Chapter 1. [Epilogue]
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[How many days we’re not back in Mildiana?]
[It’s been, let’s say, half a month. I thought you would get carried away for a year or so after being in lovemaking with Lumiel-sama.]
[…… I wouldn’t do that in Empire.]
I almost did, but reason held me back.
When Lumiel was satisfied there, she returned to Tenebrae.
I told her that if any other royals were to visit her, she should let them know about this matter. Sometimes they come suddenly, like Beelzebub.
As I walked around the city for a while, I thought, buildings and other structures that had been destroyed were still noticeable.
There is no way to estimate how many days it will take to make repairs to return to that orderly cityscape.
Then we reached the military school, where there was almost no sign of a struggle.
I recall that while we were dealing with the huge heavenly demons, there was a series of high-ranking art formulas being invoked from this area.
At last, a forbidden technique was unleashed that could reach magic. That thing was President Ludio’s.
As I was thinking about this, something came running at a very fast pace and hugged me.
[Theo!]
[Whoa, Roca! What’s going on?]
[I can’t help it! You’re alive! How are you alive?! Are you hurt?]
[Yeah, I’m fine. I guess you’re worried about me.]
[Of course! You were taken by that …… horrible person. I honestly didn’t think you’d live …… long enough.]
My beloved wife seemed to be a monster or something to Roca. A little different from her usual mood.
It was no wonder. Because I could tell just by looking at her that she was outclassed by the other heavenly demons.
[Oh, my God, you’re alive.]
[I’m glad to hear Shaula is doing well.]
[Of course. Those mooks are no match for us. –More importantly!]
Shaula packed it in.
[What happened with that pretty girl after that? You’re a lust demon, so you must have done something nasty to her anyway! I don’t know if she’s a demon or an angel, but tell me what it was like!]
[You’re the one who’s a lust demon, idiot!]
As usual, Roca’s tail struck Shaula on the head and she fell with a thud.
This exchange is interesting to watch, but I’m a little worried about Shaula’s neck bone. I think it may be too late for what’s in her head, though.
[Theo-kun!]
This time she hugged me from the other side.
[Hi, Liz. How are you?]
[I’m fine, I’m fine! How are you, Theo-kun? Did the guy who took you do anything to you?]
[That’s what I want to hear right now! How about it? Fess up!]
They did a lot of things to me, yeah.
I probably don’t want to tell the girls about it because it’s still a very stimulating story for them.
[Theodore? Are you all right?]
I looked in that direction and saw Keith and Julian.
[If you came back and immediately started hanging out with the girls, you’re probably safe.]
[Well, that may be true, but did anything serious happened?]
[I’m fine.]
[How the hell did you get back after being kidnapped by that guy? I thought you were killed or eaten or something.]
That’s hard to explain.
I haven’t thought much about how to tell President Ludio, but let’s just fudge it appropriately.
[A lot is going on. I’m going to the president’s office.]
When I say this, everyone follows me for some reason or another. Except for Liz, who quietly moved away from me.
[I’ll be right there later, so wait for me! Let’s go on a date sometime soon to celebrate your return! And this time, you’re going to have to stay with me until the end!]
She said this with a wave of her hand.
Liz is still so cute. I want to take her home with me.
– – –
[Theo-kun has been back safe and sound. Thank goodness.]
[I’m glad to hear that.]
Hearing the news from her daughter in the military guest room, Eynlana says without much interest. As if it were given that this would be the case.
[Now that we have confirmation that Theodore is safe, I shall return to Tsefte Aria. Ah, Lizemelia. I will reward Theodore soon, so please ask him what he would like.]
[What? Aren’t you sending me home too?]
[Are you coming home with me?]
[I’m going to pretend to do so, beat up Mother by surprise, and then run away as fast as I can. I think I can manage for at least half a day.]
[That’s why I can’t deal with idiots.]
She can finally read her daughter’s mind. It comes across as if she is told by mouth that she does not want to return to her hometown.
[I’m not sure what he’d like. I wonder what would be good. A date with me is …… probably not going to please him that much.]
[I am stunned that at your age you would even think of playful tricks. I am too dumbfounded to say anything.]
[You don’t have to say it. Well, I’ll go all out and kiss him. Theo-kun is avoiding me a bit, but he’s been giving me glances, so I’m sure he doesn’t hate me. Maybe I should attack him when I see an opportunity.]
[I fear for the future of …… the elves from now on will be mere beasts with no shame or anything else.]
[Elves are so stubborn that they don’t want men around, so they can’t even get married until they’re almost five hundred years old like my mother.]
[…… Hmm, it’s just that there weren’t enough men to match the queen.]
[It would be great to have a friendly elf to pick up your old mother.]
