The Hero Stole My Lover, So I Decided to Steal the Hero's Lover Instead - Chapter 50-51

Chapter 50: The Hero’s POV

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When Cain woke up, Daryl and Ronnie were also at Anita’s house. That made three of their party members gathered together. Anita had probably called them. It seemed they had come to check on him out of concern, but whether that made him happy was debatable.

He didn’t care that they’d seen him sleeping, but being seen while injured made him feel embarrassed—ashamed, even. He slowly raised his upper body.

His body was wrapped in so many bandages he looked like a mummy. He touched his mouth, his tongue, to be precise, with his fingers. It was healed. Speaking shouldn’t be a problem at all. Then he reached down to touch his groin. He couldn’t tell exactly, but it felt mostly healed. Fully recovered…? Maybe not yet.

“That was a close one.” 

Anita said. She had placed a chair beside the bed and was sitting there reading a book. Of course, she was properly dressed now.

“If you had come to me just a little later, you might have ended up a corpse.”

She said it like a joke. Cain shuddered at the image of himself dead.

“Are the wounds… Completely healed?”

“They’re mostly healed, but you should probably take it easy for a few more days.” 

Anita replied.

“Yo, Cain. Who did that to you?” 

Daryl asked with a smirk. 

“Even got hit down there, huh? So, was it a woman? A woman did that to you, didn’t she?”

Cain found Daryl’s tone slightly irritating, but still nodded honestly. 

“…Yeah.”

“Oh? Which woman?”

“Sheryl.”

“Ah… That pretty chick, huh. So? What happened?”

“Right. That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you three about.”

“Talk to us about what?” 

Ronnie’s usually calm face stiffened slightly.

“Actually… I ended up killing Sheryl…”

“‘Ended up’… Wait, you actually killed her!?”

“…Yeah.”

Remembering the moment, Cain made a bitter face. He felt a lingering bitterness in his mouth, probably just his imagination. Apparently, the whole thing had affected him more than he thought.

“That’s… Terrible…”

“Don’t make that face. Haven’t you killed someone before too?”

“The problem isn’t that someone was killed. The issue is that it was someone close to you. If it comes out that you were the one who killed Sheryl—”

Ronnie let out a sigh and took a sip of his tea.

“—you’ll go from hero to criminal just like that.”

“If no one finds out, then it’s not a problem. Right?”

“…Yes. Well, that’s true.” 

Ronnie nodded. 

“Where is Sheryl-san’s body?”

“At her house.”

“Let’s head there immediately.”

Cain put on some clothes he found at Anita’s house. He had no idea whose clothes they were. He could walk normally, but it was clear he wasn’t back to full strength. He felt a lingering sluggishness in his body.

The four of them set off for Sheryl’s house to dispose of her body.

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Chapter 51: The Hero’s POV

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“This is quite a mess…” 

Ronnie said as he looked around after entering Sheryl’s house. 

The inside looked like a hurricane had hit. That wasn’t all. Spots of blood—both Cain’s and Sheryl’s—were scattered throughout, and the scent of blood had soaked into the air. And then there was Sheryl’s corpse.

“How should we deal with that?”

Cain asked the others for their opinions.

“Man… Dealing with a corpse is a pain. Let’s just say she was attacked by a burglar or something.” 

Daryl said, folding his arms.

“A burglar, huh…”

If they were going to go with that, they’d have to stage the scene accordingly. They’d need to steal anything of value. And then…

No, wait… Can a burglar really explain all this chaos?

If Sheryl resisted and threw things around, maybe. But that seemed far-fetched. Saying the place got wrecked while the burglar was searching for valuables… It didn’t make much sense either.

“Hmm…”

“The real issue is the state of the house.” 

Ronnie said. 

“It won’t be enough to just get rid of the body. We’ll need to clean this place up too…”

“How about a fire?”

Anita offered her idea.

“If we burn the body and the house, wouldn’t that solve everything?”

“What would cause the fire?”

Cain asked. Spontaneous combustion was clearly off the table.

“An arsonist…?” 

Ronnie suggested. 

“Or maybe a kitchen accident while she was cooking? An accidental fire, perhaps?”

