The Hero’s Party Members Treat Me Well for Some Reason

BAD END: Rogue (2)

I possess several skills of a decidedly fraudulent nature, it’s true.

But if I were to single out the most frequently employed, the most efficient, it would undoubtedly be Regeneration.

Always pulling me from the depths, allowing me to move without regard for my own well-being.

Whether in terms of versatility or operation, this ‘Regeneration’ skill was more than earning its keep.

But even a skill as cheat-like as this one wasn’t without its weaknesses…

It was obvious, perhaps ridiculously so, but if I were to die instantly, this skill would become useless.

How could it regenerate if the subject to be regenerated was dead?

But up until now, it was such a nonsensical prospect that I’d simply left it be.

It’s not like my body is weak, nor my reflexes poor. Was there really a chance I’d face instant death?

And yet, someone managed it, apparently. The fellow I had to face next, no less.

‘Inconceivable.’

Even in games, such things rarely happened.

Of course, attacks dealing immense damage were abundant. Add to that, skills that seemed capable of one-shotting you were plentiful as well.

But at the very least, those gave the players some kind of signal. This game was brutally difficult, yes, but at least somewhat reasonable.

At the very least, the opponent would seem to gather their energy, or radiate an aura that screamed, “Buddy, if you get hit by this, you’re screwed!”

But just listening to Adel, it didn’t seem like any of that applied here, did it?

Everyone’s head fell with a single blink.

It was a truly absurd situation, yet my mental state wasn’t shaken as much as I thought it would be.

‘Well, yeah…’

Ever since I was dropped in this place, finding anything resembling a reasonable difficulty was more difficult. Come to think of it, back during the Minotaur fight, I was nearly cleaved in two in the blink of an eye.

Thinking back to that, knowing the cause of my potential death beforehand was a far better state to be in.

At the very least, I’d gained information.

And, to be frank… I had a hunch as to how that feat was even possible.

“Fret not. As for that matter. I have a notion of where to go with it…”

It seemed Adel felt much the same.

“Let me finish the tale, for now.”

And so, she resumed her story.

*

[Skill, ‘Noble Sacrifice,’ activates!]

[Warning, the skill’s operating range is far too vast!]

[Beginning calculations to correct causality!]

[Causality correction in progress… 0%]

*

After her party members perished, Adel found herself imprisoned within a cramped iron cage.

Barely a single *pyeong*, if one were to put it in terms of square footage.

“You are a hostage.”

Evan simply uttered these words softly as he locked her away.

After that… well, there wasn’t much to it. To be frank, her captor didn’t particularly bother with Adel. They merely ensured she received her meals on time, otherwise paying her no mind whatsoever.

Thanks to this, Adel was, as far as hostages went, relatively comfortable.

…For about a day, that is.

The day after the Hero party’s defeat, someone arrived at the castle where Evan resided.

“Lord Cecil sends word.”

He seemed to be some kind of messenger.

The herald cleared his throat, ahem, and then recited the message from this fellow, Cecil. He seemed intent on mimicking the very tone of the sender.

“Torture the hostage, now.”

“…What?”

Evan’s brow furrowed at that.

“The hostage is mine. I’ll do with her as I please.”

“Yes, but he insists this is the quickest way to break the Demon Lord’s seal. Otherwise, he threatened to take her himself…”

“Damn it… that cursed b*stard.”

Evan appeared hesitant for a time. But only for a moment.

He nodded, finally.

“…Very well.”

Afterward, he went directly to Adel and placed something upon her.

His power. The power Evan possessed was Eternity itself.

If he so desired, he could stretch the flow of time for anything, as much as his power allowed.

“Forgive me. But this is better than being taken by *him*.”

From that day on, Adel’s time was stretched ninefold.

Her day now stretched to nine days, and the three meals she was given felt as if they arrived only every two or three days.

Only her mind was accelerated, so the world outside remained utterly still.

The movement of clouds, the dust motes dancing in the air, even the setting of the sun seemed agonizingly slow.

And she was trapped within a small, cramped cage. There was nothing to stimulate her senses.

Thanks to this, an incredibly tedious time followed. All she could do all day was stare, endlessly, at the same unchanging scenery. The only variation came with the tasteless meals that appeared every two or three days.

It was because of this that she began to focus more on her own interior than the world outside.

It meant she was burdened by thought. And what she pondered most was the hero.

For he had departed this world leaving her with so many unanswered questions.

‘…What, in the end, was he?’

She still doubted he was a hero at all. What his purpose was, from the beginning, she couldn’t fathom.

Was his aim to absorb the strength of the Four Heavenly Kings? Or was it to become something else, something akin to the Demon Lord?

But if that were so, he’d poured all his strength into capturing them.

