Heroes and Machine Girls Looking at Profiles

6 – After the Show Ends

Time passed quickly. The hero party became stronger and the momentum of the Demon King’s forces diminished.

Along with that, the hero party literally decimated the enemy.

…Well, it merely looked like that because I had colluded with the Demon King.

In fact, most of the forces of the Demon King’s Army that seemed to have been vanquished were hiding in the depths of the Demon Territory.

In other words, over half of the demon army’s strength was still intact.

The reason it was over half is because I had annihilated elite units that had been stationed at the front line with human nations under Prince Anies’ direction.

Well… I didn’t exactly apologize to Elaine for that.

It was a kill-or-be-killed war, and now Elaine and I have reached a ceasefire agreement beneath the surface.

As a quid pro quo for joining this show, I reached an agreement that I would be completely removed from the human side’s military in this warzone.

However, I was getting tired of it.

Mainly mentally.

“Hero! You worked hard today!”

“Well, let’s go back and get some rest.”

“Yeah… I really appreciate it.”

I had to create a situation where I was not doubted by them at all.

So, I needed to ‘play the model fool who was charmed by his beautiful fiancees and acted according to their tactics.’

Over this long, long period of time.

This was nothing but stress.

In the midst of the feigned love from the women who were plotting to kill me, I had to play the fool, laughing along as I was led by their deception.

God knows how many times I’ve had to suppress their rising desire to kill me.

But that was slowly coming to an end.

The tide of the war was turning as we approached the second half. Our side was quickly advancing, pushing back the Demon King’s forces and even nearing the King’s castle.

Well, it was all part of the script anyway.

With the Sword of Light, all four of the Demon King’s generals had disappeared.

…It was a trick using teleportation, they hid in the deep ends of the Demon Realm.

Now, all that remained was the Demon King.

With the Demon King’s castle far in sight, we managed to reclaim one of the cities of the Halphaus Empire that had been occupied by the Demon King’s forces.

…It was the last city that had been occupied.

“Craaahhh! The hero has cooome!”

A demon general is surrounded by the light emitted by the holy sword, fading away.

Just before he disappeared, he glanced at me and gave a faint smile.

And, only his mouth moved as he spoke.

‘Take care till the end.’

And then, he disappeared with the light.

He probably had been teleported near the Demon King’s castle to report to the King.

“Hero, we finally did it!”

“We’ve retaken every city stolen by the Demon King’s forces!”

Annie and Ciella run towards me with bright faces.

To them, I return a counterfeit smile.

And think to myself.

You two didn’t do anything, did you?

They emphasized their contribution saying ‘we did it’.

Those two had recently become quite inactive in battles.

Other than pretending to fight, they left most of the fighting to me.

…There had been such tendencies sporadically before, but it was becoming blatant.

Did they really think I wouldn’t notice?

Is it their scheme to completely drain my strength?

Even if they try to exhaust my energy, I could blow them away with just a finger.

Every time I observed them slacking off during the battle, I could feel my resentment stirring.

…Well, it might be a good thing none of the demons, who are playing along with my show, get slain by their unseen swords.

“Hero…only the Demon King is left now.”

“Yeah, seems like it…the end is near.”

“Yes…let’s quickly defeat the Demon King…and then, the three of us together…”

Annie blushes and shyly trails off as she speaks.

A few months ago, I might have been ensnared by her pose and giggled idiotically.

But now, it’s such a struggle to fight off the feeling of nauseating revulsion.

Well, that’s okay.

This nonsense too, will end soon.

And so, the decisive battle with the Demon King approached, and I was stabbed by them.

In advance, I correctly warned them that if my heart was pierced, I would undoubtedly die.

As expected, they stabbed my heart by surprise, but due to a previous curse by the Demon King, my heart was located elsewhere, allowing me to avoid a fatal wound.

And then, a new fact came to light.

‘This fact was agreed upon by your Father as well.’

Words from Anies that year.

I had suspected it, and unsurprisingly, it was so.

The King of the state who summoned me to this world.

Being the King of a country with a deep history of passing down a holy sword from generation to generation.

The king of the Cloeti Kingdom was a subordinate too.

I suppressed my anger, waiting for the healing magic of the Four Heavenly Kings, Roselia to heal my body.

Indeed, the healing magic of the Four Heavenly Kings, feels faster than the healing magic of the Holy Maiden Shiella.

Watching the Demon King boasting about her acting skills when delaying the decisive battle made me grimace.

…Truly, the demons, including her, played along perfectly with my show.

And I, too, managed to make it look as if we had lost the battle while barely suffering any casualties from their side.