“That could work.”

A fire would be easy and would burn everything to ash. Even if there were something inconvenient for Cain, once it was turned to ash, it might as well have never existed.

“Let’s say it was an arsonist.”

◇◇◇

They stepped outside. It was dark, quiet, and deserted.

If anyone saw them setting the fire, they’d have to silence the witness. If all four of them were identified as the culprits, it would be a disaster. Not only would they be murderers, they’d have arson added to the list.

After confirming that no one was around…

“〈Ignition〉.”

Cain quietly activated his magic. A small flame appeared at his fingertip. He touched it to the outer wall of the house. Since the house was made of wood, it would catch fire easily. As he intensified the flames, the wall burst into a roaring blaze.

“Alright.”

“Let’s get out of here before someone sees us.” 

Ronnie said, tugging on Cain’s arm.

“Shouldn’t we make sure it burns down completely?”

Daryl suggested.

“If you stand around waiting and a neighbor spots you, we’ll have real problems.” 

Ronnie said sharply. Ronnie was extremely afraid—or rather, deeply wary—of someone witnessing the arson. Cain felt the same. They had to leave quickly, before the fire spread and drew unwanted attention.

“Let’s go.”

And so, the four-member party of arsonists—no, heroes—left Sheryl’s house behind. They believed no one had seen them commit the crime, but they were gravely mistaken.

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Chapter 51: The Hero’s POV

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“This is quite a mess…” 

Ronnie said as he looked around after entering Sheryl’s house. 

The inside looked like a hurricane had hit. That wasn’t all. Spots of blood—both Cain’s and Sheryl’s—were scattered throughout, and the scent of blood had soaked into the air. And then there was Sheryl’s corpse.

“How should we deal with that?”

Cain asked the others for their opinions.

“Man… Dealing with a corpse is a pain. Let’s just say she was attacked by a burglar or something.” 

Daryl said, folding his arms.

“A burglar, huh…”

If they were going to go with that, they’d have to stage the scene accordingly. They’d need to steal anything of value. And then…

No, wait… Can a burglar really explain all this chaos?

If Sheryl resisted and threw things around, maybe. But that seemed far-fetched. Saying the place got wrecked while the burglar was searching for valuables… It didn’t make much sense either.

“Hmm…”

“The real issue is the state of the house.” 

Ronnie said. 

“It won’t be enough to just get rid of the body. We’ll need to clean this place up too…”

“How about a fire?”

Anita offered her idea.

“If we burn the body and the house, wouldn’t that solve everything?”

“What would cause the fire?”

Cain asked. Spontaneous combustion was clearly off the table.

“An arsonist…?” 

Ronnie suggested. 

“Or maybe a kitchen accident while she was cooking? An accidental fire, perhaps?”

“That could work.”

A fire would be easy and would burn everything to ash. Even if there were something inconvenient for Cain, once it was turned to ash, it might as well have never existed.

“Let’s say it was an arsonist.”

◇◇◇

They stepped outside. It was dark, quiet, and deserted.

If anyone saw them setting the fire, they’d have to silence the witness. If all four of them were identified as the culprits, it would be a disaster. Not only would they be murderers, they’d have arson added to the list.

After confirming that no one was around…

“〈Ignition〉.”

Cain quietly activated his magic. A small flame appeared at his fingertip. He touched it to the outer wall of the house. Since the house was made of wood, it would catch fire easily. As he intensified the flames, the wall burst into a roaring blaze.

“Alright.”

“Let’s get out of here before someone sees us.” 

Ronnie said, tugging on Cain’s arm.

“Shouldn’t we make sure it burns down completely?”

Daryl suggested.

“If you stand around waiting and a neighbor spots you, we’ll have real problems.” 

Ronnie said sharply. Ronnie was extremely afraid—or rather, deeply wary—of someone witnessing the arson. Cain felt the same. They had to leave quickly, before the fire spread and drew unwanted attention.

“Let’s go.”

And so, the four-member party of arsonists—no, heroes—left Sheryl’s house behind. They believed no one had seen them commit the crime, but they were gravely mistaken.

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