Inside An Ad*lt Game As A Former Hero - Chapter 60

Proofreader: DreaMing

After finishing the discussion about the Behemoth, Duke Oler arranged rooms for Cloud and his group.

Though, that had nothing to do with Eri.

Because this was also her house and she had her own personal bedroom.

Eri stepped into her bedroom.

The room she returned to after several years was nothing different from what she had left. Except for the fact that there was a lot of accumulated dust.

‘…they completely neglected it after I left, huh?’

Woh, isn’t this still too much?

Taking in the absurdity, she let out a short chortle.

Eri pondered whether she should clean her room, and then she shook her head. She was only going to stay for a while, unless something extraordinary occurred.

She just swatted the dust off the bed and plopped down on it. As she blankly stared at the ceiling, what happened a little earlier made her mind wander.

‘…I don’t think he even cares.’

Duke of Oler, Eri’s father.

He never looked her way during the entire conversation with Cloud in the living room previously. He was acting as if she didn’t even exist.

‘I feel like a fool for expecting anything.’

‘I should just get some sleep.’

Eri was about to close her eyes.

– Knock, knock.

– Can I come in?

Along with the knock came the voice she hated the most.

How she wanted to tell the owner of the voice to just piss off, but aware of her reality, Eri knew she couldn’t.

“…come in.”

With her permission, the door opened—a man and two woman entered the room. They frowned to the room’s dusty interior.

“The half-blood’s room is just as dirty as her.”

“You’re being shameless, Callion. Aren’t you the one who instructed the maids to specifically not clean this room?”

“But my words do hold some truth. Even after accompanying a Hero on his glorious adventures, the fithly will remain filthy.”

Duke’s eldest daughter, Marilyn Oler, and second daughter, Jerina Oler, grinned at the words of the eldest son, Callion Oler.

They held an arrogantly contemptuous attitude, but Eri was not affected in the least.

Not because she was used to it, but she had been through worse at Lorian’s party.

“Right. I’m dirty that’s why my room is dirty too. So if you have nothing further to say, why don’t you all just get out of my room, my clean brother and sisters?”

“Hey, we came all the way here to meet you and this is with what you greet us? With this?”

To Marilyn’s jeer, Eri snorted.

“Then why did my so clean brother and sisters came here?”

“Ohh? Your way of conversation has improved a bit. Good, your way of speech to us is more courteous than before. Honestly, it’s quite a surprise~!”

“Just get to the point.”

Eri interjected, tired of taking anymore bullsh!t from them. Callion, who had a smirk on his face, erased his smile.

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“How brazen of you to come back with a straight face, isn’t it?”

“…I didn’t come back. We are staying for a while until Behemoth subjugation.”

“I hope that’s true. No one in our family wants a dirty rat to stay and pollute our house.”

“Dirty rat…? You’re crossing the boundary by all means, huh?”

Eri grabbed her wand she had left beside the bed.

She had no intention of harming them. No matter how abhorrent they were, they shared same blood, and above all else, letting herself flow into her impulsions will only lead to bad results.

She just wanted to kick them out of her room with light wind magic.

She started chanting in her head.

It was not a difficult spell, so the chant duration was just five seconds.

“Hero Cloud and Hero Lorian. You have been switching back and forth between the two heroes, isn’t that a trait of a dirty colour-changing rat?”

She flinched.

Her body trembled slightly. Concentration was lost and the wind spell chant was nullified.

Magic incantation requires a high level of concentration. So a mage must be capable of keeping their mind in a stable state. Eri was an excellent one, so she had never faced a similar problem.

But until this instance.

Because what Callion was referring to was—her betrayal.

“Look at her, fortunately she seems to be conscious. I’m glad the half-blood of our family isn’t a totally shameless human.”

Confirming that it worked, Callion continued his spiel with a smirk.

“Ever since childhood, you have always wanted to be recognized by others. Others thought it was the eccentricity of a genius, but the family knew the real reason.”

