Chapter 57

Struggling with betrayal, I glared at Adam, but he simply stood up and walked toward me.

Then, he picked up the apron I had taken off and casually put it on himself.

With a gentle grip, he guided me to the seat he had just vacated.

I looked up at Adam—now wearing an apron—with a puzzled expression, and he responded with a soft smile.

“This time, Eve, you sit and relax.”

Had he been so moved by my cooking that he suddenly had a change of heart? This was the same Adam who had been picking up random ingredients off the floor and eating them just moments ago.

‘Wait, is he just going to slice some vegetables, plate them, and tell me to eat those?’

As if reading my thoughts, Adam placed me in my seat, silently urging me to stay put and watch.

I stared past his broad back, watching his hands move swiftly as he prepared the food.

‘Wow, that kitchen knife looks tiny in his hands.’

Well, considering this was the same person who wielded the Holy Sword like it was an extension of his arm, of course a kitchen knife would seem small.

His neatly arranged fingers moved with precision.

Without thinking, I raised my hand and compared its size to his.

‘If I held Adam’s hand, mine would probably fit perfectly inside his grip.’

Wait, what the hell was I thinking?!

Shaking my head violently, I tried to erase the absurd thought from my mind.

Grrrgle.

Right then, an embarrassingly loud noise echoed from my stomach.

Heat rushed up my neck, and my face burned with embarrassment.

I darted my eyes around to check if Adam had noticed, but he was completely focused on cooking, not even sparing me a glance.

Relieved that he hadn’t heard it, I let out a quiet sigh of relief.

…At least, I thought he hadn’t heard.

Because at that moment, I was pretty sure I heard a faint chuckle from his direction.

Must’ve been my imagination.

And then—finally—the dish was complete.

Still blushing, I accepted the plate he handed me and sat back down.

Lifting a spoonful of the stew, I took a bite.

‘…It’s delicious!’

The meat was tender with no unpleasant odor, and the broth was smooth and rich.

It was a perfect dish.

“Warrior, you’re actually really good at cooking! Then why have you been eating… that… all this time?”

I bombarded him with questions, my voice still tinged with excitement. Adam, seated across from me, let out a small chuckle.

“I don’t die no matter what I eat, so I never saw the need to go through the hassle of cooking. Besides, there was no one to eat my food, anyway.”

I kept eating as I listened to him.

‘Then why now?’

If he didn’t care about eating properly, why go through the trouble of cooking now?

My gaze shifted to the steaming stew before us.

Looking at his gentle expression, I suddenly felt like I had lost my appetite.

His face was that of someone who should have lived a peaceful, sheltered life—yet his past had been anything but.

A series of small misfortunes had built up and shaped the Adam before me.

And yet, for some reason, he was showing kindness to me.

I thought I understood it, but at the same time, I didn’t.

“…Doesn’t living like that make you lonely?”

“I’ve always lived like this, so… Hmm, was I lonely?”

“…….”

Watching Adam speak so wistfully, I suddenly felt a pang of guilt where I thought I had none.

“Haven’t you at least eaten at the imperial palace before?”

“I’ve never been to the imperial palace.”

‘…Ah, was that in a different timeline?’

Now that I thought about it, this time around, Adam hadn’t even stepped foot in the imperial palace or the temple more than a few times.

It made sense that he felt this way.

He had probably been alone even before he understood what loneliness meant.

He had only ever visited the temple as a means to an end, with no intention of forming any relationships.

He never made any real connections, nor was he given the chance to.

Far from being treated like a hero, he had been shot at with arrows and slandered at every turn.

If I had been the hero, I would have quit on the spot and gone completely rogue.

Surely, there must have been some good moments?

“But still….”

I tried to argue, but nothing came to mind.

Every word Adam said was true.

‘Now that I think about it, this time, he really didn’t do much of anything. He just tried to avoid sudden death….’

But his passive behavior wasn’t entirely my fault.

