He Became the Only Ally of the Abandoned Warrior

But this man...

He was slowly, almost sensually, massaging Lin’s shoulder, his hand sliding down Lin’s back.

"Mmm~."

The captain exhaled as if savoring the moment, even as Lin frowned openly. His hand was about to slide even lower when Tigrea intervened.

"What are you doing?"

"Ah~ my apologies. I just can’t help but check when I see someone with good muscles."

Reluctantly pulling back, the captain licked his lips, explaining himself to Tigrea with a tone that sounded more like a scorned lover than anything else.

‘What’s going on here?’

This guy was an NTR-man, right? He was supposed to be straight, wasn’t he? Or is he bi? Damn, I only cleared the DLC once, so my character profiles are incomplete.

Tigrea stood in front of Lin, shielding him from the captain’s unnerving advances, exchanging hostile glares with the man.

"You show up, and immediately there’s another victim. I hope you’ll be worth your meal."

The captain retreated but not without a sneer at the mage.

"We’re not exactly flush with supplies, you know."

"Don’t worry. We’ll catch the culprit."

"I’m counting on it."

Lin wasn’t sure whether he should be happy or worried about the growing animosity between the NTR-man and Tigrea. But too much of anything is bad. To diffuse the tension, Lin made a suggestion to the captain.

"There are various monsters in the ruins, but usually, serial killings like this involve someone eating their comrades and then disguising themselves. As unpleasant as it may sound, we should first check if there’s an enemy hiding among us."

"Of course, not unpleasant at all. Ignoring reality doesn’t solve problems."

"May I question the members?"

"By all means."

The captain placed a hand on Lin’s shoulder again, whispering suggestively.

"I have high hopes for you. How about dinner tonight?"

"The culprit seems to be active at night, so I’ll focus on uncovering them."

"Shame. But if you catch them, I’ll make sure you’re well rewarded."

Retreating from Tigrea’s sharp glare, the captain immediately called out to a short-haired female member nearby.

"Anna! How about dinner tonight?"

"...No, thanks."

"Come on. You know I rotate dinner invitations to share what little meat we have."

"...Ugh."

Reluctantly, Anna agreed, her face slightly flushed.

"Fine."

"Great, see you tonight!"

The captain returned to his tent with a spring in his step, while Tigrea glared after him.

"I hate that guy so much I could kill him."

"You can’t."

"I know. I’m just saying."

Lin didn’t bother to argue.

Lin and Tigrea went around the camp, questioning the other members. This part was just like in the game, where the player gathered clues about the culprit. But Lin’s player instincts kicked in, leading him to check the tents for useful items instead of focusing on the interrogation. Unfortunately, there was nothing worth taking.

"What’s this, Lin?"

Instead, Tigrea’s unhealthy curiosity was piqued by some rather inappropriate items scattered around the tents.

"It’s long and thick, with some lubricant on it, making it shine."

"Don’t worry about that."

"Is this... what I’ve only read about in books...?"

"I suggest you wait until you find someone you love to explore that."

"Love... I’m just a researcher."

"You’re researching true love, right?"

"Understood."

Realizing his mistake, Lin gave up on scavenging and seriously questioned the members. When he asked about Linna, the answers were universally negative.

"She was a fool, deceiving herself."

"She made lame excuses about needing money."

"We’re no different, but she was the worst about whining."

They didn’t even bother hiding their relationships with the captain.

"Once you’ve tasted the captain’s favor, you can’t escape. His, um, equipment is as impressive as his muscles..."

"But my heart still belongs to someone else. The captain just fills in for what he can’t give me."

"You should be careful."

The last response came from Anna, the one the captain had invited to dinner.

"Your mage girlfriend might end up with her stomach fluttering and her mind going blank."

"That won’t happen."

Tigrea’s firm denial made Anna smile sadly.

"I thought that too."

It was a dead end. Lin didn’t find any useful items in the tents, nor did he gain any valuable information from the members.

"Lin, I feel so sick I want to throw up."

"Me too."

Tigrea actually looked like she might be sick, her lips pressed tightly together as she held back tears. Lin gently patted her back until she calmed down. But then it was Lin’s turn. Though he thought he could handle it, a sudden wave of nausea hit him, and he quickly covered his mouth with his hand.

"Ugh..."

As his head spun and he bent over, he felt a small, soft touch on his back. It was Tigrea.

"Are you okay?"

"Thanks to you. I appreciate it."

At his thanks, Tigrea’s mouth twisted just like it had the night before. Though it didn’t form a smile, it oddly felt like the wall between them was slowly crumbling.

Straightening up, Lin asked cheerfully,

"Aren’t you hungry?"

