The laws of the time continuum are in disarray!
I defeated the Demon Lord and Ena was finally freed from her curse.
Everything should have been perfect, but the journey from reuniting with Ena at the north gate to returning to the mansion was unexpectedly difficult.
“Don’t come any closer! I won’t let you lay a single finger on Soma!”
Finally pulling away from me, Ena brandished her wakizashi and her familiar Torch Sisyo, holding Mitsuki at bay. Her hands trembled, her legs felt like a newborn deer’s, but she stood before me, trying to shield me from Mitsuki. …I don’t understand any of this.
“No, no, calm down, Ena. And Mitsuki, what did you say to Ena to bring her here like this?”
At my words, Ena looked bewildered, and Mitsuki’s ears flattened against her head like an scolded kitten. And then…
“You really need to explain yourself better…”
After hearing the story, I almost collapsed onto the ground right there. Apparently, Mitsuki, in a hurry, had snatched Ena from the mansion where she was being chased by dolls and, without question, whispered in Ena’s ear as she naturally started to struggle:
“—Behave. Do you want to lose the chance to see him?”
No matter how I heard it, she sounded like the villain. And although I’d come to forget it recently, Mitsuki initially appeared before us as an enemy. Although we became allies after various events, Ena doesn’t know that Mitsuki and I made peace. I glared at Mitsuki with a look of exasperation, but…
“I don’t have all the details either. I just figured it would be best to leave the explanation to you.”
Mitsuki stated this calmly, as if it were all according to plan. Yes, if her cat ears hadn’t been trembling “Oh no! This is bad!” I would have been completely convinced.
“…Sigh. Well, that’s fine, I guess.”
It was true that Mitsuki had brought Ena here out of consideration. Besides, there weren’t things I didn’t want to hide from Ena.
“W-what is going on!?”
I looked at Ena, who was still clearly shaken. I had intended a touching reunion, but for Ena, it must have felt like being kidnapped and taken to the culprit’s lair, only to find an acquaintance held hostage. It was no wonder she was confused.
“Where should I even begin explaining…”
And how much should I explain? I turned to my companions who had caught up to us and decided to introduce them first, my new friends since arriving in the Capital City.
Despite Ena’s occasional exclamations of “Ehh!? Princess!?” and “W-why is there a stuffed animal!?”, the introductions went smoothly. Then, I explained the recent events to Ena. I told her how, at the very moment she was trying to contact me, the Demon Lord coincidentally cast a curse and froze time for her and others. How we decided to defeat the Demon Lord to fix it. How we defeated him as planned using a strategy to flood the Demon Lord’s castle. Broadly speaking, that was it. At the end, when I described how I brilliantly defeated the Demon Lord, everyone’s gaze towards me felt like it dropped below freezing, but at least they remained silent until I finished speaking. …Well, maybe exaggerating a little is just part of my charm.
“I-It’s hard to accept because the story is so big… but you must have gone through a lot.”
However, Ena, who was the most easily swayed, believed me without any questions.
“Thank you! Soma, no, Soma-tachi, you are my life savers!”
She looked at me with even more dazzling eyes than before. Honestly, I’m not comfortable with that gaze. I replied, averting my gaze slightly.
“No, I just went to the castle and flooded it, it wasn’t that much of a struggle…”
In reality, less than half a day had passed since we left the mansion. I barely fought any monsters myself, and thanks to MP Potions, I wasn’t tired from using magic. It felt like a short Field exploration. Though I didn’t say it out loud, the preparations before that were a thousand times harder.
“…I’m not sure about that either.”
Mitsuki muttered, still not entirely satisfied that the Demon Lord had died by drowning. If the lifelong ambition of their clan had been fulfilled by drowning, it would be hard to accept immediately.
“B-but, I heard that very strong Monsters appear near the Demon Lord’s castle. Just going there alone…”
“…Excuse me.”
As Ena was about to say something, Mitsuki moved.
“Eh? Huh?”
Before Ena could even comprehend what was happening, Mitsuki darted past her. In front of Mitsuki stood a Monster. We were still in an outdoor Field. Monsters appeared here, and naturally, they would attack us if we were nearby.
