Ch.209Side Story 2. The Story After and the Story of What If (End)

# And a Hypothetical Story (End)

After the relationship ended.

Lug was lying on his back, naked with only a blanket covering him.

“Sniff…”

It had been one-sided.

It could even be called a violation.

Wrung out by Esmeralda, Lug was left physically and mentally devastated, secretly hiding his tears.

He was the victim in this incident.

“Well, it’s unfortunate.”

And Esmeralda, who could be called the perpetrator of this incident, was sitting beside Lug, munching on leftover mushrooms.

Having used quite a bit of energy, she needed nutritional replenishment.

She wasn’t even trying to hide it anymore.

“But what can we do? What’s done is done.”

Esmeralda was shameless.

Having gone all the way, she no longer needed to deceive herself.

“We’re husband and wife, aren’t we?”

“…”

Faced with such brazenness, Lug was at a loss for words. She had certainly said that.

And he had initially proposed it, and she had merely agreed to it, albeit in the form of an accident.

But something was different.

More than feeling deceived, he felt violated.

Was this how others felt when subjected to Lug’s sexual harassment?

Belatedly, Lug could reflect on his own actions and repent.

“Besides, you enjoyed it too, so it’s fine.”

“You’re incredibly shameless.”

“I must take after my husband.”

“I miss the old hero.”

“The hero has retired, so you should call me Esmeralda now.”

“Fine then, Esmeralda.”

“Hehe.”

Of course, Lug wasn’t genuinely resentful toward Esmeralda.

He was just grumbling. Lug quickly returned to his former self.

“It’s already humid, and now it’s humid in another sense, which is tough.”

“I wonder what that means. Shall we find out?”

“…I’ll pass.”

Experience.

Technique.

He realized that such things meant nothing in the face of overwhelming power.

It’s the way of things for a Demon Lord to be defeated by a hero.

Lug, who had become a Demon Lord of the night, had ultimately fallen to the hero of the night.

“By the way, aren’t you hungry, Lug?”

Esmeralda, while munching on mushrooms, turned her head and asked Lug.

“And whose fault is that…?”

Hungry? Of course he was.

Beyond simply staying up all night, he had been so thoroughly ravished that he couldn’t even tell if it was day or evening now.

Even a 40km march would have been less exhausting.

Despite his complaining gaze conveying this meaning, Esmeralda responded with a rather lewd smile and said:

“I was scared at first, you know?”

“No, you weren’t.”

She had been a beast from the start.

Hadn’t she begun by pouncing on and overwhelming Lug?

But Esmeralda grumbled and denied Lug’s words again.

“I was scared. But after trying it, well, I realized there was no need to be so afraid.”

“…”

“It’s mutual fault, right? You’re the one who told me the mushrooms were fine.”

“You knew what those mushrooms were from the beginning.”

“Me? I never said that. Are you mistaken?”

“Such shamelessness…!”

“I can show you what real shamelessness is.”

Lug never imagined he would be so helplessly dominated in this area.

But having suffered his first defeat, and a crushing one at that, in this domain, he couldn’t help but be cautious.

In the end, Lug sighed.

Thinking about it, not much had changed. Hadn’t he been walking on eggshells around Esmeralda for ages?

As long as he didn’t make her uncomfortable, nothing would happen.

“By the way, Lug.”

“Yes, Esmeralda.”

“When do you think the rain will stop?”

“I’m not sure. Since it’s the rainy season, it might continue for quite a while.”

“Right?”

“Huh? Oh, yes…”

Seeing Esmeralda respond with a sparkling smile, Lug sensed something unsettling.

And that…

“By the way, Lug. Did you know that this is all the food we have?”

“…”

Soon revealed its meaning.

Esmeralda’s eyes sparkled.

It was the gleaming look of someone who had discovered a new experience and had grown to enjoy it.

“There must be something else.”

“I don’t think so.”

“No, but…”

“It’s not like eating them will kill you, and you said you liked them, so there’s no problem, right?”

“Such absurd reasoning is troublesome.”

“Haha, absurd?”

Esmeralda slowly approached Lug, who had turned away from her, lying on her stomach.

“Survival is important. So it’s not absurd reasoning.”

In her hand was the mushroom she had been eating earlier.

The rain hadn’t stopped.

The air was still humid.

And that humidity…

“Come on, say ‘ah’.”

Was expected to continue for a while.

