For just a moment, I saw a scene where Yuna and Myungho were sharing an intimate moment. Myungho was whispering Yuna’s name—not mine—and acting rather rough…
I was well aware that it was a hallucination. After all, I’d experienced something similar when I went to look for Myungho while fending off a monster in that village. Most importantly, I knew very well that neither of them had any such feelings for each other. Even someone as oblivious as me could tell.
Colleagues. That’s all they are—nothing more, nothing less. Just mere colleagues. They wouldn’t do something like that. Myungho especially isn’t the type.
He promised to become my family. There’s no way he’d betray that promise. I know him. He wouldn’t do such a thing.
After channeling mana into my cloak to conceal myself, I hid behind a distant rock and only then let down my invisibility spell. I tried hard to calm myself, taking deep breaths.
I know there’s no way anything like that would happen between them. Still, the reason I fled so abruptly was because I couldn’t bear to face them.
The sudden surge of anger, the jealousy harbored toward mere illusions, the despair of feeling betrayed by someone I trusted—all these emotions filled me. I feared revealing how I harbored such baseless feelings toward the people I cherish.
…And if even for a moment, what if it was true? The thought sickened me, not just with myself but also because I felt sorry for them. That’s why I had no choice but to act this way. In the middle of all this, my lower abdomen began to ache again.
—Do you truly know the truth? Is your lover as innocent as you think? Does your colleague really feel nothing for your lover?
“Who’s there?! Are you Demon Tribe bastards again?! You’re getting on my nerves…!”
It’s not just my mind—it feels like they’ve played some trick on my body too. Those bastards are despicable; I’d hunt them down across the entire continent just to rip them apart.
After heightening my senses, I searched everywhere for the invisible Demon Tribe member, but there was nothing around me. Only the erica flowers brushing against my collarbone remained.
Looking up reveals nothing but the blazing sun. With no way to pinpoint their location, I almost decided to overturn the earth itself when another wave of searing pain struck my lower abdomen.
—You foolish child. Look at your belly. Aren’t you curious about why it hurts? And this isn’t the work of the Demon Tribe. You know who I am.
The voice didn’t enter through my ears but directly into my mind, making it impossible to determine its direction or distance. It was annoying.
“I can’t see anything! And I don’t even know who you are.”
Realizing further searches would be futile, I stopped spreading mana around and instead opted for conversation, answering honestly in hopes of gaining insight.
What does it mean to “look at my belly” when my chest blocks the view? Sure, I could try looking, but I might get attacked from somewhere unexpected. Besides, I have no idea what or who is speaking to me now. Why do they act like we already know each other?
—Have you turned into stone, fooling around with rocks? How ignorant. Fine, then. You don’t need to know. Since you find it hard to see your belly, let me help.
Just moments ago, the voice had been gentle and coaxing, but suddenly it turned cold. A burning sensation surged through my lower abdomen.
As I instinctively bent over from the pain, I noticed something strange. On my belly, there was a radiant golden heart-shaped tattoo glowing brightly.
What is this? Did I get this when I fell under the Demon Tribe’s hypnosis earlier? If not then, I haven’t given anyone the chance to mark me like this. I was confused.
—Are you not reminded of something? For instance, perhaps it resembles the one on your lover’s hand?
Now that I think about it, it did strangely resemble—no, it was nearly identical—to the one on Myungho’s hand. The only difference was that mine glowed while his didn’t…
Myungho…? No. There’s no way he’d do something like this. It must be a coincidence. I crushed the budding doubt ruthlessly.
So, the voice in my head is trying to say this mark on my belly came from Myungho, right? It has to be the Demon Tribe. They couldn’t succeed by force, so they’re attempting to tear us apart using this lowly method. That’s definitely what’s happening.
Thinking that way made the tattoo on my belly seem grotesque. Despite being identical to the one on Myungho’s hand, it now appeared far more hideous.
—Think whatever you want. But wouldn’t it be worth asking him once? If he truly trusts you, he’ll answer straightforwardly, won’t he?