“You’re interrupting my explanation. Read the mood.”
With a single draw of her katana, “Moonshadow,” Mitsuki eliminated all of them. Since using “Incarnation of Rage” and being able to use Skills at triple speed, my perception seems to have improved. Even so, Mitsuki’s attack was barely visible, if at all. She’s still overwhelmingly powerful.
“Um, um…”
Ena fell silent, watching Mitsuki return with her drawn sword. Frankly, with Mitsuki alone, the journey to the Demon Lord’s castle would be no different from a hike. Ena must have realized that too. She hesitated, unsure of what to say.
“…Soma.”
Ringo then lent a hand. She tugged at my sleeve, and with just a glance, suggested, “…Let’s talk later,” proposing we enter the city first. Of course, I had no objection.
“Hmm. In that case, I suppose I’ll go check on Alex and Raiden. …It’s not that I’m worried, but I have to tell them who saved them!”
Sahzan also seemed genuinely concerned about her companions and headed towards the city. Maki then said,
“That’s right! I snuck out without telling my family, so I need to get home before they find out.”
She casually said something rather scary and brightly walked towards the gate. Could it be that the King and Queen weren’t consulted about today’s quest to the Demon Lord’s castle at all? As Bear jumped onto my shoulder, causing me to shudder, and I was about to enter the mode of returning home, Ena called out to me.
“Ah, wait a moment, please. Can I just confirm one thing at the end?”
“Confirm? Sure, but what is it?”
I tilted my head, questioning her strangely nervous demeanor, and Ena blushed.
“Um, well, it’s about this. Um, it’s about right before we could hear the Demon Lord’s voice…”
Ena stammered out her words, waving her hands unnecessarily, and then…
“—That, Soma and I getting married wasn’t a dream, was it?”
The moment those words were spoken, I felt as if the sound and movement around me ceased, and the world froze. But that couldn’t be right. I felt a momentary sense of unease, but Ena, blushing and looking at me nervously, was right in front of me. I couldn’t keep her waiting.
“Ah, ah. It wasn’t a dream.”
I nodded. And as if triggered by that, a chain reaction of anomalies occurred around me. It began with Ringo, who was still clutching the hem of my clothes next to me. —*Grip!* The grip on my clothes tightened… —*Clang.* Mitsuki dropped her unsheathed katana… —*Thud.* Sahzan, who was walking towards the city, slipped… —*Squeeze.* Maki muttered, “Huh? Is this a dream?” and began pinching her own cheek… —*Sly grin.* Bear, with an ambiguous smile, jumped into my bag. Or rather, he probably ran away. I looked around, but no one was moving. Even Ena, who had caused this situation, was only wriggling and muttering, “Marriage, marrying Soma…” and not moving. Everyone remained frozen in their respective states, utterly immobile.
“Um, um… everyone?”
As I said it, I remembered that I hadn’t told anyone about proposing to Ena. I don’t know how important marriage is in this world, but it’s probably shocking for companions to suddenly announce marriage. However, for Ringo, who was there and should know some of the details, to also freeze… I was only able to think such things at that moment.
“I demand an explanation!”
Maki, who had been avoiding reality, suddenly lunged at me with bloodshot eyes.
“Uh, no, an explanation… not…”
I couldn’t immediately judge how much I should explain. If I simply explained the situation, it would end with me confessing and Ena accepting. However, if we were to delve into this marriage, I would inevitably have to explain the “Demon King’s Blessing” event, and by extension, my knowledge of the Game. As I hesitated,
“Ah, that’s right…”
Mitsuki, who had been completely still, suddenly restarted. Without looking at her dropped sword, she clapped her hands.
“We had a promise, didn’t we? That after we defeated the Demon Lord and returned, you would tell me your secrets.”
“Ah, ah…”
That’s right. Although it was somewhat one-sided, I had promised Mitsuki that I would explain myself properly. The greatest threat in this world, the Demon Lord, is no more. Considering how to proceed from now on, telling Ringo and Mitsuki the truth…
“I’ll use that right now.”
