ââŠâŠMorning, huh.â
The dawn broke and morning arrived. I wake up, slightly aware of the noises from the room next door. I doubt they would still be going on, but when youâre young, you can have an excess of energyâŠ
Regarding myself, thereâs no problem at all. Whether itâs an overflowing emotion or anything else, if it continues for a hundred years, you can somehow manage it.
So, I quickly got dressed and left my room. At that moment, the door of the neighboring room also opened, and our eyes met.
âHey, Burn. Good morning.â
âWoaaaah!? E-Ed!? Ah, ehm⊠I mean, Super! Good morning!â
ââŠâŠAh, yeah. Good morning.â
I had considered the possibility that âEuralia just consulted something that only a hero could doâ, but looking at his reaction, it seems like something significant happened. Hmm, this innocent reaction⊠makes me want to tease him a bit.
âHey, Burn. About last nightâŠâ
âNi-night!? Nothing! Absolutely! Nothing happened! I was alone in my room the whole time, and Euralia wasnât there at all!â
âI-is that soâŠâŠ Well, it doesnât really matter.â
On second thought, this seems like a case that could get complicated if I tease him about it. I decided to avoid touching it until they brought it up, and I moved to the innâs dining hall with Burn. We ordered breakfast and while waiting, Tia and Euralia arrived as well.
âGood morning, Ed, Burn. Burn, youâre quite early today, arenât you?â
âGood morning, Ed-san, Yuusha-sama.â
âHey, good morning, both of you.â
âSuper! Good morning, Tia! And⊠Euralia.â
We exchanged greetings, but Burnâs behavior was clearly odd. Noticing his demeanor, Tia came over to my side and whispered in my ear. She didnât use [Missing Talk] because if we got too used to using it for anything other than something that absolutely couldnât be overheard, we might rely on it too much.
âHey, Ed, whatâs up with Burn?â
âAh, I canât say much from my end, but⊠it seems like Euralia went to Burnâs room last night.â
âEh? Thatâs surprising, or should I say⊠hmm?â
I didnât say what they did or anything, but Tia tilted her head in thought at the solemn fact I shared.
âIs there a problem with those two being in that kind of relationship?â
âItâs not like that. I would celebrate if thatâs the case⊠but then what about what happened before⊠hmmmmâŠâ
â? I donât really get it, but even if the past was like that, now itâs like this, so isnât that fine⊠or is that not how it works?â
ââŠâŠYouâre right. If theyâve settled like this, then thatâs fineââ
âExcuse me, can I interrupt for a moment?â
The stern expression that had been on Tiaâs face for a while now faded away. Euralia spoke to me, who felt glad about it.
âActually, I would like to have some of your time later. The Hero and I have something important to discuss with youâŠâ
âDiscuss⊠Ah, sure. But an important discussion, huh? I wonder what it is.â
At this point, there was only one thing that came to mind. However, pretending to be clueless as per tradition, Burn, who had my gaze directed at him, forced a slight smile.
âWell, itâs not that big of a deal, you know? I think itâll probably be laughed offâŠâ
âI see, I see. Well, reporting is important after all. Youâre fine with it too, right, Tia?â
âYes, of course. So, where should we hear this talk?â
âYes. I was thinking about going to the church in this town if possible⊠What do you think?â
âChurch!? Isnât that moving too fast!?â
âIs it? I thought that it would be a good way to resolve various things all at once⊠Is there any problem?â
âNot really, but⊠Ed?â
âAh⊠If theyâre okay with it, then isnât it fine?â
While I think it would be better to take things one step at a time, Euralia was a priest, and it wouldnât be strange for her to view a relationship as marriage. Even if it doesnât lead to marriage, if they want to make their relationship official in front of God, I see no reason to refuse.
âBy the way, Burn, you agree with this too, right?â
âMe!? Ah, yeah⊠Thatâs rightâŠâ
âIf itâs okay with you, then thereâs no problem. After we eat, letâs head to the church.â
Burnâs expression was a bit cloudy, but⊠the face of a man whoâs told to âtake responsibilityâ after being swept away by the moment was usually like this. I suppose Iâll just have to talk to him personally later. After all, our journey to defeat the Demon King still continues.
And so, after finishing breakfast, we all headed to the church in town. Euralia seemed to have spoken with the people there and cleared out the church. In the small church, there were no other people aside from us.
We were in the chapel. The sunâs light poured in from the high skylight, and the images created from the multicolored glass watched over us as Burn and Euralia stood side by side, with Tia and me facing them.
âThen, let me speak.â
Taken aback by the unexpectedly solemn atmosphere, I responded in a subdued manner. Burn was a hero, after all. I thought this would be at most an announcement of their relationshipâŠ
âIn fact⊠there is an entity inside me that is not myself.â
As Euralia gently rubbed her belly while speaking, I inadvertently let out a strange voice. Itâs a rather roundabout way of saying it, but an entity other than herself is residing within herâŠ!?
âHey, Burn! Whatâs going on?â
âI only heard about it for the first time yesterday. I was so surprisedâŠâ
âRight. That would be surprising. But why⊠oh, wow!?â
Itâs been about four months since Euralia joined us on our journey. So, if she had a relationship with Burn from the beginning, it wouldnât be an impossible story.
But there wasnât a hint of such a thing. Was last night special and until then everything was cleverly disguised?
âIâm hearing this for the first time too. Otherwise, we wouldnât have had that conversation this morning, would we?â
It seems that I was more flustered than I thought. But with this, Burnâs behavior made even more sense. A priest wouldnât choose not to give birth to a child sheâs carrying, and although Burn may act on a whim sometimes, heâs a serious man. If he was told he has a child on the way, he would certainly take responsibility.
But if he wasnât prepared for this and was told about it, he would naturally be shocked. Burn, he always said he wanted to be popular⊠Or was that also a camouflage to deceive me?
âSo, Ed-san. In fact, thereâs something I need you to verify for me.â
âVerification? Me? What is it?â
I donât know what kind of verification can be done in this situation, but I walked over to Euraliaâs side as she beckoned me.
Moreover, even at this juncture, I was still wary of Euralia. Unless Tia said, âItâs okay now,â I probably wouldnât let my guard down around Euralia until the moment I was âbanishedâ from this world.
But thatâs precisely why I wasnât paying attention to one other person. I had no doubt or danger in turning my back to him, and I didnât even imagine that there could be a threat there.
Something hot pierced through from behind me. At the end of my downcast gaze was the tip of a shining sword.
âYes, with this it has been proven. Ed-san⊠you really were the Demon King.â
As I was stabbed from behind by the Heroâs sword, blood dripped from my abdomen. Euralia was watching my dumbfounded figure with cold eyes.