Chapter 194……………………………….
I considered transporting the body back to the Empire and handing it over to the Cassius ducal family, but the more I thought about it, the worse the idea seemed.
The transportation itself would be difficult, but the biggest concern was that many people there had suffered because of Riena.
Would they really welcome a grave for her? Would Riena even be able to rest in peace there?
For those reasons, I asked Gaius—who had once lived on this land long ago—whether there was a suitable place to bury a body.
“There happens to be a fitting place.”
Gaius stroked his beard as he answered, and we immediately began making the grave.
Or rather… we tried to.
I stared in stunned silence as the fortress collapsed into the ground with a tremendous roar.
“…Is this the ‘fitting place’ you meant?”
“It is. After all, a grave is simply a corpse placed in a coffin and buried in the ground, isn’t it?”
“W-well, that’s true…”
…But I certainly hadn’t expected the very building we had just been eating, sleeping, and living in to be buried underground.
It seemed some kind of magic had been set up from the beginning. When Gaius touched the magic circles carved throughout the structure, the ground suddenly sank and the entire building collapsed into it.
“This place was originally meant to disappear along with the decline of our demon race. But I changed my mind and left it behind, just in case the descendants who went to the human world might someday return.”
“You mean families like the Cassius house?”
“That’s right. A thousand years ago, in the war you call the Monster Wave, we lost most of our people. Even before that, unlike magical beasts, we were few in number.”
“I see.”
“Thinking it was fate, the survivors decided to sleep quietly here. But not everyone agreed.”
“Then among those who didn’t…”
“Yes. My son Cassius was one of them. He said he would continue living among humans. He even fell in love with a human woman and had a child.”
His eyes, filled with something that might have been longing or sorrow, gazed at the disappearing old home.
“To be honest, with that boy’s personality, I thought he’d never get along with humans. He was unnecessarily prideful and didn’t know how to bow his head to others.”
“Hmm. That sounds similar to the reputation the Cassius family has in the Empire. They’re considered a very proud house.”
Gaius burst into hearty laughter.
“After a thousand years, it seems his temperament hasn’t changed. Still… that’s a relief. It sounds like they’re living well among humans.”
At that moment, I finally understood why the former king of the demon race had never fully gone to sleep and had remained here for a thousand years, even turning himself into a statue.
He had stayed here waiting for his son and his descendants.
So that if they were ever persecuted by humans and returned home, he could welcome them back anytime.
“You’re right. They’re all doing very well, so you don’t need to worry.”
At my words, he smiled gently and willingly said farewell to the fortress that was no longer needed.
Beside him, I thought about the coffin we had placed in the center of the fortress.
‘Riena… you ended up with an enormous grave.’
It was time for me to say goodbye to this long, tangled fate as well.
“Terrence.”
I leaned lightly against him.
“What is it?”
“I just wanted to say that I love you.”
Despite my sudden confession, he didn’t show even a hint of surprise.
“I love you too.”
Looking at him, I made a promise to myself to express my feelings to the people I cherish whenever I could.
Life is unpredictable, and even a life that seems long can end tomorrow.
“Where will you all go now?”
After the fortress had completely vanished, Gaius asked our group.
“I thought activating this final spell would drain all my mana, but I still have a little left. I’ll send you wherever you wish with a teleportation spell.”
“T-that’s possible?”
“Of course. If I couldn’t even perform magic at that level, the title of king would be wasted on me.”
The king of the demon race truly was something else.
“My role is finished anyway. If I have any mana left, I should use it for the sake of my descendants.”
“Thank you so much! But actually…”
I was grateful, but he was being so kind that I felt a bit guilty. After all, I wasn’t actually related to Cassius at all.
“It’s fine. You don’t need to say anything more.”
But he stopped me with a gentle smile and a pat on the shoulder.
For a moment, I wondered if he might actually know the truth and had simply chosen to play along.
But since he said nothing, there was no way to confirm it.
And so we were about to return directly to the Empire and rest comfortably in the imperial palace…
Or we would have, if there hadn’t been one stop along the way.
“Ah, by the way, I just heard something noteworthy from a magical beast. It seems a fairly large group of beasts is about to invade human territory.”
If only the old demon lord hadn’t suddenly brought up such a shocking topic.
“Why?!”
“From the beasts’ perspective, they prepared a Monster Wave only for it to end meaninglessly. So a few aggressive ones are venting their anger.”
