Chapter 127
“Master, have you gotten married by any chance?”
“No. I’m still single. Well, it’s a bit odd to wear a wedding dress just for fun, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. I thought you were getting married to Celcius.”
“What?”
What a sudden thing to say.
“It’s just that during the festival, you and Celcius weren’t around, so the kids were speculating that you were enjoying a honeymoon together.”
“Who? Are they imagining things about me again?”
“…Well, I won’t say who it was.”
“Aha, I see. Tsk tsk. Kids these days are always whispering ‘What is it?’ about everything, thinking everything is romantic. That’s really bad… even though I’m wearing this right now.”
I pointed to the dress I was wearing, indicating it was meant for a wedding.
“It’s a dress made with the thought of a wedding, but in the end, it became completely useless.”
I couldn’t have the wedding.
“I did promise to get married, but my partner died before we could do it.”
“…Oh.”
“The engagement was made, though.”
The reason I couldn’t have a wedding ceremony even though it was essentially close to marriage.
“Yes? I mean, I’m happy, but… can’t we wait until after having a child? The dress might put extra burden on my belly, and I wouldn’t want a horrible picture either.”
That’s because she, the Sorceress of Crimson Lotus, refused to wear a wedding dress with a swollen belly from pregnancy.
“This is a photo that will be seen for a lifetime, so I’d rather look my best, like a goddess.”
If possible, I’d like to have the wedding after giving birth, appearing more beautiful.
Even if no one attended as guests, I wanted to look my best by your side on this one and only wedding ceremony that would last forever.
For that reason, I decided to wear the dress after giving birth.
But the problem was that a crazy woman barged in after the delivery.
“I had decided to get married after restoring peace, but in the end, she just died right before that.”
After the Great War with the Human Alliance had ended, we had set the wedding date and planned everything, but all those plans crumbled because of the actions of the Wind Hero.
“So, I tried on the dress I couldn’t wear back then. What do you think? Isn’t it pretty?”
“It’s beautiful.”
“Of course. It looks great on this body.”
Although I looked noticeably different from the original Bel, it felt strangely like marrying with Bel’s younger appearance.
“Well, it would have been even more beautiful if I had worn my original body. But isn’t it pretty good still?”
“Definitely. I’d love to dress the woman I’m marrying in this.”
“Right? Hehe.”
Anyway, since the dress is beautiful, the pure white dress woven from the ancient history recorded in the Spirit Device, brought directly by Celcius, was recognized as beautiful enough by Lucius too.
Of course, I didn’t design it myself 500 years ago.
Unlike 500 years ago, the dress I’m wearing now has a deep V-neck due to the influence of Leviathan.
It’s cut so low, it almost reveals my mana pouch beneath.
Though it was designed to expose the front, it felt refreshing to let the heat escape after so long.
Mana is always circulating within the body, and by allowing nature to connect near the mana pouch, it became really easy to circulate mana.
Since I can easily absorb nature’s mana, circulating quality mana becomes effortless through this vent.
“Should I lend this to you later?”
“You’re going to lend it?”
“Yeah. Put it on the girl you want to dress up. Oh, wait. Since I wore it, it feels a bit awkward. It’s a wedding dress, and to wear a second-hand one is a little wrong. I’ll make you a new one later. Even if it’s made of mana.”
“…I’ll look forward to it.”
I’m sorry to Lucius, but this dress is for her.
Though the owner is gone, it will remain a dress without an owner forever.
But considering the design and beauty of the dress, I think she would understand that remaking it for someone else’s happy future is a reasonable thing to do.
“I thought I’d quietly enjoy the festival here and go to sleep once I cleaned up a bit, but here you are. Why are you here?”
“I wanted to keep you company in case you were alone, and it seems like a good timing. Here, have some Melonah.”
“Thank you. This is really sweet and delicious. I had it before a battle, and it was really good.”
I received the Melonah from Lucius.
In Belselphia, they pack ice cream in a very special paper, and I had already learned from Celcius how to unwrap it and eat it.
“Nom.”
After stripping off the wrapping, I quickly licked the melting tip.
If it gets on the dress, it would look terrible.
Plus, I couldn’t embarrass myself by dropping it in front of Lucius.
“But, you’ve been drinking, haven’t you?”
“…Yes.”
“Your mind is clear, but your body is drunk, so you must be feeling really embarrassed right now, right?”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. Your mind is sharp, but you can probably feel your heart racing like crazy. It’s weird, isn’t it?”
“A bit.”
Lucius’s face didn’t seem much different from usual, but there was definitely a blush on his cheeks.
