Chapter 35

After the tiring battle, we made sure that the demon king had died. We scanned the area, looking for any trace he might have left. All we found was a magic stone with two demon symbols on it.

“I wonder if the second one represents the one you fought.” I showed it to Emori.

“How does that even work?” She asked. I shook my head.

“No idea.”

“Nothing here, either,” Solicea called from the other end of the room.

“Alright, this means it’s time to return.”

“Can we use Teleport now?” Amira asked.

“I’ll try.”

We all held each other’s hand, then I used Teleport. We found ourselves back at the manor in Matakuka.

•••

It was a chaotic day, to say the least. First were the reports. Luckily, thanks to our fast actions, we managed to prevent any casualties. Those who were hurt were quickly treated, the leftover monsters cleaned up before they could spiral out of control.

The flower symbols had all closed, preventing anyone from entering, although the team that were supposed to go before us managed to find a teleporter to exit from. We did a count and made sure everyone came back safely.

There were various other checks and things that were supposed to be completed before we were done for good. Not that we bothered with those things, though. Me, Emori, Solicea, and Maya got to hang around the manor while all those things were progressing in the background.

At first, Emori insisted on helping out, since she’s the crown princess and all that, but Prilus reassured her that she could rest.

Hence how now we ended up together in the living room, Emori resting her head on my shoulder.

“How did you find me?”

“Well… It’s… I don’t know how to describe it. Sense? I have a feeling that you’re in trouble, since you weren’t there, so I used Myriad Dash.”

“To literally slice through the fabric of reality itself?”

“I wouldn’t say… I don’t know, actually.”

It was something I did in my panic. It's hard to describe it, like I just knew that I needed to do that. I knew Myriad Dash’s ability to do the impossible, even going past the anti-magic barriers in Nanawak’s prison, so it was the obvious spell to try.

“Still, fighting your own copy? I’m surprised you can do that.”

“Didn’t you do the same?”

I shook my head. “You’re the only one that disappeared, and there are no copies of us anywhere.”

“How did that happen?”

I shrugged. “Ask Akareseki.”

“He also didn’t know, and he went back to his body already.”

“I thought he would stay around for a bit after that. He’s free, after all.”

It would be weird for her to rest her head on me like this if Akareseki was still around, though. Maybe Akareseki is good at reading the room? The rest also returned to their rooms after returning, all with the same excuse of being tired. I should be grateful I have such understanding friends.

“Still… we finally did it. We defeated the demon king…”

It took a while, but I found it, admittedly, a bit surprising that we managed to kill him. To be fair, we did come in with a larger party. I could see how the original party was overwhelmed during the first war. We also came in prepared, with Emori’s powerful White Void on top of that. Had we not had Emori’s spell, it was questionable how long the battle would take.

“I wonder how things are going to be moving forward.”

Would we be able to live a normal life now that the demon king had disappeared? Going to school, studying, preparing for exams, having dates, stuff like that. There were many things that we couldn’t do when we were still concentrating on fighting the demon king. Maybe I should finally join a club or take up a new skill.

“I think I’ll be busy.” Emori smiled wryly.

“Why? Oh…” I was so focused on the demon king that I forgot about Emori’s queen business. She had stopped preparing when she abdicated her throne, meaning she had a lot of things to study.

“I wonder what I’ll do when you’re not around.”

I still didn’t have a lot of friends outside of our main group. I couldn’t spend all my free time practicing in the Wolves’ base, especially since I wasn’t planning on taking up adventuring full time.

“About that… If you’re serious about being with me, you need to study some things as well, remember?”

“I completely forgot about that.”

It would be funny to see Prilus after I rose, though. I may not be higher than him in rank, but I wouldn’t be any regular commoner anymore.

“Things aren’t so scary with you around…” Emori smiled. “But it’s only the beginning, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

A new beginning to our story.

•••

That night, I found myself back in Syla’s castle. It was a bit late, but after going in and out so freely, only now I realized that there were many anti-magic barriers around the castle, probably to prevent dangerous people from teleporting in. I always came at certain spots that didn’t have those barriers, though, and many of the knights already knew me.

I went to one of the castle’s tower, where Arnold and Asytelar were. I knocked on the door, but no response came. Maybe because it’s already late.

“Fortisbel, you have returned.” Asytelar’s crow body flew in and landed next to me.

“We’ve killed the demon king. I’m surprised things didn’t get worse.” I scratched my head.

“Don’t jinx it.”

“Ah, right.”

“I’m just joking. I had already confirmed that the demon king is dead.”

“That’s good to know.”

I was, admittedly, a bit worried that he would just pop out of nowhere and begin raining destruction again, but knowing that he’s dead puts a huge relief in my heart.

“It’s finally time for me to go.”

“It’s time already?”

“I no longer have anything to do. I shall go and visit him on the other side. I am sure he had been waiting for a long time.” Asytelar chirped. She waved her wings, about to take off.

“Wait! I’m curious, is there a way to go between this world and my old one, back-and-forth?”

“Hmm? There is.”

“Are there any side effects?”

Asytelar flew away and disappeared, before returning with a piece of paper in her legs.