“……”
“Still, compared to a real Monster Wave, the numbers are clearly smaller. Probably not even one-twentieth.”
“D-do you know where they’re heading?”
“To the place on this continent where the most humans live.”
Naturally, that description pointed to the capital of the Asterot Empire.
“This isn’t the time to waste! Let’s go quickly!”
Even if it was much smaller than a Monster Wave, we couldn’t just ignore it.
Terrence, Lucy, and I dragged along a reluctant parrot who wanted to keep investigating the beast territory and entrusted ourselves to Gaius’s magic.
In the blink of an eye, we arrived at the Empire’s border region, where a horde of monsters was advancing toward the capital.
I had never been here personally, but it was a place I knew well.
The County of Miloam.
“My descendant, live well.”
With those words, Gaius exhausted all his mana and scattered into dust.
I prayed that this time he would finally rest peacefully beside his people.
A short while later, we arrived at Miloam Castle and met some rather familiar faces.
They were Elliott Rudd—the legendary genius who had been sentenced to life imprisonment—and the loud, un-noble-like lord of the land, Count Miloam.
“Why are you here?!”
“Wow! Look who it is! Your Highness the Prince and Wallace—ah, I mean Baron Lucibius now!”
They welcomed us with great excitement.
“That’s what I’d like to ask. Elliott, shouldn’t you be in prison?”
At my question, Elliott snorted arrogantly.
“You must not know, but under imperial law, when a major crisis like a monster attack occurs, the local lord can temporarily mobilize prisoners.”
Ah, I had heard of that before.
Since prisoners have fewer rights than ordinary citizens, the state sometimes uses them freely when manpower is lacking.
For example, using them as bait to lure monsters.
But in Count Miloam’s case, it seemed he was relying on Elliott’s intelligence instead.
“What? Half of Thomas’s unit were farmers until yesterday! If you station them here, it’s dangerous!”
“Alright, alright! I’ll change it! Stop shouting every little thing in my ear!”
The two were so busy discussing strategy that they barely had time to talk to us.
And those weren’t the only familiar faces at Miloam Castle.
“Your Highness! Why are you here?!”
“Lady Idel! You’re safe!”
Before long, we also met Terrence’s subordinates—Jack, Vineta, and the others.
“You were here?”
Jack nodded vigorously.
“Yes! You told us to wait quietly, but how could we stay safe while Your Highness headed into danger?”
Vineta continued.
“We tried to get as close as possible to the beast territory where you and Lady Idel were, but sudden monster appearances trapped us here.”
Since they couldn’t stand by while their homeland was trampled by monsters, they had decided to assist Miloam’s army.
“What’s with the bandage?! Your Highness, are you badly injured? When did that happen?”
“Lady Idel, you look exhausted too. Please rest in Miloam Castle. We and the Miloam forces will defend this land.”
Watching Jack and Vineta worry about us one after another, I exchanged a glance with Terrence.
We had rushed here ready for another fight, but it seemed there might not be much for us to do after all.
At dawn the next day, the Miloam territory was attacked by a large horde of monsters.
The people resisted with one heart.
The soldiers fought bravely, and ordinary citizens supported them by preparing food and assisting however they could.
Watching from Miloam Castle, I saw people moving busily throughout the night.
The desperate yet majestic sight stirred emotions within me that I couldn’t quite describe.
‘The goddess chose me as her apostle… but I’m not the only one saving the world.’
Every one of those people was a hero fighting to protect their daily lives.
At that moment, Terrence returned to the room assigned to us after going outside.
“It seems a few monsters managed to climb over the wall. I’ll go deal with it.”
“Are you sure? You’re still injured and tired…”
“I’m fine. Even if I’m not, I should still go. After all, I’m a prince—and this is where my people live.”
Just like the man I loved.
And if he was going, how could I sit here doing nothing?
“I’m coming too.”
“It’s dangerous. You collapsed just yesterday…”
“You passed out too, Terrence. And don’t worry—do you know who I am? I did save the world, after all.”
As if admitting defeat, Terrence finally smirked.
“I’ll stay right beside you.”
“That’s exactly what I want.”
We chatted lightly as we left the room.
Later on, people who remembered the battle of that day—known as the Siege of Miloam or the Small Monster Wave—would often say this:
That the suddenly appearing Second Prince and Baron Lucibius fought the monsters fiercely alongside the people.
And somehow, we ended up proudly listed among the heroes who led the victory.
