Chapter 51: Those Who Can Never Be Forgiven (2)

I did not dream.

No strange voices whispered to me, and ever since the incident in Edirne, peaceful sleep had finally embraced me every night.

Perhaps that was why falling asleep had become so easy lately, and as I opened my eyes, I found myself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling.

The sound of snow and wind drifted in from outside.

This was not an illusion.

It was reality, without a doubt.

But the layout of the room was completely different from mine…

As I retraced my memories, I finally realized the last place I had been—the hero’s mansion.

I had enjoyed the festival with the hero, he had asked me about my name, and when I couldn’t recall it no matter how hard I tried, I had rushed back to the mansion in a panic.

After that, I had written down everything I could remember before falling asleep.

In other words, this was the hero’s bedroom.

I must have lost my mind.

What the hell was I thinking?

Knock, knock—

How could I have fallen asleep so carelessly?

The hero and I might have agreed to cooperate, but until recently, he had been trying every trick in the book to take advantage of me.

I should have avoided this kind of situation at all costs.

As I hurriedly checked my body for anything unusual, a knock came from the door.

It was the hero.

But didn’t he always go out for a morning run?

I quickly checked my appearance, smoothed my hair, and then opened the door.

“Good morning.”

“Oh? Ah… yeah, good morning.”

“Here, this is breakfast. Even if you’re not hungry, it’s good to eat something in the morning.”

“…Weren’t you supposed to be out for a run?”

The hero had once told me himself that he had a habit of running every morning.

He shouldn’t have had time to prepare breakfast, and yet, here he was, smiling brightly, holding a tray with freshly baked bread, cheese, and some vegetables.

The room quickly filled with the delicious aroma of food.

It seemed like the bread contained bacon.

Growl—

The moment the scent hit me, my stomach let out a loud grumble, and I instinctively lowered my head in embarrassment.

Just great.

As if I hadn’t already lost every ounce of dignity in front of the hero, now I was hitting rock bottom.

“I was worried about you.

If you woke up and I wasn’t there, you might feel uneasy.

Besides, your body is still weak.”

“Well… I guess that makes sense.”

Yeah, waking up in the hero’s bed, alone in his mansion, would have been pretty terrifying.

In the game, there were even scenarios where he’d have a one-night stand and disappear.

Not long ago, this same hero had been scheming all kinds of underhanded tricks to take advantage of me.

So it was only natural that I found waking up here suspicious.

But from his attitude, it was clear he was trying to reassure me that he hadn’t done anything.

Alright.

This confirmed that we were still on the same page about our cooperation.

And since I was already starving, I gratefully accepted the meal he handed me.

“Hmm, this looks good.

You can cook?”

“Just the basics.

There’s a housekeeper who helps, but… I find it more comfortable to make my own breakfast when I can.”

Housekeeper?

Like a domestic worker?

Lately, the hero had been talking more and more about his past in Korea.

Was it because he was happy to have found someone from the same world?

I personally found friendships exhausting, but… maybe this kind of relationship wasn’t so bad.

“I just slept all day and woke up in the afternoon.”

“What about school?”

“Huh? I went… but I dropped out.

Not exactly the best memories.”

“I’m curious.

What was it like?”

“Honestly… I don’t remember much.”

Was school really that different?

I had been fine in elementary school, but after that, relationships with people became exhausting, so I just spent my days pretending to be asleep on my desk.

There were no memories to recall.

That’s why, when I found myself in the young body of Sera, I had been shocked.

Who would have thought that I’d end up reliving the childhood I had never properly enjoyed?

In that sense, the hero was lucky.

He had been summoned to this world with his body intact.

“…Why are you making that face?”

“It’s nothing.

Anyway, if you’re done eating, give me the dishes.”

“Hey, you’re still recovering.

Just rest.

I should at least wash the dishes since you cooked.”

The hero’s body hadn’t fully healed yet.

Even moving his muscles must have caused him some pain.

Making breakfast must have been a struggle too.

Now that I was certain he wasn’t trying to pull any tricks, I realized that staying in his house and sleeping in his bed was practically an imposition.

