I Will Eventually Embark On The Path Of No Return Called A Hero

[Arc5] - 19. Sin of Envy and Lust

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"Pffft… Vice Captain, are you joking?"

Seeing Escanor shrink as time passed, Cyd had anticipated this scenario. Ban would undoubtedly point at him, stick out his tongue, and laugh.

Crack—!

So, without hesitation, Cyd snapped Ban's finger. It would regenerate soon enough, anyway.

"Eek—" The chilling sound of bones breaking made the now-scrawny Escanor shiver as he hugged his shoulders. Though it was probably more due to the fact that Ban was wrapping his broken-fingered arm around him. "Uh… Mr. Ban, I think you should heal—hey! It's already healed!?"

"Cyd, did you bring back the wrong person?" Meliodas asked in a mock-serious tone, nudging Cyd with his elbow. He crossed his arms and spoke with a dignified air, "As a member of the [Seven Deadly Sins], we can't cut corners like this."

Meliodas had undoubtedly noticed Escanor's unique qualities. His teasing was likely just for fun.

"Hah, I went through a lot to bring him back. And Ban, be careful—Escanor's quite fragile at night."

"What are you good at?" Ban clapped Escanor on the back, his overly enthusiastic attitude something Escanor couldn't reject. "Espionage or reconnaissance?"

"I-I'm good at poetry."

"Huh?" Ban blinked in confusion. The concept might've been distant for him, but that didn't stop him from finding Escanor interesting.

"Anyway, if the Vice Captain brought him in, there's no problem. Welcome, our seventh member."

"Looks like you've already found two members," Cyd remarked. He had noticed them earlier—actually, it was impossible not to notice: a massive armored figure and a female giant.

The armored figure was fine; it stood there like a decoration, unmoving. But the female giant was hiding behind a house, sneaking glances at him—her cautious behavior completely at odds with her size.

"Let me guess, Meliodas and Merlin brought them back."

"Eh~ Vice Captain, you're so cold, leaving me out like that."

"Because you don't seem like the type to do anything serious." Cyd waved to the armored figure and the female giant. "Introduce yourselves. I'm Cyd, Vice Captain of the [Seven Deadly Sins]."

"H-Hello, I'm Diane of the Giant Clan."

Hmm, her voice sounded a bit young. Perhaps she wasn't an adult yet, by giant standards.

"I brought her back!" Meliodas raised his hand, grinning like a proud schoolboy.

"And here's her sin certificate."

"Can you stop handing me things like this with such a casual tone, as if it were a resume?" Cyd sighed as he took the parchment, filled with dense writing, and let out a helpless sigh.

Seeing Cyd's troubled expression, Diane instinctively glanced anxiously at Meliodas, who smiled brightly and gave her a thumbs-up.

"Don't worry. No matter what kind of sinners we are, he won't judge us with prejudice."

"Captain!" Diane teared up, grabbing Meliodas like a toy and rubbing her face against him. "The captain is the best!"

Meliodas' youthful face showed no sign of impatience, even though Diane was gripping him with a strength that could crush rocks—and it was steadily increasing.

Cyd glanced at Diane, who looked as innocent as a little girl, and then back at the parchment. The writing on it seemed more piercing than before.

"Haa~" Cyd crumpled the parchment and threw it into the fire, then stepped forward, looking up at Diane with a gentle expression. "I look forward to working with you, Diane of the Sin of Envy."

"O-Okay." Diane scratched her cheek awkwardly, crouching down to be on the same level as Cyd after setting Meliodas down. "I look forward to working with you."

"No need to be so formal. Just take it easy, I…" Cyd suddenly tilted his head as a transparent arrow shot past his face and hit the ground.

"Even though I said that, can you tone it down a bit?" Cyd turned to the armored figure that had been as motionless as a statue but attacked the moment he mentioned 'taking it easy.'

"I was simply curious about the Vice Captain's thoughts when he burned the sin certificate. Judging by your facial expressions, you went through a range of emotions: [doubt], [resignation], [sigh]… I'm intrigued."

The voice sounded processed, likely due to the armor.

"You were brought here by Merlin, weren't you?"

"If we use deduction, then yes."

"I didn't need deduction to figure that out. Overly curious people always bring in overly curious types," Cyd rubbed his temples. "Merlin, care to explain?"

"This guy's name is Gowther. His power is [Invasion], and just now, he was trying to look into your memories," Merlin suddenly appeared by the fire, but Cyd was almost used to her abrupt entrances by now.

"Isn't that incredibly rude—peeking into someone's memories for your curiosity?"

"I see. So, prying into others' memories for personal curiosity is impolite. I'll remember that," Gowther nodded, though it was unclear if he grasped the key point.

"Gowther, what's your sin?"

"[Lust]."

"Huh?" Cyd wasn't the only one shocked—everyone except Merlin wore a look of surprise.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, you've gotta be kidding. This guy doesn't look the least bit lustful. Could that armor be to suppress his overwhelming desires?" Ban joked as he knocked on Gowther's armor. To someone unfamiliar with him, his grin might seem provocative.

Cyd and Meliodas knew Ban was just joking, but Gowther didn't. So, he shot a transparent arrow at Ban's neck, just like he had with Cyd earlier.

"I see, this is your way of showing goodwill. How interesting. I'll store this information in my [Greed] database," Gowther said in his robotic tone.

"He sounds like a robot~" Ban didn't seem to mind that Gowther had read his thoughts. He casually put his arm around Escanor, who was nervously debating whether or not to talk to Merlin.

"Let's drink!"

"Uh, I just, wait…"

Escanor's weak protest was completely drowned out by Ban's enthusiasm, and his conflicted expression caught Gowther's attention.

"Wait, you're going to read his memories too?" Cyd quickly pressed down Gowther's arm.

"Yes, I want to gather information on him," Gowther tilted his head, showing no signs of thinking it was inappropriate.

"Why don't you just ask him directly?"

"There's a chance the information could be false, and this way is faster."

"Everyone needs some privacy, even among comrades. So…" Cyd pushed Gowther's arm down again. "Restrain your curiosity a bit. Sometimes, what you consider inefficient actions might lead you to what you're looking for."

"Does that include… the heart?"

When the word 'heart' was mentioned, there was a subtle tremor in Gowther's otherwise monotone voice.

Another person with a story, huh. At this point, Cyd wasn't even surprised anymore.

He patted the armor on Gowther's chest.

"You haven't found it before, have you? Maybe try changing your approach. Start by not peeking into people's memories so casually."

"Then, Vice Captain, let me take a look at your memories," Gowther said, raising a finger and shooting a transparent arrow at Cyd's neck.

"Nope~" Cyd dodged the arrow and held up a finger to his lips.

"Even men have secrets they don't want to share with anyone, Gowther. Your curiosity about others' privacy is your [Sin]."