Epilogue
“Arw-rw-rw! (Lady Mary, it’s morning!)”
Unusually, I wake up before her today.
I gently poke my lady, who is sleeping on the bed, with my nose, trying to get her to wake up.
“Arwf? (Lady Mary? Are you still sleepy?)”
“Nn, Routa…”
Huh? She’s awake, but her eyes are unfocused.
“I feel…kind of hot…”
Her cheeks are a little red, too. It definitely looks like she’s sick or something. Did she catch a cold? Well, I can’t stay here. I have to call the maids.
“Arwf, arwf! (Miranda! Toaaaa! Come here! Anyone!)”
I go out into the hallway and slam into Toa, who was just bringing in the morning tea.
“Wh-what’s wrong, Routa?”
“Woof, woof! (This way, this way! Hurry, hurry!)”
I pull at Toa and usher her into the room. It quickly becomes known throughout the mansion that my lady has fallen ill, and Papa, kicking open the door of his office, runs to where she is.
“Uwooooooooohhhhhhhh!! Maaaaaaryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!! Are you all riiiiiiiiiiight?!” he shouts after running in.
“Master, please quiet down,” warns Miranda. Her gaze is cold, not allowing objection, and Papa settles down in an instant.
“Father, I’m all right. It’s just a little fever.”
“And we have the medicine from Hecate for when she catches a fever,” says Miranda. “She’ll come for a checkup in the afternoon, so there is nothing to worry about. I will wipe off Lady Mary’s sweat, so if the men could all leave?”
“Right…”
“Arwf… (Right…)”
After being chased out, we pace back and forth through the hallway with nothing to do.
“Mary… Ah, Mary… I’m so worried…”
I understand how Papa feels. It was a big crisis six months ago, too, when my lady had a high fever. Ever since taking the wyrmnil, she’s stopped catching colds entirely. And yet now, after all that, she’s sick again? I’m worried about her, too.
“I will come back again soon, so please rest your body.” Miranda gives a bow and exits the room.
“Miranda, has Mary’s fever gone down?”
“I just had her take the medicine; it won’t go down that quickly. But…”
“But?”
“The symptoms are very much like her previous fevers. Of course, we would have to ask Lady Hecate for more details, but…”
“What…?! Are you saying Mary has to go through all that suffering again…?!”
“Master, please quiet down. Otherwise, Lady Mary won’t be able to rest.”
“I… I apologize… But I’m not sure what to do. I hope Dr. Hecate comes soon.”
“That is one thing we can’t do anything about. We have no way of getting in touch with her.”
“Then we’ll just have to wait… Miranda, isn’t there anything I could do?”
“Well, pacing around here is going to get in the way of us taking care of her, so why don’t you go back to your room and continue your work?”
“Right…”
Beaten by her sound argument, Papa goes back to his office in dejection. Chin up, Papa. Once Lady Mary is awake, you should be there to cheer her up.
It’s so reassuring to have a calm maid like Miranda around. Toa’s not quite there yet in that regard. She just panics, like I do.
“M-Miranda…!”
“Toa, calm yourself. You know what you have to do.”
“Y-yes, ma’am.”
“You and I will nurse Lady Mary back to health. If you tell Betty and the others what you have to do, they’ll do just fine filling in for you. Also, go ask Mr. James for something for a sick patient.”
“Yes, ma’am! I’ll tell them right away!”
Toa takes a deep breath, then nods firmly before heading off at a hurried pace, but not a run, to deliver the messages.
“I’ll have to make a list of Lady Mary’s symptoms… I hope Lady Hecate arrives soon. Not having any way to contact her is an inconvenience at times like this…”
Miranda leaves down the hallway to fulfill her own responsibilities.
“Arwf… (In that case, I’ll…)”
…go and sleep by Lady Mary’s side.
That’s what I’d like to say, but there’s still something I can do. I open a second-floor window and jump into the courtyard.
“Arwf! (Nahura!)”
“Meow! (Present!)”
Wow, she really does show up as soon as she’s called. She must be so bored.
“Arf, arf? (You can contact Hecate, right? Can you tell her to come right away?)”
“Mew! (No problem!)”
“Arf, arf? (After that, can you bring me to the waterfall Len used to live behind?)”
The waterfall café is half-destroyed, but there might still be wyrmnil lying around. If I find some and take it back, it should help make the medicine for Lady Mary.
“Mew? (Huh? No need? Oh, all right. Understood. I’ll tell him.)”
