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Volume 9 Chapter 262

Gift

「Where is this—」
It was a dark space.
Other than holding onto Haruto-sama’s hand, I couldn’t discern anything else.
「Just wait a moment.《 Light》」
Haruto-sama chanted a spell.
It wasn’t in Elvish or Ancient Runes.
But, somewhere, I’d heard that spell before.
I’m sure it was—
As I pondered when I’d heard that spell, the surroundings began to brighten.
The walls and ceiling began to glow dimly.
I remembered.
That spell was cast by the Demon Lord—
And before Haruto-sama and I stood a large chair.
It was the chair where the Demon Lord Bellet used to sit.
In other words, this was—
The Demon Lord’s castle.
「Tina, don’t worry. There are no monsters or demons in the vicinity」
As I stood ready for battle, Haruto-sama reassured me.
The Demon Lord vanished a hundred years ago, and the next Demon Lord has yet to appear.
But this place is in the heart of the Demon Continent, teeming with monsters.
Even though I was told not to worry, I couldn’t let my guard down.
Indeed, there was no sign of monsters, but—
Huh?
W-what?
There are really no monsters?
There are some, but their numbers are extremely scarce.
At least in this Demon Lord’s castle, there were no monsters at all.
I scanned the Demon Continent extensively and only managed to find a few groups of monsters.
「W-why is this happening?」
The Demon Continent has dragon veins protruding from the ground, saturating the air with magic.
Because of this, the rate of spontaneous spawning of monsters is exceedingly high.
And the epicenter of that is the Demon Lord’s castle.
So, the absence of monsters is unheard of.
Even though there is no Demon Lord now, this Demon Continent is essentially a land overflowing with monsters.
「I’ve been regularly defeating the monsters. I marked this area with teleportation spells so I could quickly come and take them out when they appear, to be prepared for when a new Demon Lord emerges」
He said it casually, but this is the Demon Lord’s castle, you know?
The monsters that appear are usually A-ranked ones……
And even if a new Demon Lord were to emerge, would he really go defeat it alone?
……Well, if it’s Haruto-sama, he might easily take down one or two Demon Lords, but still.
It’s dangerous.
「Oh, sorry. Maybe I should have told Tina」
Seeing my puffed cheeks, he seemed to realise I was angry.
「It’s too dangerous for you to that alone」
「Sorry. I thought I could just escape with teleportation if things got dangerous. I was more afraid of endangering everyone than anything else」
Well…… that’s really selfish.
I understand the sentiment of wanting to protect us from danger.
After all, we don’t want Haruto-sama to do anything risky either.
「Why…… Why are you doing all this?」
If there were no Demon Lord, the monsters of the Demon Continent would rarely venture into our human habitat.
Of course, it is highly beneficial to periodically reduce the number of monsters, because it significantly reduces the military strength of the next Demon Lord.
However, I couldn’t help but think that Haruto-sama shouldn’t have to do it.
No matter how much the monsters are not a match for us, we don’t know what might happen.
「If I’m to stay with Tina and everyone forever, I want to bring peace to this world. Any Demon Lord who disrupts that peace is my enemy. But I’m not sure if my power will be enough to deal with a Demon Lord. So I’ll keep reducing the Demon Lord’s forces as much as I can」
So that’s it after all.
「I’d prefer…… if you stopped」
「Sorry」
Even if I ask him to stop, he won’t— that’s the expression he wore.
「I understand. Then, just me」
「Huh?」
「I won’t ask Haruto-sama to bring the rest of the Elnor family here. From now on, whenever Haruto-sama comes here to defeat monsters, please take me with you」
「B-but isn’t that—」
「Is it dangerous? I am, after all, the world’s strongest mage-swordsman after Haruto-sama. I won’t fall behind even if the opponent is a Demon Lord」
I won’t allow Haruto-sama to fight alone, not for this.
I don’t think it’s possible.
I don’t even want to think about it.
But if something were to happen to Haruto-sama.
If Haruto-sama didn’t come back—
I don’t want to face that day.
Even if it becomes a truly hopeless situation, I want to be with Haruto-sama until the end.
So whenever Haruto-sama goes to dangerous places, I will never leave his side.
「……Understood. From now on, I will always take Tina with me. Of course, I will absolutely protect you, Tina」
He realised that I wouldn’t yield.
「Yes. It’s a promise, okay? Absolutely!?」
「Yeah. I promise」
Haruto-sama was once a Guardian Hero.
Surely, having someone like me as a Guardian target would make him stronger.
No matter what happens, he will surely do his best to find a way for us to survive.
「By the way, did you bring me here to tell me that you’re preparing to defeat the Demon Lord?」
Last night and today, Haruto-sama acted to entertain me.
We had a little argument because of some things I said, but I don’t think he brought me here for that purpose.
「Even though Tina scolded me a bit…… Look, this is also one of our memorable places, right?」
Certainly, that’s true
This is where I felt the saddest in all my memories with Haruto-sama.
But it’s also a place where I harboured as much hope for the future.
「So, let me say it again」
The place where I bid farewell to Haruto-sama.
It was here.
Here, where I cried thinking about the disappeared Haruto-sama, he returned to me.
Although he disappeared again shortly afterward, he promised he would come back someday.
And he really did come back to me.
「I’m home, Tina」
「Welcome back, Haruto-sama」
This is unfair. Tears overflow without my consent.
Haruto-sama hugged me tightly.
I hugged him back with all my strength.
I won’t let go anymore.
From now on, forever—
I’ll always be by Haruto-sama’s side.
「This, I wanted to give it to you here, Tina」
Saying so, Haruto-sama showed me a magical item with a red jewel attached to it.
It was something Haruto-sama gave me when he left a hundred years ago.
And it was a magical item that broke from Haruto-sama’s magic when I tried to stop it.