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“It’s about time.”

Their conversation had been quite entertaining, but it was now time to move.

“Lucius, let’s go.”

“…Yes, Master.”

Lucius followed me with a somewhat bittersweet yet satisfied expression.

“Now is the perfect timing.”

As their conversation reached a peak and began to cool down, it was neither completely over nor fully concluded.

It was truly a nondescript timing.

“What’s this? You all have gotten close already?”

I greeted the three with a face that said I hadn’t noticed anything at all.

“What were you chatting about so happily?”

“Just some random topics.”

“What topics? Let me hear them too.”

“…I think it’s better if the Sage doesn’t know.”

Yan stepped up as the representative.

Naturally, it was a subject neither I nor Lucius could hear about.

We didn’t have time for specifics, but in Saintess Yan’s mind, I had become the tragic witch who would martyr myself for Lucius.

The other two needed no further elaboration.

“Alright, I understand. Young people want to share their own stories too. Anyway, I’ve brought Lucius with me. As I mentioned to you all beforehand, he has something to say.”

“…Everyone.”

Lucius cleared his throat and nodded significantly toward Rosmas.

“From now on, please call me Lucius. Until our journey is over, the name Arthur will be buried.”

“Buried, you say?”

“I mean it literally, Droniel. Right now, I need to act as a hero.”

Lucius had decided to identify himself as Hero Lucius.

“I have something I absolutely must achieve.”

“Are you talking about defeating the Demon King?”

“That, and another goal as well.”

Lucius’s voice was serious and heavy.

“There is something I wish to accomplish, even if it costs my life. I want to defeat the Demon King and, at the same time, achieve my wish.”

“Can you not tell us what it is?”

“No.”

He was resolute.

“That’s a secret I can’t even tell my Master.”

He was so firm that it was a secret even from me.

Although normally he would share everything with me, Lucius completely concealed what he desired.

‘He’s just saying things.’

He isn’t the type of guy who has any particular wish.

Even if he somehow had a desire, he wouldn’t be the type to abandon the journey to defeat the Demon King or run away halfway.

Lucius is a reliable hero, not just a pushover; he’s a responsible man.

“Okay then. Since Lucius has officially become Lucius, let’s start moving again. We’ve got quite a distance to cover.”

Our brief break was now over.

It was time for our halted steps to move forward once more.

“Let’s go. To the Great Ice Barrier.”

And so we headed towards the northern snowfield.

*

Pat, pat.

The march in silence continued.

The five of us, including me, were not particularly exhausted, and walking on the snowy ground posed no significant challenges.

In that case, it was now the perfect time to let inertia carry us while I contemplated.

Specifically, it was time to talk to the entity sealed within the magic stone that even Saintess Yan did not know about.

[Hey, female.]

[What is this madness?]

As soon as I channeled mana into the magic stone containing Beelzebub, he uttered pointless words toward me.

[Kyaaaaaak!!]

I immediately grabbed the necklace, and he writhed in pain from his soul being torn apart.

The intensity of the pain was akin to stubbing a pinky toe against a wooden bed frame.

[Who are you calling female?]

[If I’m in a female body now, then I’m female!]

Beelzebub shouted, seemingly aggrieved, but I had no desire for this ridiculous conversation with him.

[Hey. You got 10 minutes left?]

[…….]

Beelzebub’s consciousness would soon disappear.

His soul would remain in my magic stone necklace, but due to my ‘Forced Contract Termination,’ he wouldn’t have enough strength left to function properly in the Intermediate Realm.

In other words, his soul would stay here, but his consciousness would fall asleep.

[You do realize that in 10 minutes you’ll be just as good as dead.]

My reason for preparing for all situations was precisely because of Beelzebub’s current predicament.

[You can either return to your original body, or possess a dead body like I have. Otherwise, you’ll be completely extinguished, or forget who you were and slowly fade away.]

[Isn’t that why I’m asking you for help?]

Beelzebub merely smiled calmly.

[There’s no one better than you in necromancy. You clearly know that taking around a hero is also to get one over on that Zephar, the summoner. And that you care for our demon race more than anyone else.]

Beelzebub gave me a thumbs-up.

[All I can give you is my avatar. From now on, I will be a summoned beast, relying on your magical power. I’ll seal my memories and await your ‘victory.’]

[Don’t overthink it. Just think of it as hibernation. Leave it to me.]

Beelzebub had two paths left.

One was to enter a permanent hibernation state while keeping all his memories intact, and only summon the beast that had no consciousness through my servitude contract.

Alternatively, he could stay trapped in the magic stone like now, gradually forgetting himself, ultimately becoming a spirit trapped in the stone.

The latter was a clear death.

He would lose even the memory of himself, and because new memories would not layer over that in unconsciousness, it would indeed be described as ‘extinction.’

[You freed me from the bonds of the Binding Contract. Thus, my life is yours, and I can entrust all to you.]

