Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Sin and Punishment (2)
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A cold wind brushed past his ears.
To the hero Asteria, coldness had always meant death.
His downcast eyes recalled the recent events.
The Demon King's body, growing cold beneath him, and everything he'd seen then.
"...Kuh."
The memory was still vivid: the Demon King, her face a mess of tear streaks, staring up at him until her heart finally stopped.
Lifeless eyes. And in that corpse's arms, the baby weeping pitifully.
This makes me feel like the trash here.
It was absurd.
Even if his actions had gone too far, the opponent was the Demon King.
He wasn't the only one who'd crossed the line by miles—she had too.
"What's got you so angry this time?"
"Gordol."
The hero turned slowly at the voice from behind, after felling yet another tree.
Gordol, the valiant dwarf warrior who always led the charge, smashing demons to pieces.
But now, instead of his bloodied hammer adorned with demon flesh, he cradled a tiny baby in his arms.
Or more accurately, he was holding her close.
"That's the Demon King's baby, isn't it?"
"...But it's a dwarf, lad. I could tell at a glance."
The infant, smaller than a human baby, grinned happily in Gordol's embrace, clearly content.
To the hero, who'd only heard the baby's pitiful cries before, the sight felt awkward, but he didn't show it.
"Do you think I was wrong too, Gordol?"
He simply posed the question.
Gordol's expression turned serious at the earnest words.
It wasn't about whether the hero was right or wrong.
They'd all suffered too much to quibble over that, and nothing could make the Demon King look innocent.
So he didn't blame the hero.
He couldn't forgive her himself—would never—and who was he to judge anyone else?
"No, I don't think you were wrong. But... now that it's all over, maybe take some time to think it through."
"..."
Their hurried footsteps had ceased long ago.
With the final goal—the Demon King—subdued and captured, their journey was effectively done.
They were no longer a hero party gathered to slay the Demon King—just a young man and a dwarf, nothing more.
"Remember the first village we headed to after forming our party?"
"How could I forget?"
Their gazes drifted to that past for a moment, then returned to the present.
The baby in Gordol's arms cooed brightly, delighted by something, but the other two wore grim expressions.
Yeah, how could they smile recalling those memories?
"If you saw her face on the Demon King, would you believe me?"
"...Hm."
The memory was unforgettable.
Tales of people he couldn't save in his early, clumsy days.
The image was vivid: an ordinary woman clutching her baby, dying in the utmost humiliation right before his eyes.
I'm crazy. Overlapping a victim brutally sacrificed by the Demon King's army with the Demon King herself? That's full-on insanity.
"It makes me furious—at the Demon King for dredging up those memories, and at myself for doing what I did."
The Demon King's insides weren't unpleasant, even as a polite exaggeration.
Maybe because it was his first time entering a woman, but to him, it was both an outlet for rage and a source of pleasure.
The feeling that sexual ecstasy could make him forget everything—followed by the thought that he couldn't lose himself in pleasure and forget it all.
Those tangled thoughts and emotions turned his mind feral, eroding his self-control.
"But it's weird, right? She's the Demon King, who deserves eternal torment and death, and here I am having these thoughts..."
"..."
"Isn't this a mockery of the victims?"
Remember who killed them.
Who killed Gordol's wife and daughter?
Whose hands torched the World Tree, home to all elves?
What took the lives of the Magic Tower mages?
And who took his friends, parents, and childhood sweetheart?
Demons. All slain by demons.
"Every demon we've met so far has been the same."
"They have."
"What's to say she's any different?"
As the king of demons, she might hide even darker schemes.
What if all her expressions and actions were lies?
What if it was a ploy to slowly drown him in pity and mercy, then tighten the noose? How could he even judge?
"I don't know. No idea at all."
Gordol said.
His face looked utterly exhausted, as if one more word would send him into silence.
He just wanted to gaze at the baby in his arms and sink into his own memories.
Seeing that, the hero let out a deep breath and clamped his mouth shut.
He didn't want to continue this topic either.
But one thing.
"If the Goddess was right and the Demon King truly never killed a single soul, then what the hell was the Demon King's army?"
It was ridiculous, even thinking back now.
"D-don't touch my body."
"Aw, come on, it's just us girls~"
As I huddled and shivered, the Saintess's slender fingers glided over my shoulder.
Eek, damn it, get that hand away already!
Even if the body was female, my mind was male—so having this beauty touch me with that sly look sent chills down my spine.
"Demon King, do you like girls by any chance?"
"Wh-why would you ask that?"
"Well... your reactions are just so interesting."
I didn't prefer women now, but they were definitely better than men.
No—better than the hero. By like 10 billion times!
This time, her fingers brushed my side, making me flinch and press flat against the wall.
'Sh-she's backing me into a corner...'
I retreated stealthily, and she advanced just as slyly.
Like a predator herding prey. I swallowed dryly.
I had no idea what switch flipped in her, but the Saintess looked downright dangerous right now.
In a very chastity-threatening way.
...Though I'd already lost mine and even borne a child, but whatever.
"Once you discover masturbation, Demon King, your life will be half-improved already~?"
"I-it doesn't matter."
"You say that, but you're not even resisting."
It's not that I won't—it's that I can't.
How the hell am I supposed to resist with this weak-ass body that can't even overpower the Saintess's strength?
I glared daggers in frustration, but all I got was her finger pressing teasingly near my collarbone.
"Hyat?! Wh-what the hell are you doing?!"
"Oh? Not here...?"
The Saintess, fiddling with my collarbone, tilted her head at my yelp.
It wasn't random groping—she seemed to be searching for something. Still, being treated like a toy didn't feel great.
So stop it. Quit now, and I'll forgive you, you damn woman!
"...Whatever you're looking for, just give up alr—"
"Maybe here?"
"—heeeeeek♥"
...Ah.
Ah?
"Wh-what did you...?"
Her fingers suddenly dug into my side—right near the ribs—and a lewd moan escaped me reflexively.
What the—? What was that sound? It was like something straight out of an adult vid—
Wait, I made that sound...
I clamped my mouth shut and widened my eyes. The Saintess grinned wickedly at me.
"Found it~?"
"F-found what?"
Her fingers wiggled near my ribs, stealing my gaze entirely.
I have to block it. For real this time. Who knows what this crazy Saintess will do next? I must stop her!
I stared piercingly at her tantalizing fingertip—then thrust out my hand, snatching it just as it lunged for my ribs.
Hah, how's that, Saintess? Your slow fingers can't toy with my ribs now—
"Hiyaaaaak♥"
"Demon King, humans have two hands, not one~?"
"St-stop thaaaat...♥"
Her fingers kneaded each rib segment, and my mind blanked white for an instant before snapping back.
'...What the hell is this?'
What in the world was happening to my body?!