/
“Haah… we’re back, huh.”
“What do you mean, ‘we’re back’?”
Having finished our duty, we were safely expelled back to the <White World>. Tia let out a sigh immediately after our return, prompting a wry smile from me.
“Well, true, this time was quite unusual. That was a first for me too.”
“See!? That’s why it’s natural to feel this way! Hmph!”
Tia puffed out her chest with an air of superiority. I can’t help but view this with a fond gaze.
After that festival, we were expelled by Donatella… Whether it’s good or bad, my guess was right, we weren’t able to go back. So we lived in that village for about half a year, then we asked to be expelled again…
“The world without the Demon King, it was so peaceful. I completely forgot that feeling.”
“Right? We lived such a laid-back life.”
The Demon King we were supposed to defeat was no longer present at that point. The attacks from the black demons, born from the Demon King, had ceased, and we simply lived through peaceful days.
Of course, it wasn’t like nothing happened. But these were extensions of our daily lives, not the absolute threat of the Demon King. Hunting, cooking, blacksmithing, sewing – a life where activities we could only do in between our travels took the main stage was so fresh… and too brilliant.
“Ah, but, I still wanted to stay a bit longer.”
“I get the feeling, but we can’t. If we waited until Donatella’s child was born, it would add another year, right?”
“That’s true! But isn’t it okay to stay another year at this point!”
“Well, if it ends with that year. But once you start holding the baby, you’d definitely want to see them grow a little more, right? Then you’d extend your stay by another year or two. And when you decide to leave, what happens if Donatella’s child toddles up to you, saying ‘don’t go’? Can you ignore them and leave, Tia?”
“Ugh… that might be, a bit impossible…?”
Tia grimaced at my point, like she tasted something sour. If it’s like this just from imagining it, there’s no way she could do it in reality. I can say that confidently.
“Right? You missed the chance to leave at the start. Since you forced a delay, if you start extending it, you really won’t be able to leave. The more you live, the more lingering attachments, entanglements, and human connections you form in that world. I mean, if you really wanted to stay, we could hang on until either me or Donatella were on our deathbed… but if there’s no objective, and you’re staying just because you don’t want to leave, and then you stay for thirty years, you definitely won’t be able to set out on a journey, right?”
“…That’s true. Definitely. A journey is something like that, after all.”
“That’s the spirit. Let’s move on.”
A departure without any lingering attachments was too lonely. That’s why travelers sometimes look back and turn those feelings into memories. Even more so for us, whose time flows differently. We must accept this.
And whether they were happy or not… one part of that conclusion lies in front of us. I walked over to the table and picked up this time’s {Record Of The Hero’s Story}. Tia quickly caught up, and we slowly read the contents.
“Huh, Donatella as a child was quite docile, huh?”
“She was like that when I knew her. So… here’s where she was attacked by the ‘Shining Star’.”
“I see, she was a child with the talent of a spirit user, so she sincerely accepted the voice of this Shining Star. Because of that, her mind became disturbed and she couldn’t hear the voice of real spirits… If I had known, I would have taught her how to properly interact with spirits. Mmm, it’s a shame.”
“You really don’t do anything helpful, huh. Are you listening? I’m talking about you.”
I glanced at my fingertips, but of course, this… was a mere conceptual existence… a piece of God’s power does not respond. It continued to prick at me with my fingertip.
“So, we were together from this point… huh?”
We read through quickly, and in no time, we reached the last chapter. Seeing the content written there, I let out a small gasp.
―― World 13th, {Record Of The Hero’s Story} Final Chapter: Days of Stagnation
And so, the hero Donatella, who had defeated the Demon King, found herself returning to her ordinary existence after rejecting the “will of God” that was supposed to grant her wishes and bring about evolution. She married one of the men she had despised so much and lived out the rest of her life as a common mother, raising eight children.
In her true potential, Donatella had a future of guiding women and leading the world. However, that possibility was forever lost, and the current way of life in that settlement would continue for a long time.
Still water will eventually become stagnant. God shed a tear of sorrow for being unable to save them, as their extended hands of salvation was maliciously rejected, leaving them in the sadness of being unable to be rescued.
“Oh, you still speak your mind as freely as ever. Well, I guess that’s how it is from the perspective of a god,”
“Donatella, she ended up having eight children… Coming back was definitely the right choice. If we had stayed, I would have definitely seen it through to the end,”
“In that case, we might have stayed for about thirty years, no joke. Hamokin did a great job too,”
While we were staying in the settlement, Hamokin and Donatella got married. The wedding ceremony for the two, celebrated by everyone in the settlement, was still fresh in my memory.
By the way, in the end, Donatella’s personality ended up somewhere in between her original self that I knew and the influence of the “shining star.” Well, after being under that influence for five years, albeit somewhat forcibly, it’s only natural.
At least the thought of indiscriminately rejecting men had completely disappeared, and in fact, Donatella seemed to feel embarrassment towards radical words and actions. But for Hamokin, that aspect seemed to be adorable, and the two of them looked very happy.
The only exception was when they confronted Gargado, but well… yeah. It’s Gargado’s fault, so I won’t say anything. It seemed fun in its own way. From an outsider’s perspective, at least.
“Sure, change is important, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing to stay the same. Besides, if the roles were reversed, they would probably call me the ‘worst revolutionary who destroyed a peaceful world,’ right?”
“It’s all about how things are said. Whether we perceive something in a positive or negative light ultimately depends on how the person themselves thinks.”
No matter how dire the situation, you can find something good in it, and no matter how fortunate you are, there will always be some unhappiness hidden within. Of course, there’s room for societal standards of happiness and unhappiness to come into play, but at least for Donatella and Hamokin, I couldn’t possibly consider this outcome as unhappy.
“Fufufu, how about that? No matter how you try to express it, to me, that settlement and the emotions of Donatella and Hamokin can only be seen as happiness. In other words… this time, I win.”
I moved my gaze from my fingertips up to the white ceiling and grinned. Whether there is a god there or if they’re looking at me, I don’t know, but it doesn’t matter.
Even if I were to say anything, I can’t take a single step out of this world created by the god. Such a limited existence might not be much different from a crying baby having a tantrum in a small bed from their perspective.
But a baby was not forever small and powerless. Eventually, they grow up, and there were countless children who become bigger and stronger than their parents.
“And with that, Tia, let’s give our all to make the next world a happy ending too!”
“Yes, yes. As you command, Demon King.. Hehe.”
Tia laughed as I got excited. If we had achieved one, then surely we could achieve the second and beyond. Our goal was an uncompromising and complete victory. Our challenge had only just begun.