Eri opened her eyes wide.

As if asking if that was true.

“Did you think we wouldn’t even notice those obvious actions? When you showed behaviors that seemed to clearly shout, ‘Please look at me.’ Members of the Oler family are not stupid.”

“So you know why? Then tell me. Why do I want to be recognized?”

“Isn’t that because you want to be accepted as a member of the Oler family? A real member, not half.”

“So you all know very well!”

Eri raised her staff and pointed it at Callion’s neck. The indigo crystal at the tip of her wand began to glow.

“Why! So why?! Even if it’s half, the blood flowing in my veins is all the same! You could have accepted me as a part of the family!”

“Because you’re a monster.”

Despite Eri’s unexpected behaviour, Callion didn’t even wiggle an eyebrow.

He smirked.

“Mo-Monster!?”

“Yeah. When you were eight years old, your magical talent blossomed, and you were admitted to the mage tower. However, after two years, you returned back to the family. I was left wondering. Your talent is so huge, that’s why they even accepted you, so why were you kicked out of the tower? I sent a letter to the tower to resolve the question, and it wasn’t long before I was able to find out why.”

He let out a smirk.

“You achieved quite a great track record, didn’t you? It’s understandable that you were kicked out from the mage tower, where competition is the motto.”

“…”

“It’s been the same in recent times. You were at Hero Cloud’s party, but then you hopped into Hero Lorian’s party at will. Because his party’s better. It’s more capable of making your name known to the whole world.”

“…”

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“But now you’re back to Hero Cloud’s party. And that was at the same time when the unbelievable rumors of him unilaterally assaulting Hero Gis came in. In a sense, you’re great. You’re the one who changed teams twice… No, your other team members beat you at that. Still—you are but a dirty rat.”

T/L: Those who didn’t see the announcement on discord, the pr was off this week, so had to do the work myself and it got late. Btw, updates from now on will be on Sat or Sun.

Eri bit her lips tightly. She responded in a barely crawling tone.

“You want to state that I came back to Cloud–”

“Do you know why the family doesn’t accept you? Because the way you do things is half-hearted and pretentious. Ambitious, but attempting to hide it and wrap it up under your sleeves. You’re someone who will even murder me if that means your addition to the family and even lording over it.”

“No! I never did harbour any thought so sordid!”

Eri hollered loudly.

She was being sincere. She only desired to be recognized by her family, she had no intention of harming her own brother and taking over his position as the heir.

Seeing Eri scream out impetuously, Callion smiled brightly.

“One’s thoughts can always change. But nature doesn’t change. Eri. You are a monster hungered by your thirst for fame. And you will do anything for it.”

“You are spitting nonsense.”

“Am I? So, if Hero Cloud weakens again right away. If he can’t make a name for himself like the other heroes. Will you still be by his side, then?”

“Quit your nonsensical talks! Cloud forgave me. I swore I would never betray Cloud again!”

“Well… I don’t think your dirty nature is going to go anywhere just by making an oath.”

“Shut up! I won’t take any more of your insults!”

The crystal inside Eri’s staff began to shine brighter.

It looked like she was going to cast a spell at any given moment.

Callion raised both of his hands upwards and took two steps backwards.

“Alright. Our sister doesn’t seem to be in a good mood right now, so let’s stop here for today. The room’s a bit messy, but have your rest anyway.”

Callion left Eri’s room with the eldest daughter and the second daughter. He looked back with a reminiscent look as if he had forgotten to say something before he left completely.

“Dear sister, you are both a dirty rat and a monster. You are still not going to get recognized, just as you weren’t all these years. Nothing’s stopping it other than your inner nature.”

With those lingering words, he disappeared from Eri’s sight.

Even after they left, Eri’s staff was still aimed where they had been moments ago as she stood there, heavily breathing.

After a while, she let go of her wand.

She plopped onto her bed and sat down with her arms around the knees.