[Beelzebub.]

[Even if you put me in a female body and have me give birth to the hero’s child over there, I’ll accept it as my fate.]

[You crazy bastard. You’ve totally gone female!]

[Judging by your confusion, you must be the Beel Phegore I know.]

Beelzebub shrugged and slowly faded away.

[I don’t know if this will be a short goodbye or a long farewell. But if it’s to be short, I hope you’ll rest for just a moment.]

[Rest well. And….]

I had to convey this one message.

[I will achieve our ‘wish,’ so don’t worry.]

[……Thank you for even saying that from the Demon King. Even if it’s just a lie.]

[It’s not a lie—]

Swoosh.

“!!”

“Master, what’s wrong?”

“…Nothing.”

“…Master? Are you crying?”

“……It’s just that snow got in my eye and melted.”

The reason my eyes were damp was clearly due to the strong magical heat flowing from the snowflakes fiercely hitting my face.

“It’s nothing. Keep moving forward.”

“Hey, Sage. How much longer do we have to go?”

At Rosmas’s question, we paused our steps for a moment.

“The sun has set quite a bit, so it might be time to look for a camping spot…?”

“We don’t need to look for a campsite. We have the Hero of the Holy Sword with us.”

“Excuse me?”

“We just need to set up a barrier.”

At my words, everyone blinked in confusion.

“Didn’t you hear? Lucius said he can set up a barrier. There’s no need to bother finding a camping spot—just setting up a barrier here will be our camping site.”

“Lucius, can you do it?”

“Master, is it possible?”

“Hey, why are you asking me?”

It was something Lucius could do, yet he asks me.

What sort of contradiction is this?

He can do it.

“Just think of it like what Liriez did—stabbing the Holy Sword into the ground and expanding your territory. In this space, you’re the king and the master. It’s simple. Got it?”

“Shall I try it right now?”

“Sure. Since we’re talking about it, let’s do it right away.”

“Yes. …Oh, winds.”

As Lucius pronounced the activation phrase, a golden storm swept around us.

The fierce snow hitting our faces was swept aside by the golden storm, and the snowy ground we stood on instantly regained its dark wasteland appearance.

“Oh….”

“It’s still unstable. At this rate, the power of the Holy Sword and your mana will just leak out and won’t last long. Lucius.”

I reached out towards Lucius’s back.

“Let me borrow your body for a moment. I’ll teach you how to do it.”

“Master, did I say I was the king of this space?”

“Huh? Well, yes.”

“Then, in this space, I can do anything I desire, right?”

“Exactly. Here, you’re not just a king…you’re a god.”

Willpower is essential.

“…….”

Lucius briefly surveyed the other members.

He glanced at Rosmas, Droniel, Saintess Yan, and finally me, taking a short breath before firmly inserting Ascalon into the ground.

Whoa.

The golden storm that had been unsteadily swirling began to stabilize gradually.

Lucius’s eyes sparkled with a golden hue, like that of Ascalon, and I realized he had indeed succeeded in creating his domain by perfectly utilizing the Holy Sword.

“Wow. Congratulations. You’ve really moved on to the next stage.”

“…Is this the next stage?”

“Yeah. It’s the first button of the next stage. Everyone congratulate him, Lucius has levelled up as the Hero of the Holy Sword. He’s now on the same level as the Flame Hero, Bearnes.”

“Is this it?”

The others looked at it with some disbelief, but Lucius just smiled.

“Lucius, how do you feel?”

“Just…As long as I’m here, I don’t feel like this barrier will break.”

“Great. That’s the feeling.”

Like magic, it ultimately all comes down to the individual’s will.

Lucius was able to perfect the barrier because he had that confidence that he could do it.

To be precise, it was the powerful belief and conviction that he could do anything here.

“Hmm, I wonder what was going through your mind to succeed so easily?”

“…I aimed to hold onto the conviction that I would definitely realize my earnest wish.”

“That’s exactly it, Lucius.”

A hero is someone who grows through firm belief in oneself.

“You’ve grown. Congratulations.”

“Thank you, Master.”

“In that sense, I guess I should also show you my enhanced form.”

“…Huh?”

Whoa!

Outside the barrier.

Within the blizzard, a massive serpent shadow appeared, easily over 30 meters long.

“It seems I won’t sleep well tonight unless I deal with that monster, huh?”

“Oh my…. Master, I’ll go out and take care of it….”

“No, no. I’ll handle it. It’s been a while since I’ve used magic, so let me.”

I grasped the necklace and directed myself towards the barrier.

“While I catch that, um, you all just stay in the barrier since you’ll be a bother.”

“Could you at least prepare some food?”

I clutched the magic stone―Beelzebub’s Soul Stone—and dashed out of the barrier.

“Call.”

Kyaaaaaak――――!!

The gigantic snowfield serpent.

It was time to test….

“Queen. Twist.”

The ability I inherited from Beelzebub.

 

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