Ch.205Side Story 2. The Story After, Esmeralda (2)

The Story After, Esmeralda (2)

She has her excuses.

First, she knows absolutely nothing about the geography around the Demon Lord’s Castle.

Unlike others, she never had any reason to care about the area around the castle.

While Eirene now manages the Demon Lord’s Castle, Millia Asrin represents the Magic Tower for research purposes, and Tina leads the scholars’ group <Eyes of Truth> for topographical surveys, she had no such responsibilities.

So she never needed to pay attention, nor did she have to bother Lug by visiting him with important documents like the others did.

She called it her time of self-restraint, but the truth was she never had a legitimate purpose to begin with.

“Hmm.”

Esmeralda reflected on herself.

What exactly was she? While others were busy working and trying to seduce Lug, what had she been doing?

“Am I just… unemployed?”

She hadn’t done anything.

She had long decided to retire after defeating the Demon Lord, and she actually followed through with that plan.

At first, it was quite comfortable. She no longer had to toss and turn at night wondering how to defeat the Demon Lord, and after always camping outdoors, staying in the Demon Lord’s Castle—the best possible environment—put her mind at ease.

In her own way, she would occasionally swing her sword at the training grounds, thinking it wasn’t good to become too lazy, but that was it.

While everyone else was working to make the world a better place, she was just a strong unemployed person who did nothing but eat and sleep.

“Hmm… that’s an exaggeration.”

Despite already reaching an obvious conclusion, Esmeralda deliberately tried to deny it. What matters now isn’t that she’s just a strong unemployed person, but why she got lost.

“I’m a vigilante!”

Despite having just warned herself against exaggeration, Esmeralda was still making excuses. And just then, a good excuse came to mind.

“So I got lost because of my vigilante work…”

Having some conscience, she claimed to be a vigilante rather than inventing a non-existent position.

But no matter how nicely she tried to package it, she couldn’t deny that she was now lost, surviving on tree fruits and mushrooms.

“Sob…!”

Esmeralda made a tearful face alone.

Not just because she was lost, but because she regretted her past choices.

Yes, Esmeralda recalled the time before she got lost, when she was still wandering paths that Lug might have taken, following her memories.

The time she found demon folk being chased by monsters and helped them.

The time she escorted lost scholars to a safe place.

The time she helped mediate a conflict between demon folk and a Mage.

She had resolved all those issues.

Not because she was a hero, but because she acted according to her nature.

It was something to be proud of. She felt a sense of pride seeing the grateful expressions of those she helped.

And so Esmeralda would manage her smirking lips and depart.

Showing only her cool back as she left.

“I should have… asked for directions!”

When exactly had she lost her way?

Why had she been so caught up in her cool image of solving problems and walking away that she didn’t even think about it?

Since coming to the demon realm, she had always struggled to win, so she was too happy with her image of solving problems with overwhelming power.

“Sigh…”

Esmeralda let out a deep sigh as she swung her holy sword.

As her holy sword traced a beautiful golden arc, tree fruits dropped to the ground.

This would be her dinner tonight.

“Hehe, looks delicious.”

She felt like her intelligence was dropping.

Esmeralda sat down on the ground and gathered the fallen fruits.

They didn’t actually look tasty.

Still, unlike the old demon realm, the land had become fertile, allowing edible fruits to grow.

Munch munch.

Esmeralda chewed the fruit with an almost expressionless face.

Another lonely and monotonous meal.

It was harsh for someone who had enjoyed luxurious meals at the Demon Lord’s Castle.

As she was living this unwanted vegetarian life, at some point…

“You look like a forest fairy sitting there.”

“Huh?”

With a rustling sound, a familiar face appeared from the forest.

Was this how the people she had saved looked at her? Esmeralda looked at the person with the most saved expression she had ever worn.

“Lug!”

“What are you doing here? I was worried when you didn’t come home even though I waited. Well… I’m glad it’s far from the worst scenario I imagined.”

“Did you come to get me?”

Lug smiled.

“I’m lost too.”

They were meant for each other.

