Chapter 27

The large square of a certain town was brimming with vitality. When a male bard appeared in one corner, people gathered around him.

He was about to start singing but was interrupted by a child's voice.

"The bard is here!"

"bard? What's that?"

"He sings songs, stories in song."

"Children, come to the front."

The man welcomed the children with a smile, not showing any annoyance.

The children ranged from about five to twelve years old, and they were getting along well regardless of gender and age.

"Oh? There's a girl with unusual hair color."

"My mom has this color too!"

"Wow, I wish I had black hair too."

As he said, there was a girl with unusual hair color among the children. The girl was proud of her hair, and the other girls looked at it enviously.

"Then, the story of the prince who defeated the demon king and the black-haired maiden—"

The bard's song began.

It was a story about a prince and a holy maiden, a sword prodigy and a magic prodigy, and a black-haired maiden working together to face the demon king. Although the three were defeated by the demon king, the prince and the maiden did not give up and eventually defeated the demon king.

"—That's it. The prince and the maiden did not end up together, but they lived happily ever after."

Applause erupted in the square. The children were excited by the song they had never heard before.

"Amazing! Amazing! There are people like that!"

The bard looked surprised at the girl's excitement.

"Huh? You don't know this story? The black-haired maiden is from this town—"

"Ah, Ryu-kun is back."

A boy pointed to the sky. A jet-black dragon was flying leisurely in the air.

The bard, seeing the dragon for the first time, opened his mouth wide in surprise, but the townspeople didn't seem to mind much.

The children waved their hands vigorously at the dragon.

"Ryu-kun!"

The dragon responded to the call by spinning in the air.

Seeing this, the black-haired girl muttered softly.

"Oh, Mom is fine, but Dad is so pitiful."

The person riding the dragon was not yet visible from this distance.

This concludes the story. Originally, the concept of this story was "The strongest villainess who doesn't step out of the game's stage."

I considered adding a second chapter focusing on internal affairs, but it felt off (I might still do it).

Initially, I planned to conclude the story in the previous chapter, but the ending felt too bitter, so I added an epilogue.

Addendum: A book version will be released. It includes additional episodes and interludes from different character perspectives, making it 1.5 times longer. Please check it out if you're interested.

Addendum to the Addendum:

The ending will be different in the book version and other media. Even if you think it's a terrible ending, please don't hate it.