The Hero Stole My Lover, So I Decided to Steal the Hero's Lover Instead - Chapter 30-31

Chapter 30

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

“Well, you see—”

Sharon flashed an evil grin and smacked me hard on the back.

“—The guy who stole this man’s girlfriend is none other than the Hero Cain himself!”

“…Huh?”

Alicia was so shocked she was left speechless. She had likely been imagining all sorts of possible misdeeds Cain might have committed. But still, she probably never imagined he would stoop to something as vile as stealing someone else’s lover.

The truth was, he had done things ten times—no, a hundred times worse than anything she could have imagined.

“Cain-san… Stole Luke-san’s girlfriend…?”

“…Yes.”

I nodded slowly.

“I have to say, even I was surprised when I found out that Alicia’s boyfriend—the Hero Cain—was the very one who stole this guy’s girlfriend.”

“I was shocked too.”

That was all I could say. Of course, there was no way we could explain it clearly by saying,”Actually the reason why Sharon and I approached you is because Alicia was Hero Cain’s girlfriend.”

Even if we did explain it, Alicia probably wouldn’t get angry. That said, she’d definitely be hurt.

There are things in this world better left unknown. Yeah…

“The world really is full of coincidences, huh—”

Sharon said airily.

“Who would’ve thought there was such a connection between Luke and Alicia?”

“I was caught by a total surprise too.” 

I said, echoing her like some kind of lackey. I had a feeling it came out a bit monotone though.

“I’m also… Um… I’m also quite surprised by all of this…”

Alicia’s eyes were spinning in circles, as if her brain couldn’t keep up with what was happening.

“The fact that Alicia and Luke met like this may have been some kind of fate. They say ‘truth is stranger than fiction,’ and I couldn’t agree more.”

Sharon kept tossing the word fate into the conversation like she was trying to brainwash—or maybe imprint—Alicia, who was clearly overwhelmed. She sounded like some kind of fate-obsessed theorist.

While Alicia slowly started to regain her composure, Sharon kept chattering on and on, and then…

“Do you feel calmer now? …Alright! Then let’s take our time and watch all of Cain’s misdeeds recorded in this recording crystal. Time for a little screening party!”

Just as Sharon was about to activate the recording crystal, Alicia spoke up.

“Um…”

“Hm? What is it?”

“You said you used the recording crystal to capture Cain-san’s misdeeds, but…”

“Yeah, I said that.”

Sharon still didn’t realize what Alicia wanted to ask. Neither did I.

“Who recorded it?”

“Who…? Well, that would be—”

—Me.

She was about to say that, but then stopped herself. Cain was in a town quite far from this one. Of course, even without revealing the existence of high-level magic like the 〈Teleport Gate〉, she could’ve just said, “I traveled there, recorded it, and came back.”

But saying “I went there and came back” wasn’t the same as “I went there, recorded all of Cain’s misdeeds, and came back.” The effort involved was on a whole different level. Claiming that Sharon had done all of that on her own felt a little suspicious.

Well, maybe I was overthinking it.

“Did you do it alone, Sharon-san?” 

Alicia asked. Now that I think about it, earlier Sharon had said, “What I recorded with this was Cain’s misdeeds,” and so on… It was too late to turn around now and say, “Actually, it wasn’t me who recorded it.”

“Ah, well… I had some help from a friend.”

“Sharon-san’s friend… They must be a good person then.”

“Of course. All my friends are good people and I have lots of friends, you know.”

For some reason, she said that proudly. Although rather than “friends,” I had the feeling they were more like subordinates. Sharon was, after all, the Demon King of the Demon Kingdom.

Then again, subordinates who were also friends… I suppose that kind of relationship could exist too.

“Well then!”

Before she could slip up, Sharon forcefully shifted the conversation.

“Let’s begin our fun, fun screening party!”

Though for Alicia and me, there was absolutely nothing fun about it.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

Chapter 31

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

When Sharon touched the recording crystal, a projection appeared in midair.

Cain’s misdeeds—though that was putting it simply. The types and categories of those misdeeds varied widely. The fact that his evil deeds spanned so many genres was what made him truly dangerous.

On a nighttime road, the Hero Cain and his companion, the Fist Saint Daryl, were walking together. The two appeared to be drunk, and perhaps because they were feeling a bit too good, they were engaging in loud, lewd banter without a care for their surroundings.

Then—someone appeared ahead, walking toward them. A boy, probably in his mid-teens. He was short, skinny, and timid. There likely wasn’t any particular reason behind it, but he averted his eyes to the ground and picked up his pace, clearly trying to avoid getting involved with the two drunk men.

Perhaps it was that overtly frightened demeanor that caught their attention. As the boy was about to pass them, the two stepped in front of him, blocking his path.

“Eek!”

The boy squeaked, letting out a small cry.

“Yo!” 

Daryl said. 

“How’s it goin’?”

“Uh, ah, yes. I-I’m fine…”

“Hey, wanna play with us?”

“Uh, play…?”

“Hehehehe. I mean let’s have a fistfight, yeah!”

Before the boy could respond, Daryl swung his arm lightly. He was the Fist Saint. Even a “light” punch from him carried serious speed—and serious force.

“Ugh…!”

The boy took the blow to his stomach and collapsed on the spot. Clutching his gut, he vomited on the ground and gasped in pain, clearly suffering.

“Ahahaha! That’s hilarious!”

Cain clutched his stomach laughing at the scene. I had no idea what was supposed to be funny about it. Was it the fact that Daryl’s light punch made the boy puke? Or the boy’s voice? His suffering?

“Ahahahahaha—Huh?!”

Cain, who had been laughing like a maniac, suddenly changed expression when he noticed the boy’s vomit had splattered onto his shoe.

“Hey! What the hell do you think you’re doing puking on my shoe?!”

Cain kicked the boy in the head like he was punting a ball. As the boy rolled along the ground, Cain planted his vomit-covered shoe right in front of his face.

“Lick it.”

“…What?”

“That puke’s yours, isn’t it? Clean it up yourself—lick it off.”

The boy looked utterly hopeless, but when he realized that no one around was going to help him, he eventually began to do as Cain said and tried to lick Cain’s shoe. And then—

The image shook.

A small rock flew toward Cain and Daryl. It was about five cm in diameter—a size that would definitely hurt if it hit. The one recording—Sharon—had thrown it. The rock struck both of their heads squarely.

“Ow!”

“Damn, that hurt!”

Cain and Daryl looked around wildly. Everyone who had been silently watching the situation quickly averted their eyes.

“Who was that!?”

Cain shouted sharply.

“Nyah-nyah! Stuuupid! Iiiidiot!”

A voice—unclear whether male or female—mocked them. It was probably some kind of voice-changing magic. Sharon threw another rock at them and immediately took off running. The image jostled and shook violently.

“Hey, get back here! I’m gonna kill you!”

“Don’t think you can hit us with rocks and walk away alive!”

Thus began a chase between Sharon and the two men. What happened after that was unclear—the scene cut off and transitioned to the next segment.

◇◇◇◇

“Th-that’s… That’s awful…” 

Alicia covered her face.

“There are still a few more clips.” 

Sharon said. 

“Shall we continue watching?”

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー