What kind of adventurer team is "Forging Roses"?

Actually, the name "Forging Roses" is partially translated and partially made up by me. The original meaning is "a certain flower reinforced with iron".

In Kingdom Inslay, there are hundreds of adventurers, representing all walks of life. However, all members of Forging Roses are nobles from first-tier territories. They have become famous in recent years for being able to obtain even the most precious magical materials.

"Just knowing how awesome they are is enough to understand." That's the best way to sum it up.

Today is destined to be a day that greatly increases my life experience. I was suppressed by magic, knocked unconscious by a rifle butt, and woke up to a splash of cold water.

I opened my eyes groggily, feeling a stinging sensation in the corner of my eyes and a throbbing pain in the back of my head, radiating a high level of dizziness.

"He's awake."

"Yeah, I know."

A cold voice came, and I opened my mouth, wanting to speak, but couldn't control my vocal cords.

Since my eyes were lost, I narrowed my eyes and could barely see the person in front of me. However, this woman in a robe was swaying rhythmically up and down with my head. This woman should be Melissa...

"Medusa... where is she?"

"You're not even concerned about your own life?"

The woman walked past the campfire, grabbed my hair, and skillfully tossed my head backwards.

"Where is Medusa?"

"Go see for yourself~"

Melissa forcibly adjusted my line of sight, and in the blurry vision, there was a brown blur.

"Wife..."

"Wife..."

"Wife..."

I began to repeat two Chinese characters that no one understood, except for Medusa, whose eyes were blindfolded and chained to the ground with iron chains.

"Ah... husband..."

That voice was full of fatigue, but also a kind of satisfaction with being tired of life. I was afraid that she would die after saying this sentence.

How did Medusa lose to humans? Apart from the two bleeding gunshot wounds high and low on her tail, I did not see any other wounds. It seems that magic is the only possibility.

It turns out that human magic can indeed suppress monsters.

"What's your name?"

"Raul."

I answered Melissa's question straightforwardly.

"How did you end up with a monster?"

"She is... my wife."

"What did you say?"

I couldn't be bothered to look at the expression of that female mage. I've seen too many dumbfounded expressions like hers.

"I said... that Medusa is my wife."

"You're insane."

"You choose not to believe things you've never seen, huh?"

I somehow mustered the courage to calmly retort.

"Heh, why should I believe the words of a madman?"

"...maybe I am a madman."

Melissa's tone was already very sarcastic, and with her being a woman, I didn't feel like reasoning with her anymore.

"Mr. Madman, why did you attack us?"

"Because you hurt my wife."

"If you keep rambling, we really will take your life."

"My life is worthless. If you want it, take it. But I only ask you one thing, release my Medusa."

"Huh?"

Melissa picked up a handgun and aimed it at my temple.

"Your name is Raul, right? I'll ask you one last time, what is your relationship with this monster and why did you attack us?"

"She is my wife. I attacked you because you wanted to hurt my wife."

"..."

"If you don't believe me, we have rings on our hands..."

After a few seconds, Melissa put down the gun, looked at my left hand that was bound, and checked Medusa's right hand. She didn't say anything more. I sighed and looked around.

The adventurers had set up their tents and ignited several bonfires. Some people were lightly injured, and the closest to me was a middle-aged man with sideburns in his forties. I could tell from the bandages wrapped around his feet that he was the one shot earlier that day.

There were four magic wizards wearing robes, plus Melissa for a total of five, all of them female. There were also several other female members, making the number of women in the team outnumber the men. This configuration seemed unconventional, but it was actually stable, and when facing succubi, it was definitely stronger than a team made up of a few men.

Even though I was tightly bound and my wife's eyes were blindfolded, chained to the ground and unable to move, there were four guns pointed at our heads. This was the kingdom's top adventurer organization, professional and never careless.

Escape was absolutely impossible.

I stared dumbfoundedly at my wife. Her disheveled hair hung limply, not a single snake was coiled forward. After Medusa used the petrification magic twice in a row, she would end up like this, and I had only seen it happen once before. It wasn't that I didn't allow her to use petrification magic later on, but rather that she couldn't anymore.

"Ah... I never expected that there would be humans who would be with monsters in this world."

Melissa had somehow brought over a chair, with her right foot resting on it, tight thigh-high boots hidden under her robe, with long and slender calves. Her right hand rested on her knee, the loose sleeves piled up to her elbows, and on her smooth forearm was an extremely unique weapon. Two golden bracelets were fastened to her wrist and elbow, connected by a gold chain, adorned with a long string of colorful gemstones. A few pieces were missing in the middle, which were obviously used up when she cast the "Mount Tai Pressing on Top" magic on me during the day and defeated Medusa.

I had heard Leya say that humans could amplify magic with gemstones and gold, but I didn't expect it to be this powerful.

"You are from Nightfall Town, right? Hehe, Nightfall Town has really come to this point."

Melissa was probably close to thirty years old, and her golden hair, parted in the center, was as silky as the Dove chocolate in TV commercials. According to her classification by attributes, she could be considered a "mature and attractive" woman.

"Why aren't you saying anything?"

"I've said everything I needed to say."

"Then say goodbye to your wife~"

"You still won't let her go, will you?"

"Of course we can't let her go~ How much money can we get by selling a Medusa to the Magic Council, Mikurei?"

"At least thirty thousand."

The person whose foot I had pierced was named Mikurei, and he named his price for my wife.

"Raul, did you hear that? Thirty thousand~"

If I sold Medusa to the Magic Council, I understood what kind of treatment my wife would receive—her eyes would be gouged out, and her tail would be pierced, it was an inevitable process. I would rather let her die with me than let her become like that!

"Sister, is there really no room for negotiation?"

"Young man, how do you want to negotiate?"

"I only ask that you release my wife."

"Then let's not negotiate."

"I can give you thirty thousand."

"You still don't understand, huh? The issue is not about money, we have never let a single monster go."

The Roseforge Adventurers were famous not only for being able to obtain various magical materials, but also because they had never failed in their fight against a single monster. In the eyes of the people of the Engsleigh Kingdom, they were the heroes who protected the people from harm. One could imagine the glory of these people parading the disabled Medusa back to the royal city.

"Why don't you believe that monsters can coexist with humans?"

In theory, my wife's life was hanging by a thread, and I should have been furious, but no matter how much I wanted to, I couldn't muster any anger talking to this woman named Melissa. I don't know if it was because I had no hope at all, or because I felt that today I should just admit defeat in the hands of these people.

"Let me tell you, humans and monsters cannot live together!"

Melissa pointed at me, her voice tinged with anger.

"Are monsters just bad? Are humans only good? Have you really communicated with monsters before you acted?"

"Do you know what they are thinking? Do you know about their lives?"

"Do you know that she and I just want to live our lives simply and peacefully?"

After speaking a string of heartfelt words, the pain in the back of my head intensified.

But before I had a chance to carefully savor the pain in the back of my head, I received a solid slap to the face. I never expected Melissa's slap, and I was a bit stunned.

"What do you know!"

"My sister, Alisa, took people to the Southern Plains and disappeared for a whole year. None of them came back!"

"She died at the hands of a monster, and you, a human, are still speaking up for monsters! Are you even human!"

The woman's voice became hoarse on the word "human" in the first sentence. Melissa's desperate appearance resembled that of a dead succubus.

Wait... Alisa...

Ah, I understand now. I understand why I subjectively don't want to resist anymore.

The debt we owe, the sins we've committed, will be repaid one way or another, and this time it will be by the hands of Alisa's sister.

It was us, as a couple, who killed her sister back then, and I can understand the pain.

But, if we owe someone a life, then we shall repay it with our own lives. If they want to cripple my wife and make her live in unbearable pain every day, no way!

"Melissa, I'm telling you, it was us who killed your sister."

"What!"

"One arrow, through the head."

"I'm going to kill you."

I bit my teeth and didn't make a sound as the dagger was plunged into my thigh and twisted halfway.

"Melissa, if you want to take the lives of my wife and me, go ahead. But you can't hand my wife over to the Magic Council."

"Do you think what you're saying now is useful?"

"If you dare touch her, I will definitely kill you all!"

"Then let me show you how I gouge out Medusa's eyes!"

If I could have crushed my teeth that day, my mouth would have been filled with a mixture of blood and tooth fragments. I gathered all my strength, wanting to run to my wife's side, but I couldn't do it. The only thing that was constantly moving was the fresh blood flowing from the wound on my leg.

Still dripping with my blood, the dagger was moved to the blindfold covering my wife's eyes. I let out a roar that didn't belong to a human for the second time. Macre was probably afraid that I could really break free, so he pointed his revolver at my head.

"Don't move!"

"Just kill me! Go ahead, kill me!"

"I'll shoot right now!"

Macre almost stuck the gun barrel into my skull.

"Don't, let him watch. Didn't he say this was his wife? Let him experience what real pain feels like."

Melissa grinned mischievously, the dagger flashing with a cold light in her hand.

"Sister, sister, I understand now. I can't do anything right now. But..."

"Before you do anything, let me say a few words to my wife, okay?"

I finally had no strength to struggle free from the ropes. This day was destined to be retribution, and there was no way to escape it. My wife's current state was no longer capable of suddenly pulling out an axe or a knife, and coordinating with me for an incredible comeback. In the final moments of our journey, we at least needed to say a few touching words. In movies and anime, that's how it's done, right...

"Oh? Speak up then, as you won't see tomorrow's sun anyway."

Melissa deliberately straightened my wife's head and aimed it at my face.

"Wife..."

"Wife, can you hear your husband speaking?"

I tried my best to clear my vocal cords, tears and mucus mixed together and ran into my mouth, it tasted salty.

"Ah... husband... I can hear you."

"As long as you can hear me..."

"Husband, don't cry..."

"Mm..."

"Husband, if I don't have eyes, will you still love me?"

"Yes, I will love you even without eyes."

"Then if I can't shoot arrows for you in the future, will you still love me?"

"Yes, I will love you even if you can't shoot arrows."

"Then if I can't move in the future, will you still love me?"

"Yes, I will love you; if you can't move, I will carry you."

"Then if I am sold to a kingdom in the future, will you still love me?"

"Yes, I will go to the kingdom and rescue you, then bring you back home."

"Husband, I'm sorry, I couldn't protect you this time."

"It's okay, wife. I was too weak myself."

"Husband, I thought I would die in your arms..."

"Wife, I can't even fulfill this wish for you now..."

"Husband... I lost the paper crane..."

"It's alright, we can make another one, make a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand..."

"Then you have to teach me again, I can't see anymore..."

"Okay, I'll teach you, not only the paper crane, but also the swan, frog, elephant..."

With great effort, I let out a breath of hot air from my chest.

"Wife, do you regret being with me?"

"Being with you is my biggest wish. Just being able to spend one day with you makes me feel happy. We have been together for a year now, even if I die now, I have no regrets."

"Well, let's go home now."

"Let's go."

When Melissa stabbed my wife's eyes with the dagger, I couldn't see anything clearly, tears blurred my vision.