Ragnarok. That was the name people had given to the battle against Ehit, the
battle which had decided the fate of the world.
A month had passed since then, and lively voices could be heard in the place
that had once been Heiligh's capital. It was mostly the voices of craftsmen and
laborers that were barking out orders, calling for materials, and occasionally
taking short breaks and chatting with each other.
The varied colors of dozens of different people's mana lit up the construction
site as stone and lumber flew everywhere. It was the sight of a city being rebuilt
with the magical powers that were commonplace in a fantasy world. Heiligh's
capital had been mostly destroyed when Hajime had blown up the Divine
Mountain. And yet, after just one month, the rubble had been completely cleaned
away and reconstruction had begun.
Many of the people who hadn't been able to participate in Ragnarok, namely
civilians and craftsmen, had come to help aid the reconstruction effort. These
people belonged to all races and came from many different countries.
In truth, when Hajime's classmates had gone to the various nations to plead
for aid, they'd installed the same monitor artifact that Liliana had used to survey
the battlefield in the capitals of all of those countries, as well as their major
cities. That way, all mortal races had been able to watch the battle for Tortus's
survival at their local city plazas. The vast majority of people had indeed
watched the battle unfold in real time.
And after witnessing such a legendary clash, they'd felt a strong desire to do
something meaningful as well.
After the battle, Hajime had reopened the portals that connected most of the
continent's major cities, and tons of people had come over to reunite with loved
ones who'd been fighting and to celebrate humanity's victory. At the same time,
they'd felt a pang of sorrow upon seeing the sorry state the capital was in, and
had decided to dedicate their time to help rebuild it. Thanks to the massive influx
of man power, the capital would be mostly rebuilt in just half a year.
The plains that had served as the army's base camp during Ragnarok had
now become the site of the reconstruction effort's headquarters. The area around
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the fortress had been ravaged by the battle, but now they'd been flattened once
more and were filled with rows upon rows of temporary housing and other
facilities for all the workers and craftsmen.
Many merchants had also come to Heiligh to sell necessities and trinkets and
whatever else the laborers might need. Restaurants and general goods stores
were popping up all over the place, and at the rate things were going, this
temporary camp could very well end up a permanent part of the capital city. That
would require some expansion, of course, but with some effort, the rebuilt
capital would be far more splendid than the original.
The fort itself had also been repurposed to become a temporary Heiligh
Palace. More windows and rooms had been added to make it a more comfortable
living space.
In the command room of the fort-turned-palace, a young girl let out a worried
sigh.
It was none other than Liliana S. B. Heiligh, the girl who'd led Tortus's
armies and had become a legendary figure in her own right.
"Lily, if you keep worrying too much, you'll go bald," Yuka said to her in an
exasperated voice.
"How can you say that?!"
She looked up from the document she'd been poring over at Yuka, who was
sitting at her own desk, sorting a sheaf of documents. She'd elected to help
Liliana with her duties, as had Aiko, who was sitting at the desk across from her.
"What's the big deal?" Aiko asked curiously. "If there are people who want
to come, we should let them, right?"
"We're already over capacity!"
It was great that so many people wanted to come help restore the capital, but
there was such a thing as too many. Because so many people were coming,
Liliana was stuck in hell organizing all of them, finding places for them to live,
expanding the temporary residential districts to house them all, and so on. At this
rate, this temporary camp would turn into a proper city well before the capital
itself was rebuilt.
Naturally, all of the nobles and ministers who had been assisting Liliana until
now were also working hard on this matter, but ultimately, a lot of the
responsibility fell on her young shoulders. She'd become a living legend, so
everyone wanted to go to her for advice.
Normally, when such a large group of diverse people gathered like this, there
would have been a lot more discord. The only reason things had been proceeding
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as smoothly as they had was thanks to Liliana. Because everyone trusted her, she
was able to take command of the entire reconstruction operation. No one wanted
to go against her wishes, so people rarely argued with her decisions. Indeed, part
of the reason Aiko and Yuka had decided to help Liliana was because they
wanted to make use of their fame as the Fertility Goddess and the leader of her
students respectively to bolster Liliana's clout. Though, of course. they
genuinely wished to help her too.
"Now, now, calm down, Lily-san. Nomura-kun and the others are working
hard at expanding our housing facilities, so there should be enough room."
"Aiko-san, that's a problem in its own right. At this pace, we'll end up
building a capital city five times the original one's size. You do realize that once
you're gone, we'll still have to govern that massive supercity, right?"
"O-Oh, yeah, when are Simon-san and his priests coming back?"
"Ai-chan-sensei, if you want to change the topic, you'll have to be more
subtle about it..." Yuka said with a wan smile.
There were dark circles under Liliana's eyes, but she glared at Aiko with
more force than one would suspect from such a young girl. Her experiences
during Ragnarok had tempered her into quite the strong ruler. Aiko trembled,
then looked away bashfully. She'd been talked down to by a girl ten years her
junior, but she could tell from the look in Liliana's eyes that arguing would be a
bad idea. Besides, people found it cute when she cowered like a small animal,
and even Liliana couldn't stay mad. She shrugged her shoulders and leaned back
into her chair, causing it to creak a little.
"He won't be returning for a while. He said it was his duty to spread the truth
about god and what the Liberators accomplished. Though, I agree that it's not
something the pope should be attending to personally..."
"He's surprisingly spry for his age. He can manage it."
"I think he just wants to travel."
Simon had, of course, survived Ragnarok, but he wasn't doing much to help
Liliana. He was a free-spirited old man who wandered the city streets for fun,
much to the chagrin of his bishops and priests. On the other hand, the common
people loved him for how approachable he was.
"But you know, if the church needs to change, I think he's the perfect symbol
for what it should become," Aiko replied, prompting the others to nod.
There was no need for a church that claimed its tenets and faith were absolute
anymore.
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Religion exists to serve the people, not the other way around.
The church should be a place people can go to for refuge and solace, not a
stern overseer, for the people have the right to live freely.
The best god is one who does nothing. One that simply watches over the lives
of mortals and blesses them from up high.
If people need salvation, they should turn to each other.
If people need support, they should turn to each other.
Those who do good are holy men, regardless of what robes they wear.
These are the precepts of our new church.
The new tenets that Pope Simon had stated were a stark departure from how
the church had been up until now. He'd waited until things had calmed down a
little to unveil them, since he'd known they would cause a lot of confusion
among believers. And as expected, they had, but since he'd been going around
talking to commoners despite being seen as a living incarnation of god among
the faithful, they'd slowly started coming around to his new doctrine. It was hard
for the people to think there was anything so sacred and inviolate that it deserved
absolute obedience when their pope was buying kabob skewers from city stalls
and eating them in the streets, especially considering how he fled like a bat out
of hell any time his bishops came to drag him back to his actual duties. Granted,
some people had been so shocked they'd gone to hospitals claiming they were
seeing hallucinations, but overall, Simon's efforts had been a net positive.
"You're right that there are some things that can only be accomplished with a
pope like him, Aiko-san. Fixing the twisted values of the old church and
spreading the truth about the Liberators are both important."
"The truth, huh?" Yuka said with an odd expression.
Hajime had made an addendum to the fake story he'd come up with Liliana
regarding the good and evil gods. Now that the church's policies had changed,
he'd been able to include a bit about the Liberators.
