I Wanted To Believe My “Popular Phase” Had Arrived (1).

The corrupt lord’s crimes had been exposed, and he had been properly apprehended.

The swarm of demonic beasts released into the town had also been driven back with the knights and the resistance working together.

We had joined up late too, and somehow managed to keep the damage to a minimum.

There had been injuries, but we had a Saint with us.

Thanks to Semirena, the wounded had been cared for flawlessly.

As for the corrupt lord we had captured…

“Damn it! Let me out! Do you think you can do this to me?!”

“Give me a break. You’re not a noble anymore. Erika told you that, didn’t she?”

“Ggh… this wasn’t supposed to happen…”

He probably never imagined he’d be the one thrown into the same prison where he had locked up beastfolk underground.

It was only until he was taken to the royal capital and punished, but it served him right.

“While you’re in there, you can taste even a little of the suffering you put the beastfolk through.”

“Y-you’ll regret this! I hope you lot get defeated by the Demon King!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Thanks for staying in character as the villain to the very end.

I could despise him from the bottom of my heart.

There wasn’t even room for sympathy, so I ignored him and headed back above ground.

Outside, it had been night.

We had spent an entire day on cleanup, so we had practically pulled an all-nighter.

“Fwaaah…”

“You looked exhausted, I say.”

“Must be nice for you. You don’t get sleepy.”

“I am a ghost, after all, I say.”

I was used to staying up all night for games, but my body still felt heavy.

I had been running around all day.

“Let’s sleep already.”

By now, Erika and the others were probably resting too.

With the lord gone and the servants freed, the mansion was empty.

For the moment, we were using it however we pleased.

As I walked down the hallway toward the bedroom, someone suddenly called out to me.

“Soji-kun, over here!”

“Hm? Arka?”

She grabbed my hand and pulled me to the balcony.

For some reason, she was still in her beastfolk form.

Her tail was wagging.

“Why are you in that form?”

“Um… I dunno!”

“You don’t know…?”

Well, there was nobody in the mansion right now, so it wasn’t really a problem.

“Hey… thank you!”

Arka held my hand and spoke her gratitude.

Caught off guard, I asked her.

“What’s with you all of a sudden?”

“I wanted to say thanks! For listening to me properly, Soji-kun. And for fighting with me to help the beastfolk!”

“Oh, that.”

“Don’t just say ‘that’! To me, it’s really important!”

She pumped our clasped hands up and down.

In sync, her tail swished side to side.

Even though she had been up all night too, she looked completely energized compared to me.

“You look happy.”

“Yeah! Because everyone got saved!”

Arka beamed.

The beastfolk who had been imprisoned underground had been protected and rescued by Erika and Semirena.

Some kids had been injured or sick, but even there, the Saint had done incredible work.

They had been treated instantly and perked right up.

The resistance members had also protected the town alongside the knights.

The residents who had witnessed it thanked them, and their presence had finally been acknowledged.

Discrimination against demi-humans was deeply rooted among the nobles.

For ordinary people, it apparently hadn’t spread that strongly—since they had never really interacted with them to begin with.

There were still worries, but it was also true they were grateful for being saved.

For a while, the beastfolk would be living in this mansion.

Erika had arranged that too.

Eventually, a new lord would arrive.

Hopefully that lord would be a decent person—someone kind who didn’t discriminate against demi-humans.

It sounded like Erika would be choosing, so it would probably be fine.

So, the incident that had happened in this town had been resolved safely.

The beastfolk had found a place to belong.

It might have been temporary, but we had protected the peace.

“Even I’ve got to admit—I worked pretty hard.”

“Soji-kun, you were amazing! You felt kind of different than usual, though.”

“P-people change in the middle of battle.”

“Huh, really!”

It helped that Arka was so pure.

If she pressed me too hard, I would definitely slip up.

Like I had with Erika.

“Soji-kun, you remember what you asked in the carriage before?”

“Hm?”

“About why I became a warrior.”

“Yeah, I remember.”

It had been a casual question.

Back then, she had called it a secret and wouldn’t tell me.

“The reason I became a warrior was because I wanted to be chosen for the Hero’s party.”

“Huh?”

Arka spoke while gazing out at the view from the balcony.

“I wanted to become a strong warrior, get chosen, and defeat the Demon King. I thought… if I—someone with beastfolk blood—defeated the Demon King, maybe I could help other people suffering the same way.”

“So that was it.”

Improving the social standing of beastfolk—or demi-humans in general.

That was why Arka had honed her fighting, becoming a warrior worthy of being chosen for the Hero’s party.

Not for herself—

But for someone else who suffered the same way.

That sounded like her.

“That’s a good reason.”

“You really think so?”

“Yeah. I can feel how kind you are.”

“Hehe.”

She smiled, looking delighted.

Strength couldn’t have been the only criterion.

That innocent kindness was probably part of why she had been chosen.

“It was a secret—was it really okay to tell me?”

“Yeah! Soji-kun is special!”

“Special, huh.”

“Yeah! I felt like it was okay if it was you, Soji-kun! Because I thought you’d listen without laughing!”

“I don’t think anyone would laugh. At least, Erika and Semirena wouldn’t.”

“Yeah. I don’t think they’d laugh either. But…”

Arka turned toward me and fidgeted as she spoke.

“I wanted you to hear it first, Soji-kun.”

“Arka…”

“And also… there’s something I want to ask you about.”

“Ask me about what?”

“Yeah, um…”

Arka fidgeted.

If it was hard to say, was it another beastfolk-related concern?

She was counting on me.

I should act like an older brother here.

No idea if I was actually older, but still.

“Anything’s fine. Tell me.”

“Yeah! Um… something’s weird.”

“Weird?”

“…When I look at you, Soji-kun… my body starts feeling all warm.”

“—Huh?”

Arka’s cheeks flushed, and she looked up at me from under her lashes.

What kind of ‘concern’ was that…?

Warm? What did that even mean?

Her expression and voice were strangely seductive too.

“Warm?”

“Yeah. And my heart starts racing… it gets so loud.”

“R-right…”

Hey. Hey, hey, hey!

No way.

Is it really—

“W-what else?”

“I keep thinking about you, Soji-kun.”

Was this finally it?

Twenty years on this earth!

And the spring that had never once come—

Has my “popular phase” finally arrived?!