– So, Eri. Why didn’t you believe me?

A voice that had ceased to exist after she returned to Cloud’s party echoed in her ears.

It muddled her mind again.

‘Sorry. I’m truly sorry for not believing you. Trust me now. I have no doubt that you are a hero greater than anyone else.’

– Eri. You are a monster hungered by your thirst for fame.

The voice in her ears changed.

An abhorrent voice.

‘Don’t be ridiculous.’

‘It is you who is hungered by the honor of bloodline.’

‘I… I just wanted recognition.’

‘I’m not a monster!’

– So, if Hero Cloud weakens again right away. If he can’t make a name for himself like other heroes. Will you still be by his side, then?

‘Of course. I made an oath that day, when Cloud came finding me.’

‘That I will never betray this man again.’

– I don’t think your dirty nature is going to go anywhere just by making an oath.

‘Shut up.’

‘My nature is not dirty…’

– Dear sister, you are both a dirty rat and a monster. You are still not going to get recognized, just as you weren’t all these years. Nothing’s stopping it other than your inner nature.

‘…’

Eri buried her face between her knees.

Her body shook softly with a squeaking sound. The woe of sobs did not halt for quite some time.

* * *

Seeing Callion leaving Eri’s room without any regrets, Marilyn took on a dissatisfied expression.

“Brother, are you just kidding me? Is that all you had to say? Making that b!tch a fool twice?”

Eri left the party of the Hero of the Kingdom of Prona, Cloud, and joined the party of a Hero from another kingdom.

For quite some time, the Duke of Oler was condemned by the king as well as other nobles.

The honor of the great Duke of Oler was tarnished.

That alone would have been worth a year to chew on, but things soon changed.

The disappearance of Hero Cloud.

The increasing achievements of Lorian, a hero that stood out day by day.

Judging that there was no longer any hope form the hero of their own country, the Kingdom of Prona decided to tie in their line with the heroes of other kingdoms.

As a result, not only the value of Eri but also the value of the Duke of Oler and his family rose vertically. If she had behaved properly, she could have promised the safety of the Kingdom of Prona by reeling in Hero Lorian.

But that stupid b!tch couldn’t stay put and switched back to Hero Cloud.

How did she even make stupid choices twice in a row? How?

It made her doubt if they were really of the same bloodline, even though that b!tch was only half.

Taking in Marilyn’s dissatisfied expression, Callion grinned.

“How is that possible? What happened was only entertainment. The real thing is after this.”

“After this…?”

“After consulting with our father, the Oler family has decided to support Hero Cloud.”

“You mean, sponsorship? Would that be alright?”

Even if the kingdom falls, noble families can survive.

This is a characteristic of the feudal society, which means that even if the Kingdom of Prona is destroyed by the other kingdoms, the Duke of Oler can survive if negotiations go well.

However, if they support Cloud, the situation changes completely.

From the moment they hand over their support, they would become the backbone of Hero Cloud, and they will become deeply entangled with him.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the rise and fall of the family depended on Cloud’s future moves.

“Where is there a risk-free investment? And our father mentioned that the Hero, Cloud, was different from before. You must have heard of the incident that happened at the Imperial Social Banquet, right?”

“Yeah, it was talked about so much back then…”

“He is a rising star. When no other faction’s hands have touched him, shouldn’t we be the first to reach out?”

“I understand what dear brother is conveying. But what does that have to do with Eri? As Hero Cloud rises—Eri, that bitch will make a name for herself too. I hate to see it go that way.”

“Marilyn, Marilyn. Don’t you think the hero who is going to receive our huge support would listen to a small request of ours?”

“Ah? No way…”

“You got it. No matter how hard Eri tries, she will not be able to achieve what she wants.”

As soon as Callion finished speaking, the siblings chortled haughtily as they left the hallway.

And the next day.

“I don’t need it.”

The sponsorship offer was rejected with a snap.