Chapter 77
The events unfolded in the blink of an eye.
The knives rained down from the sky, gleaming in the moonlight and flaunting their sharp edges. Se-on threw himself toward them as they sliced through the air.
Se-on was unarmed. There was no time to retrieve the Holy Sword, so he had no means of protecting himself. To anyone watching, it was an utterly reckless move.
At that moment, Se-on asked himself:
‘What was I thinking when I threw myself in the way?’
Was it because he had some special courage? Or because he was the sort of person who had never known fear? No, it wasn’t just that. He could say that with certainty.
If anything, he was filled with fear.
The moment Riella’s arrow struck his back, Se-on had panicked and revealed his true power. This time, too, the sudden rush of terror must have made it hard for him to take a step.
And yet.
Se-on moved toward Yubel.
He threw himself toward the tiny girl suspended in the air.
The knives pierced his skin and tore through his insides, but he did not stop. Even as the horrid squelch of flesh filled his ears and terror crept over him, he kept going as long as his legs could carry him.
The primal human fear of ‘dying.’ His fear of ‘losing Yubel’ was even greater—great enough to overcome it.
That was the only reason Se-on could force his heavy feet forward. It was why he even used [Adrenaline] to hurl himself toward her, so he wouldn’t writhe in pain. A young boy’s beautiful, noble determination to protect the woman he loved.
Who could blame him for ignoring the voice of reason telling him to run and following only his heart?
At least, [‘???’], who had watched his actions from beginning to end,
[I pay tribute to your dazzling courage.]
[‘???’ will bear this penalty for you, just this once.]
[The potential of ‘Indomitable’ shines even brighter.]
For the first time, it paid tribute to its master.
***
“H-Hero……?”
The putrid stench of blood hit her nose. The foul, metallic smell swallowed the forest in an instant, then painted the sky red as if it belonged to the blood.
Drip, drip……
Belcia stared blankly at the blood scattering through the air, then quietly called out to the Hero, whom she assumed to be its source.
The Hero was dying, his entire body hacked apart by blades. She simply couldn’t understand what on earth had possessed him to do something so reckless.
“……”
Why had he shielded His Majesty?
To protect His Majesty? Or did he have some other motive? Maybe it was all an illusion, a ploy to make her let her guard down……?
Belcia couldn’t understand it at all.
“Uuuugh……! I-I don’t understand. Why would a human, and a Hero at that, protect our Demon King…… Ah!”
What brought her to her senses was the Hero falling with His Majesty in his arms. The situation was utterly confusing, and she couldn’t make sense of any of it, but—
Belcia reached out and caught the Hero before she knew what she was doing.
“First, we need to get to the Mirror World……!”
She stopped time for the Hero, whose body was riddled with knives, and gently lowered the Hero to the ground. Perhaps because the Hero was unconscious, there was no disaster of him intruding into the Mirror World.
If the Hero’s time hadn’t stopped, he would have died from blood loss on the spot.
Just as Belcia breathed a sigh of relief—
Rustle—
“Huh? Your Majesty……?”
“Mmm……”
His Majesty woke up in the Hero’s arms.
His Majesty squirmed, as if uncomfortable, then slowly looked around at the figure holding him with bleary eyes, like someone who had only just woken up.
“Uh, uhh……?”
His expression began to twist.
Belcia froze at the sight of that utterly appalled face, unlike anything she had ever seen before. The expression felt so alien that she could hardly believe it belonged to His Majesty. He had worn the same expression for as long as she had known him.
“Hh, ah? Th-this, wh-what, eh? Hero……? Ugh! Uwwgh……!”
“Y-Your Majesty! Are you all right!?”
Something was wrong.
After waking up, His Majesty saw the Hero, reduced to a wreck, and began panting heavily. His face had gone deathly pale, as if a fit might overtake him at any moment.
“Hik, hwek……! Wh-what is this! What is thiiis!! Why is the Hero……!! Blooood? It’s blood! Hero’s blood! Uhh, no, no, no, no, no! Nooooo──!!”
“P-Please calm down, Your Majesty!”
Up close, it was even worse. His eyes couldn’t settle, trembling as if caught in an earthquake. His arms were wrapped tightly around the Hero, and his nails dug into his own forearms as if to keep from letting go. Blood began to seep out.
