Prologue
“Take him baaaaaaack-!!!!!!!!”
In the end, the Hero couldn’t hold on any longer.
With tears welling up in her eyes, she frantically scanned the surroundings for the Porter.
It was a stupid move.
She shouldn’t have sent him away; her clumsy arrogance had led to this mess.
“Haa… haa…”
Being left all alone made her dizzy, and her vision swam in uncertainty.
The thought that anyone could stab her in the back made her feel like she was about to puke.
“Lin… Lin…! Where are you, please…!”
Gasping for air, Lucy finally broke down and started wailing.
“Liiiin-! I was wrong… I was wrong… hwaeugh…!”
“Lucy, I know, but the Porter isn’t here. Just give up.”
“His name is Lin! He’s not just some Porter!”
Seeing her in distress, the Saintess tried to intervene, but the Hero roughly pushed her away.
Ching!
Even the Holy Sword Hnonni was now aimed at them, and Nydrian and Arcil’s faces stiffened with alarm.
At that moment, with even the Wizard absent, the Hero went into a full-blown rampage.
And all of this unfolded in the middle of the bustling Court.
“Okay, okay, but Lin isn’t here…”
“Don’t you dare call Lin in that filthy mouth!”
“You’re the one to call his name, you narcissistic idiot!!”
Even the normally composed Saintess Arcil couldn’t hold back anymore.
She would’ve loved to slap the Hero, but after all, she was the Hero.
Throwing her own arm at him would have been a more promising approach.
‘There’s no helping it.’
Just as the High Elf Nydrian held her breath to draw a paralysis poison-laced arrow,
Whack!
The dagger thrown by the Hero embedded itself into the wall right next to her face.
“What are you doing, Hero…!”
“Do you think I wouldn’t know? Just like back then, just like that day! Are you trying to stab me in the back again?”
Arcil swallowed hard.
The Hero’s words were known only to them.
“Damn it, we really should’ve had the Porter with us!”
It had been foolish to let him go so easily.
She felt stupid for thinking everything would be fine without him.
“It’s always Lin. He treats me like a person and thinks of me like no one else does.”
The Hero was sinking deeper into her own thoughts.
As her murmurs grew darker, a black aura radiated from her.
The energy began to darken the surroundings, prompting Arcil to shout in desperation.
“Nydrian, shoot!”
“Oh, come on—!”
With a whistling sound, the arrow flew and was effortlessly caught and broken by the Hero’s hand.
Even that arrow was consumed and disintegrated by the spreading darkness.
“Look at that, what are you trying to take this time? You already took my limbs last time; what’re you after this time?”
“Hero, we didn’t mean it like that…”
“Hmph, sure. You can keep telling yourself that.”
“Arcil!”
Nydrian tried to explain, but the normally composed Saintess couldn’t resist provoking the Hero.
“This time, I’ll take Lin.”
Time seemed to freeze.
The Hero stood there, rooted in place, staring blankly at them.
Her focus had vanished a long time ago.
As everyone held their breath watching the situation unfold, Lucy slowly raised Hnonni.
“Now that I think about it… you’ve never once asked me… for forgiveness….”
The dark energy soared like flames.
Within it, only her red eyes glinted menacingly.
“And you think you can take Lin from me…?”
“Stop chattering so much!”
The Saintess donned the Dragon Scale Gloves.
As she put them on, holy power crackled like lightning, revealing its ferocity.
“Come here. A single hit, and you’ll sleep well until we fetch the Porter.”
Then, a fierce storm of darkness surged, and the Hero screamed.
“I can’t sleep without Lin’s heartbeat—!!!!!!!”
The furious Saintess and the shaking Elf Archer bared their teeth once more at the Hero they once turned their backs on.
Meanwhile,
“So, if I describe the recipient’s characteristics, the letter will be delivered automatically, right?”
“Yes! With affection, hatred, and information, we deliver anywhere!”
“Then this one is for Hero Lucy.”
“Y-Yes?! Hero? If it’s not too much trouble, may I ask for your name…?”
The mail courier reacted vigorously, causing the masked man to hurriedly wave his hands.
“Ah, I’m just the Porter. It’s a letter asking how the errand is going.”
“Got it! The Demon King has returned, so I’ll speedily deliver it for the busy Hero Party!”
“Thank you very much.”
As he watched the carrier vanish quickly with the Spatial Movement technique, Porter Lin leisurely stretched.
Wow, that’s a top-tier ultimate skill, and here’s this random mailman using it like it’s no big deal.
“It’s been quite a while, but I haven’t heard anything. Has Lucy’s dependency improved a bit?”
Weeks passed with no updates from the mainland.
If it were the old Lucy, reports of her smashing anything and everything would have come flying by now, but nothing yet.
“Good! Looks like I can start my exit from the story soon.”
Of course,
“You all hid this, didn’t you? It’s mine! It’s meant for me! Lin… Lin…! Without you, I’m….”
“Ugh! Someone quiet her down with a paralysis arrow!”
“That’s your fault for provoking her, Arcil!”
It was not okay at all.
