The Fourth Happy Ending
The Demon King was defeated. The entire world praised the Hero's great feat. They blessed the salvation of the world. They sang of the goddess's mercy. The world was saved. If this were an old tale, the remaining scene would surely end with nothing but the words "and they all lived happily ever after." In time, after many years passed, their journey would become just such an ancient story, concluding with those words. It was that perfect an ending. The Hero, who once couldn't even swing a sword, overcame his fear and vanquished the Demon King, ushering in an era of peace for the world.
"……."
But someone might remember this day as a nightmare.
The Porter was nowhere to be seen. I'd thought he'd be waiting for us in the city, ready to celebrate our victory over the Demon King, but there was no sign of him anywhere.
"Well, we deliberately kicked him out pretty harshly, so no surprise there," the Mage said curtly, and I nodded. Yeah. We'd intentionally said cruel things to drive him away. He was more than just wise—he was brave and full of responsibility. He hadn't joined us for honor or duty alone; he couldn't stand by while we bore heavy burdens. If we'd just said we were expelling him out of worry, he would've stayed. We had to tell him he was useless, a hindrance—that way, not wanting to be a burden, he'd nod and accept it. So we'd hurt him. He was probably staying away on purpose, thinking we'd hate to see him. That's how considerate he was.
"We'll have to go find him ourselves. Apologize for the harsh words... and thank him properly."
"Isn't that a bit stiff? Just say we're throwing a victory party together—keep it light. He's not clueless; he probably gets why we chased him off anyway."
"Still, we wounded him with our words."
"Ugh, you're so serious about the weirdest things."
We headed together to the Porter's house. Thanks to his open nature, the party already knew where he lived. And the moment we arrived, something felt off.
"...Looks like he hasn't been here. Given when we expelled him, he should've arrived ages ago."
"Hm. Maybe he's off traveling with his retirement gold."
"Even so, knowing his personality, he'd come back home at least once to regroup... This place feels abandoned for years."
"Could be he joined another party."
"Ah, yeah, that makes sense. He's so capable—plenty of people would've snapped him up."
The Porter hadn't come home. It was strange. Strange, but we figured it wasn't a big deal. He was that skilled a porter. It wouldn't be odd if he'd found new companions right after we kicked him out.
"Tch. Kinda hurts my feelings. I deliberately stuffed his retirement pouch with extra gold, and he goes off to someone else right away."
"The Porter isn't the type to work for money. Probably just his professional pride."
"Ugh, he's such a hassle. Whatever, we can check the Porters' Guild, right?"
We searched everywhere for the Porter. The guild, his old colleagues, the restaurants he frequented, anywhere he might go—we checked it all. And nowhere was there any sign of him.
"...What the hell?"
"Tsk. Let's head back to where we last parted with the human porter. Better to ask the spirits to track him."
"Yeah, Illina. Could you do that?"
"I owe the human porter some debts too. Returning to the Great Forest like this would leave a bitter taste."
We returned to the place where we'd expelled the Porter. Recalling the cruel words we'd hurled at him there soured my mouth.
"Spirits of the wind, tell me where the human man who was here has gone."
Finding paths was the elf Illina's role. Spirits are everywhere, after all. We followed the spirits' power to trace the Porter's trail.
"Ugh, making us work this hard—he's gonna be stuck cooking for the party nonstop."
"We chased him out, so don't be too harsh."
"I know, but... still! It's infuriating!"
With Illina's abilities, we'd find him in no time. He was the Hero's companion. A capable man. There was no reason to worry. That's what I thought. Surely.
"──!"
Illina, communing with the spirits, suddenly widened her eyes and bolted somewhere.
"Illina?!"
It happened in an instant. What was going on? I hurriedly chased after the elf. What was that expression just now? A bad premonition prickled my nape. A chilling sensation crawled up my spine, spreading coldly through my veins. It'll be fine. It has to be. It must be.
"...Flames?"
Flames rose where Illina had run. The forest dew scattered the fire, sparkling red before evaporating. Spirits' flames. She'd never once summoned fire spirits in a wooded area before, yet now she was burning the forest. No, that wasn't all. The sky darkened. Thick clouds loomed as if about to crash down, unleashing thunder. The air quivered, the flames' heat incinerating the downpour into humid gusts. Wind spirits whipped those gusts into a storm, and the lightning-struck earth writhed and cracked like an earthquake.
Spirits run amok. Nature raged alongside the elf's fury.
"Illina...?"
The Saintess and Mage, arriving late, stared blankly at the scene. Beyond the blaze, storm, thunder, and quakes, the pointy-eared woman slowly approached, cradling something.
It was a person. Or rather, the shape of what had been a person. A corpse. Torn by beasts and rotting.
"Ah──."
My mouth opens. No words come.
"Aaa──."
Dread whites out my thoughts.
"Fuuu──."
We came here to find the Porter.
"Shiii──."
So whose corpse is that?
No. No way. It can't be. This is wrong. He should've gone home. He should be waiting. Why? How? We beat the Demon King. We saved the world. We saved everyone. Why? No, it's a misunderstanding. Just a random corpse. Yeah. Right. We've seen plenty of corpses. No big deal. Nothing wrong. We saved the world, after all.
"……."
I see the Saintess rush to the elf, pouring holy power into the corpse. Her immense power, beyond human limits, slowly restores the decayed body to its original form. Her face pales in an instant. A self-sacrificing spell. She's burning her own life force on it. Don't. Why? It's just a corpse. Why go that far? This is weird.
"Urk……."
Finally, the corpse regains its true appearance. The Mage, who'd stayed composed at the sight of the body, starts retching upon seeing the revived face. Nature, furious enough to end the world, now whimpers sorrowfully, its fury fading to calm. Exhausted from expending her life force, the Saintess collapses with a feeble smile. I take a step toward the corpse. The elf holding it stares at me, then squeezes her eyes shut.
"Por... ter......"
A familiar face. The one always smiling at me. The one who gave me courage. The one I owe an eternal debt. The one I burdened with sin I'll atone for forever. This is wrong. He should've gone home. This wasn't where we were supposed to meet again. Wrong. What was I even doing?
"Why... why'd it end up like this......"
I wanted courage. Wanted to save the world. Protect the people I love. Truth is, I wanted to give up on it all. I'd already given up. But you came to me, gave me courage. Shared my burdens. So I just── wanted to show you.
"Kuhk, aaah, huwaaa!──!!"
That your faith wasn't in vain. That thanks to you sharing my load, I fulfilled my duty. That you believed I could save the world—and I did. I took up the burden I'd abandoned just to show you that. So why? Why this?
"...Bandits."
"Ban... dits...?"
The elf's calm voice hits me even in this chaos. Furious enough to rampage the spirits, yet her elven nature hides the emotion.
"Looks like he was ambushed by thieves after his money."
"How could bandits......"
I couldn't understand. The Porter was born with the Hero's talent. He mastered the defensive swordsmanship I taught him in days. How could someone like that die to mere thieves? Sure, he was weak originally, but with proper training──
"Then I don't need to learn more swordsmanship, right?"
Ah.
"The Hero will protect me, yeah?"
"...Yeah. I'll definitely protect you."
──All my fault.