Chapter 49

Demiurge, Dragon God, and Behemoth had an emotional reunion.

Then, Phoenix carrying the Anima Crystal returned from outside the forest, and the four great demons truly gathered here.

“Wow! Long time no see, Dragon God and Behemoth!”

“My, Phoenix, it’s been a long time, and I’m glad to see you’re doing well.”

“Hi…”

In a change from the Titans, Phoenix welcomed the two of them.

The fact that Demiurge recognized them as the Dragon God and Behemoth may have been a factor in Phoenix’s honest acceptance of them.

Also, as an extra note, I lightly cautioned Titan for easily bringing the two of them in front of Demiurge, no matter how much she knew they were Dragon God and Behemoth.

While she was listening to my words, Titan’s cheeks flushed and she looked as if she was expecting something, but when I ended the matter with just a warning, she slumped her shoulders as if she was terribly disappointed… Umm, no, let’s not think too much about it.

It’s the kind of thicket that you shouldn’t be fishing in… because you might regret it if you pursue it too deeply.

We all sat in a circle near the fountain.

With our backs to the fountain, from right to left, Demiurge, me, Titan, Behemoth, Dragon God, and Phoenix are sitting in that order.

Phoenix was actively exchanging words with the Dragon God in particular, while Behemoth was rowing her boat in the middle of the conversation.

Next to her, Titan was somewhat annoyed, thrusting her finger into the ground and giving me a disapproving look with her lips pursed. But I, of course, completely ignored her gaze.

Demiurge gazed lovingly at the four of them.

Phoenix had been chatting for a while as if renewing old friendships, when suddenly the Dragon God and Behemoth turned their attention to my presence and asked Demiurge curiously.

“I’ve been wondering, Mother, why are there humans near you?”

“That’s what I’ve been wondering too… Lord, why…?”

“Muu… that’s…”

Demiurge faltered.

I’m sure that explaining that I’m the one who reduced Demiurge power is not a good idea in mind.

However, I couldn’t just not say anything, could I?

I straightened my posture and met the gazes of the Dragon God and Behemoth straight on.

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Ares, and until two years ago, I was a hero against Demiurge.”

“…A her? I’ve heard of you. I’ve heard that some people are foolishly trying to challenge mother to battle… I believe that’s what the humans call a hero… I see, you are…”

“Why are you with us now if you were against us…?”

“Th-That’s, you know……~~!”

Behemoth asks Demiurge a genuine question.

From her point of view, it is an obvious question.

Why are you now with the person who killed each other?

Naturally, she expected that she would ask that question.

“I-I fell in love with this guy… Ares, and now we’re living together as husband and wife.”

“Oh!”

“Well… why…?”

“Th-That’s… actually…”

With a look of shame on her face, Demiurge told the Dragon God and Behemoth everything that had happened from two years ago until today.

I joined in on the conversation at key points to supplement her explanation.

Just as I was about to tell them the whole story, Dragon God muttered to herself.

“In other words, this person who is now here lost his life once in a fight with mother, and was given a share of life by mother… And now you’re growing the world tree together in a vow… So that’s what you’re saying?”

“In other words, you mated with the male…?”

“Th-That’s a bit direct… but, yes, that’s what I’d say.”

“My my! So you two are already in love…!”

“Yes… just last week.”

“My my! Congratulations! The Dragon God gives you her heartfelt blessing!”

“Eh? No, I mean, won’t… dragon god object to us getting together?”

I couldn’t help but ask this question in response to the Dragon God’s congratulatory words.

Even if it were true, Demiurge and I had shared a life, and as a result, Demiurge had lost much of its original power.

Normally, there would be fierce opposition.

In the worst-case scenario, it wouldn’t be surprising if she attacked me right here.

“It’s not that I don’t have my own thoughts, but if it’s mother’s own choice, there’s no reason for me to disagree with it.”

“I don’t care if you disagree with me or not, it’s a pain in the ass… I just respect the Lord’s will…”

I-Is that how it works?

It’s not good to be attacked, and I don’t want to get into trouble with her family, the four great demons, as much as possible…

For me, this is a bit of an anticlimax, since I’ve been fist-fighting with Phoenix and Titan.

“Even so, sharing your soul… Indeed mother can even do such a thing. I cannot do such a thing.”

“I had no choice but to do so to save husband once he had died. Normally, it would be forbidden to reanimate the dead, but I managed by substituting my own life.”

“S-So now, Demiurge and I are both sharing a single life. And the moment one of us dies, the other one dies too… It’s like we’re one and the same.”

I feel a little embarrassed to say this, but in a way, we are building the ultimate marriage relationship.

I feel rather proud of it.

“Fu~n… so Ares is no longer a pure human being…”

“Eh?”

