The Hero Who Defeated the Demon King - 05
"……."
"……."
"……."
The hero party would reach the royal capital soon, and they would be praised by the people of the world as honorable saviors who had saved the world.
But the atmosphere was so bleak that it was unbelievable how people who had obtained all wealth and honor were acting, and no one opened their mouths.
Some had red eyes from crying too much, and others stared with unfocused eyes, as if they didn't know what they were looking at.
Only Alex maintained his sanity.
'He died, right.'
I hadn't confirmed it directly.
I went down first and searched the surroundings, but there was nothing to be seen. And the rain made it impossible to distinguish any footprints.
I hadn't wanted to track with footprints anyway, and there was no one among them who could use such a technique.
At best, if it had been the elf Reina, perhaps she could have, but Reina was in no state to be considered sane right now.
'That river connects all the way to the sea. If she went to the sea, I wouldn't be able to find the body.'
Alex shook his head.
One-third of her head had been blown away, and one eye had been completely torn.
Her heart had been pierced.
One arm was gone.
She had been poisoned with the God of Death Poison.
Even if she had fallen from that height cliff, she should have died. Whether she fell into the river or the ground, it was obvious she would die.
I had judged that she had fallen into the river because I couldn't find the body on land.
'Phew, calm down.'
Since she was poisoned with the God of Death Poison, even if miraculously her life was still attached, the thread of life wouldn't be long.
Even if she had survived the fall like a hero, she would have died from the God of Death Poison in a few minutes at most.
Her death was natural.
Dying was common sense.
But.
During the journey, Alex had seen her break common sense and win victory several times, and he had seen her stand as if it were natural even with wounds that should have killed her from reckless charges.
The possibility that Olivia Reinhardt hadn't died kept rising in his mind, and he couldn't erase it.
'There's no way she could be alive.'
She had lost her strength.
She couldn't use mana because of the God of Death Poison.
The contract with the Holy Sword had been severed.
"Everyone, we'll be at the royal capital soon."
"……."
"……."
"Sigh."
Alex exhaled.
They had betrayed the hero Olivia for their own greed.
If so, would it be better not to feel unnecessary guilt or remorse, but to lie until the end? To lie, one must have the resolve to carry that lie to the grave.
Alex felt like crying at their stupidity, but they were still comrades and needed to maintain friendly relations for the future.
Moreover, the common consciousness of having committed a common crime meant that they might trust Alex more than others.
Above all, the saintess Velita was Alex's next fiancée candidate now that the hero Olivia was dead.
The combination of sage and saintess would look good, and people would like it.
"Everyone!"
"Eh? Yeah, what did you say?"
"Sorry, I was a bit spaced out too."
"……."
I held back the feeling of wanting to sigh.
"We'll be at the royal capital soon. Use magic or whatever to keep your face in good condition. You wouldn't think of entering the royal capital like that, right? All the people of the royal capital are waiting for our return."
"Ugh."
"I know."
"Olivia died to the Demon King. She bravely killed the Demon King, and she died because of the Demon King. It was truly a hero's death. Got it?"
I should have killed her when she was in the monster realm.
There were various reasons, but the biggest was that I didn't know Olivia had no intention of living in the kingdom.
If I had known that, killing her in the monster realm would have been safer in many ways than killing her in the human territory with some risk.
"Yeah, I know."
"Of course."
"If you can do that well, I'll keep my promise."
There was a saying that strength is relative.
It wasn't a person.
You shouldn't call it a person.
Putting it in the category of 'humanity' was unreasonable to people.
'Uncontrollable monsters must be killed.'
At first, I thought I could easily handle the simple and emotional Olivia.
By using the word 'heroic', I thought I could make her a puppet that moves according to Alex's words easily.
But she was more solid than I imagined, had convictions, had ideals, and was a good being.
The saying not to forgive evil is good, but since the standard of evil is only Olivia herself, even if it's not illegal, if it's evil in Olivia's standard, I beat her down.
She saved people as if she had a sense of duty.
She didn't abandon people crying.
Even if somehow she went to marriage, I thought she would listen to her husband's words.
It was a bit bothersome, but I thought it was best to make her my wife and tie her with the iron chain of family, but since that became impossible, I had no choice.
At any time.
Suddenly.
I didn't know if Olivia would see the kingdom as an enemy.
"Here, the hero's return. Smile and reassure the citizens."
"I don't want to……!"
"Hey, don't be cheeky and open your mouth……!!"
"Be cheeky to the hero!"
"What are you saying to someone whose contract with the saintess is broken……!"
"S, I can eat it myself!!"
They tussled for a few minutes.
The reason was simple.
No matter how great the hero was, she was still human, and the God of Death Poison was still killing her.
Honestly, I didn't know why she wasn't dead yet, but anyway, it was clear that the poison was killing her.
It was to the point where I had to use the expression 'slowly but surely', but she was definitely heading towards death, and of course she needed to eat food and medicine.
But even if treated, the hero was a mess inside, so she needed to eat food made to be easily digestible, and then medicine.
But.
"You said last time that you ate alone, do you know how much time it took? You spilled it all, didn't you?"
"T, that's……!"
Of course.
Because the God of Death Poison has the effect of paralyzing the nerves, I thought 'Is this person really the same as me?' when I saw the hero moving a bit awkwardly.
It was to the point where the possibility of human structure not being human arose.
The various technologies of the world and the common sense of human structure felt like they would be overturned by one hero.
"Eating is important. In a sense, food has the same value as medicine in treating the body."
"……."
"So open your mouth. What I feed you is so uncomfortable……? Isn't it more uncomfortable to eat with that arm? Why do you hate it so much? Is it because it looks like I'm treating you like a child?"
"……It's just embarrassingly normal."
"Eh? What did you say?"
It was too small to hear.
"Nothing, yeah. ……Eat, eat. Ah, aaaaang."
"Very good."
The hero ate the food I gave her.
It was closer to drinking than eating food.
In the worst case, what if I tried to drink it all at once saying 'I'll drink it'? But luckily, it didn't go that far. It was better not to put food all at once.
"Livia, as you know, we're going to East Port and then to the Eastern Continent from now on."
"To go to Elvenheim? I know, but I don't know if the elves will help."
"Well, the hero who saved the world, wouldn't you help?"
"……."
The hero turned her head as if something stung.
What?
Did something happen in Elvenheim after I was banished?
I didn't hear rumors.
But since Elvenheim is a country of elves with little contact with the outside world, the rumors might not have spread.
I started to feel uneasy for some reason, but since I barely fed her, if I asked now, it might make things troublesome.
There was time until Elvenheim, so let's ask later.
'……Honestly, it's close to impossible.'
Looking at the progress of the poison now, there was little leeway.
Even now, with the vitality of the hero Olivia Reinhardt, she was barely holding on, so I didn't know when she would die.
"I ate it all."
"Yeah. Now you have to take medicine."
"I can take medicine myself."
"……."
When I looked at the hero, her cheek seemed a bit red.
It didn't seem particularly painful.
Hmm.
"……Ah, maybe it was just embarrassing?"
"……!"
The hero opened her eyes wide, turned her head, and her face became even redder.
Even if a handsome man, a fit man, a powerful man came during the journey, she wouldn't react.
Even to her fiancé Alex, she didn't show any reaction, only as a comrade. So I thought the hero had no interest in that side at all, or rather, she was dull.
But was it not that?
"What should I say, I'm sorry I couldn't show consideration. ……But this is necessary. We don't have much time."
"Ah, I know……! This is the first time I've received help so helplessly."
"……."
I thought it was rational embarrassment.
But it wasn't.
She was a confusing person.