---

Chapter 15: The Chaos of Darkness

“Hanamana!”

“Ugh, I knowwww!!”

Dark Magic was pouring down, while a yellow honeycomb-like Defensive Magic was fighting back.

And there was Zion kneeling, leaning against a sword stuck vertically in the ground, surrounded by a Healing Technique from Now and bolstering magic for Iris.

All of this magic was simultaneously being unleashed by one person, the Elf Cleric Hanamana.

“Kugh… I’m sorry. I didn’t expect to get caught.”

“Forget talking, just heal! Meteor Rain!! Earth Needles!!”

Following Now’s incantation, meteors engulfed in flames rained down from the sky, while sharp pillars shot up from the ground, crushing the approaching Monsters from top to bottom.

As the pillars soared and collided with the meteors, fragments rained down upon the Monsters again, an unmerciful barrage of magical physical force.

However, the might and number of the enemies were creating Monsters that crawled their way through this hell toward the barrier.

Just when a Monster’s sword was about to swing at Hanamana’s Holy Barrier, specialized in defending against Dark Magic—

– Splurt.

An arm was severed from the Monster, and then its head followed suit.

In the chaos and darkness of the battlefield, Iris was an unseen sword living within it.

– Crackle

Yet, despite the excellent coordination and impenetrable cover of the Hero Party, cracks began to form in Hanamana’s Barrier, and her expression started to turn grim as she hurriedly cast spells here and there.

“I didn’t think Hanamana could hold for long, but the Demon King is indeed a Demon King! Just launching bombardments and I can’t hold on anymore!!”

Though the Holy Barrier was thoroughly blocking the adverse physical force and elemental magic, Hanamana was on the verge of collapse from the sheer amount of Dark Magic being cast by just one Demon King.

A Gate opened behind the throne of the Demon King, and from the other side, the Demon King and his army poured unlimited magical power into their attacks; it was too high a wall to contend with for a mere Hero Party.

While they bravely penetrated the northern front to invade the Demon Castle, this party realized the truth a bit too late.

“Hop! We need to escape now! Quickly!”

‘What? Me?’

********************

“?!”

When I opened my eyes, I found myself sitting in a chair next to Zion, who was lying in bed, and the sun was high in the sky, shining so brightly outside that it was blinding.

‘What was that just now? Was it a dream?’

What I just saw was a battle of the Hero Party.

It was a dream from someone else’s perspective, watching the four members of the Hero Party.

The scene was definitely a first battle with the Demon King. But it clearly contained a moment where Now was giving me instructions.

‘It must have been a dream, and I guess that’s why I was in it.’

“Are you awake?”

Lost in the echoes of the dream, my hazy mind was rifling through memories when Zion opened her eyes and spoke to me.

“You’ve been awake? Since when?”

“For a while. More importantly, I saw something good.”

“Something good?”

“Hop’s sleeping face. I think it’s the first time I’ve seen it.”

“What’s good about that?”

“It was good for me.”

To describe my sleeping face as good… what even is that?

More importantly, falling asleep wasn’t an especially good thing. Did I let myself relax too much since it was my first vacation? I probably need to readjust my sleeping routine.

Since I didn’t know when Zion’s Condition would get better, I had a few days off stored, so I figured I’d use that time to adjust.

“Hop… by the way, I…”

While I was diligently calculating when to sleep and wake up in my head, Zion called out to me again.

Her voice was stammering as if something troublesome had come up, and it seemed like she was curling up in bed, fidgeting.

“What is it? Is something hurting again?”

“No, um, I… need the toilet…”

“Eh?”

Zion’s voice was getting smaller as she shrank more and more.

To hear her better, I leaned forward, tilting my body toward her, and with great effort, she managed to barely move her head toward me.

With her forehead resting against my shoulder, she squeezed out her voice while pulling herself tightly into a ball, telling me once again what she needed.

“Please take me to the toilet… quickly… I can’t hold it anymore…”

“You’ve been holding it? Since when?”

“Don’t ask that, just hurry!!”

“Why didn’t you wake me up instead of holding it in?”

“Just hurry up!!”

Seriously, she could say it louder.

I could have sat Zion in a wheelchair to move her, but since the bathroom wasn’t far and she wasn’t heavy, I pulled the blanket away, slid my hands under her shoulders and knees, and lifted her like a princess.

“Uwaaa!! You could have just moved me in a wheelchair!!”

“You said it was urgent. Let’s go fast.”

Zion flailed her thin arms like she was trying to struggle instead of her immobile legs, and when I didn’t budge and took her into the bathroom, she ended up covering her face with her hands.

