The Hero Who Returned From Death Quits

EP9. ■■

I woke up. When I came to, I realized that I was lying in bed.

I finally came to my senses and tried to get up. And then, I couldn’t help but panic.

“…Was it originally like this?”

The bottom was… a bit too dangerous. In this state, anyone could tell what kind of situation I was in.

I tried to somehow manage it.

I tried to secure the lower part to my lower abdomen using underwear, but unfortunately, it came out of the underwear.

“…It touches my belly button, you rotten thing.”

I ended up cursing without thinking. Maybe it was because I didn’t pay attention to the lower part and the mountain area was so old, but it felt especially awkward.

I had no choice but to try to lay it down on my legs.

“Uh… is this okay?”

I didn’t really like the fact that the hem reached all the way to the side of my thigh, but I couldn’t help it.

As I was barely able to see the current situation, I suddenly burst into laughter.

“Phuhat!”

When was the last time I cared about such trivial things? When was the last time I couldn’t control my body’s instincts? When I thought of this discomfort as a process of returning to my old daily life, I felt a little happier.

After laughing like that, only then was I able to ask one question.

“So, where is this place?”

Not only that. The clothes I was wearing now were also quite different from what I had been wearing. Mainly in the sense that they were made of good fabric.

I found that fact strange, because I had no idea who had brought me here and dressed me like this.

I decided to go outside the room first. Even the interior of the room was more splendid than I had ever seen before, and I wondered what it was.

As I opened the door, I came face to face with an unexpected person.

“uh?”

“…Ainzel.”

It was Lena. I looked at her and said.

“You’re awake. That’s a relief.”

“Where is this place?”

“The palace. Feria moved you. Beatrice seemed to have dressed you herself? The monster’s body melted away, revealing your body, but your clothes inside it all melted away, so you were naked. Anyway, that’s why Sein laid you down on the bed himself, and I came to check on your condition.”

“Ah… I see. I’m fine. In fact, I feel a little better. My body feels strangely light.”

Lena smiled and said.

“I knew it.”

I chuckled at that.

“Huh? Why?”

Lena silently grabbed my wrist and led me. And where we arrived, there was a room with countless mirrors flashing.

“It’s a mirrored room. Take a look.”

I looked into the gleaming mirror. And inside it, I saw myself.

The hair was black. The eyes…were black, too. The skin was clean, without a single trace.

“…uh?”

I was so flustered that I couldn’t stop my voice from coming out on its own.

“I don’t know exactly why, but when you left the monster’s body, the black magic inside you seemed to leave as well. So, in a word… how should I put it… .”

I didn’t need Lena’s words anymore. I just stood there with my hands against the wall, looking at myself.

“Ha, ha… haha… .”

My hands were shaking.

“Hahahaha… .”

Something, something hot, seemed to be flowing down my cheek.

I thought it was okay. Even though my hair, my eyes, and everything I had was taken away, I tried hard to make excuses and convince myself that it was okay.

But it wasn’t. Before I knew it, I was so happy that I had returned to my past self.

“ah…”

I couldn’t continue speaking. I was just so happy. So glad. So happy.

I cried.

And then, I felt a hand patting my shoulder.

Only then could I laugh.

After crying my heart out, I came to my senses and realized that I was hungry. I was surprised by that fact. Eating was always an act of providing nutrition on time, so the feeling of hunger itself was a different kind of stimulus to me.

“Okay, let’s go eat. The food will be ready at the restaurant.”

I nodded and started walking, following Lena’s instructions. And only then did I finally let out the question that had been creeping up on me.

“But why are we in the palace? I don’t know. The Emperor wouldn’t look kindly on me…”

Let’s say that, Lena said with her eyes wide open.

“You… didn’t I tell you?”

“Huh? What does that mean?”

When I asked, Lena held her head and said,

“The current emperor… Feria. Feria proved that she was the son of the previous emperor after the emperor died and became the emperor.”

“What!? No, how did you know that… Oh, you said you looked at my records… But, even if that’s true, it’s impossible. How on earth could you… in a situation where the crown prince is fine?”

Lena scratched the ball and said.

“Uh… That’s right, the warlocks were running wild in the capital of the empire… and all the soldiers who were chasing you were killed, so they couldn’t stop the warlocks. It’s the role of a country to protect its people, but since they failed to do that properly, public sentiment fell.”

“Then in the meantime…?”

Lena nodded and said.

“Yeah, that’s what happened. The palace is now completely Feria’s workshop.”

It was only after hearing that I was able to notice the numerous spells that were spread all over the palace.

“ah…”

“In short, there’s no need to worry about what other people think. Okay, let’s go quickly.”

I took the hand Lena offered me.

And when I arrived at the place, all my colleagues were gathered together.

“Ainzel…”

Feria came over to me.

Then she came to say hello to me.

“…Are you okay?”

“Yeah, it’s okay.”

Feria smiled with sad eyes.

“…Before we eat, there’s something I really want to say. Can you listen to me?”

I looked at her. Feria bowed her head deeply.

“Sorry.”

I was embarrassed by the sight and tried to stop her. But Peria continued speaking without giving me a chance to do so.

“I didn’t know what you had been through or what you had done, so I believed the lies and caused you pain. And yet, I didn’t have the confidence to face you properly, so I haven’t even been able to go see you.”

“That, that is…”

“I don’t want to hear you lightly offering forgiveness. I don’t want to hear you lightly saying that it was nothing. What I want to hear is your sincere voice. And, this is what I wanted to do, to properly apologize like this.”

I continued to look at her with her head down for a while.

“I’ll say it again. I’m sorry.”

Only then was I able to offer true forgiveness, not an empty, hollow, almost sympathetic forgiveness.

“I forgive you.”

Feria smiled happily. I liked that smile.

…

Laplace spoke with a hardened face.

“Don’t you know that you can’t defeat me, dragon?”

[Don’t make me laugh!]

The great red dragon let out a low growling sound.

The Dragon King of the Southern Sanctuary. The pinnacle of all red dragons. It was Dragon King Karentheus. Karentheus shouted.

[How dare you, how dare you think that the Demon King can continue the past and trample on the Sanctuary a second time!]

Laplace smiled and said.

“Well, I don’t think it’s impossible. Even if you are the guardian of Middle-earth, you cannot defeat the Demon King. The Demon King is the most powerful being among all living beings. Don’t you know that it was designed that way from the beginning?”

[…The great gods have set you as the standard for living beings. The four archangels. The four spirit kings… and even the four demon kings. But you are wrong. In this Middle-Earth, the Dragon King is the one who must protect the balance! In the past, the Black Dragon King of the East was killed by the Wrathful Demon King who first invaded this Middle-Earth, and even his sanctuary was taken over by the demons. I cannot experience that humiliation again!]

“Ha, that’s ridiculous. So, you think you can beat me?”

Karentheus breathed fire.

However, Laplace easily avoided it.

“It’s about the same level as the strongest top-tier demon in the Middle-Earth… No, maybe a little stronger. But even so, it’s meaningless. Your attack- I’ve already seen it.”

Yes, before the power of Laplace and the future, the path of Caress has already been read.

All that was left for Karentheus was a future of helplessness, of defeat, of being caught in a spider’s web and tied up.

The fight was over. Caress lay on the ground, bleeding.

[…What are your intentions for dismantling the sanctuary? You must be aware of the reason why the Dragon King created the sanctuary to preserve life.]

“Ha, the foolish goddess and the creatures of ‘that god’ are not to be preserved. They are just… managed like livestock. They will become hostages to the god.”

Karentheus wanted to get up and fight at any moment, but his body would not obey his will.

That day, the number of Dragon Kings decreased by one.