The Hero Who Returned From Death Quits

EP7. At the End of Darkness

This was the only thought that came to Ainzel’s mind when he opened his eyes.

It’s terrible.

It was so heartbreaking that I didn’t know whether to cry or not. I just lay helplessly in bed.

The place he opened his eyes was the quarters he had used while in the empire.

He went back almost a year to the time before he left for Calethion – by his own standards.

He was hurt by that fact. The time he spent with Beatrice, from the perspective of the Holy Sword, was a choice that ‘interfered’ with the hero’s mission and was a ‘failure’. Ainzel expressed resentment towards the Holy Sword, which treated the time he spent as a failure.

Ainzel got up from his bed and tried to summon the holy sword. Again. Once again, this sword only brought him bitterness.

Lost the pain. Lost the fear. Lost the memories. All that’s left is choice.

Beatrice said to herself, she was already saved, so save others.

Ainzel had to keep his word. It was a promise to her.

And the person who needed to be saved was also her current self.

Ainzel looked at his face in the holy sword’s blade.

He looked at his face in the Holy Sword, recalling the memories that had disappeared. Tears seemed to be slowly forming at the corners of his eyes.

Ainzel briefly recalled his memories with Beatrice at that time, then threw away the holy sword.

A year. I don’t know the details of what happened, but I know the general outline.

If we can just stop Malecidus, we won’t have to give the initiative to those gray soldiers and be swayed.

The problem is the Demon King. The Demon King suddenly appeared and scorched the entire battlefield. The problem is why the Demon King, who had been silent until now, started to move.

Common sense tells us that the Demon King would not have remained silent in order to protect humanity, so the reason the Demon King remained silent must have been because he had something to do.

Because he didn’t know about that, Ainzel had to endure a sense of anxiety, not knowing when or why the Demon King was running wild.

Ainzel checked the date. It was the day after he had told the Pope that he would go to Calethion. That meant that going to Calethion was the right answer.

Then all that remained was to make sure that those who followed Beatrice did not suffer any harm when they went throughout Calethion.

Ainzel thought of Beatrice. He remembered Beatrice’s face, blaming herself for the deaths of those who followed her.

He couldn’t see that pained face again. Ainzel began to worry about how to save those who followed Beatrice.

If the Paladins had been there from the beginning, they wouldn’t have been pushed back so much even in the entire Calethion. As soon as Ainzel’s thoughts reached that point, he was able to decide what to do.

Ainzel contacted the Paladins without Beatrice knowing. Garam Rex, the commander of the Paladins, frowned and said.

“Why on earth did you want to meet with me? We Paladins are not a religious order, but a knight order directly under the Saintess. If you want to borrow the power of the Paladins, it would be better to ask the Saintess…”

“Well, I don’t think that would be very helpful. To cut to the chase, are you aware that Beatrice was planning to go all over Calethion?”

“…What?”

Garam asked back with his eyes widening. Ainzel said with a hardened face.

“I guess you didn’t know. Beatrice… is planning to go all over Calethion.”

“Why? Why would the saint go to the place where she will die?”

“Because it’s Beatrice.”

At those words, Garam closed his mouth, while Ainzel continued to open his mouth.

“I don’t think he’ll listen even if you tell him to stop. And… that’s not the only problem.”

Garam frowned at those words and said.

“So what is the biggest problem?”

“It seems that the Pope intentionally sent Beatrice throughout Calethion in order to keep the saint in check. Even the Senate seems to be involved.”

“…That means?”

“What is certain is that Beatrice needs people to protect her. Either from all over Calethion, or from the church.”

“If we, the knights directly under the saint, were to fail to protect the saint, we would become a laughing stock.”

“I know that the entire Calethion is going very, very abnormally. It’s a battlefield where two monsters, Grandis and Malecidus, run wild. But if Paladin goes with us, it’ll be a different story.”

“Well, I guess I could do something about Malekidus, but I’m not sure what I can do against Grandis. There’s not much Paladins can do against Grandis, given their odds. They just blast away with black magic from afar…”

“If it’s Grandis, I know how to remove him from the battlefield.”

“Grandis?”

“To be precise, if you allow me to approach Malecidus, I can first remove him from the battlefield, and if I do that, I know how to lure Grandis to do what I want.”

Garam looked at Ainzel with a dumbfounded expression.

“Okay, that’s all for now. We have another topic to discuss.”

“What’s next? What’s that?”

“Beatrice probably wouldn’t want you, Paladins, to follow her.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Beatrice has been reluctant to ask for help from the Paladins since the beginning, even when you were occupying the fortress. Perhaps it is because Beatrice prefers to help people on the battlefield with her own strength, rather than relying on the help of others.”

The reason Beatrice didn’t even think about the Paladins’ help was because she couldn’t overcome the burden and wanted to let everything go. You could say it was a desire for self-destruction. But even if she said something like that, the Paladins wouldn’t accept it, so Ainzel made up an excuse.

“I see. Then, sir, what do you think is the best way to handle such a thing?”

“I will tell Beatrice myself.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ll bring the Paladins with me, and… what could happen if she moves recklessly.”

“I see. We Paladins must always do our best to protect the Saintess. I hope you can speak to the Saintess. Unfortunately, I am not good at speaking, and I am in a position where I have to follow the Saintess’s will unconditionally, so I am not in a position to say anything to the Saintess.”

Ainzel nodded and said.

“Yes. Leave it to me.”

Before meeting Beatrice, Ainzel was nervous inside. He didn’t know what kind of attitude he would take toward Beatrice.

In his perception, it was Beatrice, who had spent time with him just a day before, and had told him she loved him and kissed him.

And it was extremely difficult for Ainzel to open his eyes again and pretend like nothing had happened.

What should I do? I pretended to be dead throughout Calethion, and before we started living together, how did I treat Beatrice?

Ainzel had no idea what attitude to take, what to say, or what face to make when looking at her.

Ainzel looked at Beatrice in front of him.

Beatrice simply wore a mask-like smile, without eyes that were filled with affection or a happy smile.

“I understand you will be going all over Calethion.”

Ainzel barely managed to utter a single word.

Beatrice nodded and said.

“Yes, are you trying to stop me?”

Beatrice asked back, and Ainzel shook his head, not knowing what to say, before finally opening his mouth again.

“I am saying that the Paladin and I will go with the Saintess.”

“What? Why?”

“Because you could be in danger.”

“It’s a problem that I have to take responsibility for, and if it’s all over Calethion, then you and the Paladins will be in danger too! The Paladins are my direct subordinates, and as the commander who gives orders to the Paladins, I absolutely cannot tolerate anyone putting themselves in danger on my behalf!”

“…Is that so? But from the Paladins’ perspective, it would be better to go all over Calethion. Rather than you, Beatrice, dying.”

“What would happen if I died? I would die, but the people there-”

“Have you ever thought about what would happen to those who followed you if you died? Perhaps they would die?”

Beatrice’s eyes began to waver.