Ch.105Chapter 105. Remember the Old Days?

Lin was walking along the prairie path with Lucy and Tigria.

This area, thick with reeds, could easily cause one to lose their way, so Lin was navigating with a map and compass as they headed toward the forward base of the demon army front line.

“Once we reach the forward base, I plan to push back the front line as much as possible.”

Lucy felt that recently Lin had been making increasingly radical or hardline statements.

She wasn’t sure if it was because his range of possible actions had expanded since becoming a combatant, or if it was due to his desire to make an impact, but whenever he talked about taking the lead, the hero felt uneasy.

“The front line has been stagnant for a long time. Is there really a need to push forward?”

“It’s to create a situation where we can buy enough time if the demon army advances.”

Even with Tigria’s question, Lin kept his eyes fixed on the map.

He couldn’t afford to let his guard down for even a moment among the reeds that had grown almost as tall as small children.

“Our enemies exist both externally and internally.”

The external enemy was the demon race.

The internal enemy was the Imperial Princess and the Shield Knight.

Neither would be easy to deal with.

“If something happens, we’ll have to return to the Empire to face our internal enemies. If the demon army advances during that gap, we’re likely to be caught in a dilemma.”

“So literally, it’s to secure time to deal with the internal enemies. To ensure the demon army front line can hold even if it’s pushed back somewhat.”

“Exactly.”

“I understand, Lin.”

The reason for the sudden forced final journey to defeat the Demon King was because the front line had been quite precarious at that time.

Lowellina was surrounded, and leaving the City of Romance behind, the demon army was advancing toward the Empire.

Originally, the hero’s party had planned to break through Lowellina’s encirclement and form a front line in an area as far as possible from the Empire, then push back up, but the Emperor and nobles, feeling the crisis, unanimously forced them to go to demon territory to strike at the Demon King instead.

Normally, it would be common sense to protect the Empire first, but at that time, the demon race without their Demon King was simply individually powerful, but their military operations were far inferior to Airan and Garin’s level.

In the end, Garin took on the defense of Lowellina, Airan the salvation of the Empire, and the hero’s party the mission to defeat the Demon King, each fighting their own fierce battles.

There was only one Demon King, but after her death, three Demon Heroes appeared.

The absolute number of cards they could play was different from the start.

“Certainly, that Rainford bastard, whatever else, is excellent at defense, so he might try to stall for time. I think Lin’s approach is right.”

Even Lucy readily accepted it, which gave Lin a strange feeling.

Having his opinion presented and accepted was an unfamiliar experience for Lin.

Or perhaps it was the act of expressing an opinion itself.

“Tigria, I’d like to check if the distance on the map matches reality. Could you check from the sky?”

“Got it.”

At Lin’s request, Tigria happily took to the air.

Since being scolded severely, Lin had been freely asking for help, both big and small.

Tigria and Lucy were very pleased with this change in Lin.

“While I’m up there, I’ll also scout for monsters or demons.”

“Thank you.”

When Lin expressed his gratitude, Tigria slightly averted her gaze and secretly smiled to herself.

Lucy, who was watching this with displeasure, tried to quickly cling to Lin’s arm as soon as the mage soared into the air.

But before touching him, Lucy hesitated and carefully asked:

“Can I hold your hand?”

“Hand?”

Lin was slightly surprised, as the hero usually clung to him without hesitation.

“Not your arm?”

“Yes… I’d prefer your arm, but if an enemy appears, we need to respond. I thought holding hands would be best… Is that okay?”

Lucy looked up timidly, fidgeting.

Her appearance was clearly different from when she used to put on futile aegyo for Rainford.

She was tense with her whole heart even for this small request.

The impact was so powerful that even Lin couldn’t help but smile.

“Sure.”

As Lucy still hesitated, Lin took her hand first.

When their hands connected by the red thread met, Lucy felt shy and happy, even though it was a fact only she knew.

“I liked it best when I was in Lin’s arms.”

“Did you?”

“Because you paid so much attention to me. I miss it sometimes.”

“For me, that was when you were in a lot of pain and suffering, so I think now is better.”

“…It wasn’t even that painful compared to what you went through.”

She had changed significantly since before being scolded.

She was still trying to figure out how to be forgiven, but Lucy’s determination to live solely for Lin with all her heart and soul was stronger than ever.

“Do you want to go back to that time?”

“No.”

Lucy’s subsequent answer was incredibly surprising.

“I want to go back to our journey to defeat the Demon King.”

“…Why?”

“Even if everything else had already happened, I should have been the one to take the Demon King’s horn.”

Because they were holding hands, Lin could feel the intense demonic energy from his arm.

The Demon King’s demonic energy had already climbed up to Lin’s wrist.

[The internal corruption is already complete.]

‘What…?’

[Demonic energy is like mold. When it appears on the surface, it means the inside is already completely corrupted. The internal corruption of Lin’s arms is complete.]

Even the Abyss was surprised by this unexpected state.

[It wasn’t at this level when we were in the Church…]

Though the Abyss didn’t know, it wasn’t due to a major variable.

The chains sealing Lin’s emotions had been significantly corroded by Arsil, accelerating the demonic energy corruption.

