Chapter 67 - Meow
Their actions after infiltrating the Demon Lord's Castle were swift.
The number of monsters was small for an enemy's main camp. In exchange, there were many traps that were lethal if triggered even once, so they could not let their guard down at a single corner or a single stone on the floor.
The Hero's Party shared the impression that the current Demon Lord seemed extremely insidious.
The demon they finally managed to encounter, dressed as a maid, turned her back on them the moment she saw the Hero. It seemed to be the Demon Lord's instruction.
From this, they mentally added a note that the Demon Lord was not only insidious but also prudent.
And now, this.
The party had been forcibly separated, driven to different locations by magic circles, and now reunited. They wondered what he was trying to do.
Before they knew it, they were in a damp room without a single window.
With no time to rejoice in their reunion, Hasumi and the others assumed combat stances.
"...Where is the mage? I thought he went that way."
"He was with us until just now. Perhaps he was sent to a different place."
Only Louis must have been sent elsewhere. He was not there, despite having entered the magic circle together with Hasumi and Faras. Since anything could happen within this castle, Hasumi was worried about him, but she did not harbor even a shred of suspicion.
The party had seen through the fact that this room was in a class of its own compared to the others.
Hasumi readied the dual swords she was most proficient with, Alois his sword, Emiel his book and rod, and Faras his gloves, scanning the room amidst the tense atmosphere.
They were wary of the large double doors at the back of the room, which were twice the height of a person.
The fairy in the rear guard was merely flying there, not assuming a stance.
—Squeak.
A piercing sound reached their ears.
When everyone simultaneously stared at the doors, a gap of about ten centimeters had opened.
—Pop.
Cat eyes peeked out from the depths. The doors opened further, and the owner of the cat eyes exposed his right half to the Hero's Party.
Unlike this room, which relied on the light of candles, the other side of the door seemed flooded with sunlight. Peering at them from beneath the light, he looked over the Hero's Party from right to left, from the rear guard to the vanguard.
When his eyes stopped on a certain person, his cat ears twitched.
With a bright smile, he walked out with light steps,
"Meow."
He cried out.
It was a strangely modest gesture, like a child who could not sleep seeking their mother.
The party knew who he was. He was the demon who had once attacked and tried to kill the Hero Hasumi. They knew from experience that he was a formidable fighter, contrary to his appearance.
"Are you the Demon Lord?"
"Meow. I was the previous one, though. I was just babysitting for now."
Did that mean there was someone above this boy?
Only Faras distorted his face with a "Ugh," while the others merely frowned.
The boy's tail swayed with a hop.
"Elenoa, do you know that child's weakness?"
Regretting that the opponent showed no intention of retreating, Hasumi asked Elenoa.
It was common sense to aim efficiently for weaknesses. Elenoa, the helpful fairy, had always brought information about monsters to everyone.
But there was no response at such a crucial moment.
Silence. That was all.
Alois, who was standing to Hasumi's right, gently turned to peek at Elenoa, and there stood a fairy with a mask-like expression, devoid of any emotion. Feeling puzzled, he called out, "Hey," but the fairy did not move. Floating softly, she glanced briefly at Alois, but said nothing and faced forward again.
Although the strange behavior of the fairy was concerning, the prudent Hasumi switched her thoughts.
It was somewhat painful not to be able to take the initiative, but it was not the first time.
They could just fight a few times and gradually figure things out.
Combat could start at any moment.
They had been caught off guard dozens of times before.
She stepped firmly on the floor with her feet to be ready for anything. But—
"Oh, the air is nice."
When their companion came out from the door on the other side, what was the correct way to react?
Clicking his leather shoes, he emerged from the room where the Demon Lord was presumed to be. It was the mage, Louis.
He was someone who had shared hardships and joys with them up to this point.
Before being sucked into the teleportation magic circle, what she had seen was a mage's robe. But now, clad in a black suit that gave an unusually stiff impression, he stood on the enemy's side.
"Louis? What are you doing?"
While Hasumi asked, gasping at the reality she did not want to acknowledge, the mage Louis lined up next to the cat boy. And he stroked the boy's head. The cat boy—Bis—meowed pleasantly, "Meow," and accepted it as it came.
"What... why?"
The Hero had been in love with him.
She had told herself that she had given up, but it was a fleeting and pitiful love that still made her heart ache at that smile. Although she had not forgotten those feelings, he gently smiled at Hasumi again, piercing her heart.
Hasumi's dual swords shook. Her hands were trembling. Her legs, which she had kept conscious to move immediately, lost control. The sensation of having her feet on the ground disappeared.
Bis watched her with innocent eyes, swaying his tail.
"That's why I said it. I 'was' babysitting."
As if it were natural for Louis to be beside the demons.
And delivering the final blow to such Hasumi was Louis's single sentence.
"Elenoa, come here."
"Yes."
Something white passed by Hasumi's side, and she instinctively reached out her hand. —It did not reach.
By the time she realized it was their companion fairy, the fairy was resting in Louis's hand.
"Welcome back."
Louis whispered to the fairy.
Ignoring the dumbfounded Hero's Party, Louis cast a spell on the fairy. The fairy jumped into the magic circle deployed on the floor, and after an instant, she reappeared.
At human size, her clothes had become a black one-piece dress. Matching clothes, as if tailored with the assumption that she would stand next to Louis.
"Yes, I'm home."
Bis vigorously hugged the fairy who responded to Louis.
