---

Hero Lucius, defeated the Demon King.

The hero brought down the Demon King.

The Demon King, who seemed invincible, ultimately kneeled before the hero’s sword, and the hero removed the Demon King by driving his blade straight into the heart.

The continent, humanity regained peace.

And Droniel, just like always in the Village of the Holy Sword, waited for his return, day after day.

Cleaning the dust that had accumulated in his house, taking out clothes for him to wear on sunny days to air them out.

Every day, making the bed where they would happily spend time together, he waited for him, Lucius, to return.

However, he did not come.

Quite some time had passed since the news of the Demon King’s defeat reached the village, yet the hero had not returned.

Right.

Maybe he needs time.

After all, dealing with the Demon King might have given him issues to settle afterward, and he might be wandering the continent to honor the memories of comrades lost in battle.

He would likely return home to organize the belongings of those comrades, eventually coming back to his hometown.

Yes, surely that must be the case.

It has to be.

Otherwise, what would be the meaning of all the time he had waited for him so far…?

“Ah.”

Droniel, with a dazed expression, checked the calendar.

“…I see.”

It was last year’s calendar.

Though it was from last year, there was a red circle marking a certain date on the calendar hanging in Lucius’s home.

His own birthday.

In this ordinary village, that date held no other significance but Droniel’s birthday.

He realized.

The hero, Lucius, must want to surprise him by gifting himself on that date.

If that’s the case, waiting a day or two is absolutely fine.

“Hmm, hehehe.”

A tune escaped from his lips.

On the day he returns, Droniel was sure he would do so much for him.

Though it couldn’t compare to the mountain of delicacies in the capital, he would share the dishes filled with memories of their time together and hear tales of his journey from his own lips.

And he would give him the purity he had kept until now….

“Droniel!!”

Startled by the loud voice from outside, Droniel hurried outside.

The villagers had already gathered around someone, showering them with praise and encouragement, and among them, a tall blonde man who he immediately recognized.

“Lucius…!!”

Droniel rushed towards Lucius.

The villagers parted to create a path, and as Droniel ran towards Lucius, he couldn’t figure out what to say first.

So—

“Who’s that, Lucius?”

“My childhood friend. Master.”

Such a kind voice.

With a tenderness he had never directed at himself, Lucius was tightly holding the hand of a red-haired woman next to him.

“Uh, um…?”

“Oh, this is my Master. She wanted to take a look at my hometown.”

“So, you must be Droniel? I’ve heard stories about you.”

The witch chuckled, playfully tapping Droniel’s arm.

Droniel found it extremely unpleasant.

Like being treated as nothing more than the maid managing Lucius’s home, as if the gesture meant, “Your role is now over,” and it felt like she was saying, “Now go away,” making Droniel’s fists tighten until his nails dug painfully into his palm.

“Master, I will show you to my room first.”

“Sure. I remember the day I first met you. Right?”

“Yeah, I guess. Ah, it must be dusty…”

“Lucius!!”

Droniel spoke with all the strength in his voice.

“I’ve cleaned up!”

“Oh, really?”

Lucius responded in such a calm tone.

“Thank you.”

With that, he expressed gratitude and took the witch away, leaving Droniel with nothing to say.

The warm gaze Droniel had longed for from Lucius, the gentle touch he had imagined, was directed at another woman, not him.

Right.

The woman next to Lucius was not him; she was the red-haired witch.

*

“…So, the witch and I are alone in the room I organized with Lucius….”

“So, both Rosmas and Droniel are ultimately scared they might lose Lucius to the Sage?”

Yan yanked Droniel out of her fantasies in an instant.

“Is that really the future you envision? You’re not the Droniel waiting innocently in the village, but the Droniel Odrone traveling with the hero.”

“…I did think that at one point. Things are different now. Now.”

“You seem to be hiding something, though.”

“……Hero Lucius. And I have become Droniel Odrone. But can I truly defeat the witch in even the name of Odrone?”

Droniel tightly grasped her elbows.

“To be honest, Rosmas, you can do it.”

“What?”

“I’m not joking. If I can just drag it out with you until the end, we can win. But… the witch is different.”

“With both of us working together, how can we possibly—”

“Working together was the witch’s plan!”

At Droniel’s shout, Rosmas jumped.

“Think about it! What kind of woman would want to share her beloved with another woman?! Who whispered that first?!”

“The, the Witch…”

“Be honest. If she could have the man all to herself, why wouldn’t she choose that?”

“…….”

“It’s not about humans and elves. The witch may…”

Droniel bit her nails and continued.

“…be toying with us.”

*

“Hero!!”

The hero had vanished.

