The Hero Stole My Lover, So I Decided to Steal the Hero's Lover Instead - Chapter 12-13

Chapter 12

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We returned to the inn using the <Teleport Gate>.

Teleportation magic sure is convenient.

I thought to myself. After placing the flowers into a vase, the two of us sat down to discuss our future strategy.

“I watched you and Alicia talking—very closely, in great detail.” S

haron said.

“And… I’d say there’s definitely a spark.”

“Huh? A spark?”

“Indeed. Based on the data I’ve gathered, I speculated that someone with your appearance and inner qualities (?) would be Alicia’s type. It seems I was right.”

“How can you be sure?”

“From her facial expressions, the tone of her voice when talking to you, and so on.”

“Huh…?”

As expected of a Demon King. I hadn’t noticed a thing. Still, a spark, huh?

I was supposed to be getting revenge on the Hero. Sharon’s goal was to weaken him by stealing away the woman he loved. That was the plan—to steal her. But at this point, it wasn’t even about stealing. I was starting to genuinely like Alicia.

If there really was a spark, I’d be happy. But if it turned out there wasn’t, and I’d just imagined it all… I might actually cry.

“Does Alicia really prefer guys like me over Cain…?”

Honestly? It was hard to believe. I didn’t think I looked bad or anything, but compared to Cain… It was frustrating, but he was a pretty boy. Compared to him, most guys just faded into the background.

And I figured I wasn’t an exception.

“I think you’re a better man than you give yourself credit for.” 

Was that her true opinion, or just a way to make me feel better?

“Thanks.”

“Have more confidence in yourself.” 

Sharon said.

“As for the cheating—well, that was just bad luck. The girl and Cain were both awful.”

“…”

She was not exactly comforting.… Haah… Getting cheated on really had become a trauma for me.

“Now then, about the strategy going forward—” 

Sharon continued.

“You’ll pretend to bump into Alicia by coincidence, every day.”

“Isn’t that kind of stalker-ish?”

“Of course not.” 

Sharon denied flatly.

Come on. If I keep going, ‘Oh hey, fancy meeting you here!’ every single day, she’s definitely going to find that suspicious. I might actually get labeled a stalker.

“You’ll talk to her, even just a little, and gradually build rapport. Once you’ve established a certain level of connection…”

“Once I have?”

“You tell Alicia everything about the Hero’s misdeeds.”

“And then?”

“You steal her.”

Sharon said it with a deadly serious tone.

“Then, you tell the Hero that his lover has been stolen, and destroy him—mentally.”

Sharon then laughed like a true Demon King.

“Kukukuku…”

So this is what a Demon King’s laugh sounds like.

“Oh, I can’t wait. I wonder what kind of face he’ll make, how he’ll lose his mind…”

After laughing her fill, she added.

“I’ll support you the whole way, so do your best to steal her away quickly, alright?”

That night, I stayed over at the inn where Sharon was staying.

“Even if we’re allies, is it okay to let a guy you barely know stay over?”

When I asked her that, she confidently answered. 

 “Who do you think I am? I’m the Demon King. The moment you tried anything shady, you’d be reduced to dust.”

And, yeah. She was absolutely right.

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Chapter 13

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The next day. Sharon arranged a house for me. It was a small home near Alicia’s place and the flower shop where she worked. The size was more than enough for someone living alone.

“You’re an adventurer, after all. Make sure you take on some quests too.”

So, I headed to the Adventurers’ Guild in Zwein and accepted a quest. It wasn’t anything major—just a simple one. And on the way back from that…

“Hello.”

Alicia spoke to me as I was walking absentmindedly. We had only just met yesterday, so this was the second time we met. We weren’t close yet—barely acquaintances, really.

“Oh, Alicia-san.” 

I said. 

“What a coincidence.”

“Are you working?”

“Yes. I’m actually an adventurer, believe it or not. I just picked up a quest at the Adventurers’ Guild.”

“Is that so? So you’re an adventurer, Luke-san.” 

Alicia said. 

“Oh, that reminds me… I don’t actually know what kind of work Sharon-san does. Is she an adventurer too?”

“…Eh?”

I couldn’t exactly say that her job was being a “Demon King.”If I remembered right, our backstory was that we were “friends since childhood.” Either we formed a party together as fellow adventurers, or maybe we were just local childhood friends?

The backstory was so loose and vague that a single probing question like this left me at a loss for how to respond. If I lied carelessly here, it might come back to haunt me later. 

Lies tend to stack up and eventually contradict each other, and once they’re exposed, it’s not a good look. People start wondering why you lied in the first place. Hmm… How should I answer this…?

For a brief moment, I fell silent, lost in thought.

“That’s right. I too—”

“—!?”

Startled, I turned around to see Sharon standing there before I even realized it.

Wh-When did she get here!? Did she use teleportation magic? Or sneak up like an assassin by masking her presence…?

“I too am an adventurer.”

“I see.” 

Alicia said.

“I even form a party with Luke from time to time.”

At that, I leaned in and whispered to Sharon.

“Are you sure about this? Calling yourself an adventurer?”

“For the record, it’s not a lie. I really am an adventurer.”

“Wait, seriously?”

“Indeed. Becoming an adventurer is easy. Anyone can do it—even a Demon King.”

Even a Demon King can become an adventurer…Maybe the Adventurers’ Guild should screen people a little more strictly…

I thought to myself. Sure, one of the advantages of being an adventurer was that it had low entry barriers, but still… Letting a Demon King become one seemed like a serious problem.

“—???”

Alicia gave us a puzzled look, as if wondering what we were whispering about.

“Oh, right.” 

Sharon said, clapping her hands in a very obviously staged way. 

“Why don’t the three of us have dinner together?”

“Sure, I’m fine with that…” 

I glanced at Alicia.

“Yes. I’m fine with it too.”

“Good, then let’s be off.”

With Alicia and me in tow, Sharon started walking.

Where were we going to eat? A tavern, maybe? Places like that didn’t seem quite right for Alicia… But if we went somewhere too classy, I’d probably feel out of place.

Eventually, we arrived at the Adventurers’ Guild. It had a tavern attached to it, the kind of place where you’d find a bunch of rough types.

“Alright, let’s go in.”

We entered the Adventurers’ Guild. For me, it was my second time going to one today.

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