"I mean, it's mostly true? 'There's a real god out there called Ehichlibre, but
then an evil god called Ehitruje covered up the truth of his existence and
pretended to be the creator of Tortus. The Liberators were a group of brave
heroes who gathered together to take him down and free the world from his
tyranny.'"
"'But they weren't able to beat him and were branded Mavericks after he
destroyed their organization. Even then, though, they didn't give up and created
the Labyrinths to pass down their powers to people they deemed worthy. Their
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leader was the one who saved us from annihilation during Ragnarok, Miledi
Reisen.' That's the story, right?" Aiko said, finishing the tale for Liliana, and
frowning just like Yuka.
Only Liliana didn't seem to mind that they were fudging the truth a little.
"We have no need for a truth that will only bring the people suffering. Sure,
part of that story is a lie, but if that small lie will help people keep their faith
without despairing and stop needless conflict, then what's the problem?"
Yuka and Aiko exchanged glances, impressed by Liliana's reasoning. They
then smiled a little at each other, glad to see her grow. Liliana ignored their
patronizing looks and took a sip of her now-cold black tea.
"Besides, the important part of that story is all true. Miledi-san really did
save us all."
Hajime had told her about Miledi's sacrifice, as well as what had happened
during the Sanctuary's final moments.
"It was none other than Miledi Reisen who gave her life to stop the
destruction of the Sanctuary from destroying the world. She undoubtedly
prevented Ehit's final spiteful act."
Despite giving up her human body and moving her soul to a golem, despite
spending millennia alone, Miledi had never once given up on mankind's future.
Her devotion to the people of this world had been greater than anyone's. And
during Ragnarok, hundreds upon thousands of soldiers had seen that with their
own eyes. They hadn't needed Aiko's or Simon's speeches to know that Miledi
had been thinking only of them, or that the seven-colored aurora that now
covered the sky was what had protected their world from destruction. It was
obvious to anyone who had eyes.
The title Hajime had originally given Miledi, Protector of the World, had
already spread among the people, and they no longer considered her or her
companions Mavericks. Historians were busy compiling the events of Ragnarok
into their books, as well as going over older history books and making sure they
were revised to tell the "true" tale of the Liberators. The story of Miledi and her
comrades' struggle would finally see the light of day.
Incidentally, Ehichlibre was a made-up word Hajime had come up with that
meant "the seven liberators."
In the original story Hajime had come up with, Ehitruje was an evil god
who'd taken up the name of the real Ehitruje, who was supposedly good. But
after learning that Ehitruje had amplified his powers by having people praise his
name and pray to him, Hajime had decided to scrub the name Ehitruje from
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people's consciousness as much as possible just in case. Chances were that there
was no way Ehitruje was coming back, but Hajime didn't want to take any
chances. Plus, it also would have pissed him off if future generations thought
he'd fought to rescue anyone named Ehitruje.
Ultimately, the story Hajime had settled on wasn't quite the truth, but aside
from a few minor details, it was close enough. It was his way of thanking Miledi.
"Most of the newly appointed bishops and priests, as well as the members of
the choir who survived, have all taken up their new posts all across Tortus. It
helps that most of the old top brass of the church were massacred by Aiko when
they tried to stop Hajime-san, so we were able to fill a lot of important posts."
"Gulp..." Aiko paled when Liliana mentioned that.
"Sorry. But don't worry, you and Tio-san simply brought them the glory of
martyrdom, so I doubt too many people will be mad at you over that."
"Besides, the members of the choir were mostly clergymen like Simon, who
were pseudo-exiled from the church, right?" Yuka asked.
"That's right. Which is why I'm sure this new 'truth' we've unveiled will be
accepted without complaint by most people and become recorded history."
Liliana smiled wickedly, thinking about how to effectively mix truth and lies
to get the results she was hoping for. Yuka looked sadly at her and muttered,
"Lily...you've changed."
"What do you mean?!"
"You've become a lot more like Nagumo."
"Oh my...I can't believe you're saying he's branded me with his mark! Oh,
how embarrassing!"
"That wasn't what I said, and it wasn't a compliment."
Yuka glared at Liliana the same way she'd glared at Aiko a few minutes ago.
However, Liliana was too busy blushing and fantasizing to hear.
Instead, Aiko jumped out of her chair and shouted, "Y-You shouldn't say
such things like...branded! You're still so young, Liliana-san, so such things are
too early for you! Besides, as a princess, you should act with decorum!"
"Don't think you can take the moral high ground! I know what sort of things
you've been doing with Hajime-san!"
"I-I-I-I-I have not!"
"Liar! You can't escape my perceptive eyes! I can't believe a teacher like you
is spouting lies! And you have the gall to tell me I'm not telling people the
truth?!"
"Th-Th-They're not the same thing!"
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"Yes they are!"
Liliana and Aiko argued back and forth, but there was no viciousness in their
voices. The two of them were speech buddies, after all. In fact, they'd gotten a
lot closer recently and showed sides of themselves to each other that they
wouldn't to most people, just like right now.
"Hmmmmmm. I see. So even you've become his woman, Ai-chan-sensei,"
Yuka said with a piercing look.
"S-Sonobe-san?!"
Aiko turned back to Yuka, but she just harrumphed and turned away. It was
obvious from the way that she was twirling her hair and tapping her foot that she
was jealous.
"U-Umm, it's not what you—"
"No need to explain. It's got nothing to do with me, anyway. Besides, I
already know that Yue-san's the one who manages Nagumo's harem. Anyone
she's okay with gets to join, right? That's how it is for Tio-san and Kaori, right?
Actually, I know she was pushing for Nagumo to start fucking those two. I guess
now you've been accepted by her too, huh? Congrats."
"I have..." Aiko said in a tiny voice, looking extremely repentant.
In fact, there had been quite a few girls who had officially joined Hajime's
harem over the past month. Glad to finally be reunited with him, Yue had been
all over Hajime for the first few days. For his part, Hajime had been away from
Yue for what felt like a whole month thanks to the Hour crystal, so he hadn't
minded her affections in the slightest. This, of course, included nightly sex.
Naturally, this got Shea, who had technically been officially accepted as part
of Hajime's harem, as well as Kaori and Tio, jealous, so they started challenging
Yue to daily duels and begging her to let them spend time with Hajime too.
They'd been getting more and more emotional with their pleas, and that had
gotten Yue thinking. When they returned to Japan, she, of course, planned on
staying at Hajime's house as his lover and future wife. And she was planning on
asking Hajime's parents to let Shea live with them too. But what about Tio?
Kaori had a home to return to, so there was no worry there, but Tio didn't. She
couldn't just leave Tio behind in Tortus, but if they were living together and she
was the only one not officially part of Hajime's harem, it would just be too sad.
Even a raging masochist like her wouldn't enjoy that kind of treatment. It would
break her, Yue was sure of it.
And so, after some discussion with Hajime, Yue had decided to cement her
position as the first wife and the most special of Hajime's lovers, but allow Tio
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into the harem as well. There wasn't really much resistance either from her or
from Hajime, since they both cared for Tio as much as they did Shea at this
point. Besides, it was a nice thing that their family was growing. And as much as
it pained her to admit it, Yue knew that she felt just as much affection for Kaori
as well, so she begrudgingly allowed her in too. At which point, Yue had
realized she'd let so many people in that she may as well let the rest of the girls
in love with Hajime join too, so Aiko and Liliana had been given the stamp of
approval too.
