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 73, 74 & 74.5 [End of Vol. 02]

Chapter 73: The Revenge Reverse-NTR Recording Letter

[Side: Fallen Sage]

“…I see. So, Ciel is going on a journey.”

『Yes. That’s the decision made by the Southern Sky Faith.』

Night.

Inside her home in the royal capital, Millia used a farseeing crystal to speak with her close friend Ciel, exchanging updates about their current situations.

Most of the conversation centered around Ciel.

“So you’ll have to travel all over the place, right? That… what was it called again—‘pilgrimage’?”

The punishment for overlooking Millia’s infidelity had already been decided.

『Yes. It’s a duty long given as punishment to high-ranking clergy. Though it’s called a pilgrimage, it’s not about visiting sacred sites—it’s a journey to heal the wounded across different regions.』

“But you’re going alone, right? At least hire a guard or something. Like… an adventurer, maybe?”

『It’s fine. I’m going alone because I’m capable of fighting on my own, and I won’t take on unreasonable routes.』

—Otherwise, it wouldn’t count as punishment… nor atonement.

Ciel spoke calmly through the crystal, but Millia couldn’t help thinking she must be anxious deep down.

“Sorry… this is all because of me…”

『No. This is my punishment—for not speaking up when I should have. So don’t try to take responsibility for my sins. Millia, you need to atone for your own.』

Ciel noticed the awkward look on Millia’s face.

But she said nothing more.

By now, she had already given up on her.

『Let’s both do our best. My pilgrimage starts tomorrow, so we won’t be able to meet casually anymore… but we can still talk like this through the crystal.』

“Y-Yeah… thanks. You too, Ciel… do your best…”

An awkward silence settled between them, and both stopped talking.

It was just about to end like that—

『—Um, Millia. I’ll be resting soon to prepare for tomorrow’s pilgrimage. But… there’s something I need to pass on to you.』

“Yeah, it must be tough. But something to pass on…?”

『It’s… from Lord Abel, of the Four Swords.』

“From Abel!?”

At that unexpected name, Millia practically leaned toward her farseeing crystal.

“What is it!? Did he say he’ll lift the curse!?”

『Please calm down. It’s not that… it’s, um… a recorded video.』

“A… recording…”

What flashed through Millia’s mind was that day—when Abel had broken things off with her.

The memory of the day her hell began made her hesitate.

“Then… I should watch it with everyone…”

『No. This was sent specifically for you, Millia. I don’t know what’s in it either. And he said… “watch it when you’re alone.”』

“…Alone?”

『Yes. It was delivered from a church somewhere, along with that message. I don’t know which church, though…』

“I see… alright. Thanks, Ciel.”

『Yes. I’ll send it after we end the call. …Good night, Millia.』

“Good night, Ciel~”

The connection to the farseeing crystal cut off after their final exchange.

“Phew… I really did something awful to Ciel—oh, it’s here. She said to watch it alone, right? Guess I’ll just play it now.”

Without much delay, the recording arrived.

Feeling a mix of tension and curiosity, Millia began to play it.

What appeared on the screen—was Abel, entwined with two beautiful women.

“————……Hah?”

How much time had passed since it started playing?

Still frozen in shock, Millia finally let out a voice, her mind blank.

“Ah… eh… what…? Abel? And that’s… Elmie…? W-What is this…?”

She couldn’t process what she was seeing.

One of them—she recognized. It was Elmie.
The other, she didn’t know, but she was stunningly beautiful.

And those women were—loving Abel.

The same man she once looked down on… the same pathetic ex she thought could only hurt her… the “inexperienced guy” she had mocked—was now with them.

“Hah… haa…! N-No way… what…? How is it… this much… why—”

In the recording, the women were taken again and again, overwhelmed by Abel’s intense, almost beast-like passion.

Their voices echoed—raw, unrestrained, almost like cries of animals—

And yet, at the same time, they were beautiful… and deeply intoxicating in the way they lost themselves.

