The Hero Has Returned
“Catch it!”
“Hiiing!”
At Hazel's command, the soldiers of Butler Territory charged at Talion. But Talion was still a divine beast, after all. The territory's soldiers were getting flung away by its fierce resistance, and I just watched the whole thing unfold without lifting a finger.
All I'd permitted Hazel was to take Talion's horn. So I had no intention of going out of my way to cut it off myself.
“I-I'll… give it a try.”
Watching her soldiers get manhandled without a chance, Hazel stepped forward on her own. The night before, I'd given her quite the lecture—maybe that was what spurred her on.
Hazel de Butler. In my previous life, I'd dismissed her as a foolish woman who only cared about her own safety, but the truth was a bit more nuanced. Born into a merchant family, Hazel wasn't stupid by any means. It was more accurate to say circumstances had molded her into a passive person.
She'd been ordered by the former count, Geoffrey, to protect Lloyd, and she'd lived her life fixated on that command to a ridiculous degree.
'If that's stupid, then yeah, it's stupid.'
Maybe because her single-minded devotion reminded me of my own past life—obsessed solely with slaying the Demon King—that I'd ended up giving her unsolicited advice.
“It's dangerous. That thing's way too wild…”
“It's fine. It acted weirdly friendly toward me, so maybe I can manage.”
I watched Hazel converse with Juan, the soldier in charge. Having convinced him, she rolled up her sleeves with surprising confidence and approached Talion. The beast just stared at her, motionless.
“Now, hold still! I won't hurt you when I take it off.”
“Hing!”
But as Hazel drew near, Talion twisted away, slipping out from beside her. Naturally, it had zero interest in offering its body to Hazel, who'd already lost her virginity.
“W-what do I do?”
In the end, Hazel's gaze turned to me. I yawned back at her, and finally, Marian couldn't stand it anymore and stepped up.
“I'll do it.”
Marian took a small dagger from a nearby soldier and slowly approached Talion.
“Talion, good boy. Come here.”
She hid the dagger behind her back, but Talion, oblivious, approached her with a blissful expression, head held high. Marian grabbed its neck as it nuzzled close and pressed the blade to its horn.
With a sharp crack, the tip snapped off and hit the ground. Talion, seemingly content just with Marian's embrace, wagged its tail furiously.
“Got it!”
Marian scooped up the fallen horn and shouted in triumph. Only then did Talion realize what happened, letting out a pitiful wail—but no one paid it any mind.
'Well, as long as it was happy for a moment.'
I was the only one—its owner—who spared it the tiniest bit of sympathy.
**
“Ugh.”
To me, it was just a walking virginity tester, but it was a divine beast. Grinding Talion's horn into powder and applying it, I watched Lloyd's wound regenerate before my eyes. The recovery speed rivaled the immortal body the goddess had granted me, so I mentally bumped up Talion's value a notch.
“Lloyd, a-are you coming around?”
As the brat clutched his stomach and regained consciousness, Hazel rushed to him. Tears streaming down her face, anyone would mistake her for his real mother.
Juan, that bald bastard, was so moved he turned away, wiping his eyes—completely out of character. What a delusional bunch.
And the party's grand finale came from the brat himself, Lloyd.
“You bastard! Do you have any idea how much I suffered because of you?!”
The unicorn horn's effect exceeded my expectations. Fully healed in moments, the kid charged straight at me.
I sidestepped lazily, and he lost balance, tumbling spectacularly to the ground.
“Lloyd!”
Hazel cried out to stop him, but the brat—bruised ego and all, rolling pathetically—had no brakes left.
I gauged how much force would keep him from dying and waited, but smack—Hazel beat me to it.
“M-Mommy?”
Slapped by Hazel, Lloyd mumbled in disbelief.
I'd told her about me and old man Ghetto the night before, but I hadn't expected her to change this fast. I looked at her, mildly surprised.
“What kind of rude behavior is this? Lloyd, apologize to the Hero right now.”
“…N-no.”
“I don't like rude children either. You don't want to never see my face again, do you?”
Was it Hazel's total shift in demeanor? Lloyd's face drained of color.
“S-sorry.”
In the end, the brat couldn't win against her. Glaring resentfully through tears, he bowed his head to me.
Of course, I didn't think one apology would change him. But with Hazel transformed, maybe the kid would follow suit, bit by bit.
“Juan, check the damage inside the castle. Treat the refugees the same as imperial citizens. We need every hand we can get right now.”
Hazel issued crisp orders to Juan and the soldiers. Watching her, I figured it was time to head home. She was still rough around the edges, but trash like Charlie was gone from her side now.
“What kind of magic did you work on her?”
Marian, baffled by Hazel's overnight change, asked me with a puzzled look. But to me, the question felt playfully coy.
After all, Marian had been watching everything between Hazel and me last night, per her usual habit. Maybe that's why she'd stepped up to cut the horn herself—after hearing Hazel's story.
'Check out those dark circles.'
Her eyes screamed all-nighter. I just shrugged. No need to play along with Marian pretending she didn't know everything.
'Lilite must've gone back, huh?'
Scanning the castle—now demon-free—I thought of the succubus queen. In my past life, she'd just been an annoying foe, but she was more capable than expected. Might come in handy again.
We'd agreed to a romp after wrapping things up, so I figured she'd show eventually. Not right now, though.
'Whatever, she'll find me.'
Feeling my business in Butler Territory was done, I approached Talion. The beast bristled at me on sight but started wagging its tail at Marian—the one who'd actually cut its horn.
'Crazy bastard.'
I grabbed the reins and mounted up. A bit of resistance, but one killing intent crushed it.
“Let's go, Marian. Time to head back.”
I extended a hand to her, and she took it with a bright smile.
A tiny lingering attachment to Hazel, maybe. 'But we'll cross paths again soon.'
The war with the demon army was just beginning, after all. I'd meet the woman now shouldering a territory.
“H-Hero!!”
Hazel called from afar, running toward me, but I kicked Talion's flanks without a backward glance and rode out of the castle.
**
“Well done, Hero.”
Back in the capital, I was ushered straight to the palace and granted an audience in the throne room. The emperor, seated on his ornate chair, delivered that single line with a blank face before departing.
The change? Princess Mary Reister at his side. She shot me a look that said we had much to discuss, then supported the limping emperor as they left.
“Impressive feat, Hero.”
As I stood alone in the now-empty throne room, Crown Prince Aaron approached with those words. Pure sarcasm, not literal praise.
I realized the emperor and prince alike resented me for saving Butler Territory, and my scowl deepened.
“I stopped the demon army, but I didn't expect this kind of reception—not even a welcome, but this?”
“Ha, who ordered you to fight the demon army? Or did the goddess give another oracle?”
The remaining nobles snickered at Aaron's words. My head cooled with each taunt from the prince, fresh off my return.
'Should I just kill him?'