Ch.116Return (3)

*

“…Demon Lord.”

“You came to this forest because of that too, sis.”

“That’s right…”

Despite the twist of fate, I couldn’t help but laugh hollowly at how exquisitely the flow of destiny was being corrected.

However, my sister showed no clear sign of affirmation.

She just kept her gaze lowered in silence.

“Sis?”

“…Should I be honest, Ash?”

“…?”

She shook her head and said:

“Honestly… I don’t know.”

“…Huh?”

“I’m not confident.”

She hugged her own arms as she spoke.

Her voice and gestures were filled with deep resignation.

“After getting this damn mechanical heart, I thought I could crush any bastard who stood in my way.”

“…”

“I risked my life and underwent horrific procedures, becoming a lab rat for forbidden research just for that purpose.”

My sister’s past, which I had never asked about in detail, was slowly unveiling itself.

Yet even though I was merely glimpsing the edge of that massive hidden truth, already such ominous words were flowing freely from her lips.

Life, procedure, forbidden research.

I swallowed hard as I waited for her to continue.

“But I lost. To Silvia…”

“…Ah.”

“I’ve never been angrier in my life, Ash. It was my maximum rage… I threw everything I had at her, but in the end, I couldn’t match the Hero…”

“Sis… losing to the Hero isn’t something to be—”

“And that Hero lost to the Demon Lord, Ash.”

My sister cut me off.

Her sunken voice carried fear.

“There’s… no way I could defeat the Demon Lord.”

“…”

I looked at Alice, trying hard to hide my bewildered expression.

Honestly, I thought she didn’t care.

I knew she had been terribly injured, but I had seen her recover instantly, and immediately after recovering, I’d watched her strike Silvia on the head. So I never imagined she would say something like this.

One reason I could ask her to forgive Silvia was that, fortunately, she seemed perfectly fine right now.

But apparently, the experience of being crushed like a piece of meat after fighting Silvia had left a deeper wound than my trivial assumptions.

While she didn’t seem to be suffering from trauma, it was clear that her confidence and faith in her own strength had been shattered.

I took her hand and said:

“…But you said it yourself. The Demon Lord is weakened.”

“…”

“And you’ve only lost to Silvia so far. Seeing how monsters take great damage from holy power, the Demon Lord must be the same. In fact, the previous hero party didn’t have…”

“Right, they didn’t have a Saint.”

I nodded and continued:

“Plus, Silvia, who defeated you—she’s the Hero. You know that. I won’t ask you to become friends with her, but if you fight together as allies rather than enemies, taking down the Demon Lord might…”

“…Ha.”

She let out a bitter laugh before I could finish.

“Sis?”

“Ash…”

“Yes?”

“Silvia isn’t going.”

I tilted my head at her words.

“What do you mean?”

“She said the Demon Lord is none of her business… that she doesn’t want to be the Hero anymore.”

“…What?”

“She told me to go alone.”

I took a slight breath.

Did Silvia know that the Demon Lord wasn’t dead?

I had been planning to tell her when the time was right, but could she have known already?

And even knowing, she remained so calm?

She even… refused?

“…Really?”

“Yes.”

I knew Silvia was tired of living as the Hero, but I never thought she would actively refuse like this.

It was clearly strange that she, who had imprisoned herself in this forest due to her duty as the Hero, would know the Demon Lord was alive and not care.

“…”

No, perhaps that was exactly why.

Growing up in terrible competition since childhood, losing all the companions she had struggled to connect with,

And Silvia’s past actions—choosing to die alone in this forest to prevent herself, as the Hero, from causing harm to the world.

Reflecting on her sad life story, I could vividly feel how utterly disgusted she must be with the name and role of “Hero.”

Perhaps the reason they fought was because of their different stances on the journey toward the Demon Lord.

These thoughts were running through my head.

But…

“Silvia…”

Even so.

Even if I could understand Silvia’s feelings, that didn’t mean I wasn’t surprised or disappointed.

After all, the Silvia I knew possessed the courage and consciousness befitting the name of Hero, enough to willingly choose to confine herself to this forest.

Not only that, but she had the mental strength to endure despite suffering from nightmares every night, and the swordsmanship to cut a giant bear in half with a single stroke.