(What… is this… I’ve never seen anything like this… not even with Yuto…!)

“S-So… intense…!”

Her heartbeat pounded faster and faster.

Now that she understood the pleasure of being a woman far more than before, a thought slipped into her mind—

Jealous.

To be made to feel this good… she was jealous.

Even now, when her own body had been cursed so she couldn’t climax… she was jealous.

Jealous, jealous, jealous, jealous, jealous—!

Because of the curse of unfulfillment, Millia hadn’t felt release in a long time.

And now, her body burned with raw desire.

“—…? What?”

Suddenly, the screen changed.

The view narrowed, zooming in on a single point.

It focused on the red-haired woman who had just been pushed past her peak, freed from that storm of pleasure, now sinking into the bed.

Millia had always been confident in her own attractiveness as a woman.

But this woman—her overwhelming figure completely shattered that pride, to the point Millia herself felt insignificant in comparison.

As she breathed heavily, her chest rising and falling—it was as if she noticed the viewer through the screen.

“—Hah?”

She smiled.

Even in that thoroughly used, breathless state—she lifted the corners of her lips in a triumphant grin, her body still stained with desire, yet undeniably beautiful… as she laughed.

“Y-You… what are you even looking at…!?”

Of course, that gaze—was directed at the loser on the other side of the screen.

At Millia.

Filled with mockery, as if to say—“I got a man this good… and you’re the one who let him slip away.”

“Y-You… damn…!”

Millia’s rage surged so hard it felt like her veins might burst—

But there was nothing she could do to a mere recording.

Biting down on her lip, she kept watching—until the beast’s “feast” finally came to an end.

The red-haired woman, who had clung to Abel again afterward… and Elmie, who had been made to cry out again and again… both had lost consciousness.

They had been thoroughly taken—by the man Millia had thrown away.

The final scene showed Abel lying beside them, gently staying close as he drifted off to sleep.

“What… is this…”

A level of passion—of desire—she had never experienced, never even witnessed.

After seeing something like that, the shallow plan she had imagined had no chance of working.

Faced with such a shocking scene—and the dark future looming ahead—

Millia could only stand there, stunned.

But then.

『—Hey, cheating bitch. You watching?』

“—!? Y-You… that woman—!?”

A voice came from the recording.

The scene shifted—now showing the red-haired woman leaning in, as if peering directly through the screen.

『You’ve got some nerve, hurting the man I love—Abel. But too bad for you. The man you betrayed? He’s a top-class male.』

『—So thanks for abandoning him.』

“W-What… are you even saying!? I didn’t abandon him—!”

『You let him go yourself. Accept it. Abel… had no choice but to leave you…!』

The one who was abandoned had no choice but to accept that reality.

『You’ll stay alone—pathetic, never fulfilled—watching the happiness that should’ve been yours, drying up with nothing left. Otherwise, it wouldn’t even come close to repaying the sin of betraying Abel.』

For the sake of the man she loved, Raynare drove those words into Millia like a blade.

『I—no, we—will never forgive you. Enjoy the consequences, you worthless bitch.』

“Ggh… y-you…!”

Under Raynare’s sharp gaze and cutting words, Millia couldn’t respond for a moment.

…But not for long.

“Never forgive me…!? I won’t forgive you either, you ugly whore! So what if you look good!? If your personality’s rotten, you’re still ugly! That’s it…! I’ll just project this video in the slums or something! As a Sage, amplifying and projecting crystal recordings is easy for me! Let the poor use you as their entertainment! And Elmie too—acting all high and mighty, stealing Abel from me!”

Her voice overflowed with venom, every word dripping with spite.

She had always believed she was superior to Elmie as a woman—so having “her man” taken from her stung deeply.

But more than that—

It was that woman.

Her pride had been completely shattered.

If that’s how it was… then she’d drag them down in shame too!

