Chapter 41: Each of the Heroes

After overwhelming the Demon King's officer, Blitz the Thunder Emperor, with sheer power and winning the battle, Kazuya and I were still riding the high of excitement. That’s when someone approached us.

It was Dominic and the others.

I had completely forgotten about their presence. Noticing them now, it felt like the air around us tightened, tense and sharp.

A volatile situation… though I doubted it would explode. Dominic had lost an arm and was clearly exhausted. He must’ve realized the massive gap that had opened between him and Kazuya.

“Um, thank you so much for helping us.”

Maria stepped forward to express her gratitude. Following her, the other two—Alice and Monica—also offered their thanks.

But Dominic just kept his head down, muttering something under his breath.

“No need to thank us. We’re all part of the same hero party—we couldn’t just abandon you.”

Kazuya responded kindly, gently.

But I felt this was something that needed to be said. If Dominic tried to keep competing with Kazuya pointlessly and someone else got hurt, it would be a problem.

“I believe you’ve recovered enough to make it out of the Demon Lord’s castle safely. Also—”

“I hate to say this, but you all are far too weak. You couldn’t even handle a demon officer, let alone the Demon King. You’re just going to drag the other heroes down. It’s best for everyone if you leave now.”

Kazuya raised a hand mid-sentence to stop me—and then said everything I wanted to say.

He was probably being considerate, thinking it would come off too harsh if someone who wasn’t a hero like me said it. Or maybe he figured even if it did come off harsh, he’d rather take the blame than let it fall on me.

“...I—I understand. You’re right, I think. Well then… Lord Dominic…”

Maria accepted it and turned to call out to Dominic.

Dominic, who had been mumbling to himself with his head down this whole time, finally looked up.

“Why… why is there such a huge gap between us?! Hey, answer me, Kazuya! What kind of cheat did you use?! Tell me!”

Dominic lunged at Kazuya, grabbed his shirt, and started yelling in a frenzy.

“That’s right! Awakening! What the hell was that?! Awakening should take time to activate, shouldn’t it?! Why did yours activate instantly—and with way more power than mine?! There’s no way that’s normal!”

Kazuya calmly grabbed Dominic’s left arm, twisted it, and pinned him down.

“Guh!”

“It’s simple. I fought strong enemies, gained experience, honed my skills. I even trained my awakening until I could control it. I don’t have a master like Roy. It’s just been me and Miki. So I had to constantly think, constantly refine myself, and get stronger. Sure, maybe I got lucky here and there. But mostly, it’s because I worked for it.”

“Oh, give me a break! You trained and got stronger, so now you're unbeatable? You expect me to believe that crap?!”

“I don’t care if you believe it or not. I’m not trying to convince you. But no matter what you think, the result is the same—there’s that much difference between us now. You can’t beat me.”

Dominic scowled bitterly and looked around. Then our eyes met.

“Miki-chan, I didn’t even do anything and he did this to me. Isn’t that horrible? Help me, pleeaase?”

He suddenly switched to a whiny, cutesy tone as he called out to me. I’d seen the whole thing, and yet he still had the nerve to lie like that. He must really be desperate.

Kazuya applied more force, causing Dominic even more pain.

“Hey. Miki’s mine now. Don’t speak to her so casually. Don’t even look at her.”

Wha—!?

Hold on a second!! Since when was I yours!?

…Well, okay, I was kind of planning for that to happen, but still! Did he really have to say it out loud?!

“…Heh. Don’t let Miki-chan walk around alone, yeah? You never know what could happen. It’s a dangerous world—GAAH!!”

Listening to Dominic spout off like some pathetic punk made me feel a tiny bit sorry for him. But at the same time, it felt like any more time spent on him would be a complete waste.

Kazuya didn’t think that way, though.

He took Dominic’s remaining arm—the one that hadn’t been injured yet—and broke it without hesitation. The sound echoed sharply throughout the hall.

“…Don’t worry. Miki can take care of herself. But if anything does happen to her… don’t think you’ll die easy. I’ll crush every single person involved.”

Kazuya growled in a cold, heavy tone.

Dominic fell silent. Maybe the pain and the threat had finally crushed his will to resist—maybe he realized Kazuya wasn’t bluffing.

“Um… Lord Kazuya, I’m so sorry about Lord Dominic’s behavior. Please, could you leave it at that? We’ll make sure he doesn’t do anything else. No matter how he is now… he is our hero.”

Maria, Alice, and Monica all bowed deeply.

Kazuya silently released Dominic and stepped back.