I didn’t get why she was hiding her face, but anyway, I sat her down on the toilet, grabbed the door handle, and asked:

“I don’t need to lower you, right?”

“Just hurry and get out!!!”

With her arms moving just fine, it should be okay. No way I could just stand outside the bathroom with the door closed; that’d just look weird, so I stood a bit farther away instead.

“Hop, teacherrr~”

– Knock knock

And not long after, I heard a voice summoning me and a knock as if she had finished her business.

I knocked back, then opened the door to find Zion sitting on the toilet just as I had set her.

“Are you done?”

“Please don’t ask me that…”

Zion didn’t answer my question, turning her head away, blushing, and reaching both hands toward me as if asking for a hug.

Obeying her request, I came closer and cradled her into my arms just as we were facing each other. Zion turned into a position like a koala clinging to a tree.

“Hop.”

“Yes?”

“Did you personally develop the toilet with a hole in the seat?”

“That’s right.”

Since the story is set in a medieval fantasy world, I guess it was quite a novelty to her.

That was a special item I ordered made when this house was built. Even just having that design would make it more comfortable to do business.

After returning to the bedroom, laying Zion down again, and covering her with the blanket, her face relaxed, and she smiled up at me.

“I’ve traveled through many countries, but I’ve never seen anything like that. Truly a groundbreaking invention.”

“Seriously?”

“If that didn’t exist…”

Zion’s eyes widened, trembling with fear.

What was she thinking of now?

“I see. If I had to squat down to do it…”

“Hop?”

“I wouldn’t have been able to pull my pants down by myself.”

“What are you thinking right now, teacher?”

“And if I couldn’t squat, someone would need to support or lift me from behind.”

“Well… since I mentioned it, I can’t really tell you not to imagine…”

“And then…”

“Could you stop talking about that?”

“Should I wipe?”

“Not even a chance!!!”

Suddenly, Zion shot up straight, sitting on the bed, reaching for me, and began swinging her arms indiscriminately, attacking me with her palms.

“Ah!! Ouch!! Why are you hitting me!!”

“Do you really not know? You perv!!”

Geez, that hurt! The sound of Zion’s palm slapping was coloring my arms red as I tried to block her.

It felt like the sort of hits a typical girl would deal, but Zion shouldn’t have any strength in her arms, so where’s this power coming from?

Could it be…?

“Zion!! You’re using No Resistance right now, aren’t you?! Are you crazy?!”

“Eliminating evil is a Hero’s duty!! Even if my body breaks!!”

“I’m not an evil spirit to eliminate…! Aah!!”

With damage consistently hitting my blocking arm, I had no choice but to retreat back from Zion’s bed and put some distance between us.

Zion still didn’t seem to have vented her anger as she huffed with fury, glaring at me.

“Why aren’t you coming over here?”

“Huff, Zion… I’m just telling you, I’m not fleeing because it hurts or scares me.”

“Then why are you running away?”

“Because if you use No Resistance while hitting, you’re gonna get into serious trouble!”

“Seriously, you really know how to talk!! If you had saved that line, I wouldn’t be getting hit like this!!”

Zion shouted loudly, practically shaking the mansion with her voice, breathing heavily while wearing an angry expression. Eventually, she regained some calmness and slumped back onto the bed.

“You can’t help but say such things out loud… You really love to torment me, don’t you, Hop?”

“Of course not. I’m just glad nothing like that happened.”

“I guess so. Thank goodness for that. If it had, how on earth would I live on…”

“Is it really that bad?”

“Of course! How could I ever face you if I had to do that?!”

If what I mentioned earlier had actually occurred… It’d definitely make for a good spectacle, but I was just glad it didn’t happen, so let’s set that aside for now.

“More importantly, Zion. What are you gonna do about your arms? You swinging them around like that, what do you think will happen?”

“But it’s a Hero’s duty…”

“Are you joking now? The duty is important, but you broke our morning promise in less than half a day. Didn’t we agree that you wouldn’t do anything without my order, including exercise? Didn’t we agree you’d consult me before using your body?”

“Ugh…”

Zion buried her face under the blanket, clearly at a loss for words.

‘Sigh… I can only hope nothing serious has happened since it was just for a moment.’

But that wish crumbled mercilessly less than half a day later.

That evening, I had brought Zion to sit at the dining table after preparing the food, but…

“Hop…”

Zion was just trembling, her arms outstretched downward, looking like she was about to cry.

“My arms hurt too much, I can’t move them…”

 

---