Granted, Aiko and Liliana had only gotten Yue's approval and had still
needed to win Hajime's, so unsurprisingly, they'd started coming on to him
stronger than ever. That being said, Liliana was royalty, and too young for the
kinds of activities all the other girls were engaging in, so her relationship with
Hajime was more wholesome. For now, anyway.
While Aiko was thinking back on all that had happened over the past month,
a group of four girls came in through the open door.
"Jealousy doesn't suit you, Yukacchi," Nana said with a smile.
"Yeah, don't take your anger out on Ai-chan-sensei. It's your own fault that
you were too much of a coward to make your move when everyone else did,"
Taeko added.
"You reap what you sow, after all," Mao said.
"C-Come on, don't bully her so much, you three!" Ayako said in a worried
voice.
The four of them had also been helping out with the capital's restoration, and
judging by the trays of food they were holding, they'd come to eat lunch with
everyone in Liliana's office.
"How many times do I have to tell you, I don't have a crush on Nagumo!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say," Nana, Taeko, and Mao said in unison. Only
Ayako showed Yuka any sympathy, but that was because she was in the same
boat. Like Yuka, she was unable to be honest with her feelings, but in her case, it
was because she was shy rather than tsundere.
"Well, anyway, you can rest easy Ai-chan-sensei," Nana said with a grin as
she started distributing food to everyone.
"What do you mean?"
"Even when we get back to Japan, all of the students have promised to keep
the fact that you're dating one of your students a secret."
"You can trust us!" Taeko added.
"You had a pretty steamy night with Nagumo-kun last night too, didn't you?"
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Mao asked, eyes brimming with curiosity.
Aiko looked as though she'd been hit over the head with a hammer. After a
few seconds of stunned shock, she blushed bright red and ran out of the room,
unable to bear the teasing any longer.
"Ah!"
"Hwuh?"
But as she ran out, she ran into Atsushi, Noboru, Akito, Jugo, Kentarou, and
Kouki, who'd also all been helping out with the capital's restoration. Her eye's
met Atsushi's, and there was a long, awkward pause.
"D-Don't worry, we'll keep your relationship a secret too," Atsushi said after
a moment.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Covering her face with her hands, Aiko slunk back into the room, utterly
defeated. She sat down in the corner and cradled her knees, rocking back and
forth, tormented by a mixture of shame and self-disgust.
"Did I say something wrong?" Atsushi asked.
"I mean, what else was there to say?" Akito replied as he rested a comforting
hand on Atsushi's shoulder.
"Man, I still can't believe it. I mean, I suspected it when she asked Nagumo
to call her by her first name back at the Demon Lord's castle, but like, man, that
guy really gets around," Noboru said with begrudging admiration.
"Hey, stop teasing Ai-chan, you guys!" Nana said.
"I don't want to hear that from you, Miyazaki!" Atsushi retorted.
The guys also walked into the room with their packed lunches and joined the
others. The rest of their classmates would be coming pretty soon too. Ever since
Ragnarok, they'd been eating most of their meals together. Fortunately, the
office was large enough to accommodate all of them. However, there was one
particular student who hesitated to join the group.
"What's wrong, Amanogawa?" Jugo asked, turning to Kouki, who was still
standing in the doorway.
"Oh, umm...I think I'll eat somewhere else after all..." Kouki replied with an
awkward smile. But as soon as he took a step backward Kentarou, who was at
the back of the group, kicked him lightly in the back.
"Don't be stupid. We're not gonna ostracize you just because you made a few
mistakes in the past. Hurry up and get in there."
"Whoa!"
Kouki stumbled forward, entering the room. The girls turned to him, and he
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sucked in a pained breath.
"Stop standing there like a deer in headlights and pick a seat already," Yuka
said, pulling an extra set of chairs out of her Treasure Trove. Realizing it was too
late to leave gracefully now, Kouki hesitantly picked a chair. He no longer
exuded charisma with his every move like he had when he'd first been
summoned here. It seemed he'd lost it along with his self-confidence.
Even though he was the hero, he'd defected to the enemy's side right before
humanity's pitched battle for their survival. All of the other nations knew he was
the chosen hero too, so he couldn't pretend to have just been one of the
unimportant students.
Hajime had offered to cover up his misdeeds by spreading another fake story
about what had happened to him, but Shizuku, and more importantly Kouki
himself, had sternly refused the offer. Over the past month, Kouki had come to
terms with the truth he'd tried so hard to deny, and gone around apologizing to
everyone he'd wronged and doing everything he could to help the restoration
effort.
Unsurprisingly, it hadn't been easy to get the people of Tortus to forgive him.
The leaders of the various nations, as well as the common people, still regarded
him with wariness and suspicion. Kouki had spent the last month purposely
exposing himself to their unfriendly glares.
Indeed, even some of his classmates were still angry at him. But Kouki's
sincere apologies, the regret he constantly showed for his past actions, and the
herculean effort he was putting in to change hadn't gone completely unnoticed.
Moreover, he'd taken it upon himself to put some distance between him and
Shizuku, Ryutarou, and Suzu, even though they'd forgiven him. They were the
ones he'd hurt the most, and he still felt extremely guilty about that. That fact
hadn't gone unnoticed by his classmates, and when they all filed in to join for
lunch, no one glared at him at least.
"You know, Amanogawa," Yuka suddenly said, turning to Kouki. He'd been
eating in a corner of the room away from the rest of the group, and he jumped a
little with surprise when he was addressed. He then looked down at his hands, a
sinner waiting to hear his sentence.
"I've told you this before too. It's not like I've swept everything you've done
under the rug. I'm still not sure if you've really reformed or not either. Everyone
else is probably thinking something similar."
"I know..."
"But at the same time, I'm genuinely glad you came back to us alive."
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Kouki hesitantly looked up. All other conversations had halted, and his
classmates were all looking at him.
"It's still hard to fully trust you. But you know, Shizuku risked her life to
bring you back, and we all trust her, so we're not going to just cut you off. When
all's said and done, you're still one of us."
"Besides, it's partly on us for relying on you during all of the hard fights and
then not even trying to stop you when you started leaning toward the dark side,"
Jugo added solemnly.
"Sonobe's right," Kentarou said with a shrug of his shoulders. "If nothing
else, we're all glad you came back alive. We're tired of seeing our classmates
die. Truly."
Everyone else must have felt the same way, since no one said anything to
argue. No longer looking like a cowering animal, Aiko rose to her feet and spoke
to Kouki in a reassuring tone.
"Amanogawa-kun. I've been watching you this past month, and I know for a
fact that your remorse is heartfelt. I'm sure everyone else does too. Of course, it
will take time for you to regain the trust you lost," Aiko stated as she walked
over to Kouki and looked him directly in the eyes. "I won't tell you to stop
worrying and think only of the future. It's important not to forget the mistakes of
the past, after all. But that being said, there's no need for you to isolate yourself
from others."
"I-I..."
Kouki once again looked over at his classmates. They weren't looking kindly
at him, nor were they looking at him with trust like they once had, but their
gazes weren't cold either. They were looking at him like an equal, willing to see
Kouki Amanogawa for who he was.
He had been so focused on atoning that he hadn't even noticed that the
suspicion and anger had vanished from their gazes. Though their eyes weren't
kind, they brought the kind of solace kindness alone never could.
