CH 37

September 30, 2022Zathael

The cat eared maid leaves and the man in the hood sits down loudly in the seat Yuikuu was sitting in.

The woman he brought with him sits at a nearby counter, laying down tiredly.

I look at the woman with concern when the man removes his hood and ruffles his untidy spiky hair,

“It’s been a while, Saitou”

He glares at me with a face similar to those that bullied me during middle and high school.

“You’ve lost weight, Cain”

The Hero, Cain, has dark circles under his eyes and on his cheek is a cut that hasn’t been healed with recovery magic.

“You’re not surprised”

Cain sneers,

“No I am surprised. I thought all three of you would come, what happened to Paladin Ryza”

I answer him as I take a drink of water,

“After dealing with Moulin, that guy became too rebellious so I turned him into rust on my holy sword. Even though we made so many great memories together, he got attached to that woman in the end”

He gestures towards his wound and smiles.

“I see, that’s too bad”

When I was in the hero party, the two seemed to get along….. that’s unfortunate.

Or perhaps, that was all their friendship amounted to.

“Did you not hear from Moulin on her deathbed? He used a forbidden spell in order to steal Moulin from you”

I did hear that story from Moulin after healing her.

After making a secret deal with the demons, Hero Cain used a special magic tool to alter Ange and Moulin’s heart. By the time we had defeated the Demon Lord, they were no longer sane.

Even then the two of them were able to put up the bare amount of resistance, protecting their chastity with the resolve to end their life if Cain or Ryza tried to take them by force.

Moulin spoke to me in tears.

Remembering the story fills me with anger, but Cain’s self serving lie, convinced that Moulin is dead, is ineffective.

“It’s my fault for not noticing sooner. Even though I was requested by Her Highness not just to subjugate the Demon Lord but also to educate the four of you”

The mission given to me by Her Highness was to subjugate the Demon Lord and to raise the next generation of leaders for the Empire.

She said it was so that humanity would deal with a new Demon Lord or threat of the same level without having to rely on the power of the Great Sage each time.

Master also thought it was a good idea, thinking about the future, I would work together with them rather than defeating the Demon Lord on my own. Even if it takes longer…..

“Ah, there you go again, looking down on me as if you can see through everything”

Translator’s Notes:

1: Nenbutsu is the three-word invocation “Namu Amida Butsu” dedicated to the Amitabha Buddha​.