"Starving. But we don’t have anything."

"We have the items we picked up in the ruins yesterday."

"What good are those?"

Having fled in a hurry, neither Lin nor Tigrea had brought any money. Then again, what good was money when there was nowhere to spend it? But Lin just grinned.

And right on cue, the joyful cries of the camp members rang out.

"The Golden Wagon is here!"

Following the shouts, they turned to see a large, golden wagon rolling into the camp. It looked a lot like a food truck from his past life, with a sign on the side that read:

[World Postal Service’s Golden Wagon!]

"Come one, come all! The Golden Wagon has everything you need, except what it doesn’t! Food, supplies—if you’ve got the money, we’ve got the goods! If you don’t have money, we’ll trade or buy items from you! Come check out the Golden Wagon, run by the World Postal Service! It’s great! It’s convenient! Come on over!"

"Want to eat something?"

As Lin rummaged through the porter’s bag, Tigrea, who had been watching the Golden Wagon’s salesman, suddenly burst out laughing.

"Haha!"

Even though it came from her usually expressionless face, the laughter was enough to surprise Lin. Embarrassed, Tigrea pulled her hood down low.

"Sorry. The timing was just too perfect."

What’s happening to this small mage? Lin might need to reconsider how he saw Tigrea. Perhaps she was no longer just an emotionless doll willing to do anything for a goal, but a child just beginning to awaken to her feelings.

Suddenly, a memory from Mr. Lee’s past life flashed through his mind.

‘What do you think about love?’

‘I’m not sure; it’s something I haven’t really experienced. But how about we explore the ruins again?’

‘What do you like, Porter?’

‘Good items. And there might be some in the ruins. Let’s go check it out.’

‘Is this a good item?’

‘It’s okay. Let’s go a bit further inside.’

In his past life, Mr. Lee saw the mage character as just a powerful combat unit. So whenever a dialogue event with her came up, he would cut it short and rush to find rare items in the ruins. He was eager to finish the side episode and reunite with Lucy to clear the DLC.

It was Mr. Lee’s neglect that led the game’s Tigrea to fall for the expedition leader’s advances. After being horrified by the scene where she took the captain’s hand, Mr. Lee tried to repair their relationship through repeated save-load tactics, but her affection only reached the level of a “normal colleague,” lingering on the edge of “hurt by indifference.”

‘Wait a minute.’

Come to think of it, wasn’t the DLC always played from the Porter’s perspective?

"What kind of food do you like, Porter?"

Tigrea’s question interrupted his thoughts, but this time, Lin didn’t feel annoyed.

"I’m not picky. I grew up in a place where food was scarce."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, it is."

"I understand."

And somehow, he wanted to keep the conversation going.

"But."

"?"

"I like seeing people enjoy the food I cook."

"...I like fried eggs."

"They’re tasty, fried eggs. And easy to make."

Lin pulled out the trinkets he had picked up yesterday from the Porter’s bag and walked toward the Golden Wagon. Several members had already gathered around it.

Tigrea mustered up the courage to grab his sleeve.

"Will you be happy if I enjoy your food?"

"Of course."

Lin smiled warmly.

"If I weren’t a porter, I would’ve wanted to be a chef."

Softly pulling back her hand, Lin went to the Golden Wagon and began haggling with the postal worker. Watching him, something stirred in the mage’s chest.

‘Will you be happy?’

‘Of course.’

This content is taken from fгeewebnovёl.com.

The words kept echoing in her mind.

Her heart pounded.

Just enough to make breathing a little difficult.

At the same time, the flutter in her chest was tinged with fear.

‘We are dolls. Dolls should not have emotions.’

The original had warned her.

‘If a doll harbors emotions, it will commit irreversible mistakes.’

This fluttering feeling in her chest...

‘I have failed.’

...this must be what emotions are.

‘I wanted to experience love firsthand.’

Had the original failed to protect this fluttering feeling?

‘But the love a doll clings to will be confused with base desires.’

This feeling, so precious...

‘So you must study love. Study affection.’

But why?

‘Don’t ever dare to harbor it.’

Because if you do,

‘You’ll end up failing just like me.’

A tear had slipped down the original’s cheek.

‘I am a failure. Guerrero’s failed love.’

As those chilling words echoed in her mind, Lin returned with a few eggs in hand.

"I’ll cook them for you right away."

The original must have known this would happen and warned her. Despite the centuries spent in a doll’s body, the mage found herself unable to let go of the warmth she had just received, holding it close to her heart.

"I’m looking forward to it."

And with that warmth, she could finally smile, a smile as beautiful as her appearance.