Chapter 10
We returned to the human realm through unmapped, uninhabited islands using spatial transfer magic.
We had finally escaped the enemy's stronghold, but this place was still enemy territory.
The borderlands between the demon realm and human realm had long been occupied by the Demon King's army, and the land we now stood on was one of the territories they controlled.
As I had noticed when we first came here, people's lives were more comfortable than expected.
While not exactly benevolent, it was quite surprising compared to the Demon King's army's notorious reputation.
There was no casual killing of locals for amusement, no unbearable forced labor, and no conscription to the front lines.
In truth, it wasn't so much that they cared for the people, but rather that untrained peasant soldiers were less useful than a single orc. Nevertheless, this place was peaceful.
Seeing such scenes made me question why I had gone through all that trouble in the demon realm.
The smiles on people's faces felt like they were mocking me—that must be because of Bel Zuma.
It was ironic that our operation to defeat the Demon King and bring peace had instead created an even more troublesome problem.
"...This isn't a particularly pleasant sight."
Holy Saint Alencia, whose faith in the goddess had crumbled but whose hatred for demons remained, unconsciously frowned at the scene before her eyes.
The coexistence of demons and humans.
No, the sight of this benevolent subjugation relationship was not unpleasant to her alone.
Meria, who as a ruler didn't view demons favorably, also showed rare emotion on her face.
Only Karin seemed unfazed.
Charitably put, she was unprejudiced; less charitably, she simply didn't care about commoners.
Even seeing demons ordering humans around with a mere gesture didn't evoke any particular sentiment from her.
Our time in the occupied territory was far from pleasant, so we hurried our steps.
Seeing ignorant children running around or farmers eating their midday meals made me feel gloomy, wondering what those three years had been for.
Above all, what was unbearable was that this place hadn't changed at all from three years ago.
Two months had passed since the Demon King's subjugation, but the people here and the demons continued their peaceful daily lives as if nothing mattered.
As Bella had said, even with the Demon King gone, there was no change in the Demon King's army.
Probably, there wouldn't be any dramatic changes in the future either.
We left the occupied territory through rarely used mountain paths and headed straight for the kingdom without stopping in other countries.
The front lines were still horrific.
The ongoing war had left commoners extremely impoverished, and mountains of corpses, both human and demon, piled up indiscriminately.
In fairy tales, defeating the root of all evil ends everything, but reality isn't like that.
Regardless of the actual situation, what we saw, having successfully defeated the Demon King under the Hero's name, was a scene of devastation no different from before.
"......"
We hurried towards the kingdom, avoiding scenes that could break our spirits.
Fortunately, having entered human-controlled territory, we no longer had to exhaust ourselves moving in secret as before.
A few weeks later, we arrived in the kingdom. After stopping by our respective villas to tidy up our appearances, we had an audience with His Majesty.
The generals and officials guarding the royal palace genuinely welcomed our return, but their bright expressions didn't last long.
The absence of the Hero who should have been by our side.
Our request for a private meeting with His Majesty.
Kim Yeomjin's appearance, hidden like a criminal despite the successful subjugation of the Demon King, made them uneasy.
Because we had requested a private meeting in advance, only the king and his chancellor were waiting for us in the audience chamber.
As Meria, who had the highest family status among us, stepped forward to greet them on our behalf, the king raised his hand to stop her.
It felt less like a gesture of leniency saying there was no need for formalities, and more like an urging to get on with the conversation.
"...Where is the Hero?"
Usually, King Germis's voice carried the dignity and authority befitting a king.
Even now, that dignity was still palpable, but behind his voice was an emotion that could only be described as pleading.
A pleading hope that his thoughts were wrong, that at least the worst-case scenario could be avoided—this feeling was evident in his voice.
"...Your Majesty. Please grant me permission to speak."
"Granted. Elang Meister, magician of the Hero's party. Step forward as a representative and report everything."
"...Yes, the Hero is here now."
"All I see before my eyes are you lot and a shabby man in a hood. If you're not trying to insult me, you'd better explain properly."
"...It might be quicker if you see for yourself."
We had hidden Kim Yeomjin's face with a hood and magic, knowing that if the guards saw his face, the news would immediately spread through the marketplace.
Leading Kim Yeomjin forward to stand before King Germis, I removed the hood covering his face.
"...?"
At first, silence.
But the moment understanding dawned, the king's face twisted severely, and a deep sigh escaped him.
Even the chancellor, known as the Iron Mask for never losing composure in any situation, couldn't hide his shock this time.
