Chapter 116: Hero Festival – After (2)

“Ah! What are you doing, sis?!”

“What are you doing, idiot? You came to get rid of the problem, so why are you making it worse? Look at the Hero’s face. Do you think she looks amused listening to you?”

“Oh…”

It was only then that Marianne snapped out of her frenzy and returned to her senses.

Her face turned as red as a beet.

“I-I’m so sorry!!! I said something careless again…!”

“Ah, no, it’s fine. I told you to go ahead and speak, so I won’t get angry…”

Sion forced a trembling smile, though maintaining her composure was difficult.

She thought all the annoying misunderstandings had been cleared up, but who could’ve guessed that they would take things even further, using it as momentum.

What kind of monsters has Mana been raising?

Sion found herself newly annoyed at her friend.

“Ahem, anyway!”

Therese cleared her throat and quickly changed the subject.

“Marianne aside, I’d like the Hero to cool down a bit too, if possible.

I heard you stormed into the [censored] booth at the 19+ event, burned everything without asking questions, and even threatened that this kind of offensive festival would never happen again.

But if you actually do that, it’s no joke—every fan of the Hero worldwide will literally die of despair. So, uh, maybe reconsider a bit?”

“Ah, you mean that.”

As expected.

She had wondered why they were so eager to apologize today, and now the ulterior motive was clear.

But that matter had already been addressed.

Sion had negotiated with Mana to allow the festival on the condition that adult and LGBTQ+ materials were excluded.

So, Sion nodded calmly, showing no particular anger.

“If it’s about that, it’s fine. I’ve already spoken to the officials overseeing the festival. I think it’ll proceed normally from now on.”

“Huh? Really? Everyone packed up early and left this time, so I thought you pressured them into shutting it down.”

“What?”

That was news to Sion.

What on earth?

“Not at all… I didn’t even know the festival ended. I was called away elsewhere for a while in the afternoon. Did they close early? Why?”

“I mean, if you don’t know, we certainly don’t…”

Therese scratched her head, looking troubled.

“Like I said, the rumor among participants is that you pressured them.

Honestly, it’s hard to think of any other reason. The organizers haven’t officially stated why, but there’s no way a functioning festival would just stop otherwise.

Some rumors even mention a gruesome murder, but come on, that’s ridiculous… right?”

“.”

At that moment, Sion froze.

A murder. A dismemberment, no less.

Why? I have a hunch…

“Ah, sorry, Hero. That wasn’t exactly breakfast-table talk. Sorry if I upset you. It’s probably just baseless gossip, so don’t worry about it.”

“Ah, no, it’s fine…”

Therese misinterpreted Sion’s unease as offense and quickly apologized.

Meanwhile, Sion could only nod with a conflicted expression.

It probably wasn’t perceived as an actual murder.

The remains of the dismembered golem were clearly not human to anyone who saw them.

However, since the facial structure and mask were intact, it wouldn’t have been hard to deduce that the man was the High Inquisitor.

What did the remaining individuals make of it? How did they deal with it?

Did Mana manage to smooth things over and send them away?

Or did one of her subordinates issue an order to cover it up?

….I’ll need to check on this later.

“A-Anyway. Is that all you needed? If so, I’d like to get back to my sleep…”

“Ah, yeah! That’s all we had to say. Sorry for bothering you in the morning. Have a nice holiday!”

With that, Therese made Marianne bow her head again before the two disappeared down the hallway.

Finally, left alone, Sion closed the door and let out a quiet sigh.

“Haah…”

She muttered under her breath.

“Just how big is this snowball Mana’s rolling going to get? … At this rate, I’m starting to fear it’s beyond control.

Maybe I really should’ve just beaten Lier down and taken over Elpidion outright…”

If I had known I’d witness such a scene after resurrection, I would’ve chosen victory, even at the cost of being resented by my comrades.

No matter how I look at it, the losses outweigh the gains.

