Ch.50Chapter 50. The Wounds of Heartbreak

Well, anyway.

Despite a bit of trouble, the consultation with Tachia ended fairly smoothly.

I returned the weapon, and she promised to use the materials I brought to make new armor.

Additionally, she purchased some of my materials to supplement her living expenses, and even added extra money for me to use for entertainment.

“The armor will be completed tomorrow, so go back and rest for today.”

“No, you really don’t have to do this much…”

“I moved you to the bed when you collapsed yesterday, right?”

“…”

“Just take it. It’s also my way of thanking you for fully granting my request.”

Well, given my circumstances, it’s probably best to accept whatever I can get.

As I was about to leave the workshop with the money she gave me…

“Ah, wait a moment.”

She went back into the workshop and soon returned, holding something in her hand that she presented to me.

A long spear.

It was the Ego Weapon she had previously lent me.

“Why this…?”

“I’d like to make an additional deal with you before you leave.”

A deal.

When we first met, she had also approached me with the spear and suddenly made a proposal like this.

She said she wanted to test something with my ability and would lend me this spear temporarily.

“Would you accept if I offered to give you this spear?”

But what followed now wasn’t just about lending.

She was offering to transfer ownership of this precious spear to none other than me.

“This… to me?”

“Your ability has the potential to accelerate the growth of Ego Weapons. Just receiving regular reports about that would be beneficial for me in many ways.”

Certainly, that weapon responds to my call because it recognizes me as its master.

The fact that a weapon I’ve only used for a few days showed such effects might make her, as a craftsman, think it has research value.

Since I’m the only one in this world with this ability, she probably doesn’t want to miss this opportunity.

“…What are the conditions?”

“You just need to fulfill one wish of mine. However, I’ll only tell you what I want after you accept… Given what you’re getting in return, you can agree to that much, right?”

She’ll only tell me what she wants after I accept…

It’s a condition that could easily lead to being forced into something, but despite that, I didn’t feel particularly wary of her proposal.

I know better than anyone how amazing this weapon’s performance is, and considering it’s still growing, it could become even more incredible.

Getting something like this right now, rather than after saving money in the future, is an extraordinary offer in itself.

“Well, do you accept?”

“I…”

Yet I couldn’t readily accept her proposal, not because I was worried about what she might demand in return.

I believe she, who felt grateful to me and even treated me to a meal, wouldn’t maliciously deceive me…

I remembered that my initial decision to borrow this weapon wasn’t based on its performance, but on my fondness for her.

‘Besides, having this weapon would naturally create opportunities to meet Tachia again, right?’

‘…Opportunities to meet again?’

‘Yes, I liked Tachia.’

That’s right, she might be blunt and rough, but she’s not a bad person.

That’s why I thought we could maintain a good relationship, and that expectation was fulfilled by receiving her kindness, like being treated to breakfast this morning.

Unless she, like someone I recently parted with, shows me kindness only to say goodbye soon after.

“I’m sorry, but could I think about it a bit more?”

“…Was it too burdensome?”

Though she didn’t know my circumstances, she seemed to vaguely sense that something was bothering me.

Tachia lit a cigarette with her breath and said:

“Right, it’s good to be careful with promises. Take your time to think about it until you come to get your armor tomorrow.”

Still maintaining her generous attitude.

I gave her a polite farewell and turned to leave her workshop.

[Please forget me.]

As if ruminating on the contents of the letter still in my pocket.

Gradually clenching my jaw.

***

The money I received from selling some materials was not a small amount, even if it was just a portion.

While I felt grateful to Tachia for giving me so much money, all I did with it was enter any tavern and order drinks and food.

I drank, and drank more…

After filling my stomach, I would wander the streets for a while, then enter another tavern and repeat the process.

“Young man, aren’t you drinking too much?”

“It’s fine, give me another bottle. I have plenty of money.”

With an A+ in mental strength, would I really get drunk from drinking this much?

Of course, drinking this much puts quite a strain on my body, but I felt a desperate need to quell the uneasiness in my heart.

Memories I had been trying to ignore while focusing on work kept surfacing now that I had some leisure time.

‘You don’t understand me, so you’re afraid of me. Right?’

Vivian Platonis.

The witch who swept away one of the Empire’s most notorious criminal organizations with an incomprehensible power.

It was a phenomenon that frightened even me, who had experienced all sorts of things in this world, but nevertheless, I didn’t think the time I spent with her was bad.

And I believe it was the same for her.

The fact that she didn’t kill me wasn’t just a whim, but because she had considerable feelings for me.

‘If we get the chance, let’s meet again.’

But how could we be together even if we both had such feelings?

Even in my previous mission, I would have died long ago without Irie’s prophecy, Tachia’s weapon, and Merilyn’s performance.

No matter how attracted I feel to someone, if I don’t have the strength to withstand danger, I don’t deserve to stand by their side, do I?

‘Please forget me.’

Yes, I wasn’t qualified.

I don’t have the ability to hold onto the women who leave me, or to protect them from the dangers they face.

Even if I know I might never see them again after this moment, if I can’t embrace them when we meet, this feeling can only end in farewell.

“I…”

These thoughts gradually turned into regret.

Even though I didn’t choose to enter this world, I couldn’t shake the thought of what might have been if I had power.

“Why am I not a hero?”

If I had power, I would have had the opportunity to be honest with my feelings.

