Epilogue
Diablo opened his eyes. He was at the high-class Firebird Inn—on his bed. The room was decorated with embroidered cloth from the walls all the way up to the ceiling. He consumed an MP potion earlier, and, physically speaking, he wasn’t very exhausted. Maybe he was in this much of a daze because of something like burnout syndrome?
—I’m starved...
With his famished stomach as his excuse, Diablo got out of bed. He had to acknowledge he’d changed somewhat since his days as a gamer. Back then, even hunger wouldn’t get him to budge. Rather, he couldn’t budge. Only a game’s time-limited event and its deadline could spur him to move.
Shifting the window curtains with one hand, Diablo was greeted by an orange sky.
“Aww, it’s sunset already...”
After the battle in the Inner Sanctum—
Diablo had landed in the third district and walked from there all the way back to the inn, after which he waited three long hours filled with anxious fidgeting. After seven in the morning, Rem, Shera, Horn, and Rose safely returned to the inn, and Diablo finally regained his peace of mind. They all had a breakfast that was more like a midnight meal, then Diablo went to lay down in his room...
Leading him to the here and now. The clock mounted on the wall showed that he’d spent half the day asleep. Diablo rang a bell that came with the room, and, before long, an employee came to his doorstep.
It was a polite, Dwarven girl.
“You called, sir?”
“Aye. I’d like to request a meal and a bath. Also, do you know where my companions are presently?”
“Yes, they left this for you.”
She handed him a piece of stationery, which apparently had everyone’s status written on it.
Rem, devoted as ever, went to Alicia to inform her about what happened.
Shera went shopping in the city with Horn. After everything that had happened, Shera up and went sightseeing the next day; did anything faze that girl!?
Rose was on standby in her room. It seemed she told the staff, “No need to prepare dinner for Rose. If anything comes up, please tell Rose first and foremost, and please let Master sleep.” He never imagined her to be so hands-on, but he appreciated the fact she was worried for him, if nothing else. Either way, there were no problems in particular.
“I’ll begin preparing your meal and bathwater immediately.” The dwarf girl bowed.
“Make the water hot, please.”
This being a fairly high class hotel, each room had a dining table and even a bathtub. One had to ask to have the water brought over, but you could basically take a bath whenever. In his old world, Diablo didn’t really like bathing that much, since any time he couldn’t spend “gaming” felt like a waste to him. But by now he could only think of baths as total bliss.
Speaking of, he recalled hearing something about a hot spring in Faltra.
—A trip to a hot spring might be a good idea...
While he still didn’t quite know all the details, the trouble with the Church had been resolved, and, either way, he couldn’t interfere anymore. After all, he went around claiming he was God and the Demon Lord, so he couldn’t go anywhere near the Church. Even staying at the capital was risky at this point. If any of the believers found him... Well, there could only be trouble.
For the first time in a while, Diablo had a meal alone. His meal consisted of freshly baked bread, soft roast beef, and finely cut pickles, with grilled fish and some fruit on the side. It was great, but eating alone made it feel somewhat stale.
—Maybe I could call Rose? But she can’t eat, normally...
Having her stay with him like this when she couldn’t eat felt like it would be sort of cruel.
—Never thought the day would come when I felt lonely eating alone... But, well, being able to take it easy is pretty great!
As he ate, the employee entered, having prepared the water for his bath. It was the first chance he had to soak in hot water since he had arrived in this world. The water heated him up all the way to his core, melting away any fatigue he had.
“Aaah, this is heaven...”
It was then he heard a knock from the door.
“...Diablo, are you awake?”
Rem.
“Come in!” he called out from the bathroom.
“Pardon me.” Rem opened the door.
“I’m over here. Did something urgent happen?”
“No, nothing urgent... Are Shera and Horn still out shopping?”
“Indeed.”
“Oh...” Rem arrived in the bathroom. “You were bathing.”
“It’s a hot bath. Are you not used to bathing in hot water? You should try it too, it’s very pleasant.”
Diablo, of course, meant she should try it in her own room, but despite those implicit intentions, Rem froze stock still, her face turning red like a lobster.
“...V-Very well... I shall take you up on that offer. I’ve been thinking I should...wash off all this sweat too...”
“...Huh?”
Rem began undressing in front of him.
—Oh-my-holy-on-a-pogo-stick!?
He thought to stop her in a flustered hurry, but realized that was a bad idea. Most people in this world, not just Pantherians, would bathe in streams and rivers. Washing off a work day’s sweat with one’s family and friends wasn’t all that unusual. Diablo had even bathed with Rem and Shera once before. Correcting that misunderstanding now would be like telling Rem he didn’t want to bathe with her, which was equal to rejecting her as a companion. He’d have to find some way of making her understand without hurting her feelings...
