Chapter 91: Last Chance

—What happened after that... I don’t remember very well.

I was engulfed by the warm light magic that the boy Kichou activated, and my consciousness blacked out.

When I came to, I was sitting in a meeting room in the royal palace, clinking glasses with my father.

“…Huh?”

“Hm? What’s the matter, Irine?”

My father—whom I’d been told had been "killed"—was happily gulping down wine right in front of me.

Beside him, Ilya was seated, scowling at the tea in her hands as if it had personally offended her.

“Eh, ah…? This is…”

“Please calm down, Sister. Ilya will explain everything to you shortly.”

“…All right then.”

“Now, Sister, please activate the spell. For eavesdropping protection.”

I glanced around the room.

The king and Lord Garius were cheerfully chatting with nobles from the national military.

Aldebaran and her companions, looking slightly perplexed, were speaking with the boy—Hero Kichou.

“…Very well. I’ll step out for a bit.”

“Please do, Sister.”

There was no doubt in my mind—this was yesterday.

This was yesterday’s send-off banquet, held to wish us victory in the decisive battle against the demons.

Ah… I see. That boy’s magic was…

“Oh my, Irine. Where are you going?”

“…Just stepping out for a moment.”

“Are you not feeling well? Should I take a look—whoa!”

As I was about to leave, Sakura noticed and called out to me.

—Apparently, this was the Sakura from yesterday too.

“…Huh? Irine?”

“I’m sorry. Please… just let me stay like this for a moment.”

Something was welling up inside me, and I couldn’t stop it.

Right then and there, I found myself hugging my best friend Sakura tightly.

---

“…I see. So you really did… go back, didn’t you?”

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, Al…! It’s all because I was so useless—uwaaaaaah!!”

“Don’t cling to me, you’re annoying!! Pull yourself together—you’re the Hero, aren’t you?!”

The declaration of "tomorrow’s defeat" during the banquet—a moment meant to restore morale before the decisive battle—was enough to throw the surrounding nobles into a panic.

Humanity had supposedly driven the demons to the brink, only to be defeated by the Demon King and nearly annihilated.

The future shown by the precognition spell had been completely manipulated to show humanity a convenient lie.

And now, out of nowhere, that terrifying report was being delivered.

“…Lady Aldebaran. Is that story true?”

“It seems I’ll be killed tomorrow. I don’t know what happens after that. But if Kichou—the true Hero—says so, then it must be true.”

“I see.”

I heard that Aldebaran wasn’t a hero or anything of the sort—just an ordinary person.

She apparently had magic because she was the illegitimate child of a certain noble, and had lived without ever being acknowledged by her family.

That’s why she’d been living as a magic-wielding adventurer.

“Aldebaran—or rather, the girl Al—is said to be the il-le-gi-ti-mate daughter of a very well-known noble, Father.”

“I see. Truly, there are some disgraceful nobles out there.”

“…Indeed there are.”

Inon, the blonde one, was staring at his father with very narrowed eyes. The way he said it was extremely pointed.

Hey… wait. That “certain noble” couldn’t be—

“Yes, the leader is supposedly the illegitimate child of House McCune. When she learned of the coming global crisis, she first turned to her own family—the McCunes—for help. But they dismissed her, saying she wasn’t worth trusting.”

“Yikes.”

“Even so, the family’s heir, Inon, was the only one who believed her and joined her party. Though… it seems he was disowned for it.”

Huh. I used to think he was just an annoying guy, but it looks like Inon has some good qualities too.

To throw away your status and position just to believe in someone—that’s not something everyone can do.

“You don’t need to be so impressed, Sister. Inon said things like, ‘I can tell, without a doubt! Al is my little sister!!’ and ‘There’s no way someone that cute would lie!’ before running away from home. He’s just a creepy siscon.”

“I can hear you, Miss Ilya.”

…Wait. So that means Aldebaran is Inon’s younger sister?!

Wow. They don’t look anything alike.

“If only Father would officially recognize her, then I could hear Al call me ‘big brother’… how tragic.”

“Like hell I’d ever call you that!! That’s embarrassing!”

…You’re pretty tragic yourself, Inon.

“Sister. If you’d like, I can start calling you ‘Big Sis’ from now on.”

“Stop that.”

Looking over, I saw Ilya grinning wickedly. Wait, am I being lumped in with Inon now?

I mean, I am kind of a siscon, but I don’t get off on being called that. As punishment, I gave my little sister’s cheek a good squish.

“And then there’s the middle-aged guy, Rajikka. He’s one of the leader’s adventurer companions. Pretty much her foster father, really.”

“Oh, I see.”

