The Hero Stole My Lover, So I Decided to Steal the Hero's Lover Instead - Chapter 54-55

Chapter 54: The Demon King’s Subordinates’ POV

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Elna and Elma entered a nearby tavern and ordered drinks and some snacks. It was a sort of reward for a job well done. To be fair, they were the type to constantly reward themselves.

“Well then, I wonder what’s going to happen next.”

“I highly doubt the heroes will allow themselves to be captured without a fight.”

“Hmm, if that’s the case, do you think they’ll kill the guards?”

“I don’t think they’d be that foolish.”

Elma said, but at the same time, he thought inwardly.

Though, if it’s them, I don’t think it would be surprising if they did. 

Weighing the two possibilities in his mind, he leaned slightly toward.

“Surely they wouldn’t go that far.”

Though, perhaps that was simply wishful thinking.

“So then, Elma, what do you think will happen?”

“I don’t know.”

With that, Elma took a sip of the drink that had been brought over. Both of them liked alcohol. They often slipped into taverns like this and chatted about all sorts of things over drinks. Their relationship felt more like close friends than siblings.

Elna, too, took a hearty swig of her drink.

“So, what should we do next? Should we report this to the Demon King?”

“…Yeah, I suppose so.”

To be honest, he didn’t really want to report it, but sooner or later, they’d have to.

“Ahh… What if she finds out we’re just drinking like this?”

“It’s fine to drink. No big deal.”

“Sure. As long as we’re actually doing our jobs…”

“We did do our jobs properly.”

Elma stated that clearly—and then…

“…Well, putting aside the fact that Sheryl ended up getting killed.”

He added in a mutter.

“……”

“……”

“So, I wonder, just how much value did that Sheryl woman have, anyway?”

“…If I remember right….”

Elma said, trying to recall as he sipped his drink.

“There was that ridiculous plan the Demon King mentioned… Something called 『Project NTR』 or whatever.”

“Oh yeah, I think I remember hearing something about that.”

“That plan was to seduce the Hero’s lover, deliver a serious emotional blow to him, weaken the power of the holy sword, and then use the opportunity to kill him or do whatever else.”

“Right.”

Elna nodded. Despite the absurd name and premise of the plan, its effectiveness was actually quite remarkable.

“So, Sheryl’s position was… She was the ex-lover of the Hero’s current lover’s former lover—so basically, an ex-lover of the Demon King’s collaborator.”

“Uhh…?”

The ex-lover of the Hero’s current lover’s ex-boyfriend. The word “lover” had now appeared three times, making it all extremely confusing.

“And the man who seduced the Hero’s lover—Luke—was actually the one who had his own ex-lover, Sheryl, stolen away by the Hero.”

“Ugh, this is so convoluted!”

Elna slammed her hand on the table, toppling the mountain of fries.

“In short…”

Elma said.

“To us, that woman Sheryl didn’t hold much value.”

“Yeah. Pretty much.”

The two of them munched on fries. At the time Sheryl was murdered, they had been drinking at a tavern just like this. In other words, they had abandoned their post—or rather, they had been slacking off.

That said, even if they had been watching instead of slacking, it was highly unlikely they could have stopped the Hero’s rampage. After all, they had no authority to directly stop the Hero.

And even if they’d gone against Sharon’s orders and picked a fight with him, they would’ve just ended up sliced to pieces by that holy sword, which was especially lethal against demons. At best, the only thing they could’ve done was call the guards.

And so, the two of them decided to stop blaming themselves for their mistake (i.e., slacking off). The conversation then circled back to the beginning.

“Well then, I wonder what’s going to happen next.”

“I don’t know. Let’s just relax here and see how things unfold.”

“Sounds good to me.”

The two of them ordered another round of drinks.

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Chapter 55: The Hero Party’s POV

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As the four members of the Hero’s party were drinking, a large group of guards entered the tavern and surrounded them. The atmosphere immediately turned tense. The other patrons, startled but clearly intrigued, quietly watched how things would unfold.

“You lot are the Hero and his companions… As in, you’re the Hero’s party, correct?”

“…Do you need something from us?”

Cain made no effort to hide his irritation. It didn’t show much on his face, but inwardly, he was extremely surprised that the guards had come for them.

“You know a woman named Sheryl, don’t you?”

“Hmm? Who was that again?”

“Don’t play dumb. She was the woman you were living with.”

“Oh, right. That’s her.”

It was probably best not to feign ignorance or lie. It seemed the guards had done some digging into Cain’s background. Just how much they knew—that would determine how he responded.

No way… Have they figured out that I killed Sheryl? Or is this about the arson…? No, but no one should’ve seen me, and Sheryl’s body should’ve been burned to bones…

Several hours had passed since the fire. By now, the blaze had likely spread to surrounding houses, becoming a major incident. The guards should’ve been busy dealing with that. And yet, they had come to question Cain about Sheryl. What in the world was going on…?

What the hell is this?

Something had gone wrong somewhere. But what was it? What had caused things to go off the rails? He didn’t know.

“I’ll be blunt. Cain, you killed Sheryl, didn’t you?”

Startled, he dropped the mug he was holding. He nearly fell backward off his chair, but to counterbalance, he shifted his weight forward and instead ended up springing to his feet.

Cain glared at the guards and protested.

“Wh-Wh-What are you talking about? I have absolutely no idea what you guys are talking about…”

His voice cracked with agitation. It was an unpleasant sound, like the screech of a bird being strangled. The guards smirked, as if they had caught him red-handed. They snorted in amusement, as if they were trying to say,”Thanks for making it so easy.”

They knew the arson at Sheryl’s house had been committed by the Hero’s party. What they didn’t know and had no hard proof of was who exactly had killed Sheryl. There was no evidence. But circumstantially, the most suspicious person by far was Cain, who both set the fire and had been living with her.

Yes, there was no hard proof. But after seeing such an incredibly blatant reaction, it was as clear as day.

He was guilty.

“Do you have any proof that Cain killed Sheryl?”

Ronnie calmly asked the guards. One of them silently took out a recording crystal and held it up for them to see. The crystal didn’t contain any footage of Cain killing Sheryl. But just showing it off was enough to produce a certain psychological effect.

“Just so you know, we’re not only arresting Hero Cain.”

The guard turned to the other three members of the Hero’s party, who had remained composed until now.

“All four of you. Every single one in the Hero’s party needs to come with us.”

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