Side Story – First Experience

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-Thud, tap!

The dark cityscape sped past me in the middle of the night.

I was moving across the rooftops of buildings at a tremendous speed.

Of course… on Theo’s back.

“Is there anyone suspicious or tracking us behind us?”

“No, I’ve been checking, but there’s no one. It doesn’t seem like we’re being followed right now.”

“That’s a relief. Then let’s go straight home.”

Theo, who had been looking around, gathered mana at his toes as he was about to leap again.

‘Wow… he can even do such delicate manipulations.’

I was constantly amazed by Theo’s skills, which had been on a different level since earlier.

He was even carrying a burden like me. Nevertheless, Theo’s movements were very clean.

I was a little concerned that the method Theo was using wasn’t typical.

It was more like a mana application that an ‘assassin’ would use than an adventurer or knight.

“We’re going down now, so it’s going to be a little shaky.”

Theo warned me and immediately jumped to the ground.

Whoosh— thud.

Perfect landing.

Even though he jumped from quite a high place, it was only slightly shaky, and it felt as comfortable as throwing myself onto a cushion.

‘He used to be a fledgling who could barely squeeze out mana….’

It had only been a few months.

In that short period, he had become capable of taking down dozens of members of an organization single-handedly.

He had already surpassed the realm of ordinary people.

Anyway…

‘It feels like we’re almost there.’

Seeing familiar buildings around, it was clear that we were near home.

I leaned in slightly and whispered softly in Theo’s ear.

“Theo, you can put me down now, I’m okay—”

“Lena, we’re almost there, so please bear with it a little longer.”

“Oh, uh…?”

“Your physical condition isn’t normal right now, either.”

…He’s so firm.

I was momentarily speechless at Theo’s sharp interruption.

And below, his strong arms were tightening around my legs.

“…Okay.”

I had no choice but to relax and entrust myself to Theo’s back.

After all, the reason Theo was doing this was obvious.

He was afraid of losing me again, of course.

Theo would have risked his life to rescue me from the brothel.

If he were to lose me to those guys again in this situation… that would be the worst possible outcome for Theo.

“If you still have severe aftereffects, please tell me right away. I have some Potion left.”

“Thank you.”

I feel so sorry.

Theo had been treating me as carefully as if I were made of glass since earlier.

And the more I saw Theo like that… the more guilty I felt.

‘I wasn’t in my right mind.’

Theo must have thought I was suffering in a hellish situation.

But the truth was different.

Being taken by countless men in a brothel.

I was happy with that life. Really happy.

‘…I’m nothing but trash.’

But to make a small excuse, it’s not like I was just enjoying the pleasure and doing nothing.

I had taken ‘some measures’ so that Theo could live alone.

But I didn’t expect Theo to rescue me with just that.

To single-handedly turn a building managed by a criminal organization into a shambles.

Even by my standards, having experienced all sorts of things as a Hero, it was quite surprising.

Could it be that he has a great helper, or maybe a new teacher?

I need to check this part…

“…Lena.”

“Huh?”

“Lena, we’re here.”

I stopped thinking at Theo’s words and lifted my head, and I could see the small, familiar building in front of me.

The place that had been my home for a short time.

My feelings about seeing my house after a long time were…

‘It’s the same.’

The exterior didn’t seem to have changed compared to the last time I saw it.

But I had a feeling that the inside would be very different.

“Theo, you can put me down now, right? My physical condition has improved a lot thanks to the Potion you brought.”

“But just in case….”

To be so anxious even after arriving home safely.

This is a bit of a problem.

At this rate, Theo might carry me to bed and watch over me all day.

“Haa….”

I sighed lightly, moved my face forward, and met Theo’s eyes.

“Theo.”

“…Yes.”

As expected. Theo’s eyes contained an unhidden anxiety.

In times like these, words of encouragement are needed.

“Theo, first of all, I want to thank you. You’re my savior. I’ve been having a really hard time for the past few months… to the point where I wanted to die.”

…A little lie is inevitable.

Theo, unaware of my true feelings, looked at me with pity and said.

“I’m just repaying the favor. It’s like Lena gave me a new life. How could I just stand by and watch you suffer?”

“Yeah. But whatever the reason, you ended up rescuing me and successfully bringing me home.”

—Squeeze.

While still on his back, I hugged Theo tightly from behind.

So that Theo could feel my body temperature better.

“So don’t be anxious anymore. I’m in your arms now.”

“…Was it that obvious?”

“Yeah. If you look in the mirror right now, you’ll understand right away, too?”

“Haha….”

Theo let out a hollow laugh as if he had been caught off guard. And he closed his eyes for a moment and remained silent.

