The Hero Stole My Lover, So I Decided to Steal the Hero's Lover Instead - Chapter 4-5

Chapter 4

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“Hey, you.”

A voice called out to me.

“Do you want to take revenge on the Hero?”

That voice sounded like the whisper of the devil. 

I looked around, shaking my head from side to side. There was no one who seemed to be the source of the voice. I thought it might have been a hallucination—but when I looked up, I saw a woman sitting on the edge of a building.

“…Who are you?”

But instead of answering my question, the woman leapt down from the building with ease.

She’s going to smash into the ground and die.

Was what I thought, but it turned out to be an unfounded worry. She landed gracefully. She looked to be around the same age as me (so, about twenty). Her beautiful golden hair and snow-white skin stood out. 

She had the most stunning features of anyone I had ever met. Even my ex-girlfriend Sheryl—who I once thought was the most beautiful—paled in comparison. She was so beautiful that she didn’t even feel human. It was as if she were some otherworldly being.

“Do you want to take revenge on the Hero?”

She asked me again. Being suddenly asked something like that by a complete stranger left me unsure of how to respond. 

Right—a stranger. Who exactly is this woman?

As I hesitated, she seemed unable to hide her irritation.

“Just answer. ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’”

Overwhelmed by her undeniable aura, I simply said.

“…Yes.”

“Good.”

She smiled, then began murmuring a chant—soft and low, almost like mumbling.

“〈Teleport Gate: Transfer Portal〉.”

From the magic circle drawn on the ground, a majestic gate appeared. With a heavy creak, the gate opened. Inside was endless darkness. Without waiting for a response, she kicked me through the gate. Then she entered after me, and the gate automatically closed.

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The path beyond the corner ended in a dead end. The man who should have been there—Luke—was nowhere to be found.

“Where did he go?”

Cain narrowed his eyes and muttered.

A dead-end alley. It was hard to imagine that Luke had climbed the walls on either side to escape. There was nowhere to hide. If he had turned back, they would have run into each other.

“What kind of magic is this?”

Cain couldn’t hide his irritation. He bit his nails.

The only possibility is magic—something like teleportation magic… But there’s no way that guy could use such advanced magic… If that’s the case…

“Someone helped him? Helped him escape? But who…?”

He tried to think it through, but quickly gave up, finding it ridiculous. This was just a little game. A rabbit had attacked him, so he tried to hurt and kill that rabbit in return. Just a bit of hunting. If the rabbit had escaped, so be it.

“Guess I’ll head back and have some fun.”

Wearing a twisted smile unbefitting of a Hero, Cain walked away from the scene.

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Chapter 5

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I was teleported to a room. The whole space shimmered (in other words, it was clean), and it was incredibly spacious. 

An inn, maybe…? 

But compared to the inn I had been staying at, the difference was night and day. Naturally, I was the “night.”

“Well then..”

The woman muttered and sat down on the bed. Still standing, I asked her again.

“…Who are you?”

“Introduce yourself first.”

She said, her tone curt.

“…I’m Luke.”

 I replied reluctantly. 

“I’m an adventurer, and, well… My lover was stolen by the Hero.”

“I know.”

“You know?”

You know? What do you mean by that? What exactly do you know?

“I know that your lover was stolen.”

“How do you know something like that?” 

I asked, feeling suspicious of the woman.

“I’ve been secretly observing the Hero lately. I even witnessed your lover and the Hero meeting in secret.”

“Why have you been observing the Hero?” 

I asked, curious. 

“Don’t tell me you’re in love with that guy too—”

“Idiot! As if!”

She scowled and denied it forcefully. It seemed to offend her quite a bit.

“I’ve been trying to find that man’s weakness.”

The Hero Cain’s weakness. Every human had weaknesses and once those weaknesses were targeted, they would crumble all too easily. If she had Cain’s weakness in her grasp, she could do all sorts of things to him.

What is this woman planning to do with Cain’s weakness…?

“So you’re saying, after you find Cain’s weakness—”

“Weaken him.”

“…Weaken him?”

I still didn’t quite understand her intent. 

Weaken Cain, and then… kill him, maybe? 

Like me, did she bear some deep grudge against Cain, and planned to kill him for her own satisfaction, ignoring the fact that he was a Hero?

“We’ll get into the rest after the contract is signed.”

When she snapped her fingers, a tear opened in the air. She reached her hand into it and pulled out a sheet of paper—a contract—which she handed to me.

“What’s this…?”

“Just what it looks like. A contract.” 

She said. 

“Sign it and seal it with your blood.”

To put it simply, the contract read:『Absolute obedience to Sharon-sama. If you betray her, you’ll explode and die』

What kind of insane contract is this? And explode? What a ridiculous way to go.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, come on. Are you seriously asking me to become your slave?”

“Become my slave. There’s no greater honor in this world than that.”

“Oh, come on…”

I was exasperated. No matter how beautiful the woman, I had no desire to become her slave. There was nothing “honorable” about being someone’s slave.

“I don’t want to be anyone’s slave, and besides, I haven’t even agreed to join you yet. I mean, sure, I do want revenge on that Hero—on Cain. But unless I know the details of what you’re planning, I can’t say anything for sure.”

“Hmmm…”

The woman—Sharon—ripped up the contract and crossed her arms.

“It can’t be helped. I’ll make a special exception and share my entire plan with you.” 

Sharon said. 

“But not a word of this to anyone, understand?”

“Got it. I won’t tell anyone.”

When I nodded, Sharon began to speak.

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