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Epilogue – My Adventure Is Over. And Yet… End

"...Where am I?"

When I woke up—
I was in the goddess’s domain, the very same place where I had first been transported.

Her appearance was that familiar sphere of light.

Suppressing the rage bubbling up inside me, I shouted:

“Goddess! I know you’re here!”

“My, my. You’re back again? How persistent,”

Came the goddess’s exasperated voice.

“Don’t screw with me! This all went exactly according to your plan, didn’t it?!”

“My plan... you say?”

Her feigned ignorance only made my irritation worse.

“‘The Demon Dragon’ gets defeated and the ‘Hero’ dies. That way, there’s no loose ends. You don’t even need to bother with cleaning up an outworlder.”

Exactly.

Once the battle ends, there’s always a mess to deal with.

The "Hero" is someone with power far beyond what should exist. And since he was summoned from another world, he has no attachment to that world. In fact, he might even resent it.

He could easily become a disaster waiting to happen.

I was just a disposable rag.

Wipe up the filth, then toss it straight into the trash.

“Hehe... What an amusing theory. But I’m not one to be so wasteful, you know.”

The goddess simply laughed.

I felt like I was blushing out of frustration—at least, I think I was.

But I was just a soul. A floating ball of light. So I couldn’t be sure.

“Now, why do you think I turned you into a woman? And gave you such a frail body? If I just wanted to throw you away, I could’ve left you male and given you a strong body, right?”

“That’s…”

I trailed off, unable to respond.

She was right—I had no explanation.

“I want you to bear children.”

“…What?”

My brain outright refused to process that one.

What the hell was this lunatic saying?

I died, didn’t I?

“Do you remember what I told you at the start? ‘It’s a peaceful world, but a great disaster looms in the future.’”

“...Yeah, but I beat the Demon Dragon. And the other remaining disasters will be handled by the other Hero. That should be the end of it.”

“Aren’t you curious where the ‘Demon Dragon’ even came from?”

“…Huh?”

I had wondered that.

But why was she bringing it up now?

“I don’t care.”

I replied bluntly, but—

“You shouldn’t lie. You’ve been wondering all along,” she said with a cheerful giggle.

“It came from another world. Not the Twin Star Realm, not Earth, but a completely separate world. One outside my jurisdiction, sent here for the sake of invasion.”

Her voice suddenly shifted, taking on a bitter tone.

“That thing was just a terraforming machine. It floods the world with miasma, manipulates local creatures, and exterminates any intelligent life that might resist. That’s its entire function.”

So that’s why it killed the elves, evolved monsters, and kept spewing miasma?

And it didn’t alter the plants because they weren’t considered a threat?

“That’s the real disaster. The era you came into—those Demon Dragons were just the warning signs.”

I stood there in stunned silence as she continued.

“You possess a soul equal to that of the Hero who saved the world long ago. A soul of truly extraordinary potential. That’s why I want you to bear a child who inherits that power.”

“Don’t screw with me! You turned me into a woman just for that?!

It was so absurd I couldn’t stop myself from yelling.

“Yes. At first, I intended for you to be with the Elven ‘Saint.’ Not that I planned it, but she just happened to be your type, didn’t she? And of course, you met plenty of other women along your journey.”

“Karen-san and the others…?”

“But then I accidentally brought along that boy who was next to you. I could’ve just discarded him, but I figured I might as well use him. Didn’t I tell you? I hate waste.”

Discard?
Use?

I already knew, but the way she spoke, like people were nothing, made my blood boil.

“Even if humans and other races interbred, there was no guarantee they’d inherit the Hero’s power. So I split half of that power and gave it to Raiga-kun. The remaining half, I filled in with what was originally meant for the Saint. That’s probably why your Stigma disappeared.

In other words, you were both Hero and Saint. He got the strong body, and you got the ‘Release’ ability.”

It was a disturbing line of thought, but her logic held together.

Which only made one thing stand out even more.

“Then why didn’t you just send me to the future era when that disaster was supposed to happen? You could’ve done that, right?”