‘That’s a relief.’

This should take care of the anxiety for the most part.

Because there was a small smile on Theo’s lips.

“Then can you put me down now? I’m not a child, and it’s a little embarrassing to keep being carried.”

“I’m sorry. I think I’ve been stubborn since earlier.”

“Hehe, it’s okay. Your back was as comfortable as a luxury carriage.”

“That’s a relief then.”

Theo nodded and slowly lowered me to the ground.

Finally free from Theo, I immediately opened the door and went inside.

—Creak.

“…Amazing.”

A completely changed landscape.

I can’t help but wonder if this is really my house.

“The inside of the house is a little different from what Lena knew, right?”

“Yeah. A little… no. It’s changed a lot.”

The first thing that caught my eye was the numerous pieces of equipment lined up on the desk.

From simple weapons like daggers to unconventional means like bombs and Scrolls, the variety was very diverse.

Among the Scrolls was the one used to release my Magic Suppression Orb.

‘I wonder how he got these.’

Actually, these are also special, but there was something else that caught my attention more.

One wall of the living room. There, countless photos and memos of people were connected like a spider web.

It was a scene that you would only see in the kingdom’s intelligence department.

I can’t believe he prepared this much.

From the brothel, the organization, to the people who bought and used me.

It was clear that he had investigated everyone involved in order to rescue just one person.

Then, Theo’s explanation was heard from behind.

“I didn’t want to commit murder recklessly, even for revenge. So I carefully investigated and distinguished whether they were guys who deserved to die or guys who didn’t need to be killed.”

Theo walked past me to the wall. And he took down a photo hanging on the wall.

“Oh? That person is….”

The person in the photo was familiar to me too.

Lord Ciel.

If everything had gone as planned, he would have officially become my new master today.

He was excellent at training. Thanks to him, I learned about various pleasures.

Unfortunately, he was now a cold corpse in Theo’s hands.

“Lord Ciel, that pig bastard, was a guy who wasn’t worth saving. Not to mention that he violated Lena, he was involved in many crimes, including the slave trade and kidnapping.”

—Crush.

Theo crumpled the photo in his hand in one go and threw it into the trash can next to him.

“Lena, can I ask you a question?”

“Of course. What are you curious about?”

Theo hesitated a little before opening his mouth.

“Were you disappointed in my appearance today?”

“What…?”

“…I committed murder. I really didn’t want to kill people. But I couldn’t do it without killing this time.”

Theo raised his hand, which was stained with dried blood, and began to tremble.

“You saw it all while escaping, but in the end, I killed a lot of people with my own hands. No matter how much I hate them, the feeling of killing someone is really….”

Oh no. I didn’t think about this part.

I inwardly clicked my tongue at Theo’s words.

I had momentarily forgotten about the strong image he had shown me while saving me today. The Theo I remembered was a thoughtful and kind-hearted child.

‘He feels guilty for killing criminals and enemies….’

Some might say he’s weak and naive.

But I don’t think so. I used to think similarly to Theo.

So… I had to work hard now so that Theo could overcome this well.

“I understand if Lena is disappointed in me for being like this. But I tried my best—”

“You’ve worked hard.”

I interrupted him and hugged Theo tightly. And I slowly stroked the back of Theo’s head with one hand.

“So stop saying foolish things. Do you think I would be disappointed in you for something like that?”

“But….”

“Murder. Yeah, that’s right. As you said, it’s something that should be avoided as much as possible and should be done with caution. But it’s something that you inevitably have to experience while living in a chaotic era like now. Of course, I’ve killed people too. The important thing here is not to kill innocent people.”

Theo had carefully investigated and tried not to create innocent victims.

There’s no way I can say anything to Theo after he’s done this much.

“Do you understand my feelings a little now?”

“…I’m sorry for saying this. Actually, Lena must be having the hardest time right now.”

“I’m the one who’s sorry. Because I wasn’t there with you in the moments when you were having a hard time.”

Theo was surprised at my words and stammered.

“Wh-what I’m feeling is nothing compared to what Lena went through….”

“No. It doesn’t matter who had it harder. Those trivial things don’t matter. We both had a hard time, and the important thing is that we’re together again now.”

“…That’s right.”

“I was worried about whether you would be able to live alone for the past few months. But you’ve become such an amazing person that my worries were unnecessary. Tell me slowly about what happened in the future.”

“Lena….”

Theo buried his face in my chest and began to sob.

I really need to treat him well in the future.

“Hic… I really missed you.”

“I missed you too. Thank you for saving me again.”

“Huhu… Thank you, Lena, for holding on until now.”

And so, Theo and I continued to exchange words of gratitude and hugged each other for a long time.