Reunion (4)
One week after the war between the Demon King's army and the Demon King Subjugation Force had ended, the victorious Demon King's forces were temporarily stationed in that village.
The kingdom was well aware of their presence, yet dared not make a move. After all, these were the ones who had defeated even the Empire's Demon King Subjugation Force — the force called the strongest of all humanity. All they could do was keep watch from a distance. Even now, the demons walked freely through the village, mingling among the residents.
Thud.
"Ah, I—I'm s-sorry!"
A child at play had accidentally bumped into one of the demons. The child and every resident who witnessed the scene wore expressions of pure terror.
"...Hah. Be more careful."
But under orders from Demon King Sharit, the demons left the residents alone. A few may have harbored complaints, yet none dared defy her command. Thanks to that, the villagers — though still afraid — suffered no real harm.
Looking back, things had actually been worse when the Subjugation Force was around. Those men had freely taken food and drink, and even harassed the village women. The residents themselves would tilt their heads and wonder if things weren't better now.
Meanwhile, the strategist carefully entered the room where the Demon King was staying.
"My King, how is your condition?"
He looked at her with worried eyes as she leaned against the bed. She was still undergoing treatment. The recent battle had reopened her wounds, and her body burned with fever — the result of pushing herself when the injuries Kyle had inflicted still hadn't fully healed.
Of course, she had no regrets. She had had no other choice at the time. Even if she could go back, she would make the exact same choice.
"Yes. We are fine."
But she could not show weakness before her subordinate — not her current condition, and above all, not this feeling. As if to hide that heart, she pulled the blanket over her knees.
"My King. What will you do now?"
The strategist and all the other demons were waiting for her orders. Having defeated the Subjugation Force, nothing stood in their way. The force had been annihilated, and the only rival who could match her — the Hero — was already dead. They also knew that the next Hero, Damian, was nothing special. There was no longer any need to hide.
And she shared that thought.
"Worry not. Once Our wounds have healed, We shall rejoin the main force at once."
"Yes. Understood. And after that, what will you do?"
After that... after that.
She wore a bitter smile. With Hero Kyle dead, what meaning could "after that" possibly hold? There was no longer a single worthy rival left who could stand against her. So what was the point of remaining outside the Demon King's Castle any longer?
And yet—
"After that — the Empire."
"Pardon?"
There was still something she had to do. During their stay here, she had gathered all the information she needed from the residents — that Hero Kyle had been framed, who had framed him, and why he had chosen to take his own life. And so, her destination was now only one place.
"Once We rejoin the main force, We shall march on the Empire."
"Yes! My King, I shall relay this to the troops at once."
The strategist received the order as if he had been waiting for it. As he left with an excited expression, she continued to gaze out the window with sunken eyes.
The sky beyond the window was still dark. Not a single ray of moonlight, nor a single star, could be seen. Was the Hero somewhere out there? Even if he was already dead — if she could meet him just once, just one more time—
"We wish to confirm what this feeling is."
She closed her eyes as she looked up at the sky, hoping, perhaps, that she might meet him even in a dream.
After Hero Kyle's death, the Saintess who returned to the Holy Kingdom had become unrecognizable. The rope marks still scarring her neck. The dark circles burned black beneath her eyes.
At first, everyone looked away and pretended not to notice. They believed she would get better eventually — that she would overcome it. And that very faith had produced the present result.
"The medicine! Where is the medicine!?"
"Saintess, please stop..."
"Medicine! Give me the medicine! Please, just give me the medicine!!"
Alice shoved the devotees aside and began searching for the drugs. This was the same woman who once wouldn't even step on an ant. Now she was screaming at the devotees with bloodshot eyes.
The cause was the High Priest using Cure after noticing her drug addiction. The spell had forced her to remember the Hero's death, and she had begun hunting for drugs again to forget. The cathedral was filled with her screams.
The problem was that the cathedral held more than just devotees. There were outsiders present as well, and any further disturbance would be problematic.
"H-High Priest, what should we do!?"
"Th-this is..."
The devotees looked to the High Priest in desperation, but he was just as helpless. Unless they brought Hero Kyle himself, she would never calm down. But that was impossible. Because Hero Kyle was already dead. It was a dream that would never come true.
And she knew that fact as well. Knowing it, she had given up on everything and turned to the drugs...
"If you want, I'll let you meet him. Hero Kyle."