“Oh, I could. But the body I created for you was quite fragile. One ‘Release’ was enough to break it apart, remember? And like I said—I don’t like waste.

That’s why I want you to give birth. Not just for one-time use, but to create descendants who can continue protecting that world with the Hero’s power. …Sadly, the Hero from two thousand years ago died before he could do that.”

Faced with this absurd plan of hers, I gave a cold, mocking smile.

And declared:

“But I died. That means your idiotic plan is over. Game over.”

“…AHAHAHAHAHA!”

I spat the words out in disgust—
And she burst into laughter. Genuine laughter—as if she had a stomach to clutch.

“You didn’t die.”

“…What?”

“I accounted for that much. Otherwise, what would’ve been the point? I used the last of the Stigma’s power to set up a one-time regeneration trigger. Of course, you won’t be able to use ‘Release’ anymore, though.”

“…What?”

"The fact that you've reappeared in this world was completely outside our expectations. It's nothing short of a miracle. —It's about time you woke up, you know?"

"W-Wait a second!"

I shouted, unable to keep up with this sudden development.

"What is it?"

If I really was about to wake up, there was one thing I had to ask.

Because if it turned out to be true, it would be a serious problem.

"Are my feelings… were even those something you manipulated!?"

"They weren’t. Those are your own feelings. From the beginning, despite everything, you didn’t really hate Raiga-kun, did you?"

"You just had an aversion to blood. I removed that because it would've caused problems. If you fainted in the middle of a fight with the 'Demon Dragon,' that would be a disaster. And above all, now that you’re a woman, there are certain things to consider."

The goddess stated it all with complete seriousness.

But then she softened, a small smile forming.

"You showed me so much ‘sincerity.’ Don’t you think it’s time I returned the favor?"

I shouted as my consciousness began to fade again.

"You don’t have to tell me that—I already know!"

—And once again, my awareness was swallowed by darkness.


By the time I came to, I was standing in a wasteland.

It felt like it had been ages since I last saw a blue sky. The blazing sun was dazzling.

I hurriedly checked myself. The arm that had been destroyed was fully restored.

And my hair had returned to its natural black color.

If someone told me everything until now had been a dream, I might have believed them.

But I knew one thing for certain: I had a hand in creating this desolate land.

The ground was gouged out, melted into glass. It still bore the marks of my final attack—【Supernova】.

…There wasn’t time for sentimentality.

Raiga and the others—my traveling companions—came rushing over, and I was instantly swarmed.

The first was Karen-san.

She clung to me, crying as she repeatedly apologized.

"It’s not your fault, Karen-san. If anything, I’m the one to blame for hiding everything."

I meant to console her, but for some reason my nose started to sting, and I couldn’t hold it together.

Next was Rizel.

"I thought you were dead…"

Unlike her usual self, she stood there dazed. I gently patted her head.

"Didn’t I say you were like a little sister to me…?"

"I’m sorry…"

Wanting to cheer her up even a little, I pulled Rizel into a tight hug. She whispered,

"You’re alive…"

—and the tears came pouring out.

"Hmph, to think you were keeping secrets this whole time. What a sly little fox."

Myudy was as sharp-tongued as ever.

She sounded annoyed, but—

"Well, better alive than not. Anything else would’ve left a bitter taste."

—those words told me she’d been worried too.

Raiga?

Raiga said nothing. He just wrapped his arms around me.

And the fact that I found that kind of cute… probably meant I was already beyond saving.


Erna Village.

The southern region of Elgrand had suffered heavily from the 'Demon Dragon's' wrath, but it was slowly regaining its former shape.

More than ten years had already passed since our journey—so of course things would start to return to normal.

On this fine day, I was hanging laundry when—

"Mom! Where’s my Galatine!?"

I heard a voice calling out to me.

Looking toward the stairs, I saw a silver-haired girl rummaging through her travel gear.

…Today’s the day of her departure, and this is what she’s doing?