As the two leaders of the kingdom recoiled in surprise, Kim Yeomjin shuddered and quickly put the hood back on.
"...A curse?"
Words that anyone with magical knowledge might think of flowed from the king's mouth.
He seemed to be clinging to hope that if it was a curse, it could somehow be broken, but unfortunately, the situation was even worse than their worst assumptions.
"It's not a curse. The cause of his condition isn't a curse or an unknown disease. Rather, it's the opposite. This is his original form."
"Original form...?"
We relayed to the king everything that had happened in the Demon King's castle, with as little distortion as possible.
The story about Bel Zuma was honestly enough to make one question their sanity, but fortunately, thanks to the Holy Saint's corroboration, we were able to finish the tale.
"...Hah."
The chancellor sank into his seat, and King Germis, unable to continue speaking, just stared blankly into space.
As a heavy, muddy despair filled the audience chamber, a pressure like the air itself had gained weight pressed down on our bodies.
What would the king think in this desperate situation?
The future ahead?
Or perhaps the princess whose fiancé had vanished in an instant?
Unfortunately, it was neither.
"...Hero Coin."
We reflexively raised our heads at the unfamiliar words that suddenly came from the king's mouth.
The term seemed unfamiliar even to the three who had been the Hero's lovers, as their faces showed puzzlement, while Kim Yeomjin spoke up.
"Coin? Why suddenly..."
An expression of knowing something yet not knowing—that contradictory look of both question and realization made me even more uneasy.
Something, something was happening.
As that sensation of ice caressing my chest that I had felt before began to take concrete form—
"You're saying there's no Hero now?!! Then...!! The Hero Coin!! What's to become of our Hero Coin?!!!"
"...Excuse me?"
The king leapt up from his throne and shouted.
Forgetting all dignity and decorum, he roared like a beast, with none of his former majesty or authority.
The sight of this elderly man throwing a tantrum only invited irreverent thoughts of dementia and senility.
"Your Majesty, please calm yourself!! Not everything is lost yet!!"
"Calm my ass, it's all over!!! What the fuck is this shit!!! Why the hell did some evil god or whatever show up there?!!!"
The king's beast-like outburst, even throwing down the scepter he had been tightly gripping, was beyond absurd—it was pitiful.
We needed to stop him before he got even more worked up.
Seeing him look like he might keel over at any moment, I had that thought, but my body wouldn't move.
It wasn't that I didn't want to; rather, the thought that I didn't want to get involved in this mess stopped me in my tracks.
"Coin!!! Coooooiiiiiin!!!"
"Your Majesty!!!"
In the end, it wasn't the chancellor or the royal guards waiting outside who stopped the king, but the king himself.
Clutching the back of his neck, the king collapsed backward, and the chancellor rushed to support him as the audience came to an end.
As the meeting disbanded, we were each assigned to different rooms to await further orders.
With time to spare, and because I was so curious about what this "Hero Coin" was, I left my room and grabbed the first person I saw to ask.
What on earth was this Hero Coin?
"Miss, if you have a moment, could you spare me some time?"
"Oh my, Lord Count."
The first maid I encountered after leaving the room addressed me as "Count" and spoke formally.
The fact that she knew about the contract between the king and me meant she was likely from a high-ranking family.
It wasn't particularly strange, as even maids in the royal palace were generally nobles.
"...I'm sorry, but engaging in casual conversation with a guest of the castle while on duty goes against my responsibilities. Please forgive me."
"You misunderstand my intentions. I simply wanted to ask you a question."
"A question...?"
"Do you happen to know what a Hero Coin is?"
"Hero Coin? Ah, of course, you wouldn't know, Lord Count, having been away from the kingdom on a mission for so long."
"Yes, that's why I was wondering if you could tell me what it is?"
"I think it's already too late, but..."
What could possibly be too late?
The maid's words, hinting at an ominous future, made me turn pale with preemptive fear.
"Lord Count? Your complexion..."
"I'm fine. More importantly, about this coin..."
"Yes... The Hero Coin was initially just an ordinary commemorative coin. It was a special coin engraved with the Hero's face and an unforgeable magical code."
This coin was distributed to influential nobles and kings of various countries, or to military commanders who had achieved special merits. At first, no one knew its purpose.
Everyone learned the coin's purpose after a certain rumor spread.
"And that rumor was...?"
"It was... after the Hero defeated the Demon King."
An unbelievable rumor that the country holding the most Hero Coins would be the first to receive the Hero's dispatch.
After this rumor began circulating throughout the continent, the Hero Coins gained immense value.