Even though the Hero should be unaffected by alcohol due to the Holy Sword, it was evidence that the alcohol’s effects remained in his body.
“Before going to sleep, you should use the bathroom and flush that alcohol out. After that, tomorrow morning, you’ll feel refreshed as always.”
“Understood. Master, um…”
“Hmm?”
“…Is it really okay for you not to enjoy the festival? Wouldn’t it be fine for you to go out now?”
“No, I find enjoyment just from watching.”
Down there.
Seeing everyone gathering and enjoying with each other, I felt nostalgic in many ways.
“Although they are people who lost their homes and left, seeing them adapt to the environment and live new lives has changed my perspective. Watching them live without losing hope… it makes me reflect on myself a bit.”
“Master?”
“For 500 years, I thought staying still would be helpful to the world. But it wasn’t so. There were people in the world who needed my help.”
People of Belselphia and others certainly must be in need of my help.
“Losing something isn’t just my fate. I was the only one who thought I was the most miserable since I lost everything, saying I was the most pitiful. Goodbye to that past.”
Goodbye.
To the feeble and lazy Demon King.
You who lost the will to live and did nothing, saying there was no reason to live.
Now, I’ve found the will to live.
Beyond just seeking revenge on Zephar who made a fool of me, I’ve found something important I must do in this world.
“So I intend to change a little now. It seems I should be more… proactive. Since today is still the festival, I wanted to try this on just one last time. From tomorrow, I’ll be fully ready to be a new me.”
“Then…”
“I’ve been a bit lost until now, but from now on, I’ll gather my resolve and start again. So, Lucius, I’ll need your help.”
I reached out my hand to Lucius.
“Hero of mine, are you ready to save the world with me?”
“…Hero of mine? That suddenly puts me in a tough spot.”
“Oh, is that so? I guess it’s true that Lucius is everyone’s hero.”
“Still… it feels nice. Master’s hero. You trust that I won’t betray you no matter what, right?”
“That’s right.”
Lucius, a gullible one, betraying me?
That would be my mistake.
Unless Lucius is so great at controlling his emotions that even I can’t notice.
“Are you going to betray me?”
“No! Why would I betray the one who made me a hero? I will follow you to the end, Master.”
“Good spirit. Then… will you grant me one request?”
“A request?”
“Yes.”
Snap!
I snapped my fingers.
A soft light began to shine in the glade where I was, and soon, gentle music started to flow out.
“This is…”
“It’s the music that was often played at parties in the royal palace 500 years ago. Although it’s old-fashioned, I only know how to dance to this kind of music.”
“…Dance? What do you mean?”
“Dance.”
I adjusted the projection stone for distance.
Though I’m not actually dancing with Bel, I’ll dance in her stead, imagining her dancing.
It felt a little awkward dancing with a man like Lucius, but well, Lucius isn’t a bad dance partner at all.
After all, he’s a hero disciple with high respect for his master.
‘I can always cover it up later.’
I’m sure Celcius will edit it well enough.
Even if it’s recorded in the projection stone, manipulating the mana within the stone to change the appearance of the person inside is a piece of cake for a Great Sorcerer.
In other words.
Right now, it’s Lucius dancing, but the stone recorded later will show the “Demon Lord Belphegor” and “Sorceress of Crimson Lotus” dancing in tuxedo and wedding dress.
Sorry, Lucius, but you’ll have to be my substitute.
“Thinking about it, I don’t believe I ever taught you social dancing.”
“That…”
“When we go out to hunt Demon Lords, we’ll be invited to royal parties and have to dance with princesses. So we can’t step on the princess’s feet, right?”
If Lucius gets embarrassed, it would mean my embarrassment too.
“I’ll teach you the steps. I learned from a book at the Adventurer Guild, so I would need to try it out myself first, but there’s a saying that you have to get started to know anything, right?”
“At first….”
“How about it? Hmm, am I a bit odd? Or is it the noble Droniel…”
“No. um…”
Lucius frowned a bit and pulled away from me.
“…Don’t you smell something?”
“What? The alcohol smell? There’s nothing. I’m fine. To begin with, my sense of smell has dulled.”
“…Then.”
Lucius gingerly placed his finger over my outstretched hand.
“…What should I do?”
“…Pfft. It’s your very first time, isn’t it? You really don’t know anything.”
Thinking back to it.
– You should at least learn some dances from the Human World. There might be a crazy princess who invites the Demon King to her kingdom, trying to embarrass him with a dance, right? I’ll teach you from start to finish.
Back then, I didn’t know anything at all.
“First, just start.”
Gently.
“Put your hand on my waist.”
