24 — Chapter 24

A literal flame of rage might have been rising from my body.

That was how little I trusted this man, Jaunis. He had the unmistakable air of a washed-up playboy. Most likely, he’d belonged to some bandit crew, fled after it was wiped out, hid his identity, and re-registered as an adventurer at the guild—something along those cynical lines.

No, I don’t care about your past. The problem is the now.

I cannot give my daughter to a man like this. If I did, Lateia would be heartbroken. And making Lateia sad is the same as incurring my—the Demon King’s—imperial wrath!

If you so much as lay a finger on Angelica, don’t think you’ll die easily. I’ll rip out your entrails and string them up on branches one by one!

I feel like it’s been a very long time since I’ve had such “Demon King-like” thoughts.

“Whoa… I’ve got major goosebumps all of a sudden… Why?”

Dammit. I let my emotions get ahead of me, and now the Thief is starting to notice.

“Knowing Jaunis, you probably just did something naturally annoying to the other adventurers, didn’t you? There are times when even I want to kill you about five times a day,” Zenkei the Martial Artist said with a laugh. So he’s a “boku-ko”.¹ His gender is becoming increasingly impossible to discern.

“Uh, isn’t ‘wanting to kill me five times a day’ a bit high-frequency? Isn’t that way higher than the frequency of me falling into actual danger?”

“In my case, the record was nine times in one day,” the Priestess Naharin chimed in.

“I think I was around the same,” Angelica added.

“Aren’t Selene-chan and Hero-chan being a bit cruel? I mean, am I totally isolated here? I feel like a corporate outcast adventurer…”

This Thief, Jaunis, seems to be already isolated within the party… In fact, the party might finish him off themselves without me even having to lift a finger…

No, no. Letting my guard down is forbidden.

Besides, those who usually play the “frivolous” character tend to be perceived as incredibly cool the moment they suddenly get serious.

It’s like when a guy who commits acts of tyranny every day happens to rescue a stray dog out of a whim; people get the illusion that he’s actually a very kind person.

This man might be aiming for exactly that. Men who think with their lower halves can act strangely rational when it comes to that specific goal. I cannot rest easy yet.

“Alright, let’s head to the cave. It’s not well-known, but the difficulty level is quite high. Even if we aren’t fighting the Demon King anymore, we’re still the Hero’s Party. We can’t let our skills get rusty.”

“But if it’s a cave with such strong monsters, why isn’t it famous? It’s a place even I’ve never heard of,” Zenkei remarked.

“That’s quite simple. Allow me to explain.”

Selene the Mage pulled out a book.

“According to records from seven hundred years ago, a stone monument written in the Demon Tongue was discovered. It said: ‘The monsters in this cave are strong, but there are no significant items. Going there is a waste of time.’”

It’s a complete “dud” dungeon!

“Ehh~ I’m totally losing my motivation now… And by the way, if you want to know what else is ‘losing’ its—”

“Vile creature. If you say one more word, I shall place a death curse upon you,” Naharin the Priestess interjected.

But I could understand the Thief’s perspective. Especially since he is a Thief, he wouldn’t want to go somewhere without treasure…

“It’s fine. This is a test of strength. We have to keep striving to improve so we don’t bring shame to the name of the Hero!”

Oh, Angelica, you’re saying some quite wonderful things, aren’t you?

I gave her a round of applause.

Wait! If I do that, I’ll be caught!

“Wait? Who was just clapping?”

Everyone exchanged looks. And for good reason—it was me.

“That’s creepy… But regardless, we’re going to clear this cave!”

The Hero’s party led by Angelica traveled toward the obscure cave.

I listened in on their idle chatter during the journey; it seemed the basic dynamic of this party involved the male Thief, Jaunis, saying something stupid followed by someone else firing back a harsh retort.

“So, you know the ‘suspension bridge effect,’ right? I was thinking, if we grind levels in a forest area full of suspension bridges, eventually one of the girls is gonna fall for me—”

“Jaunis, you should stop. Eventually, someone is just going to push you off one of those bridges.”

“Isn’t that a bit much coming from the Hero…?”

It went on like this the entire time.

Ah, so it’s not that he’s genuinely loathed; Jaunis is deliberately playing the “butt of the joke” character. If he didn’t, the party’s atmosphere would likely be much more strained.

If this were a situation where the person being teased didn’t want it, it would be no different from bullying, but there are those who intentionally create that role for themselves. Jaunis is that kind of man.

Well, if Angelica’s party had been filled with nothing but extreme distrust, I would have been shocked as her stepfather, so it was a relief to see some saving grace there.

However, whether or not Jaunis harbors romantic feelings is a completely separate matter.

In a party with a higher female ratio, it wouldn’t be strange at all if he were targeting someone. In fact, wouldn’t that be more natural?

I read in a biology book once that when humans are in extreme, life-threatening situations, their libido temporarily spikes. Apparently, it’s an instinctive reaction to ensure the survival of the species.

I often hear stories about how many adventurers are womanizers, so it’s not exactly an old wives’ tale.

Of course, if it were a sincere, serious relationship between two people, perhaps I shouldn’t mechanically oppose it. Humans grow through love, after all. One could say that a person truly becomes a social being only after finding someone more important than themselves.

Nevertheless, I will absolutely not allow Angelica to become the target of some heightened carnal desire. She is still young. She likely has almost no experience in romance, so the risk of her being deceived is high.

As a parent and an elder, I must provide appropriate guidance in that regard.

While lost in these thoughts as I followed them, the group finally arrived at their destination: the cave.