A Changed Relationship
Nahen had been listening intently to the story, but the moment Veronika fell silent, he furrowed his brow sharply.
“...So?”
“Yes?”
“Are you seriously telling me that’s the end?”
“It is the end. Anything more would just be endless praise for Her Majesty Seere’s prowess.”
“What?”
“After that, of course Her Majesty won. She swept away the Hero and every last soldier.”
“But… you said a lot happened? Wasn’t it a serious situation?”
“If Her Majesty had lost, would I be standing here like this? The entire faction would have collapsed. And I already told you she’s alive.”
Veronika spoke as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Nahen knew she was right, yet something still didn’t add up.
“Then why is the 69th Floor in that state? It looked completely burned.”
“Well… after that, the full-scale Heavenly Demon War began and everything burned. Before that, the battle with the Hero had already reduced most of it to rubble.”
Then why had Veronika greeted him with such meaningful, ominous remarks the moment they met? That was what puzzled Nahen.
“No… you spoke to me with a truly grave expression. You kept sighing deeply and even said things like, ‘Is this really fortunate…’”
“Ah, that. That was for a different reason.”
“What?”
“What I was worried about… was the relationship between Her Majesty and Lord Nahen.”
“What?”
Nahen looked puzzled, but Veronika offered no further explanation.
“It would be better for you to go to the Demon King’s castle and see for yourself.”
“...What are you even saying? Did Seere forget about me or something?”
“……If that were the case, I wouldn’t be worried at all.”
“???”
Veronika refused to clear up Nahen’s confusion. She seemed ready to end the conversation and leave.
“...Wait.”
“Yes?”
“Then has the Heavenly Demon War ended now?”
“It’s hard to say it’s completely over. Right now, it’s more like a temporary ceasefire.”
“If you’ve come all the way down here, doesn’t that mean the Celestial Realm has withdrawn?”
“That’s correct.”
“Then why isn’t it considered over?”
“Because the truly high-ranking figures on both the Celestial and Demon sides haven’t made their move yet.”
“...!”
In other words, the Heavenly Demon War that had raged until Nahen’s return had been fought without the leaders of either side. Since no one knew when the Archangels or Archdemons might intervene, Veronika had described it as not yet finished.
Nahen let out a small sigh.
“...I see.”
“For now, let’s head to the Demon King’s castle. If Her Majesty finds out I’ve been keeping you here, there might be serious trouble…”
“Can’t you just explain that I asked you to?”
“……That kind of excuse probably won’t work. That’s the problem.”
From a little while ago, Nahen had been struggling to understand Veronika’s words. She kept speaking as if there were problems in his relationship with Seere.
“It’s true I made a grave mistake toward Seere, but there’s no way that child would abandon me.”
“That’s not what I mean. If Her Majesty had cut you off, I wouldn’t be this worried.”
“Then what on earth are you—”
At that moment, Nahen’s eyes widened slightly. He had sensed a familiar magical power nearby.
“Huh…”
“What’s wrong?”
“The feeling is a bit different, so I’m confused… Is this Seere’s magic power?”
“What?”
The instant Veronika looked flustered, the sharp click of high heels echoed. When Veronika saw the owner of that clear, elegant sound, her face filled with horror.
…Oh no. What do I do?
While Veronika desperately tried to think of an excuse, Nahen simply stared at her in a daze.
Hah… really…
She’s grown so beautifully.
That was the first thought that crossed his mind. Her snow-white hair was the same as when she was young, though the red streaks running through it had multiplied significantly. Her features had matured. While her height had only increased slightly, the many changes in her body made it clear she had fully grown into adulthood.
There were positive changes, but also ones that made him slightly uneasy. The most obvious was the deep blue eyes that now carried a heavy, sunken mood.
Still, Nahen greeted her warmly. If he avoided her now because the atmosphere felt awkward, that would be the worst possible choice.
“Seere.”
“……”
It was his disciple, now a fully grown woman—Seere von Devata.
#
Nahen had greeted her warmly, but Seere did not respond. It was a reaction that would have been hurtful under normal circumstances. Still, Nahen understood. After all, he had disappeared for eight years and only now returned. It was only natural.
Though only a month had passed in Nahen’s perception, eight long years had gone by for Seere. The person who promised to return within two years had been gone for eight. Anyone left waiting would inevitably be plagued by all sorts of thoughts.
The words that finally spilled from Seere’s lips were…
“Traitor.”
