What Comes Next

We returned to the Royal Capital.

Since it was already known that Liricia was an angel, we let Edgar use the dungeon passage as well.

When we reached the front hall, Kou called out loudly from the inner hall.

“Welcome back, Master!”

“Yeah, we’re back.”

“We’ve returned safely, Kou-chan.”

We answered casually.

Then Edgar, forcing some cheer, widened his eyes and cried out in surprise.

“Alec-san, so you’re the Dungeon Master? I heard it’s insanely hard for a human to be acknowledged by a dungeon—no wonder it’s you!”

“So that’s how it looks… Well, I just repaired a broken Dungeon Core. Don’t tell anyone, okay?”

“Of course! I may look like this, but I can keep my mouth shut—so if you ever need anything, just say the word! I’ll work for you for life, Alec-san!”

“For life… Well, you’re capable, so that helps. Then could you look for the Bust of the Evil God next? There are apparently about two thousand of them…”

Edgar’s black eyes, half-hidden by his hair, sparkled.

“Searching is my specialty. If we know the locations, I’ll investigate every last one thoroughly!”

“That’s a relief. I’ll leave it to you, Edgar.”

“Please do.”

“Alec-san, Madam! Leave it to me!”

He replied in a dependable voice, a smile at the corner of his lips.

Then suddenly he cried out.

Tilting my head, I asked.

“What is it, Edgar?”

“Oh! I hadn’t thanked you yet! Thank you so much for saving the princess and me!”

With a loud rustle, Edgar shook his messy hair and bowed deeply.

“Don’t worry about it. Besides, I’m the one who asked you to take a dangerous job.”

“I appreciate that—then I’ll be heading back! See you!”

“See you.”

“Take care, Edgar-san.”

Edgar bowed once more, received the marked map from Liricia, and returned to the city.

—That takes care of the Bust of the Evil God, at least for now.

Then two light sets of footsteps echoed from the corridor leading to the manor.

It was Teti and the dragon girl.

I raised a hand casually, and Liricia smiled beside me.

“Oh, thanks for watching the place.”

“Sorry to worry you while we were away.”

“Welcome back, Alec-sama! Liricia-san!” “Kyui, kyui!”

The little girl ran up and hugged my stomach.

She squinted her eyes happily, beaming.

Teti came over holding the Jewel of Light.

“This was delivered earlier by Edgar’s team? The kids, I mean. Is it bedside lighting?”

“No, it’s pretty important. Thanks for keeping it safe.”

“Oh, I see. Hehe…”

When I thanked her, Teti smiled shyly.

I took the orb and put it into my magic bag.

Then, while patting the dragon girl’s head, I asked Liricia beside me.

“Kou says something about this kid feels off. Do you know what it is?”

“Yes, let me check—……What!? This is serious, Master!”

Liricia’s shocked voice, after peering through her monocle, echoed through the dungeon.

Tilting my head, I asked.

“What is it?”

“This child isn’t an ordinary dragon! She belongs to legend—a Sacred White Dragon!”

“Oh? And what does that mean?”

“She is a dragon meant to support a hero’s journey! One that carries the hero on her back and takes them anywhere—To think I would see one with my own eyes! As expected of you, Master. You truly were a genuine hero!”

Liricia read the details through her monocle, her voice brimming with excitement.

I could only shrug in response.

“Even if you say that, I already quit being a hero, so it doesn’t matter.”

“Ugh… I suppose so, but still…”

“Kyui, kyui!”

The little girl clung to me, trying to say something.

—I seriously have no idea what she’s saying.

“It’s a problem if she can’t even talk… Why is she such a little kid?”

“Well… it’s said that when a Sacred White Dragon is revived by offering six-colored jewels to its egg, it appears as an adult dragon. Since this one was born without the jewels, she likely remained small.”

“I see. So if we find the jewels, she’ll grow up?”

“Yes. Probably.”

“Then after rejuvenation, we can look for them.”

“Yes! While traveling the world, too!”

“That sounds good.”

The dragon girl chirped happily as well.

Teti nodded in admiration.

“I always thought she was super smart for a kid. So she’s a legendary dragon—wow.”

I nodded once, then looked at Liricia.

“All that’s left is the bust. Let’s do our best, Liricia.”

“Yes! I’ll do my best as well!”

Liricia nodded firmly, her silver hair swaying.

Seeing that radiant smile made me want to try even harder.

Meanwhile.

