Chapter 56

Always grateful for your access.

Suddenly, Ain found himself in a grassy plain where a cool breeze was blowing. It seemed he was using something soft as a pillow, and his neck didn’t feel uncomfortable at all.

If there was any issue, it was only the question of where he was.

He couldn’t move his body even when he tried to sit up. It felt like a dream where his body’s movements were restricted.

...However, Ain didn’t open his eyes. Despite not opening them, he could somehow understand the situation, a mysterious phenomenon.

But Ain knew. The place was a peaceful plain, and the sky stretched endlessly blue.

He could hear a woman humming a tune from above his face. She was cradling Ain’s head on her lap. That’s why Ain could relax even in such a place.

The woman stroked Ain’s cheek.

"...Alright. Is it enough now?"

What’s enough? Ain wanted to say that but couldn’t make a sound. Still, she seemed to understand Ain’s thoughts.

"It’s about you. It’s alright now... I’m sorry, I caused you trouble."

About me? Caused trouble? What are you talking about... When Ain thought this in his heart, she just looked troubled and gently stroked Ain’s head.

"...Go on. You don’t need to worry anymore. I’ll take care of it from now on. I’m really sorry..."

She didn’t give Ain an answer to his feelings. But suddenly, Ain felt his body regain its freedom. To investigate her and where he was, Ain tried to open his eyes and turn towards her, but as soon as he moved, the scenery began to glow white.

*

"...What are you...!"

Ain managed to sit up. But when he realized, he wasn’t in the place he had just been. He was in his room in the castle of Ishtalica.

"...Ah, what?"

He tried to organize his thoughts. Calm down, why am I here? Where was that place just now...? The more he thought about it, the more confused he became. ...First, I was supposed to be a representative in Eulor. And on the way back... on the way back?

On the last day, he had observed the lifting of a giant sea crystal. He couldn’t remember what happened after that. What did I do? When did I return? When did I get to the castle?

"...Nighttime."

Looking outside, everything was covered in pitch-black darkness.

Even in the late hours, the town below the castle of Ishtalica usually had many lights. But by 2:30 AM, from Ain’s room, there were only a few lights visible. It seemed to be that time.

"Ah, what? What’s this... Did I get hurt?"

Ain’s right arm was wrapped in bandages. He recognized them; they were special bandages from Katima’s laboratory.

Bandages made by someone with sealing skills, like Majolica. He couldn’t understand why such bandages were on his arm.

"Hmm. Well, it’s fine."

He didn’t feel any discomfort in his arm, so he quickly peeled off the bandages. Or rather, as soon as Ain touched the bandages, they disappeared like ashes.

"I don’t get it. Well... first things first."

Chime, chime.

Ain rang the bell by his pillow. By ringing it, a servant would come to him at any time.

"I’m still young, but I can’t afford to be so forgetful. Maybe I was tired?"

It was his first time representing the country abroad.

Perhaps he was tired from that, Ain thought.

After all, he had unexpectedly met his younger brother and dealt with the troublesome royal family of Heim, which had mentally exhausted him.

While he was leisurely thinking about this, a noisy sound came from outside. The door was quickly opened, and Martha and Chris entered Ain’s room.

"A...Ain-sama...?"

Chris spoke first. Her expression was filled with surprise, as if she had seen a ghost.

"Hello, Chris. I’m sorry, but I don’t remember anything after I returned. I guess I was mentally exhausted from dealing with my brother..."

"Ain-sama!"

"Wh-What...? What is it, Chris!?"

Upon hearing Ain’s words, Chris burst into tears and hugged him. Ain couldn’t react to such a sudden action.

"A-Ain-sama... How is your body...?"

Martha’s expression was one that made Ain wonder, "What’s wrong with her?" She seemed at a loss for words, unsure of what to do.

"Hmm? Ah, I’ve been sleeping for a long time, so I think I’m fine. In fact, I feel better than before I went to sleep. How long have I been sleeping?"

"...Chris-sama. I will go and call the king and the others. Can I leave Ain-sama to you?"

"Y-Yes... I’m fine..."

Chris, who was still crying, nodded in response to Martha’s request. Ain still couldn’t understand the situation, especially why Chris was crying so much.

"Hey, Chris. What’s wrong? Why are you crying so much?"

"Because! Because, Ain-sama... Ain-sama..."

"Umm... I don’t really understand, but..."

Comforting an older and beautiful woman like Chris was a bit embarrassing.

