Epilogue
Epilogue
IT’S been a few months since we destroyed the Demon Lord’s magic circle.
The explosion Clark caused by destroying the magic circle wiped out Analia’s royal capital. Thanks to Aela’s powers, there was no loss of life. Everyone was revived by our joint spell.
But without the guidance of the Demon Lord’s magic circle, Analia has become a kingdom without a purpose.
So Sereniel and Regulus became representative leaders of the people to prevent Analians from falling into the chaos of having no ruler. They are working hard to rebuild the country.
Aela made a triumphant return to Gaea with Prince Guido and Golem, trumpeting the news of the Demon Lord’s defeat.
Thus, the long war between the Kingdom of Gaea and Analia has come to an end. That said, with the conflict over, it’s been rumored that Gaea has become embroiled in succession wars within the royal family and various other political chaos, so it seems Prince Guido’s real fight starts now.
As for me and Julius, we returned to our beloved, glorious Elle Village together.
Rebuilding the village was our first course of action. Then tilling the fields, bundling straw bales, spinning thread to make clothes, caring for farm animals—there’s a lot of difficult work, but I have been enjoying every peaceful day with the villagers.
“Elle!” Julius calls for me while I’m weaving with the village women. He’s holding a letter. “We’ve received word from Sereniel.”
“What? From Sereniel?!” I jump up and run over to him.
“It seems they have finished cleaning up most of the trouble in Analia and are asking you to come spend time with them. What do you want to do?”
“I’m going!” I answer without delay. Julius smiles.
How nostalgic! I have no reason to refuse an invitation from fellow party members who helped vanquish the Demon Lord.
I’m super stoked about seeing them after all this time!
Plus, Sereniel said she wanted to talk about something if we succeeded in preventing the Demon Lord’s resurrection, but the opportunity completely slipped by because of the devastation the magic disaster wreaked on Analia.
Maybe this is my chance to fulfill the promise we made.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
“WOW, things are pretty much back to normal!” I exclaim as I take in Analia for the first time since the explosion.
This is New Analia. The country Sereniel and Regulus are striving to rebuild.
Julius and I flew here straight away after receiving Sereniel’s invitation.
Last I saw it, it looked like a scene right out of a post-apocalyptic movie, with the endless sea of green and ruins, but now proper buildings have replaced the wreckage and people are going about their business.
Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like Analia has more life and activity than it did back when I lived here.
“Sereniel and Regulus are in that big mansion over there, right? Let’s go, Julius!”
“Okay.” Julius walks in step with me and casually takes my hand in his. What’s more, this is no ordinary hand-holding, but the kind where your fingers interlace! The Lovers’ Hold!
“J-J-J-Ju-Julius! D-Doing this kinda thing in public is…lewd, don’t you think?!”
“…I don’t recall doing anything so indecent to deserve being called lewd.”
Julius’s usual calm and collected voice rains down on me, helping me regain a modicum of calm in my moment of freaking out over acting like a couple.
H-He’s right. I might have overreacted a bit. But…but…people are watching…and he did it out of the blue…! That’s right! His abruptness is at fault!
“Sh-Shut up. Y-You’re right. H-Holding hands isn’t out of the ordinary or anything. We are married, after all… But! You catch me off guard when you do it without notice, so get permission first! Ask for permission from your wonderful Elle!”
“All right. Elle, may I continue holding your hand?” Julius asks, a slight smile pulling at his lips.
It puts me in such a good mood I give instant approval. “…Yep! You have my special permission to do so.”
Hehe. Holding hands while walking through an unfamiliar city with Julius feels like a date!
“Oh my goodness. Did you hear what they just said, Regulus? They’re so innocent. It’s giving me hives. They’re too pure for this world.”
“Of course I heard, Sereniel. Such innocence. Their relationship is so squeaky clean.”
I hear people talking behind our back. What’s worse is that they keep mocking our relationship by calling us innocent this and innocent that!
I turn around and find two familiar faces.
“Oh? Sereniel? Regulus?!”