“Let’s go, Miki.”

He said, taking my hand and leading me out of the hall.

“Damn it… damn iiiiit!!”

Behind us, Dominic’s anguished screams echoed through the room.

---

Kazuya had left the room, and a kind of atmosphere settled around him—one that made it hard to approach him casually.

It wasn’t like he was irritated. It was more like... he had a bone stuck in his throat. Like something inside was unresolved, stuck in his chest, making it hard to shift his mood. That’s the kind of air he gave off.

Maybe if a monster showed up and we had a fight, it would help him blow off some steam. But there were only defeated monsters scattered around, and the mood stayed the same.

I couldn’t blame him. Just earlier, Dominic had once completely outclassed Kazuya—a difference so great it wasn’t even a comparison. And now, to see him reduced to that pitiful state... Even if you disliked someone, it’s not like you wanted to see them that pathetic. If he’d at least kept some dignity, maybe it would’ve been different. But now, it was beyond repair.

Kazuya must’ve had a lot of thoughts running through his head too.

He came to a stop and turned to face me.

“…Miki, can I ask you for a favor?”

I had a rough idea of what kind of “favor” he meant.

“No kissing. Hugs only! Only hugs!”

I cut him off before he could say it.

“Got it. That’s enough. Sorry, I just... I’ve been feeling kind of raw inside. Can’t seem to calm down.”

He didn’t wait. He pulled me into a strong hug.

“Yep, being with you calms me down. Thanks for staying by my side, Miki.”

“I’ll always be by your side, Kazuya. No matter what happens, always.”

Maria and the others came to mind. From my point of view, Dominic was a pretty awful guy. But to them, he was probably someone precious, someone they truly loved—even after seeing him like that. That’s how deep their feelings must’ve run for him. And I want to believe Dominic loved them too.

As for me—my love and feelings for Kazuya? I don’t plan on losing to anyone.

No matter what happens, I won’t ever leave Kazuya’s side. I’ve already decided—we’ll be together for life.

Even though… that phrase means something completely different now than it did when I first thought it.

Kazuya held me tightly, as if trying to absorb my presence through every inch of his body—pressing close, stroking my hair, breathing in my scent, wrapping me up.

He was the one embracing me with that big body of his, but for some reason, it felt like I was holding a giant baby. Like he was depending on me, leaning on me, putting his whole weight in my arms. That’s how it felt.

Was this what they called maternal instinct?

Part of me wanted to say, There, there. It’s okay to lean on me more, but truth is—I wanted to lean on him too. I pressed my face against his neck and breathed in deeply. It was a little sweaty, but it was the scent of strong Kazuya. I hugged him back with all my strength.

We stayed like that for a while, until finally we let go of each other.

“Alright! That did the trick! I feel completely refreshed now. Time to hold off the rest until we take down the Demon King! Let’s do this!!”

“Yeah. Just a little more to go.”

Kazuya said, his energy back, and started walking forward again.

Come to think of it, our reason for defeating the Demon King is kinda… impure, isn’t it? Not that it matters now.

---

Even so, ever since we defeated the Thunder Emperor and left the great hall, we haven’t run into a single living monster. They’d already been taken out—it looks like we’ve just been walking in the wake of another party that went on ahead. Come to think of it, ever since entering the Demon Lord’s Castle, we’ve only fought with Demon Lord executives. Not having to waste energy is great and all, but... somehow it feels anticlimactic.

As we continued on, we reached what looked like a rest area—and it seemed we had caught up.

With Roy and his group.

Roy and his party are the hero team Kazuya met while he was training alone in the Royal Capital Dungeon while I was back home for a visit. The members are the same as ever: Hero Roy, his former-hero mentor Joseph, Roy’s childhood friend and ranger girlfriend Claudia, front-line tank Wyndham, and the twin mage sisters Erin and Corin—six of them in total.

Roy and Kazuya seem to get along well, and it looks like Joseph has helped Kazuya out quite a bit too. As for me, I’ve gotten along with Claudia and the twins Erin and Corin as well. So we’re all on good terms with each other as parties.

“Yo, long time no see, Kazuya. And you’re still doing the two-person party thing with Miki, huh? I mean, I know you guys are all lovey-dovey and don’t want anyone else joining, but still—making it this far like that is seriously impressive.”

Right—now I remember. Roy and the others think Kazuya and I are a couple. I completely forgot. Guess I need to keep up the act. Though… do I? Do we still need to pretend? Honestly, I think it’s fine to just act like usual at this point.