“……”
“Liar.”
“……”
“You deceived me.”
Nahen could not refute a single word. Each one was heavy with emotions that had condensed over eight years of waiting.
“You told me… to wait just two years…”
The emotions, thick and stale from being bottled up for so long, crashed over Nahen. It felt as if his breath had been stolen away.
Seere’s lovely face twisted, and the sorrow she had accumulated over the years began to fall in heavy drops.
“Seere… I’m sorry. Truly. I never expected it to turn out like this…”
“You have no idea… no idea what it felt like for me… waiting for you every single day!”
“……”
Nahen closed his mouth. Then Seere spoke again.
“…You know, Teacher.”
The return to polite speech and the title “Teacher” gave Nahen a flicker of hope.
“I can no longer believe anything you say.”
But it was a false hope. The woman who had been shedding tears of sorrow drew her sword. Without another word, Seere pointed it directly at Nahen.
“Y-Your Majesty!?”
“……Yes.”
While Veronika panicked, Nahen calmly nodded. If the emotions accumulated over eight years could only be released this way—if they had built up enough for her to try to cut him down—then he would face her.
“I need to see just how wonderfully you’ve grown.”
He would have to fight her. That was the punishment a teacher deserved for making his disciple wait endlessly.
Nahen drew the sword he had brought from Hell. Strangely enough, it looked remarkably similar to Seere’s. Both had black blades embedded with red eyes. However, while Nahen’s blade ended in a blunt rectangular tip, Seere’s was far sharper and more agile.
“A-Are you really going to fight her?”
“Fight?”
Nahen let out a dry laugh.
“It looks like I’ll be the one getting beaten one-sidedly.”
BOOOOM───!!!
It began without warning. The shockwave was so powerful that Veronika had to retreat immediately. It was the result of Seere swinging her sword with genuine intent.
“L-Lord Nahen!!”
Veronika cried out with a grave expression, terrified he might have been badly hurt. But Nahen himself was…
“…Heavy. You’ve developed excellent skill.”
Completely fine. He had perfectly blocked Seere’s powerful strike.
While Veronika breathed in relief, Seere began fiercely swinging her sword, driving Nahen back. As she did, she poured out all the words she had kept locked inside for the past eight years.
“I can’t even believe you when you said you wouldn’t leave me anymore! How can I trust you when you might disappear again like this!?”
“…I truly am sorry about that. I never intended for it to take this long.”
“Don’t make me laugh! You were always thinking about leaving someday. Did you really think I wouldn’t notice!?”
“……”
Nahen could not argue. If he had raised Seere to the top and seen the ending, he had indeed planned to return to his original world. He hadn’t expected her to have noticed all of that.
“…If that’s what you wanted, I was planning to stay.”
“Liar!!”
That was the truth. It had been a long time since the people of the Demon Realm—including Seere—had become important to him. He had thought about returning to reality, but it wasn’t out of lingering attachment to that world. It had simply been one of the motivations for helping Seere reach the peak.
But Seere could not—would not—believe him.
CLANG!!!
Blocking Seere’s sword strikes was no problem. What was difficult was how her hurt feelings kept pushing and shaking him. Just as he was beginning to realize how deeply wounded she had been while waiting for him, Seere’s lips curved into a smile.
“Yes… If I tied you up somewhere, you wouldn’t be able to run away.”
“…Huh?”
“Or maybe I should cut off your arms and legs and keep extracting your magic power so you can’t use spells. I can take care of any demonic beasts that get in the way myself…”
“……Seere?”
Nahen was utterly bewildered by the sudden strange words. He had thought she was simply expressing the sadness of being separated from her teacher.
“What are you saying…”
“Because Teacher keeps trying to leave me… I have no choice…”
Seere’s eyes had grown dangerously intense. While Nahen was greatly shaken by that gaze, Seere did not miss the opening. She grabbed his wrist with her own hand, momentarily sealing his ability to swing his sword, and shoved him to the ground. In an instant, she thrust her blade down, planting it right beside his neck.
“I really didn’t want to do this, Teacher. But eight years… eight years is too much…”
Nahen stared blankly at Seere. She couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth from rising.
Unless Nahen was a fool, there was no way he could fail to recognize the emotion she was showing him right now.
“I have to tie you up tightly and lock you away… so you won’t leave me, right?”
The emotion revealed in Seere’s eyes and expression was…
“Teach…er.”
Deep, profound love.