That night.
In the royal bedroom of Edina Castle.
I sat on the bed, watching Harriet dry her hair.
Harriet was no longer wearing the clothes she had on just moments ago, but had changed into her nightgown.
"You should sleep soon. We have a lot to do tomorrow. You said we're going to the empire, right?"
"...I suppose so."
It wasn't for any other reason, but Harriet and I had been sharing a bedroom for about six months now.
There were two beds in the Demon King's bedroom. One was for me, and the other, slightly apart from mine, was used by Harriet.
The reason we suddenly started sharing a bedroom was a single one.
The threat of assassination.
The actions of those who hated me had become more apparent.
It didn't happen too frequently, but when I least expected it, they would persistently attempt it in different ways.
Sometimes it was poisoning, other times a midnight attack.
There were many instances when people within the castle were collaborators.
It wasn't that they were bribed.
Sometimes, people who hated me normally just cooperated with the assassination plot.
Harriet and Olivia had once saved my life by forcing me to vomit after I had nearly died from ingesting a potent poison.
Originally researching new magic and magic artifacts, Harriet took on the role of a scribe and never left my side.
Since then, Harriet started to check all the food and drink I consumed for poison, and I even acquired a talent for poison resistance using achievement points.
I could handle physical attacks thanks to the warnings from my intuition, but only those who have experienced it know the creepiness of seeing a familiar face pointing a dagger at my throat while I was asleep.
Countless people hated me.
Even the people of Edina Archipelago, whom I saved, hated me because they knew that the root cause of all these problems was the Demon King.
Even after I replaced all the castle servants who were lost in the Gate incident with those who had no connections, such incidents continued to happen.
All humans to some extent hated me, but I couldn't fill the castle's entire workforce with demons who would obey me absolutely. Discrimination and the subjugation of humanity would only provoke even greater backlash.
Not only me, but Harriet also suffered from these attacks.
Since I didn't die, they tried to kill the people around me.
Was that all there was?
There was also a time when I woke up to find Antirianus had tied me up and was snickering at me outside the palace.
He asked what I thought would have happened if it had been a magician from the empire or the Black Order instead of him.
Although it was one of Antirianus' wicked pranks, the memory of that day still sent shivers down my spine.
It was only because the empire and the Black Order didn't know my whereabouts that I was safe. I realized that a magician of Antirianus' caliber could take my life at any moment.
The defenses were not entirely lacking, but they could be breached at any time.
So, ever since then, Harriet and I have been sharing a bedroom, and before falling asleep, we made it a habit to seal the room with numerous magical devices and barriers.
At first, both Harriet and I felt strange and restless, but eventually, time healed us and we became accustomed to these things.
There was no helping the rumor that the Demon King slept in the same bedroom with the scribe every day.
Surprisingly, Olivia didn't get angry about it.
Knowing how much I suffered from assassination attempts, she was more concerned about me.
Anyway.
In truth, my relationship with Harriet had become practically like a marriage, but there was nothing to be done about it.
Well...
Now, I wonder if there is really any difference between that and how I feel now.
In some aspects, Harriet was better at handling situations than the elder mages of the Council.
In most crises, I would handle the physical aspects, and Harriet would handle the magical ones. Consequently, Harriet and I spent most of our time together to protect each other due to our complementary skills.
After drying her hair, Harriet sat down on her bed and placed a scroll book on the bedside table.
"I've added teleport scrolls. There are more than twenty, so you can use them anytime you need to."
"Alright."
"Should I come with you?"
Harriet, with her hair untied, stared at me intently.
"No, I don't think it will be a pleasant sight. I'll go alone. There shouldn't be any danger."
Since I would be disguised using the ring of Sarkegaar, there was no risk of my identity being discovered.
It's not like I was unaware of the situation, and the scene I would see in the empire wouldn't be pleasant for anyone. I planned to go alone, quietly, and return just as quietly.
I lay down on the bed, and Harriet leaned against it, opening a book between her knees and beginning to read the middle pages.