In a certain temple steeped in an evil aura, the Demon King and Mikoto were present.

Thick stone pillars stood at regular intervals, supporting the ceiling.

The floor was paved with marble, and the walls and ceiling were all stone.

In a corner of the temple, tatami had been laid out and a kotatsu set up, where the Demon King was marking up a novelist’s manuscript in red pen.

Sitting across from him, the beautiful Mikoto ate a mandarin orange, then sipped tea before speaking.

“Why didn’t you tell me that Alec had been fired as a hero?”

“I assumed you naturally knew.”

“You kept calling him Hero Alec. If you’d said ‘former hero’ even once…”

“He didn’t act like someone who’d been fired, did he? If not Hero Alec, what would you call him?”

“Well… true.”

Mikoto frowned slightly and took another sip of tea.

Then a bright female voice rang out.

“How pathetic. Two powerhouses who terrify the world, sitting around like old men.”

A bewitchingly beautiful woman, almost divine in allure, was vigorously kneading clay with a twisted headband on.

She was tall and shapely, with a particularly ample chest straining against her clothes.

Mikoto sipped her tea again and looked at her with melancholy in her long eyes.

“Do you think that will cheer us up? That dreadful hero Alec has an outrageous goal.”

“And he has already met his guiding angel.”

“So what? He’s not slaying the Demon King—he’s just making a rejuvenation potion.”

“To beings of darkness, him continuing to live is nothing but a calamity.”

“And that’s enough to get you depressed? He hasn’t even made it yet.”

At the woman’s casual words, the Demon King stopped his pen and snorted.

“You sound bold—for now. Next, it will be your ‘Bust of the Evil God’ that he targets, Evil God Sklasis.”

“Hah! As if that would happen. The only way to get here—the Sacred White Dragon—I infected with an incurable disease, drove into an undead dungeon, and turned into a dead dragon! I even made reincarnation impossible! Even the Creator God can’t do anything about it. I’m not like you two!”

“And yet it suddenly appeared in the Demon Realm. Do you think I would neglect to respond?”

“Respond? Don’t make me laugh. All you did was defensive nonsense… You failed because you handled it wrong, you know?”

“What!?”

“What did you say?”

The Demon King and Mikoto spoke in unison.

Sklasis stopped kneading the clay, her ample chest bouncing as she declared.

“A hero is still just a human. If you make humans attack humans, they obviously won’t be able to deal with it properly!”

“What? You mean to strike first?”

“Of course! They say the best defense is a good offense!”

The Demon King and Mikoto exchanged glances.

Then the Demon King exhaled and looked back down at the manuscript.

“If you’re that confident, let’s see what you can do.”

“Yes. I look forward to it.”

Mikoto sighed and reached for another mandarin on the kotatsu.

But Sklasis twisted her red lips into a grin.

“Heh. I’ve already laid the groundwork.”

“Oh?”

“That is intriguing.”

Sklasis slapped the clay, then pointed toward the wall of the temple.

Countless evil statues of various sizes were lined up.

“I make statues of evil gods like this and scatter them across the world.”

“That’s your groundwork? …They all seem like different evil gods than you.”

“All the other evil gods are either dead or sleeping, so I spread the statues on their behalf and collect the faith power myself. I hide my true identity while gathering faith power! I’ve scattered over two thousand worldwide—by now, I’m stronger than the two of you combined.”

“Oh, is that so.”

“How impressive.”

The Demon King and Mikoto replied flatly.

Before Alec’s absurd strength, it all seemed meaningless.

Sklasis scowled at them in irritation.

“Honestly… men who don’t understand art are the worst.”

“Art!?”

“These statues, all of them, are full of artistic sense! I’ve been renowned as a sculptor for over a decade! The one I’m making now was invited to a national exhibition!”

“Hoh. That’s impressive. But I fail to see how it relates to defeating Hero Alec.”

“What are you talking about? It proves that an evil god like me can toy with mere humans easily.”

Sklasis puffed out her chest as if stating the obvious.

Mikoto sighed, melancholy crossing his beautiful face.

“But Alec’s Holy Wave is immense…”

“Heh. I’ll ruin his life through cultists and business rivals! So badly he won’t even be able to rejuvenate!”

The Evil God Sklasis declared, thrusting out her full chest.

The Demon King and Mikoto exchanged knowing looks.

Laughing gleefully, Sklasis continued shaping her statues.

-Four days remaining until Sklasis sees her life flash before her eyes and dies.-