Post-Incident Processing.

The second city of the Demon Realm——the Hellfire City of Jiregga.

“Have you found Regal, Stella?”

“Yes, I have detected the distinct mana wave peculiar to the undead. He is just up ahead.”

I had come to Jiregga along with Stella and Olivier. True to its name as the Hellfire City, pillars of black fire were soaring upward from all four corners of the town. Just standing still was enough to make one do far more than break a sweat; if one wasn’t careful, they could easily come down with a fever. To alleviate the intense heat, I deployed a light cooling spell around the vicinity.

The three of us advanced while enjoying the cool air. Before long—

“There he is.”

Up ahead, countless fragments of bone were scattered about. A particularly large fragment was a skull cleft completely in half. It was a portion of Regal’s head.

“Are you alright, Regal?” I rushed over to the skull.

“I am exposing a pathetic state, my King,” Regal declared.

Though spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, deep resentment seeped into his voice. It appeared he had been defeated by the Sacred Edge in the previous battle and hacked to pieces. Even so, the fact that his life didn’t seem to be in any particular danger was exactly what one would expect from the Lord Undead.

“Hold on, I’ll have Olivier heal you right now.”

“To expose my living shame… it is a bitter regret.”

“If you think it’s a shame, then avenge it in the next battle. Understood?”

“…Understood,” Regal replied, though he still sounded deeply resentful.

His pride as a warrior must have been severely wounded by this defeat.

“Well then, I shall go ahead and heal you,” Olivier stepped forward.

Nine tails extended long from her waist. Wrapped in countless wisps of will-o’-the-wisp, she unleashed a gargantuan pool of magical energy, unimaginable from her usual laid-back character.

“Ring of Healing Fire——”

In front of the quietly chanting Olivier, a ring of pale blue fire materialized exactly as described. The ring expanded, enveloping Regal’s head and the scattered bone fragments. The next instant, the ring of fire burst.

“Whew, I’m so tired~” Olivier took a deep breath.

“This is——”

Regal looked utterly astonished. His scattered body had been regenerated, restored completely to how it was before.

“One of the ultimate secret healing arts passed down through the kin of the ‘Nine-Tailed Fox’——Ring of Healing Fire. The repair of all physical damage is complete,” Olivier smiled.

“To grant a full recovery in a single instant…”

“Incredible.”

Stella and I were completely filled with admiration.

“Since it requires several activation conditions, I usually use spells with slightly lower efficacy… but Lord Regal is an indispensable asset for the defense of the Demon Realm, so I pushed myself to do my best~”

“Yes, you did splendidly, Olivier.” I praised her for her hard work.

“…You have my thanks,” Regal said, bowing deeply.

Next, I supposed we should search for Zegart, whose whereabouts were unknown.

As it turned out, my reunion with Zegart happened quite easily. We crossed paths the moment I returned to the Demon King Castle.

“I have only just returned, my King,” the lion beastman demon declared proudly, without a shred of remorse.

“…Where have you been all this time?”

“It is a shameful matter, but during the battle with that hero called Rearvelt, I ended up being dropped deep into the underground of the castle,” Zegart said, scratching his head. “Normally I would have broken out immediately, but I had sustained wounds myself, so it took some time to make my escape.”

The bandages wrapped around his arms and chest must have been from the injuries sustained back then. Or—did he stay away from the front lines out of some other ulterior motive, and the bandages were a mere camouflage? I couldn’t judge either way. Since there was no concrete proof, I had no choice but to believe Zegart’s words for now.

“I see. First, heal your wounds. You are a precious military asset for the defense of the Demon Realm.”

“Your overly generous words pain me, my King.” The Beast Emperor smirked at my praise.

Just then—

“I, too, have only just returned, for that matter.”

With a clanking sound like metal striking against metal, a petite silhouette appeared. It was a doll resembling a silver knight, standing at less than a meter tall.

Hm? Could this guy be—

“I am Tsukuyomi. Since my main body was destroyed during the battle against Rearvelt, I have returned in a backup body, for that matter.”

“A backup body?”

“As a homunculus, I can function as long as my core remains intact, for that matter. When the main body was destroyed by Rearvelt, I ensured only the core escaped. I have since transferred the core into this backup body and rushed to your side, for that matter.”

“…I see. I am glad that you are safe as well.”

“Your words are an honor, for that matter,” Tsukuyomi said, bowing lightly. “Good grief… I met with a terrible ordeal, for that matter. Just because the other Demon Army Commanders are completely useless, I ended up taking the brunt of the collateral damage… mumble mumble.”

…I can hear you, you know. Well, this complaining nature definitely felt exactly like Tsukuyomi. At any rate, I felt relieved that two of the Demon Army Commanders were safe.

“The only one left is Juda…” Well, knowing him, he wouldn’t be easily taken down.

“If you’re looking for me, I’m right here.”

A voice suddenly echoed out, making me look around in surprise. Juda was nowhere to be seen.

“Ahahaha, down here.”

The mischievous voice came neither from the front, back, left, right, nor above—it came from right beneath my feet.

“You——”

“Demon Army Commander Juda, reporting back.”

From the shadow stretching beneath my feet, a slender, silver-haired beautiful boy emerged. A spell that allowed him to travel through shadows——perhaps? To infiltrate my range without letting me sense a single shred of his presence… It seemed Juda still kept a variety of hidden cards up his sleeve.

——At any rate, the safety of all Seven Demon Army Commanders had now been confirmed.

A few hours later, I was in my office handling the paperwork for the post-battle processing. The room was packed with even more documents than usual. As always, Stella was helping me review them.

Just then—

“Um, if I may… Lord Fried,” Stella stopped her hand from checking the documents and looked at me.

“Hmm, what is it?”

Her face was strangely flushed. Her wavering eyes reflected my face. Since we were entirely alone, I had removed the Demon King’s mask. It was my true face as a middle-aged man, completely identical to when I was human.

“About… what happened during the battle with Rearvelt, I must offer my apologies to Lord Fried.”

“An apology?”

“Our… k-kiss… because…”

“Eh?”

“A-A-A-A-A-A-A kiss, um, because I suddenly did it out of nowhere, um, that is…” Stella said in a trembling voice.

Ah, so it was about that. True enough, I had been startled by the sudden kiss back then.

“A-At that time, I was completely caught up in the moment… I-I apologize for my insolence. Please hand down any punishment you deem fit.”

“N-No, it’s fine.”

Naturally, I felt embarrassed myself. I wondered what her true intention had been. I understood well enough that she wasn’t the kind of woman who would use the word “beloved” lightly. It likely wasn’t for a simple reason like her emotions being heightened by the battle.

How should I respond to Stella’s feelings? In the first place——how did I truly feel about Stella?