A dim, yellow magic light illuminated the book Harriet was reading.
"Do you ever sleep, or do you just watch me sleep?"
"I sleep enough."
As if to say, "don't worry about me, just sleep," Harriet gestured to me without even looking up.
I was busy, but Harriet was undoubtedly tired as well, having to coordinate my tasks and ensure the safety of our bedroom.
Frankly, I could feel it.
At some point, Harriet's magical achievements had stagnated.
Though Harriet conducted research whenever time allowed, the overly limited time meant she couldn't make much progress.
In truth, Harriet was better suited to be a researcher.
However, there were no people I could trust, and her abilities were so exceptional that she took on the roles of my secretary and bodyguard.
She had so much to do that she couldn't find time for what she truly wanted.
So, during the short time before sleep, when all she had to do was watch over me, Harriet would steal moments to read.
I thought Harriet would have liked Akasha.
But Akasha had disappeared.
Thus, the magical achievements that had long accumulated in Akasha had all transformed into the emptiness of another dimension.
How much magic had there been in Akasha?
Now it was impossible to know.
I could hear the sound of pages carefully being turned, so as not to disturb my sleep.
I looked at Harriet's face as she read the book.
"Blockhead."
"Hmm."
Now she didn't even look at me when I called her that.
In reality, because of her position as a scribe, I wouldn't call her that outside.
Only when we were alone like this could I use that nickname from the old days.
Maybe that's why Harriet didn't get angry.
She knew that it was only in these moments that I could call her that.
"Thank you."
At my sudden words, Harriet looked at me with a gentle smile.
"Me too."
What exactly was she grateful for?
I always took, and it seemed like I had never given anything in return.
I couldn't understand it.
Harriet returned her gaze to the book, and I closed my eyes.
—---
Whoosh!
In an instant, dozens of people appeared in the middle of the square through a warp point.
As warp gates were currently unusable, long-distance travel now relied on the manual transportation of troops by mages capable of using mass teleportation.
Given the situation in the Edina Archipelago, it was only natural that those who could move through mass teleportation were an elite few.
And now, Ellen and her direct subordinates, led by Ellen, had appeared through the warp point.
Ellen had just completed her mission report in the Imperial Capital and was scheduled to be deployed to the next location.
"Oh…"
"It's the hero…"
Ellen Artorius had become a celebrity in her own right, with a level of fame that could hardly be described as mere celebrity.
In terms of the crowd's trust, Ellen received more support than even the emperor in the current state of the empire.
Thus, it was only natural that people flocked to her like a cloud.
"Hero! Our savior!"
"Hero, where are you going this time?"
"Hero… thank you for saving us!"
Ellen had saved countless people.
"Hero! You're amazing!"
"Hero!"
"Hero, please watch over us…"
"Why doesn't my sister come to the Imperial Capital more often?"
Ellen was no longer a stranger to these scenes, having become too accustomed to them.
However, she was afraid of people projecting hope onto her when they were filled with despair and pain.
For she was the root cause of all these problems.
People trusted her.
They blamed everything on the Demon King and loved her.
There was no need for her to run around saving people like this.
If she had believed in Reinhardt back then, none of this would have happened.
She hadn't saved people.
Everyone living in this abyss of despair, unable to wear proper clothes, looking no better than beggars, was all because of her.
"I love you, Hero!"
Ellen was afraid of the sight of so many people finding hope in her.
It's all my fault.
It's my mistake.
Don't like me, don't love me, hate me.
The one who should be hated is not the Demon King, but me.
Ellen was occasionally seized by the urge to say such things.
But she couldn't deliberately plunge those who found hope in her into despair.
For those who endure this miserable life by hating the Demon King and believing in the hero.
She couldn't force the victims to swallow the despair of the truth.
People sought salvation from Ellen.
That's why the boiling crowd in the Imperial Capital didn't turn into a mob.
If Ellen were to say that all this was her fault, people wouldn't believe her at first, but even if they did, it would be a problem.
The moment the crowd learns that this situation arose due to the hero's and the empire's mistakes, the empire would collapse.
