Chapter 36

Under the moonlight, in the night forest.

Having achieved the initial goal of "creating a survivable environment," I returned to the forest mansion with Lillia.

The comfortable mansion was completed, and the dungeon that threatened Koh was also defeated.

The shop in the capital city, which served as the entrance to Koh's dungeon, was also restored.

I learned that I could earn money as an adventurer.

The immediate goal was achieved.

With no more worries about the future, I ate the delicious dinner Lillia made and then made love with her in the quiet mansion's bedroom.

On the bed, I kissed her gently and embraced her soft body.

"You're really a great help, Lillia."

Lillia blushed and moaned in a sad voice.

"Ah... Master... But, is it really okay?"

"What do you mean?"

"It was a chance to return as a hero."

While kissing her abundant silver hair, I held her lovingly.

"I don't need it. If I return as a hero, I have to give up my slave. If I have to give up the most important thing in this world, I'd rather stay as I am... No, I want to stay as I am."

"Master... I'm so happy!"

Lillia's cheeks flushed with a smile that seemed otherworldly, and she clung to me tightly.

Of course, it didn't end there; we loved each other more deeply.

We loved each other many times.

We loved each other so much that our warmth seemed to melt together, many times.

--- I will never leave Lillia. I will always be with her.

I vowed in my heart while making her voice of happiness.

But---

Lillia, naked and without a thread, arched her large chest and spread her wings, emitting a voice of intense emotion.

"Ah---!"

At that moment, Lillia's body slipped out of my hands and floated up.

Her well-proportioned, shining naked body drifted near the ceiling.

Before long, the wings on Lillia's back had turned completely white without a single cloud.

"Hey!? --- Lillia!"

I was seized by intense anxiety.

It felt as if Lillia was ascending to heaven.

Without thinking, I leaped at the floating Lillia.

I buried my face in her thin abdomen and pleaded.

"Wait! Don't go!"

Then Lillia looked down at me with a loving, radiant smile.

"Master... I'm not going anywhere. I'm not going anywhere yet. Right now, my place is by your side."

"Lillia---!"

I distorted my face, almost crying, and clung to her even more.

Despite her words, I felt as if her very existence was slipping away.

--- Could it be that she has finally returned to being an angel after receiving a large amount of holy energy every night!?

Anxiety and relief alternated, and I felt as if I would fall apart if I didn't hold her.

The smooth sensation of her skin against my cheek and the gentle warmth of her soft body were the only things that soothed my anxiety.

--- Could it be! Is she trying to return to heaven because her mission to help the hero is complete!?

No! I don't want to let her go--- I don't want to lose her--- I want her to stay by my side forever!

When I thought this far, I realized that I hadn't told her the most important thing.

I had assumed we were already in sync.

I hadn't expressed it in words.

Driven by anxiety, I looked up at her face and pleaded desperately.

"Lillia--- I have a request!"

"What is it?"

"I love you."

"Eh?"

"I really love you!"

"M-Master!? --- Yes... I love you too!"

"I'll make you happy for the rest of my life! Will you marry me? Stay by my side forever! I love you!"

Lillia smiled with a mix of happiness and sadness and gently stroked my head.

Her touch was comforting.

"..."

But she didn't answer.

With a smile of joy and tears of sadness, she didn't make any promises.

--- So, that's how it is...

She must have remembered everything.

After a while, with my face buried in her slender abdomen, I asked.

"Is that it? When you complete your mission, Lillia, you return to heaven?"

"...I'm sorry, Master."

"Stay with me, Lillia..."

With a weak, trembling voice, Lillia smiled sadly.

"When I complete my true mission, I can't go against what the gods have decided."

"Lillia..."

"I'm sorry... If I could, I would stay with you. I want to stay with you forever. I don't want to be away from you, Master."

"Lillia!"

I hugged her tightly.

Lillia, with tears in the corners of her eyes, hugged me back strongly.

"It's okay for now... for now."

Even though I knew it was an impossible dream, I still wanted to be with her forever...

We hugged each other for a while.

Then, without a word, we let go and sat down at the edge of the bed, still close to each other.

For a long time, we were silent.

The tickling sensation of Lillia's wings touching my skin was strangely sad.

But I couldn't stay silent.

I had to ask.

With a mix of resignation and a glimmer of hope, I asked Lillia.

"...What is your true mission?"

"--- To defeat the Demon King, Master."

"The Demon King... You mean a Demon King that will destroy the world is going to appear...?"

The Demon King didn't scare me.

What scared me was the thought of losing Lillia by defeating him.

Lillia, with a sad look, leaned against me.

"Yes... 25 years ago, when I was 14, I was sent to assist the hero who would defeat the Demon King, who would revive in 5 years."

"Is that so...? Wait, does that mean 5 years after now? Or 5 years after I was 14, when I was 19?"

"It should be when you were 19. That's 20 years ago... Wait, what?"

We looked at each other.

Lillia blinked her large eyes in confusion.

"But, I haven't heard of any Demon King appearing in the past 20 years?"

"Even as a hero?"

"I haven't heard of it at all. If there was a Demon King, I would have been ordered to defeat it first."

"You're right...? Hmm, that's strange, isn't it?"