"I'm sorry... I really...hic...am so sorry... Thank you, guys..." Kouki let the
tears spill freely from his eyes.
"Don't cry, idiot. You're ruining your good looks," Atsushi said in a joking
voice.
"Today might finally be that special day. So perk up, Amanogawa," Noboru
added.
"Yeah, you'll ruin the mood if you're crying," Jugo said.
The three boys patted Kouki on the shoulder. That, too, brought Kouki some
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much-needed solace.
Conversation started up again among the students, and they started talking
about the "special day" that Noboru had mentioned. Swallowing his sobs, Kouki
gave everyone a weak smile and returned to his food. Around the time everyone
had finished eating, Helina came into the office.
"Princess, my apologies for disturbing your meal."
"Helina."
Helina looked over at Aiko and Yuka, then smiled and said, "I bring word
from Nagumo-sama. He says 'the preparations are complete.'"
The students exchanged glances, their eyes sparkling with hope.
Today was a momentous day for the Hoelscher Empire.
"I have nothing but respect for the brave warriors who fought and died—"
There was a speech being given in the main square, which was filled to the
brim with people. There were even people crowding the windows of the nearby
buildings to try to get a look at the podium.
The leaders of the continent's various nations, as well as the church's top
brass, were in attendance, sitting in front-row seats that had been set aside for
them.
Though it sounded like a memorial speech, that wasn't actually what this
was. That speech had already been delivered the day after Ragnarok, at the
plains where the battle had taken place. Everyone who'd survived the battle had
attended that speech, as well as hundreds of thousands of civilians who'd
teleported in thanks to the portals Hajime had set up at all the major cities in the
world.
No, today's ceremony was for a completely different occasion.
"I hope this ceremony actually manages to start changing people's minds..."
"Yeah, when the Haulia went on a rampage and forced the empire to free all
its slaves, the people were more confused than anything else. I don't think it did
anything to change their prejudiced mindset."
"Well, I think it'll work out. At least from what I can tell."
Shizuku, Suzu, and Ryutarou were watching the speech from one of the
castle's balconies. Indeed, this ceremony was celebrating the signing of a peace
treaty between Verbergen and the Hoelscher Empire, which would hopefully
also change the way its people treated beastmen.
Standing on the left side of the podium were Gahard and his retainers, while
on the right stood Ulfric, the other elders of Verbergen, and Cam. The peace
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treaty was held by a dignitary between the two leaders and would be signed once
the speeches were done.
Ryutarou smiled as he examined the crowd and gauged their mood.
"Humans and beastmen risked their lives together during Ragnarok, and even
the people who weren't there saw how well they fought together through
Nagumo's artifacts. At this point, I think you're more likely to be ostracized if
you start spouting that prejudiced crap about how beastmen didn't receive god's
grace."
"True. Everyone realized it doesn't matter whether you possess mana or not.
It'll probably be hard for humans and beastmen to get along right away, but at
least people's views are changing," Shizuku replied.
"Simon-san's actually been doing his job for once too," Suzu added, thinking
back to the church's proclamation.
Pope Simon had released an official statement saying that the church would
henceforth consider beastmen fully people, rather than subhuman. It also made it
a sacrilegious offense to do otherwise. The people hadn't really needed too much
urging, though, since they'd seen how much aid the dragonmen had rendered
during Ragnarok, and moreover, the party that had invaded the Sanctuary to slay
Ehitruje had included a rabbitman and a dragonman. Both of them were now
legendary heroes who'd go down in history. Anyone who tried to disparage their
species wouldn't find many friends among the people of Tortus.
Indeed, it wasn't just in the Hoelscher Empire where attitudes toward
beastmen were changing, but in every human country. Even those unwilling to
change found they could no longer openly espouse racist views.
Ragnarok had already brought the two races together better than any speech
could have. It was a delicious bit of irony that it was Ehitruje, the man who'd
promoted those racist views in the first place, that everyone had come together to
rally against.
"Hey, that's rude, Suzu! I know he's not the most serious of popes, but he
does his work properly."
"I mean..." Suzu mumbled as she glanced down at the podium, looking at the
person giving the speech. She then pointed her out with a finger and continued,
"Kaorin nearly fainted when he pushed the responsibility of giving today's
speech and being the witness for the peace treaty signing onto her."
Shizuku averted her gaze, unable to argue with it. Indeed, when he'd been
told of his duties, Simon had immediately turned to Kaori and said, "You're a
more fitting representative than I am, so I'll let you take care of it!"
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"Kaorin was a huge bundle of nerves back in the waiting room, but now that
she's onstage, she's doing a pretty good job... She even looks like a saint."
"What is it the people are calling her now, the Black-Silver Saint? The Haulia
seem to really love that name."
"Don't tell that to Kaori. Remember how embarrassed she was when they all
started cheering it?"
Ragnarok had been a fierce battle, and frankly, it wouldn't have been
surprising if casualties had been much, much higher. But in the end, of the
people who'd died, only thirty percent had been disintegrated so thoroughly that
they couldn't be revived, or had been dead for too long. That was all thanks to
Kaori's efforts, as she'd continued keeping her healing magic going even in the
midst of a pitched battle with the apostles. To the soldiers, she was more like a
healing saint than a battle valkyrie.
Both the Hoelscher Empire and Verbergen had wanted her present for the
ceremony, and though it was irresponsible of him, Simon had been right when
he'd said she was better suited to give this speech than him. Shizuku and the
others had tagged along to give her moral support.
Finally, Kaori brought the speech to a close, and Gahard and Ulfric strode
forward to sign the peace treaty. The two of them looked at each other, with
Kaori standing in between them. This was undoubtedly a historic moment.
As they were watching, Shizuku heard a dismissive voice from the corner of
the balcony.
"Hmph, it's simply not right that our leader, a man dedicated to a life in the
shadows, has to be present for such a public ceremony."
It was obvious from her tone who she was, and in a way, that showed that
Haulia stood out more than anyone else despite their skill with assassination.
Shizuku rolled her eyes and said, "Lana-san."
"Shizuku-sama, please address me by my proper name, Lanain—"
"Lana-san."
"Hmph!"
She was a very pretty woman, but the way she covered her face with one
hand and tried to look extremely cool while walking away ruined any effect her
beauty might have had.
"Umm, shouldn't you be down there too?" Suzu asked timidly.
Lana stopped, and her bunny ears started twitching nervously. She stopped
trying to make a cool pose and blushed a little as she said, "K-Kou-kun said he'd
rather watch from up here, so..."
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"Kou-kun..."
Shizuku, Suzu, and Ryutarou said in harmony.
"Umm, I'd prefer it if you guys didn't call me that, Yaegashi-san.
It's...embarrassing."
Shizuku turned in surprise and saw a shadow moving in the corner of the
room.
"Endou-kun, you were here?!" Shizuku and Suzu exclaimed.
"Don't scare me like that, Endou!" Ryutarou shouted.
"I wasn't trying to. I've been here with Lana this whole time."
Indeed, Kousuke Endou, the man with less presence than even air, had been
watching along with everyone else.
Shizuku and the others tried to calm their pounding hearts. They'd managed
to survive a life-and-death struggle in the Sanctuary, but even that hadn't given
them the ability to sense Kousuke when he was right in front of them. Granted,
Kousuke's powers had evolved considerably after he'd awoken to his true
calling during Ragnarok. Now, he was harder to notice than ever before.