“Now, Demon King Ellain. I kept my promise, didn’t I? It’s your turn to keep your promise.”

“Yes, the promise to destroy only the Halfas Empire, right? Of course, I’ll keep it.”

After all, for Ellain, the occupation of the large empire known as the Halfas Empire would solve the food shortage problem of the demons, making it a profitable move.

And so, I decided to give her one more gift.

“No, you can add the Cloeti Kingdom as well.”

“Cloeti Kingdom too?”

“Yes, because the two countries are adjacent, I think it won’t be too difficult.”

Cloeti Kingdom.

If the three betrayer years had tried to kill me on their own and marry the empire’s crown prince, I wouldn’t have considered including the Cloeti Kingdom as a target for revenge.

But no matter how many times I thought about it, the Cloeti Kingdom, which summoned the hero and kept the holy sword the hero uses, couldn’t have just stood by and let the hero die.

So, I considered it, and sure enough, Cloeti Kingdom ended up being part of my revenge targets.

…Well, although I presented it as a gift to the Demon King, it’s a gift for me as well.

At my words, the Demon King nodded and said.

“Alright, then it’s time for us to part ways.”

The promise with the Demon King.

When this show is over, the Demon King’s army will retreat deep into the Demon King’s territory to bide their time.

Because most of the elite troops have been annihilated by me, it is an opportunity to regain their strength.

The blow was severe, but the Demon King and all of her direct underlings, the Four Heavenly Kings, survived.

For the demons, if the high-ranking individuals are all alive, it is not an arduous task to regain their previous strength.

In a year, just one year, they could regroup their forces.

And even if the Demon King attacks the Halfas Empire and the Cloeti Kingdom, which I designated, in a year, I will not interfere at all.

This is the promise between the Demon King Ellain and me.

“Yes, thank you for going along with it.”

“Hmm, but, can I ask you something?”

“What’s this?”

The Demon King asked in response to my answer.

“Was it alright for the princess to retrieve the holy sword?”

“Ah… you mean that?”

At the Demon King’s words, I reached out my hand.

Then, the holy sword Reinforce, shining in my hand, revealed itself.

Seeing this, the Demon King opened his eyes wide.

“Huh…hmm? I definitely saw the princess carrying it away.”

“Ah, that was a fake. I had your blacksmith make a replica.”

“Ah, when you said you wanted to use the Demon King’s forge…”

Aniese, the woman who took what was in my hand, a holy sword.

It was a fake holy sword, made identical to the real one in appearance.

Well, still, it’s made as a counterfeit of the holy sword, so it’s a famous sword made with expensive gems dumped into mithril. However, the real holy sword is in my hand.

When I think about it, it’s a terrible thing that Aniese, a princess of a kingdom whose role is to manage the holy sword, couldn’t distinguish between the real and the fake.

This confirms that she’s definitely not reliable.

“Well, I’ll leave soon. I’m counting on you again in a year.”

“Wait… wait a minute, hero!”

At Elain’s words, I turned around, and she looked directly at me and spoke.

“What will you do from now on?”

“I …? Well … I’ll have to think about it.”

Having left the Demon King’s castle, I, hooded by a cloak, was now in Rethium, the capital of the Kingdom of Cloetty.

It’s natural that the three people who betrayed me and returned first haven’t come back yet.

No matter how fast they raced in the fastest carriage, they couldn’t be faster than me, who could use teleportation.

“The fruits that came in today are very fresh!!”

“Hot fresh bread out of the oven! It’s delicious!!”

Rethium was brimming with energy.

When I had just been summoned, the kingdom was in a state of crisis due to the crowded situation, but now it feels like I’ve come to a completely different city.

I, who was mentally exhausted, comfortably enjoyed the vitality of Rethium.

I bought things to eat from street vendors, listened to the music of street performers, and even joined in with the drinkers in the evening.

…Well, due to the hero’s skill, I couldn’t get drunk no matter how much I drank.

That time felt like a much-needed break.

But at the same time, I also felt a bit guilty.

People in the kingdom who have escaped the threat of the Demon Army and regained their peace and tranquility.

But in a year’s time, the threat of the Demon Army will descend upon them again.

Of course, Elaine did promise not to touch the civilians.

…But aside from that, could I throw the people in this peaceful town back into the threat of the Demon Army for my revenge?

Such worries filled my mind.

So for a few days, I enjoyed the peace while trying to forget my worries.

Until that day arrived.

“The Hero’s party and Her Highness the Princess have returned!!”

Betrayed, the members of the Hero Party had returned to the kingdom.