Was she dreaming right now?
Alice blinked. At that single sentence from Elin — his voice disguised — even the agony she had been feeling moments ago was momentarily forgotten. A clear light entered eyes that had been clouded by the drug's haze, and the hands trembling from withdrawal went still. Instead, it was her voice that now trembled endlessly.
"W-what... what do you mean?"
Meeting the Hero again — no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't comprehend it. She eyed him warily with suspicion.
"In the first place... w-who even are you? Why... why would you say something like that to me?"
They had clearly only met today. And the first thing out of his mouth was an offer to let her meet the Hero. There was a limit to how suspicious someone could be. Above all, even the Goddess herself could not reunite someone with the dead. And yet he was saying it was possible — so casually, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Looking at him, Alice could think of only one possibility. Raising a corpse. That was the only way to meet Kyle.
"Don't tell me... are you a necromancer?"
Necromancer. After Kyle's death, it wasn't as if she had never considered that method. But in the end, Alice never did it. No — more precisely, she couldn't. She had practically killed Kyle herself. To then arbitrarily bring him back in a corpse's body... anything else, maybe. But that, she could not do. That would be trampling on Kyle's heart a second time.
Moreover, necromancers were currently treated as near-heretics in the Holy Kingdom. Their power disregarded the laws of the continent and the Goddess's doctrine entirely. She had not the slightest intention of taking such a person's hand.
"I-if you're saying that because you're a necromancer, then I refuse—"
"Don't worry. It's nothing like that."
But an unexpected answer came. Not a necromancer? At that, Alice tilted her head instead.
"What? Th-then how exactly am I supposed to meet the Hero?"
"Ah, that's a trade secret. Can't tell you."
Elin brushed it off with a sly grin. Under Alice's suspicious gaze, he shrugged and continued.
"But does it matter? I'm offering to let you meet the Hero."
"Th-that's true, but..."
"Didn't you want to meet him?"
"Nh—"
She wanted to meet him. That desire alone, she would lose to no one. But now that meeting him was actually possible, she hesitated. Why? If he wasn't a necromancer, there was no reason to refuse. So why was she still hesitating?
C-could it be that I'm... afraid?
Perhaps everything had been an excuse. She had simply been afraid. A woman who had already turned to drugs would hardly balk at necromancy or corpses at this point. She simply couldn't face what Kyle might say to her — what eyes he might look at her with, what he might think of her. If — if he had known the whole truth and still chosen to take his own life... for her, there could be no greater hell than that.
To her, lost in that agony, Elin spoke casually.
"No need to overthink it."
"What?"
"You said you wanted to meet him, right? So save the complicated stuff for after you've seen him."
"W-wait! I still need a little more time to think—"
Alice urgently grabbed hold of him. She didn't know if his words were true or not. But if they were — if they really were — she needed to prepare her heart.
But Elin did not wait.
"Wait here. And while I'm inside, don't even think about opening this door."
He gave her only that warning, then went into the room and locked the door.
Click.
Left alone, Alice stared blankly at the closed door.
No matter how I think about it, it doesn't make sense. Letting me meet the Hero...
The entire situation felt like a dream. And yet she wasn't hazy. If anything, her mind was clearer than it had ever been. Which made it all the harder to accept what was happening.
Maybe he has some other agenda.
After all, how could she believe someone who claimed he could reunite her with the dead? There wasn't even Kyle's corpse here. Even if he were a necromancer, meeting Kyle right here would be impossible.
Th-that's right! Maybe he's an illusionist.
He could show her an illusion of Kyle and claim it was real. Either way, it was clearly a trap. Having reached that conclusion, Alice drew up her holy power in advance and stayed on guard, ready to respond no matter what happened. A staff of pure white light, formed of holy power, took shape in her hand. The moment that door opened, she would pour out her holy power and flee.
Just as she resolved this and gripped the staff tightly—
Creeeak.
At last, with an uneasy creak of hinges, the door Elin had entered through opened. White smoke billowed out, and within it a human silhouette took form. It had to be that man. Certain of this, Alice took a combat stance. And the moment she raised her staff high to strike—
"It's been a while, Alice."
Clatter.
The staff fell from her hands. Her only weapon dissolved into light and vanished, but that hardly mattered.
"Wh-what?"
Because standing right before her eyes was the Hero. All she could do was—
"H-Hero...?"
—call his name in a daze.