“…Huh?”
But all my thoughts were blown away by Mitsuki’s words.
“Therefore, with that promise, I want to hear about the marriage.”
“Eh? N-no, but that promise was for something more important…”
As I tried to object, confused, Mitsuki also pressed me.
“This is also an important story.”
“Eh? B-but…”
“It’s a very important story.”
“…Yes.”
Somehow, I was convinced.
“That’s right! Soma has a ‘responsibility to explain’!”
Behind me, Maki nodded, saying something arbitrary. And Ringo…
“Ringo?”
Ringo wasn’t moving. She looked down, her lips pressed tightly together as if holding something back, but she wouldn’t say anything. Only the grip on my clothes tightened so much that her fingers turned white. I hesitated to speak to Ringo in her current state. I had no choice but to ask the last remaining person. The masked Magician, who had finally stood up, for help.
“H-hey Sahzan. Can you say something too…”
“Ugh?!”
But when I called out to her, Sahzan made a strange noise, seemingly from nowhere, and suddenly struck a chuunibyou pose, putting her hand on her mask.
“H-he he, what, mar-marriage, marriage… to bloodstains? Indeed, blood is an excellent magical catalyst, so I find it useful when performing my forbidden ritual magic. It is said that magical metals like Mithril are suitable for creating the formation…”
She suddenly launched into a lecture on magic. It seemed she was panicking because she heard words that were completely unrelated to her. As usual, she’s useless. Meanwhile, the pressure from Mitsuki and Maki continued. Ringo’s fingers, clutching my clothes, showed no signs of loosening.
“F-fine. I’ll talk. I’ll talk about everything.”
I raised both hands in a gesture of surrender. There was no other choice.
“However, give me some time. It’s going to be a long story, and I need to organize what I’m going to say.”
It will take time until the city and we ourselves calm down. I thought for a moment and came to a conclusion.
“Right. Tomorrow night, at the mansion. Until then, this topic is forbidden. …Is that understood?”
Seeing that everyone present nodded at my declaration, I visibly relaxed.
“Well then, let’s head back for now. To our beloved home, I guess.”
And with that, we finally passed through the city gates.
Although I wasn’t physically tired at all, I felt mentally drained. No joke, I miss the Cat Ear Mansion. I thought I should hurry home and rest, but then…
“Aaah! The ‘Waterlogged Prince’ brother is back!!”
The moment we stepped into the city, I heard a childish voice that I vaguely recognized. And, as if in response,
“Oh! So that’s the one who defeated the Demon Lord…”
“Praise be, praise be.”
“I see, so he’s ‘Lord Waterlogged Prince’?”
“Indeed, he looks like someone about to be waterlogged!”
“Yeah. It’s the same face from that wanted poster.”
“Everyone! A hero’s return!”
The townspeople, keeping their distance, began muttering amongst themselves. Is this a consequence of defeating the Demon Lord? In the Game, the townspeople’s dialogue patterns didn’t change at all even after defeating the Demon Lord, but it seems reality is a little bit different. But why do I feel uneasy rather than happy?
“Uh, um, more and more people are gathering!”
At Ena’s voice, I looked around and saw that idlers were appearing from nowhere, and the street in front of the north gate was now filled with people. And they were all smiling at us. Soon, from the gathered crowd, a certain phrase began to be shouted naturally. The voice was initially small, but it gradually spread among the people, growing into a huge wave.
“Waterlogged Prince! Waterlogged Prince! Waterlogged Prince! Waterlogged Prince!”
…What is this? I want to say “I don’t understand,” but is it a coincidence that everyone shouting is looking at me? I wasn’t the one who was waterlogged, and I have no princely qualities. Normally, I shouldn’t be given a nickname like “Waterlogged Prince” that carries a hint of malice… While I was bewildered by the fervent and inexplicable mysterious cheers, I spotted a certain figure in the crowd, and then I was certain. (That brat definitely spread this nickname!!) Amidst the surging wave of joy, I glared at the sharp-tongued girl laughing most joyfully in the front row.
“Hey, hey. Big brother. Big brother is the ‘Hero’!!”
