Chapter 122

"Waaah."

Iberin, with the tension finally gone out of her, started to sob in earnest.

She'd already confirmed he was safe, and yet the tears wouldn't stop.

Lyssel just held her tightly and wouldn't let her go.

"It's all right. Everything's all right."

He was too busy soothing Iberin for anything else.

How much time passed?

It seemed she'd calmed a little — the sobs gradually quieted.

"Hk."

Demedeto, who had been waiting for Iberin's tears to stop, gave a faint smile.

"Finished crying at last?"

"……Hk."

"I've waited a long time for the two of you."

"You said earlier you didn't really know — what were you waiting for, then…."

"…That's true, but in any case, you're the one who found my name, aren't you? And then somehow fate guided things so that the seed came too."

"The seed?"

Lyssel's eyes went round.

"That seed inside you."

The Demon King had asked for this seed too.

For the Demon King — a seed corroded by demonic energy — it stood to reason he'd want it. But Demedeto was a holy god.

Could it be the Demon King hadn't fully been destroyed? Suspicion rose in Lyssel's eyes.

At that, Demedeto laughed quietly.

"I'm not asking you to give me the seed."

"Then…?"

"It was mine to begin with, so only I can purify it."

"You can purify this?"

The seed of evil was originally the essence of Demedeto's energy, but it had been corrupted.

And as for power — this being, who seemed weaker than the Demon King and held less holy power than even Iberin — could do it?

His distrust deepened.

As if reading the thought, Demedeto laughed, a little embarrassed, and said,

"I may have lost much of my power, but I'm still a god. And the seed's original owner is me."

"…Ah. I see."

The bitter lesson he'd just taken from dealing with the Demon King — that even what was right in front of him couldn't be casually trusted — wasn't going to fade easily.

Better to take responsibility for it all himself than to hand the seed over and have something go wrong.

"You're an upright child."

Demedeto murmured it admiringly.

"Well — that's how you've managed to survive this long."

Without saying more, Demedeto simply let her quiet energy radiate outward.

She'd weakened a great deal, but a god was unmistakably a god — the clarity of it was on another level.

And that energy seeped into Lyssel.

"What are you —!"

Lyssel moved to pull back in alarm, but realizing the energy gently wrapping around him wasn't a bad thing, he stopped.

"……This is."

For the first time, warmth was seeping into the body that had always been nothing but cold from the demonic energy.

"What's wrong?"

When Iberin checked on him with a worried look, he shook his head as if to say it was nothing.

In the meantime the warm energy spread through every part of him.

"Oh… is that, the seed…?"

The seed of evil, hidden deep inside Lyssel's body, rose into the air.

It was still full of black and wicked energy, but Demedeto's holy power was keeping it contained.

The seed drifted upward and passed into Demedeto's hand.

"What are you planning to do with it…?"

When Iberin asked, bewildered, Demedeto said,

"I'll purify this seed slowly."

"…Purify?"

"Yes. My power hasn't fully returned, so I can't purify it all at once — but it's not such a difficult thing either."

"Then you'll be here until then?"

"That's right. When it's been purified, you'll naturally come to know — there's no need to worry."

Had it really been this simple?

Of course, meeting a god wasn't a simple thing on its own.

Just then Lyssel, who'd been quiet beside her, asked,

"What about the demonic energy in Iberin's body, and the strange symptoms she's been having?"

"If by strange symptoms you mean the voices and the sleepwalking, those were my way of calling the child to me, so naturally there'll be no more of them from here on. As for the demonic energy, that does still remain — it too will need to be separately purified. The day I get my power back, I'll come to you."

With those words Demedeto's body grew faint, and Iberin called out urgently,

"And Lyssel?! What happens to Lyssel?"

"It's the same for that child. Once the demonic energy that built up while he carried the seed is removed, everything will be fine."

And then Demedeto vanished.

At some point the space had changed, and the two of them — now back at the temple entrance — stared blankly into the air.

Was it over?

Just like that?

Of course, the waiting for the seed to be purified still lay ahead, but in any case, they'd met the god.

Iberin let out a dazed laugh and ended up sinking to the floor.

"Iberin."

Lyssel quickly gathered her into his arms.

"I guess we can go back now."

"Looks like it."

"…There's no seed. Inside you."

"That's right."

"How does it feel…?"

Iberin asked it carefully.

Lyssel closed his eyes and let out a deep breath, trying to draw on demonic energy — but as expected, almost nothing was there.

"…It hasn't fully sunk in yet, honestly."

"That makes sense — it was all so sudden…."

"Let's head back."

Iberin tried to get up, but the tension had left her and her strength along with it; she couldn't rise.

So Lyssel scooped her up.

"The demonic energy is gone, but your strength is the same?"

"…I never let up on my training."

"Oh, so you're strong even without the demonic energy!"

"That's right."

It was true the demonic energy had made him stronger, but he was still the realm's Sword Master.

"That's a relief."

"A relief? You don't like me when I'm not strong?"

Lyssel asked it suddenly, without thinking.

"That's not what I meant. We haven't dealt with the emperor yet, so I was worried."

"Ah."

"This weird jealousy of yours keeps getting worse. It's cute."

"Cute….."

Iberin gave a small laugh and pulled herself up against the side of Lyssel's neck.

---

The moment they got back, Iberin fell asleep as if she'd fainted.

While Iberin had stayed relatively clean, Lyssel had been knocked around a bit and was smeared with dirt, which had everyone worried.

"Nothing happened, right?"