"I got a message from Nagumo, by the way. He's almost ready. We should
probably head back once the ceremony is done. I actually came here so we could
all return together."
"Really? Why did Hajime contact you instead of me?" Shizuku asked with a
small pout.
"You've gotten pretty close with Nagumo-kun recently, I noticed," Suzu
said.
"Yeah. You're the only guy in our class who actually spends time with him,
now that I think about it," Ryutarou mused.
In truth, Kousuke and Hajime got along surprisingly well, and the two of
them had become good friends over the past month.
Puffing her chest out proudly, Lana said, "Of course! Kou-kun's abilities
have been recognized by Boss! He's going to become his right-hand man, the
Demon Lord's dagger in the dark!"
"That's the first I've heard of that!" everyone, including Kousuke, exclaimed.
Shizuku and the others all turned to Lana, who seemed puzzled by their surprise.
"What's so strange about that? I told you guys too, didn't I? Even though I'm
dating Kou-kun now, I'm still Boss's loyal subordinate."
"Yeah, you mentioned something like that, I think," Kousuke said.
"Which means you're his subordinate too, Kou-kun."
"Is that how it works?"
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"Obviously. And since you're way stronger than any of us Haulia, that makes
you Boss's right-hand man."
"Y-Yeah. Wait, what?"
"Let's serve Boss faithfully together, Kou-kun!"
"...Okay!" Kousuke looked completely taken aback for a while, but after
seeing Lana's dazzling smile, he decided whatever she wanted was good enough
for him.
Are you really okay with that, Endou-kun? Shizuku thought with a worried
smile.
"Well, I guess he did literally go through hell to win Lana-san's heart,"
Shizuku mused.
"She told him he had to conquer at least one labyrinth and manage to land a
scratch on Nagumo-kun in a duel if he wanted to date her, right? That was
basically a polite way of saying no, wasn't it?" Suzu added.
"But then, he actually went and did it... The guy's amazing," Ryutarou
concluded, impressed.
After Ragnarok, Kousuke had tried his best to win Lana's affection, and after
persevering through multiple rejections, she'd finally tasked him with those
insane conditions if he wanted to date her. To everyone's surprise, he'd actually
pulled it off.
He went missing for a week, then showed up covered in wounds and with the
ability to use gravity magic. He'd then challenged Hajime to a duel and managed
to land a hit on him.
As a man, Hajime had, of course, had no intention of going easy on Kousuke
and negating the point of the challenge. He'd been able to tell just how serious
Kousuke was and understood how determined Kousuke was to win Lana's
legitimate approval. Thus, he'd gone all out against Kousuke. And yet, Kousuke
had still managed to injure him.
It was true that Hajime hadn't fully healed from his battle with Ehitruje, and
that Kousuke's rather chuuni antics had brought back his own dark past and
shaken him mentally, but that didn't change the fact that Kousuke's reckless
kamikaze attack had still put a scratch on Hajime's cheek.
After that, he'd given Lana a truly heartfelt confession and she'd been moved
enough to reciprocate his feelings. Even Hajime had been impressed by
Kousuke's manly display. Moreover, the Haulia had given Kousuke a super
edgy nickname the same way they had Hajime, and if Kousuke and Lana really
did get married, that would make Kousuke a member of the Haulia, so to
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Hajime, Kousuke was practically family.
Unsurprisingly, the two had started getting along pretty well after that.
"I still have business I need to take care of here, so I'll be staying in the
Hoelscher Empire...which is why I want to spend as much time with Kou-kun as
I can before you all go," Lana explained, blushing a little again.
"L-Lana... Hehehe..."
As the days passed, her feelings for Kousuke grew stronger and stronger.
Whatever her thoughts might have been when she first agreed to date him, she
seemed to genuinely like him now. Though in a way, it was a little sad that her
chuuni mannerisms didn't change at all, nor did her loyalty toward Hajime
despite the fact that she was falling in love with Kousuke.
"Well, I guess if Endou's fine with it, it's not our place to say anything..."
Shizuku muttered.
"Endou-kun's really amazing. I think he's the only one of us who actually got
stronger after Ragnarok."
"Yeah, for all of our efforts, we haven't really gotten much stronger since... I
can see why Hajime thinks so highly of him."
Without Miledi, the trials and traps of the Reisen Gorge had all become
automated, and the final fight was with a regular golem instead of her, so it had
become a little easier to clear. As a result, Hajime was getting worried people
who weren't worthy might be able to clear it and had added a few living golems
of his own to the labyrinth. Since those golems had Gatling guns and missiles
and pile bunkers, it was possible he'd actually made the labyrinth harder than it
had been when he'd cleared it. However, he hadn't done anything to any of the
other labyrinths. He figured that now that everyone knew the truth, if someone
wanted to challenge the Labyrinths and gain the Liberators' powers for
themselves, that was on them.
Strictly speaking, if they wanted to avoid someone with wicked intentions
going in and clearing the Labyrinths, it would have been best to destroy them,
but neither Hajime nor his comrades could bring themselves to defile the
dungeons that also served as the graves of the Liberators.
At any rate, the point was that Kousuke had cleared what was probably now
the hardest Labyrinth, and he'd earned Hajime's respect for it.
"Oh, they're finally signing the treaty," Suzu said, and everyone looked down
at the podium again.
Gahard and Ulfric signed the treaty, exchanged a firm handshake, and Kaori
announced that it was now in effect.
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Cheers rang out from the crowd. Though this was just a peace treaty, and not
a true alliance, everyone knew this was the moment that humans and beastmen
had joined hands to build a brighter future together.
Shizuku and the others smiled as well. But then—"Oh, it's the chief!"
Cam started striking extremely strange poses as the two leaders shook hands,
and for a moment, Shizuku wondered if he'd left his sense of shame back in the
forest. Gahard and the others covered their faces with their hands, and Kaori's
expression stiffened. The silence that followed was painful.
"Nice going, chief. You nailed it," Lana said with a grin.
Kaori was the first to recover and she quickly announced the construction of
a beastmen embassy in the Hoelscher Empire to promote goodwill between the
two nations. She also went on to explain that the Haulia would be its
ambassadors, and for a moment, everyone wondered if they heard right.
Unfortunately, they hadn't, and indeed a few Haulia would be permanently
stationed in the Hoelscher Empire at all times. Lana was, in fact, one of the ones
who'd volunteered to serve as ambassador.
Both the imperial ministers who'd been informed of this beforehand and the
rank-and-file soldiers who were hearing this for the first time despaired at the
announcement. The regular citizens, who didn't know how terrifying the Haulia
could be, just looked happy to have this seemingly cheerful rabbitman as an
ambassador and clapped wholeheartedly.
"The common people are probably better off not knowing what the Haulia
are really like," Suzu muttered, and Shizuku nodded emphatically.
A short while later, Kaori returned to the group.
"Fwaaaaaah! Shizuku-chan, I'm so tiiiiiired."
She walked into the room, staggering a little, then went over to Shizuku, who
was lounging on a sofa, and collapsed on top of her, resting her head atop
Shizuku's lap.
"Ha ha ha, you did good out there. You looked really cool, Kaori," Shizuku
said as she gently stroked Kaori's hair, and Kaori closed her eyes contentedly.
"Now that you've finished your last job, it's time to say goodbye to this hair and
this body, isn't it?"
