Ch.9Chapter 9. The Demon Lord Originally Has Two Horns (Or Not)

Lin fell asleep late at night and slept straight through until the next evening.

This showed just how exhausted he had been.

Still, one of his few strengths was his robust constitution, so a good night’s sleep was enough to completely refresh Lin.

Lucy, on the other hand, woke up around noon and was worried sick about him as he lay motionless like the dead.

If Lin’s breath hadn’t been tickling her hair, she would have caused all sorts of commotion.

Lucy gazed at his sleeping face, careful not to wake him.

His once chubby cheeks, which he had before the Demon Lord subjugation, had now sunken in enough to reveal his cheekbones.

While feeling sorry for him, Lucy couldn’t help but notice that his thinner features actually looked better than before, and she couldn’t take her eyes off him.

The more she looked, the more handsome he appeared.

Completely love-struck, Lucy found herself lost in staring at him.

Occasionally, she would bury her nose in his chest and sniff, or rub her cheek against his, freely indulging in the skinship and affection she couldn’t express when he was awake.

Eventually, Lucy’s gaze drifted to his sleeping lips.

Dark blue and without luster—typical male lips.

Completely different from Rainford’s, which always had a pinkish hue.

But Lucy liked them anyway.

Those rough lips had never lied to her.

They only ever spoke words of concern or reassurance.

Unlike her own, which had been cruel and dismissive toward him.

As negative thoughts surfaced, Lucy squeezed her eyes shut.

Everything was good, but she desperately wished those lips would say “I love you” or “I like you.”

Yet she knew that wouldn’t be easy because of her past bad behavior.

Nevertheless, she had no intention of giving up.

Now Lucy couldn’t live without Lin.

Even if her arms and legs recovered, she wouldn’t let him go.

He is mine.

My only ally, my best companion, my Lin.

Someday, she would hear the words “my Lucy” from those lips.

Could she really make it happen?

Again, negative and anxious thoughts.

Lucy stopped looking at his lips for a moment and listened.

The sleeping Lin’s heartbeat was slightly slower than usual.

She couldn’t fall asleep without this heartbeat anymore.

Curious about whether her mental state had improved, Lucy had once tried to sleep when Lin was away, forcing herself despite her reluctance.

“AAAGH!”

The result was predictable.

Nightmares immediately pounced on her, demanding to know where she had been all this time.

Terrified, Lucy clung to Lin, who had rushed in after hearing her scream, and sobbed uncontrollably.

And she made a vow.

Never to be separated from Lin again.

At the same time, she gave up trying to fix her trauma.

It wasn’t necessary. As long as she had Lin, that was enough.

Yes, as long as she had Lin, everything was fine.

Nothing else mattered.

The hero’s party or whatever else could fend for themselves.

Lin kept hinting that new threats to the world would appear, but Lucy didn’t care.

The world could perish for all she cared, as long as she had Lin.

Ah, but there was one thing she absolutely had to do once her body recovered.

Revenge on Rainford.

It wasn’t simply payback for his betrayal.

As long as that bastard was alive, no matter how much she craved affection, Lin wouldn’t respond.

Whenever she said anything, he would connect it to Rainford, leaving Lucy unable to do anything.

Besides, Rainford was her dark history.

She would kill him and be done with it.

She would cut away her past love for Rainford along with his head.

She hated herself for wanting Lin while carrying such a past, even more than she hated herself for being fooled by false love.

The fact that she had harbored feelings for such a man—ah, her affection, her heart that should have been pure white, was tainted.

She couldn’t offer such a thing to Lin.

She needed to offer him her flawless self.

Though she had already gone astray, she would cleanse herself with her tears and Rainford’s blood, and beg Lin for forgiveness.

When that day came, would Lin be happy? Would he praise her, saying she was finally worthy of his favor?

Just imagining it made her smile.

When her arms healed, she would learn to cook. That’s what a wife should do.

When her legs healed, she would always go out to meet him when he returned from work. That’s the proper courtesy for a husband.

Thus, while listening to Lin’s heartbeat, Lucy became aware of her situation and simultaneously formed hopeful plans for the future.

To become the woman for him.

That was her life’s goal and joy.

No one would stop her.

Even if it were a goddess, Lucy arrogantly believed there was nothing she couldn’t accomplish, having already overcome death with him.

Unable to break her habits, she indulged in impure and presumptuous thoughts again.

Without even considering what consequences they might bring.

Regardless, Lucy simply smiled as she endlessly examined every inch of the sleeping Lin.

—

“Are you uncomfortable?”

“No, I’m comfortable.”

This time, Lucy had secured the wrap so that she could face forward with Lin.

Usually insistent on being held in his arms, today Lucy had specially requested a different position.

“I’ve had enough of being held for now. I need to cool my head a bit.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

When Lin apologized, thinking she was subtly criticizing him for oversleeping, Lucy quickly denied it.

“That’s not what I meant! Being in your arms all day was wonderful. I’d like more, but I don’t think my body could handle it…”

“Your body can’t handle it?”

Lin floated several question marks above his head, but Lucy didn’t elaborate.

Her desire to taste his lips with her tongue and to move down to his firm thighs and between his legs were things she absolutely could not say out loud.

“Lucy, I’m ready.”

“Are we going out right away?”

“Yes, we need to buy winter gear. We’ll freeze to death searching the mountains like this. It’ll be cold outside, so you should be prepared.”