But, as always, no such words came out. And while Diablo was helplessly contemplating all that, Rem had finished taking off her clothes. She concealed her modest chest with both her hands, and hid her lower half by coiling her cat tail around it.
—That’s just making it better... Worse, I mean, worse!
A beating in his ears made Diablo abundantly aware of the fact that his pulse was skyrocketing.
Rem winced backward.
“...Hmm... It’s a bit embarrassing when you keep looking at me like that.”
“O-O-O-Oh!”
Diablo tore his gaze away from her direction, leaning his back against the bathtub. Rem went in after him.
—I can’t believe she’s actually getting in with me...
She went in with her back turned toward Diablo. Facing him was probably too embarrassing, and if she were to sit like this, all he could see would be the back of her head, her thin neck, and slender shoulders. If her chest had more volume to it things would be different, but it wasn’t visible even from this position.
However!
He could feel her skin against his. Rem’s behind had sunk in between Diablo’s legs, and her small, soft body rested between his arms like a kitten. Her cat ears twitched before his eyes, flicking water from their fur.
“...Hmm, are you sure I’m not bothering you with this...?”
“P-P-Pawsitive!”
“Huh?”
“Ahem! Positive!”
“...That’s a relief...”
Rem leaned her body backward, her small back nestling against Diablo’s chest and her buttocks touching the inner side of his legs.
—She’s so soft...
Diablo’s sense of reason was about to abandon him. Rem glanced back at him with cheeks rosy, a happy, if slightly awkward, smile on her lips.
“...Heehee... We’re taking a bath together.”
“Y-Yeah.”
—Hot damn, she’s cute...
He never knew she could make that sort of expression. They had been traveling together for some time, but it felt like the first time he’d seen her act like this.
“Mm...” A nasal voice escaped Rem’s lips.
—Huh?
Diablo’s arms had wrapped around Rem without him noticing, as if trying to embrace her.
“Wait, I...!?”
“...Mm... Bathing in hot water really does feel good...”
Rem inclined her head to the side, resting it against Diablo’s arm. It was a good thing she didn’t get mad at him...
—I thought my sense of reason was going to abandon me, but apparently it’s been gone a long time now! I doubt anyone could take me seriously here, but what am I supposed to do when a cute little catgirl is smiling at me like that!?
Diablo’s sense of reason had, sadly enough, taken the day off, which led Diablo to hug Rem as he did.
“Aaah... Hmm, Diablo...?”
“Aaah, no, this is...”
“...Diablo, there’s...something touching my back...”
“Huh!?”
“...Something hard...”
“Y-You mean one of my horns?”
“...Is that what it is...?”
Rem wiggled her butt restlessly. He had thought she was uncomfortable, until—something soft wrapped around him.
He caught his breath in surprise at the unfamiliar stimulation.
—Wait, is this her tail!?
Rem’s cat tail coiled around Diablo’s “horn.”
“Uuu, oooh...” A tingle ran up Diablo’s spine.
“Nnn... Mmm...” Rem sighed into the air as well.
“Oooh, aaah...”
The water’s surface splashed audibly. Having spent a long time in the bath, not just their faces, but their whole bodies were flushed red. Unable to contain himself, Diablo embraced Rem’s body closer, reaching out to her modest chest and tweaking the tips.
“Aaah!?”
“This is...bad...”
Diablo felt like jolts of electricity were rushing up his spine. Rem covered her mouth with both hands, trying to hold back her moans.
“...Mmm!”
Locked in his embrace, Rem convulsed silently.
—Pantherians are amazing...
It was then that the sound of metal snapping echoed in their ears. It had come from the room’s entrance!
Diablo and Rem both jolted. They could hear the sound of creaking footsteps as someone approached the bathroom. Rem’s shoulders shivered nervously. It was a different, more frightened sort of shaking compared to earlier.
“Master, there’s a guest looking for you,” a voice came from the room.
“O-Oh... Rose, it’s you. What was that noise just now?”
“Pardon Rose, Master. Rose felt a suspicious presence about, which caused Rose to momentarily apply too much force to Rose’s right hand. It appears Rose has destroyed the door’s lock.”
Rem shivered like a kitten being stared at by a wild dog. True, Diablo didn’t want to imagine how Rose might react if she saw what they were doing just now...
“I’ll need to prepare myself, so have them wait in the common room! You wait there too, Rose,” Diablo declared.
“Rose proposes to help Master in his prepar—”
“Seriously...? Ah, I mean... Do not baby me, maid. I need no assistance with getting dressed!”
“Pardon Rose, Master... Rose will await you in the common room then.”
Rose left the room and Diablo sighed in relief. Rem rose from the tub, hot water dripping from her flushed skin and black hair. Diablo blushed, his eyes fixed on her long tail.
She sighed. “...I thought I would have a heart attack...”
“Are you scared of Rose?”