So Aldebaran’s party was made up of: her childhood friend Kichou, her brother Inon, and her foster father Rajikka.

They must be super close.

“The fact that Kichou is the true Hero was something only those four knew. They deliberately kept the circle small to maintain secrecy.”

“Hmm.”

“I was only told just before the final battle.”

Well, that kind of secret is the heart of Aldebaran’s party.

Keeping it tightly under wraps makes perfect sense.

“Just to confirm—despite being the Hero, Kichou can only rewind time once, correct?”

“To be exact, he doesn’t have enough mana to use spacetime magic again by tomorrow. It’s a highly specialized attribute that drains an absurd amount of magical power.”

“Whew…”

…So even if time is reversed, his mana doesn’t recover, huh?

My body seems to be completely restored to the state before I ran out of mana. I mean, I was able to activate Muscle Heaven without a hitch.

Maybe there's some kind of restriction where the spellcaster doesn’t get their mana back?

“In other words, tomorrow really is our last chance. That said, if our leader smothers the Demon King with Hellfire Magic and we hold him down, we win.”

“…True. As long as we’re careful with the arm, we should be fine.”

Yeah. Aldebaran almost beat the Demon King without even being a Hero.

This time, we just need to be careful—either avoid cutting off the arm, or if we do, make sure we seal it immediately afterward.

“Time travel, huh… I would’ve liked to experience it too. But nooo, I had to go and die—how pathetic.”

“I’ve had enough of situations that make my blood run cold, thank you very much.”

“…Lady Sakura, I’m sorry. It was I who asked you to buy us time, even if it cost your life.”

“Oh, was it you?”

…Wait, what?

“The reason we were fleeing was to safely activate the spacetime magic. But then the Demon King appeared right in front of us, and Hero Kichou completely panicked. I was busy calming him down, and Sister here was in a daze. So the only one who looked capable of stalling him in that moment was you, Lady Sakura.”

Come to think of it, Maika stayed behind too, saying, “If Karl’s staying, I’ll stay too.”

So because I was standing there like an idiot, the only one who could act in that moment was Sakura…

“I quietly whispered to Lady Sakura, ‘If you can just buy us a little time, we’ll manage something.’ And you… you fulfilled that role perfectly.”

“Heh. Well, as long as I was useful, that’s enough for me.”

“You were brave until the very end. …There are no words to express my gratitude.”

……

“Eek, don’t just hug me without warning, Irine!”

“…!”

“Sigh. You’re surprisingly weepy, aren’t you?”

I tightened my arms around Sakura.

Once again, she ended up protecting me.

Just how many times does she have to save me before I finally learn?

“…Anyway, more importantly, let’s talk about tomorrow.”

“Yury-san?”

At some point, a sleepy-faced little girl had plopped down next to us.

…You were here?

“I just spoke with the real Hero. What a fascinating tale. For Aldebaran to keep something as wonderful as spacetime magic from me—how cold.”

“Keeping that secret was the highest priority. Even I wasn’t told at the time.”

“I got permission to borrow the Hero for extensive research after the war ends. Hehehe… my hands are already tingling with anticipation.”

As she said that, Yury’s eyes gleamed ominously as she drooled. Oh no—this is one of those moods of hers.

…She must’ve gone totally wild when she found out about the Hero’s spacetime magic. Maybe that’s why they told her to keep her distance for now.

“Sister, I hear the strategy meeting is about to resume. We’ll be revising the plan for tomorrow.”

“I see. Then, Yury-san…”

“I’ll be holed up in my lab. Ku-fu-fu. Look! I yanked out a lock of his hair during the commotion. And here—this is Irine-kun’s half-finished water bottle I just collected—”

“Hmph.”

“Ahh! Return that, please!”

…This girl hasn’t changed one bit.

“Sister. If you return it, she’ll probably hole herself up quietly in the lab.”

“…You’re right.”

“Fuhii~”

Reluctantly, I handed her my half-drunk water after my little sister’s suggestion, and Yury let out a weird noise as she trudged off.

Ugh. Researchers, man…

“Irine! You and the others, get over here! I want to hear your thoughts on tomorrow as well!”

“Ah—yes, right away!”

“Understood, Leader!”

After Yury left with that creepy grin still plastered on her face, we were summoned by Aldebaran.

And thus, humanity—who once came within a hair’s breadth of losing everything—was given one final chance.

---

—The next day.

Before dawn, we gathered once more on the plains outside the capital, waiting for her.

“The Demon King always oversleeps, so we really could’ve met up later.”

“But the soldiers were told the demons would attack at daybreak. Changing the assembly time now would only cause confusion.”

We decided to keep Ilyu’s tendency to be late a secret from the soldiers.

