Chapter 26

“Th- the hero!?” Tila gasped. They decided to hold a meeting with the hero in the DCRC. Since the club was filled with ghost members that wouldn't show up anyway, it was the best spot to hold the meeting. They thought about inviting the hero home, but Meline was against it. To be fair, neither she nor Kade had ever seen him before. They wouldn’t invite a complete stranger into their home.

Tila turned to Meline, her surprise clear on her face. She had just heard one of the most shocking news in her life. Meline nodded. “Yes, I am the demon lord, but feel free to keep calling me Meline. Rather, it is best if you keep calling me Meline.”

Tila looked like she was about to faint. She didn’t look all that fearful, however. If anything, there was a shine in her eyes. Maybe because she met her hero.

“I- I-” she stuttered. She then turned to Kade, her eyes shining.

“I'm just a regular person,” Kade said.

“The man who accompanied the demon lord is in no way regular!” Tila shouted. Her voice wouldn't leak out, though, thanks to a barrier Meline set up.

She was surrounded by big shots. It had been ten years, and while the fame of the heroes' party was different from the typical fantasy story Kade read, they were still well-known as protectors of humanity. They may not have fought the demon lord directly, but they did help the people a whole lot. They stayed together for no more than a year, but many felt thankful for their existence. Even after the heroes party went their separate ways, everyone still helped the people individually. Powerful, yet kind. That was how the people saw them.

The hero smiled calmly, seeming used to receiving attention. He had short, rough black hair with blue eyes. Had he kept his appearance, he would have looked much like a hero from a fantasy. The hero himself didn't seem to care one bit about his looks, however.

“Sorry for intruding. My name is Kalou, and I'm the hero. Or rather, I used to be the hero.”

“I- It’s alright, Sir! I’m happy I can be of service!”

Kalou had come in with nothing more than his introduction. Meline, on the other hand, didn't ask anything. When she first saw him, she seemed surprised. Maybe she expected more. Just as she promised, she didn't look for a fight. Linda already warned her multiple times not to fight. She got tired of hearing about it.

“I hope you don’t mind me taking a bit of your club time.”

“No- no- not at all!” Tila said. She seemed out of place in the middle of so many important people. She's a noble, though, so Kade was more out of place compared to her.

“Let's get to the glowing in the room,” Meline said. When the hero entered, the scrolls lit up in a pale white glow, along with the hero's sword, as if they resonated with each other. This prompted Meline to take out her spears, and two of them glowed white. Meline's third spear, however, glowed black. They had been glowing throughout the introductions.

“Which one is that one?” Linda asked.

“Strength.”

“Has it ever glowed this way?”

Meline shook her head. While she herself put out a dark aura when she used them, her spears never glowed.

“What if all of this were made by the same person?” Kade asked. They did mention something about lost children before, and they knew that one of them had made a lot of things.

“You’re saying… This glow… is a shared link?”

Maybe like a series of products made by the same company.

It had been a long while since I last used a keyboard. Kade thought, recalling how much of his office equipment came from the same company. He was grateful he didn’t have to spend his days typing.

But, if it indeed signaled the shared link between them, then why did one of Meline’s spears have a different color? Could it be made by a different person? That shouldn’t be the case.

“Outside the rumored fourth spear, the three spears had always been together since their inception,” Meline said, checking the third spear. The spear with the demonic pillar strength carved into it. It didn’t have anything that differentiated it from the other two spears, and Meline was the only person who could recognize them from one another.

“Say… could this particular spear house your ancestor?” Linda asked. It wasn't clear which ancestor was working with the wolfkin, they thought it was her grandmother because her parents didn't hate the humans. It could also be someone further back, though.

“I’m not a fan of the fact that it isn’t impossible.”

After what they’ve been through, they needed to be prepared for the worst. And the worst would soon happen.

“Hu- Huh!?” Meline’s third spear moved on its own, smacking itself against the hero’s sword. Its color grew darker. Meline tried to catch it, but it dodged to the side, something that shouldn’t be possible for the spears under her control. It stabbed through the door, opening a hole in the center. It then flew into the distance. Meline quickly ran after it, using teleportation to chase. She appeared in the skies above the university.