“Claudia picked up something ahead with her detection skill. There’s a big hall coming up, and it seems like there’s a strong enemy inside. Might be another executive-level threat.”

Roy brought it up during the break.

“I see… fair enough. I don’t mind. If it’s another Demon Lord executive, you guys can take it. We just took one down ourselves not too long ago.”

“For real!? Man, that’s a relief. I was worried we might end up fighting over it if it turned out to be an executive!”

Roy looked genuinely relieved. Wait… do people really fight over Demon Lord executives? Is Roy’s team that strong?

“You foolish disciple, don’t let your guard down. Kazuya, if we find ourselves in danger, don’t hesitate to jump in. If you’ve already taken down an executive, then your strength is beyond question.”

“Yeah, you can count on me, Joseph-san. That said, with you and Roy there, I doubt it’ll be an issue.”

Figures—Joseph-san really plays the role of the strict mentor to Roy. As expected of a master.

“Come to think of it, Kazuya, you’ve taken down more than one, haven’t you? I’ve only got the Dragon King under my belt. You took down the Giant King too, right? And now the Thunder Emperor? Any others?”

“Yeah, also the Flame Wolf King and the Queen of Frost.”

At that, Roy froze up. Then Claudia leaned forward excitedly.

“Ehh!? You took out four Demon Lord executives!? That’s insane…!!”

“Well done. Four of them, huh? Fufufu, then perhaps Roy here really isn’t on your level yet! Hah hah hah!”

“Come on, Master! This isn’t a joke! I mean, seriously… four of them…? If that’s true, then that power… he might actually be… stronger than me… But Kazuya! I’m not giving up! I’ll take down the last one—the Spider Queen—myself, easy!”

“That’s exactly why I told you not to let your guard down, you idiot disciple.”

Kazuya didn’t seem displeased by the praise. On the contrary—he suddenly pulled me close and wrapped an arm around my shoulder.

“Don’t give me all the credit. It’s not just my strength. My girlfriend’s the real deal. She’s amazing—can handle healing, support, attack magic, you name it, and now she can even dual-cast two spells at once!”

Suddenly, everyone’s eyes were on me. Especially Erin and Corin, the team’s magic specialists—their stares were intense, and I was starting to feel embarrassed.

“Wait, really!? Two spells at once!? How do you even do that, Miki-san!?”

“Dual casting…? That’s actually possible…?”

Uh, well… the dual casting isn’t really something I learned through skill or magic. It’s thanks to the ring… wait!?

Wait, where’s the ring!? It’s gone!? I must’ve dropped it somewhere!?

I looked around in a panic. Kazuya noticed.

“What’s up, Miki? You keep looking around. Lose something?”

“Yeah… the dual casting ring is gone. You haven’t seen it, have you?”

I showed him the index finger on my right hand, where the ring had been, and asked if he’d seen it.

“Huh? Your index finger? You’ve never worn a ring there, have you? Since when are we talking about?”

What!? No way… huh? Come to think of it, did I ever tell Kazuya about the dual casting ring?

I don’t think I did… Maybe that’s why he didn’t notice. That’s… not good. What do I do now?

“I swear, you weren’t wearing it earlier or yesterday either. And I am the guy who notices even the tiniest change in you, Miki, so I’m never wrong!”

…Okay, that’s kind of creepy.

Still, this doesn’t make sense.

Just to be sure, I focused on my senses—and strangely enough, even without the ring, I felt like I could still dual cast.

Hmm… what the heck. Might as well give it a shot.

“Is something wrong?”

Corin spoke up. She must’ve noticed how strange we were acting.

“Ah—no, it’s nothing. I’m fine.”

I said that, and then began casting. A spell to light up the surroundings—plus one more.

A white shadow, shaped like a bust of me, appeared on my left shoulder. It began chanting a purification spell.

Both spells activated at the same time.

“So you have the shadow do the chanting. I see.”

“Amazing… you really did cast both at once…”

“Ooh… this is impressive. This really is like having two top-class mages in one. With Miki’s level of skill… yes, I see now.”

Corin was impressed by the method, Erin was amazed by the dual casting itself, and Joseph-san had fully assessed my ability and nodded in approval.

And I… somehow understood what had happened.

Most likely, the Echo Ring recognizes a chosen user as its master, grants them dual casting, and then disappears entirely.

After that, we all continued chatting for a while, rested up properly, and got ready to move out.

Roy’s party would take the lead. We’d bring up the rear and keep watch behind.

And finally, we reached the great hall that had been our goal.