There was no one else there.
The place was quiet, still, secluded, and empty.
It was so quiet that it seemed as if time had stopped.
In such a place, sitting alone on a throne, [he] looked at his aged and wrinkled hands.
He had spent most of his time with his body in human form, in accordance with his friends who had already died, but his pseudo body had also aged to this extent.
He could no longer move his body satisfactorily.
He ached here and there, he was too lazy to move, and the enormous flow of magic power in his body had stagnated.
It took him a long time to perform a single magic, and his body had deteriorated to the point where he was no longer as strong as he was in his prime.
Furthermore, his body could no longer withstand the excess amount of magic power, and he started to feel pain when he tried to invoke something.
For this reason, he could no longer bear to return to his original body, and he had remained in this state for the past millennia or so.
His body was on the verge of death, and it was on the verge of breaking down.
But still – still he was… amused, laughing heartily.
"Ku, kuku…"
I have aged.
I was able to reach this point of old age…
This was a medal.
I was able to live such a long life that no one else could reach.
I was able to watch the primitive world develop and grow to this point.
And this world [Dominus] would continue to develop and expand over time.
As I approached death, I recalled the words of a friend.
Those who have life must live as long as they may live, he used to say.
"Ruin…I lived out my life."
He laughed, got up from his throne, and walked, dragging his body, which was not moving the way he wanted it to.
Slowly making his way down the long, wide corridor, he eventually caught sight of the endless blue sky and the warm sunlight.
A gentle breeze caressed his cheeks as it passed by, swaying the grass in the meadow spreading out before him.
It was a landscape that always made his heart warm.
A world full of life.
Death came to all, who live, equally.
Even the one who was called God could not foresee what would happen after death, nor could he know anything.
But what was there to be afraid of?
The life that he had built up would be inscribed in the world, circulated, and connected to the world.
Death was not the end, but the beginning of a new life.
"It was a good life!"
He opened his mouth wide and laughed.
In the grassland area.
"Onii-chan, it feels good~." (Illuna)
"Yes, it does!" (Yuki)
"Master, look, look, a flower's stalk…" (Enne)
"Oh, that's good. You're doing a good job." (Yuki)
"Oh, you know, Lyuu onee-chan taught me how to do that! She is good at this kind of thing!"
"…hmm, Lyuu knows a lot of stuff." (Yuki)
"Oh, really? I see."
"Kakaka, I can't imagine that she knows so much. I wonder if she learned it back home."
The young girls were playing energetically around us, who were lying on the leisure sheet on the grassy field.
We didn't come out with the clear intention of having a picnic, but we had somehow decided to go to the grassland area together today.
Nell, Lyuu, and Layla were preparing lunch boxes and would come later.
At first, I was going to help them, but Lyuu was unusually enthusiastic and said, "I'll do it today! But…I'll feel safer if Layla and Nell are watching over me!" So I left the three of them in charge and went outside first.
–I looked at Lefi, who was standing next to me, her hair blowing in the breeze, her eyes narrowed.
"This meadow is comfortable…you've made a good place."
"Oh, when I was thinking of the next idea, I was thinking of making it more horrifying, like something appropriate for the Demon Lord's castle. I'm glad I decided against it."
Incidentally, the grass in the meadow, the flowers in the courtyard beds, and the trees in the dungeon, while they did not wither without any watering and remained lush, they were not artificial flowers.
It seemed that they too were sustained by the magic power of the dungeon and continued to exist as long as the dungeon existed, even without human care.
I was grateful for that.
Still, I might occasionally set it to rain here for a change of pace.
Well, our weather forecasts have a hundred percent chance of being right.
The Demon Lord was also a first-rate weather forecaster. Only in dungeons, though.
"I'm glad that the stupid part of your mind – or the practical part of your mind, not the hobbyist part – has come out."
"You don't understand, Lefi, that invention and creativity exist only beyond romance."
"Yes, yes."
Lefi replied casually as she lay down on my stomach while I was lying on the leisure sheet.
We could hear the joyful laughter of the little girls.
After savoring that peaceful moment for a while, I suddenly thought to myself and said, "…I feel strange…"
"Hmm? What is it?"
"Well…I'm thinking that this world must have been in a cycle like this for a long time, and now the cycle continues."
When I said this, she adjusted her body on my stomach to look at my face.
"Are you talking about the Gods?"
"You really know my way of thinking quite well, don't you?"
"Kakaka, I am your wife. I know what you're thinking."
"Hey, guys, lunch is ready!"
"Here's a delicious lunch box with Lyuu's seal of approval."
"It's freshly made!"
"Ah! Oh, hey, ladies!"
The three of them arrived.
"Lyuu onee-chan, what do we have for lunch?"
"What do you think?"
"She has evolved, Shii and Enne, from the clumsy wife Lyuu to the smart wife Lyuu!"
"Actually, I think it turned out just fine this time. Lyuu has become so good at what she does that she doesn't even need us to watch her anymore."
"Hey, I can't lose either."
"Eheheh, I'm very happy when you say so!"
"Well, then, I must try not to be outdone. –And Nell, you are starting work tomorrow, right?"
"Yes, I'm leaving this evening. I've been here a little too long, so I may be home a little later next time."
"Well, I guess I'll have to splurge a little on dinner tonight, then."
""Yay!""
"…Yay!"
The wind, along with the surrounding trees and flowers, swayed as if they were also happy.