Nahura is talking to someone—she must have gotten in touch with Hecate.
“Mew, mew. (Routa, my mistress would like to see you.)”
“Arf? (Huh? But I was the one calling her.)”
She shouldn’t need anything from me right now, right?
“Mew! (Anyway, she told me to bring you along, so here we go!)”
“Arwf! (Hey, wait!)”
Nahura triggers her spatial magic, dragging me along by force.
The scenery floods white, and when it fades, I’m standing in front of a large tree.
“Arwf…! (This is bigger than the elves’ Worldtree…!)”
It’s not quite as tall, but it’s several times thicker. It could be a different species of tree, but it gives off this sense of presence, like it’s been alive for thousands of years.
And there’s a large house built into the tree itself, too. They’re so fused together, you can’t tell which came first, the house or the tree.
“Meow. (Welcome to Hecate’s magic workshop, Routa. You’re the first one to ever come here.)”
There’s a surprise—I’m her first-ever visitor. Nobody’s ever come to visit, Hecate? How lonely that must be… I’m so sad for you…
“You seem to be having some rude thoughts, Routa.”
Hecate appears from within.
“Woof, woof! (Hecate! I don’t know what you need, but we’re having an emergency, too! Lady Mary has a fever! Could you come look at her quick?!)”
“Yes, I know.”
Then come on!
“That’s why I called you here, Routa.”
I don’t understand. Why do you need me here?
“Because we may not be able to persuade the last of the Five Demon Generals without you, Routa.”
The last of the Five Demon Generals? Persuade? What’s Hecate talking about?
“Routa, you said before that you trust me. Is that still true?”
“Arf? (Huh? That was sudden. Yeah, I trust you. So give me a proper explanation.)”
“Then wait there for a moment, and don’t move.”
Hecate smirks, then slams the silver staff in her hands into the ground. A shining magic circle unfolds, rotating around the spot where she placed the staff.
“Arwf?! (Whoa! What’s all this?!)”
“Squeak! (This spell is…! No! Milord, this is a spell for destroying barriers! Judging by what that witch has said in the past, she’s trying to revive a Demon Lord’s army general!)”
Why on earth would Hecate do that?
“Arf, arf? (Hecate, you mentioned the last of the Five Demon Generals. Does that mean you were the one who revived all the other ones, too?)”
“…Yes, that’s right.”
She still wears her smile as her spell expands even farther.
“Squeak, squeak! (I knew you were the root of all this evil! Milord! Stop her! If you attack now, you’ll manage it! I feel an overwhelming power from the depths of the earth…! The general to be revived must have power rivaling yours!)”
“Last of the Five Demon Generals of the Demon Lord’s army: Behemoth, the warrior king of the beasts. The strongest magical monster, second only in strength to the Demon Lord. If you fought against this creature fairly, even you might have difficulty as you are now, Routa.”
Hecate’s lips part in a provocative expression.
“Squeak! (This is no time to be dumbfounded! This won’t even be comparable to the generals you’ve already defeated! We must not let something of this nature be revived!)”
Even Len, with her usual attitude of being the absolute strongest, is practically panicking. The strength of the general being revived must be terrifying.
“Squeak! …Squeak! (Milord! Are you listening to me, milord?! …Curses, fine! I will do it!)”
Len dispels her entire transformation and reverts to her dragon form.
“GAROOOOOOOOOOOOOON!! (Wicked witch, you shall taste my incineration magic!!)”
Blue fire ignites in Len’s oral cavity as the high heat inside it is compressed.
Once fully compressed, the azure flame blasts out of her mouth with a sound like a high-pitched squeal, and at that moment—
“Grahhh!! (Sit, girl!!)”
“GARO?! (Eek?!)”
At my roar, Len’s magic is canceled. And then she flops down on her rear end and assumes a sitting position.
“GARO… (Milord, this is cruel…)”
Sorry, sorry. But no attacking Hecate.
“…Are you sure you want to stop her? The revival is nigh, you know.”
“Arf, arf. (I already said I trusted you. Also, this ‘betrayal’ is so forced it’s giving the game away.)”
“……” Hecate stops her provocative smiling and heaves a sigh. “Oh, you… Even after all this, you still trust me…”
Yeah, that’s why I said that at the start. Whatever Hecate is plotting, she feels the same as me about everyone at the mansion. That gives me no reason to doubt her.
“You’ve beaten me… Now that it’s come to this, I’ll just have to trust you, too, Routa.”