"Hmm, yeah, probably. I'm not going to be showing up in public as an
apostle anymore...so it's about time I went back to my original body."
"Yue-onee-sama mentioned she could reforge your original body into one as
strong as an apostle, didn't she?" Suzu asked, watching with a smile as Shizuku
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and Kaori cuddled up together. Kaori sat up and nodded to Suzu.
"Yep. Yue and Tio both have unnaturally long life spans, and at this point,
Hajime-kun probably does too. I told them if they were all going to outlive me in
my original body, I'd rather just stay in this apostle one, but then..."
Yue had strongly pushed for Kaori to return to her original body. She'd
wanted Kaori to greet her parents as her original self, to put them at ease when
they returned. She'd even offered to use one of the techniques she'd learned
from Ehitruje when he'd been possessing her body—the ability to create apostles
—to strengthen Kaori's original body if that was what it took. She'd apostleify
Kaori's body, increasing its life span and making it as strong as Hajime's and the
others'.
Kaori had known Yue was willing to do all this because she cared about
Kaori, and her family, and Kaori had graciously taken her up on her offer.
"She really just won't let anyone else win. Not only is she the adult of the
group now...she's even declared herself first wife," Kaori stated as she made a
pouting face, but her tone was happy. She still saw Yue as her ultimate rival, but
at the same time, she really did care for her, and she trusted her more than
anyone other than Hajime.
"Oh, uhhh, does that mean Shizuku's gonna get that power up too?"
Ryutarou asked somewhat awkwardly. Shizuku blushed and fidgeted a little.
"Hmm, eventually, I guess?" she said hesitantly.
"You've become Boss's woman too, Shizuku-sama, so you need to be more
confident! Oh, Kou-kun, since she's also part of Boss's family, we need to show
her proper respect."
"Lana-san, how many times do I have to tell you to phrase that more
elegantly?! You make it sound like we're some kind of mafia!" Shizuku said.
"Considering the way Nagumo normally acts, we may as well be," Kousuke
muttered with a weary smile on his face.
"Not you too, Endou-kun! Besides, that would make you the don's hit man!
Are you really okay with that?!"
"W-Well, I mean...yeah."
Kousuke averted his gaze, and Kaori grinned at him. As he and Lana had
grown closer, they'd naturally gone to the next step in their relationship, and it
seemed that Kousuke was fine with being a hit man or an assassin or whatever if
it meant he got to keep making out with her. Suzu seemed to have picked up on
the nuance of his response as well, and she grinned too.
In an attempt to change the subject, Kousuke got to his feet and clapped his
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hands. As he took the Gate Key out of his pocket, Lana turned to him.
"See you later, Kou-kun. I'll head back tomorrow too."
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"See you then, Lana," Kousuke replied with a tiny hint of sadness in his
voice. He didn't want to be separated from Lana for even a day. Though they'd
only been dating for a short while, to the onlookers, it was clear they were
already as close as husband and wife at this point.
Kousuke cleared his throat and began to activate the key.
"Hey, hey, hey! Don't just leave without even saying anything, you guys!"
Gahard said, bursting into the room right as the portal opened.
"Oh, do you need something, Your Majesty?" Shizuku asked with a slight
frown, and Gahard glared at her.
"Don't tell me you forgot! You promised to remove these collars once the
peace treaty was signed!"
"Oh..."
"Wait, you actually forgot?!"
It was clear from Shizuku's expression that she had indeed forgotten. Seeing
as no one else had reminded her, everyone other than Lana had forgotten too.
"Hehehe, this is a life-and-death matter for the imperial family, but I see
that's not of much importance to you guys," Lana said with a chuckle, and
Gahard turned his furious gaze onto her.
"If you want us to be friends, you can't keep holding our lives in your hands.
It was Verbergen that said we were going to be equals, remember?"
Gahard and his family were indeed still wearing Necklaces of Vows, which
the Haulia had forced onto them when they'd made Gahard release all the
beastmen slaves and also stop persecuting them. If they ever broke their word,
the necklace would immediately kill all of them.
Shizuku and the others had naturally forgotten about that fateful day Cam's
Haulia had raided the imperial castle, but Gahard sure hadn't. And today, he'd
been promised that if he signed a peace treaty with Verbergen, he'd be able to
have those necklaces removed. Ulfric had suggested that concession and the
elders had unanimously agreed to it, as had Cam. Thus, the rest of the imperial
family was in another room waiting to get their necklaces removed.
Incidentally, it was Shizuku who was holding on to the artifact that would
remove them.
"I-I swear I didn't forget," Shizuku said, but her words weren't very
convincing.
"..." Gahard simply glared daggers at her.
Shizuku coughed awkwardly and took the artifact out of her Treasure Trove.
"For now, let's make sure it works by testing it on you, Your Majesty."
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Gahard wordlessly held up the necklace. Shizuku tapped the red jewel at its
center with what looked like a conductor's baton. Both the jewel and the baton
glowed for a few seconds, then went dark.
"That should have done it."
"Are you sure?"
Considering he would die if it was still working and he removed it, Gahard's
caution was understandable.
"Oh, stop being such a coward. Take it off and find out," Lana said, striding
over to him.
"Hey, stop!"
She grabbed the necklace and lifted it over his head.
"This is why no one likes the Haulia..." Gahard grumbled, very much alive.
"Seems like it worked," Ryutarou said, breathing a sigh of relief. Even he'd
been a little scared at Lana's recklessness.
It didn't look like Gahard was foaming at the mouth or in extreme pain or
anything either, so he was probably fine. He let out the breath he'd been holding,
and in an attempt to get back at Lana a little, he grinned intimidatingly at her and
said, "Looks like I can finally get my revenge on you now."
It was Shizuku, not Lana, who responded to the joking threat.
"Oh, I have a message for you from Hajime. 'Don't cause any trouble. If you
do, I'll give the Haulia a few Hyperion lasers and some meteors to throw at your
empire.'"
"I'll protect the peace, don't worry," Gahard said, his expression suddenly
turning serious. As the leader of an empire where people only followed the
strong, he knew the consequences of opposing Hajime.
"Wait, Boss is going to give us a present if you attack? Well, bring it on,
then!" Lana said, taunting him. She was a Haulia through and through.
"Oh, shut up! You guys already have more than enough artifacts from that
guy! All the ones he gave us are ashes now! It's not fair!" Gahard roared and
stamped his feet in genuine frustration.
Indeed, after Ragnarok, Hajime had collected all of the artifacts he'd given
the soldiers and disposed of them. He hadn't wanted to mess with the military
balance between the nations of the world.
A few might have survived the purge, but not enough to make a tactical
difference at least. After that exhausting final battle, there hadn't been too many
soldiers willing to try to sneak away with Hajime's artifacts. Plus, they'd all had
to travel through his portals to get home, so he'd had everyone who stepped
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through one inspected.
Once he recreated the Compass of Eternal Paths, he'd be able to use it to
track down any artifacts that had managed to slip away too. Everyone knew they
couldn't hide from Hajime, so they weren't even trying. Unless someone wanted
to commit a very roundabout suicide by purposely incurring Hajime's ire, there
was no reason for them to try to sneak his artifacts home with them.
Apparently, Gahard had gotten on his hands and knees and begged Hajime to
let him at least keep his set of artifacts, but that had just annoyed Hajime, so he'd
destroyed them all in front of his eyes. Only the Haulia had been spared the
artifact purge. For one thing, they were Hajime's family now, and for another,
he'd figured they'd need some firepower just in case the empire tried anything
funny.