Grabbing her skirt, he meowed and purred, acting spoiled in high spirits, and the fairy did not reject Bis either. She petted him affectionately, stroking his cat ears and such.
The three on the demon side looked like a close-knit family.
"Elenoa...?"
"Yes?"
"Why are you over there? And Louis, why...?"
"...Do you really not understand?"
Elenoa stared coldly at Hasumi.
"There's no way you wouldn't understand after coming this far, right?"
She asked with cold, indifferent eyes, as if looking at a complete stranger.
She was blaming the Hero for not accepting reality.
Louis chuckled and began to reveal the truth.
"I am the Demon Lord."
Even his tone was different.
"...The Demon Lord was killing monsters together with us?"
"Precisely."
"Why?"
"It is a story beyond your understanding even if I explain it. Let's just say it was for my own future."
For his future. It was a positive phrase.
"Besides, I am human, after all. There were not a few who did not acknowledge me as the Demon Lord. I found it troublesome to leave them be. Most of such people did not even know my face, and no one would associate a mage with the Demon Lord."
"Wha... eh...?"
"Your journey was perfect for hunting those who did not obey me."
Her understanding could not catch up.
She did not understand the eerily spoken thoughts, the attitude as if mowing down weeds.
Mocking the Hero's pale face, Louis put his arm around Elenoa's shoulder.
"As for Elenoa... needless to say."
And supporting her chin, he placed a kiss on her lips.
"Oh," the only one who reacted with casual surprise was Bis, who was between the two.
Elenoa turned bright red and looked down.
"...Geez, I told you not to do that in public."
Hasumi, who could only watch the couple, who seemed to be in their honeymoon phase, dumbfounded—could only watch—moved her mouth to say, "Ele... noa." Her dry, raspy voice, which could hardly be called a voice, was heard only by her companions nearby.
Hasumi kept her eyes wide open, looking at the two.
She could not even breathe.
Louis was the Demon Lord. She had been deceived. Even though she had loved him.
Elenoa was on the Demon Lord's side. She had been deceived. Even though she had trusted her.
She knew that evil existed in this world.
She had caught glimpses of the muddy underside of a social structure slightly different from Japan's. But to think that such a worst-case betrayal, a huge conspiracy, malice that brought sharp pain, existed right beside her—Hasumi felt dizzy.
'My role is to assist you. I'm a fairy named Elenoa. Nice to meet you.'
Why hadn't she noticed?
'Hero-sama. Welcome to this world—'Pandour'!'
Because at that time, she had definitely—smiled.
"Don't get cozy on people's heads. I have lots of work to do, meow."
"I want to take it easy for tonight's dinner. It's been a while since I could be with my girlfriend."
"That's why you shouldn't say things like that. A week ago, we were together at the inn."
"Hiding from public eyes is quite difficult..."
The demon side was a picture-perfect warm family.
How hypocritical. Why was such a warm scene so painful?
Hasumi retreated step by step, unsteadily. Faras, to her left, supported Hasumi.
The Hero's Party had been helped by Louis's magic and Elenoa's abilities.
Their individual abilities were high. Therefore, if those two left, the situation would change. It would be easily reversed.
The decisive battle, which they had approached with the confidence that six people could handle the Demon Lord, collapsed from beneath their feet. They were made to realize that they had been standing on a trapdoor from the beginning.
And the mental anguish was fatal.
In terms of the Hero's physical condition and morale, it could be summed up in the single worst word.
Emiel, who judged that it would be better to retreat for now, checked the magic circle they had just teleported through. And just as he opened his mouth to say that they should somehow regroup now—
A crescent-shaped flash was released at Louis.
It was from the sword of the knight, Alois.
The pure white light was holy. It was as if it embodied a sword that slayed evil.
A huge blade, formed directly from the slash, illuminated the dark room and flew toward the Demon Lord, leaving even the sound behind. It smashed and sliced the stone floor, heading for the family in black.
It was the knight's special technique. Normally, it was treated sincerely, with its name shouted every time, but how was it now?
It was a complete surprise attack.
Emiel shouted in reproach, "Alois!" and while Hasumi and Faras stood frozen, that light was rejected by the hand of a single fairy.
"...What are you doing, Alois?"
A palm was thrust forward with a slap. There was a huge, invisible wall there.
A transparent, perfect line was drawn between the three on the demon side and the four on the hero's side. It was a clean boundary that did not allow even small fragments or smoke to pass.
The holy and cowardly flash completely vanished.
The knight was silent. Glaring at Louis with eyes that looked as if he were seeing his parents' killer, he tried to ready his sword again.
"...Alois...?"
Ignoring Hasumi's voice, he looked only at Louis.
Wondering why it had come to this, Hasumi dropped her swords.
Why.
It was not supposed to be like this.
My companions are going crazy, one by one.
But time did not allow for a stop. No matter how much anyone wanted to look away from reality, no matter how much they lamented fearing further changes, time was equal to all.
Louis mocked Alois,
"I suppose it would be useless to ask if you have no intention of stepping down..."
"Shall I fight?"
"No, I will do it. You can just wait in the back."
"Why? Isn't it strange for the Demon Lord to go out first? I can fight too."
"It's just the mood I'm in."
Louis ordered Bis to look after Elenoa, and pushed her back toward the door.
Elenoa glanced worriedly at Louis while being led by the hand by Bis.
"I'll say this lastly."
With her hand on the door, Elenoa looked back at Hasumi.
"Louis's level isn't really something like sixty-three."
More than that, Hasumi thought she wanted to hear words from her that were not lies.