“What in the world…….”
Was he afraid of the Hero? No, that wasn’t it. This was a different reaction. It didn’t look like fear of the Hero so much as terror at the thought of losing someone precious.
Like a child despairing at the thought of losing their ‘world.’
As Belcia moved to pull His Majesty away from the Hero, unsettled and nauseated by the eerie sight—
“Hh, haa…… I-I showed you an unsightly side of myself.”
“Y-Yes? Y-Your Majesty……?”
His Majesty had returned to normal……?
“Yes, Belcia. It is I. Hmm, this place…… It seems you invited me into the Mirror World.”
“Y-Yes…… That’s right.”
The change was so sudden it sent a chill down her spine.
For a moment, Belcia felt afraid of the liege before her.
It was as if the person before her had become someone else…… No, was this His Majesty’s true self? Yes, this was the ‘His Majesty’ she knew. Not ‘that thing’ from a moment ago.
“……”
I don’t know.
Gulp, gulp—The sticky saliva wouldn’t go down her throat, tormenting Belcia. An unpleasant sensation crept over her entire body.
What had ‘that’ been just now? Had His Majesty been acting? If so, it didn’t explain the atmosphere or the expression. There were limits to what acting could achieve; that had been something no one could imitate.
Clasping her hands, slick with sweat, Belcia slowly opened her mouth.
“I-I, just now, that was—”
“There’s no time, so I’ll explain quickly. I have two personalities.”
What? Two? What was there two of?
She was stunned by the sudden declaration of split personalities, but His Majesty continued speaking.
“So treat ‘that one’ with the same utmost respect you show me. And refrain from calling me ‘Your Majesty’ from now on.”
“I-I’m sorry…… I don’t quite understand—”
“Also, if you wish to follow in my footsteps, you must be especially careful in how you conduct yourself. You’re perceptive, so I trust that’s enough for you to understand.”
Be careful in how I conduct myself.
He probably meant she should carry out her mission without letting others discover his identity. Judging by his emphasis on ‘especially,’ was he telling her to put this ahead of her duties as secretary?
What on earth was going on……?
Snap—!
“Huh?”
When His Majesty snapped his fingers, the knives were pulled free and the Hero’s wounds began to heal at once. It was a method of healing a vassal’s injuries by using one’s own magic power.
Of course, Belcia knew that.
But how could he do that to the Hero?
As one shock came after another, Belcia felt her thoughts grind to a halt. Her mind was overloaded.
Throb, throb.
“I’m sorry I can’t explain everything to you in detail.”
“S-Sorry……!?”
She was speechless.
His Majesty was apologizing to her.
She wasn’t saying that to mock His Majesty. A king needed absolute authority to rule. But the moment a king admitted fault and apologized, that absolute authority and mystique would crumble.
It was something a ruler of the Demon King’s army must never do.
His Majesty had to know that better than anyone, so why? Besides, wasn’t he the sort of person who never apologized? Something had…… changed drastically.
As Belcia fell into deep thought, the Demon King smiled gently, as usual.
“Hehe, do you think I’ve changed, too?”
“N-No……!”
“I feel the same way, so I don’t blame you for being surprised. If you wish to know why, following the Hero’s party might be…… a good…… idea……”
Thump. His Majesty’s head drooped. It seemed His Majesty had lost consciousness again. Fortunately, His Majesty was lying in the Hero’s arms, so there was no chance of falling and getting hurt.
Belcia stood dazed for a long while, thinking back on what had just happened in a whirlwind. Even so, her heart was troubled.
“……Two personalities?”
Honestly, she was still in a daze.
His Majesty, who had been perfectly fine until now, had developed a new personality while she was away. No matter how she looked at it, wasn’t that far too sudden?
“……Hahaha.”
Even so, she had no choice but to believe it.
If it wasn’t a case of split personalities, there was no explaining the way His Majesty had just acted. And there were plenty of strange things even now.
Looking closely with a clear head, even the clothes were bizarre. Why was so much skin exposed? And when had those wings appeared? They’d suddenly become visible after the Hero collapsed. There was too much she couldn’t understand. Was something wrong with her head?