“We came to get you since we saw you land over here,” Sereniel says, her arm hooked around Regulus’s.
“Good to see you again. Is it all right for the country’s two leaders to be on a leisurely stroll in these parts?” Julius asks, but I’m way more curious about something else entirely.
Aren’t they too close? I mean, Sereniel is linking arms with Regulus and her breasts have practically swallowed his arm!
“On the public safety side, there’s no issue with us going for a walk. You’re about the only person in the world who can take the two of us on,” Regulus responds with a dauntless smile.
Sereniel notices my suspicious gaze locked on her chest and grins. “That reminds me, I haven’t told you yet. Regulus and I actually got married, too.”
Her shocking confession causes the world to blur before my eyes. “Hah?! Married? The two of you are?! Since when did you become so close?!”
“Since when? Can’t really say. It just kind of happened naturally. Right, Regulus?”
“It did. We were always together and Sereniel is gorgeous.”
“Ooh, you! You make me blush. Well, it is a fact I’m gorgeous.”
Regulus and Sereniel are flirting in front of me.
Wait, is this for real?
Still in disbelief, I pester them about it. “Hey, are you serious?!”
I mean, it’s hard to believe.
“There’s nothing strange about it. Regulus and I had already been bound through an engagement vow.”
An engagement vow in Analia is essentially a huge event where couples selected by the Demon Lord have children together per his orders.
Julius and I originally met as betrotheds under the Demon Lord’s orders, too.
Well, it makes sense. Basically, the Demon Lord was trying to produce stronger magic users through unions between the strongest sorcerers.
As two of the Four Grand Magi, Julius and I were selected as a couple for our excellence in magic. It makes plenty of sense that Sereniel and Regulus would be matched together for the same reason.
“I never knew. You guys were engaged, huh? We didn’t interact much as the Four Grand Magi, and I always thought you two hated each other.”
“Well, it’s a fact that our engagement vows ended a long time ago. We had a child and raised that child until they were old enough to go to the facility…and then we parted ways according to the rules. I had to leave both Regulus and our child.”
“Oh, right. Once you have a kid together in Analia, that’s it for your relationship. And your engagement period only lasts so long before it automatically terminates even if you don’t have any kids— Hang on, you guys had a kid together?!”
“Why, of course we did. I gave birth to an adorable child who’s just like me.”
Er, how old is Sereniel right now? She has been the second-ranked Grand Magi for as long as I can remember. I never heard anything about her taking a break from her duties to have children.
“Back then, Regulus was the coolest man around. The gray-haired, subdued version is wonderful in his own way, but back in the day, he was the strongest man in all of Analia and the first-ranked Grand Magi with long, flowing fiery-red hair. I was in awe of him from day one. So when I received word from the DemiOracle that Regulus was selected as my fiancé, I got on my knees and swore allegiance to the Demon Lord all over again! Though that didn’t last long, since we turned on the Demon Lord.”
“Wahaha! You’re making me blush, sweetheart. Once you become the first-ranked Magi, the Demon Lord often assigns different partners for you to have children with, but Sereniel left the biggest lasting impact. She was a drop-dead gorgeous lassie. And her boobs were huge. Bigger than any other gal.”
Regulus and Sereniel are drifting into their own little gross flirtatious world again, but I’m more bothered by something they mentioned.
“Hey, Regulus, is it true that the Demon Lord assigns you lots of different women to have children with once you become the first-ranked Grand Magi?”
“That’s right, lassie. First rank means you are the strongest man or woman in the kingdom. What better way is there to make powerful sorcerers than through the strongest’s seed?”
Uh, I wonder if that means the first-ranked Grand Magi was basically the Demon Lord’s studhorse in producing an endless supply of powerful sorcerers.
My eyes slowly rise to Julius’s face.
“Hey, Julius? You were the first-ranked Grand Magi, too, right? Did you have other fiancées before me…?” I pose my sudden doubts as a question for Julius.
Julius answers my naïve and simple question with a nod, his beautiful blond hair sliding over his shoulders. “Yes,” he says honestly without a shred of guilt in his voice. “I believe there were three before you. But we were still at war. I couldn’t spend much time with them. The time limit passed without us having any children and we went our separate ways.”