It looked like he had even given up his own bedroom for me…

He must have been cursing me in his head.

“You’re being oddly nice to me.”

“Haha, am I?

It just feels natural.”

The hero scratched his head, looking slightly embarrassed at my words.

So this is what it’s like to have a friend.

Strangely enough, it made me feel a bit warm inside.

“Is it because we’re from the same world?”

“That’s… don’t worry about it.”

“Good.

Then we’ll stay friends until we defeat the Demon King, right?”

There was no other reason why we had gotten this close.

The only thing we had in common was being from the same world.

And if the hero ever betrayed me, that would be a problem, so I needed a verbal confirmation from him.

As soon as I brought up the word “friend,” his expression darkened slightly, as if something about it bothered him.

Did I say something wrong?

“Friends… yeah, okay.

For now, we have more important things to focus on.

By the way, did you check your diary?”

“My diary?

Oh, the one I wrote last night?

Yeah… nothing seemed off.”

“Really?

That’s a relief.”

Comparing last night’s diary with my current memories, there didn’t seem to be any changes.

That cramped, one-room world—my life had always been like that.

“You don’t feel like anything’s missing?

Like… mentions of specific places?”

“Huh?

Maybe I just wasn’t the type to go outside much.”

More like I never went outside, but that wasn’t exactly something to brag about.

“What about your parents?

I skimmed your diary, and…”

“My parents?

Oh, well, they were hardly home—wait, you read it?!”

We weren’t well-off, so they had to work constantly just to cover rent and living expenses.

My dad worked construction, so he was usually out of town.

That was what I was about to say—until it hit me.

The hero had read my diary.

“Are you insane?!

Why the hell did you read that?!”

“S-Sera!

Where are you going all of a sudden?!”

“To the library, you bastard!!”

Goddamn it.

What kind of pervert reads someone’s embarrassing past?!

My face burned with humiliation as I grabbed my coat and stormed out.

The accumulated knowledge of humanity was gathered here.

Moreover, it was also the easiest place to find elves.

“So, we just need to look for books about elves?”

“Better than nothing, I guess. Alright, let’s do that.”

Since it was still early, Ronin wasn’t around yet.

For now, I decided to pass the time and casually responded to the hero’s question.

The elves’ barrier led the uninvited astray.

To pass through the White Mirage Forest and reach the elven sanctuary, we had to choose between two methods.

The first option was to recruit the Unyielding Boulder from the Caputa Highlands as a companion.

Though, “companion” was a misleading term—he was ultimately a target for corruption in an NTR ending.

Since he carried the Blessing of the Guide, losing one’s way in the elves’ barrier wouldn’t be an issue.

However, due to my interference, the hero had failed to enter the NTR route.

As a result, no additional heroines had joined the hero’s party.

Going back to the Caputa Highlands was still an option, but it would take too much time.

Besides, there was no way to know what the Unyielding Boulder was up to now.

The last time we met was during the summer at the fortress—half a year ago.

The second option was to wait for the elves to seek help first.

Though, seek help wasn’t quite the right term.

The truth was, their homeland would be set ablaze by a demonic invasion, and the surviving elves would be enslaved.

The hero, disappointed by the lack of elven heroines in this fantasy world, would eventually find out about the black market through Ronin’s help and purchase an elf s*ave.

From there, he would embark on a journey to the White Mirage Forest in hopes of rescuing more elf slaves.

“Elves, huh… now that I think about it, I’ve never actually seen one.”

I turned my head slightly and glanced forward.

Seated across from me, the hero was staring ahead, clearly eager to meet an elf.

The sheer obviousness of his desire made me sigh.

For some reason, it was annoying.

“The first race created by the gods.

Born from the World Tree, and blessed with near-eternal life.”

“It does sound impressive, in a way.

Yet they just hole up in their forest, never coming out.”

“Isn’t that normal for elves?”

“Are you seriously asking that…?”

Was the hero one of those bonus content enjoyers?

No, if that were the case, he wouldn’t know all these background details I didn’t even remember.

This guy was really hard to figure out.

“Yeah, most elves are like that.