Without the empire, there would be no humanity.
"Will you kill the Demon King for us?"
"Ah…"
A young girl clung to Ellen's arm and asked.
The Demon King.
The eyes of those who believed that killing the Demon King would bring peace to the world.
From the longing eyes of a child to the hateful gazes of the elderly.
The hope of humanity.
As their representative, Ellen feared the day she would be forced to stand before Reinhardt.
Central Palace Tetra.
"The Kernstadt capital, Kiel, is not a problem. What's important is deciding which satellite city to restore first."
"Yes."
After reporting to Bertus, Ellen discussed the next course of action. She quietly observed the tired expression on Bertus's face.
Even the powerful forces of the strongest Vassal Kingdoms had only succeeded in defending a few cities, including the capital. After reclaiming all the Directly Administered Territories, the Empire now had to decide which of the Vassal Kingdoms to fully support.
It was now time to begin the restoration work of Kernstadt, which could be called the First Vassal Kingdom.
All the Warp Gates within Kernstadt territory had been destroyed.
Thus, all that was left to do was to eliminate the monsters hiding throughout the city.
However, easier said than done, as countless soldiers, knights, and magicians would die in the process.
Human resources were being exhausted while the Empire was being restored.
"What do you think?"
"Rather than reclaiming each city one by one, I think it would be best to start by clearing the surrounding areas of the cities we've successfully defended. There are likely very few survivors in the fallen cities anyway. We can take care of that work gradually."
"…True, that makes sense."
Bertus was deep in thought, with his arms crossed.
"How is Charlotte?"
At Ellen's question, Bertus clicked his tongue.
"…No change."
Ellen was a hero of the Empire.
As such, she had grown tired of hearing the tiresome tales of killing the Demon King, just as she had grown tired of the misunderstandings about the princess.
They said the princess was cursed.
Be careful around the princess because the hero might be harmed.
Ellen, who was often away from the royal palace, would visit Charlotte whenever she returned. After all, Ellen was the princess's guardian knight.
However, Ellen couldn't open Charlotte's closed lips, just as Bertus couldn't.
Even though she didn't speak, Charlotte would shed tears when she saw Ellen.
Both Ellen and Charlotte blamed themselves.
Every time they saw each other, they couldn't help but feel the weight of all that had transpired because they hadn't trusted Reinhardt.
Just as Ellen saw everything as her fault, so did Charlotte.
Even without being able to talk, Ellen couldn't help but understand Charlotte's heart every time she saw her weeping.
In the end, the majority of the populace now wished for the princess's death.
"Anything else needed at the scene?"
"As always, we need power cartridges."
"I'm not sure when we'll have a mass production system in place…"
Power Cartridges and Moonshine.
Just as Reinhardt had intended when he created them in preparation for the Gate Incident, power cartridges had now become vital supplies on the battlefield.
Magicians who used magic power from the power cartridges displayed tremendous power on the battlefield.
Those who ingested Moonshine specialized in close combat and rapidly improved their skills. In fact, the number of people awakening to Magic Body Strengthening had grown exponentially.
It was due to this strange phenomenon of the dying military force being compensated by the strengthening of the existing military force.
It was said that they had been created to strengthen the Demon King's army.
The items Bertus had thought to be for that purpose had now become indispensable.
Only after everything had happened did Bertus realize that the choice he should have never made was the only correct answer.
He should have released the Demon King.
Even though he knew regret was useless, Bertus was tormented by it.
Everyone blamed themselves in this situation.
Charlotte for herself.
Ellen for herself.
And Bertus as well.
They all thought they were responsible.
"Was there anything special to talk about?"
"…"
Ellen was silent for a moment, then something came to her mind.
"I heard there's a paradise to the south."
"Paradise?"
"Yeah, it seems like some strange... belief is spreading."
"…Right. People must want to believe in such stories."
In times of overwhelming despair, all manner of nonsense is created.
That's why Bertus had no choice but to dismiss that rumor as mere idle gossip.