I glare at him.
What the hell?! I’m super pissed off!
Noticing my enraged aura, Julius’s eyes spin and he rushes to correct himself. “If I said I was lying just now, would that make you feel better?”
“Hell no! Stupid Julius! Pervert! Cheater! Impure jerk! Hand! Let go of my hand!” I demand and peel his hand off mine.
Julius makes a face like the world just came to an end. “Elle, I will do anything to make it up to you. Anything at all, so please don’t say things like that.”
I turn away from him.
I mean, I understand that it’s not really his fault and those relationships happened before us, but it’s still upsetting! Because…
“Because…you’re my…first… Even though you’re my first ever, you had three women before me…and I don’t like that,” I accidentally say out loud. Julius staggers backward.
“What in the world is this? A new type of telepathic magic? You’re too cute; my heart can’t take it…”
This time it’s what he muttered that sends heat rushing to my cheeks. I mean, he keeps calling me cute!
“D-Don’t think you can easily repair my mood by calling me cute, buster!”
“I don’t. I was just speaking from the heart… But it will kill me inside if you hate me. Um, think of it like this: it’s also my first time emotionally, so there’s no issue for us.”
Hah? What kind of excuse is that? First time emotionally… Well, whatever. You can’t do anything about the past even if you try. Plus, he called me cute.
Learning about his previous relationships was a shock, but it’s ancient history. I just won’t let him get away with touching another woman now that he’s with me.
But…it’s still frustrating to think about. So it’s only fair if I get to tease him a bit.
“I haven’t started hating you because of it or anything, but I won’t hold your hand again for the rest of the day!”
“No matter what I do?!”
“No matter what!” I declare firmly. Sadness washes over Julius’s pretty face, and then he turns a peevish glare on Regulus.
“It’s your fault that Elle is in a bad mood, you old coot. Do something.”
“Julius, you should learn to respect your elders more.”
“He’s right. Are you sure you want to treat us this way? Don’t you want to be accepted as our son-in-law?” Sereniel chimes in, interrupting the banter between Julius and Regulus.
Hmm? What’s this about him being their son-in-law?
The same doubts crossing my mind flash across Julius’s face. But he immediately puts together the pieces I’m missing.
“It can’t be possible that the child between you and Regulus is…,” he says and looks at me. Sereniel and Regulus are looking at me, too.
Wait, what?
“Sure is! Why haven’t you noticed? Her unique flaming-red hair was inherited from Regulus. And her fiery spirit is similar to mine, right? For you see, Elle is my and Regulus’s baby girl. Kyaha! I said it! It was illegal in Analia to tell your child that you’re their parents, but the Demon Lord and his laws are dead!”
“Wha? Wha? WHAAAAAAAAAT?!”
My astonished voice rings throughout Analia’s capital after hearing the unbelievable truth about my birth parents.
As I’m trembling from the shocking truth that Sereniel and Regulus are my mama and papa, Sereniel cheerfully suggests, “We have a lot to talk about, so let’s go to our new living quarters instead of chatting in the streets!”
I’m too stunned to move, so Sereniel leads me by the hand all the way to the parlor in the new manor built where the Demon Lord’s castle used to be.
Three familiar faces already occupy the room.
“Aela? Guido and Golem, too! You three came as well?”
Of all things, Gaea’s saint party is already sitting in the parlor.
“Elle! I’ve missed you so much! I had hoped we could see each other soon!” Aela openly rejoices over my arrival. She runs over to me and takes my hands, and we jump up and down together, overjoyed to be reunited once again.
Meanwhile, Julius and the men casually greet each other with “Good to see you” and “You too.”
Men can be so dry.
“It feels so nostalgic to gather our old party together.”
“Certainly does.”
Sereniel and Regulus are watching our reunion like an old couple getting emotional over seeing their grandchildren get together.
“You guys invited Aela, too?” I ask Sereniel over my shoulder.
