...It's all over."
Soon I'll open my eyes.
I'll trap the Demon King of Greed in my body and bring him home.
The plan was highly risky, but it succeeded because I trusted the Hero Party.
"Now there are four Demon Kings left. I don't know when it'll end, but it feels like we're getting closer bit by bit."
"Has it been a little over a year? Considering the timeframe, we did defeat him pretty quickly."
Minerva nodded as if agreeing with my words.
As Greed disappeared and this dark space began to crumble, Minerva's form gradually faded as well.
"Jun-woo will wake up soon. The Goddess is clocking out now! I'm heading to the library, so handle the rest yourself. Fighting!"
"Fighting?"
That's supposed to mean 'cheer up'...
But it's rest time now, so why is she telling me to cheer up?
Minerva's words made no sense.
With those final words, Minerva waved at me and clocked out.
"...What was that about?"
Unsettling.
Why would she say that?
To be honest, the Hero Party's current state wasn't good.
I watched the Hero Party from Greed's perspective, and they all seemed broken somehow.
*Luna and Hare, who were attached to me, are at least somewhat okay, but...*
Especially.
Cecilia and Estia.
Those two were in really bad shape.
*Cecilia tried to kill Luna and Hare the moment she saw them... and Estia touched holy water again...*
Cecilia looked even thinner, as if she hadn't been eating properly.
Estia wasn't studying like she should, just drawing pictures.
With me gone, the Hero Party was creaking like misaligned gears.
*Are they still just kids...*
Children who lose their way without an adult to rely on.
What should I do first when I wake up?
The answer was already deeply embedded in my mind.
*Yes, that method would be best.*
With that light thought, I began to wake up, seeing light in the dark space.
*...That method would have been good.*
Why.
Why can't I move?
I tried to give them a 'reward' for the difficult time they'd been through.
But I couldn't.
"...Kids."
"Yes, Mister!"
"Y-yes... M-Mister...!"
"Could you untie this rope?"
I can't do anything if I can't move.
But unfortunately, the Hero Party didn't seem inclined to untie the rope.
"M-more importantly...! Are you okay, Mister...? Y-your wounds are fine, right...?"
Hare was stuttering.
Her tone and manner of speaking were completely different from when she dealt with Greed.
Hare's face was drastically different when she was with me versus with others.
She changed the subject while feeling around my body.
"Y-you have so many scratches from fighting... It must have hurt... Your body is okay, right, Mister...?"
"My body is fine, so hurry and untie the rope—"
"B-but still! We can't just leave the wounds...! I-I'll go get the first aid kit...!"
Patter patter—
Hare said she'd get the first aid kit and rushed out toward the hallway.
*Judging by the lack of a door, this is Estia's room.*
When I opened my eyes.
Where had the room's owner gone, leaving only Luna and Hare?
That question arose, so I asked the yellow chick before my eyes.
"Luna."
"Y-yes?"
"Where's Estia?"
"She abandoned Cecilia—I mean! She went to lay her down in her room!"
As if to prove those words were true.
Estia's voice could be heard from Cecilia's room next door.
—G-get away! You cat! I'm trying to help your master! Why are you making a fuss at me! D-don't raise your claws! You bastard! Aaaah!!
Along with a crashing sound, Estia's scream echoed.
*Is she being assaulted by a cat? Just how weak is Estia?*
Estia was engaged in fierce combat with BlackMeow.
I decided to leave Estia alone for now.
I spoke to Luna again.
"Luna."
"Yes!"
"I'm curious why you won't untie the rope."
"Mmm..."
Luna's mouth moved as if she wanted to say something.
If she wants to speak, she should just speak.
Why is she hesitating to answer?
"Luna, just in case—did you come up with some kind of plan while I was unconscious?"
"A-a plan! We didn't come up with anything that grand!"
"So you did come up with something not-so-grand?"
"U-ugh..."
That's too sloppy.
Luna made a groaning sound as if to say 'this isn't what I meant...'
Then, as if making a firm decision, she shouted loudly and approached.
"Now that you've caught on! There's no helping it! Mister! Answer my questions truthfully! If you lie, I'll never untie you! Got it?!"
"Hmm... If you're curious about something, I'll answer even if you untie the rope."
"No! This is coercion! Stay still!"
Coercion.
The situation is taking an interesting turn.
If this was the 'reward' Luna wanted, I was willing to play along for a while.