But seeing her cry so much, Ain felt it would be wrong to do nothing. He gently stroked Chris’s head, as if soothing a child.

While doing this, Martha rushed back, and the people she had called all had similar expressions.

Olivia, Silverwood, and Lalarua were the three who came.

Among them, Olivia reacted the same way as Chris.

"A...Ain... Is it really you, Ain...?"

"Yes, Mother. I don’t remember anything after I returned, but I’ve finished my mission and returned. I have a lot of things I want to talk about... Mother?!"

Olivia, who had run over, started crying next to Chris.

Why is Mother crying too? Ain thought, looking at Silverwood and the others with a puzzled expression.

"Ain."

"Grandfather. I’ve completed my mission and returned safely. I’m sorry, but I don’t understand the situation... Can you tell me what happened?"

Silverwood, who met Ain’s gaze, spoke his name. After Ain announced his return from the mission, he asked for an explanation of the situation. Silverwood seemed to be holding back something, trying to maintain his composure, which was strange to Ain.

"...I’m glad to hear your voice again, Ain. Katima will be here soon, and we’ll talk then."

...Long time no see?

What is he talking about? Ain thought, but since he was told to wait for Katima, he decided to do so.

About ten minutes after Silverwood’s words, Katima arrived in her pajamas. They were like a cat costume, which would be incomprehensible to outsiders. Why a cat would wear a cat costume was a mystery.

Despite her silly appearance, she was the most reliable person for Silverwood and the others at that moment.

"...You finally woke up, huh. You troublemaker."

"Troublemaker... It wasn’t my fault that the people from Heim were there."

"It’s not that. ...You don’t understand anything, do you?"

While waiting for Katima, Ain was still being hugged by Chris and Olivia. They were still clinging to him tightly.

But no one, not even Silverwood or Lalarua, or Martha, tried to stop them. Ain felt this was different from the usual behavior of Silverwood and the others.

"Ain. Can you walk?"

"Can I walk... Of course I can... Ah, what?"

Ain tried to stand up and put his weight on his body to get out of bed. But his body didn’t move as usual, and he almost fell off the bed. Seeing this, Katima, despite her small size, supported Ain and put him back on the bed.

"...You’ll need a bit of rehabilitation."

"Rehabilitation?"

The atmosphere in the room was tense, making it difficult for anyone to speak. Still, Katima continued to talk to Ain.

"There’s nothing wrong with that. We’ve been taking care of you and using magical tools to adjust your body. But not everything goes smoothly..."

"Sorry, Katima... I don’t understand. What do you mean by needing rehabilitation?"

Katima’s expression became a bit more serious as she finally answered the question.

"...Six months. Since you returned from Eulor, and that incident happened, you’ve been unconscious on that bed for almost six months."

With a sad expression, Katima added, "You’ll be a fifth-year student soon..."

Ain had been unconscious for almost six months since he returned from Eulor.

After that, Ain could only stare blankly. Chris and Olivia didn’t want to leave him, but they left the room with Silverwood’s words.

This wasn’t a conversation for the middle of the night. So, they decided to meet again in the morning.

Ain couldn’t sleep at all after that. He had no information and was suddenly told that six months had passed.

He tried desperately to recall his memories and think about what had happened. After a few hours, he managed to remember a little of the last situation.

The souvenir he received from Eulor. That was the trigger for Ain to transform as if he wasn’t himself.

But now, he didn’t want to think about that souvenir. If he thought about it when he was alone, he might lose it again. So, he had to think about something else to distract himself.

...He looked at his body. He felt something was off, and realized his body had grown. Ain was in his growth spurt, so even if he had been bedridden for six months, his body would still grow gradually.

Ain felt a slight joy as he noticed his body’s growth, and the sky outside began to brighten.

*

In the morning, Martha came to pick him up.

She brought a magical device for people with mobility issues, essentially a wheelchair powered by a magic stone.

She helped Ain into it and took him away.

They arrived at Silverwood’s private room. There, Silverwood, Lalarua, Chris, and Olivia were waiting, along with Katima, making a total of five people.

"I’ve been waiting, Ain."

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Grandfather."

"Ain. Please come over here."

Invited by Olivia, Ain moved to sit next to her. Olivia was on the sofa, and Ain sat next to her. Chris moved to the other side of Ain, so he was sandwiched between the two.

"Ain? How is your body?"

