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“Huh…?”

Wendy, who had been sound asleep, opened her eyes. She wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth and looked around. The strange silence in the wagon made her tilt her head unconsciously, and someone spoke up.

“Awake now?”

“Master…?”

Wendy rubbed her eyes and sat up. Myohail, in the form of a tricolor cat, was staring blankly at the night sky through the curtains. Wendy, momentarily speechless at his distant gaze, finally realized that the man who should have been by her side was nowhere to be seen.

“Huh? Master, where did Count Arthur go?”

“He left a while ago to scout. Haha…”

“A while ago?! Then I should follow him now…!”

“Arthur. The Count probably didn’t want you to follow him.”

“Ah…”

Only then did Wendy notice that Tristan’s coat was draped over her. He must have covered her while she slept to keep her from catching a cold.

“Count…”

Wendy hugged the coat tightly, as if it were a precious treasure. Her feelings for Tristan had grown too big to hide. It was clear just how significant he was to her.

Watching her, Myohail recalled the conversation he had with Tristan earlier.

“Wendy is… like my life.”

That was Tristan’s response to Myohail’s question.

“Thanks to her, I’ve been saved multiple times. Now, she’s more precious to me than my own life. I have no intention of making her my enemy.”

Myohail almost asked why Tristan wanted to become the Demon Lord, but he held back. It might have been a foolish question.

Tristan Ruelberta. The head of the powerful Ruelberta family, a man even the Emperor feared. It wouldn’t be strange if such a man, known as the most evil in the country, became the Demon Lord.

Humans are greedy creatures. Tristan wanted not only the Empire but also the lands of the demons under his control… If Myohail hadn’t known him better, he might have thought the same.

But if Tristan were truly a heartless villain, would he have tried to revive the maids in the basement? Would he have given Wendy, a commoner, the chance to learn? Would he have taken in Wendy’s impoverished family?

After all these questions, Myohail no longer saw Tristan as a villain. He even came to trust him. That’s why he believed Tristan when he said Wendy was like his life.

Myohail even speculated about Tristan’s reasons for wanting to become the Demon Lord. With his vast experience and knowledge, he came to a different conclusion than most.

Tristan wanted to break the destined relationship between the Hero and the Demon Lord.

The Hero, representing all of humanity, receives overwhelming support. It might sound like a noble profession, but in reality, the Hero is pushed into their role. The conflict between humans and demons has been going on for so long that no one knows who started it.

The Hero is forced to defeat the Demon Lord, regardless of their own will. The heavy responsibility of representing humanity and the expectations of the people weigh heavily on the Hero.

Myohail didn’t want Wendy to become the Hero and bear that burden. Grace, the first Hero and his companion, had suffered under that pressure. How much more would the tender-hearted Wendy suffer?

But there was another reason Myohail didn’t want Wendy to become the Hero.

He remembered how Grace, who had defeated the Demon Lord, was accused of being a witch and executed by the King. He remembered how his beloved companion was unjustly killed by the very humans she tried to protect.

Even after all these years, Myohail still held a grudge against humanity. He didn’t want Wendy to suffer the same tragedy. He wanted to stop her from becoming the Hero.

But even a Sage, compared to a natural disaster, couldn’t stop the flow of the world.

Myohail knew the time for the Demon Lord’s arrival was near. The constellations were ominous every night. The wind and earth had been restless for over a year. The Demon Lord could arrive any day now.

And in this time, Tristan declared he would become the Demon Lord. It couldn’t be a coincidence. The world must have led him to this.

Myohail thought.

What if a Demon Lord appeared who didn’t oppose the Hero? What if the Hero also didn’t oppose the Demon Lord?

Whether the gods would accept this was unknown. Whether humans and demons would accept it was even more uncertain.

But if it could happen… there was a small chance Wendy could escape the fate constantly pushed upon her.

“So that’s why you want to become the Demon Lord… Count.”

Myohail felt a heavy weight in his chest.

Perhaps if Tristan became the Demon Lord, the destined relationship between the Hero and the Demon Lord could be broken.

“Myohail. I believe you can protect Wendy from all dangers.”

Tristan said this calmly.

“I remember you took on the role of her protector. No matter what happens, you must protect her.”

Wendy’s safety was more important than anything. Even if she wasn’t happy, as long as she was safe, lived a long life, and had an ordinary life, Myohail would be content, even if it meant escaping the fate of the Hero.

But Tristan wasn’t trying to escape fate. He was confronting it head-on. He intended to uproot destiny itself. And he was prepared for failure.