Prince Guido reacts to my question with a wry smile. “No, she didn’t invite us. We came seeking aid.”
Seeking aid? What for?
I look back at Aela. Sadness permeates her smile.
“Did something happen?”
“Yes. A lot of problems have arisen over the crown and who is next to be king of Gaea…,” Aela struggles to tell me.
Guido continues in her place. “I’ve decided to take part in the battle for the crown. I want to show off that I have a deep connection with the new Analian government to give myself an extra edge in the fight for the throne.”
Prince Guido looks like a man who has made up his mind.
But this news comes as a surprise because Prince Guido never seemed like the type who was interested in becoming king. He had no interest in the manga storyline, either.
“That’s unexpected. I didn’t think you a man obsessed with the crown,” Julius softly says, echoing my opinion.
Golem groans. “His Highness is doing it for Lady Aela. The other candidates for the throne fear Lady Aela’s influence as the one who brought the long war to an end. If another royal becomes king, they will likely smear Lady Aela as a witch, and if the worst of them rises to power, they may even have her executed as a heretic.”
Golem’s bombshell news makes my eyes spin.
Seriously? I mean, is this for real?!
I search Aela’s face. She sorrowfully lowers her gaze to our hands.
“What the hell is with these idiots?! Are they freaking kidding? How could they toss her aside after they’re done using her like some sorta wet rag?! I’ll trap them in hell’s inferno and burn them alive!”
“Don’t get so fired up, Elle. Besides, you can’t use the same kind of magic you could before,” Julius reminds me. I purse my lips.
He’s right.
When I amplified Aela’s spell with my magic, I drained myself dry. I always unconsciously increased my own magic supply with magic, but I was so concentrated on amplifying Aela’s at the time that I couldn’t spare a moment to do the same for myself.
Doing so made me hit the bottom of my magic fuel can, so to speak. And after hitting bottom once, I’ve lost the mysterious ability to endlessly increase magic. At least so far.
I can use magic better than the average sorcerer still, but I don’t have the same supply that made it possible to cast huge area of effect spells that I was so fond of. On the bright side, I’ve become a master of spells that require precision, which I epically sucked at before.
“Don’t worry. I’ve got plenty of magic left in me to fire off one or two explosions! …I think,” I say to stop Julius from worrying, but he shakes his head.
“There’s no reason for you to push yourself, Elle. My power is your power. My everything belongs to you. If you wish it, I will turn everyone who annoys you into popsicles… But this is their problem, not yours,” Julius says, directing his gaze to Prince Guido.
“Exactly. Your offer means a lot to us, Lady Elle, but this is a trial we must face. We will do something about it ourselves.”
Hearing Prince Guido put it like that helps cool off the fire burning in me. When I really think about it, this is Gaea’s—Prince Guido’s fight—so we shouldn’t butt in for the heck of it.
But…
“If you say so. But we’re pretty fond of you guys. Or more like, I’d be happy to appoint you the title of honorary residents of Elle Village… And I think of you as fellow companions who helped us take down the Demon Lord. So make sure you tell me when you are in real trouble, okay?”
Aela gifts me with an angelic smile. “We will! Thank you!”
Hehe. Aela’s smile is the cutest. I’m still her biggest fan!
“With that said, we’ll start with Regulus and me lending you our names as the representative leaders of New Analia. We’ve become allies now that the war is over, but I will gladly threaten the noble fools that we will come for Gaea if anything happens to you kids. Simply put, use us in the best way possible to effectively protect your princess,” Sereniel says, handing Prince Guido a slip of paper.
Prince Guido accepts it and bows before them. “You have my gratitude.”
It looks like Saint Aela’s party still has a long ways to go before their stormy and drama-filled story comes to a close.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
AFTER having our long-awaited reunion with everyone, we enjoyed a dinner party at Sereniel’s mansion until late in the evening, and then Julius and I returned to Elle Village well past midnight.
Elle Village is the picture of silence in the middle of the night.
Julius and I walk slowly along the dirt road of the pitch-black village, relying only on the light of the lamp.