“This is a magic symbol that will let you travel between worlds. It’s a quint-casting spell.”

I never did five different spells at the same time, not even in the game. Emori using eight meant that it’s possible, but White Void all had the same symbol. This one seemed much more complex.

“If you’re interested in my research, you can show this paper to Arnold. I have told him to assist you in any future endeavors.”

“I see, thank you.”

Asytelar shook her bird head. “No, I’m the one that’s supposed to thank you, Fortisbel. You came from Earth, yet you sacrificed much to save my world. For that, you have my thanks.”

Asytelar bowed deeply.

“Is this really farewell?”

“Fear of missing me, aren’t you? Do not worry. We will eventually meet again, although that depends on how long you are willing to stay here.”

Asytelar turned around, flapping her wings. “I trust the fate of this world to you, Fortisbel. Until we meet again.”

“Goodbye- no, see you later.”

I could see something resembling a smile on Asytelar's beak as she turned around and flew out of the window. I watched as she disappeared into the night sky.

•••

A huge celebration was held upon our official return to Syla. Official because we teleported back. After arriving, knights escorted us and dressed us up, before putting us onto carriages and rolling us down the main streets of the capital. People gathered, celebrating the return of heroes.

It was the first time such a huge celebration was held for me. I couldn't help but feel a bit awkward, so instead of proudly standing up and waving back, I simply sat there, doing little waves.

The carriages took us to the castle, where we all came before the king and queen. We handed over the demon king’s magic stone in a ceremony. Arnold was the one that examined the stone for us, confirming that its power was nothing like any other magic stone. For now, the stone would be held in the castle’s secure storage.

After that, we were rewarded for our troubles. Since Prilus and Emori were already the children of the royal family, they got a sword for ceremonious purposes. Solicea and I got a lot of money, while Maya got a lot of gold.

After the ceremony ended, the royal family held a celebratory ball. Like my first ball back when I entered school for the first time, after doing my dance with Emori, I decided to go get some fresh air. Standing on the balcony, I looked up at the clear skies.

“Quite the adventure, eh?” I heard Maya’s voice coming from behind me. She walked up to me and leaned on the railings. “I didn't expect to be going through all this when I first met you.”

“You've been a great party member, Maya. Thank you.”

“What's this? Teary eye all of a sudden?” she said with a smug grin.

“Oh, come on. Read the damn mood.”

She let out her tongue. What a silly litle dragon. “So, what now? We don't really need to continue fighting, do we?”

There wasn't any apparent threat to Syla, and we both have enough money to live through our lives without the need to work. Assuming we spend wisely, that is.

“I guess I'll just go with the flow. See where I end up.”

“I see. I'll do that.” Maya turned to her back, patted my shoulder, and left. I turned to find Emori running up to me.

“Emori?”

“Fortis, here you are.”

I gave her a light laugh. “It's just, being celebrated doesn't happen to me often. It makes me feel a bit… weird.”

“Celebrations like this happened a couple of times to me before, but it still feels unnatural to me.” Emori smiled awkwardly. “Last time it happened was when I arrived in a foreign country. They were pretty happy to see our arrival.”

“Nanawak?”

“No, a different place.”

Much like Earth, there are multiple nations scattered all around the world,I should have expected that. I had only seen two of those countries, though. There was still much to explore.

“Just a curious question, but when will you be crowned?”

“Probably still a while?”

“Just thinking, I want to travel a bit before then.”

Our group going around, adventuring, exploring. I didn't get the chance to explore much back on Earth, so I wanted to do that here.

Emori snickered. “Don't worry. I'll make sure you won't be tied down.”

“As if that won't happen. Still, I'm tied down with you at least.”

“Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?”

“The best thing I can ask for.”

Emori turned her bright red cheeks away.

“You… What do I do with you.” She laughed dryly.

“Nothing, probably,” I answered, looking at the skies above. It reminded me of the moment a few months back, when there was a crow watching us. Of course, that crow was no longer here.

Asytelar leaving left me with a bittersweet feeling. We may not known each other for long, but she still helped and talked to me every now and then. Knowing that she had flew to the other side left a weird taste in my mouth.

I couldn't quite put it. Half of me was sad that I wouldn't be able to see her again, but the other half happy because she could go with a smile on her face.

“Emori…”

“Yeah?”

“It feels… weird, doesn't it?”

“What do you mean?”

“We were so focused on fighting the demon king. Now that the threat is gone, what's next?”

It was a question I asked before. We had spent all our time preparing for the demon king. Much like a soldier that had returned from war, I worry if I could settle back into a normal, peaceful life.

“It’s scary. What if I couldn't be a good king? What if my only strength is fighting? Could I survive in a peaceful world?”

Emori tapped my shoulder, a soft smile on her lips. “Whatever happens in the future, we'll be together.”

“Promise?”

“You want to make a twinky promise?” She tilted her head.

“Haha, sure.” I extended my pinky. But despite her offer, Emori had other plans. She held my shoulders, inched upward, and closed her eyes. I gulped and let my face drifted closer to her. The sweetness of her perfume, the softness of her lips. I took a deep breath, calming myself down as I came closer.

That night, we shared our first kiss.