Which makes them idiots.”

They claim they protect the World Tree, or that they’re defending their forest from humans.

But in the end, they just don’t want to give up their precious sanctuary, so they shut themselves away.

They live far longer than humans and have incredible talents, yet they waste all that potential.

It’s honestly pathetic.

“So, which method do you prefer?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean the method.

Don’t tell me you’re thinking of walking straight into the White Mirage Forest unprepared?”

Entering the White Mirage Forest—one of the coldest places in this world—without preparation was suicide.

The barrier would ensure anyone without permission got lost, and the elves had a deep hatred for humans.

For outsiders without a plan, the only outcome was freezing to death.

“…Just in case, don’t get any reckless ideas.

We still have plenty of time.

And there are other things we need to take care of here first.”

I had already tried entering the White Mirage Forest on my own multiple times before.

Every attempt had ended in failure.

I had hoped there was some hidden route I hadn’t discovered yet, but I had been thoroughly disappointed.

Not that it was surprising.

Even without hidden routes, the game already had a massive cast of heroines and plenty of choices.

Adding more secret paths would have been overkill.

**”Oh, my, if it isn’t the saintess?

What brings you here?”**

As the hero and I continued talking, time passed quickly.

By now, the librarians had arrived for work.

One of them—a wrinkled old man with a shady air about him—greeted me.

And this man was precisely who I had been looking for.

Because he really was shady.

The black market, where illicit transactions took place beyond the kingdom’s eyes—this old librarian, Ronin Glenister, was the NPC who provided access to that underground world.

“Knowledge is always important to seek out.

Would you happen to have any information about elves?”

“Sera, really…?”

The hero let out a wry laugh as I slipped back into my saintess persona, speaking politely and respectfully.

Well, what could I do?

Being a saintess was a tough job.

“Elves?

They haven’t interacted with humans since 300 years ago.

The books over there contain all we have on them.”

“Ronin Glenister, I wasn’t referring to books.”

“…Excuse me?

If not books, then what…?”

Despite my sudden question, Ronin remained composed and checked the library’s archives.

That wasn’t the answer I wanted.

Perhaps I needed to be more direct.

“…The black market.

I’ve heard there are places where illegal transactions take place, hidden from the kingdom’s watchful eyes.”

Ronin fell silent, while I smiled brightly.

By now, winter had arrived, which meant the White Mirage Forest had likely been invaded by demons.

The surviving elves would be enslaved and sold across various regions.

There was no need to take the long way around.

While the Unyielding Boulder was the best guide, obtaining an elf s*ave from Rozahan Kingdom would suffice.

Not to mention, that elf s*ave happened to be another sub-heroine, blessed with the Blessing of the Wind.

A s*ave, yet still a virgin—that setup was amusing.

Of course, I had no intention of letting the hero buy her.

“I’m interested in one of the slaves there.”

“A-Ah… I-I’m not sure I understand what you mean, saintess…”

“Is that so?

Then, I suppose there’s nothing to be done.

May the gods bless your future endeavors.”

Avoiding eye contact, Ronin suddenly found an excuse to leave, slipping away as fast as he could.

I expected as much.

If it had been the hero asking, it might have been different.

But for a saintess to bring up the black market and its s*ave trade?

That was an entirely different matter.

“Sera… what exactly are you planning…?”

“Assignments shouldn’t be put off.

We need to be efficient and take care of everything we can while we’re here.”

“But Sera—!”

“You promised, didn’t you?

To become a real hero.”

Was the hero upset because I had ruined his chance to buy an elf s*ave?

He kept arguing against my actions, but I wasn’t listening.

Hah.

Why buy a s*ave when raiding the black market gets you everything for free?

If I declared that I was liberating suffering elves and returning them to their homeland, I’d boost both my reputation and morality.

Besides, I had promised to shape the hero into the second hero—the good hero.

That meant there was no longer any need to take shady paths.

“Follow that bastard until tomorrow night.”

With a calm, quiet voice, I gave the hero his orders.

Wouldn’t it be better to be known as the hero who rescued the elves, rather than the man who bought them?