“Meline!” Linda shouted, but it was too late. People had already seen her. The spear zig-zagged in the sky, making it difficult to catch it. She utilized the other two spears to block its path, but instead, it shot straight up, into the sky. Flying high before changing directions, heading straight for Demon Lands. Meline didn’t give up; she didn’t want to, at least.

“OUUUCHHH!” she screamed, losing control of herself. Linda picked Kade up and jumped into the skies, reaching out for her. Kalou and Tila watched as they took off.

“Ahhh!” Meline was still holding her head when Kade caught her, and the three fell to the ground. Kalou leaped away from the building. Her eyes remained on the three of them, making sure he could reach them just in time. He caught them just as they landed at the center of the park. Everyone’s eyes were on them, gazing curiously.

“Mi- Miss Linda!?”

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing to see here, folks.” Linda got up before turning to Kade. Kade took Meline, who had fainted, and ran straight for home.

•••

For the rest of the week, Meline and Kade skipped university. They did so for two reasons. One, Meline, was recovering from the pain and the shock of losing one of her spears. Two, they had become the talk of the university.

Some of Meline’s friends began talking about Meline’s claims to be a demon lord. Some thought she was a spy, while others said she was the real deal. Nobody expected her claims to bite her in the back. To make matters worse, some recognized Kalou as the hero, while others claimed it wasn’t him because of how messy he looked. It began a discussion at school, and the stronger the discussion, the less likely it would die down anytime soon. Linda and Tila went into full rumor-suppression mode. They even enlist help from the student council, who were afraid of Linda at this point.

Of course, Meline’s and Kade’s sudden disappearance didn’t help.

“The excuse we used is that there’s some mishap when Kalou taught you magic, and that resulted in neither of you being able to attend.”

“It got some of your classmates worried, but we assured them that you’re fine.”

“I see. Sorry for the trouble.”

It was a Sixthday. The group of five gathered around the dining table. Due to the circumstances, Meline had reluctantly let the hero enter. Tila was shocked when she realized Kade and Meline lived in the same home; her questions immediately headed in that direction. Luckily, Linda didn’t flame the fire this time, as they had some important things to discuss.

But, before that,

“Here you go.” Meline brought over a pot full of warm soup.

“Are you sure you’re already well enough to cook?” Linda asked, peeking curiously into the pot. Kade was curious as well. Apparently, they would be having chicken soup with a lot of vegetables this time, the kind of soup you would expect someone with a cold would eat. The sick person wouldn’t be cooking it themselves, though.

“I’m fine. No need to worry, I tell you.”

“Well, if you say so.”

Meline was so fine that the night after the incident, she took Kade straight to Demon Lands, where they met up with her subjects. They began a nationwide search for the missing spear.

“It’s been three days, and they still haven’t found anything.” Meline sighed. Meline had shown the fourth spear she recovered to her subjects, using it as a reference. The spear wasn’t impossible to copy, but there shouldn’t be many replicas within Demon Lands. If anyone saw something similar, they would report it to her. And yet, there still wasn’t a single clue.

“I’m surprised your spears could even do that,” Kalou said.

“They shouldn’t be able to distance themselves from me. Far enough, and they lose power. And yet…”

It didn’t just have a mind of its own, but it also hit the hero’s sword on its own. It then flew away. Had that thing been normal, it should have fallen to the ground before it could even leave the university area. It was clear that something changed once it hit the hero’s sword. It was as if a key was unlocked, and the soul within it could take full control.

“Have you sent anyone to the wolfkin village?” Linda asked. There had been rumors of their rebellion, so they seemed like the obvious answer.

“I have, but they haven’t found anything.”

The one she sent in was the arakins, who had a good relationship with the wolfkin. Their culture also allowed them to do questionable things without the wolfkin questioning it. They made the perfect recon team.

“Guess all we could do now is wait,” Meline said solemnly.

Linda stared at the pot, her hands already on the spoon and fork.

“Fine, eat up.”

And thus, they ate lunch while they waited.