Chapter 186 - 185: Pregnancy
"Yes. A while later, one morning, we saw Lisha walk out of Gray’s room, her cheeks flushed," Maki said.
"Ha, that sounds just like Gray." Valles wasn’t surprised at all.
"Then you probably also know how much Gray loves to drink and womanize."
Maki chuckled.
"After that, I thought Gray might rein it in a bit, but he didn’t change at all."
"After missions, Gray spent all his time either in a tavern or flirting with other women. He certainly broke Lisha’s heart more than a few times."
"It’s not like I forced her."
Gray defended himself. "She was the one who came to me that night."
"Tsk..."
Valles clicked his tongue in disgust. "I’ve heard that line from plenty of men."
"Since it was between Gray and Lisha, it wasn’t our place to say anything. But after some more time passed, Lisha suddenly came to us in tears, asking where Gray was."
"The party hadn’t had a mission for several days, and Gray was nowhere to be seen. But we were all used to it. After all, if he wasn’t in one tavern, he was in another."
"But Lisha was crying her eyes out that day, so we started helping her look for him."
"We finally found him on the second floor of a tavern in the next village. Gray was dead drunk, sleeping with a barmaid."
"Lisha arrived, out of breath, and completely broke down when she saw the scene. She started wailing, rushed up to slap Gray, and then left the tavern."
Maki let out a long breath before continuing slowly.
"Later, we found out... Lisha was pregnant."
"Lisha was pregnant, and you were still fooling around, Gray?" Marcus was also shocked.
"I didn’t know about it at the time..."
Gray’s voice trailed off. "She never told me anything. I only found out later."
"Anyway," Maki continued, "Lisha grew more and more withdrawn after that. We only saw her one last time."
"She didn’t explain anything. She just came over, said she was quitting the party, and then left. We never saw her again."
"After that happened, the other two members of the party were furious. They beat Gray up, then voted to kick him out. I voted yes, too."
Maki shrugged. "And that’s the whole story. After being kicked out of the party, Gray left Gard Town. I didn’t see him again until this mission."
"You really wronged Lisha," Valles said, staring at Gray.
"I know."
Gray sighed.
"That’s why I gave her all the money I had on me. I even sold my sword. I wanted to do my best to make it up to her."
"You think she cared about the money?"
"Then what else could I have done? Marry her? Swear to love and cherish her for the rest of my life?"
Gray suddenly grew agitated, retorting sharply, "Or are you going to vote to kick me out of this party over it, too?"
"Alright! We’re just talking. There’s no need to be so hostile."
Zelir cut in, quelling the dispute.
Silence fell over the table as everyone’s thoughts began to drift.
"After all these years apart, there’s always been one question I wanted to ask you... Why did you let yourself sink so low?"
Maki was the one to break the silence. "You were so talented, you knew so much, and you’re the one who led me down the path of an Adventurer. I used to look up to you like an idol."
"It’s not called sinking low."
Gray avoided Maki’s gaze and raised his cup to drink. "It’s just that I know how to enjoy myself."
"But your expression says you’re lying to yourself."
Zelir said, "People tend to drink when they don’t know how to hide their emotions."
Gray looked as if Zelir had struck a nerve. The corner of his eye twitched twice.
"Is it because of your family?" Zelir guessed.
"I suppose so..."
Gray seemed to give up, his voice more weary than ever before. "Do you hate your father?"
"Me?"
Zelir shook his head. "Of course not."
’After I transmigrated, I never even interacted with the original owner’s father.’
’Besides, from what I remember, he was a good father who did his best to support the family.’
"My name is Gray... Gray Mance."
"You’re from the Nobility?" Now it was Maki’s turn to be surprised.
Of everyone at the table, he had known Gray the longest, yet he never knew Gray had such a background.
"Noble or not, there’s no point in talking about it. It is what it is."
Gray shook his head and began his story.
"My family was once quite prominent. We owned a large swath of land in the area. I’m the third child; I have an older brother and an older sister."
"I have no memory of my mother. I only heard bits and pieces about her from the butler—that she was a gentle and kind woman who loved to play the harp in the garden. But my father..."
Gray paused. He lifted his cup, only to find it empty. "My father didn’t treat me well."
A server quickly came over to refill his cup.
"Because you were a debauched, drunken mess?" Valles said.
"Of course not... You probably won’t believe me, but I was a very obedient and well-behaved child. Still, my father didn’t like me."
"The butler would try to console me, saying that my father treated me poorly because I was too immature, that my words and actions weren’t dignified enough, that I lacked the bearing a noble should have."
"So, for a while, I paid special attention to my conduct. I even studied with an etiquette tutor for a long time to become a perfect gentleman."
"Later, the butler said that perhaps my father disliked me because I didn’t have enough outstanding talent to bring honor to the family."
"So I started training desperately with the sword."
"My talent for Swordsmanship was pretty good. By the time I was fifteen, I had already become a Junior Swordsman. Even the Adventurers couldn’t help but praise me."
"But it was useless. My father’s attitude toward me never changed. He was still just as cold."
"My brother and sister, by comparison, were far more mediocre."
"My brother was born with a weak constitution and was completely unsuited for martial arts, so he always had his nose in a book, hoping to follow the path of a scholar."
"And my sister had a timid, cowardly nature, unfit for any great responsibility."
"But even so, my father was willing to pour all his heart and soul into those two."
"Why?"
Zelir couldn’t help but ask.
"You were clearly the one with the most potential. If you were my son, I’d definitely invest everything in training you."
"Sounds like you’re trying to call yourself my dad now... Anyway, back then, I couldn’t understand why my father treated me that way either."
Gray frowned slightly.
"Eventually, I even started lying to myself."