Final Volume: Chapter 5: Return

What's Achieved

Return

The moment I touched Chris, an unbearable pain ran through my body.

The most intense pain I have ever experienced...

Then I lost consciousness and found myself in darkness.

"You bastard Demon King...what have you done to my body!"

"What was planted in you was a ball of loss."

I hear the Demon King's voice. That's impossible, he's supposed to be dead.

"Why are you alive... No, more importantly, a ball of loss...?"

"That's right. Every time you touch the saint, your body is gradually eroded."

"What?! What does that mean?!"

"By touching the saint earlier, your body has become similar to that of a demon. Rejoice, you should be much stronger than before. In exchange, however, you will gradually lose your humanity."

Because I touched Chris... has my body become closer to that of a demon?

I don't understand, am I no longer human...?

"You can no longer even touch the Saint... I told you, you will never be happy with the Saint."

"...Damn you! Where are you now?! I'll kill you!"

"I am inside you. When you force yourself to come into contact with the Saint many times, I will be able to take over your body. Remember that well."

...This guy. The Demon King is purposely explaining the situation to me.

In other words, if I come into contact with Chris, I'll be taken over by the Demon King, so this guy is telling me not to touch Chris! He's prioritizing interfering with my happiness over his own revival. What trash.

"Hehehe. Isn't that good? Surely you're happier now, protecting the Saint, than you were when you were incompetent? Well, you'll never be united, though. Hero Aleph, this is your price... hehe... hahahahaha -- serve you right!"

Damn! Damn. I was so close... and now I can't even touch the person I love... kiss her, make love to her... anything.

Aaaahhh... waaaaaahhhh!!

Chris! Chris! Chris... I love you so much... damn it.

DAMN IT!!!

Hmm, are you dead? Ahhh, my time has really come...

I approach Aleph, who is lying face down.

"A.. Aleph... are you okay? (...you already die right?)"

The moment I reached out to the fallen Aleph.

"Don't touch me!!"

While lying face down, Aleph suddenly let out a loud yell, startling me and making me step back. What was that all of a sudden?!

(Don't scare me! Small fry! Idiot! Shit! Scum!)

I hurl as much rich and intelligent insults at Aleph as I can at the man who has intimidated me.

...Of course, all in my heart.

"I'm glad you were safe. I was worried about you (tsk, how rude)."

"Chris... I, I... I'm fine!"

Aleph, who was lying face down, raised his head and I saw some kind of black horn-like thing growing out of his forehead. ...Huh? What's that? That's a surprising development.

"Ah, Aleph... what is that? (His eyes have become heterochromatic... oh my)."

The emerald and black heterochromatic eyes make the character look too good.

There's not even a trace of the Aleph from his dull days left!

"Ugh... if I explain... it'll take a long time, actually."

Aleph then begins to speak. ...But what he's saying is pointless and long.

To quickly sum it up, I'm happy. Yay!

The Demon King's curse is incredible! A curse that only works to my advantage, this is something to celebrate! Thank you Demon King. The fact that you die as soon as you're no longer needed is also a big plus.

That said, if he touch me too much, he will turn into the second Demon King. I have to be a little careful with how I handle it him, but it feels like a useless tool has become a useful one again, so it's not a problem at all.

"I... have stopped being human. Not only that, but I can no longer even touch you... But even so, I love you. I love you so much that I can't think of anyone else!"

"...I love you too. No matter what form you take... I will continue to love you for the rest of my life. So... so, you see? As long as we have mutual feelings of love, that's enough (from now on, I'll do my best to be of use to you as my 'insect" repellent)."

It's a fitting end for someone who half-threateningly forced me into marriage, and then threatened to attack me by force if I defeated the Demon King. Serves you right! Is this divine punishment... or is it a demonic punishment if it's the Demon King's curse? Well, whatever!

"Chris... are you sure you're okay with me being like this? I can't make you happy. But will you still love me? Is it okay for me to stay by your side?"

"Isn't that obvious? Don't make me say it again. The only one I love is Aleph. There's absolutely no way my feelings will shift to another man... Please, believe me (and by another, I mean including you. The only one I love is myself, the unparalleled beauty that I am).

Aria, Aleph, why are all these damn childhood friends such a pain? Do they have some kind of disease that makes them unable to move unless I comfort them by saying the same words over and over again? It's an incurable disease!

“Even if we can’t make physical contact, we are connected in our hearts. So Aleph, let’s go home together. You are the hero who defeated the Demon King (don’t take that seriously, okay? If you showed yourself like that, you’d be executed. If I were you, I’d kill myself first. You should be aware that you’re a monster now.)”

"...Thank you, Chris. You always give me the words I want to hear..."

Well, I am just saying whatever sounds good to the ears.

It's free to just say it, so if that's okay with you, I'll say it as much as you want.

If words like these, without a shred of sincerity, are okay! Gahaha.

"Chris, I have a favor to ask you... is that okay?"

