He Became the Only Ally of the Abandoned Warrior-Chapter 79

Both Arsil and Naidrian, who had been waiting nearby, were shocked by Tigrea’s words.

The mage, who had always been stern and blunt, now spoke softly and gently as she pulled Lin away from the Hero.

Lucia, on the other hand, froze.

"Your tone has changed... quite a bit."

"Thanks to Lin."

A brief, whispered exchange, a duel of sorts between sword and shield.

Lucia was on the verge of bursting with rage as she noticed Tigrea's subtle smile directed at Lin. As a woman, Lucia understood all too well what that smile meant.

"You dare...! I'm the woman Lin personally rescued. From your hands, no less!"

"I'm truly sorry for that."

"Do you think an apology is enough?!"

Tigrea wanted to apologize immediately, but there were too many eyes watching them. It wasn’t just about pride; everyone in the Imperial Palace was connected to Linasien, making the situation complicated.

Meanwhile, Lucia was emanating an aura of dark resentment.

"She's doing it again! Stop her!"

"How? If we draw weapons, it'll be a bloodbath!"

Arsil was panicking, and Naidrian was at a loss. As the gathered nobles began to recall the nightmare that had occurred just that morning and started to panic, Lin gently cupped Lucia's cheek.

"Why have you lost so much weight?"

He asked with a serious expression.

"Did you eat properly while I was gone?"

"N-no... I didn't..."

"Look at your cheeks, they’ve thinned out."

He lightly stroked her cheek with the back of his hand, and indeed, it had noticeably sunken in.

Overwhelmed by Lin's sudden touch and the realization that she had worried him, Lucia pouted and didn't know what to do.

"I'm sorry..."

"Promise me, no matter what happens, you'll eat properly, okay?"

"But..."

Lucia looked down and pouted even more.

"When you're not around, I don't even feel like eating..."

Even though she was trying to be playful, her voice was barely a whisper, a stark contrast to her usual grumbling. She wasn’t doing it on purpose; she was simply intimidated by the light scolding.

The nobles, unaware of the context, were utterly confused by the Hero who had recently broken off her engagement with the Shield Knight and was now clinging to a mere porter.

"I can't just let that comment slide!"

Suddenly, Ailan Decarrun emerged from the crowd.

Dressed in a purple gown that accentuated her voluptuous figure, she addressed the porter with a commanding voice.

"I've heard that even in the emergency evacuation from Gillesman, you fought fiercely against the Demon Generals. You’ve done well. Thanks to you all, the Empire and this world have avoided another crisis."

"You're too kind, Commander."

"Tell me, how intense was the battle that it even changed the way you speak?"

As Tigrea bowed, Ailan made a light-hearted remark, causing the onlookers to relax and laugh.

"Even during a war, without supplies, defeat is inevitable. I doubt you had a proper meal in the ruins of Gillesman. I’ll personally invite you all to dinner."

"Thank you, but if possible, we'd like to rest first..."

"Tomorrow night, the Hero’s party will head straight to the Holy Kingdom. If you don’t eat and regain your strength now, it will be a problem."

Though it was somewhat forceful, Ailan’s suggestion was reasonable. Going to bed hungry wouldn’t allow their bodies, already lacking in nutrients, to recover properly. Even if it was a bit uncomfortable, it was better to fill them up with high-calorie food and then send them to bed.

Knowing that Lin disliked being in the spotlight, Tigrea took the initiative, but both of them were indeed very hungry.

"Since the Commander insists, we’ll definitely attend."

"Good, good. I’ll have only the best dishes prepared, so look forward to it. Now, then!"

With a flourish, Ailan opened her fan and covered the lower half of her face.

"Go clean up first. You all smell terrible."

It was a long-awaited bath.

Lin had been trying to bathe regularly, but Lucia would whine and stop him, saying she didn’t want his scent to disappear, leaving him feeling constantly grimy.

Considering he had been chased by the expedition leader and fought Denarua in the ruins of Gillesman, the smell of sweat alone must have been unbearable.

He quickly stripped off his clothes, but the two bracelets, exclusive items for an Item Master, remained on his wrists.

[Cosmos: Item Master Exclusive Item]

[Item Description: An exclusive item for the advanced porter class, Item Master. It expands the inventory to have unlimited storage capacity. The item's effects can be activated without any additional actions or preparation. It is also known as Cosmos for convenience.]

So, it's called Cosmos.

The goddess must have been too busy to even tell him the name of the exclusive item. It seems she’s not very meticulous after all.

She must be too preoccupied to pay attention to every little detail.

However, Lin harbored one particular doubt about the goddess.

'When I asked her why she had previously inquired about my wish, the goddess claimed she had never done so. Then she was startled and mentioned the name of the Demon God Angria.'

Startled?

Did the goddess not know?

That’s likely why, in the original version, there was a scene where the party members were asked about their wishes, and in the DLC, it was revealed that the Demon God was behind it all. This sequence was probably intentional.

Something didn’t sit right with Lin.

He submerged himself in the hot water and delved deeper into his thoughts...

Bang!

"Lin, are you there?"

"...?!"

He quickly turned towards the entrance, only to see Lucia standing there, covered only by a single towel, looking around nervously.

"Lu-Lucia? Why are you here?"

"I was invited to dinner too."

"Then you should go to the women’s bath!"

"They’re cleaning it. There’s not much time before dinner, so I didn’t have much choice."

Despite the rather large bath towel, the sides of her chest and hips were exposed, revealing smooth skin. The tips of her ample breasts, which were large enough not to need holding onto the towel, also peeked out slightly, causing Lin to turn around and sink deeper into the water.

"What's wrong, Lin?"

"It’s just... men and women should be separate..."