“I don’t think it will happen, but if I become the Demon Lord and lose my sanity…”

Tristan stroked Wendy’s forehead as she slept soundly.

“Then I leave the rest to you, Myohail.”

Understanding the weight of those words, Myohail couldn’t easily agree. He simply replied.

“This old man doesn’t care what you do, Count. Selfishly, as long as nothing bad happens to my disciple and her family, I don’t care what happens to the rest of humanity.”

“Don’t worry. What you fear won’t happen.”

“Haha… Your words are reassuring. Perhaps in a world where the Demon Lord wins, even the Hero… could be happy.”

“……”

With that, Tristan left to scout. Even in front of the Sage, he didn’t show his emotions. What he was thinking was unknown. But if his intention was to persuade Myohail, he would have been persuaded many times over.

“…Disciple.”

“Yes?”

Snapping out of his thoughts, Myohail stroked his beard and asked his adorable disciple, who was blinking her big eyes.

“Are you happy now?”

*

“It’s quiet.”

That was my first impression of the scouting trip to the nearby forest. With 100,000 soldiers marching, you’d think there’d be some activity. But not even a wild animal was in sight.

“It is. It’s peaceful.”

Helga and I rode our horses aimlessly through the dark forest. We couldn’t let our guard down, as we might encounter demons lurking in the shadows. But something had been bothering me for a while.

“Helga.”

“Yes, Count.”

“I understand you wanted to give your horse a break after such a busy day. But shouldn’t you rest too, since you’ve been running around with the troops?”

Seeing Wendy passed out made me realize the maids needed a break too, so I decided to go scouting alone. But Helga, my bodyguard knight, wouldn’t allow it, so here we were.

Though she insisted on letting her horse rest, so we ended up sharing one. As a result, Helga and I were riding through the forest together on a single horse.

“No. I have more stamina than my horse.”

“…I see.”

Probably not a joke. Helga’s physical abilities were superhuman. Fitting for the daughter of the pirate Maible and the strongman Gale.

Helga, sitting in front of me, leaned back slightly against me. The scent of violets wafted from her hair. For an ordinary man, this might be a thrilling situation, but I’ve built up some resistance.

“Besides, you’re scouting alone, Count.”

“I can handle it alone.”

“No. I’m your bodyguard knight. It’s my duty to protect you, no matter where you go. I’ll always be by your side.”

Helga, sitting in front of me, spoke with confidence. Like Wendy, Helga had changed a lot. Once hot-tempered and stubborn, she had become much calmer lately.

But for a while now, I’ve felt like Helga was pushing her backside toward me… and sure enough.

“Ah… Count. That’s…! That’s my precious spot…! If you touch it so roughly…!”

I take it back. This girl hasn’t changed at all.

“I’m holding the reins.”

“Ahh. My precious reins…! If you touch them like that…! I’ll…!”

What is she even talking about?

“Ah, no! Count. In a place like this, no one would know if you took advantage of me!”

“Just stop.”

“Fufufu… Sorry. It’s just too fun.”

Helga turned her head and smirked. Her face still had traces of a young girl, but when she smiled, a fox-like charm emerged.

“This feels more like a date than a scouting mission.”

“Keep your eyes forward.”

“Ah, Count, you’re so cold. You have such a beautiful woman in your arms, and you’re not even a little excited?”

“I’m more likely to get excited from anger.”

“That’s not where I wanted to excite you…?”

Helga giggled and leaned back again. Her backside kept brushing against me, making it dangerous. I needed to stop this.

“Alright, stop pushing that big backside of yours against me.”

“Huh?! It’s not that big!”

Helga’s face suddenly turned bright red. She usually seemed unfazed by lewd topics, but this made her shy. She’s really hard to figure out.

As we chatted on the horse, Helga pointed at something she noticed.

“Count. Over there…”

About 500 meters away, smoke was rising. Wait… it didn’t smell like smoke.

“That’s…”

“Looks like… a hot spring?”

“A hot spring?”

I couldn’t help but tilt my head at Helga’s guess. A hot spring in the middle of this forest?

“Yes. Probably a magical hot spring. There’s a place nearby with dense magical energy.”

I think I read about it in a book. Hot springs that form in areas with concentrated magical energy. The water, saturated with underground magic, rises to the surface, and magical crystals form around it, making it a useful resource.

“Shall we go check it out?”

“Hmm.”

Finders keepers. We stumbled upon a goldmine while scouting. I nodded and adjusted the reins.

“Alright. It wouldn’t hurt to take a look.”

 

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