After hearing the story, we left the Holy Knight Order’s encampment.
Aurora walked beside me, excitedly addressing me. “It’s amazing! Just as expected of you, Uncle! I’ve never seen Holy Knight Marco look so frustrated before! Oh, that was the absolute best!”
“Aurora… you must have been holding in a lot of stress after all. You did well,” I said, patting her head with a wry smile.
Aurora’s face flushed, and she seemed startled. “Ah… I’m sorry… As a Holy Knight, perhaps that was a bit too unseemly…”
“It’s fine. Whether you’re a Holy Knight or not, you’re still human. People can be irritating, and frustration is bound to build up. It’s okay to feel that way.”
“Ugh… Uncle, you’re too kind, I feel like I might melt… You accept my true self completely, and you patted my head…” Aurora said, her cheeks red, looking up at me with a bashful gaze.
*Damn, she’s so cute. I want to hold her again right now.*
“Nyaa, Aurora is so cute, nyaa. Another strong rival has appeared, nya,” said Miina.
“Right? She’s cute. If anything, I might want to hug Aurora myself,” added Elen.
“Elen, if you do that, I’ll hang you with tentacles again. While I don’t mind yuri, please do it properly under Douglas’s supervision,” Seraphina warned.
“Ah-ha. –Oh, but I might want that tentacle reward again after a long time,” Elen replied.
“Haaah… Elen, you’re invincible. Between the lazy cat and Elen, it’s no wonder Douglas has his hands full with his wives. I, at least, need to do better,” Seraphina sighed.
“Wait, nya. Why did Miina’s name come up there, nya?” Miina demanded.
“Oh my, I only said ‘lazy cat,’ I didn’t mention Miina at all. Are you perhaps speaking from experience?” Seraphina retorted.
“Fshaaa! When talking about Douglas’s wives, who else could it be, nya!” Seraphina and Miina butted foreheads, glaring at each other.
I smiled wryly and placed my hands on both of their heads, ruffling their hair. Both of them quieted down and snuggled against me.
“Ahhh, Douglas, pat my head too!” Elen whined.
“I too desire head pats, my lord,” Lombardia, who had inexplicably transformed into a human, chimed in.
I patted their heads the same way. As a result, four beautiful girls were snuggled against me, and we walked through the city like that. Naturally, we drew attention from those around us. *This is so awkward… in so many ways.*
“I-It’s amazing… To control so many wild horses with just one hand… Uncle’s head pat… It’s a God Hand…” Aurora mumbled, swallowing hard, spewing nonsensical words. *What is this mysterious ability?*
“But Aurora seems to enjoy being petted too, doesn’t she?” I asked.
“Yes. Of course, it depends on the person… but when Uncle pats my head, it reminds me of when my father used to praise me and pat my head a lot,” Aurora replied.
“I see. Your father passed away, didn’t he? He must have been a good man.”
“That…” Aurora looked down, her eyes filled with sadness. *Oops…?*
“Sorry, Aurora. If I reminded you of something unpleasant, I apologize— Did you have any bad memories of your father?”
“…Yes, a little. Father was only kind to me and praised me a lot, patting my head, when I was young. After I turned ten, he started praising me less and less…” Aurora began to speak with vacant eyes. I listened along with my wives, who were snuggled close.
“From then on, Father always told me, ‘Try harder,’ ‘You’re not trying hard enough,’ ‘You’ll never become a Holy Knight like that’… But Uncle, why don’t you ever tell me to ‘try harder’? Instead, you tell me to ‘be naughty.’ I’ve never been told that before.”
“Why… you ask why…” I pondered for a moment. There was a reason, but I wasn’t sure how to convey it. *Perhaps a clever plan is in order.*
“Hey, Aurora. About tonight—” I made a promise with the girl Holy Knight for after our mission ended.
Our mission, Aurora’s mission, and mine, was to go to one of the villages near the city and exterminate a Monster that had taken up residence in a nearby cave. In this Holy Kingdom, the Adventurer’s Guild had little influence, and the Holy Knight Order, with its encampments in each city, handled most of the defense. I had accepted this mission from the slightly plump Holy Knight Marco out of sheer whim. It was a simple day trip. Aurora and I both completed our respective tasks without a hitch.
And so, night fell. My wives and I bought groceries and descended upon Aurora’s home. We borrowed her kitchen, cooked, and enjoyed dinner together. Aurora, who usually dined out alone on simple meals, showed a smiling face as we gathered around the lively dining table.
But the main event was yet to come. The person I had arranged for that morning arrived precisely at the scheduled time after dinner. It was a minstrel. At the entrance, Aurora tilted her head. “Did you invite a minstrel…?”
“Yeah. To talk about what happened this morning, I thought it would be best for Aurora to hear ‘a certain story’ that influenced me. However, it seems singing this song in taverns is prohibited in this country, so I had him come directly here.”