The voice in my head kept spouting nonsense until it gradually faded away. The tattoo blurred and eventually disappeared along with the voice.
Was the hallucination earlier and the recent incident both tricks by them? Judging by the pain in my belly, it probably was. Thinking so brought a slight sense of relief.
Yeah, it was all just a trick. The image of Myungho and Yuna together, my jealousy towards Yuna, and even daring to suspect Myungho—all of it was due to those tricks.
All of it was just a trick. I convinced myself of this and moved toward the carriage.
While passing through the sea of erica flowers that almost tripped me, my gaze briefly lingered on a small erica flower growing near a rock, but I quickly ignored it and announced my return to Myungho.
“Oh, you’re here? Let’s get going then.”
I glanced at Myungho’s right hand. On the back of it was the same golden tattoo that had appeared on my belly earlier.
Wouldn’t it be okay to ask him once…? I’m not doubting his trust in me. Absolutely not. But yeah, I’m just curious…
“Hey… Myungho?”
“What’s wrong, Alterra? Is there something you want to say?”
“Never mind. It’s nothing.”
—
“We’ve arrived! This is Erikos. I’m planning to stop by the Adventurers’ Guild to settle things. What do you all plan to do?”
Though lacking iconic structures like Korbo, Erikos bustled with energy as a major city. Breathing in the fragrant scent of flowers and freshly baked bread, I responded to the driver’s question.
“I haven’t decided where to go yet, so I’ll accompany you to the guild.”
“If you haven’t decided where to go, why not visit ‘Sword and Rose’ inn? Their flower-infused wine is absolutely delicious. Besides, you must be tired from your journey. Why not relax with some drink and rest?”
They even make alcohol from erica here. Looking around, I noticed many people wearing purple clothing. Given that erica seems to be the only plant around here, they must have found ways to utilize it.
“That sounds good. Yuna, Akashi. Start preparing to get down. Alterra too.”
“Uh, yeah. N-no, it’s nothing, Myungho. So… after visiting the guild, we’ll head straight to the inn, right…?”
Altera has been like this ever since she returned from the bathroom yesterday. She keeps hesitating, trying to ask something but backing out every time.
Anyone can see she wants to ask something. Surely she doesn’t think I wouldn’t notice? Feeling an ominous premonition that she’d keep this up unless I intervened, I decided to address her curiosity.
“Yeah. Actually, Alterra, it seems like you have something you want to ask. Is there anything on your mind? Feel free to ask. I’ll answer.”
She seemed startled when I pointed out her obvious hesitation, as if she truly believed she could hide it.
“Did it show…?”
Hugely. Saying that, Alterra blushed furiously, clasping her hands together and becoming extremely embarrassed. Until now, she had at least managed to maintain eye contact, but now she couldn’t even look at me.
After letting her squirm a bit longer, she finally opened her mouth, fidgeting with her fingers.
“Well… umm… it’s not that I doubt… well, actually, I kind of do… but not completely… ugh… sigh… about the tattoo on your hand. Is it really… given by the Goddess…?”
Altera babbled nervously, but hearing her question left me frozen. If she finds out, she’ll surely tell me to stop.
Because it’s my revenge, I need to persevere. She’ll definitely say that. Then later, I’ll grow much stronger than I am now, and I’ll fall back into being just a spectator.
…As I remained silent, she started rambling nervously, apologizing profusely. She said she knows she shouldn’t doubt me, that it’s all her fault.
Whose fault is it really?
“Ah, oh. Yeah, it’s from the Goddess. She said something like, ‘Bright futures await those who love.’ Hence the heart shape. I should’ve explained it better earlier. Sorry about that.”
“Is… is that true? It’s really from the Goddess? Thank goodness… thank goodness… Really… um, great! Let’s go drink then? I’m looking forward to it…!”
Once her doubts were cleared, Alterra immediately regained her cheerfulness and confidence.
Fortunately, my blinded left eye hasn’t been discovered yet.
Akashi openly grinned mischievously at us, while Yuna, despite claiming she didn’t like alcohol much, couldn’t hide the smile tugging at her lips.