“I’m never cold when I’m with you.”

“Hmm.”

Lucy’s obsession and dependency were growing worse by the day.

Lin had also noticed that there were times when Lucy looked at him with a sticky gaze.

He was accommodating her because of her disabled state, but the excessive attention was burdensome.

He was just optimistically hoping, without any basis, that things would change once she recovered.

Still, he needed to say something.

“Lucy.”

“What?”

“There are demon folk in this city.”

“…That’s impossible. The Demon Lord is dead. We killed him ourselves.”

Lucy’s denial was expected.

The Demon Lord was both the pinnacle of demon folk and the power known as demonic energy.

The Demon Lord’s demise should have meant the end of demonic energy, and with it, the disappearance of demon folk.

“Remember when I said the world would need you again soon?”

“No way…”

“I don’t know why. But I’m certain.”

“How do you know, Lin? How did you find out that demon folk remain even after the Demon Lord’s death, and that they’re even in this city?”

Because I’m the only player who cleared the Arrogant Saga in my previous life.

And in games, events happen wherever you go.

As much as he wanted to explain clearly, it would be pointless.

There was no reason to take an unnecessary gamble when he didn’t know how Lucy would react.

“The Goddess told me. That the Demon Lord originally had two horns.”

“The Goddess? When? Was it that time?”

“Yes, the day we first and last met the Goddess. The day I received the Porter’s Pouch.”

In the original version, after the hero’s party first encountered demon folk and struggled, the Goddess herself appeared before them to inform them about the existence of exclusive items.

The same happened in reality, and Lin was immediately granted his exclusive item, the Porter’s Pouch, during that meeting.

Since it was game-based, Lin guessed that from the perspective of the planners or developers, it would have been troublesome to create a dedicated map or acquisition route just for a mere porter’s item.

To put it simply, they met the Goddess, she explained about the items, and gave the porter’s exclusive item on the spot as an example.

That’s why half of the original story was about the party members, excluding the porter, searching for their exclusive items.

[I’m sorry, Lin. You are not just a porter of items, but one who must carry mental burdens and future burdens as well.]

The apology he received when he was summoned alone to the Goddess’s space, along with the Porter’s Pouch.

At the time, Lin was more concerned with asking when his duties might end than feeling honored.

He was truly exhausted and had half-given up on the goals he had set with passion and vigor.

[What is your wish?]

Though it was the Goddess’s question, it felt ominous, like a monkey’s paw.

Lin expressed his raw emotions without filtering.

“I don’t want to be ■■ anymore.”

The Goddess shed tears.

[Only true ■■ and ■■ will save you and grant you forgiveness.]

Correction, she didn’t just shed tears.

But Lin couldn’t remember exactly what the Goddess had done to him.

What was certain was that afterward, Lin became better at his porter duties than before, and the Goddess had never mentioned anything about the Demon Lord having two horns.

It was a convenient lie Lin made up to explain to Lucy, since he knew the entire setting.

“I see, so the Goddess told you.”

Lucy showed obvious discomfort.

If Lin’s story was true, it meant the Demon Lord was alive. Or at least something similar remained.

That something would emerge as a new threat to the world, and porter Lin had saved her after hearing the Goddess’s words to stop it.

Lucy didn’t care at all about why Lin had saved her.

He had said he would save her even without such a grand reason.

Lucy believed in Lin.

She was willing to accept it even if Lin tried to kill her again.

However, if the threat Lin mentioned appeared, if the world was in danger of destruction, she couldn’t build a happy future with Lin.

That made Lucy very upset and displeased.

“…I can’t let that happen.”

Because the world needs to be intact for me to marry Lin.

The porter, thinking Lucy was recalling her duty as a hero, brightened up.

“That’s right. No matter how crappy it is, it would be troublesome if the world ended.”

“Yes, very troublesome.”

And she was definitely going to have at least two children.

She couldn’t leave a ruined world to the lovely children born between Lin and herself.

“So even if demon folk appear before us or try to talk to us, don’t get excited. We’re still not strong enough to handle them.”

“I understand.”

“But once Lucy recovers from her injuries, let’s definitely come back to eliminate them.”

“Of course.”

Oh, she’s enthusiastic? Good.

Just as Lin, excited for the first time in a long while, grabbed the doorknob, Lucy asked sharply.

“Lin.”

“Yes?”

“That demon folk… it’s not a succubus or something like that, is it?”

“Uh…?”

“You said this backwater city even has a red-light district?”

As expected of a hero, sharp intuition.

Lin chose silence in response to Lucy’s inexplicably menacing voice.

“Lin.”

“Y-yes.”

“If that bitch even speaks to you…”

This is dangerous.

Only the abdominal area was rapidly increasing in temperature.

That abdominal area where Lucy was wrapped against him.

“I’ll personally show you how long a demon folk’s tongue is by pulling it out.”

How could a single sentence feel so heavy and suffocating?

Lin thought deeply again before taking a deep breath and answering.

“A demon folk’s tongue? Don’t touch such filthy things.”

“…Yes! As always, only Lin cares about me!”

His abdomen was still hot.

Well, that’s fine.

It was extremely cold when he went out last night.

This much heat should help ward off the cold for a while when they go outside.

With yet another baseless optimism, Lin finally pulled open the doorknob.