He Became the Only Ally of the Abandoned Warrior

Chapter 20

“An... doll?”

Lin mulled over Ravin’s words.

She didn’t understand.

She didn’t know how much pain he had endured and how hard he had worked to become what he was now.

Only after Ravin became what he called a “doll” did the reckless behavior of the warrior party’s porter disappear, allowing him to focus solely on his true mission.

He would stow the party members’ items in the inventory, prepare for camping, get meals ready, and handle all sorts of mundane tasks without error.

When combat began, his true role was to cower and tremble behind a small shield.

Though it was humiliating for him, his natural physique was too frail to endure the battles between the warrior party and the demon clans.

The way he justified and endured his humiliation was to adopt the persona of a doll, a label that stuck to him as a mark of his role.

Despite this, Lin remained calm.

No, he had to remain calm.

The heart was so fragile that if one accepted everything it was subjected to, it would shatter into pieces, leaving behind nothing but endless self-loathing and self-reproach.

Lin suddenly thought of Lucy.

Though her arrogant behavior was a flaw, Lucy had shouldered the burden of being the hero and fulfilled her duty.

The price for that was betrayal by her fiancé and comrades. @@@@

In despair, the only way to maintain herself was to rely on Lin, both physically and emotionally, who was there beside her.

Just as Lin had numbed her emotions to survive, Lucy had chosen to depend on Lin to endure.

Lin could finally understand.

She could now comprehend why Lucy had become so affectionate and obsessive toward her.

She felt regret for having unconditionally kept her distance from Lucy.

‘If that’s the case, maybe I should accept her until she gets better. Would that be alright?

Lin thought, cautiously revising her earlier stance.

He took out the softest cloth from his pocket and handed it to Lucy.

However, Lucy, who was quietly shedding tears, didn’t notice.

Reluctantly, Lin wiped Lucy’s tear-streaked face herself.

“...Lin?”

“You can cry if you want to.”

“I don’t want to cry.”

Perhaps it was embarrassing in front of the thief.

After gently wiping her tears, Lin playfully pressed his finger against Lucy’s nose.

He smiled reassuringly.

Lucy blushed, feeling shy. Watching them, Ravin’s face reddened with embarrassment.

“What are you two doing in front of old acquaintances? Are you dating now?”

“She’s the only companion I have. The best companion, too. We need to look out for each other.”

Lucy was unsure whether to feel sullen or happy about Lin’s words.

“And let’s be clear in our expressions. It’s true that we have a past, but all I remember is that we used to argue every day.”

“That’s because you were always under Arsil! You kept hanging around that gorilla-like woman! I always told you to come over here! To our group!”

“Wow, that’s a severe distortion. We only exchanged a couple of suggestions at the very end after we had our swords drawn.”

“Ah... that’s not true...!”

“That was when I gave you the sandwich.”

“Ugh...! That... sandwich was delicious...”

Ravin was the first to back down.

Lin was satisfied with this small victory, but Lucy wasn’t pleased at all.

The old stories shared between the two were all too familiar to Ravin, but they were irritatingly envious to Lucy.

However, did Lucy understand that this friendly banter wasn’t filled with affection?

“So, you’re not going to tell me why things ended up like this, are you, Mr. Lee?”

“It’s a long story. If it’s about the most recent events, I might not know.”

“The most recent events?”

Lin sighed inwardly as Ravin continued probing.

Though he appeared to be just joking around, beneath that demeanor, Ravin was scrutinizing his opponent closely and extracting information.

Even the arrogant Linachien had to be careful and deliberate in her words when facing Ravin.

Buried in her thoughts, Lucy whispered into Lin’s shoulder, “As long as I have you.”

Ravin, meanwhile, was deep in thought about new experiments.

She wondered if pinning the warrior’s ponytail to the floor would keep it upright and not make it droop.

“Anyway,” Ravin continued, “the three members of the hero party went to Ephalter. They found the corpse of the demon. Isn’t that strange? They didn’t defeat it but merely found it. This means someone else must have killed the demon.”

At this point, Ravin stared intently at Lucy, as if questioning her directly: Did you kill the demon?

Lin, knowing the truth, had no intention of confirming it.

“And now, the slow-witted envoy has arrived at the capital. The archer has returned, while the saint and the mage are still investigating for more traces of demons in Ephalter. That’s the end of it.”

“What’s the public opinion?”

“They’re engulfed in anxiety, fearing that more demons might be out there. Some citizens even witnessed the sword soaring into the sky, demanding that the hero’s whereabouts and the demons be found and dealt with quickly.”

It was likely the commoners voicing their concerns.

Lucy had always been popular among them.

“Interestingly, the opinion is mostly driven by the nobles.”

Lin was caught off guard by this prediction.

“With the threat of demons felt so keenly, people are demanding that a countermeasure be found. But somehow, the princess and the shield knight seem to be dragging their feet.”

Ravin stretched, her small but pronounced chest becoming evident.

“It’s your turn now.”

Lin pondered where to begin.

After a moment’s thought, he decided to be straightforward.

The thief was someone who would never betray Lin and Lucy, willingly or unwillingly.

“After the fierce battle, Lucy used the sword to slay the Demon Lord,” Lin said, his tone calm and devoid of inflection as he recounted recent history.

He spoke of the party members crushing the Demon Lord’s limbs one by one, how the porter saved Lucy from the party’s betrayal and fell off a cliff, how they walked for days to reach Ephalter, and the ultimate recovery of Lucy after much hardship.

Ravin’s eyes widened with growing shock as he listened.

“What...?”

Ravin initially denied the claim.

“That can’t be true. It’s Arsil! She’s known for his extreme care for his people, being from the alley of waste!”

Lin rolled up Lucy’s sleeve.

Seeing the white scars on her arms, Ravin was forced to accept this uncomfortable truth.

“Even if I concede a hundred times... the fact that you didn’t recognize me is one thing.”

Lin agreed.

For someone who knew everything, it was easy to dismiss the ignorant as foolish.

But searching and discovering the truth was always much harder than hiding it.

“But to shatter the limbs of a comrade who shared life and death?”

Ravin clutched his head in despair, lamenting helplessly.

“What did the shield knight promise as compensation?”

As Ravin tore at her hair, her movements suddenly ceased.

It wasn’t an easy task.

Lin’s body felt entwined with the threads of every event in this world.

What price had the shield knight and the princess promised to Arsil?

Ravin and Lin could easily surmise.

But before that, Ravin had to verify something.

“Is it possible that...?”

Ravin had to understand the depth of the ugly crime Arsil, the foolish saint, had committed.

“Does Arsil not even know that the alley of waste has disappeared?”

Ravin hoped that, given her position as a saint, Arsil might have some inkling of it.

It was a hope, a blind wish that she would at least have guessed.

If she met Lin or himself, the suspicion would turn into certainty.

He had thought that the porters had concealed their identities.

“So you really went to the end, hiding your identity all the while?”

Lin had no obligation to answer.

However, silence in itself was a powerful affirmation.

“Arsiiiiiiil—!!!!!!”

Ravin’s rage erupted, directed at the absurd obsession and crimes committed by the rival who had once been acknowledged and cherished.