Once Lyssel had checked on the sleeping Iberin, washed up, and come out, Rotte and Pons were quick to ask.

"Plenty happened."

"Plenty?!"

"Yes. I met the god."

Lyssel said it as evenly as if it were someone else's story.

It was so even-toned that they couldn't tell whether he was serious, and they frowned for a second before laughing it off and telling him not to mess around.

"I'm not."

"You really met the god?"

"Yes. Met the Demon King too."

"…Your jokes have come a long way. You're starting to take after Lady Iberin."

"Really?"

His expression brightened at being told he resembled her.

"That wasn't a compliment."

"Why isn't it a compliment?"

"……Hh. So what actually happened?"

"I told you what happened, exactly as it happened — I don't know why you keep asking."

"It's just too far-fetched. Meeting the god alone is shocking enough — and then the Demon King?"

"That's the truth."

"But nothing seems different."

"Does something have to be different?"

"…No, that's not what I…"

They'd just come back from meeting the god, and the world was exactly as it had been.

Wasn't this the kind of thing where there was supposed to be some grand, sweeping change?

Neither of them could quite hide a vague disappointment.

"You said you also met the Demon King."

"Yes. He's dead."

"There's this strange magic where, hearing it from Your Highness, even something this serious feels like nothing at all. It's nice….."

"Right. I want to get some rest with Iberin, so go on."

In the end, the two of them gave up trying to get more out of him.

Since they'd quietly slipped in late in the predawn hours, the children were still asleep.

The moment Lyssel saw the two of them leave, he slid down beside Iberin.

"Now it's real."

Lying next to her and holding her tightly, Lyssel murmured it.

Earlier, in the temple, that the seed of evil was gone hadn't quite felt real — but now one thing was clear.

His body had been bitingly cold.

That was why sleeping next to Iberin, who always ran warm, had always come easily — and now, with the seed of evil gone, his own body was warm too.

---

The next day, the moment Iberin opened her eyes, she saw Lyssel beside her and broke into a wide smile.

Lyssel smiled back at the smiling Iberin, then asked,

"Why are you smiling like that?"

"Am I not allowed to smile?"

"No, that's not what I meant — seeing you smile right out of bed just puts me in a good mood."

"Really? Then I'll have to smile more often."

"Yes. Smile for me every day."

"I will. By the way, what time is it?"

For Lyssel to still be next to her — what time was it?

If it had been early dawn, he definitely would have asked why she was up already and told her to sleep more.

Iberin sat up groggily.

"I slept in today too."

"Really?"

This was only the second time she'd ever caught Lyssel sleeping in.

"I wanted to rest a little."

"There's been a lot going on. While we're at it, let's just rest properly today!"

"I've rested enough."

"Just a few hours?"

"This much is fine by me."

He really didn't know how to take it easy.

"There's something I want to tell you, by the way."

"What is it?"

"Not here, though."

She'd need to wash up and change clothes first.

"Are you hurt somewhere, or —"

"What, do I seem to be hurt all the time? I'll tell you if I am, so don't worry. It's not that. Remember last time I said I had a secret too? I want to tell you about that."

"Ah."

Only then did Lyssel get up in a slight scramble.

His curiosity must have been piqued — he was quick to get ready.

Iberin couldn't help laughing.

---

However much they'd slept in, "sleeping in" was strictly by Lyssel's standards.

The children were still well into dreamland.

Once the conversation was done, the kids would be up, and she planned to have breakfast together.

The two of them went out to the back garden.

How long had they walked? Iberin felt a glance flicker over her.

After a while of that, Lyssel said,

"I thought I'd be waiting much longer."

"Did you? Why?"

"Because you must have known whatever the secret was, it'd be fine with me — and yet you hesitated."

That was true.

He was the kind of man who said whatever she did was good, that she did well.

To Lyssel, Iberin was already someone he'd love no matter what she did.

Whatever the secret was, Iberin knew best of all that there was no chance of Lyssel turning away.

"That's true."

"So — what gave you the courage all of a sudden?"

"…When I met the god yesterday, she told me Lecashe was in my past."

"What? What do you mean?"

Lyssel looked baffled.

"I asked you once, remember? What it would be like if I went back to who I was before."

"…Yes."

"I wasn't talking about my memories then. I was talking about what would happen if the real Iberin came back."

"……What?"

Lyssel's eyes went wide in surprise.

"I'm not Iberin. I was living in another world, and I just ended up here."

"That's even possible?"

"I always wondered about that too. But the god said this world was probably one of the worlds I'd lived in before."

"…So you met Lecashe before that, then."

"Probably. Where I lived, this place came to me as a story in a novel — but apparently it was all real."

"…A novel."

"I was scared to tell you because I thought you might be shaken."

"It is a little surprising, but here I am, alive and breathing right in front of you."

"I know. And thanks to Demedeto, I got my confirmation. That you, and this place I'm living in now, are real."

Lyssel didn't add anything one way or the other.

He simply pulled her tightly into his arms.

"Aren't you curious about what happens to Lyssel?"

Tucked obediently in his arms, Iberin murmured it in a small voice.

He'd been afraid of being shaken, he'd said.

The ending couldn't have been a good one.

"Is it the same?"

"What?"

"The story. I think it'll have changed."

"You're right. A lot has changed."

That was what made her sure.

That if she had changed this much, the ending must have changed too.

"Then that's enough. Whatever it is, this won't end the way that story in your memory did."

At Lyssel's words, Iberin broke into a bright smile.