‘If you randomly die in a tavern just because you ate the wrong thing, of course you’d try to avoid people as much as possible.’

And thus, the most introverted hero in history was born.

‘…No, wait. This really is all my fault.’

I let out a hollow laugh and nodded to myself.

Adam had done nothing wrong.

I rubbed at my eyelids, suddenly feeling like crying.

I needed to make sure he had friends this time.

Maybe I could bring Meriel, the priestess I had put on hold, or even Kyrillos.

…So that even if I wasn’t here, Adam wouldn’t be alone.

What if I suddenly disappeared back to my original world?

If I was unlucky, I wouldn’t even be able to send him another oracle, and Adam would be left alone in the Demon King’s castle, just like before I arrived.

That couldn’t happen.

Kyrillos always appeared at the temple whenever rumors of the hero spread, eager to become his companion.

But this time, before any rumors could spread, Adam had taken down the Demon King so quickly that Kyrillos never even got the chance to know he existed.

And wasn’t it Adam who had killed the Demon King alone, robbing Kyrillos of his lifelong dream?

It was difficult to create a connection with him now.

‘Come to think of it, isn’t it about time for Isella’s reply?’

Assuming the letter had found its rightful owner and not gone somewhere strange…

She should have read it by now.

At that moment, Adam spoke.

“Eve, from now on, no matter what noises come from my room, don’t come in.”

I swallowed the last bit of stew in my mouth and asked,

“Why?”

“Just in case.”

I hesitated briefly before nodding.

Adam looked mildly surprised that I agreed so easily.

But then, as if recalling something, his expression turned complicated.

“…You really can’t sneak in.”

“What kind of person do you think I am?!”

What had I even done to deserve that look?

Adam was staring at me like I was some kind of shameless intruder.

I protested, but deep down, I had thought about it, so his words stung a little.

Which was probably why I ended up shouting louder than necessary.

“Even if you asked me to come in, I wouldn’t!”

“That’s a good mindset.”

Adam quickly composed himself.

Normally, he would have smiled slightly at this point.

But today, he wiped all emotion from his face before speaking seriously.

“Eve.”

He hesitated, his fingers twitching on the table.

Watching his hands open and close, I could feel his unease.

His emotions were contagious—I found myself growing anxious, waiting for him to speak.

“If you ever find me in a state where I don’t seem like myself… go to Abraxas. He’ll know what to do.”

‘…Abraxas?’

The sudden mention of that name made me chuckle slightly.

“Weren’t you the one who told me never to trust demons? Besides, Abraxas only listens to me when it’s about minor things. He hates troublesome matters.”

Even getting him to clean the Demon King’s castle had been a stretch.

Had this been a normal noble estate instead of the Demon King’s domain, he wouldn’t have listened at all.

Abraxas only went along with it because he convinced himself it was a noble sacrifice for his deceased king.

“…….”

Now that I thought about it, this sounded exactly like one of those eerie urban legends.

‘If you ever find me in a state where I’ve lost my mind… go to Abraxas. You won’t need to explain—he’ll understand and take care of everything.’

It was just like one of those cryptic horror stories that used to trend online.

The thought made me chuckle.

“Alright. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Yes.”

Adam smiled faintly.

Smiling like that at this hour was dangerous.

It seemed he had no idea about the power of his own face.

Even during the hunting competition, when young noblewomen had shown interest in him, he had brushed it off as nothing more than strangers’ meaningless stares.

‘Haa…’

I let out a long sigh internally.

Adam truly had no self-awareness when it came to his own looks.

Any person with functioning eyes would be drawn to him—there was no avoiding it.

In the end, I looked at his face and opened my mouth to speak.

His round, golden eyes blinked at me, bright and clueless.

But I spoke firmly.

“Warrior, please don’t lean your face in so close. It’s dangerous.”

For my heart!

At my resolute words, Adam looked utterly shocked.

But rules were rules.

I pressed down on my wildly thumping heart, trying to steady it.