Lord Garius believed that revealing it might cause them to lower their guard and make fatal errors.

“So. Karl… you really intend to do this?”

“Yeah. …From what I’ve heard, once the battle starts, there’s no way she’ll listen to reason. I’ll go talk to Ilyu alone before the fighting begins.”

“…There’s a real chance she could kill you, you know.”

“Well, if that happens, then so be it.”

And so, as a result of yesterday’s meeting, Karl would go speak with Ilyu before the war began.

His plan was to approach her under the pretense of being an emissary—sent to inform her of the revised start time, since she had overslept.

Honestly, it was a smart approach. Under that pretense, Ilyu might actually hear him out.

“Even if Karl’s persuasion fails, if we can use that excuse to firmly establish the start time, it opens the door for us to immediately hit her with Hellfire Magic the moment the battle begins. There’s no real downside.”

“It’s certainly the method with the lowest potential for casualties.”

Even straight-laced Karl accepted the role—not to ambush or deceive, but to negotiate a possible peace with Ilyu.

And even if he failed, simply announcing the official start time would allow the operation to proceed as planned—nearly guaranteeing humanity’s victory. Nobles really are devilishly clever.

“It’ll be sunrise soon.”

“Still no sign of the demons…”

…My battle with Ilyu taught me something.

Even if the demons win, she won’t find happiness in it.

If there’s any real way to save her, it hinges entirely on Karl's ability to reach her.

“If Ilyu doesn’t respond to Karl’s persuasion…”

Then I won’t hesitate anymore.

By force—no matter how brutal—I’ll subjugate the demons.

…Better to protect our future than cling to someone who can never be happy, no matter what.

“If that happens, I’ll just slaughter them all.”

“…However, there’s a high chance Ilyu herself will escape. She’s a monster with an ability that guarantees severance—never let your guard down around her.”

“Understood.”

“If it comes down to it, I’ll use every last drop of my mana for support magic. I’ll do whatever it takes to get us through this without losing a single life.”

Yes—this battle will hinge on how well we can neutralize Ilyu.

Last time, before she could cast anything, Rey managed to decapitate her in one clean strike. That allowed us to seal her immediately afterward.

But that only worked because of my support magic. If Rey had hesitated, or if Ilyu’s spell had gone off first—we would’ve been diced apart.

We won’t slip up again. This time, we’ll meet her with everything we’ve got.

The moment Aldebaran casts Hellfire Magic, I’ll be right behind her with my support spell. That timing should be perfect.

“…Hey, Irine.”

“What is it, Aldebaran-san?”

“Didn’t you say… they were supposed to be late?”

Suddenly, Aldebaran voiced that concern.

Right—according to her, the demons were going to be late for today’s decisive battle. She claimed it wasn’t strategy, just… oversleeping.

Which is why Karl planned to negotiate—based on that oversleeping…

“…The demons are already here.”

“What?”

At her words, I looked up toward the horizon.

…No. That can’t be. This shouldn’t be happening. Yesterday, Ilyu was definitely late—

---

『It's been… one… whole… day.』

As the morning glow stained the sky red, the Demon King's voice slowly echoed across the capital.

『My, I was truly surprised. I didn’t expect you to have such a hidden card.』

Thump. My heart pounded like a war drum.

What is she talking about? From Ilyu’s perspective, it’s been three days since her last speech.

『Still, I'm glad I managed to interrupt in time. Oh, I do apologize—dear humans.』

…Then, it hit me.

The demons. Their formation is drastically different from the last time.

Last time, they were clustered tightly around Ilyu, a dense phalanx that blanketed the horizon.

But today, their arrangement is scattered. They're spread wide and thin, avoiding tight formations altogether.

This… this can't be…

『If someone starts casting that kind of magic right in front of me, of course I’m going to interfere, Hero of Time. I can’t use attack magic myself… but if it’s anything but attack magic, I can pretty much do whatever I want.』

…Shit.

That damn Ilyu—she’s retained her memories too!

“Hey! Kichou! What the hell is going on!?”

“No way… I didn’t take the Demon King back into the past with me! I swear!”

“Then she must have hitchhiked on your spell somehow. She is the greatest support mage in history, after all—not just in name.”

The entire premise of yesterday’s strategy meeting just collapsed.

The Demon King also knows what happened last time.

She knows Aldebaran’s ace in the hole is Hellfire Magic, meant to suffocate her!

“…By the way, Aldebaran, you don’t happen to have another nifty ultimate move to wipe out the demon army, do you?”

“As if I’d have multiple spells like that! I busted my ass just to learn that one!”

“Of course you did.”

Damn it—this is bad.