Lillia tilted her head, and her silver hair flowed over her white skin.

I frowned, a bad thought crossing my mind.

"Could it be... that it was already defeated without me knowing... like a goblin?"

"No, that's... A Demon King is an SSS-rank monster. It should be able to act normally even in the vast amount of holy energy you have. Also, if it had been defeated, I would have returned to heaven before we met."

"That means... the Demon King exists but is hiding?"

"That's the most likely scenario."

"The Demon King hasn't done anything evil?"

"That's right."

"Hmm"

I put my hand to my mouth and thought.

--- If he hasn't done anything wrong, maybe we don't need to defeat him?

As I thought, the naked Lillia leaned against me. Her large wings gently enveloped me.

She leaned close to my ear and whispered a seductive secret.

"Master... I just thought of something very bad..."

"Don't worry, fallen angel. I probably have the same thought."

Lillia smiled mischievously, like a child who had done something naughty.

"Can't we just stay as we are until the Demon King starts causing trouble?"

"I thought the same thing. If he hasn't done anything in 20 years, he probably won't in the future. ...I want to be with Lillia forever."

I reached out and hugged Lillia's slender body tightly. Her large breasts pressed against my skin, soft and yielding.

In my arms, her cheeks flushed.

"Yes, Master. I want to too."

"Lillia--- Stay with me as my fallen angel."

I pulled Lillia close and kissed her.

Lillia, with her violet eyes moist, called out to me in a voice of joy.

"Mmm--- Yes, Master! Always together--- Ah!"

As I passionately loved Lillia, I thought.

--- Anyway, I'm not a hero anymore.

I can leave the Demon King to another hero.

My only job is one thing.

To be with Lillia as long as possible!

For that---

I hugged Lillia's slender naked body and shouted.

"Lillia! I'm going to save 250 million! Lillia---!"

"Eh--- That! Rejuvenation--- Ah!"

Her silver hair disheveled, she clung to me. Her thin arms tightened, and she dug her nails into my back.

"Yes, to be with you forever! I'll definitely save the money and rejuvenate! Over and over! To love you as my wife forever!"

"Master---!"

She let out a cute scream and became more disheveled than ever.

And what I thought was the cutest Lillia kept being updated throughout the night.

◇ ◇ ◇

Meanwhile.

In the eerie demon world, covered in red sky and black earth.

The Demon King's castle in the center of the demon world was half-destroyed, but the interior was perfectly repaired.

In the throne room, a man with sharp eyes, black hair, black eyes, and a black cloak sat on the throne, reading a report sent by the Evil Dragon King while sighing.

"Huh? Just approaching an A-rank evil sea dragon caused near-death damage...? And then, continuous holy attribute damage was confirmed, huh. --- The latest simulation result of a battle with me is... taking 80% of my life force damage immediately upon meeting, all magic items and support magic losing their effects, being unable to move for 3 minutes, and if I can attack once a minute after that, it's a good day. During that time, continuous large-scale holy attribute damage continues, and I will be brutally killed within 5 minutes with 99% certainty."

The Demon King looked up at the ceiling with empty eyes and crumpled the report.

"--- What is this strength? I've trained and finally reached SSS-rank recently? This hero, Alex, has reached a level that's beyond unfair, it's insane... What will happen when he achieves true awakening... Sigh, he's still 39 years old."

The Demon King put his hand to his forehead and sighed again.

"Twenty years since my resurrection. I've hidden my existence and done nothing like a Demon King... Humans have a lifespan of 50 years, so I have to hide for another 10 years... Can't he just die sooner..."

He didn't just sit and gnaw his fingers.

In the past, he had sent assassination teams.

He had tried to poison him.

But the teams were annihilated just by getting close.

Sending strong ones resulted in instant death without even moving.

Poisoning the rivers and wells only turned the water into holy water when the hero approached.

There was no other way to deal with him except to wait for him to die of old age.

The only thing that worked was when the evil god made the guiding angel lose her memory, preventing her from meeting the hero and achieving true awakening.

Then, a small goblin in a mage's robe, dragging its long hem, rushed into the throne room.

"Your Majesty! It's a crisis!"

"What is it? Has the hero Alex come?"

"That Alex has quit being a hero!"

"What! So he won't be walking around the world anymore!"

"That's right, Your Majesty! The possibility of him coming to the demon world is almost zero!"

The Demon King stood up and laughed. It was his first hearty laugh in twenty years.

"Hahaha! After twenty years of hardship! Finally, luck is on my side! If Alex dies of old age, I can finally dye the world in my hands! I'll start preparing in secret--- But, Great Mage Gob, don't let your guard down! The Demon King's revival must never be discovered! Inform all my subordinates not to harm humans! We have ten more years to endure! Hahaha!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The goblin called Gob answered with a glowing face.

The Demon King's laughter echoed throughout the castle, not just the throne room.

--- But he still didn't know Alex's new purpose.

And that the Philosopher's Stone, the culmination of the Demon King's alchemy, was necessary for the rejuvenation potion.

'The Underachieving Hero! ~Chapter 1 "Survival of the Former Hero" End'

Run. Demon King, run.

That's it for the end of Chapter 1.

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