Even to the point of sacrificing his very life. He surely had opportunities to flee.

But he hadn’t taken them.

Had he truly brainwashed his party members?

…Honestly, she couldn’t say anymore. Looking back now, she saw the many gaps in her own logic.

Perhaps it was the hero’s death that weakened the curse by a degree.

She could observe her thoughts more objectively, without becoming trapped by a single idea.

And the conclusion she reached after thinking it through… was that she still wasn’t sure.

Either way, the fact remained that she had suspected the hero.

His soul, as she always saw it, had been stained black.

And it was also true that Yulis and Lily’s attitudes had changed so abruptly. There had been no prior signs of such a shift. They simply changed one day, just like that.

In the midst of all this, Luke had been using puppetry magic… the circumstances were suspicious enough.

However, now that she thought about it, various contradictions became apparent.

Wasn’t it before capturing the puppeteer that their attitudes had changed in the first place?

‘···I do not know.’

Thanks to that, Adel’s head swam with no small amount of confusion.

But it was alright. Time to ponder was in abundant supply.

*

[Causality Correction in Progress······33.261816%]

*

And so, a week passed, or two months according to Adel’s reckoning.

Adel deemed it fortunate that she was an Elf.

Though life within these iron bars was nothing if not tedious, two months was but a fleeting moment compared to the years she had lived.

Already accustomed to enduring the passage of time, boredom was, in its own way, a familiar presence.

Her thoughts still churned ceaselessly. She was still thinking about the Hero.

To her, the Hero remained an enigma wrapped in riddles.

He had been peculiar from their very first encounter, but upon reflection… he hadn’t actually harmed the party in any substantial way.

He radiated an aura of evil that rivaled none, yet, ultimately, he had contributed greatly to humanity by slaying two of the Four Heavenly Kings.

Ultimately, her suspicions against him were based only on conjecture; there was no concrete proof.

Of course, there were things *resembling* proof, but even those were forced interpretations, ill-fitting at best.

It was becoming strange, even to her.

Why did she hate the Hero so much? Simply because his soul was tainted? Or because he studied black magic?

No, those were merely pretexts, in the end.

Having been persecuted for decades simply for being a Dark Elf, it was her principle not to judge others merely by their outward appearance.

But she, who so despised persecution, was herself persecuting the Hero, wasn’t she?

Her face twisted, as if she’d swallowed the bitterest of medicines.

Then, she spoke to herself.

“Truly… repulsive.”

A muffled sensation bloomed in the depths of her heart.

Was it because time had slowed? The feeling lingered longer than usual.

Regardless, time flowed on.

*

[Causality being rectified… 66.61916%]

*

Another week, and it felt like four months had passed since Adel began her life in the iron cage.

Around about now, she began to worry about her predicament, little by little.

‘How long must I remain here?’

Four months or so. It wasn’t unbearable, not exactly.

Of course, that didn’t mean it wasn’t difficult. Even if she lived in a time somewhat different from others, she was still human, after all.

Whatever the species, a living thing thrived on stimulation.

Dopamine was essential for the will to survive.

And yet, she had spent a full four months in this Room of Spirit and Time.

Thanks to it, she was driven near to madness with frustration.

What was more frightening, was not knowing when this waiting would end.

Perhaps to rot for years, decades even…

If it were to be like this, perhaps it would have been better to fall in battle alongside my comrades.

Even knowing defeat was certain, perhaps it would have been better to fight to the very end.

Of course, now it was all but meaningless conjecture.

“Huu…”

She let out a sigh tinged with regret.

*

[Causality Being Corrected… 99.98119%]

*

And so, another week, or what felt like half a year according to Adele’s reckoning, had passed.

In that time, she had done a great deal of thinking. For in this narrow space, thinking was all she could do.

How Evan had severed their necks in an instant. What the Hero’s past was like. And ultimately, why she had hated him so.

At times, she was imprisoned by regret, a bitter taste coating her mouth. A strange, stifling feeling in her chest was ever-present.

Naturally, these were not pleasant days. In the span of barely three weeks, her mind had been considerably eroded.

But, no matter how much she pondered, there remained an unyielding question.

Ultimately, what was that unsettling atmosphere she felt emanating from the Hero?

Why was his soul so turbid? Why had Yulis and Lily suddenly changed their attitude?

No matter how she thought, no answers related to him arose.

For her, who could only see fragments, the information was far too scarce.

‘I do not know.’

It was all for naught now, anyway.

Her party, all dead. And she, destined to rot here alongside them.

For the first time in what felt like an age, tears welled in her eyes.

But not for long.

*

[Causality Rewriting Complete!]

[Skill Activated!]

[Searching for a Save Point!]

*

She knew all the truth now.