“An… doll?”

Lin mulled over Ravin’s words. 

She didn’t understand. 

She didn’t know how much pain he had endured and how hard he had worked to become what he was now.

Only after Ravin became what he called a “doll” did the reckless behavior of the warrior party’s porter disappear, allowing him to focus solely on his true mission. 

He would stow the party members’ items in the inventory, prepare for camping, get meals ready, and handle all sorts of mundane tasks without error. 

When combat began, his true role was to cower and tremble behind a small shield.

Though it was humiliating for him, his natural physique was too frail to endure the battles between the warrior party and the demon clans. 

The way he justified and endured his humiliation was to adopt the persona of a doll, a label that stuck to him as a mark of his role.

Despite this, Lin remained calm. 

No, he had to remain calm. 

The heart was so fragile that if one accepted everything it was subjected to, it would shatter into pieces, leaving behind nothing but endless self-loathing and self-reproach.

Lin suddenly thought of Lucy. 

Though her arrogant behavior was a flaw, Lucy had shouldered the burden of being the hero and fulfilled her duty. 

The price for that was betrayal by her fiancé and comrades. 

In despair, the only way to maintain herself was to rely on Lin, both physically and emotionally, who was there beside her.

Just as Lin had numbed her emotions to survive, Lucy had chosen to depend on Lin to endure. 

Lin could finally understand.

She could now comprehend why Lucy had become so affectionate and obsessive toward her. 

She felt regret for having unconditionally kept her distance from Lucy.

‘If that’s the case, maybe I should accept her until she gets better. Would that be alright?

Lin thought, cautiously revising her earlier stance. 

He took out the softest cloth from his pocket and handed it to Lucy.

However, Lucy, who was quietly shedding tears, didn’t notice. 

Reluctantly, Lin wiped Lucy’s tear-streaked face herself.

“…Lin?”

“You can cry if you want to.”

“I don’t want to cry.”

Perhaps it was embarrassing in front of the thief. 

After gently wiping her tears, Lin playfully pressed his finger against Lucy’s nose. 

He smiled reassuringly.

Lucy blushed, feeling shy. Watching them, Ravin’s face reddened with embarrassment.

“What are you two doing in front of old acquaintances? Are you dating now?”

“She’s the only companion I have. The best companion, too. We need to look out for each other.”

Lucy was unsure whether to feel sullen or happy about Lin’s words.

“And let’s be clear in our expressions. It’s true that we have a past, but all I remember is that we used to argue every day.”

“That’s because you were always under Arsil! You kept hanging around that gorilla-like woman! I always told you to come over here! To our group!”

“Wow, that’s a severe distortion. We only exchanged a couple of suggestions at the very end after we had our swords drawn.”

“Ah… that’s not true…!”

“That was when I gave you the sandwich.”

“Ugh…! That… sandwich was delicious…”

Ravin was the first to back down. 

Lin was satisfied with this small victory, but Lucy wasn’t pleased at all. 

The old stories shared between the two were all too familiar to Ravin, but they were irritatingly envious to Lucy.

However, did Lucy understand that this friendly banter wasn’t filled with affection? 

“So, you’re not going to tell me why things ended up like this, are you, Mr. Lee?”

“It’s a long story. If it’s about the most recent events, I might not know.”

“The most recent events?”

Lin sighed inwardly as Ravin continued probing. 

Though he appeared to be just joking around, beneath that demeanor, Ravin was scrutinizing his opponent closely and extracting information. 

Even the arrogant Linachien had to be careful and deliberate in her words when facing Ravin.

“Ravin, you don’t know about the hero party’s activities after the demon king’s subjugation.”

“On the contrary, I know more about worldly matters after the demon king’s defeat.”

“So, we both have information that the other wants to know?”

If the events were proceeding as they did in the previous life, there would be no need for such trivial negotiations. 

The details of that troublesome “demon king’s subjugation” had been emphasized repeatedly. 

Lin needed to at least guess how much the Empire, which had an information network comparable to that of the Thieves’ Guild, knew about Lucy and Lin.

“The Thieves’ Guild is a network for information, right? Let’s trade information.”

“Hmm~, alright, but you go first, Mr. Lee.”

“That’s not acceptable. You’ve just learned top-secret information about the hero’s position.”

“Not that I wanted to know much.”

Of course, it was one of the highest-priority pieces of information. 

Waltercrua was a major stronghold. 

Lin knew from the memories of the previous life that a plot was underway to progress the main storyline here.

“There’s nothing that grand about it.”

Since Ravin was the one faltering, he began to divulge information first. 

“Hero Lucy perished in battle against the demon king, and the remaining hero party declared the subjugation complete after bringing the demon king’s horn in a sacred vessel.”

“Hah.”

Lucy scoffed at the preposterous lie. 

The vengeance she had almost forgotten, due to her focus on Lin, flared up again. 

However, she suppressed it, unlike her usual self. 

One of the things she had promised to the goddess when she begged for Lin’s life was vengeance. 

Of course, this was limited to voluntary vengeance. 

Whether by chance or inevitability, if the opportunity arose, she planned to slay them on the spot. 

For now, winning Lin’s heart was the priority, so she remained silent.

And Reinhold was an exception. 

She planned to kill him herself if the chance arose.

“An assembly was held to calculate and distribute the merits of past deeds, but strangely, there were no representatives from the Elves. They kept delaying, while the Church came immediately.”

The Church was right to come immediately to secure their sacred vessel, which was their divine artifact. 

Additionally, there was the ambition to expand their influence using the demon king’s horn contained within.