“I’ll make sure you suffer enough humiliation for a lifetime—!”

『By the way, this recording will disappear once it finishes playing. Be grateful we even let you see our man in action. That’s all.』

Snap—!!

With those final words, the recording vanished without a trace.

“…Ah…? W-What…?”

No matter how many times Millia checked, the video was gone.

Her petty revenge plan—completely impossible now.

She couldn’t do anything.

And so—

That night, without pause, her voice echoed on.

Relying only on her memories, chasing a release she could never reach,

She continued… again and again, through the entire night.

[Side: Obsessive Saint]

After ending the call, Ciel tied up her clear golden-blonde hair as she prepared for bed.

“…So she still hasn’t reflected at all. I had hoped—even someone like her, who doesn’t understand the value of love, might feel at least some regret… but it seems I was wrong. How disappointing.”

With a quiet sigh, she thought about Millia—who hadn’t shown even a trace of remorse.

As someone who had once fought alongside her against the Demon King, she had hoped, even a little, that some regret remained.

But unfortunately, it seemed that in that cheating woman’s world, reflection and regret simply didn’t exist.

“…It can’t be helped. I’ll show her hell first—then send her straight into it.”

Ciel spoke calmly, her expression completely blank, as if all emotion had drained away.

Right now, she was no longer a high-ranking saint of the Hero’s party—just an overly devoted fan of the “Four Swords”.

“Still… starting the pilgrimage tomorrow, huh… ahh, I’m too nervous to sleep.”

She muttered about being unable to sleep—yet from that icy, flawless beauty, a warm, almost sultry breath slipped out.

A pilgrimage—

A journey meant to heal others, and at the same time, a harsh path of atonement where one faces their own sins.

“…Fu, fu.”

…But what no one knew yet—was that depending on the route, there were those for whom such a journey would be anything but suffering.

“Now then—time to set out on a journey tracing Lord Abel’s footsteps…!”

Ciel had decided to follow the path of the one she admired—Abel.

This was, in her own way, an act of facing her sins… by retracing the journey of the person she had hurt.

Of course, she wouldn’t neglect her duty of helping people along the way.

…But taking the chance to follow her favorite’s path too? That much should be allowed.

After all, a true otaku is someone who can benefit from both work and hobby at the same time.

With a blank expression, Ciel’s full chest rose slightly—quietly filled with anticipation.

“By the way… what exactly was that thing they sent to Millia…? Oh—looks like Miss Frey sent me something again. …A recording?”

The next morning—

“Hm? Where is Lady Ciel? She should’ve already left for her pilgrimage by now, according to the schedule.”

“That’s the strange part… she hasn’t woken up yet.”

“My… she was offering prayers every night, after all. She must be truly repenting from the bottom of her heart… I hope she finds peace.”

“Yes… truly.”

The sisters, completely unaware of the state of Ciel’s room—continued their peaceful morning as usual.

Chapter 74: Seeing Them Off, Wrapped in Warmth

[Side: Betrayed Adventurer]

Completely unaware that Elmie and the others—no, my lovers—were plotting something outrageous back at the hotel…

I had come to the cape where Granny Crim’s home once stood.

“…This should do it.”

After finishing the work at the tip of the cliff, I brushed the dirt off my hands and looked down at what I had made.

“It’s a bit rough… but yeah, it’ll do.”

There, a simple square gravestone, carved from rock, stood quietly.

Its surface was neatly engraved, with Granny Crim’s name and a short inscription etched into it.

“‘Here rests the great Dragon God’… well, it’s mostly just a few scales that were left.”

Most of Granny Crim’s body had turned into mana and returned to nature.

The surrounding sea, now slowly growing richer—this entire place had become where she rested.

That was why I chose to place the grave here, overlooking the ocean.

More than anything, if I was going to honor her… it had to be somewhere she loved.

