Do Heroes Need Welfare Too? - Chapter 22

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 22

“The Temple?”

The Temple was like the Hero’s home ground.

In this playthrough, I hadn’t had deep connections with the Temple, but I had stopped by a few times before going to defeat the Demon King.

“I want to go!”

Rejecting a new event wouldn’t make me a true player.

When I suddenly brightened up from my listless expression and grabbed his hand, Adam immediately changed his complexion.

“Come to think of it, it doesn’t seem like a good idea. Eve, how about a vacation? Don’t you miss your family?”

“Ben is here too. Haven’t you heard the saying that vacations are best spent at the Temple?”

“I haven’t heard that.”

“You just heard it now, so you’ll know from now on. Let’s hurry to the Temple! When do we leave? I’m all ready!”

“…”

The prepared one seizes the opportunity!

Seeing me full of anticipation, Adam let out a light sigh as if he couldn’t win against me.

“I’ll send a messenger bird saying we’re bringing one more person, so we’ll depart at dawn tomorrow. They’ll send horses from their side.”

Adam took the bird back from my arm.

Then the bird, as if its earlier dismissal of me was a lie, rubbed its cheek against Adam’s finger and showed all sorts of affection.

‘It ignored me though!’

Even the bird was ignoring me.

Goodness, how many years have I been playing this game.

Before I could properly voice my complaints, the bird with Adam’s note tied to its leg flew high into the sky.

* * *

Today was the first day I would leave the Demon King’s Castle together with Adam.

The Temple, no less. Lately, staying only in the Demon King’s Castle had made me so bored my body was aching.

The Hero’s post-ending period was extremely boring, with no particular events happening.

‘Unless another Demon King appears from somewhere…’

Anyway, I couldn’t miss this newly appeared event.

I went straight down to the 3rd floor where the Hero stayed, filled with anticipation.

The Hero was unusually late getting up today. With the thought that I should personally serve as his alarm, I entered his room without knocking.

“Hero!”

The door wasn’t locked. Not properly securing the door like this is why last time when I opened the door…

‘Ahem.’

When I entered the room, Adam was nowhere to be seen.

He didn’t leave without me, did he?

When I hurried inside, I saw Adam sleeping uncomfortably curled up on the sofa.

‘Why is he sleeping here without even going into his room, when that’s so unlike Adam?’

Looking at the books scattered on the floor, he must have stayed up all night again.

I decided to let him sleep a bit longer and cleaned up the books. When I gathered them, there were dozens of books.

‘…Why did he read books about ancient gems?’

I flipped through the book carelessly. The pages that were turning quickly stopped at a chapter Adam had marked with string. As I was about to close the book again, I paused at a familiar shape.

“Subjugation Stone…?”

Wasn’t that what the Demon King had?

After killing the Demon King, I found it in his possession, so Adam must have it. I remembered seeing him keep it as a necklace…

“Ugh…”

Just then, I heard a faint groaning sound from behind.

I closed the book and approached the sofa.

“Hero?”

I knelt down and examined Adam’s face closely.

His silver hair was completely soaked with sweat. What kind of dream was he having to be like this?

This was the first time I’d seen Adam in such a disheveled state. That’s how bad his condition was.

I called out to him in a panicked, loud voice.

“Hero, please wake up!”

I forcibly shook his body and tried to wake him up, but he wouldn’t get up. Ben would be sleeping around this time, and if I ran into Abracxas while going to wake him, it would be trouble.

An unstable Hero could give the demons room for rebellion.

However, no matter how hard I tried to wake him with all my effort, Adam wouldn’t open his eyes. He only occasionally let out painful groans as if caught in a terrible nightmare.

‘Should I bring water and splash it on him?’

Let’s leave that as a last resort.

I gently pressed Adam’s furrowed brow and spoke the name I had been avoiding until now.

“…Adam.”

“…!”

Then Adam opened his eyes as if having a seizure and grabbed my arm with his unfocused golden eyes.

In the blink of an eye, my wrist caught by him throbbed with pain.

So he had been controlling his strength all this time.

As if he had caught someone he must not let go, his touch was violent and unstable.

“Hero.”

I called him once more in a flustered tone.

Then, like someone pulled from water, focus returned to his eyes.

He looked at me and showed clear signs of surprise.

“Ah, Eve. I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s okay…”

My heart was pounding.

Adam realized he was gripping my wrist and withdrew his hand in shock.

“I’m truly sorry. I couldn’t… sleep well.”

“I’m really okay. Hero.”

Even though I said I was fine, Adam rubbed his eyes with his hand and kept apologizing to me.

More than the throbbing pain remaining in my arm, I was more surprised that Adam had shown such a disheveled state.

Adam repeatedly ran his hands over his face.

He seemed unable to properly distinguish whether this was reality or if he was still in a nightmare.

When I tried to approach, Adam extended his arm to keep distance between us.

“Please leave me alone for a moment.”

“Yes…”

I was thus semi-forcibly kicked out.

I touched my arm where red handprints remained and bonked my head against the wall.

‘Ah, should I not have gone to wake him up? For Adam, that must have been a side he didn’t want to show.’

The Adam I had observed so far was obsessively reluctant to show any disheveled appearance.

So that’s why he sent me away.

However, when Adam came out shortly after, he looked perfectly fine as if he had never been in pain.

His smile seemed very relaxed.

But I approached him closely and asked.

“You’re not sick anywhere, are you?”

After seeing him suffer so much earlier, I felt a sense of disconnect from his face smiling as if nothing happened.

Adam always tended to smile more when things were difficult. Knowing this fact, Adam’s usual appearance now felt rather unsettling to me.

“I just had some rough dreams. You don’t need to worry.”

To dismiss it as just a nightmare, he had been groaning quite seriously.

That scene was still stuck in my mind and wouldn’t disappear.

‘Is he really okay?’

Hiding and forcibly suppressing things like that will eventually explode someday.

Stress – 78%

Look at that, it’s a precarious number.

Considering how much higher it was compared to yesterday, that dream must have really been the worst.

‘What kind of dream would make Adam suffer?’

…Could it be something from when he was young.

Adam, like me, had seriously bad luck with parents.

Bringing up unhappy past events would only make Adam more miserable the more he dwelled on them.

“Got it!”

I deliberately answered loudly and followed closely behind Adam.

* * *

What was waiting in front of the main gate of the Demon King’s Castle wasn’t the horses we had expected.

It should definitely be two horses that the Temple was sending…right?

What stood before our eyes was an undeniably large white carriage.

Someone quickly stepped down from the carriage that prominently displayed the Temple’s symbol of a pair of crossed white wings.

Seeing this sight, I whispered quietly to Adam.

“They are horses, but there’s a very large carriage attached behind them?”

“I have eyes too.”

The Hero’s face showed signs of fatigue as he said this. Could it be that he still had no energy because of that nightmare from earlier?

Or was he displeased with how the Temple was acting?

“Hero, we’ve come to escort you.”

Meanwhile, a man who had approached us called out in a loud voice.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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