"I'll answer. Ask what you're curious about."
"Then I'll ask without holding back! Mister! Why did you torment us!!?"
"Explain so I can understand."
"Why did you give us such difficult tasks! We could have dealt with the Demon King of Greed later! This time you were too hasty, Mister! Putting a Demon King in your body! Do you know how much it hurt us to attack you! Why did you do that!?"
She must have been holding a lot in.
When I told her to explain clearly, Luna began pouring out complaints like rapid fire.
I didn't realize she'd accumulated this much dissatisfaction from this incident.
I looked straight into Luna's blue eyes and asked.
"Do you think I gave you a difficult task?"
"Of course! There was no need to push it this time! Having a Demon King enter your body was extremely dangerous! If you had magic power and couldn't control it, we would have definitely lost!"
High risk.
Given Luna's personality of seeking stability, I could understand her dissatisfaction with that aspect.
However, I couldn't understand at all why she wouldn't untie the rope just to ask such questions.
"That was certainly dangerous."
"Right! We had a hard time too! That was your poor judgment—"
"However, I don't assign tasks you can't handle."
"...Huh?"
"I asked you to deal with the Demon King because I thought you could definitely do it. If there's any fault on my part, it would be that I was wrong to trust you."
"...Huh?"
Luna responded as if buffering at my words.
Her pale skin flushed red, giving off an embarrassed atmosphere.
Then she asked again as if wanting to confirm.
"Y-you trusted us?"
"Yes."
"What about us did you trust? I'm the Hero, but Hare isn't incredibly strong. She's faster than me, but she lacks destructive power!"
"You have good physical abilities, but Hare's mind is superior to yours. She may not be better in combat, but she's far more excellent at grasping the overall situation."
If Luna sees ten people and says 'One person keeps gathering to make ten people!'
Hare sees ten people and says 'People gathered' with little interest.
The two had different perspectives on individuals versus the whole.
"There's a difference in speed between examining things one by one versus all at once. That's why Hare is quick at assessing situations, and why she can fill in what you lack."
"Perspective! They see things differently!"
"You could say that."
I saw such movements in the future I witnessed, so I trusted the two of them.
If they had subdued the Demon King by luck alone, I would never have thrown them at a Demon King.
"Besides, Luna. If you consider that level of difficulty a hardship, you should quit being the Hero right now."
"I didn't become the Hero because I wanted to! If I could, I'd want to quit!"
"Even if the world would be destroyed if you quit?"
"...Sorry, I'll keep being the Hero."
Shrink—
Luna hunched her shoulders.
It seemed Luna had been hit by my body too much and misunderstood.
Still, since I didn't lie, she must have accepted my reasons for pushing forward.
*I just want to meet that person quickly...*
But there's no need to say such useless things.
The Hero Party needs to function properly until all the Demon Kings are killed.
They should only realize my death after all the Demon Kings have been eliminated.
"Was that answer sufficient for your question, Luna?"
"Yes, it was quite moving... I mean! It wasn't a bad answer!"
"Then, now the rope—"
"We're not untying it yet! There are still more questions! Let's see..."
Luna pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket.
It looked like she'd written them down so she wouldn't forget the questions.
However, reading that questionnaire never happened.
"Oh, you're awake, Oppa! Good afternoon!"
Estia greeted me brightly.
Perhaps because she'd fought a desperate battle with BlackMeow.
The claw marks on her face were vivid.
"...Your face is quite scratched up."
"I-it's fine! It'll heal if I apply holy water! More importantly, don't get up, Oppa! You need to rest!"
"No, I'm fine to rest now. So untie the rope—"
"Quiet! I'm the doctor! The patient should obediently follow the examination!"
Nngh—
Estia led me from where I sat on the floor to lie down on the bed.
She couldn't do it with her own strength, so Luna helped.
Estia also had no intention of untying me.
"I have no idea what you're all thinking..."
"It's fine! You don't need to think, Oppa! From now on, I'll protect Mister!"
Starting today!
I'll protect you, Oppa!
Estia shouted confidently and grabbed my hand.
"Oppa, just lie in bed and rest for a while! You need to rest! Leave everything to us and rest!"
Estia grinned and forced me to rest.
At the end of Estia's words, I felt like something was missing.
*Something...*
Rest for the rest of your life.
I felt a sense of déjà vu, as if she was saying that.