Moreover, even in all those hellish situations and conditions, she ultimately didn’t turn away from my body when I asked for help, showing her noble heroic qualities.

It was hard to believe or simply accept that such a person would refuse to go after hearing that the Demon Lord was still alive.

“Why on earth…”

“She said she just wants to stay here and have sex with you.”

“…”

“She was bragging about how amazing you are while beating me up.”

“…”

“You used to be a little kid following me around… and now you’ve become so shameless…”

Alice glanced at the area between my legs as her words trailed off.

Feeling my face heat up, I pressed my finger against her cheek and gently turned her head to the side.

“Why would you say such… ah.”

In that moment, a terrible truth flashed through my mind, cooling my flushed face.

“…It’s me.”

When I first met Silvia.

When she treated me under the false name Millwood.

No matter how sad or distressed she was, the image of her I saw then clearly still had heroic qualities.

Why would someone who remained heroic despite struggling with pain so severe that she feared nightmares every night think of throwing away her identity as the Hero?

There was only one change that had happened to her.

Me.

The existence of Ash Staff.

“…It’s because of me.”

The statement about wanting to live just having sex was incredibly vulgar, but the meaning behind those words was more pure and clear.

She had come to desire being with me more than her duty as the Hero.

Alice had said that the world outside the forest was in great chaos due to the signs of doom looming over the world.

I felt goosebumps all over my body.

“Because of me…”

Because of me, this world might be doomed.

Only at this moment did I finally realize that fact.

*

The Green Lady.

She clearly said that if this destiny was too burdensome, I could run away.

Did the great Spirit Queen know?

That if I ran away, the world might be doomed.

“The world will be destroyed…”

“She said she could survive, and protect you too.”

“…”

“Beyond that, she doesn’t care.”

“…”

I clenched my fist as I looked at the great tree that the Green Lady had transformed into.

She must have known.

That I wouldn’t run away.

“No matter how much I twisted fate and tried to escape, there was only one answer in the end.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Sis.”

I looked at Alice and said:

“I want to go back too.”

“…”

“Goldfield territory. Those beautiful golden fields… I miss them so much they even appear in my dreams.”

There was no need to be confused.

No need to be afraid.

Nothing had changed.

Destiny was clearly pointing to the three of us.

My escape to this forest.

Meeting Silvia.

My sister obtaining this immense holy power.

The massive flow that couldn’t be dismissed as mere coincidence was clearly flowing before us.

“I’ll convince Silvia.”

“That crazy Silvia will obviously keep you locked up. You already experienced it, you know.”

“No, if I head toward the Demon Lord, she’ll have no choice but to follow.”

“What? Are you insane?”

Alice shouted.

“Don’t joke around!”

“I’m not joking. There must be something I can do too.”

“No matter how weakened, it’s still the Demon Lord. Even Maria…”

My sister pressed her lips shut for a moment.

Or rather than closing her mouth, it looked as if it had been forcibly sealed.

Maria.

Only after barely swallowing those three syllables that filled her throat did she open her mouth again.

“Even Maria… and all the other top mercenaries and skilled fighters died. Do you think I’d take you to such a place? Do you think I’d stand by and watch you go? It’s not just Silvia—I’ll stop you too!”

I nodded.

Certainly, Alice knew better than anyone how far my magical skills lagged behind Maria’s.

So her resistance was entirely predictable.

“I know. You would.”

“Then why.”

“Sis.”

But there was one thing she didn’t know yet.

It seemed that now was the moment to finally reveal what power, what destiny had been hidden within me.

After glancing once at the Green Lady’s tree, I took a deep breath and thought of Pia.

Just by thinking of her, Pia was already sitting quietly on my shoulder.

Pointing at this little one who was wrapping her tail around my neck while swishing it, I continued:

“Look.”

“Ash?”

“Sis.”

Pia, being clever, brought her face close to Alice and swished her tail.

“Have you heard of spirits?”

“Spirits?”

“See, this little one is a spirit.”

“…”

Alice spoke with trembling lips.

“Ash…”

“And I am the only spirit user of this era.”

“Shut up…”

“…Huh?”

My sister said with a troubled face:

“It’s scary… so shut up.”

“…?”

“Living in the forest… have you developed some delusional disorder…? Are you seeing things?”

“…Ah.”

I guess no one else can see her.

.