Naturally, Gahard hadn't liked that one bit.
"Umm, Your Majesty. Hajime handed me something to give you as well."
"What is that? A bomb or something? You want me to carry it now that our
necklaces are gone?"
"Not at all."
Shizuku understood Gahard's apprehension when it came to Hajime, but
fortunately, he'd been nice this time around.
The moment he saw the ring Shizuku took out and handed to him, his
expression brightened considerably.
"Wh-Whoa. Is this...?"
"It doesn't come equipped with any weapons, and it's only big enough for
one person, but inside that Treasure Trove is your very own personal airship.
The Treasure Trove was made to fit just it, so you won't be able to store
anything else there. You mentioned the last time you rode Fernir that you wanted
an airship of your own, so he made one for you as a token of friendship. But
don't get any weird ideas, or—"
"I would never betray my best friend's wishes!" Gahard exclaimed, suddenly
very happy with Hajime. He kept his expression stern though, which must have
taken considerable effort.
Suzu and Ryutarou looked at him and said, "You know, when he's like this,
he just seems like a kind old man."
"Yeah, I feel like he's been bullied more than he's actually bullied other
people."
The imperial family would have died of shame if they'd heard that, but
Gahard didn't seem to care at all.
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"Well played, Boss. You understand how to play good cop, bad cop better
than anyone!" Lana said appreciatively.
"It's kind of scary how well he manages to read people," Kousuke
murmured.
Gahard hadn't expected to receive such a lavish gift, so he was truly
overjoyed.
"Holy shit, an airship just for me. That's insane. Man, screw being emperor,
I'm going to become an adventurer and fly all over the world."
It was quite possible a new emperor might soon be born for an extremely
dumb reason.
Unable to watch any longer, Shizuku turned her back to him. It wasn't that
she couldn't bear to see an old man get all excited like a kid. No, the reason was
much more sinister.
I-I can't tell him. I can't let him know that Lily and Cam have remote selfdestruct switches for the airship...
Hajime had put a self-destruct system in place just in case Gahard tried to use
his mini-Fernir to invade another country.
When she thought back to the smiles Liliana and Cam had given Hajime
when he explained the self-destruct switch to them, Shizuku felt even more
certain she couldn't ever tell Gahard about its existence. She looked over at
Kaori, who also knew the truth, and the two of them silently made a pact not to
mention a word of this to Gahard. Lana, who also knew, grinned slyly to herself.
A few seconds later, Gahard's aides came in to check on him. He hadn't
returned for some time, so they were getting worried. That reminded Shizuku of
the fact that they were wasting time, so she got back to business.
"Ahem! All right, Your Majesty, let's go get those necklaces off the rest of
your family."
"Of course! Thank you very much!"
Gahard nodded, still in a very good mood. Unfortunately, his good mood
loosened his tongue, and he said something he really shouldn't have.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention. Shizuku, it's a shame that you were
taken from me, but if it's my best friend Hajime Nagumo, then I suppose I can
allow it. Congratulations."
"Huh? What are you congratulating me for?"
"Why, losing your virginity, of—"
Shizuku silently drew her blade and slashed right at Gahard's neck.
"Shizuku-chan stoooooop!"
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Kaori had to use Godspeed to move fast enough to stop Shizuku's slice.
"Get out of my way, Kaori! I'm going to kill him!"
"You can't! Think about how it would look if after a ceremony to celebrate
the signing of a peace treaty, the speech giver's best friend kills one of the
signatories!"
"Don't worry, I'm not going to physically kill him, just cut up his soul a bit!"
"Sh-Shizushizu?! His neck's bleeding..." Suzu said hesitantly, staring at
Gahard's neck. It was a thin cut for sure, but he was undeniably bleeding.
Ryutarou walked over to Gahard to defend him in case Shizuku tried
anything else.
"Umm, are you okay, Your Majesty?"
"I'm a hair's breadth from death, do I look okay?" Gahard asked, his tone
serious once more.
"Get him, Shizuku-sama!" Lana shouted, and Kousuke had to calm her down.
Hearing the commotion, Cam and the other Haulia filed in.
"Oh, are we at war already? All right, let's get those necklaces back on
them!"
Cam seemed to have misunderstood the situation, and he drew his blade
without hesitation. The moment he did, Gahard and his ministers paled. They
still remembered the slaughter the Haulia had carried out in the imperial palace.
"The Haulia...they're going on a rampage again!"
"Run! They're going to kill us alllllllll!"
"Someone save ussssss!"
Almost immediately, the palace fell into a panic. A few minutes later, Ulfric,
the other elders, and their guards burst into the palace.
"What the heck is going on here...?" Ulfric muttered, his eyes rolling back
into his head. They'd literally just signed a peace treaty and now this had
happened.
"U-Ulfric-sama's fallen unconscious while standing up..."
"Medic! We need a medic!"
The chaos spread, and Kaori and the others were stuck in the palace for so
long that Yue got worried and teleported in to check on them. Once she realized
what was going on, she immediately overpowered everyone and forcibly calmed
everyone down.
In the southern continent, the demon kingdom Garland's capital was almost
completely abandoned. It was situated at the confluence of a large forest and a
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mountain range, and the streets were filled with rows and rows of empty rust-red
buildings. It had been a lively city just a few months ago, but now it was a ghost
town. Beautiful though the place was, with no one in it that beauty became rather
eerie.
Tio and Shea looked out over the city from a balcony on the highest floor of
the Demon Lord's castle.
"I'm sorry for dragging you here with me, Shea."
"I don't mind. I would have just kept being attacked by Altena if I'd stayed in
Verbergen."
"I-I suppose so. She has been getting bolder recently."
"Yeah, I was actually thinking of bringing her with us, then dumping her here
in the southern forest," Shea said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes on her
face, making Tio shiver a little.
The young elf princess was absolutely obsessed with Shea, and the problem
was that the harsher Shea was to her, the more Altena enjoyed it. She'd even
started messing with Cam solely so that she could enjoy his whipping.
Unsurprisingly, her grandfather Ulfric was quite distraught at what she'd
become. Though still, Altena's masochism was nothing compared to Tio's.
Noticing Shea's judging look, Tio averted her gaze. She then cleared her
throat loudly and changed the topic.
"At any rate, let us get on with today's business."
Her expression turned serious, and Shea stepped back to watch over Tio, a
strange expression on her face.
Tio's Treasure Trove glowed...and a bouquet of flowers appeared in her
hand.
"May the skies and the winds reunite you," Tio said solemnly, summoning a
gust of wind as she threw the bouquet into the sky. The flowers' sky-blue petals
scattered across the capital.
She was holding a small funeral for Freid Bagwa and Uranos. Though they'd
been their enemy, Tio had respected the bond the two—man and dragon—had
forged. If reincarnation was real, she hoped that they would be reunited in their
next life, and be able to soar freely without the malicious influence of a cruel
god.
She offered a silent prayer in their name as she watched the petals flutter to
the ground.
"You really are a dragonman through and through, Tio-san."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
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"That you're really noble."
Shea hadn't witnessed Freid's and Uranos's final moments. She'd been
safely ensconced in Tio's arms at that moment, so she didn't know what Tio had
seen in their eyes before they'd died, or what she'd felt the moment she slew
them. As far as Shea was concerned, Freid had just been an annoying thorn in
their side ever since they'd first met.