I pressed a larger amount of gold coins into the visiting minstrel’s hand than usual, invited him inside, and had him perform the story I had planned. Accompanied by the lute’s melody, he began to sing. It was the tale of a Hero and a Demon King from a world different from this one. The content was as follows:
One day, a sincere and righteous man encountered a Holy Sword. Empowered by the Holy Sword, he saved people from the threat of Monsters across the land, eventually becoming known as a Hero. To protect the smiles and peace of people worldwide, the Hero fought desperately against Monsters day after day. As a result, his body became battered. Even with the power granted to him, he couldn’t win without injury. What was most terrifying was that in that world, there was no healing magic; once a serious injury was sustained, it never healed. On one adventure, a Monster tore off his arm. On another, his face was burned by flames, leaving it disfigured and scarred. On yet another adventure, he lost an eye to a stab. To top it all off, he was doused in poison all over his body, his internal organs eroded, and his skin rotted. Still, he continued to fight desperately for the peace of the people. Though he sustained injuries that would have killed any ordinary person, empowered by the Holy Sword, he did not die. After continuing his battles, the Hero finally defeated the Demon King, bringing peace to people all over the world.
Thus, the Hero returned to the people. He secretly hoped for immense praise, having overcome suffering that nearly cost him his life countless times. However, what was bestowed upon him upon his return after defeating the Demon King—was not overwhelming praise, nor a three-day victory parade. The people feared the returning Hero and found him grotesque. Many regarded him, whose form was now almost unrecognizable and monstrously ugly, with fear and disgust to varying degrees.
The King who ruled the Hero’s homeland provided the Hero with a residence in a secluded location, ample gold, and several servants, telling him: “I am sorry, but please do not appear before the people anymore. Your appearance is too stimulating for them; please understand.” The Hero lived in solitude in the provided residence. Even the servants treated him as if he were a fragile object. But he tried to tell himself, *I fought for the smiles and peace of the people, so this is fine—* Yet, he couldn’t truly believe it. Because the real him was just an ordinary human who was a bit earnest, righteous, and hardworking, not merely a tool to save people. His heart became dark as he watched the smiling citizens through his scrying magic. *Why must I alone, who sacrificed everything to fight for the people, be so unhappy while they live in smiles, oblivious to my suffering?* And so—the next Demon King was born. The story concluded there.
“That was amazing. Thank you,” I said, giving the minstrel, who had performed wonderfully, another gold coin as a tip, informing him that the job was complete. The minstrel bowed gracefully and departed. After he left and the house door closed, I heard the minstrel exclaim, “Yahoo!” I chuckled wryly. The amount of gold I’d given him was likely a considerable sum compared to his usual earnings, so I understood his reaction, but he was still a bit sloppy for a professional. *Oh well.*
“So, Aurora—what did you think after hearing that story?” I asked, turning to her.
Aurora’s eyes were filled with tears, and she sniffled. “Uuuuugh… The Hero was so pitiful…! Why… tell such a story… it’s too cruel…!”
“Oh, uh, I see. You got quite invested, huh.” Her reaction was much stronger than I anticipated. *So that’s how it is…*
Meanwhile, my wives were a bit more pragmatic. “Mmm, I think the Hero was pitiful and it’s a tragedy, but I also feel like that’s just how people are,” Elen commented.
“Indeed. while most citizens are generally good, they are not strong enough to always act according to what is right. A ruler must consider such weaknesses of the people when governing—isn’t this a lesson from the art of governance?” Seraphina replied analytically.
“If the Hero lived in a village, there would likely be endless discrimination and persecution, causing neighborhood disputes, nyaa. In that case, the Hero would probably run amok, nyaa. Hmm… how could this story have been better, nyaa?” Miina mused.
“However, perhaps there was still a possibility of redemption in that scenario. It seems to me like a misjudgment by the King,” Seraphina offered. *Such analytical and sharp words from my wives…*
Putting that aside, I cleared my throat. “So, when I heard this story for the first time, I thought this: If I suffer immensely and help people—and then the very ones I desperately saved are laughing and enjoying drinks without any gratitude towards me, would I be able to rejoice in that?”
Aurora, and my wives, listened intently. *It’s truly rewarding to have them listen so attentively, even to an old man’s lecture.*
“And then I thought, the order is reversed. First, you become happy yourself, and helping others is just a bonus. If you aren’t happy before making others happy, you’ll end up hating the people you saved. Therefore—” I looked towards Aurora. With a jolt, Aurora trembled.
“Therefore, I want Aurora to be happy too. If you want to save people, I want you to prioritize your own happiness above all else. It’s too sad to overexert yourself and end up hating those you saved—that’s what I think.”
“My own, happiness… My, happiness…” Aurora repeated, as if savoring my words on her tongue.