“…Just like you said, Granny Crim. I ended up with Elmie… and Raynare too. …I’m happy. Really happy.”

A sense of fulfillment wrapped around my whole body, like I was filled with something warm.

I hadn’t taken that step with Frey and Maria yet—but I understood how they felt too.

I wanted to respond to them soon… though I wasn’t sure how that would turn out.

“I’m fine now, thanks to everyone. So… rest easy.”

I spoke those feelings out loud, hoping she could rest in peace.

Even after I set out on my journey again, I planned to return and visit her grave—just like I used to back then.

“—What are you doing out here?”

“Hm? —Oh, you’re up already? You okay?”

I had been talking to Granny Crim when a voice called out from behind.

When I turned around, stepping out from Granny Crim’s house was—

“You’re the one who cut me down… but yeah, I’m fine. Thanks to you.”

“…Looks like it. Carina.”

Her clear, pale-blue hair resembled Granny Crim’s.

It was Carinashario—her granddaughter, now in human form.

She walked toward me, her deep blue dress swaying gently.

There was no hostility in her eyes. No killing intent.

“…You got sliced clean in half, you know. Dragons really are ridiculous…”

“I thought I was dead for sure. But… well, thanks to the treatment, I managed. Human medicine is pretty amazing.”

“Well, I poured a ton of top-grade healing potions into you. Glad it works on dragons too.”

After Granny Crim passed, I found Carina barely clinging to life.

I picked her up, treated her as best I could, and left her resting in this house.

She was the granddaughter of someone important to me.

If possible, I didn’t want to kill her.

“And… back then, when I was about to die… Grandma stopped me.”

“Yeah. That’s why you’re still alive.”

At the exact moment I cut Carina down, Granny Crim had used magic.

The instant the blade passed through her, she froze the wound—stopping it completely and buying time until it could be healed.

It was only a tiny window—barely enough to keep her alive—but without that, she would’ve died for sure.

“That was… right on the edge of killing me. The control over mana was unbelievable. I finally understand what Grandma meant when she used to talk to me.”

“Not just control—even the output was insane… that old lady really pulled off something godlike.”

“Godlike, huh… coming from you, that’s rich. You cut down a dragon, you know? Because of that, even my dragon core got damaged. I lost about twenty percent of the mana I’d spent so long building up.”

Carina let out an exasperated sigh.

…She’d softened.

Before, she wouldn’t have even talked—she would’ve just attacked without hesitation.

The reason was probably—

“…Sigh. Everything Grandma said was true. That I was still immature… that humans have their own strengths… and that you were stronger than me.”

“So you accept all of it now?”

“She staked her life to teach me that… If I don’t understand it, then I have no right to call myself her granddaughter. I won’t let you be the only one she acknowledges.”

“…Maybe that’s exactly because you’re her granddaughter. Well, as long as you understand it now, that’s enough.”

It seemed that brushing against death had made her reflect on herself.

Looks like Granny Crim managed to teach her everything she wanted to.

…Guess my efforts paid off too.

“…So? What are you doing out here? You were messing with the dirt or something.”

“I was making a grave for Granny Crim.”

“A grave? What’s that?”

“Humans bury the dead in things like this… and use them to remember the person.”

“I see…”

Carina leaned in, looking over the gravestone I had made.

“…It’s a strange thing. Grandma isn’t even here anymore, and you can’t really tell her anything.”

“That doesn’t mean your feelings for the dead just disappear. If anything, having something like this… feels more like you’re speaking directly to her, instead of just wishing into the sky or the sea.”

There wasn’t even a body here, so as a grave, it only served half its purpose.

But even as something to direct your thoughts toward—

That was enough.

“…Maybe you’re right. It’s not bad, that… what do you call it… culture?”

“It’s got a lot of good parts. Some bad ones too, though.”

“I see… maybe I’ll start learning about those things from now on.”

“Yeah, you should.”

If she came to understand even a little of what Granny Crim loved… that alone would make me happy.

