t go smoothly between relatives.”

“Totally. I mean, look at us—we ditched our parents to become adventurers, right, Maria?”

“Yup. Ran off from the slums and never looked back.”

Elmie tried to ease the tension, and the twins were quick to back her up.

Right… I’d almost forgotten they were originally from the capital’s lower districts.

“You dragon kind really don’t do that whole family bonding thing, huh? Still… I gotta say, she didn’t just respect you—It felt more like worship.”

“Worship, huh… Yeah, maybe.”

Granny Crim gave a small nod, quietly agreeing with Raynare—

Even though they’d been practically at each other’s throats not long ago.

“Back in the day… I got curious about humans—About the things they make. So I moved out here all by myself. Wanted to try creating something too. Turns out, it was really fun. I even built this house. Got all giddy like a kid, even though I was already getting on in years.”

I glanced around the room.

A log cabin, built mostly from timber.

Solid construction—way too polished to be amateur work.

And the stew Granny Crim had made with Fortress Whale meat?

Delicious. Like, seriously top-tier.

Everywhere you looked, it was clear how deeply she’d fallen for human culture.

It wasn’t just a passing interest—

She’d poured her whole heart into it.

“Maybe she just got too obsessed with it. Before I knew it, she was going around killing other magical beasts to gather mana.”

Killing monsters, absorbing mana, feeding her Dragon Core…

Sure, dragons sometimes kill to defend their territory or hunt for food—

But doing it just to gather power?

Yeah… that’s not exactly normal for dragons.

“Last time Carina visited, she wrecked my house. I got mad, scolded her—And after that, she stopped coming around. Haven’t seen her since… until today.”

There was a sigh in her voice—

And yeah, maybe a hint of lingering resentment.

Getting your house destroyed’ll do that.

But even so…

Her expression looked calm. Peaceful, even.

“Granny Crim… You sure you don’t wanna pass your magic on to your actual granddaughter instead of me?”

“That won’t work, Abel. Besides, dragons don’t even think that way.”

“Raynare?”

“They don’t have that whole idea of ‘inheritance’ or ‘passing things down.’ Dragons are the strongest race—so they don’t feel the need to leave anything behind for their kids.”

“…Huh. That actually kind of makes sense?”

Dragons are just too powerful by nature.

They don’t need to pass on skills or magic—because their children naturally grow strong all on their own.

“Exactly. I was shocked when I first heard that, but the more I thought about it, the more it clicked.”

“Clicked how?”

“Well, think about it—humans are weak. But they’ve got cooking, tools, inventions… all these clever things. It’s probably because they had to pass things down to survive.”

“Totally. Especially for commonfolk. Life’s short, so they had to get really good at leaving something behind.”

“Still… I always thought that was admirable.”

It’s such a natural mindset for us humans,

But for long-lived races like dragons, it probably seemed like a foreign concept.

“And that’s why I wanted to try it too.”

“Of all the things to pick up… that’s what you went with? You sure you couldn’t just hand it off to your granddaughter instead?”

“Carina’s a dragon, remember? She doesn’t need it. But I want to leave something to a human. To someone who actually understands what it means to inherit something.”

So that was it.

Something she could only do at the end of her life—

Something her own granddaughter couldn’t understand, or maybe didn’t even want.

Which is why she chose me…

…Wow.

Do I really come off that unreliable?

I mean, yeah, I’ve been kind of a wreck lately—

Freshly dumped and emotionally scattered all over the place.

“I just don’t get the whole long-lived race mindset~ Is it really that big a deal?”

Honestly?

Yeah, I kind of agreed with Frey.

My hometown’s already gone.

My parents passed away ages ago and didn’t leave anything behind.

So this whole “legacy” thing?

Yeah… it never really meant much to me.

“But still… there’s a real reason I can’t give my power to Carina. And it’s a lot more serious than just me being a selfish old lady.”

Would’ve been nice if she led with that.

Up until now, she just sounded like a carefree grandma chasing one last dramatic moment.

“Dragons are strong, sure… But they don’t start out with refined magic control like you do, Abel.”

“…You nitpicking me right now?”

“No no, that was a compliment. You’ve got something even dragons don’t.”

Okay, not gonna lie—that did feel kind of nice.

But being real with myself… that’s basically all I’ve got going for me.

Sure, I’ve got a ridiculous amount of mana,

But in a straight-up magic contest? I’d still lose to Granny Crim or Raynare.

They’ve been around for centuries.

And the way their mana grows the more they use it? Yeah—I’m not catching up anytime soon.

“Dragons have absurd mana reserves, sure. But just holding onto that power takes insane control. It takes centuries of practice just to keep it in check.”

“So basically, suddenly gaining a ton of mana doesn’t help if you can’t control it?”