***

After the rain stopped, the two found their way back to the Demon Lord’s castle based on their original plan.

The appearance of the two upon their return seemed extremely contrasting.

“Was it… a difficult journey?”

Eirene grimaced at the sight of the returning pair.

Somehow, she roughly understood what had happened from Esmeralda’s sleek appearance and Lug’s transformation into something resembling spinach rescued from hell.

“As expected of the hero.”

Eirene, who had been thoroughly toyed with by the Demon Lord, was able to respect the existence of a hero for the first time in her life.

That had never happened even when she was in the hero’s party.

But she couldn’t help but pay tribute to Esmeralda’s strength, which had achieved the feat of defeating the Demon Lord.

“Let’s go in. First, we should wash up and eat, right?”

“Shall we?”

“…Ah, yes.”

Esmeralda answered with a smile as radiant as the sun, while Lug responded with a dejected expression like someone who had lost everything.

And so ended the Demon Lord Lug’s brief escape.

The Demon Lord who had worried everyone paid a severe price, and the hero defeated the Demon Lord, bringing peace.

“Tonight’s dinner happens to include pine mushrooms…”

“AAAAARGH!”

“Wh-what? Lug, are you okay? Are you hurt somewhere?”

“N-no mushrooms, please.”

“What?”

Amidst these small happenings, Lug’s path of suffering began.

The Story After (End)

***

Lug’s escape was over.

He returned to his daily life, diligently handling his duties at the Demon Lord’s castle.

His wives, who used to be at each other’s throats, now acknowledged each other and shared Lug… no, supported him together.

Therefore…

“Lord Robeno.”

“Hm? Oh, yes, Demon Lord.”

“Would you like to become the Demon Lord?”

Lug felt like he was dying.

It was hard enough to endure just Esmeralda, but with others added, his stamina couldn’t keep up.

Moreover, the Demon Lord’s duties were not simple, so Lug was living a life where he fell asleep with his eyes open.

The first thought that came to Lug’s mind was, of course, escape, but…

Now he knew. He had experienced what kind of outcome escape would bring.

So he needed an alternative, and that was to eliminate one of the causes of his fatigue: his duties.

In response to Lug’s desperate proposal, Robeno closed his eyes gently and pulled out something hidden in his bosom.

“Letter of Resignation”

Without any answer, Robeno showed that he was an exemplary member of society who always carried a resignation letter in his bosom. Seeing this, Lug’s face turned pale as he let out a hollow laugh.

“I-I was joking. Haha!”

Lug finally gave up on everything.

He decided to conform to reality.

A daily life where he resolves the Demon Lord’s duties during the day and becomes a Demon Lord in another sense at night.

No, beyond that, his wives’ seductions begin at the slightest opportunity.

And one thing began to change in this regular daily life.

“…”

The former Demon Lord Belphegor was still staying at the Demon Lord’s castle.

Or rather, she had no choice but to stay at the castle for various political reasons.

In fact, Belphegor had no excuse even if she were confined to an underground prison instead of receiving such treatment.

How could she dare to complain?

Yes, she shouldn’t complain.

But…

“Goddammit.”

Belphegor, sprawled in her room, buried her face in her pillow and covered her ears.

These damn beasts don’t distinguish between day and night.

“Do they think I’m living here alone…”

And Belphegor possessed physical abilities that made comparison with the hero Esmeralda laughable.

In other words, she had hearing acute enough to hear everything happening in the Demon Lord’s castle.

And because of such hearing, she had to listen to moaning sounds day and night.

And with her niece involved, no less.

“This won’t do.”

Belphegor, who had buried her face in her pillow, raised her head.

It wouldn’t do in many ways.

She couldn’t endure like this.

Just as Lug was physically exhausted recently, she was naturally indolent. There were reasons why she had to be indolent, and the sounds coming day and night were enough to disturb her sleep.

So she decided.

“To solve the fundamental problem…”

Belphegor’s face, as she raised her head, was flushed red, perhaps from shame. After suffering for nearly a month, she finally made a decision.

And that decision…

“I need to get him away from here.”

Was to remove Lug from the Demon Lord’s castle.

And for that…

“The former Demon Lord Belphegor has kidnapped His Majesty and fled to the human realm!”

Demon Lord Belphegor kidnapped Lug and escaped to the human realm.

It might be the beginning of a new story.

A Hypothetical Story (End)