“Well, I should get going. What about you? If you’re not staying here, I’ll probably ask someone to maintain the place.”

If you leave a house or a grave unattended, it’ll fall apart before long.

But if I put in a maintenance request under an S-rank name, no one foolish enough to steal from it should show up.

“I’m planning to stay here for a while… but I can’t clean or anything. I don’t even know how.”

“Then I’ll put in a request. Even if you leave, you can just come back and check on the place once in a while.”

“…Yeah. Then I’ll leave it to you. —And, um… uuh…”

Carina hesitated, fidgeting, her voice catching as if embarrassed—

“T-Thanks! I mean… it’s weird saying this to someone who beat me, but… t-thank you!”

Her beautiful, ice-like face twisted awkwardly as she pointed a finger at me and blurted it out.

“O-Oh… well, Granny Crim helped me out too. This kind of thing… goes both ways.”

“…I see! Then hurry up and get going already!”

Carina turned away with a huff and ran straight back into the house.

“…Yeah, she was embarrassed.”

It was probably her first time thanking a human.

Thinking of her like a bratty little sister awkwardly saying thanks… it was kind of cute.

“Heh… way cuter than how Millia used to be.”

Even when I thought about my former fiancée, there was no pain left in my chest anymore.

Feeling a bit relieved by that, I started heading back.

・ ・ ・ ・ ・

The sky visible through the window was dyed in a warm orange glow.

After finishing a “thoroughly reinforced” request at the guild, I finally made it back to the hotel around that time.

“Ah, Abel!”

The moment I stepped into the room, Elmie came running over energetically.

“Elmie, you can stand already. —Ah, sorry about yesterday. I might’ve gone a bit overboard…”

“W-Wah… a-au…!”

The moment I apologized about last night, her face turned bright red.

Seeing that, I couldn’t help myself—I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into a hug.

“Ah—eh!? W-wait, um, um, Abel…!?”

“—I love you. I really do, Elmie.”

“Kyuu———!”

I whispered it while brushing my lips lightly against her ear, and her whole body froze.

Her smooth, silky hair brushed against my cheek—it felt so nice that I tightened my hold, gently rubbing against her.

She wasn’t moving at all, and I took full advantage of that, not stopping—

“You damn cat, that’s adorable…! Let me have a turn too, Abel.”

“That’s totally like a cat rubbing up against someone it likes… even though he’s a beast in bed, he’s naturally this cute outside of it.”

“That kind of gap just makes it insanely cute, Abel…!”

Raynare, Frey, and Maria gathered around, fidgeting slightly as they moved closer.

—I had been betrayed by Millia, dragged down to the very bottom.

But now… I was happy.

Because I had people who welcomed me like this—warmly, without hesitation.

…Yeah.

I had come back to the people I loved.

So I had to say it properly.

“—I’m home, everyone.”

The words I was never able to receive—

I finally spoke them myself.

Volume 02
The Azure Lifeline Carries Pride,
The Crimson Bloodline Seizes Bonds

—fin—

Chapter 74.5: Character Info & Extra Notes

Abel Sixam 《Four Swords》[Betrayed Adventurer]

The protagonist. An S-rank adventurer—the strongest—who was cheated on. Slender, toned build with white hair.
He came to return the blue magic sword he carried to his benefactor, the dragon Crimshario.
Wears black clothes and greaves, a white ring, and carries four magic swords.

Elmie [Pure-Hearted Sword Saint]

High A-rank adventurer. Blonde hair tied in a playful tail.
A speed-type swordswoman with the 《Sword Saint》 job. Abel’s mentor.
Uses a “boyish” speech style. Her chest is fairly well-developed.
Equipped with gauntlets and greaves on both arms and legs, a chestplate, and a longsword made entirely of mithril.