Lately, the Demon King had been increasingly consumed by regret over past decisions.

Meanwhile, as Sion sighed deeply by the front door, the sleepyhead sprawled on the bed finally opened her eyes.

“…Ugh.”

Rubbing her eyes, Exia yawned widely, then glanced blearily at Sion standing near the door.

“What’s up, Sion? Did someone come by? Why are you standing there in the hallway?”

“Oh, you’re awake. It’s nothing serious, just the twins.”

“The twins? You mean those demon sisters?”

“Yeah. The younger one said she wants to apologize for what she did to us at the festival.”

“Huh?”

Exia narrowed her eyes and smirked faintly.

“At least they know how to feel sorry, huh? I honestly thought they’d never apologize. They live in their own little delusional world, after all.

Still, if they didn’t feel any remorse after falsely accusing us like that, they wouldn’t even be human. Hmm.”

Nodding in satisfaction, Exia seemed pleased.

“……”

On the other hand, Sion’s expression remained less than cheerful.

Marianne’s words echoed low and sticky in her mind.

‘That’s probably a lie.’

Really?

Regardless of how she felt about Marianne’s claim, Sion couldn’t deny the plausibility of her interpretation.

The idea that Exia was embarrassed by the word “love” felt far-fetched to her.

No matter how immature her mental age might be, she was still a holy sword over 500 years old.

Surely, she wouldn’t be flustered by such a simple concept as love at this point.

Meanwhile, the notion that she had to muster mental strength to tell a lie seemed more credible.

Sion didn’t deny her emotional reaction that day.

Exia’s trembling voice had been obvious to anyone; it sounded like she was “forcing the words out” with great difficulty.

But if that were true, then… what about her?

“……….”

Sion silently watched Exia stretch as she sat up on the bed. A storm of emotions swirled in her eyes.

“Exia.”

“Yes?”

“I have something to ask you. Is that alright?”

“? Sure, go ahead. What is it?”

“…….”

Fully awake now, Exia looked at her with clear, innocent eyes.

Faced with that pure gaze, Sion suddenly found herself at a loss for words.

The sentence she wanted to say stuck in her throat, refusing to come out.

Moreover, she felt a strange dizziness, even though she was certain she didn’t have a fever.

“…Never mind. It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

“?????”

Exia tilted her head in confusion.

“What? Come on, just say it. Now I’m curious. I won’t get mad, promise.”

“It’s nothing, really. Forget it.”

“No, seriously, what is it? Don’t leave me hanging like that—it’s annoying! You know how much I hate it when people do that!”

Irritated, Exia lunged at Sion and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her back and forth.

“Just tell me! Hurry! I’m going to die of frustration if you don’t!”

“……”

Sion looked down at Exia’s face, which was filled with genuine annoyance.

There wasn’t a single trace of affection to be found in her expression.

‘Ha. Right. Of course not,’ Sion thought to herself, chuckling quietly.

It seemed she had been spending too much time with those twins.

To be worrying about such silly things—it was completely unlike her.

She resolved to cut down on visits to their room in the future.

Raising her right hand, she formed a circle with her fingers. Then, without warning, she flicked Exia on the forehead.

-Thwack!

“Ow?!?!”

Startled by the sudden flick, Exia yelped and fell back onto the floor.

Sion looked down at her with a smirk and teased,

“Stop obsessing over pointless things and go wipe the crust from your eyes. It’s unsightly.”

“Who are you calling crusty-eyed? Holy swords don’t get things like that!”

“Then go outside with that face and embarrass yourself. Not my problem.”

With that, Sion walked into the bathroom.

Since it was too late to go back to sleep, she decided to take a shower and get started on her day.

A soft click echoed as the bathroom door closed.

“Ugh…!!!”

Left alone, Exia fumed in frustration, glaring at the bathroom door.

“You’re so annoying, seriously!!” she shouted, her voice carrying nothing but pure sincerity.

A week later, the results of the midterm exams were announced.