[It looks like you want to die, don’t you?]
[I’m just kidding.]
Liz laughed, then turned a little more serious and said.
[I came to the Empire because I didn’t want to be in Tsefte Aria, but things are a little different now.]
[How?]
[The case of the elf disappearances …… that Theo-kun made a forceful breakthrough and Ryu-kun solved it in the end. But is that all there is to it? I want to find out more.]
[If you want to live comfortably, don’t do it. You will die.]
[I’m not the kind of woman who would back down from a threat like that. What about you, Mother? Do you have any information? You didn’t even tell me about Mira’s bloodbath incident, so I’m not holding my breath.]
[It is an event that is long overdue. I should not inform thee. That’s what I thought. I can’t help but get chills just remembering it now, because my mother was cruelly eaten to death in front of my eyes.]
Even the quintessential Liz seemed to gasp a bit.
But now that the same thing had happened again, she couldn’t help but talk about it.
[Perhaps they want to kill the elven royalty. You understand that, don’t you?]
[I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not. Ryu-kun finally told me that.]
[…… that’s probably the reason too. Lizemelia, listen to me seriously for a moment.]
[Mmm. Go ahead.]
Liz, who usually makes fun of her, corrected her residence when she saw her mother’s serious eyes on her.
And Eynlana continued what she wanted to say.
[…… does Ryu-kun know about that?]
[We had a discussion just the other day on the way to the imperial capital. We concluded that idea.]
[Why did mother leave Tsefte Aria if it was going to be like that? If it’s not good enough, the country is ……]
[I’m old. I’m not as strong as I used to be. After considering the current situation of our country and the empire, I could not let you die a dog’s death here. Therefore, from the very beginning, I came here with the mindset that I was prepared to die. I would have let Ludio and you live.]
[Wait, wait. So maybe the mastermind behind Ghislain was after that all along?]
[I think that 500 years ago was just a trial run. This time may have been the real deal.]
[Surely, my mother and I are the only legitimate royalty in Tsefte Aria now. …… was the perfect opportunity, right?]
[Everything must have gone according to the mastermind’s plan. If everything had gone smoothly, Mildiana would have suffered a great disaster, you and I would have died, and Ludio would have disappeared from the army, dead or alive. –But that assumption has been greatly upset by the recent appearance of a man of unknown origin.]
[Haha ……. If the speculation had worked and all the Elven royalty had died, Tsefte Aria itself would have been a terrible place to be.]
[The rich nature of Tsefte Aria would be rotting away without royalty. It is a troubling story because nature is supposed to be unencumbered by anything.]
[Well, technically, if the royal family dies off. As long as there’s royal blood left in the family, it’s all good, right?]
[Yes. In the current situation, it is not convenient for you and me to be in the same place. That’s the whole reason why I let your dawdle in the empire. But the mastermind had already realized who you are. Without the unexpected element of Theodore, this land would have been destroyed by now and our homeland would have been left to rot.]
Liz says unimaginably,
[I don’t want to think about it too much if there’s no Theo-kun. If things went badly, Ryu-kun, me, and Mother will all be dead, and Tsefte Aria will no longer be ….…]
[Lizemelia. If you are going to remain in the empire in the future, be prepared. You can be killed at any time or place. It is possible that tomorrow morning your head and your body will be split open and all hell will break loose–do you still intend to remain in the empire after hearing this?]
[I’m a little shaky, but …… I’ll be fine. Besides, it’s better for me and mother to be apart, right?]
[Assuming we can’t get killed at the same time, that is. Tsefte Aria’s army may not extend to the entire imperial army, but it is at least more dependable than Mildiana’s corrupt military.]
[I guess you’re right. I think Theo-kun is more trustworthy than that. I want him to protect me like a princess and a knight.]
[I know how you feel about ……, but you shouldn’t let your guard down too much.]
[Why? He’s a good boy. He’s cute, cool, and strong. I’m just not sure if he’s kind …… or not.]
[When you realize I say that, that is when you will be ready to be a princess of Tsefte Aria. If you remain in the empire, spend some more time with the man. But never get deeper.]
[By “in-depth,” do you mean that you don’t think Theo-kun is from Granden?]
[That’s it. Don’t ask him any more questions. And keep an eye on him. If your intuition tells you that anything is wrong, come back to Tsefte Aria immediately. Then you can leave everything behind.]
[….. Yes, yes, yes. I understand. I’ll keep that in mind.]
Eynlana wondered if the girl would be all right, but she did not show it on her face.
Then she turns her gaze to the far western lands.
She thought back to the Tenebrae demon kingdom, where the demon tribe lived and where the demon kings, who still have tremendous power, still ruled.
CHAPTER 1 FIN
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