The Heavenly Demon Is Just Stuck In My Head

Chapter 345 : Revenge

At the call of Her Majesty the Queen, I immediately headed to Milgard, the capital of the Maia Kingdom.

There has never been a time when the call of the nation was so welcome.

I rushed towards the capital of the Maia Kingdom like an arrow.

I kicked off the air, leaped over the city walls, and entered the first district in a single breath.

—Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!

—"Intruder! Emergency!"

"Ah, right. They told me to come through the main gate."

***

"Haa..."

Sir Monde, the princess's eternal guardian knight, sighed.

"Why do you keep sighing? It's draining."

"I'm just curious what's inside that head of yours."

"Recently, my master left and became a god in the heavens."

"...This is truly unbelievable."

This was a luxurious reception room of the royal family in the first district, used to entertain distinguished guests.

Still standing behind Her Majesty the Queen, I smoothly received Sir Monde's glare.

"Sir Monde."

"What."

"If you're happy to see me, why don't you just say so?"

"I'm sure I told you to contact us before coming. How have you not changed at all after all that commotion last time?"

"Unchanging. That's one of my strengths."

"Bullshit."

I shrugged my shoulders.

"What's the big deal? It all worked out, didn't it?"

"...Does that look like it worked out to you!!!"

Kwaaaaa!

"Ugh, so loud. What kind of uncultured behavior is this, really!"

I covered my ears at Sir Monde's sudden outburst.

Princess Lilia, who was nibbling on the refreshments on the table, nonchalantly patted the seat next to her.

"Sir Monde. *Munch, munch.* Don't get so worked up and sit here."

"But Your Highness. This ruffian..."

"Are you going to make me say it twice?"

"..."

Sir Monde, with his lips pouting, quietly sat down next to her.

Of course, a guardian knight shouldn't sit next to her, but we were the only ones in the reception room, and Lilia had always been informal and easygoing.

Sir Monde sat down next to her naturally without a second word.

That guy is really something else.

If it were the Knight of Frost, Sir Serkov, he would have stood ramrod straight like a statue even if told to sit next to her.

Come to think of it, even when she was a princess, he used to casually lounge next to her when no one was looking.

The princess didn't mind either.

Looking at it this way, she was a truly peculiar princess, and he was a peculiar knight.

It wasn't for nothing that they were a fantasy couple.

Lilia asked while nibbling on the refreshments.

"Hero. Are you feeling okay?"

"Of course."

"I was surprised that you came right away after hearing that you had woken up."

There was a reason why I had to leave right away.

But I just grinned and said.

"How can I be slow when our princess calls?"

"Really?"

"Of course."

"Hehehe."

I smiled brightly.

The princess smiled brightly too.

"Is the aftermath all taken care of?"

"Mostly. I heard all your companions are safe. No one was seriously injured, right?"

"That's right."

Lilia said in a somewhat gloomy voice.

"We lost many excellent knights and soldiers."

"Hmm."

"We held a state funeral for the fallen a while ago."

"Thanks to them, many people were saved. They are true heroes."

It was true.

If it weren't for them, the pouring magical beasts would have run rampant.

"But, their sacrifice was not in vain."

Lilia said, trying to be cheerful.

"Perhaps it's because we fought side by side on the battlefield and shed blood together? We've become very close."

"Really?"

"Yes. Usually, the factions were divided and they were constantly at odds and checking each other. But now, they visit each other more often and have started to cooperate. I guess it's true that there's nothing like an external enemy to unite people."

"Well, I guess that's why there's the word 'comrade-in-arms'."

We chatted for a while, drinking tea and eating refreshments.

"Hero."

"Yes?"

"What are you planning to do now?"

I touched my lips.

"Hmm... first, I'll stop by Tundra and see our Duke and Adrian."

"See them?"

"I'm also planning to stop by Sirnberg."

"And then?"

"And... besides that, I have some business to take care of quickly, and then I'm planning to go on a trip."

Princess Lilia's eyes widened.

"A trip? Where to?"

"To the east. I'm planning to visit the Blake Kingdom for a while."

Princess Lilia clapped her hands.