“Arwf. (Oh, well, thanks.)”
But I still haven’t gotten an explanation yet. Why is Hecate going around breaking all the seals on the Demon Lord’s forces? Even if her goal is to have me fight the generals and then steal their power, what on earth is she going to use all that power for?
“Mm. I’ll explain everything, that included. But beforehand, I’d like you to do something about the last of the Five Demon Generals.”
Oh—so you’re reviving that monster after all.
The magic circle expands to its greatest extent, and the earth begins to rumble.
“GAROOON! (It’s coming! Prepare for battle! Lose focus for a moment and you’ll die!)”
The earth splits apart, slicing between us and Hecate, and from the abyss, a powerful being crawls out.
Even as dull as I am, I can feel that tingling sensation the really strong give off. I understand why Len was so cautious. This one might be bad. I think I’m gonna pee myself.
And then, at last, the strongest of the Five Demon Generals, Behemoth, puts a hand on the broken earth and comes into sight.
What an imposing figure. Covered in glistening fur with a jet-black mane and two sharp horns growing out of its forehead. These qualities remind me of a golden lion. The body of a being born for battle, terrifying and yet beautiful, even, at the same time. Truly fitting the name of Behemoth, warrior king of the beasts.
Len predicted as much—will I be able to fight this demon general and win as I am now? That’s how out of this world this Behemoth’s power is.
“Grrrr…” Behemoth gulps audibly, then brings its face close to mine.
This creature…is gonna eat me…!
I feel like I’m about to pee myself. Actually, I think I already did, a little.
With our faces so close we can feel each other’s breath, I’m frozen in place, too scared to move.
And then, all of a sudden, Behemoth gives a great roar.
“Grrwaaaaahhhh!! (Loooooooooooooooooooooove!!)”
Like a thunderbolt, this rattling cry causes me to shut my eyes—Wait, what did the creature just say?
“Grrwahh! (I have fallen! I have, in love! With thee!)”
“Grrr, grr… (Thy dignified visage, thy beauteous silvery coat, and thy courage, unyielding even in the face of mine approach… Thou hast already pierced mine heart! I have learned what love is! Ahh, what a joyous day! How happy I am! This must be what they referreth to as rapture!)”
Behemoth is very excited.
Wait, you were a woman?! How are there so many female animals around me?!
“Routa, you sure are popular with the ladies.”
I wasn’t popular with the ladies one bit in my previous life, but now I’m too popular. And why is it that I’m not a single bit happy about it?
Actually, I know the reason. It’s because they’re all animals! I am not a furry!
“Hello, dear—if you love Routa so much, then would you betray the Demon Lord’s forces and come to our side? Be aware it will mean giving up your power, though.”
“Grrr? (Hmm? That would be very simple. The place in which the one I have fallen for resideth is the place where I shall be! From this day forth, I shall live not by strength, but by love!)”
Actually, that would cause problems in itself. I don’t know how many times I have to say this: I, a pet, have no intention of making a family for myself.
“Grrrrr! (More importantly— I see, so thy name is Routa! A good name, yes! I heard the very same name once, long ago on the battlefield!)”
“No effects of the Demon Lord’s contamination—and your memories appear to be somewhat intact as well.”
As I’m trying to look away from Behemoth as she tries to cuddle up with me, Hecate seems somehow convinced.
“In that case, I will have your power. Can I get you to accept it without resistance?”
“Grrr! (How tedious thou art! I am no longer Behemoth, god of war and ruler of all beasts. I am but a single woman who doth live for love!)”
Behemoth makes her promise, and Hecate stabs her staff into the ground. A magic circle unfurls at Behemoth’s feet, and I feel the mana leaving her huge body.
Behemoth’s form grows rapidly smaller, and by the end, she’s shrunk to the same size as Nahura.
“Squeal? (How is this, Routa? Am I not adorable even when small?)”
Um, well, no doubt this smaller form is cuter. You’re like a tiny lion—well, I guess that makes you basically a cat, right?
“Squeal, squeal. (Routa, thou art quite skilled in the art of flattery. I ask thy favor for all eternity.)”
The conversation seems to be heading off without me. Feels pretty familiar, if you ask me.
I glance to the side. Len is trembling.
And then she screams.
“GA-GAROOON!! (Th-this creature has taken my spot!!)”
“Meow, meow! (She’s taken mine, tooooooooooo! I’m supposed to be the cat!)”
For both of them, a powerful rival has appeared…
Is that the headline here?