I could have stood by the side of those who accepted me by my own will.

“Hehe, hey there, handsome~”

As I was lamenting this, leaving the tavern and entering an alley.

I steadied my swaying body from the alcohol, and my gaze turned toward a shadow approaching from beneath the illuminated area.

“I saw you drinking alone at the tavern earlier. Would you like me to keep you company?”

In a secluded path stood a woman in a daring outfit that barely covered her chest.

Her seductive appearance, with most of her upper body exposed, was typical of those commonly known as “dancers.”

“…Why are you approaching me?”

It was an unfamiliar sight to me.

When I was a porter, I put most of my earnings into savings and only ate minimal meals, so I never had the chance to see dancers perform.

“Oh my~ Because you looked lonely, of course~ I just can’t leave people like you alone~”

The dancer approached with a smile, her heels clicking on the ground.

Swaying her hips seductively from side to side, she soon grabbed both my arms and brought her smiling face close to mine.

“I happen to be free tonight too. Hehe, how about it? Would you like to drink with me and ease your loneliness…?”

The moment her ample cleavage wrapped around my arm.

Though the sensation wasn’t clear due to my intoxication, I was still sober enough to understand her intentions.

Such overt skinship with a man she just met clearly indicated she had something in mind.

“Then…”

Of course, going along with her intentions might be suitable for alleviating loneliness, but I didn’t feel particularly attracted to her.

“Then, would you still meet with me after today?”

What I need right now isn’t temporary comfort, but the assurance that someone would stay by my side despite my weakness.

And because I’m aware that I need certainty that they won’t leave me…

“After today? What do you mean?”

“…Never mind.”

If that certainty doesn’t exist, perhaps it’s better to keep my distance from the beginning.

Having reached this conclusion, I shook off the chest wrapped around my arm and tried to leave.

I heard a voice from behind after taking about five steps.

“What’s with that guy? Is he talking nonsense because he’s drunk? He ordered a lot at the tavern, so I thought he had money, but he’s just saying incomprehensible things.”

“…”

“…Whatever, half the world is men anyway, I can just find someone else to fleece.”

A voice with an overtly sharp edge.

Realizing she had no intention of hiding her words, a bitter smile involuntarily formed on my lips.

Well, why would a woman approach someone like me, a mere foreign laborer?

Merilyn and Vivian accepted me regardless of such things, but if finding people like them were easy, I wouldn’t be having these worries.

“Oh, found one~ Hey there, handsome~ You look lonely, want to have some fun with me~?”

The dancer moved away from me and started working on another man, but I lost interest and continued on my way.

I didn’t care who got fleeced at this point.

“Are you a virgin?”

My steps halted when I heard another voice from behind.

“…What?”

“I asked if you’re a virgin.”

It was a familiar voice.

Not one I’d heard often, but one I seemed to have heard somewhere before.

“Oh my~ Of course I’m a virgin~ But depending on what you do…”

“Then die, you filthy virgin!!”

Before I could recall who the voice belonged to, a loud sound erupted.

“Ugh…?”

The groan that escaped her lips couldn’t even become a scream, and pieces of her butchered body were mercilessly scattered on the ground.

Yet the vampire who had sliced her to death continued to tear apart even those fragments with his sharpened nails.

“How dare you, you impure and filthy woman, try to contaminate someone! Bitches like you who are only pure deserve to die a thousand times! No, you should disappear without a trace from this world!”

Rip, rip. The sound of flesh being torn echoed repeatedly, and finally, the body of the scammer who had approached me was mashed beyond recognition.

Despite being in a secluded alley, it was still within human territory, and a person had been mercilessly butchered.

“Oh my, I got unusually excited. There are just too many brazen bitches in this world… Hmm?”

As I stared at the scene in shock, the vampire’s gaze, after shaking the blood off his hands, began to move toward me.

Yes, a vampire.

The same vampire who, about a year ago, killed the hero I was attending because she was a “virgin.”

“Young man passing by. Come over here for a moment.”

“Ah, yes.”

I realized too late that I was screwed, but if I ran away, he might get provoked and pierce my body from behind.

Approaching him as calmly as possible, a bright smile formed on his lips as he looked me over.

“Oh, yes. It’s definitely a memorable face. Aren’t you that polite young man I saw back then?”

“Ah, yes, it’s been a while. But that…”

-Swoosh!

The vampire suddenly disappeared from before my eyes as I was about to correct him.

The next moment, when a cold sensation enveloped me from behind, he emerged silently from the darkness and put his arm around my shoulder.

“Haha~ How delightful to meet like this. Tell me, have you gained any experience with women since then?”

“Ah, no. Not yet…”

“Oh my, what a shame. I gave you sincere advice, yet you still have no experience? You’re quite the slow learner, haha!”

The vampire began to smile sinisterly as he said this.

Though I was intimidated by his prowess, having easily butchered a person, his guiding hand was full of goodwill rather than hostility.

“Well, it might be unreasonable to expect results from just one meeting back then. I happen to have a hideout nearby, so come along. I’ll treat you to some tea there.”

“What? Wait…”

“No need to be modest. It’s just that at my age, I can’t help but take an interest in young people like you. Come, let’s go before people start gathering!”

Hey, vampire. Why are you so nonchalant after just butchering someone?

I’m also inexperienced, but why is being a virgin male okay while being a virgin female isn’t…

Why does this vampire hate virgins so much anyway?