“I’m being sincere.
Being with you, going on adventures, doing quests, exploring dungeons, eating, drinking, and having fun together—it’s been great.
Honestly, it feels like I’ve got an adorable little girlfriend.”
Torina said this with complete seriousness.
“…………” Patty paused.
After a few seconds, she spoke softly, “Yeah, I’ve been really happy too.
Even if our relationship is fake, these feelings are real.”
As she spoke, she gently took Torina’s hand.
Unlike before, when she’d enthusiastically pressed her whole body against her, this time she just held her hand lightly.
“…By the way, Captain, what kind of change of heart did you go through? No offense, but you used to be kind of dumb and mean.
Now you’re not just slick, but you hide a surprisingly serious side under all that joking around… Why is that?” Patty looked at her very intently.
It was like she was trying to see right into the depths of her soul.
“Because… I just want to live well, I guess.”
“…Live well?”
“I want to take a new look at myself (a former programmer who became a villainous young lady), take a new look at this world (this is a novel, and it’s even a genderbent version of the original), and then cherish everything I have now… my life, my power, my team, my companions.
I want to treat everyone like family… and that includes you, Patty.”
“…Treat me like family?”
“Mhm.”
“………………………” Patty stopped walking.
She grabbed Torina’s sleeve, making her stop too, and looked at her very seriously.
Determination showed on her delicate face.
“Captain—no, Torina, if you’re really sincere, can you take me with you?”
“Take you…?” Torina was caught off guard.
“There’s something I’ve never dared to tell you.
After the holy wedding ceremony, I’m going to be taken back to the tribe… If that happens, we won’t be able to adventure together anymore.”
“Huh? Seriously?”
“Yeah! I became an Adventurer in the first place because I hated that remote, closed-off home! I don’t want to go back!”
“Is there anything I can do to help? If I can help, I will.”
“Take me away, tonight! Let’s just leave for a while, say we eloped! Once my family leaves, we can meet up with everyone again!”
“Eh? Well… hmm… I guess that’s doable, we can just say we snuck off for a few days.
But… isn’t this a bit sudden?”
“But after tonight’s ceremony, tomorrow—or the day after at the latest—they’ll definitely try to take me away.
They might even force you to come back to the tribe with me, and that would be a huge hassle! I’m really sorry, I’m making this so complicated for you because of my selfishness!”
“That is a problem, let me think…” Torina thought for a moment— “Alright, let’s leave for a few days, we’ll head out tonight.”
“Thank you! I love you so much! Sorry for all the trouble!”
“But before that, I need to let the others know, at least leave a note.”
When Patty heard that, her expression froze.
“…Eh? But, it’s just a few days, right?”
“You’re not my only companion, I can’t let everyone worry, right?”
“……………………………………” Patty went quiet for a few more seconds.
Then, scratching her face, she said, “Looks like I really am causing you trouble.”
“It’s not that much trouble…”
“Well, since it’s already so much trouble, a little more won’t hurt, right?”
“…Hm?” Crack!
It happened in a flash.
Torina’s stomach was suddenly hit hard.
The blow was incredibly fast and as precise as a scalpel.
Torina’s body instantly lost all strength and she collapsed to the ground.
Fireworks bloomed in the distant sky.
Festival lights flickered between the buildings.
But none of it could light up the darkness of this little alley.
“Ugh, ugh…?” Torina struggled to roll her eyes up to look at Patty.
And the elf girl who always smiled so kindly—her expression now was as cold as the deepest ice in the polar regions, even her voice sounded frozen.
“Captain, you always act all silly and unserious, but in reality, nothing gets through to you, does it? So what am I supposed to do with you?”
“Pa…Patty… you… what are you doing?” Torina tried to get up, but thorns suddenly sprouted from the ground—not vines, thorns—wrapping around her limbs and pinning her hard to the ground.
“I’ve asked you, directly and indirectly, so many times.
I wanted to know what really changed about you, but every time you just brushed me off with empty words.”
“Eh…?”
“We’ve slept together so many nights, I had to press skin-to-skin with you to use soul-searching magic, and still got nothing.”
“Eh, eh…?”
“So, what should I do with you? I wanted to settle this peacefully… but that’s fine, I’ve got plenty of ways to make you talk.
I’ll use every method you can imagine and can’t imagine to make you spill everything.
Oroi is really curious about you, you know.”
“‘Oroi’… who is that…”
“You don’t need to know.”
Patty let out a cold laugh.
The friendly, lively, charming elf girl was gone.
In her place was a cold, oppressive, cruel monster.
She reached for Torina’s throat.
And at that moment—
“So you really are a villain, huh? I’m so disappointed.”
“!?” Torina suddenly sprang up from the ground like lightning, kicked apart the thorns binding her, and landed a kick right on Patty’s face!
Patty reacted instantly, leaping back and drawing a dagger from her waist, swinging it at Torina, who blocked it with her sword!
“Captain, you…” Patty frowned slightly, while Torina just shrugged.
“Isn’t it possible that I’ve been on guard against you this whole time?”
“Huh?”
“I couldn’t be sure if you were good or bad, so I just played along.
Turns out you really were up to something, huh? Those ‘family members’ were just your colleagues in disguise, right?”
“So you were on guard from the start…”
“What do you think?” Patty dropped the act, and so did Torina.
She hated betrayal.
She hated being let down.
Milora, Anna-veil, Patty—no matter what reasons or hardships you have, betrayal is never allowed.
She coldly pointed her sword at Patty’s throat and said, “By the way, I already left a message for the others before we left, told them to be on standby tonight… heh, they should be here any minute now.
You can enjoy what it’s like to be surrounded.”
“So careful, no wonder… You haven’t eaten anything I gave you these past few days, haven’t drunk anything I offered, even the ice cream we fed each other today—you only ate it after watching the vendor make it.
And you never really fell asleep at night… At first I thought I was imagining things, but you really have been careful all along.”
“Glad you figured it out.
So, what’s your plan? Run? Fight me and get ganged up on by my Teammates?” Torina gave her final ultimatum in the coldest voice.
And Patty—
“But you made one mistake, Captain.”
“Oh? Still bluffing?”
“You shouldn’t have licked my foot last night.
I put some stuff on it, and it should be kicking in right about now.”
“……………………Huh?” Torina froze.
She subconsciously smacked her lips, recalling the taste of the elf girl’s little feet.
Then, everything went black, and she fainted from the sudden wave of weakness.
“Lust always comes with a price, you know, Captain.”
