He Became the Only Ally of the Abandoned Warrior

While Tigrea, infuriated, bickered with the captain, Lin noticed something unusual.

"That woman even had a kid, didn’t she?"

"She was well provided for, wasn’t she? Maybe better off than us."

Among the members, who were once again mocking the corpse just as they had with Linna, there was one person shedding tears.

She was holding a crumpled letter, staring blankly ahead, with eyes even more empty than Anna's.

"Hannah! How about joining us for dinner tonight?"

As Lin looked away, the captain quickly interjected, inviting the tearful woman. However, the woman named Hannah didn’t respond at all.

"Hmm."

Scratching his chin, the captain exaggeratedly turned to Lin.

"I’m asking for the third time now. How about it?"

"Well, from what I heard yesterday, it seems you’re inviting me for dinner to divide the meat. Wouldn’t it be better to share it with the others?"

But this time, the captain wasn’t going to let it slide easily.

"Then let’s do it this way!"

Clapping his hands, he addressed everyone around him.

"We’ve had too many deaths, and morale is low. Let’s have a feast tonight! Eat and drink to your heart’s content and enjoy the evening!"

Then, he turned to Lin with a polite gesture.

"In that case, the entire camp might get noisy, which could disturb your rest or investigations. How about it? If you don’t join us, I’ll cancel the feast."

It was a cowardly move to drag others into it.

Besides, the captain was already disturbing Lin's rest and investigations with his nightly lechery.

Well, whatever.

The evening feast event came a bit earlier than in the game, but they had already gathered enough items, and Tigrea didn’t seem likely to fall for this man’s advances.

They couldn’t drag out this side episode forever, so Lin made a decision.

If they delayed any longer, Lucy’s patience in the royal palace would run out.

"Alright. If that’s the case, let’s go all out tonight. At least for today, we might be able to prevent any more casualties."

"A wise choice!"

The captain joyfully issued the order to disband.

"It’s going to be a great time."

As the captain sneakily put his arm around Lin's waist, Lin pulled away, his expression stern.

Despite Lin’s displeasure, the captain was quite pleased.

"You’re like a cat."

The captain, with his chest puffed out, strutted into his tent. The mage glared at him as he walked away.

"Should I kill him?"

"Go ahead."

"Huh?"

Tigrea blinked, surprised that Lin had actually given his consent.

"Let’s see how he behaves at dinner."

That was essentially saying she should kill him.

Tigrea, satisfied, nodded as she toyed with her special item, the "Horned Bird's Horn Staff."

"Can we talk?"

As the afternoon interrogation time came around again, Lin approached Hannah, who was still crying alone, rather than going to another member.

Hannah, who hadn’t responded at all to the captain, slightly moved her head when Lin called her.

Though she was short, she had a plump figure, but now her cheeks were sunken and gaunt.

"...Alright."

"Okay, then let’s ask some questions..."

"But let’s do it over there..."

She pointed weakly towards the palace ruins.

"Hey, Hannah! You can’t go into the ruins without the captain's permission..."

"It doesn’t matter."

When another member tried to intervene, Hannah cut them off sharply.

"It doesn’t matter anymore."

"Hmph, foolish woman."

The member didn’t push further.

Lin and Tigrea entered the palace ruins with Hannah.

As they walked towards the ruins, the other members watched them closely, though they soon lost interest and returned to their tents.

From some of the tents, vulgar moans could be heard.

"What happened?"

As soon as they entered the dark ruins, Lin questioned Hannah.

"I don’t know... I don’t really know what happened last night."

"No, that’s not what I meant."

At Lin’s signal, Tigrea subtly positioned herself to block the entrance.

"What happened to you yesterday?"

"To me...?"

Tears started flowing again, crossing her cracked cheeks, looking painful.

"He died..."

"Who?"

"My childhood friend... We were both orphans, relying on each other. He was so handsome and wonderful that I often wondered why he chose someone like me."

Like a broken music box, Hannah slowly unraveled her story.

"We promised to save money, buy a small house, and live together... So I joined the exploration team, and he became a servant in a rich household. But he was so handsome that it must have angered someone, and he was caught seducing the lady of the house and was beaten to death. I got the letter yesterday."

She must have received the letter when the Golden Carriage arrived.

"It can’t be true. He only had eyes for me. That lady must have seduced him, and when it didn’t work out, she framed him."

Another tear fell.

"Knowing he was dead made me feel like my heart had died too. Like there was a huge hole in the middle of my chest."

"Isn’t that a good thing?"

It was Tigrea.

Her tendency to strike with cold facts at anyone but Lin was on full display.

"If there’s a hole, why not ask the captain to fill it? Even if your heart is dead, your body might find it quite satisfying."

"I’m not like those other women!"

She reflexively got angry, but then Hannah gave a hollow laugh.

"No, I’m worse than them..."

"What on earth is going on in the exploration team for you to say that?"

Lin, who had been silently observing, asked.