"Come to think of it, the Blake Kingdom sent the Knight of Frost and two royal knights as reinforcements, right?"

"That's right."

"We were planning to send a delegation to express our gratitude and to get along well in the future."

"Really? I'll do it while I'm at it. Kill two birds with one stone."

"Would you do that?"

"What delegation could be more glorious than a personal visit from the hero who defeated the Evil God?"

Princess Lilia looked at me with wide eyes.

"Oh, you've admitted it?"

"Admitted what?"

"That you're a hero. I've been calling you a hero all this time, but you've always denied it, saying you're not a hero."

"Ah, that..."

A smirk escaped me.

Would there be another hero who is called a devil?

I don't think so.

If you say hero, a guy like Lasol would be a hero.

I smirked and said playfully.

"I can't deny it anymore."

"Ahahaha!"

While we were chatting like that.

—Knock, knock.

A polite knock was heard.

"Oops!"

"..."

I watched with a pathetic gaze as Sir Monde, who was drinking tea, hurriedly got up again and stood behind the princess.

"It seems the guests have arrived."

"Guests? What guests?"

"I invited some welcome guests. I called them in a hurry because you came so suddenly, but I'm glad they came."

I tilted my head.

'I don't think I know anyone in the capital...?'

"Come in!"

At Princess Lilia's voice, the door soon opened and a man and a woman entered.

"...Ah!"

I stood up from my seat.

The man with a blunt face smiled and looked at me.

"It's good to see you, Captain."

Following him, the woman who seemed to be his wife smiled and greeted me.

"Hello, Mr. Ashuban. It's been a while."

No one I know in Milgard?

There are two right here!

"Arthur! Miss Ophelia!"

It was the blunt but thoughtful man, Arthur, and his troublemaking bride, Ophelia.

A connection made during a merchant escort.

A love that blossomed there.

I grinned and said.

"Have you been well?"

"Of course. Thanks to you, Captain."

Arthur was not wearing the wide-brimmed hat he always wore.

Was it because of that?

He had the impression of a completely different person.

As if he had been reborn.

"Haha."

Seeing Arthur laughing as if he had become a different person, a laugh naturally escaped me.

"Senior Camus asked me to say hello."

"Camus?"

I remembered.

The experienced one-eyed mercenary with an eyepatch, Hunter Camus.

"Is he here too?"

"Yes. He fell in love with the innkeeper's daughter and got married."

I blinked my eyes at the unexpected news.

"Married? Camus?"

"I heard she makes an amazing tomato soup? He fell for that and followed her around."

"Hahaha!"

It was then.

—W-waah...

I heard a crying sound and saw that Ophelia was holding a baby wrapped in a swaddling cloth.

"...Huh? Don't tell me?"

Ophelia smiled and handed me the baby she was holding.

"Would you like to hold him?"

"Uh, uh uh..."

I couldn't refuse and accepted him in a daze.

I looked at the baby in my arms.

He was small.

So small and precious a life could exist.

"Waah..."

The baby, who had been whimpering until then, stopped crying when he saw me.

"Oh?"

"That's strange. I thought he would cry his lungs out."

"I know, right."

"Look at this little guy. He's got some guts. He's going to be great."

Monde teased, but I couldn't hear him well as I was looking at the baby in my arms.

The baby, who had stopped crying, stared at me with his bright eyes as if he found me strange.

"By any chance, could you name him, Mr. Ashuban?"

I quickly raised my head at Ophelia's words.

"Huh? Me?"

Ophelia smiled.

"Yes."

Arthur also smiled gently and nodded his head.

"Actually, we were going to name him Ashuban, after you, Captain."

"What?"

"Since it's come to this, I think it would be better if you named him. What do you think?"

The baby's name is Ashuban?

That won't do.

That guy was born as an orphan in a dirty back alley and had tasted all the bitterness of the world.

He was a pitiful guy who had lost his best friend at a young age and was even betrayed.

It's not a name to give to a baby whose future will be full of happiness.

This guy must live a life opposite to mine.

A life with good parents, full of happiness.

A life like the warm sunlight.

