Chapter 32: Heaven and Hell — A Man’s Desire

After the long meeting finally ended, I returned to my room. Behind me were Hikari in her familiar maid outfit and Alicia in her usual saintly attire.

Both of them probably had plenty to say about the topic that came up at the end of the meeting… and yet, neither of them brought it up. Well, I get why. It’s embarrassing. No need to say it out loud.

My mom drilled it into me: always be considerate toward women. No need to stir up trouble and make things worse.

"Still… marriage, huh? They said I’ve been getting a lot of proposals from all over, but it just doesn’t feel real."

"That makes sense. You were a commoner until recently, after all, Toma-kun. I don’t hear much about these things either."

Alicia replied with a wry smile. She’d apparently gotten used to the topic after being constantly approached about it whenever she went out into town over the past two weeks—her recovery had been quick. Judging by her expression, though, Hikari was still far from over it.

"If you form a marriage alliance, you’d gain the absolute advantage of being related to royalty for the first time in this country. It’s not surprising people are desperate. But they don’t realize that simply making such proposals isn’t exactly pleasant from your perspective…"

"Yeah… I get that it’s necessary, but I personally hate that kind of connection. Honestly, I already ended up becoming king, completely off the path my life was supposed to take. Having my marriage decided on top of that? No thanks."

I’d already come to terms with becoming the Sword King. Getting hurt for it, taking responsibility—that’s just part of the role. I understand that. I’ve already felt firsthand how much trouble it would cause everyone if I didn’t.

But marriage… that’s something I’ll decide for myself. That’s one of the few things I made up my mind about when I became the Sword King. Everything else, maybe I can compromise.

The reason I became such a sucker for couples is because I admired how people look when they’re happy with the one they love—I wanted to make someone feel that way too. There’s no way I’d accept—or force—an unwanted marriage. Absolutely not.

"Some people might say you lack authority, but you’ve got Alicia—the embodiment of authority—right by your side."

"If it helps you, Toma-kun, then I’d gladly lend you the name of the Saint…"

Alicia said it jokingly, something she never would’ve been able to do before. Her expression was bright—if I’m not being conceited, I think I had something to do with that. And that made me proud.

But still—

"Alicia… you do realize that kind of sounds like a roundabout proposal, right? You’re basically saying you’ll stay with me forever."

"Huh? ……… Nyaaaaaaaaaah!?!!?!?"

Hikari, still blushing, cut in. And as Alicia processed what she’d just said, she let out a startled, almost cat-like shriek before her brain short-circuited entirely.

Watching her made it dangerously hard to resist teasing her.

"And speaking of staying together, that goes for you too, Hikari. You’ve come this far with me—I’m expecting you to stick with me to the end… I’ll make sure your life’s worth it."

"Yeah, yeah. Didn’t need you to say it. I’ll stick with you—till the very end."

…Though that “end” carried a slightly different tone. Still, we were on the same page.

In my original life, I probably would’ve asked Hikari to marry me once we were old enough. There’s no way I could abandon her after everything.

Even if she was supposed to be the original protagonist… that’s just an “if” now. There’s no protagonist Hikari here—just the girl I love.

Thinking that way… I’m glad I became the Sword King. The thought of making her carry this burden while I did nothing… I don’t think I could live with that.

In this country, you’re considered an adult at fifteen, and that’s when marriage is officially allowed. Though in practice, plenty of people form relationships earlier. Since population equals strength, having multiple spouses is even permitted.

Not that it ever had anything to do with my old life.

But now that I’m in this position, marriage talks are inevitable. Honestly, it might be faster to just decide already.

The rebirth of the Sword King, his marriage, and victory in the “King’s War.” If all of that lines up, it would gain massive public support—at least, that’s what Minister Depron suggested.

In the end, he said it’s up to me. My birthday is in December—over half a year away—so I should decide by then.

"Man, the stress never ends… I just want to go out into the city and watch couples… really soak it in…"

"Ah, looks like the stress finally hit your limit. When he gets like this, his brain kind of shuts down and he starts acting reckless."

Since no one was watching, I slouched as I walked. I’d been holding myself together because people were always watching—but I needed a break.

Maybe I should disguise myself and head into town… Thinking seriously about it, I opened the door to my room. We’d planned to play cards together afterward.

"Welcome home, Master…!!"

Standing there was an absurdly powerful elf—also a magic tool fanatic—wearing a maid outfit I’d seen somewhere before.

Instead of her usual wide-brimmed black pointed hat, she wore a white headband. Her normally exposed legs were hidden beneath a long white skirt, which somehow made them even more alluring by leaving them to the imagination.

Her emerald-green hair was tied up, exposing the nape of her neck in a way that felt… different. Nice.

And above all, her skin—pale as fresh snow from living in the sunless “Magic Mist Forest”—was flushed red with embarrassment, making her small frame look even more adorable.

Yes—the one standing there was Carol, the elf who had recently been indulging her desires in the magic research lab.

"...Hey, could you say something? This is embarrassing."

"Sorry—I was captivated. You look incredibly cute. It’s such a contrast from your usual style, and that makes it even better. Your neck, usually hidden by your long hair—it’s beautiful. And seeing you embarrassed like this… you look like a completely different kind of beauty. Normally, you have this intelligent, mysterious vibe—but in that maid outfit, you’re less mystical and more… just plain adorable—"

"I get it!! I get it, so stop already!! I’m going to die from embarrassment!!!"

I still had more to say, but if she stopped me, I had no choice. Her already flushed skin looked like it might start giving off heat.

Still… why was she dressed like that?

"So… why the maid outfit?"

"She tried to modify Toricopisura-chan, and Clarisse completely lost it. As punishment, she’s been assigned one week of maid training—the thing she’d hate the most."

"...Modify? What were you trying to do?"

I regretted asking. As expected, it was just her magic tool obsession acting up again.

"And Clarisse adores Slime-chan, so she must’ve been seriously mad…"

"So anyway, she got threatened with losing her salary and access to magic tools, and now she’s stuck here… waiting in your room."

…Why my room?

"...Because… it’s better than being seen by a crowd. And you seemed like the least likely to make fun of me. And… you actually praised me…"

Saying that with a bright red face should be illegal.

Apparently, Carol has no idea just how beautiful she is.

"Well, if that’s the case, fine. I actually had something I wanted to ask you anyway."

"Something you want to ask me?"

"Yeah. It’s about something that came up during the last ‘King’s War.’"