[It’s really dangerous if the skin turns black. It could spread from the arms to the shoulders and throughout the body.]

‘What should I do? Tell me quickly!’

[We must delay it with the Saint’s holy power. When the Saint returns, make sure she sees Lin’s arms first.]

It was too fast.

Fast enough to alarm the Abyss.

Even the holy power of the 2nd Holy Sword Hunoni was becoming difficult to handle it.

The Abyss prioritized Lin’s arms over corrupting Lucy’s mind, which showed how serious it was.

As Lucy’s expression darkened, Lin tried to lighten the mood by bringing up a promise made long ago.

“Lucy, do you remember what I said in Valtercruz?”

“Yes, I remember everything you’ve ever said.”

“……”

It seemed likely to be true, so he didn’t bother to check again.

“You were having a hard time being apart from me, so I promised that if you endured it, we’d spend a whole day together, just the two of us, whenever you wanted.”

“Yes! I remember! Of course I do!”

Lucy’s eyes sparkled.

There was no way she could forget.

But she had buried it in her heart, not daring to bring it up first out of consideration.

“After we finish at the front line, how about a day in Lowellina?”

“Yes! Absolutely yes!”

“That’s good.”

In truth, having skipped the Elf Forest in the DLC main episode, the only remaining place to rest after the demon army front line was the City of Romance, Lowellina.

After that would be the unstoppable final chapter.

A very long final chapter.

As an episode that needed to unleash all the build-up accumulated so far, Lin needed to do final preparations and party member management at Lowellina, the last resting place before it.

“We haven’t even reached the front line yet, but is there anything you want to do in the City of Romance?”

“Yes, lots! So many things. Don’t worry, Lin. I’ll plan everything.”

This was a date.

Her first date with Lin.

Her heart was racing.

Her face was turning red.

She wanted to calm this fluttering heart but also wanted to let it be.

But Tigria intervened at the perfect moment, shattering Lucy’s serenity.

“Lin! We’re almost there. It’s right in front of us.”

And immediately linked arms with Lin.

“Hey, that makes it hard to respond if an enemy comes.”

“I’m a mage, I can respond as long as I can chant.”

“……”

It was annoying.

Tigria, who had shown excellent cooperation at first, had recently been making frequent attempts to get close to Lin, pushing Lucy aside.

It seemed necessary to have a conversation with her when the opportunity arose.

Of course, Lucy intended to make sure the conversation would go in a very positive direction for herself.

If that didn’t work, she could always resort to talking with her fists.

But as they reached the forward base of the demon army front line, Lucy shook off her thoughts.

Alright, Lucy Estelle.

Don’t do anything stupid like in Lowellina.

If anyone disrespects or mistreats Lin, you step in immediately.

Tigria seemed to be thinking the same thing, as she looked visibly tense.

“Welcome… I am Jules Kestner, commander of the forward base. I’ve already received word from the Vice Commander…”

However, the two women’s resolve vanished the moment they saw the commander.

Jules had dark circles under his eyes and hollow cheeks.

“Commander?! Why have you lost so much weight?”

Lucy’s shock was understandable.

Originally, Jules had been a man of considerable stature.

He had a middle-aged build with a slightly protruding belly, but now he looked like he could barely stand.

Not just the commander, but the attendants beside him and the soldiers on guard were in no better condition.

Every one of them had lost an extreme amount of weight and had dark skin discoloration.

“Is it because of the demon army? Are there signs of an invasion?”

“W-well, in a way, that’s correct.”

Jules weakly answered Tigria’s urgent question.

Having lost all motivation, he rubbed his face with his dry hands.

“It’s a disaster. There are succubi in the demon army. And not just one or two, it seems.”

Lucy’s face hardened.

Succubus.

The first obstacle that appeared during her journey with Lin, and the demon race that had tormented and killed Lin when he had no power.

“Every night they perform dream attacks on the entire unit, extracting life force from our dreams, leaving everyone without strength… I’m truly sorry…”

Both Tigria and Lucy slowly turned to look at Lin.

But Lin was calmly scratching his cheek.

After all, with the goddess’s emotion seal, Lin was immune to mental attacks…

“Oh.”

But now that many of the emotional chains had been loosened, he wasn’t sure.

Lin’s face gradually grew serious, aware that he had been experiencing more frequent outbursts of anger and irritation lately.

“Lin, what’s wrong?”

Lucy asked, seeing his expression.

“Lin has us, you know.”

Tigria pressed her chest firmly against his arm.

Neither of them had any light in their eyes.

“This won’t do. Lin needs training to increase his resistance to succubi.”

“Yes, I completely agree.”

“W-what’s that…?”

As he stammered nervously, the hero and mage looked at each other and smiled softly.

“You’ll find out tonight.”

Commander Jules, who had somehow approached Lin’s side, patted his shoulder while Lin stood there in shock.

“We may not be particularly close, but you seem to have it rough in reality too.”

“……”

Since he had treated Lin no differently than the Lowellina soldiers had, Lin didn’t bother to respond.

[Oh, yes. This kind of event isn’t bad at all~!]

Only the pleasure-seeking Abyss was excited, snickering to itself.