"You already know. They’re all women with lovers who are sleeping with the captain. Did you know? If you have dinner with the captain, he mixes aphrodisiacs and drugs into the meat. He uses it to stimulate the loneliness of women who can’t relieve their desires in a foreign land, takes advantage of them, and makes them obedient."

She began to giggle like a madwoman.

"The drugs, his superior body, and the guilt of betrayal combine, and they can’t escape."

But soon, that vulgar laugh was mixed with self-mockery and regret.

"But it’s all meaningless in front of the artifact."

"Artifact?"

"A few weeks ago, we found something incredible. A large gem, black on the outside but glowing orange from within."

That was it.

That gem was the key to opening the dead-end path inside the ruins.

Lin and Tigrea remained silent, allowing Hannah to continue on her own.

"Explorers are all money-crazed bastards. They talk big about seeking mysteries, but they’re just idiots who want to hit it big with ancient artifacts. I found the gem, but the captain forcibly took it for himself. Then he went deep into the ruins alone and stopped the exploration."

"Then why not hurry up and sell it to split the money?"

"Why share it?"

Hannah retorted.

"If he kills everyone and takes it all, it’s all his. Do you think women who betray their lovers have any conscience left? The only thing left for them is to take the money home to their families or loved ones. Whether it’s penance or cleansing, that’s their only lifeline."

Hearing that, Lin finally understood why the exploration team members were so hostile toward each other.

They were all competitors, fighting to monopolize the artifact.

"It’s foolish. Even if you want to give a material reward, it’s useless if you’re dead."

"You can still give it after you’re dead. They all have life insurance with the Golden Carriage."

Life insurance?

Such a concept exists in this world?

Even Lin was hearing about this for the first time.

Hannah chuckled again.

"They’ve hidden their petty artifacts in their pockets. If they die, the Golden Carriage postman comes, takes half the value, and sends the other half to their loved ones back home."

Whether that was a small mercy or the last shred of their conscience, Lin just felt disgusted.

"Since the captain took the gem, there’s been a death every night. All the women who had dinner with him that night ended up dead. The captain is probably the killer."

"With such a strong lead, everyone must know the captain is the murderer. So why does everyone still accept his dinner invitations? Why does no one do anything about it?"

"Because they have nothing to lose. If they have dinner, they know he’ll make a move, so they wait until he’s exhausted, then kill him and take the artifact. Lucky for them. If they don’t get invited, they hope one of them dies, reducing the competition. Lucky for them."

Lin’s head started to hurt.

In the game, the serial killer in this scenario was Denarua.

She was known for mocking them one by one before killing them, saying they disgusted her, right before the boss fight.

But in reality, it was just a slaughter disguised as a dinner, with the exploration team members competing in one-on-one kill-or-be-killed battles.

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And they even included vulgar pre-murder rituals.

There was something strange too.

If the captain was the killer, how did he manage to drain all the victims’ blood?

Perhaps that was the power of the gem.

"It’s all meaningless now."

Hannah muttered bitterly.

"Even if I make a lot of money, or die, there’s no one left to take my life insurance..."

A woman who had nothing left, she was now left alone in her emptiness.

"Why not find a new man? Isn’t it enough to just do it every night?"

"It’s not like that... It’s not like that... This emptiness isn’t something like that..."

Despite Tigrea's harsh words, Hannah didn’t respond.

"Don’t you want to take revenge on the exploration captain who made you like this?"

"Will revenge bring him back?"

Even Lin’s suggestion of revenge didn’t elicit a response.

Eventually, unable to contain it any longer, a scornful remark burst out.

"Then just die. Why wallow in misery after ruining yourself?"

It wasn’t Lin.

The clear, articulate words, filled with disdain, came from Tigrea.

Her face was full of anger, and she poured all her intense emotions into that one sentence before turning away.

Hannah didn’t think Tigrea's suggestion was bad.

If she died, could she meet him in the afterlife?

She shook her head.

She was a sinner, destined for hell, while he was kind and likely in heaven. It was impossible.

Even so, she had no reason to stay alive.

Hannah pulled out a rather long knife from her pocket.

As she pointed it at her neck, memories of him flashed before her eyes.

"Ah."

A tiny spark of life returned.

If she was going to go, she wanted to reminisce about their memories one last time.

"Um, if it’s alright, could you listen to my story...?"

Lowering the knife, Hannah raised her head.

No one was there.

Lin and Tigrea had already left the ruins and were walking back toward the camp in the distance.

"Haha..."

Overwhelmed by deep loneliness, Hannah barely managed to open her mouth in despair.

After committing adultery and losing her beloved, she had nothing left—.

Slash

"Hmph, disgusting."

Despite the harsh words, Hannah’s neck was cleanly severed.

She probably didn’t even feel any pain as she passed, but even in death, her head continued to weep.

"Weren’t you the one who started the affair knowing it would end like this?"

Mocking the severed head, Denarua wiped the blood off her sword.

"Love is not lust; it’s the union of affection and loyalty, you fool."