But Behemoth’s words, said without any hesitation, caused me to let out a dumb voice.

“Ah, you’re absolutely right. In the first place, the soul is the base that determines the quality of life, so the fact that it has the same soul as mother means that this person can no longer be called a human being… right?”

“Yes…”

“Demiurge, is that right?”

“U-Umu… The soul is indeed an important part of life. For example, the nature of the soul itself is completely different between the soul of a human being and that of a demon, animal, or plant. The reason why you are able to use some of my power is because my soul entered your body and changed some of your nature.”

“I, see…”

It seems that I am no longer a pure human being.

If the soul decides the quality of life, then my existence is similar to Demiurge.

If I dare to categorize her race, would I be a god? If that’s the case, have I become something close to that?

No, it’s not right for me to call myself a god or something like that.

“Wow, master is becoming more like a sister… Oh, so that’s why you were able to use the mechanical doll Deus at that time. I see. It makes sense.”

Titan crossed her arms and nodded her head.

“Hey, maybe Phoenix noticed that I’m not human anymore?”

I asked Phoenix, genuinely curious.

“…Well, yeah. It was only slight discomfort that I felt at the beginning of the meeting, but then Demiurge-sama told me about it and I immediately recognized it when I looked for signs of Ares.”

“What? I didn’t notice it at all.”

“You’re too careless, you know. You can barely sense mana.”

“I don’t like details, you know?”

Titan interrupts the conversation between me and Phoenix and says something like that.

But then again, Phoenix was the first one to notice this forest where Demiurge was, so maybe she has an excellent ability to sense mana.

“Huh… Well, I guess that’s why you didn’t recognize this place right away… In a way, I was helped by her laziness because she would not have bothered to attack Demiurge and the others, she would have come straight here…”

“Yes! You should be thanking me!”

“How can you be so arrogant?! Are you stupid?!”

“Yes! Oh, my… give me more of that… abuse…”

“That’s disgusting! Stop wiggling!”

“Ahh!”

The two of them began to play happily together.

I shifted my gaze to Demiurge and tried to get back on track.

“Demiurge, I’m no longer human… Is that what you’re saying?”

“Yes, well… you can’t really call yourself human anymore, according to your biological classification… Well, I’m sorry for not telling you.”

“No, it’s okay.”

I’m a dead man anyway. I was saved by Demiurge.

As a result, I am no longer a human being, I suppose.

But that doesn’t mean that my mind has changed in any way.

If I can continue to exist as Ares even though my body is no longer human, whether I’m human or not is a trivial matter.

Besides,

“If anything, I’m closer to Demiurge now. That means we’re in great shape as a couple, right? So there’s no need for Demiurge to worry about it. In fact, I’d rather be grateful.”

“Ha! I-It’s not fair to talk about it in that straightforward way… I’m going to get wet…”

“No, I’m just saying that because I really feel that way.”

“Aahh, for heaven’s sake! …If you say any more, I’m going to push you down right here…”

“Eh? Why? I can’t quite catch the second half from earlier…”

“It’s nothing! Don’t worry about it!”

“I-I see?”

It’s not like it’s nothing, is it? Your face is so red.

Well, I guess it’s good that she didn’t respond by questioning my words or anything like that.

The way she looks, it seems she’s just embarrassed.

In fact, I’m starting to feel a little embarrassed now that I’ve said such an awful thing.

“My Lord, your face is red…”

“Yes. I never thought that mother would look like this… but really, the two of you are married.”

As Demiurge and I were both blushing, we heard a conversation between the Dragon God and Behemoth.

“Even so, that male… he fought well against Lord, and beat the two who are playing there… which means he’s strong…”

“Yes, that’s true… Mother approved of him, so there’s no doubt about that. I’m sure he’s stronger than you and me.”

“Unn…”

I-I don’t know, I feel like I’m being strangely complimented.

I feel a little ticklish.

“Umu. I feel proud to know that my companion is being recognized in this way, even though he is one of my family members”

Demiurge seemed to have heard the conversation between them.

She looked up at me from below and smiled at me happily.

I couldn’t help but feel my heart skip a beat.

Damn, I wanted to hug her.

“I used to think humans were just for killing, but that male isn’t even human anymore… And he’s stronger than me…”

“? Behemoth, what’s wrong?”

“Yeah… a little…”

Suddenly, Behemoth stood up and moved in front of me.

Then, I don’t know what she was thinking, but she flopped down and sat down in front of me.

“Ei…”

She hugged me around the waist…

…………?

Eh?

“Wha?! What are you doing, behemoth?!”

“It’s not fair that you’re the only one with a strong male… I’m going to mate with this guy…”

“Wha?!”

Ha?

Mate? I’m going…… to mate……… with her?!

“―――HAAAA?!”