Epilogue

The aftermath.

Or rather, the punchline this time.

After the battle ended, the royal castle fell into a bit of confusion.

Naturally.

Not only had a fight broken out, but the king and queen had lost consciousness, and the prince had been manipulated by the Demon King.

We had nearly ended up doing something to the prince and the others… but Erika handled that part well.

It seemed she explained the situation to the king once he woke up first.

“I am truly sorry. Our kingdom nearly became a puppet of the Demon King.”

“With the Demon King as the opponent, it can’t be helped. I’m not uninvolved either.”

“…And Kaiser?”

“Please rest assured. Semirena treated him, so his life is not in danger.”

“I see… thank goodness.”

Prince Kaiser had been taken over by the Demon King’s consciousness.

Apparently, when I defeated him, that consciousness was severed and he was freed, but…

“I’m sorry, but I don’t remember anything at all.”

Prince Kaiser remembered nothing from the time he was being controlled.

He said he didn’t even know exactly when or at what point he had been taken over.

“You truly don’t remember, then.”

“Yes. Which is why, the engagement matter is also… not something I—”

“I understand. Let’s both forget it.”

Naturally, the engagement was annulled as well.

It hadn’t been Kaiser’s will, and Erika’s decision-making had been distorted by the ring’s effect.

This time, it ended with both sides being victims.

The knights who had been controlled returned safely to their duties.

It seemed the Demon King had been brainwashing knights behind the scenes, intending to turn this country into a complete puppet state.

If we had been even a little later, it might have led to war with the Suer Kingdom.

By sheer coincidence, we had avoided a major war.

“—That concludes my report.”

“I see. I’m glad it all ended peacefully.”

Semirena told me how everything had played out.

While I listened, Arka clung to my arm the whole time.

“Soji-kun, are you okay? Nothing hurts anymore?”

“I’m fine. I’m not injured or anything. I’m just tired.”

“But you didn’t wake up for a whole day.”

“So I’ve heard.”

After the battle, I lost consciousness and was carried to the castle infirmary.

My life wasn’t in danger, but I seemed to have been severely exhausted.

It was probably from pushing the possession to the limit and even cutting space.

Even now that I was awake, my whole body felt weighed down.

“Arka, we should return soon.”

“Ehh! But…”

“The Hero is exhausted. We must not disturb his rest.”

“Ugh, fine. See you tomorrow, okay? Soji-kun.”

“Yeah. Thanks for worrying.”

The two of them left the room.

Normally I would have been alone, but unfortunately, I could never truly be alone.

“You saved me again.”

“I am a samurai. If I can swing my blade, that is enough.”

“Is that so? Still, that was incredible. Cutting space—at that point you’ve gone beyond ‘samurai.’”

“No, even for me, that was the first time I’ve performed such a feat.”

“Huh? Oh, right. That was the cursed blade’s ability.”

Thinking about it normally, you couldn’t tear open space with mere swordsmanship.

It was only possible now because the blade had become a cursed sword.

Even so, it was only possible because it had originally been Kojiro’s beloved blade, and because of his swordsmanship.

“It was not my strength alone. Your presence was also significant, Soji-dono.”

“I didn’t really do much.”

“Did you not see through the enemy’s weakness and propose a plan in an instant? My mind is stubborn; I could not have conceived it that quickly.”

“Good to hear.”

I felt a little relieved.

I had worried I was relying too much on Kojiro’s strength and wasn’t contributing.

If I had helped even a little, I was glad.

“It was not only the plan. In that moment, you had resolve—no matter what, you would protect your precious companion. That feeling reached me as well.”

“W-well, she’s a companion, I guess.”

“There is no need to be embarrassed, is there?”

“Shut up.”

Since my feelings were completely transparent, there was no hiding it, but I still tried to play it off out of embarrassment.

Right.

At that moment, I had wanted to save Erika no matter what.

“A blade without purpose is mere violence. A samurai exists because there is a lord worth protecting. You too were a fine samurai, Soji-dono.”

“A job change from Hero to samurai, huh. If only that were possible.”

I sat up in bed.

“Are you going somewhere?”

“For a walk.”

“I see. I will remain here.”

“…Got it.”

I left the room alone.

That samurai was hopeless at everything except swordsmanship, but he could read the room surprisingly well.

He’d realized I wanted to be alone and stayed behind.

Not that it mattered much—our minds were connected, so we could still communicate.

“Not being watched does make me feel a bit more at ease.”

“I understand that feeling very well.”

“……”

Yeah.

So much for alone time.

“What’s with that face?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Without saying a word, Erika walked beside me.

We stopped at a nearby window.

“How’s your body?”

“I’m fine. Looks like you’ve recovered too.”

“More or less.”

“Good. I’d feel awful if you died because of me.”

That’s what you focus on?

Same as ever…

“I’m kidding. I was worried.”

“—!”

“What?”

“No, it just surprised me.”

She really had been worried?

Erika… about me?

“What do you take me for?”

“A princess with a rotten personality.”

“I’ll punch you.”

“Spare me! My body still feels heavy!”

“…Haa.”

Erika let out a big sigh and opened the hallway window.

A cool… slightly cold breeze flowed through.

“Now I know. A prince is no good as a marriage partner.”

“That’s sudden. This time was just bad luck.”

“It’s suffocating. I’m already tied down enough—if I married a prince, it would be even worse. That’s not my ideal partner.”

“By that logic, anyone high-born is out.”

So she’d look for a commoner who matched her?

I couldn’t tell if her standards were high or low.

I mean, that sounded impossible.

“Even if life is comfortable, I hate having no freedom. In that sense, this journey is far more relaxed. I don’t have to keep up appearances.”

“Must be tough being a princess.”

“It is. So pamper me more, and be nicer to me, okay?”

“Be a little nicer to me too. I’m working hard here, you know.”

“Fufu, I need you to work even harder. For my sake.”

“This brat…”

Her personality really was the worst.

Prince Kaiser was lucky he didn’t end up marrying someone like her.

Maybe being taken over by the Demon King had been a kind of good fortune.

Erika stared at my face.

“…”

“What?”

“It’s strange. This time with you… it’s the calmest I feel.”

“Because you don’t have to be careful around me, right? Same for me.”

Because she knew my secret, I didn’t have to put on an act.

In front of Arka and Semirena, I had to keep being the Hero.

But in front of Erika… I could just be Soji Miyamoto.

“An ideal partner might actually…”

“Hm?”

“No, impossible. Once you recover properly, we’re leaving. Looks like my ideal partner wasn’t here, so we’ll go to the next town.”

“You’re not learning your lesson, are you?”

“Of course not. This time was just a failure. Until I meet my destined partner, I won’t give up.”

With that, Erika started walking, then stopped and glanced back.

“I won’t let you go. Not until the end.”

“I couldn’t run even if I tried. I get it.”

“Fufu. Good.”

I started walking too, following after Erika.

Even knowing my secret, she hadn’t changed.

What I needed to do.

There was only one goal.

Defeat the Demon King as the Hero, and survive!

If that required it, I’d do anything.

The cursed blade I bought online turned out to be the real deal.

I thought ten thousand yen was expensive, but at this point, it might have been cheap.

Whether that was good or bad was another question.

Because I was doing something no one else could ever experience.