With her fading body, she mustered all her strength for a final embrace, holding the crying Shion.
"Make sure you eat properly every day..."
"Uh..."
"Don't follow strangers because you're weak without me."
"Uh-huh."
"Listen to Crow... Don't cause him any trouble."
"Uh-huh."
"...Be happy..."
"Uh... eh... uwaaaaaaaah!"
When Shion cried out loud, Holly had completely disappeared.
All I could do was silently watch.
At such times, I couldn't even cry.
Maybe that's why I was chosen to be the demon lord.
"Then, I'm off as well. Take care, Crow."
Maris left a rather straightforward farewell.
Perhaps because she hadn't materialized at the end, Maris's disappearance seemed slightly slower than Holly's.
"But hey, Crow. Is this really okay with you?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"When I disappear, the power of the demon lord will be gone."
"Oh, right."
"And the floor of the demon lord's castle you're standing on will disappear too..."
In an instant, the ground beneath me and Shion vanished.
"You're too late to tell us noooooooooow!"
"Brotherrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!"
Me and Shion, once the demon lord and hero, screamed as we fell. Chapter 6: The Inept Hero's Journey Continues
Well, in the end, both of us were saved.
Shion's Sword of Holy Light lost its power, and the Sword of Darkness inside me seemed to have vanished, but the other divine swords didn't lose their power.
The Pegasus Sword nearby immediately rescued me and Shion as we fell.
Then, riding on the Pegasus Sword, Shion and I returned to the royal capital, but what followed was a dreadful story.
First, despite safely returning to the royal capital, when Instructor Cattleya saw my face, she ran towards me, crying, so I instinctively spread my arms to catch her,
"You idiottttttttttttttt!"
And was punched with all her might.
Apparently, she was furious about the note I had left behind.
But since I was no longer the demon lord or anything of the sort, Instructor Cattleya's punch genuinely hurt, and I almost cried.
Moreover, after knocking me down, Instructor Cattleya proceeded to kick me repeatedly.
"It hurts! It really hurts!"
"Shut up! Do you have any idea how worried I was? How much trouble you caused me? You shortened my life!"
"You're shortening my life too!"
At that moment, Iris and Saffron also rushed to me and, after gently patting the safely returned Shion on the shoulder and head, inexplicably started kicking me along with Instructor Cattleya.
"Eh!? Why!? Why am I getting beaten up!?"
"Give us a heads up next time! Don't just disappear without saying anything!"
"It hurts! I'm gonna die! I'm really gonna die!"
"Ahahahahaha!"
While Iris seemed angry for the same reason as Instructor Cattleya, Saffron appeared to be just joining in for the fun.
"You did well to return safely."
"You've concluded a fierce battle, haven't you?"
King Heath and Chancellor Platanus made such remarks upon seeing me beaten up and battered, as if I had gone through a grueling fight. Well, I did go through a tremendous battle, but the ordeal from my companions afterward hurt more.
I was among all the saintly sword wielders gathered around the Round Table.
Former hero Shion.
Instructor Cattleya. General Iris. King Heath.
Chancellor Platanus. Director Saffron.
And also Cineraria, Jasmine, and Amaranth were there.
Honestly, gathering all these people was a tremendous effort, but in the final showdown, it felt like they didn't contribute much.
I never imagined I would end up concluding a battle that held the fate of the world on my own.
What was all my effort up to this point for, then?
In the final battle, not even Shion and Holly fought.
Well, if I hadn't met them, my spirit would have been completely dead.
But for someone like me, who prefers to delegate responsibilities, this is an unpleasant story.
From now on, I'll delegate everything to them.
After all, I no longer have the power of a demon lord.
"…I'll tell you everything that happened, in order."
Me, having lost the power of a demon lord.
Shion, having lost the power of a hero.
We're just ordinary humans now.
Actually, we're probably the weakest ones here.
Though I don't feel much of a decline in physical abilities, possibly due to aftereffects of being possessed by Holly and Maris, that's trivial compared to those still wielding divine swords.
For Shion and me to live in human society from now on, the support of everyone here is essential.
I don't even want to think about what happens to a hero who can no longer fight, and well, I was a demon lord.
Who knows what might happen to us.
For starters, I carefully explained how we managed to eliminate the entity that was the parent of both heroes and demon lords.
And how that led to both Shion and me becoming weakened.
It's probably best for us to stay out of the limelight from now on, for our own sake.
Most likely, in the world conquest that the saintly sword wielders here may undertake, Shion and I are unnecessary.
It would be disastrous to get entangled in a power struggle and possibly assassinated. Shion and I being quietly protected under the care of someone here seems like the best course of action.
As I continued to explain, everyone listening to me seemed utterly speechless, staring at me in disbelief.
"...So, does that mean a demon lord will never resurrect again?"
Instructor Cattleya was the first to break the silence.
"While there's no absolute certainty, that's what we believe. In exchange, heroes will also cease to appear. From now on, how the society of humans handles the divine swords wielded by saintly sword wielders will significantly influence our world."
I looked around at everyone sitting at the Round Table,
"The fate of the world now rests on the shoulders of everyone here. It would be a shame if, after finally getting rid of the demon lord, humanity were to be destroyed due to conflicts among themselves. So, let's all work together towards a peaceful world. I'm counting on you for everything else! That's all! Dismissed!"
I attempted to end the conversation with my usual demeanor, but Instructor Cattleya grabbed my shoulder and wouldn't let go.
"Don't joke with me! You can't just make your escape now!"
"That's right! It's too much for just us to handle!"
Instructor Cattleya raised her voice in anger, and Iris agreed with her.
"No, no, no! I don't have any power left, okay? My prime is over! I was the world's strongest for a moment, but now I'm just an ordinary person! As useless as ever! I can't do anything anymore!"
I pleaded with all my might, showing my reluctance to do anything further.
However, Chancellor Platanus, through tears, said,
"...Indeed... The one I chose as my lord was the real deal... You've always exceeded my expectations...!"
And then,
"I had suspected Crow might be the demon lord, but I never imagined he'd pull off something like this and come back."
Saffran muttered something completely baffling.
"What are you talking about? The idea of Crow being a demon lord was so unexpected, everyone was shocked."
"I wasn't surprised, though. I always thought Crow might be a demon lord, seeing spirits that heroes aren't supposed to see is suspicious enough. Sure, there was no proof, but when I saw Crow's eyes glowing in the night, I really thought he was bad news. And accepting people like me and Cineraria, who are from the shadows, isn't something a decent man does."
"Hey! Don't sneakily insult me!"
Cineraria cut into the conversation between Saffran and Instructor Cattleya.
Amaranth, sitting next to Cineraria, crossed her arms and nodded with a self-satisfied expresshion.
"I predicted that Crow would safely return with Hero Shion. Even from a young age, when everyone else looked down on him, he always managed to do the unexpected. No matter where he got lost, he'd always find his way back on his own."
"No need to flaunt that you were childhood friends with Crow now! Like it's going to make any difference at this point!"
"Pulse? No pulse... Are you saying I'm dead, Cineraria?"