Frey [Siscon Twin (Dominant Older Sister)]

A-rank adventurer. Long, wavy purple hair.
Her job is 《Enchanter》—a halberd-wielding power fighter who stacks buffs.
A seductive older-sister type. Her chest is… extremely large.

Maria [Siscon Twin (Submissive Younger Sister)]

A-rank adventurer. Frey’s identical twin, with long purple hair.
An all-rounder 《Magic Swordswoman》 who combines weapon combat and magic through skills.
An energetic, magic-loving girl. Her chest is also… extremely large.

Raynare Drake 《The Progenitor》[Bisexual Progenitor]

The Progenitor of the vampire race. Long red hair.
Originally male, but after falling for Abel, she used the 《Transformation》 skill to become a woman and immediately went on the offensive.
Bold and openly perverted, she makes her moves without hesitation.
She fights using the 《The Progenitor》 job, which consumes stored blood to produce massive effects, along with 《Blood Magic》 that turns blood into weapons.
She’s also the honorary chairwoman of a certain trading company, making her extremely wealthy.
Her chest is… extremely large (extra-large). She wears an aloha shirt that looks like it might burst at any moment, along with tight skinny pants that clearly show her figure.

《Additional Info》 (※ = extra info not yet shown in the main story)

♦The truth behind Raynare’s “immortality”
Raynare doesn’t age due to the effects of her unique job 《The Progenitor》—she’s ageless, not truly immortal. If she’s killed, she will die.
What makes her seem immortal is her racial skill 《Transformation》, combined with job skills that enhance its flexibility—allowing her to turn into mist and evade attacks, giving her a reputation of being “unkillable.”

♦Raynare’s clothing
Most of her clothing is actually created using 《Transformation》, by reshaping parts of her own body.
(Otherwise, she’d end up naked whenever she turns into mist.)

※ However, she often buys real clothes as well, just to study their materials and structure.

♦Characteristics of Magical Beasts
Magical beasts are animals that possess mana. They evolved from creatures that originally didn’t have mana—dragons being the exception, as they existed that way from the very beginning.
Because they carry mana, magical beasts gain various benefits from it—such as enhanced physical abilities and special traits.
(Some abilities fall into this category as well, like goblins being able to reproduce with females of other species and still produce goblins.)

♦Difference Between Magic and Skills
Skills are abilities gained based on one’s 《Job》 or race.
However, rare skills like 《Lightning Magic》 can sometimes exist independently of job or race.
Using skills consumes both stamina and mana.

Magic, on the other hand, is limited to four basic elements—fire, water, wind, and earth—and anyone can use them with enough training and magical power.
For any other special attributes, rare skills are required.

There are also “Unique Jobs,” which only one person in the world can possess, and rare abilities known as “Unique Skills.”

♦Guild Accounts
The Adventurers’ Guild has a banking system where any adventurer can deposit money.
The guild uses magic tools like farseeing crystals for communication, allowing account information to be shared across locations.
As long as you know someone’s name and rank, you can transfer money to them.
(Abel had been depositing money into the account prepared for the Hero’s party by the Kingdom of Sildiel.)

♦Farseeing Crystals & Recording Crystals
Two types of crystal-based magic items.
Functionally, farseeing crystals are used for real-time communication, while recording crystals are specialized for storing video.
Both can record and play back footage, but only farseeing crystals can transmit video or allow conversations.
On the other hand, recording crystals are better for privacy and security.

♦Elmie’s Size
Pretty big.
But since there are two even bigger—and more beautiful—sisters right next to her, she tends to lose confidence when comparing herself to them.
It’s that classic “the grass is greener on the other side” situation.
Though in reality… her own “grass” is more than impressive too.

＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

Hello, and (very late) Happy New Year—this is Sora Akatsuki.

I ended up being late because I had to help a relative who got injured.

But—starting tomorrow, Volume 03 of The Betrayed Adventurer begins!

And as always, I appreciate your continued support this year as well.

Everyone, please take care not to break any bones out there.