“The assembly was terribly boring. The people who hadn’t contributed at all to the demon king’s subjugation fought over who did what, who supported what, and made a fuss about it. It took a whole day to get through the list of accomplishments and roles of leaders from various countries, and we still didn’t reach a conclusion. Ah, thinking about it again makes me nauseous. Damn nobles. I’m going to get some water.”

Ravin drank greedily from the water jug at the head of the bed. 

“Then, not long after, the beacon was lit. It started at Ephalter. The message was that demons had appeared.”

The beacon at Ephalter had caused a real uproar.

It had been less than a month since the Demon Lord was defeated when new sightings of demons emerged. 

Humanity once again trembled in fear and anxiety, urging the hero party into action. 

They swiftly utilized Tigria magic to travel to Ephalter.

“It was just the mage, the archer, and the saint who moved,” said Ravin.

“What about the shield knight?”

“The shield knight stayed behind with our esteemed princess, refusing to leave despite being thoroughly embarrassed by the farce they were involved in.”

“A farce?” Lucy inquired, her curiosity piqued.

Ravin grinned at Lucy, a glint of mischief in his eyes. 

“If I were to punch that smug face of theirs, perhaps those relaxed muscles would stiffen into a state of rigor mortis.”

Lucy considered it a viable experiment.

“They brought back the sword of light and the sacred crown, claiming that even though the Demon Lord was dead, the warrior who merged with the magic was corrupted, hence the presence of demons.”

“Who was corrupted?” Lucy asked, unable to contain her frustration. 

She stood up abruptly but was quickly restrained by Lin, who offered his shoulder as support.

“There’s no value in getting worked up, Lucy.”

“But… Lin, you know, I…!”

“Yes, we know. Soon enough, the truth will be revealed to the world.”

“I’ll do it with you, Lin.”

“Of course. We need to prepare first, so let’s hold on a bit longer.”

“Okay…”

Buried in her thoughts, Lucy whispered into Lin’s shoulder, “As long as I have you.”

Ravin, meanwhile, was deep in thought about new experiments.

She wondered if pinning the warrior’s ponytail to the floor would keep it upright and not make it droop.

“Anyway,” Ravin continued, “the three members of the hero party went to Ephalter. They found the corpse of the demon. Isn’t that strange? They didn’t defeat it but merely found it. This means someone else must have killed the demon.”

At this point, Ravin stared intently at Lucy, as if questioning her directly: Did you kill the demon?

Lin, knowing the truth, had no intention of confirming it.

“And now, the slow-witted envoy has arrived at the capital. The archer has returned, while the saint and the mage are still investigating for more traces of demons in Ephalter. That’s the end of it.”

“What’s the public opinion?”

“They’re engulfed in anxiety, fearing that more demons might be out there. Some citizens even witnessed the sword soaring into the sky, demanding that the hero’s whereabouts and the demons be found and dealt with quickly.”

It was likely the commoners voicing their concerns. 

Lucy had always been popular among them.

“Interestingly, the opinion is mostly driven by the nobles.”

Lin was caught off guard by this prediction.

“With the threat of demons felt so keenly, people are demanding that a countermeasure be found. But somehow, the princess and the shield knight seem to be dragging their feet.”

Ravin stretched, her small but pronounced chest becoming evident.

“It’s your turn now.”

Lin pondered where to begin. 

After a moment’s thought, he decided to be straightforward.

The thief was someone who would never betray Lin and Lucy, willingly or unwillingly.

“After the fierce battle, Lucy used the sword to slay the Demon Lord,” Lin said, his tone calm and devoid of inflection as he recounted recent history. 

He spoke of the party members crushing the Demon Lord’s limbs one by one, how the porter saved Lucy from the party’s betrayal and fell off a cliff, how they walked for days to reach Ephalter, and the ultimate recovery of Lucy after much hardship.

Ravin’s eyes widened with growing shock as he listened.

“What…?” 

Ravin initially denied the claim.

“That can’t be true. It’s Arsil! She’s known for his extreme care for his people, being from the alley of waste!”

Lin rolled up Lucy’s sleeve. 

Seeing the white scars on her arms, Ravin was forced to accept this uncomfortable truth.

“Even if I concede a hundred times… the fact that you didn’t recognize me is one thing.”

Lin agreed.

For someone who knew everything, it was easy to dismiss the ignorant as foolish. 

But searching and discovering the truth was always much harder than hiding it.

“But to shatter the limbs of a comrade who shared life and death?”

Ravin clutched his head in despair, lamenting helplessly.

“What did the shield knight promise as compensation?”

As Ravin tore at her hair, her movements suddenly ceased.

It wasn’t an easy task.

Lin’s body felt entwined with the threads of every event in this world.

What price had the shield knight and the princess promised to Arsil?

Ravin and Lin could easily surmise.

But before that, Ravin had to verify something.

“Is it possible that…?”

Ravin had to understand the depth of the ugly crime Arsil, the foolish saint, had committed.

“Does Arsil not even know that the alley of waste has disappeared?”

Ravin hoped that, given her position as a saint, Arsil might have some inkling of it. 

It was a hope, a blind wish that she would at least have guessed.

If she met Lin or himself, the suspicion would turn into certainty. 

He had thought that the porters had concealed their identities.

“So you really went to the end, hiding your identity all the while?”

Lin had no obligation to answer.

However, silence in itself was a powerful affirmation.

“Arsiiiiiiil—!!!!!!”

Ravin’s rage erupted, directed at the absurd obsession and crimes committed by the rival who had once been acknowledged and cherished.