Sighing, I went downstairs to help her look.

"How would I know? You're the only one who can use it now, remember?"

"Ugh, but I put it with my things last night..."

Her name is Reina Kirisame.

In short, she’s my daughter.

Whether it was the goddess’s design or not, she was born with a Stigma too.

Normally, Stigmas aren’t hereditary, but apparently my power was strong enough to override that.

To be honest, part of me resents being used like that—but what’s done is done.

Still...

"I’ve told you before, stop referring to yourself as ‘boku.’ It’s fine in the village, but people will laugh at you outside."

"You say 'boku' too, Mom! That’s what they call being a hypocrite!"

She turned out to be quite the mouthy child.

Seriously, I wonder who she got that from.

Since Galatine was nowhere to be found, we headed to Reina’s room.

It definitely wasn’t with her travel gear.

"Ah—found it?"

Something sparkled under her bed.

Looking closely, I saw the jewel at the tip of the sword’s scabbard.

"There it is! Oh, right—I slept with it last night!"

Most likely, it fell from her bed while she was asleep and rolled under.

She let out a sheepish "tehehe," but that trick doesn't work on me.

"Don’t sleep with a sword in bed."

That holy sword, once wielded alongside the 'Hero' on the battlefield, was now reduced to a glorified hug pillow.

If King Richarl and Karen-san heard about this, they’d probably cry...

"But Dad’s book said to never let go of your weapon during a journey!"

"That’s one thing, this is another. At home, that rule doesn’t apply."

"Mom, you're so unfair!"

Reina exaggerated her reaction dramatically.

I had a hunch she picked that up from Rizel, who drops by from time to time.

"—Hey, Mom."

"Hm?"

I looked at her and saw her face had turned serious.

"Thanks for everything until now."

"What’s with that all of a sudden?"

"Well, I wanted to say it before leaving. I might not come back, you know."

"…You’ll be fine."

As I said that, her face looked like she was about to cry.

Good grief—she’s the one who insisted on going, and now she’s nervous?

"Why?"

"Because you have the protection of the gods, and of the Hero. And maybe you’ll even meet a slightly old-fashioned elf along the way… So go. See the world. I’ll be here, waiting for you—whenever you decide to come back."

"…What’s that supposed to mean?"

"You’ll understand one day. I’m sure of it."

Even I wasn’t sure that counted as a proper answer—but Reina said nothing more.

"Okay, I’m off. If Dad were here, he’d just get in the way."

"Take care."

And with that, Reina set off.

And I resumed my days of keeping the hearth warm—for someone precious, just as I once did before.

"…She’s gone?"

A voice called out to me from the back door—my partner.

Back then, he was just a boy. Now, he’s a fine young man with a cross-shaped scar on his cheek.

He could’ve healed it with magic, but he insisted on keeping it because it looked cool. Idiot.

"Yeah…"

"Don’t cry. You’ll make me want to cry too."

He always said that if we had a child, he’d train them hard.

But in the end, he became a doting father. The kind who would spoil her rotten.

Because of that, I had to play the strict parent to keep the balance.

As a result of that unreasonable goddess’s command, only one of my wishes was granted.

I’ll never be able to return to the home I once shared with my old family.

All the keepsakes and memories—gone.

But even so, I was able to build a new family.

The first time I held Reina, I cried.

"Thank you for being born."

Those words just came out naturally—words of gratitude.

From now on, I—no, we—will live in this world.

Hardships will probably come. That goddess did leave behind some ominous parting words, after all.

But I’m sure we’ll be okay.

My daughter’s not weak.

And from her, to her children, and grandchildren—it might be a distant future for me, but not so far for elves.

Our will shall be passed on.

Number-Zero

Author's Note

Well, we’ve reached the end! Thanks to everyone who stuck with the story this far—I hope my translations did it justice. If I butchered any names along the way, my bad! I’m just an amateur translator, after all. There are still a few extra chapters left, and they’ll be uploaded on the usual schedule. That’s all for today—see you next time! 👋

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