“Worse than that—it’s dangerous. If you can’t handle the magic inside you, it’ll tear you apart from the inside out. That girl doesn’t get it. She thinks more magic automatically means more power.”

“Oh… Now that you mention it, that spell she used… It hit hard, yeah, but it didn’t seem all that complex.”

Just like Maria said—

Now that I really thought about it, the spell Carina used wasn’t anything all that advanced.

Sure, the area it froze was massive,

But the spell itself?

It was basically the ice-element version of spraying a fire hose nonstop.

As long as you’ve got the mana for it, even a C-Rank adventurer could pull that off.

“So? What actually happens if you push your mana too far? I’ve lived a long time, but even I don’t know the full story.”

“It’s simple. What happens when you try to cram way too much water into a bag that’s already full?”

“…Wait! You’re not saying…”

A chill crawled down my spine.

And judging by everyone’s faces—

Raynare, Elmie, even Maria—they all got it too.

“If that girl absorbs my magic… She won’t be able to control it. She’ll lose control entirely—go on a full-blown rampage. Worst-case scenario? This entire area could get frozen solid.”

““““WHAT!?!””””

Granny Crim’s words landed way harder than I was ready for.

“W-Wait, this whole area!? You’re serious!?”

“Of course I’m serious. Remember how things looked when you first arrived? I got a little foggy, let a bit of magic leak out… and the entire cliffside turned into an ice rink.”

“…!”

I remembered that perfectly.

The moment we got here, the entire cape had been covered in frost.

“Lately, I’ve been getting old… my body doesn’t always listen anymore.”

So it wasn’t some kind of defensive magic or warding spell.

That icy wasteland?

It was just her power leaking—by accident.

“That frozen cliff you saw? That was just a few stray drops. If Carina actually tried to take in my full power and lost control… Well, let’s just say—frozen apocalypse.”

“But… but Estena’s just nearby! There are so many people there…!”

Estena wasn’t just any city.

It was a booming resort town, always full of tourists.

And right now…?

It was the middle of the Hero Festival.

“At a glance, over the past two weeks, I’d say… there are probably tens of thousands of people packed into Estena. And if the damage stops only at Estena, we’d be lucky.”

“Wait… it could hit other cities too!?”

“Not just cities… Depending on how far the magic spreads, it could freeze the entire coastline,” 

Maria added, frowning.

Right…

Crim did say “this whole area.”

But she’s a dragon.

Her sense of scale is completely different from ours.

If she says “area,” she could easily mean the entire southern region.

“Then… what happens when you die, Granny?”

“If I die normally? No problem. My mana won’t explode like a burst of cold—it’ll just be released as pure energy. That kind of release would actually enrich the land. Make it a pretty magical place.”

“So… there’s no convincing her now, huh.”

“She stopped listening to me a long time ago, you know? Can’t say I’ve been the best grandmother.”

“…Granny Crim. Is there any way to extend your life?”

“Don’t be ridiculous! Not even a dragon can manage that!”

She let out a cackle as she shut down my desperate question.

And yeah… I knew it was a long shot.

I knew.

But still… everything about this just felt wrong.

“—Abel. Sorry to spring this on you, but… I’ve got a favor. No… let’s call it a request.”

As I sat there, staring into my lap, feeling completely hopeless—

Her voice reached out to me.

When I looked up, Granny Crim was staring right at me—

Her eyes calm, serious, and laser-focused.

“Granny Crim? What do you—”

“Y’know, I just realized I’ve never officially done this before… Abel, I’d like to make a request—a proper adventurer’s commission. …Could you stop that girl for me?”

“…You sure know how to drop outrageous requests, don’t you?”

Stop her.

She didn’t mean defeat.

She meant: Find a way to save my granddaughter—without killing her.

“She’ll try to take my mana when I’m right on the edge. By that point, I won’t be able to stop her. And if that mana goes wild… Carina’s going down with it.”

“Like standing at ground zero of a mana bomb. Yeah, I get it. But you do realize who we’re talking about, right? She’s a dragon. Even I’m not exactly eager to pick a fight with that.”

“Sorry… truly. But even like that, she’s still my precious granddaughter. Just like you are. And for a reward… How about this—my power, in the form of a brand-new magical sword?”

“Granny Crim, that’s…”

Honestly, taking Carina out would be way easier.

But I couldn’t bring myself to say something that heartless to her.

“I know it’s not fair—dumping my mess on you like this. I really am a useless old bat. But even so… There’s no one else I can turn to. This is my final wish, my dear child.”

“…!”

Please don’t say things like that.

Final wishes… parting words…

They’re the ones that cut deepest.

But even so—I gave her my answer.

“Since it’s your request, Granny Crim… I’ll take it.”

To repay the debt I owed her.

And also—

Because I couldn’t say no to a dragon who called me her grandson.