Ilyu prepared a widely dispersed formation specifically to counter Hellfire Magic.

Aldebaran’s spell can’t possibly cover the whole spread.

『Well then—this time for sure. Allow me to teach you all true despair.』

“Ggh… what do we do?! Isn’t there anything?!”

『All troops—charge. Don’t worry, my fellow demons. History has already proven that the Hero’s fire magic won’t work on us.』

With that command, the demons began to advance—slowly but steadily.

A horde of monstrous creatures surged toward us, letting out terrifying roars.

“We can’t win with brute force alone!”

“…What do we do? Should we take the gamble—break through the thinned-out center and take out Ilyu?”

“There’s no way we can pull something like that off!!”

Damn it—what are we supposed to do? Rey doesn’t know yet… just how terrifying the demon troops are once they’ve received Ilyu’s support magic.

A direct assault on the center is a pipe dream. At this point, all we can do is fight desperately and buy enough time for the civilians to evacuate—

---

“Hey! Listen!! Ilyu!!”

“…Wait, Karl-san!?”

There, standing squarely in the path of the advancing demon army, was a lone man.

It was our leader—reckless, bullheaded, but honest to a fault—for better or worse.

“Ilyu!! Before we fight, I want to talk to you!!”

『What is it, human? If you're here to beg for your life, I won’t listen.』

“I just want to talk!! Look, I even brought some weak apple wine!”

Karl, with a bottle in hand and a big grin on his face, plopped himself right down in front of the charging demons.

“…That idiot! What the hell does he think he’s doing!?”

『I refuse. There’s nothing left to discuss with your kind.』

“Come on! Just one drink! That’s all I ask, Ilyu!”

『My name is Yury. Ilyu was just a fake name I used when I introduced myself to you people.』

“Doesn’t matter to me! I’ve had drinks with shady folks who went by ‘Monkey Mask,’ too!”

Was it courage or sheer stupidity?

He sat right in the path of the advancing demon army, unwavering, and continued to call out to Ilyu.

『Fine then. No matter what you say, I’m not humoring that request. Demons—go ahead and strangle that man to death.』

“Hey now, Ilyu. You really sure about that? If you say no, I’ve got a little idea of my own.”

『Oh, is that a threat now? Typical human—talks peace while acting all high and mighty.』

But why was Karl so confident?

We were on the brink of extinction. If Ilyu gave the order, and the demons charged, we’d be annihilated—no question.

We only had one chance to rewind time, and even that had been compromised by the Demon King catching on.

Our only path to survival now was to get Ilyu to accept talks, no matter how low we had to bow—

“If you’re really not going to hear me out…”

“…Then I’ll wear this on my head and go to battle.”

『Wait a second—let’s talk this through.』

Karl, for some reason, pulled a pair of panties from his pocket.

…………

『…Um? Karl-san?』

“Oh, so you do want to talk now?”

『No, I still have zero intention of negotiating… but what on earth are you saying?』

“Heh. You sure you want to say that, Ilyu? If you keep pushing forward like this… what do you think’ll happen?”

Seriously, what is he doing? He still had those panties?

And putting them on your head does what, exactly? Are you an idiot?

『W-What exactly do you mean will happen?』

“This war… will go down in history as Butt Demon King vs. Panty Hero.”

『WHAAAAAT!?!?』

……Yeah, that would definitely be embarrassing.

『Stop it! I said stop, human!!』

“…Now I understand. Why I couldn’t stop thinking about these panties.”

『Don’t you dare put that underwear near your face! I’ll kill you!!』

“Hmph. These panties… they were yours, weren’t they, Ilyu?”

『Don’t just casually drop such a stupid revelation at such a critical moment!! What even is this!?』

“If you won’t talk, I really will wear them on my head. I’ll do anything just to have a conversation with you!!”

『This man is seriously unhinged—it’s such a pain dealing with him!!』

……

What do I even do with this…? I’m pretty sure I’m looking at him the way someone looks at trash right now.

……

“…Seems like I didn’t get an answer. That’s a shame.”

『Fine! I get it already!!』

After a brief silence.

Unfazed by the judgmental glares of his comrades, Hero Karl was just about to put the panties on his head when—

『One drink! I’ll share one drink with you!!』

“Oh! Seriously!?”

『Yes, seriously—so put the panties down. Right now. I said put them down!』

At long last, the Demon King relented… under Karl’s pure-hearted, gentlemanly appeal.

“…He really is a hero. I could never pull that off.”

“It’s humiliating… Being his childhood friend is genuinely humiliating…!!”

“But the fact that it kind of worked is so frustrating, honestly.”

And thus, humanity was saved from certain doom…

…by a single pair of panties.