“Haa, no. I’m not the strange one. It must be His Majesty’s new personality.”
No matter what His Majesty had asked of her, Belcia couldn’t bring herself to think well of this new personality. What was with that pitiful demeanor? And in the body of the Demon King she loved, no less.
She simply couldn’t accept it.
It was ruining the image of His Majesty, who had always been so noble and beautiful—the warm, magnanimous side of the Demon King that Belcia had loved.
To Belcia, this new personality was just a brat.
“Haa, how am I supposed to treat them the same…… Hmm?”
Just then, someone else began to stir. It was, as expected, the Hero, moving in the Mirror World. The Hero had recovered in an instant.
“Ugh……”
“Mmm……?”
The Hero wasn’t the only one who woke up.
Still clinging to each other, His Majesty woke up again, too. Probably with that new personality.
“He-Hero……?”
“Hmm? Ah, you’re safe…… Are you hurt anywhere—Hrk!?”
“Herooo—! Hic…… Hug meeeee……!”
The Hero had been looking down at the creature squirming in his arms when his back suddenly buckled. The Demon King was crying pitifully in the Hero’s arms, saying he’d had a scary dream.
But Belcia wasn’t about to just stand by and watch.
“You insolent—! Our Demon King—…… Guh, get away from my master!”
“Ugh!? You……! Are you still after Yubel!?”
“Yubel……? I don’t know who that is, but get away from my master right now! Someone like you has no right to touch that precious body—”
“I-I don’t wanna…… Hug meeee……”
“Guh……”
H-How enviable……!
Seeing them embrace like lovers, even wrapping their legs around each other, Belcia wept tears of blood inside.
Though this personality had only recently been born, the body was still unquestionably their Demon King’s. Watching the Demon King offer that body to someone else filled Belcia with a profound sense of loss.
“L-Let go of him this instant—!”
“Eek……! Y-You hug me too……”
“Huh? Wha…?”
Poof! This time, even Belcia was pulled into Yubel’s embrace.
Yubel’s arms wrapped around Belcia’s neck, drawing her in.
Yubel’s lower half was still pressed against the Hero, but the upper half had turned toward Belcia, with Yubel’s face buried against Belcia’s chest.
The sweet fragrance of a woman’s chest rushed straight into Belcia’s nose.
Even through the soft fabric, Belcia could feel that soft, breathtaking reward. She could only stare with her mouth hanging open, stammering incoherently for a long while.
For the first time in her life, she had stepped into the Demon King’s absolute domain.
To cross that domain she had only ever encountered in her fantasies so abruptly, without even being prepared for it……
“Oof……”
Belcia forgot that she should be wary of the Hero, and forgot to worry about how to turn His Majesty back to normal.
All she could do was hope this moment would last forever.
“Hic, you know……?”
At last, a teary voice seeped into her ear, muffled against Yubel’s chest. It was the voice of a girl in the bloom of youth.
“D-Don’t be mad, and let’s get along…… Okay? I’m scared……”
“Ahaha…… O-Okay……”
Wow, what should I do?
I think I’m falling in love.
His Majesty looked as if tears might spill at any moment. It was utterly devastating. Belcia’s heart couldn’t take it. To see His Majesty’s face making that expression, pleading and begging like that……
I want to get married.
“N-No! What am I thinking……! You fake—!”
“Mmm……?”
“Uuuugh……!”
Don’t look at me like that! His Majesty doesn’t make those cute expressions…… Never…… Never…… Why does my chest feel like it’s going to…… burst……
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
She was falling for Yubel.
She was sinking into an unfathomable deep sea, with no way out.
All the expressions His Majesty had never shown her, all the touches His Majesty had never allowed, all the love His Majesty had never given her—this new personality was giving her all of it now.
“A-Aaah……”
There was no way she could resist.
How could she possibly turn away such a cute creature?
Belcia began seriously wondering whether this counted as cheating. It was the same body, after all, so maybe it was fine? It wasn’t as if there was any real problem.
“Mmm, just like this a little longer…… Hold me tight……”
“……Hngh, s-so cute……”
His Majesty’s new personality was very affectionate.
Terrifyingly so.