“Do you see where the Sage is?!”

“No, I can’t see him!”

The Sage had also disappeared.

Just before the decisive battle with the Demon King, the two key members of the Hero Party had disappeared.

“Saintess! Do you know where they went?”

“I don’t know. I want to know their whereabouts as well.”

“Can you not pray to the Moon Goddess to find out?”

“…The goddess doesn’t respond to such matters.”

“What do you mean such matters! Do you have any idea how desperate this is right now?!”

Droniel pulled at her hair in frustration.

“Just before the decisive battle, those two vanished! Is that even reasonable?!”

“…Perhaps they’ve gone to make memories together.”

“What?”

“Because it’s before the decisive battle, the witch might want Lucius to make memories with her. Someone mentioned that.”

Yan said timidly.

“But maybe they might die… isn’t it better to experience a little something before dying?”

“What?! Who said such nonsense?!”

“It was the Pope.”

“…….”

Droniel silently fumed.

“Damn, damn. They must have gone off together. Where could they have disappeared to?”

“I don’t know. If I had to guess… perhaps somewhere that holds meaning for both of them…?”

“!!”

There is a place.

Droniel reached for a scroll from her chest.

“Droniel!! I’ll go too—”

Tear

As soon as she tore the scroll, Droniel’s body was transported somewhere else.

A grove of trees, towering high into the sky.

Though it was late at night, the light visible from a distance was undoubtedly a familiar place.

“…….”

The light shone from a very small hut.

The hut was the only one among the ruins around that had maintained its shape, and Droniel bit her lip upon seeing the wreckage of broken homes.

That day.

The day Arthur set off on his journey as Hero Lucius.

Droniel also had revealed her identity and left the village to chase after Arthur, only to hear later that the village had been devastated.

“…If it means something to them.”

The place where Lucius began his journey as Hero Lucius.

The place where Sorceress Bel first met Lucius.

And perhaps the place they chose as their “home” to return to after the journey.

Right there.

“…Lucius’s house.”

“Really, has it been left like this for far too long?”

“!!”

A familiar voice rang out.

Droniel held her breath and perked her ears, hiding among the bushes.

“Did you leave the door open when you left last time?”

“Hahaha….”

“This is no laughing matter. What’s with the state of this place? If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t be able to restore it to its original state. Hmph.”

“Yet you’ve restored it, Master.”

From the window.

The silhouette of a man embraced the silhouette of a woman from behind.

“I wish time would stop like this.”

“Hey, you know the Demon King’s army is still moving outside, right?”

“You really don’t take any jokes, do you?”

“Why would I joke around?”

“Then if it’s serious, you’re saying you’ll accept it?”

“Of course, I would.”

“……I will.”

Huh?

What did I just hear wrong?

Droniel wanted to inch closer, but she was sure that if she did, she would be caught.

Droniel could clearly hear nothing.

Yet, with the subsequent words, she certainly understood what they were trying to say.

“I love you too, Luci.”

“……!”

Her hands and feet shriveled, nausea threatened to rise, but Droniel was paralyzed.

Slurp.

That delicate sound rang out.

Through the window, the two shadows intertwined as they leaned in.

And then.

“Wait, Luci, I’m not quite ready yet….”

“Didn’t you say you’d make me a true hero, no, a man?”

“Still, just a little slowly… Aaaah!”

“…….”

Droniel held her breath even more.

As commotion erupted inside, the door of the house creaked open slightly, revealing the interior.

And then.

“Honestly, what will people think seeing this?”

The witch glanced through the gap in the door and grinned.

“Nothing like that.”

With the witch above him, the man, Lucius, clung onto her as if he were a wolf.

“Master, will you… teach me the ways of a man?”

“Ugh, really. You’ve left me no choice….”

The witch and the hero, slowly intertwined their bodies.

Droniel could only watch from the outside, her hands bleeding as she bore witness to them.

*

“Wow, they’re making a huge fuss over there.”

It was absurd, but as Droniel attempted to bring Lucius back, the three of them were writing an erotic story together.

“Hey, Lucius. They’re saying something weird about me and you, right? Saying things about us together and whatnot?”

“…….”

“Why no reaction?”

“Th, Master.”

Lucius gestured apologetically to me, indicating the trio.

“If I go out now, they’ll definitely be mortified, so I’m sorry, but can we just pretend not to see them for now?”

“Then what do you suggest? Just stay here longer?”

“……let’s listen for a bit.”

Lucius’s suggestion sent a chill down my spine.

“What Droniel and Rosmas, and… Saintess Yan are suddenly thinking of our relationship.”

Lucius was incredibly serious.

 

---