With a serious look on his face, Aleph suggested the request, and I felt so happy I could jump for joy. Seriously? He was so willing to say something that was exactly what I wanted...

"...I understand. If that's okay with you, Aleph, then I'll take your feelings into consideration."

"...Thank you. Well then, let's go back to the royal capital."

"Yes, let's go. Sorry for keeping you waiting for so long...."

I should probably make up to Aria and Reno for making them wait with my farce. I want them to understand that it's because of me, someone who's good at paying attention to the small details, that we're able to have smooth human relationships.

"N-no! I don't really care... I was just so moved by what you two were saying... ahaha, the tears won't stop... As I thought, there's no room for me to fit in..."

"Nee-san... (Are you still after Aleph? What's so good about a guy with horns like this...)"

"Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to say that... Come on! Let's go home! Reno-chan too... Hey, where did Reno-chan go?"

Reno, who was supposed to be by Aria's side, has disappeared. Enough already. Don't you guys want to go home? If you like this place, then stay here for the rest of your life.

Looking around the room, I saw that Reno was standing where the Demon King's body was. Her behavior has been so incomprehensible lately it's scary! What is she doing?

"...Reno? What are you doing in a place like that? (Are you a necrophile?)"

"Oh, Onee-chan! No, it's nothing♪"

"I-I see... Should we go home now? (That's too creepy.)"

"Yes! Ehehe! I want to hug you on the way home."

Reno ran over to me and hugged me.

Aren't your reactions to those around you and to me so different...?

It's not something I should have said... but this brat is really sneaky.

…I do have some thoughts about it, but my plans are going exactly as I want them to.

Now, all that's left is a moving speech! I have to think of an amazing speech to make the ignorant people cry before I go home... Maybe something that emphasizes my saintliness... Hehehe, I'm looking forward to it.

Desperately suppressing my desire to go wild, we hurried home.

It had been almost a month since the Saint and the heroes set out to defeat the Demon King.

As usual, soldiers stood guard in front of the gates of the royal capital, predicting what would happen to those who had gone to fight the Demon King.

"I guess he's dead after all? No matter how much of a hero he is, he can't defeat a demon king who has reigned for hundreds of years."

"It's been almost a month. I wonder if he's dead?"

"I wasn't expecting much from the start. There's no way the Demon King would lose to a harem bastard with three beautiful girls like that. No, I'd say he'll lose."

"Ah, it's true that there were only girls there except for the hero. I guess he did a lot of sex with them after all?"

"Oh dear... Ah! I'm so relieved that you're dead!"

The two guards were free to say whatever they wanted, whatever they thought.

It was early in the morning, so no one had come yet, so they took advantage of the opportunity to blurt out their true feelings.

"Hey, hey! Even though there's no one else around, that's still an exaggeration. If the king hears about it, you'll be executed..."

"Huh? I don't give a shit about such an incompetent king. The royal family is scared so the soldiers will do it for them! Die, handsome hero! And die, the damn king too!"

"Stop it! We'll just get the blame if someone hear it!"

As the two of them were having a conversation that put their lives at risk, a figure appeared in the distance.

"Look, someone's coming. Work, work."

"Tch, at least let me spit out some poison."

As he said this, his face tightened and he assumed a strict guard style.

He is a man who believes that work is just work.

The two of them had stiff faces, but as the figure approached, their faces began to tremble.

"Oh, hey. Um... S-surely it would be better if we went to the castle and called someone?"

"No way... I can't believe she's really back. Has they defeated the Demon King...?"

The approaching figure has now come close enough to be clearly seen.

It was no wonder that they were shaken by the sight of her. After all, there was no one in the royal capital who didn't know the person in the center of the group, the girl in pure white saint's robes.

"Saint..."

"Lady Christina..."

The two guards' eyes widened and they muttered words to each other.

Looking closely, there were only two people accompanying the Saint.

The only ones who survived the Demon King and returned home were only three girls.

With so few survivors, it is impossible to imagine how fierce the battle must have been.

The Saint stood before the guards, smiled slightly at them, and said:

"I have just returned. The Demon King who tormented the people is no longer here. Peace has finally come."

Even as she spoke, the Saint had a lonely look on her face, which brought the two guards back to their senses.

They realized that she was not the kind of person who should be stopped in a place like this.

"O-o-o-oh, we've been waiting for you!! Please pass through! I'm sure all the people are grateful to God and happy that you survived!"

"We all believed that the Saint would return! Of course we did too! Please pass through! I'm sure the King will be very pleased to hear this news!!!"

When the Saint, who had accomplished the great feat of defeating the Demon King, spoke to them, the two of them lost all their tension and welcomed her with a strange excitement.

The saint bowed slightly in response to their words, and then walked into the royal capital with the two girls. There was no hesitation in her steps, and she exuded a firm resolve.

The two remaining guards forgot to watch the gate and just watched her appearance.

"Well, the Demon King... was defeated. The Saint is truly amazing."

"She was so, so cute, Saint..."

They saw the saint off until she was out of sight.

As always, someone kept watch.