"This guy's name is..."

In that sense, I decided to give this guy the pseudonym I had used for a while.

A name that was my name reversed.

"Banshua."

I looked at the baby's round eyes looking up at me and said.

"You will live a life opposite to mine."

Ophelia smiled.

"That's nice, Banshua."

Giggle!

The baby laughed.

"Oh my, it seems he likes it too."

"This little guy knows something."

Hahaha!

The reception room was filled with laughter.

***

After stopping by Tundra and meeting Duke Elsbears, the black mage Adrian, and other knights and people of the north I knew,

I immediately came down south.

Sirnberg.

The city where the unforgettable painful memories had now become just memories.

After buying two bouquets of flowers, I headed to the cemetery.

In front of Tina's grave.

The flowers that had been placed in front of her tombstone every time I visited were no longer there.

Perhaps, Yuri had left them.

I placed one of the two bouquets in front of her grave.

"...I'll be there to see you soon."

And, the other bouquet, I placed on my tombstone next to it.

They said Yuri's body was not found.

I remember that he was connected to the Evil God by a black thread.

It seems he scattered into ash along with the Evil God.

However, when I returned to that spot, the hairpin he had been holding tightly was still there.

I dug up the grave, put the faded hairpin inside, and covered it again.

And, I cut off the front of my tombstone, completely erasing the inscribed words, and then.

I wrote Yuri's name.

Kagagak—

Below that...

After a moment of thought, I engraved an epitaph that suited him.

Kagagak— Kagak—

「Yuri」

「A fucking idiot, rests here」

"Fucking bastard..."

I looked at his tombstone in silence for a while.

***

For now, I had finished everything I had to do.

The aftermath of the war was mostly taken care of, I had met the princess and talked with her, I had stopped by Tundra and thanked the Duke and Adrian for their help, and I had also set up Yuri's tombstone.

Now, I was free.

All that was left was to go on an exciting trip to the east.

But before that, there was one thing left to take care of.

What should I call it?

A long-cherished wish? A grudge? Revenge?

Whatever I called it was not important.

What was truly important was the fact that I had to now sever that old, ill-fated connection and fill the emotional gap that had deepened as much as it could.

It was something I had decided to do someday.

I had to do it now.

"Come here!!"

Kwang!

I kicked the castle gate.

The large castle gate fell off.

Kugoong!

A castle gate like this.

It couldn't compare to the depth of the wounds I had received.

—Clang, clang, clang, clang!

—"Intruder!"

Immediately, knights and soldiers gathered, raising dust.

The one who seemed to be the captain pointed his sword at me.

"Who dares to invade the castle of the Ertrita family without fear!"

Who else?

"It's me."

At my arrogant words, which resembled my master's, the knight's face contorted fiercely.

"You must be mad. If you don't want to die right now, put down your weapon... huh?"

The knight who had been threatening me fiercely, his expression turned pale.

"...Isn't that Sir Ashuban of the Half-Sword, the hero who saved the nation by defeating the Evil God?"

"You know me?"

"How could I not! The knights of the Ertrita family also participated in the war against the Evil God! I saw with my own eyes you piercing the Evil God's heart!"

"Is that so?"

I nodded my head.

"Yes, it's me."

"What are you all doing! Put away your swords and show respect to the hero!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Go and report to the head of the family! That the hero has come!"

The situation was quickly sorted out.

The head knight asked politely.

"May I ask what brings you to our Ertrita family?"

"Ah."

I opened my mouth with great arrogance.

A single name came out of my mouth.

"Evan Ertrita. Is he here?"

I still can't forget that name.

That damn genius.

The knight's eyes widened in surprise.

"Do you know our young master?"

I nodded my head.

"Of course. I know him very well. I can't possibly forget him."

The kid who, despite holding a sword for the first time in his life, had utterly crushed me, who had been training with the sword for over twenty years.

A genius among geniuses who had taught me the difference in talent.

"Tell Evan Ertrita!"

I shouted, filled with the emotions I had been holding back all this time.

"That Ashuban of the Half-Sword has returned for revenge!!!”

(End of Chapter)