“...I’m an Adventurer too. No matter how strong she is, I won’t let her scare me. But being caught like this is... Well, it’s embarrassing...”
“R-Right.”
“...And...I wanted this to be just our secret.”
As if trying to hide her shame, Rem hurried out of the bathroom, leaving behind Diablo, who sat there shocked. She got dressed in a hurry, her hair and skin still wet, then turned a severe, blushed glare in his direction.
“...I have no desire to ruin this party’s peace and unity. So I think this was...a wrong thing to do.”
“Y-Yeah, you’re right...”
“...B-But...it did...make me happy... It felt good...”
Her voice trailed off as she ended that sentence. Then, having said just that, Rem turned her back and left. Not even leaving the sound of her footsteps behind, Rem left the room.
†
Diablo changed back into his clothes and headed for the common room. Rem and Rose were waiting with the guest, and Shera and Horn had apparently just returned as well. The guest was a rather familiar face, to the point where it felt like it’d be natural for them to be part of the group by now.
“Thank you for last night, Lord Diablo.”
Diablo was surprised to see Lumachina here.
“Are you sure you should be here? What about the Church?”
“Of course, there is no end of things to do there... But I came since I cannot invite you to meet me at the twelfth district, and I had a feeling that, if I did not come see you today, all of you may have left before I even knew it.”
Rem nodded. “...We have no need to stay in the capital after all.”
“Huh!? But there’s so many shops I haven’t visited yeeet!” Shera whined.
Horn just smiled wryly. Between all the clothes, little trinkets, and snacks, the two of them had done some pretty passionate shopping. They’d received a hefty reward from Zircon Tower, but, from the looks of it, they were going to waste it in no time.
“...What would you have done if the believers noticed you and found out about Diablo!?” Rem snapped at them.
“Uuu...”
Lumachina smiled. “That should not be a problem.”
“...You’re being too optimistic.”
“I have already explained to the believers that Lord Diablo acts as if he is a normal adventurer.”
“You what!?”
“They all seemed rather convinced.”
Apparently, the scriptures had quite a few examples of “God becoming an animal or someone of the races to watch over us.”
“...I can’t believe that excuse actually worked...” Rem moaned, cradling her head in exasperation.
But it was a good thing they wouldn’t have to hide away in fear of being seen by the believers... Though, that did bring up another problem. If they did find Diablo in town, would they treat him as God, or a Demon Lord?
—Both of those sound like headaches honestly...
There would be no changes in their plans to leave the capital as soon as possible—so Diablo had informed his friends.
Lumachina nodded. “I thought you might say that. Here—it is not much, but I hope this will help cover your travel expenses.”
She handed them a leather sack, and Rem confirmed its contents.
“...This much!?”
“I am sorry... The Cardinal Authority’s money laundering has left the Church’s finances in shambles. They even reached so far as the funds people had entrusted with them... I sadly do not have much in the way of expandable income I can spare...”
“...N-No, this is more than enough.”
Shera peeked into the bag as Rem put it away, her eyes widening in surprise. Horn’s hand sneaked toward it, only to have it slapped away by Rem.
“While some of the believers were injured, none were killed...” Lumachina reported the situation. “We really cannot thank you enough, Lord Diablo.”
“H-Hmm, I see! Well, a Demon Lord doesn’t even regard the lives of a few of the mortal races!”
Diablo folded his arms in an attempt to hide his embarrassment, and sunk into the sofa. They’d been traveling for so long, it would make sense for Lumachina to see through his act already... But if he didn’t pretend to be someone else like this, he couldn’t hold a conversation with anyone.
Rem and the others looked relieved, and only Rose remained unfazed and indifferent as ever.
“We have begun repairing the Inner Sanctum already,” Lumachina continued her report. “On paper, it has been reported that lightning struck the Inner Sanctum. People have been coming in to help with the repairs from outside the twelfth district, and there have been fundraising activities as well. I can truly feel the people’s good faith and desire to help one another through this.”
“Hmph... How do the prospects of repairing the place look?” Having been the one who destroyed it, Diablo felt some responsibility.
“We will definitely repair it,” Lumachina guaranteed.
“Good.” That was a relief.
“It has also been publicly announced that the Cardinal Authority all passed away in the underground tunnel. They are, however, omitting Miss Rem’s testimony.”
“...Probably because I’m a demi and an Adventurer.”
“No, that is not the reason. The Church simply cannot afford to antagonize the king at the moment. They may have been terrible villains, but the Order of Palace Knights had no right to eliminate such important persons without trial... Making that public would cause problems.”
“...I see.”
“According to what you have heard, Vishos was somehow connected with someone in the palace, and had to be silenced because of that.”
“...Yes.”
“After appropriating the Church, Vishos embezzled donations, but...the question remained, where did the money he used to appropriate the Church in the first place come from? I think we have the answer to that question now.”