I feel light on my feet after meeting with our old friends, hearing what they’ve been up to, and having a good laugh together.
And more than all of that, I was the most surprised by the secret of my parentage…
I never knew. Well, I did think that Sereniel picked on me and hung around me a lot for us being complete strangers.
Julius grabs my hand, disrupting my pensive thinking.
I glance up at him.
“The sun set and the date has changed. The day I couldn’t hold hands with you is over. Now the day has come where I can hold your hand again,” Julius says quickly as if he’s making excuses for it.
What’s all this about?
I search through my memories until I finally remember.
Oh yeah, I told him he couldn’t hold my hand for the rest of the day because I was in a bad mood. I was in good spirits soon after that, so I completely forgot about it, but it seems like Julius didn’t.
I lace my fingers through his and squeeze.
Some of the tension leaves his tight cheeks as though he’s relieved I didn’t reject him this time.
“I’m glad it’s okay now. Thank you, Elle.”
Julius is so precious that I say “I’m cold” and nestle up against him.
Hehe. It’s chilly late at night. Besides, no one is around, it’s dark, this is Elle Village, and that’s the perfect setting for invincible Elle to become bold!
“Elle, I want you to know that…I’m sorry for hurting your feelings because of my other fiancées.”
“It’s fine. It doesn’t matter anymore. Oh, but! I won’t forgive you if you start looking at other women now that we are a couple!”
“That will never happen,” Julius tells me with a small smile.
Hehe. Delighted to hear that, I give his hand another squeeze.
I love holding hands with Julius.
We decide to take a detour on the way home, so our stroll takes us to a nearby lake.
Snuggling up against Julius and just going for a walk during the still of night is…incredibly fun.
“…It’s strange, for some reason I feel the most free in this very moment,” Julius quietly murmurs as we’re enjoying our midnight ramble.
“Of course you do. We’ve long since defeated the Demon Lord and are living how we want to with everyone in Elle Village!”
He shakes his head. “No, that’s a piece of it, but I had a lot of authority in Analia. I knew that I could overcome most things with sheer power and was capable of doing anything without remorse if I thought it was on the Demon Lord’s order… But now I become a depressed mess when I can’t hold your hand and am executing restraint not to use my power for my friend because that is what is best for them. I’m sure my past self would find the way I currently swing from happy to sad over the smallest things the absolute opposite of free. But the me of now feels like I am experiencing the greatest freedom in the world,” Julius explains as the night breeze caresses our cheeks.
I can smell the chill of the cool night air and the earthy scent of my beloved Elle Village.
“I feel the same way,” I agree, and since it’s feeling colder, I nestle in closer. Julius is warm.
“The night breeze is cold. Take my coat,” Julius says, letting go of my hand to take off his coat. He faces me and drapes it over my back.
Surrounded by his warmth, I discover something insightful about what he just told me.
“Hey, Julius, guess what? I might’ve just come up with something awesome! What you just said makes a lot more sense and fits super well if you change out the word free with happy.”
Illuminated by the lamp in his hand, Julius thoughtfully rubs his chin, then nods.
“You’re right. It does. I see. So that’s the concept that was missing. It makes so much more sense now,” Julius exclaims, having fun with the new discovery, which makes him extra lovable to watch. “So when do you feel free?” he asks me.
“I’m the glorious Elle Village’s grand sorceress mayor. I’m free all the time! But if I had to say it, there are the occasional—really just occasional—moments where I feel a lack of freedom.”
Julius gives his head a concerned tilt. “When is that?”
“Well, you see, this is just an example, but like when I want to kiss you but can’t reach you… Like right now…”
How charming he’s being and the mood in the air gives me the courage to say bold things. Julius’s eyes bulge, but an affectionate smile immediately takes over.
“Elle, please don’t say such adorable things. I won’t be able to hold myself back… Close your eyes,” he says, placing the lamp on the ground. He leans over and caresses my cheeks in his hands.
I lift my chin and close my eyes.
The sensation of my love’s lips on mine and the warmth of his hands make me feel the greatest “freedom” in the whole universe.