"Freid managed to conquer the Frost Caverns. In which case, he must have
faced his contradictions and overcome his weaknesses. I find it hard to believe
he managed to do so while under Ehitruje's thrall, so he must have had his own
strong convictions that drove him to clear that labyrinth."
Of course, when they'd first faced Freid, he'd sounded like a religious
fanatic, so he'd likely already fallen under Ehit's control. But even if he'd been a
pure soul before that, Shea couldn't bring herself to care enough to pray that he
found peace in the afterlife. She realized it was callous of her, and she smiled
bitterly.
Tio had said she'd dragged Shea along, but in truth, it was Shea who'd
wanted to come. She respected Tio for sticking to her noble principles and
wanted to watch over her during this funeral.
"Do you wish you could have saved them?" Shea asked curiously.
"Not at all," Tio said with a surprising amount of conviction.
"I don't pity them, nor do I regret my actions. They were enemies that needed
to be defeated, and in that battle, we both gave it our all, taking things to their
natural conclusion."
Tio's conviction hadn't wavered back then, and it certainly wouldn't in the
future.
She looked up at the sky and added, "But you know, at the very end, even
though it had lost half of its body, that dragon tried to protect its master, and he
in turn chose to perish along with his beloved partner. The two of them
understood each other, and I think the bond they had was beautiful."
That was why Tio would remember them, even if she didn't regret killing
them.
"This offering is something I chose to do out of selfishness. You say I'm
noble, Shea, but in truth, I'm simply doing this to satisfy my own ego."
Tio looked over her shoulder at Shea, and she looked so dazzling that for a
moment that Shea closed her eyes.
There was a few seconds of silence, then Shea shrugged and said, "If you say
so."
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"I do indeed say so," Tio replied with a slight smile.
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Just then, there was a knock on the balcony door. Tio called for the visitor to
enter, and a Templar Knight in full armor nervously walked in and gave a stiff
salute.
"M-My apologies for bothering you, Haulia-dono, Klarus-dono! We were
about to eat lunch and were wondering if we should prepare meals for you ladies
as well..."
"Thanks for the offer, but we were actually about to head out, David-san,"
Shea replied, looking somewhat taken aback. When she'd first met David, he'd
spat at her and called her bunny ears disgusting, so it was strange to hear him
address her with so much respect now.
"As you wish, my lady."
"By the way, David-dono," Tio said, turning back to him.
"Klarus-dono, there's no need to address me with such respect! Please just
call me the Goddess's loyal servant!"
"That's way too long."
David bowed as low as he possibly could, which made Tio give him a
disapproving look.
Poor Aiko. She must have a hard time dealing with this man.
All of Aiko's guards who'd survived Ragnarok were now worshipping her as
their new goddess, and their overzealous faith was turning them into fanatics in
the same way the old worshippers of Ehit had been.
In their defense, they'd been indoctrinated by the church from their youth,
and the destruction of the Sacred Mountain and the shocking truth that their
religion had all been a sham had been a bigger shock to them than to the regular
people. Moreover, even if the rest of the world didn't exactly worship her, the
people of Tortus all did see Aiko as a goddess. It was hardly surprising that the
people most in need of an object of worship to turn to would choose her. Simon
had even said it was okay. Though naturally, Aiko found their devotion rather
terrifying.
Incidentally, there was a reason why David and the other Templar Knights
were here in the Demon Lord's castle.
"Setting the matter of address aside, how are the demons faring? Have you
run into any problems?" Tio asked.
"No, my lady. They've been perfectly docile."
"That's good to hear."
Not all of the demons had entered the Sanctuary with Freid. Aside from the
ones that had been left behind in the Demon Lord's castle and terrorized by
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Hajime, there had been a surprising number of demons who'd opposed the
empire's policies and had chosen to live out in hidden hamlets scattered
throughout the southern continent. They'd heard about what had happened to the
empire's capital and had started coming out of hiding little by little.
"They seem to have high hopes for the project and have been cooperating
fully with us. No one has done anything suspicious in the Sealed Room either."
"I thought we might have trouble when I learned all the demons who had
gone to the Sanctuary got spat back out here when it was destroyed, but I guess
everything's okay?" Shea said, breathing a sigh of relief.
Indeed, the demons who'd gone to the Sanctuary hadn't died with it. They'd
instead been dropped back into their capital, all of them in a coma.
A combination of restoration and spirit magic was enough to wake them up,
but right now Heiligh was busy rebuilding their capital and wouldn't be able to
withstand an attack from a demon army.
Of course, no one expected the demons to invade again anytime soon with
their empire in tatters, but they were still a potential threat. Thus, Hajime had
created a massive underground space beneath the demon capital and sealed all of
the comatose demons in there for now. The room had its time stopped thanks to
another one of Hajime's artifacts, and the plan was to slowly release the demons
from their slumber after Heiligh was fully restored and the human kingdoms had
the resources to handle any potential conflict. Liliana and the others did, of
course, want to work with the demons, but that would be easier to accomplish if
they took things slowly.
The demons who'd been living in their hidden villages until now had all
agreed to this plan as well. They were the ones keeping the capital maintained,
and they'd offered to mediate between the humans and the other demons when
they were finally woken up. In truth, they'd already managed to convince the
demons who'd been left behind at the Demon Lord's castle to give up their
hatred for humans, which was why that group hadn't been sealed away along
with the comatose crowd.
David and the others had been stationed here to keep an eye on the demons in
case they tried anything drastic. There was a portal connecting this city to
Heiligh, so it wasn't a permanent post and they rotated in and out. Eventually,
the hope was diplomats would be traveling back and forth between the
continents constantly as the two races joined forces and worked together.
"It would be nice if humans and demons learned to cooperate," Tio said,
mostly to herself.
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"For sure. I bet that's exactly the kind of future Miledi-san and the other
Liberators were hoping to create," Shea replied.
It was precisely because that had been Miledi's dream that Hajime had come
up with this plan. He'd claimed that he just didn't want to deal with the logistics
of massacring hundreds of thousands of people, but Shea and Tio both knew
he'd been moved by Miledi's idealism.
"All right, we should probably head back," Shea said.
"Indeed," Tio replied. "Goodbye, David."
"Please give my regards to Aiko-sama, Tio-dono."
Shea smiled a little to herself, amazed by how much David had transformed
since she'd last met him, and stepped through the portal leading to where Hajime
was.
Tio cast one last glance over the capital and thought, Freid. It was you who
saved the demon race, wasn't it?
She remembered Freid's and Uranos's final moments. When Uranos had
sacrificed himself to buy a few more seconds for Freid, he'd activated the
obelisk one last time.
At the time, Tio had thought he'd tried to activate one final attack, but now
she knew he'd actually teleported the demons out to safety.
"I pray the day comes when these streets are once more filled with the smiles
and laughter of your people."
With that, Tio turned around and stepped through the portal as well.
In one corner of Verbergen, there sat a rather oddly shaped hut. Most
buildings in the city were built atop the branches of the larger trees and made of
wood, but this particular hut was made of white metal and sat on the ground.
Hajime, his classmates, and Aiko had spent the past month in Verbergen,
since it was the most comfortable city to them, and this particular hut was
attached to the large lodge they'd been staying in. The hut itself was too small to
house anyone, but Hajime was inside it right now.