Seeing Lin's embarrassment, Lucia grinned mischievously.

"It’s okay, Lin. You already know every inch of my body, don’t you?"

"If someone hears that, they might get the wrong idea."

It wasn’t entirely untrue. He was the one who had bathed and dressed her when she had lost all her limbs.

Though it had been less than a year, it felt like a long time ago to Lin.

"Do you remember when I told you it wasn’t fair back when you were the only one taking care of me?"

"I remember."

"Do you also remember why I said it wasn’t fair?"

"Um, not exactly."

"I said it wasn’t fair that you were the only one washing me. I wanted to wash you too."

Though he pretended not to understand, Lucia hit the mark and slipped into the hot water beside him.

The wet towel floated up along with her chest, and Lucia gently pressed it down. The towel, which had been floating slightly, soon sank.

"Now I can wash you too."

"Lucia, you’ve really changed a lot in just a few days."

"...A few days?"

Lucia’s expression darkened.

A wave of fragile instability surged within her.

"For me, it felt like an eternity."

Seeing the emptiness in her eyes, Lin suddenly realized how much time had passed for Lucia while she endured everything alone.

It was also clear that he needed to pay more attention to her than to the Arsil situation.

"How about we do what we couldn’t do before, once we’re in the room later?"

"That too, but this is my way of repaying you."

Lucia slowly approached him.

Lin could have just said no, but he feared that rejecting the Hero now would wound her deeply.

He agonized over it, but there wasn’t enough time to stop her approach.

"Got you."

As she smiled and grabbed his arm—

"Excuse me."

Once again, the bathhouse door opened, and Tigrea, wrapped in a towel, entered.

"Why are you here?!"

"I needed to wash up before dinner."

"Then go to the women’s bath!"

"It’s being cleaned."

The conversation that had just taken place repeated itself.

Lucia glared daggers at Tigrea, who responded with calm indifference, and Lin found himself caught in the middle.

"I read that bathing together can help close the distance between people."

"Bathing together? With whom? With Lin?"

"No, with you, Luciena."

Tigrea immediately bowed her head deeply.

"I’m really sorry for betraying you that day, Luciena."

"......"

Lin was surprised, but Lucia’s reaction was complicated.

She remembered the hellish torment of being endlessly mutilated and the excruciating pain that was seared into her memory.

Now, one of the people who had caused that pain was here, bowing in the bathhouse.

So simple.

Apologizing, that is.

Even though she hadn’t yet escaped the pain, all it took was a word.

Yet, on the other hand, it might have taken Tigrea an immense amount of courage and anxiety to finally say those words.

Lucia knew because she had gone through the same.

But now that she had received the apology, all she felt was a hollow "sorry."

She couldn’t understand what Tigrea expected her to forgive.

Only now did Lucia realize why Lin showed her care but never forgiveness, and why Rabin got so angry every time he saw her downcast.

It was all so trivial.

That was Lucia’s assessment.

In any case, Tigrea’s apology didn’t mean much to her.

"I don’t need it, so just leave."

Despite the cold dismissal, Tigrea didn’t back down.

"Then I must also ask Lin for forgiveness."

Producing soap and a shower sponge with magic, she began to work up a lather and approached Lin.

"Uh… Tigrea, why me?"

"I’ll wash your back as a way to earn your forgiveness and to help close the distance between us."

"Why are you trying to do this in the bathhouse, though?"

Tigrea tilted her head in confusion.

"The book said that bathing together could improve relationships."

Though her tone had softened, the mage still had a long way to go. Lin was reminded once again that knowledge didn’t always correlate with social skills.

"Here, let me wash you."

"No! Wait!"

Lucia quickly embraced him, pressing her face against his body, inhaling deeply to absorb as much of his scent as possible.

"Lin’s scent..."

Her entire body immediately relaxed. It was as if the smell was a drug, slowing her breathing and making the world around her seem brighter.

"Slurp."

"Lucia?!"

Unconsciously, she stuck out her tongue and licked him, causing Lin, who was already struggling with the Hero's touch, to jump in shock.

"Slurp, haah... Lin..."

"Stop!"

Finally, Lin, unable to bear it any longer, pushed her away. Lucia looked up at him with a hurt expression.

"It used to be okay... You always used to let me do this as a reward..."

"Well, I mean..."

"Do you want me to wash you with my tongue?"

Tigrea interjected at the most unexpected moment. As she stuck out her small tongue, Lin frantically waved his hands in protest.

"Just wash me normally!"

"Really?"

"Yes!"

"Then it’s okay if I wash you?"

Tigrea glanced at Lucia as she waited for Lin’s answer. Realizing he had been outmaneuvered, Lin surrendered.

"...Fine."

This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.

Wordlessly, he handed her the shower sponge, and Lucia accepted it without further complaint.

She was still in shock that the mage had actually helped her.

"Tigrea! Where do you think you're scrubbing?!"

"The book said it feels nice when you create lather on the chest."

"You said you’d wash me normally!"

"Lin’s comfort comes first."

There was another round of panicked shouting from Lucia, but the two women diligently scrubbed Lin down.

Tigrea started from his head, working her way down with lather, while Lucia meticulously cleaned between his toes with the sponge, moving upwards.

Eventually, they met at—

"Impressive."

"Very noble."

Perhaps the most central part of the human body.

Lucia’s praise and Tigrea’s calm observation.

"We should wash here too, right?"

"Of course."

The two exchanged meaningful glances.

"What are you washing?! I'll take care of that part, so please stop right here! Or I’ll get seriously mad!!"

Struggling desperately, Lin finally made a deal with Lucia, agreeing that she could enjoy his scent to her heart's content tonight, and only then was he able to safely conclude the bath.