“...I’m surprised. I always took you for someone who wasn’t so mindful of those details.”
Lumachina smiled sadly at Rem’s words. “In all honesty, I am still rather bad at this. But if I am not cautious...the same thing might happen again, and this time the world will be put to the flame.”
Diablo tilted his head, surprised at those odd words, but then remembered what he had said during the speech earlier. He was just trying to say something that sounded God-like, but...it seemed Lumachina still believed in what he wasn’t after all...
As anxious as that made him, he had to acknowledge she was trying hard in her own way, and that genuine purity of her heart was part of what made her so charming.
“Oh, did you dispose of the Paladins?”
“We are in the process of deciding whether they are guilty or not, and, if they are, how to punish them.”
“True enough, there were many villainous scum among them, but not all Paladins are wicked.”
“Yes.”
“Are the believers angrily demanding a public execution?”
“Yes, they are... But it is like you had told me once before, Lord Diablo: When people are subjected to great shock, their thoughts tend to go in extreme directions, so one needs to know not to punish excessively... Right?”
Diablo nodded. Lumachina was treating the matter of dealing with the Paladins cautiously.
So concluded Lumachina’s report about the going-ons in the Church. But it seemed she only had even graver news to give them next.
“It seems that King Greenwood of the Elves has passed away.”
“What!?” Diablo rose to his feet in surprise.
“No...”
Shera’s knees were shaking. The autonomous state of the Elves—the Kingdom of Greenwood—was Shera’s homeland, and its king was, in other words, her father.
“I have tried checking the authenticity of this news several times, but multiple sources confirm this...” Lumachina said sorrowfully. “It seems to have happened about a week ago.”
“No!”
Shera looked like she was about to fall. Rem supported her by the shoulders in a hurry. Even a bright girl like her fell silent, unable to find the words to console Shera. Horn was quiet as well.
“The Kingdom of Greenwood has three heirs, correct?” Diablo asked Shera. “But two of your brothers have passed away now, making you the only remaining heir. If your rule is hereditary, you would need to claim the throne...or marry someone who would become king... What will you do?”
“I don’t know!” Shera shook her head. “But, Father... I... I never thought about that at all!”
Her tears fell listlessly to the floor.
“...Elves have very long lifespans, after all...” Rem nodded. “It must be harder for Elves to imagine a family member passing away compared to the other races.”
Having said as such, she sat Shera back down on the couch.
Horn nestled up to Shera. “I cried a lot too. I never knew my real mom and dad, but when Teach died...”
“Horn...”
The memories of it made Horn’s eyes fill with tears. Rem wept silently as well. She had told Diablo her parents passed away once.
Diablo placed his hands on Lumachina’s shoulders. “You had to take on a difficult role.”
“No, it is fine...” Lumachina wiped the corners of her eyes.
“Did you happen to hear of anything else?”
“I did... Apparently, since the sole heir’s, Miss Shera’s, whereabouts are unknown, the question of who will inherit the throne has become a problem...”
“So even the Elves would fight over the throne...”
Simply ignoring Shera’s situation and position would be far too irresponsible. Even if she chose to run away from home, if she simply let things be, her country would be divided into civil war.
They couldn’t do that. Diablo thought it best to talk things over with Shera when she calmed down, but he had already steeled his resolve.
—Let’s head for the Kingdom of Greenwood!
“Like I thought, you truly are...” Lumachina nodded, gazing at Diablo’s profile.
“What?”
“To be honest, I had intended on asking if you could stay here. I hoped you could stay by our side...but now, I am convinced. You are not one to be contained by this small sanctum in this small kingdom. Your true place is out there, in the great wide world, saving us all.”
“That’s not true, I merely...”
—I merely...what? What do I want to do? Be a shut-in NEET again? I could just stay at Laminitus’s side or be with Lumachina if that’s what I really want. Why did I fight off that army of Fallen, or stop the Paladins? What do I want to do in this other world?
Diablo’s gaze fixed on Shera and the others. Seeing their tears weighed heavily on his heart. What was his objective? He still had no idea what he was summoned to this crazy world for, but one thing was clear to him, without a doubt:
—I can’t stand seeing Shera and Rem cry...
He wanted them to smile. This time, there wasn’t much he could do to stop this news, but he wanted to make it so bad things never happened to them again. But he didn’t put those feelings to words. He couldn’t; not yet...
Instead, he asked something else that bothered him.
“Lumachina... Do you believe in me?”
“Of course.”
“But would you still believe me if I said I wasn’t God after all that has transpired?”
“If you would say so, you probably are not God, Lord Diablo. But faith is not an emotion one feels toward a title or a name. If I had to describe faith in a word, it is what I feel toward you right now.”
Lumachina said so without faltering, as if mouthing an answer she had recited to herself countless times before.
A bell tolled outside the window, heralding the passing, the changing, of time...
To be continued...
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