"It’s a bit frustrating not being able to move freely, but otherwise, I’m fine."

"That’s good to hear."

"Ain. Lloyd and Warren will arrive soon. But I have something to ask you first."

After Lalarua spoke to Ain, Silverwood took a breath and continued.

"...What is it?"

"If there’s a national crisis, what would you want to do? As the crown prince, you don’t need to put yourself in danger. But if there’s something only you can do, what would you want to do?"

A national crisis, like the time with the sea dragon. But this time, it was clear from the start that there was something only Ain could do. It might not be solvable without him.

"Would this national crisis affect everyone here, including Warren and Lloyd... and Crones?"

"Of course."

Silverwood looked straight at Ain. Feeling his gaze, Ain decided to answer with all his heart.

"...Ishtalica is my homeland now. To protect my family and the people I care about, I would face the danger, even if it’s dangerous."

"Is that so... Everyone, did you hear Ain’s words?"

Silverwood looked at everyone in the room.

Lalarua closed her eyes and remained calm. Olivia was holding Ain’s hand tightly.

Chris was clenching her fists so hard that they might bleed. Katima nodded with a sigh, as usual.

"Ain. You might get a different reaction now. Follow me."

"Follow you? Where to...?"

"To the audience chamber. Lloyd and Warren are waiting."

Ain didn’t understand what Silverwood was planning, but since he told him to follow, Ain decided to do so without a word.

Chris pushed the wheelchair, and they followed Silverwood out of the room. Katima also followed, but Lalarua and Olivia didn’t.

*

After leaving Silverwood’s private room, they arrived at the entrance of the audience chamber without anyone speaking.

There, as Silverwood had said, Lloyd and Warren were waiting for Ain’s arrival.

"Ain-sama. It’s been a while. You’ve grown. How do you feel? Should we have Lloyd-sama make you new clothes?"

"W-Warren-sama... I’d rather not."

"Hehe! It’s good to see you two are the same. Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Not at all. This Warren will wait for Ain-sama no matter how long it takes."

"That’s too long. ...Grandfather. What are we doing here?"

Lloyd and Warren were their usual selves, which reassured Ain. Next, he needed to understand why Silverwood had brought them to the audience chamber.

"First, let’s go inside."

"Okay, I understand..."

Lloyd opened the door to the audience chamber. Inside, it was empty, just a solemn space.

"Chris. Please."

"Yes, leave it to me."

Chris pushed Ain’s wheelchair inside.

"Ah, what...?"

As they entered and followed behind Silverwood, Chris felt something was off.

"What’s wrong, Chris?"

"N-No... It suddenly felt heavy. I’m sorry... It’s nothing."

She felt something strange but thought it was just her imagination and continued pushing the wheelchair.

"Is that so? If so, that’s good."

They continued moving. Silverwood, Warren, and Lloyd arrived near the throne.

In the audience chamber, there was a line marked with gold thread to maintain a certain distance from King Silverwood.

When they reached this line, Chris suddenly stopped.

"Chris? Why are you stopping? Move closer."

"...I can’t move. It feels like there’s a wall here, and I can’t go any further."

Behind her, Katima nodded as if she understood something.

"Chris. Push a bit harder."

Following Warren’s instruction, Chris pushed the wheelchair a bit harder.

Then, the anomaly became clear.

"Stay away... Stay away...!"

"What... This voice, ah!?"

It wasn’t just a voice. Hearing it made his body feel cold and sleepy. It felt like something dangerous.

"Chris! Move Ain away from the throne! Hurry!"

"Y-Yes!"

Following Katima’s instructions, Chris quickly moved Ain away. The cold feeling that had been affecting him disappeared immediately, and the situation seemed to have resolved itself.

"...Katima. It seems your six months of research has, unfortunately, been correct."

Silverwood said this while looking at the Demon King’s magic stone embedded in the wall above the throne.

"Yes. I’ve never been sadder that my research went well... No one wanted such a tragedy."

"Eh, eh... Katima? What are you talking about?"

Katima, who rarely showed a sad expression, made Ain feel uneasy.

"What a strange fate... For so many peculiar beings to be connected to just one person."

"That’s why. Katima!"

Katima handed a book to Ain.

"...I believe. This long-standing fate can only be severed by you."

The mystery deepened with Katima’s words, but first, Ain looked at the book.

It was a new book, recently made. The authors were Katima and Chris.

The title read:

"The Tragic Demon King."