***

Lug also had his excuses.

As the former guide and porter for the hero’s party, he thought there wouldn’t be any problems this time.

And that was actually true.

The only minor issues were that his physical strength wasn’t what it used to be, and the demon realm’s environment, which should have been familiar, had changed.

Unlike in the past when he could simply fly up to check his bearings when confused, the current Lug couldn’t even properly determine direction.

All he could rely on was calculating direction based on the correlation between the sun and time?

Even that became meaningless at night, and although the demon realm had been purified, not all monsters had disappeared, so he had to be prepared for monster attacks at night.

Lug finally realized.

‘I should have brought at least one person as an escort…!’

He had set off looking so perfect that he hadn’t thought to ask for an escort.

The people at the Demon Lord’s Castle were the same.

When Lug, who was the Demon Lord after all, said he was going on an expedition alone, no one followed or questioned him.

It was actually natural.

For demon folk, this was normal. In a place where power equaled authority, who would worry about the Demon Lord going out alone?

The few people with proper sensibilities had been enchanted by Lug and couldn’t make proper judgments.

So he set off without a plan.

On the first night, Lug was chased by monsters and lost his way, unable to connect the changed environment with his previous knowledge.

After wandering through the forest for a long time…

“But I’ve met up with the Hero, so I’ve half-accomplished my goal.”

“…That’s true. I’ve found you too, Lug, so I’ve half-accomplished my goal as well.”

The only result was that the hero and the Demon Lord had gotten lost together amicably.

Truly an amazing situation.

“Lug, do you have any food?”

“Ah, yes. Unlike you, Hero, I’m far from being a superhuman. I prepared thoroughly, thinking this might be a long journey.”

“Ohhh…!”

Esmeralda brightened up at Lug’s confident demeanor.

She wasn’t asking for much.

Jerky would be fine. She had been craving meat, but right now she would be satisfied just to chew on some jerky.

“Here are some tree fruits.”

“…”

But what Lug took out were the same fruits Esmeralda had been chewing on.

Jerky? There was no such thing.

Would someone who left on a journey caught up in the mood have packed such things?

Even if he had realized it midway, Lug hadn’t thought of turning back.

He thought he could gather enough food from the surroundings. That’s why he was carrying these fruits around.

Munch munch.

Esmeralda and Lug sat side by side, chewing on fruits.

They had nutrition but no flavor.

And they weren’t satisfying to chew either.

That’s why Esmeralda was looking for meat.

“Lug.”

“Yes.”

“Shall we talk for a bit?”

“By all means.”

As they sat in silence, chewing on fruits, Esmeralda slightly turned her head to look at Lug.

She was disappointed by his lack of provisions, but she was certain that he had come to find her.

That fact secretly made her happy.

So much so that she had to bury her face in her arms resting on her knees to hide her rising smile.

He had come looking for her.

For her, not anyone else.

“Why did you decide to look for me when there are other people?”

It was a blunt question.

She wanted to hear that he came looking for her because she was special.

Honestly, what other reason could there be for coming all the way here?

Even if that wasn’t the case, it would be fine. For example, if Lug said he came because he was most worried about her.

In a way, that would mean he was very concerned about her, so even if it was a bit ambiguous, she would still be happy.

But…

“Everyone else returned home, didn’t they? Only you didn’t come back.”

“…What?”

The words from Lug’s mouth were completely different from what she had expected.

Everyone else had returned home. Only she hadn’t.

There’s nothing strange about that. But it is strange when considering the members of the hero’s party.

‘They just let Lug go to find me? Eirene and Millia?’

That doesn’t make sense.

Esmeralda’s intuition, no less sharp than Tina’s, indicated that the current situation was unusual.

“…Did something happen with the girls? Like… you know… that thing…”

“Sex?”

“No, fuck, what are you saying?! But yes, that’s right! Did you do it? Or not?”

“Of course I did. How else could I have left the Demon Lord’s Castle alone? Now only you remain.”

“Good Lord!”

Esmeralda collapsed in despair.

“Sob…”

Truly.

She was in great despair.