Hugo

"She won. She is now recuperating, nursing the wounds she has received in the fight." Xaela answered.

"Oh, really? That's good to hear." I smiled. She really is strong. "You know, I kinda wish I could learn a thing or two about swordplay with her."

"No, she told me she wasn't in the business of taking apprentices. In fact, she told me that I should tell you to grow strong on your own. 'Like a real man' she said."

"Oh. Well, that's a shame."

"You should hurry, Hugo Greenwood. Reunite with the girl named Sherry and then return to your sisters. The Goddess' calamities… it might reach them too."

"... You're right. I should hurry. Still, with how large the world is, even if I want to hurry…"

"The incoming conflict of humans against demons should take her attention. She wants the Cycle to fail. That's her biggest goal right now. Tormenting you should hopefully come secondary."

Heh. Sacrificing the world for my own safety.

It can't be helped. Like I've said, I'm no hero.

"Speaking of that," Myrilla suddenly spoke. "The Demon God. Is it Balthazar?"

Xaela shook her head. "I do not know. I cannot access that information. I don't know the Chosen Heroes either. I only know Isolde is one by examining her personally."

"Do you think this is the Goddess' doing? Or is it the Heavenly Dragon's will?" I asked.

"... It's the former. In the previous Cycles, I can always access that information."

"Damn. So the Goddess is really planning something."

"It can be Balthazar," Myrilla argued. "If he refuses to invade the human continents, then the Dragon won't get his heroic conflict that fuels his power."

I fell silent. Balthazar, the Demon Lord of Wisdom. He had taken over the human city-states and he would be in the perfect position to launch a full scale invasion of the Holy Continent.

I remembered what that fox demon said. He wanted to see how humans would react to suffering. Someone like that — he should invade, right?

Another way you can break the Hero vs Demon Lord trope is by corrupting the Hero early on. If the humans were to see their savior going to the other side, they might just abandon the Church’s faith entirely. Especially if the Demon Lord is the reasonable type.

Another option is to make the Heroes be even more evil than the Demon Lord. Then the people would lose faith in the god that had manifested them.

Oh well, like Xaela said, it isn’t my job to worry about this. I just need to survive and thrive. Me and my family.

Now that everything was taken care of…

It was finally time for us to depart.

“Are you sure you really, really don’t want to come with us, Xaela? Being here all alone must be boring.”

“I will be fine. I have lived here for thousands of years. I can live here a thousand more. It is my purpose. It is what my Master wanted.”

“Doesn’t your Master want you to help me though?”

She paused. There it is. She averts her gaze again.

“That only applies if you don’t already have your own companions. But if you do, I was told to not involve myself.”

“Really? That’s an odd order.” This mysterious Master of hers… I wonder what she’s like.

“It can’t be helped then,” Felicia interrupted with a smile. “I’ll just have to be the one to protect him.”

Yeah yeah, she’s being jealous again.

Then again, it’s better this way for our relationship. If I make a misstep and actually make moves towards Xaela, Felicia and Sherry will dump me for sure.

“Well, good luck then. Stay safe. And thank you for everything. If it weren’t for you, well… you know what would’ve happened.”

With a grin, I offered her my hand.

She responded, shaking it firmly, with a hint of a smile under her expressionless face.

And thus ended our stay at the Starswept Observatorium.

I can only hope that one day, I can meet her again.

--------------

Before I could depart for Sherry’s village, however, there was one last person I needed to check on.

Victoria.

I asked Felicia about it and there was no news about her. So we just made our way to her mansion to check on her personally.

Myrilla begrudgingly approved, though she demanded we did it quickly. She was already informed of her by Felicia.

Oh yes, we’re doing it quickly alright. Now that we’re leaving this town, we can just do whatever we want.

On the way, Felicia noted the new staff I now held in my right hand. “It suits you, Milord,” she said to me. Theo looked like he wanted to touch it but he didn’t ask for it. Not that I’d hand it over to him. This staff is a pretty dangerous weapon after all, as proven by me stripping Xaela accidentally when I first obtained it.

I still found it sad that Marina’s wand was destroyed but I was never a guy that cared much about such sentimentalities. Ultimately, it was just a store-bought wand. And I wouldn’t hold a grudge to Isolde for cutting it into two.

Still, I kept both halves in my dimensional storage. As a good luck charm.

Soon, we arrived at the mansion.

And ooh boy, the guards didn’t look happy in the slightest.

“You! But you’re supposed to be dead! How are you still alive?”

They naturally scrambled into a panic at our sight. They drew their swords, their spears, their staves — all useless against us, of course.

And they knew that, for they didn’t try to stop us. They made way as I blasted the front gate open with a spell. They knew they were outmatched.

An alarm sounded, the sound of a bell ringing frantically back and forth. And then, the mansion’s magic defense activated itself, manifesting in the form of three golems blocking our path. One was made out of the fountain’s water. The other was made from the soil in the gardens. And the last one was made from the trees.

Elemental golems. How cute.

I froze the water one, I burned the wooden one, and I sent the earthen one flying all the way to the outside of the city.

And then, I broke the front door.

Only to be greeted by Victoria’s bitch sister.

“Y-you survived… H-how… I thought she had disposed of you.”

She was, naturally, taken by surprise by my appearance. But she was already ready for a fight. A Wind Barrier separated us. And an army of butlers and maids, including the old coot that greeted us before.

“Yeah, your Demon Lord messed up. And now she’s dead.” I smirked. “But don’t worry. I’m only here to speak with Victoria.”

“S-she’s gone. She has left for Ixon. She’s to be wed with one of the Demon Lord’s princes.”

I frowned. So this is what she planned for her. “You forced her, didn’t you?”

“N-no, not at all! She did it out of her own will! She wants to be useful! And so she now has the duty of being the bridge between humankind and demonkind!”

The woman smiled. A forced, nervous one, of course.

Still, it was a smile I would very much like to wipe off her face.

If only Victoria allowed me to harm her…

I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Felicia’s.

"This is her choice. We've offered our help yet she refused. If she wished to be the wife of a demon prince, then so be it."

She then turned to face the bitch sister.

"And if she has any sense, she'll influence the Demon Lord to favor her over you."

The woman laughed. "Ha! As if she can do that!"

"Really?" Felicia smirked. "Maybe with her husband's influence, she'll stop being your puppet. And then, one day, before you know it, she'll tie a noose around your neck."

This actually gave her pause. Damn, Felicia, you're good.

"Well, that's it for our visit. We'll be leaving your nice little town now." I smiled.

"Y-you think I'll just let you all walk away?" She yelled, her face now looking haggard.

"Really? You're going to fight? You might be a Grandmaster-level mage but you're a joke compared to those guys in the Magocracy. Here. Let me demonstrate."

I reached out with my left hand and dispelled her wind barrier in a blink of an eye.

“W-what?! How did you—”

I wasn’t finished. I cast a Wind spell—

And shredded her dress, along with the dresses of all the maids there.

“Kyaahh!”

“Hyaahh!”

The bitch sister didn’t scream like her maids. Instead, she just hurriedly covered her large breasts with her right arm while hiding her womanhood with her left hand.

“See? You’re a frog in a tiny pond, little lady. You are never a threat to me. If I so choose, I can destroy this city and there would be nothing you can do to stop it. If I can defeat a Demon Lord, what chance do you have against me?”

Oh yes, that was a bold faced lie. But I do so enjoy the frightened look on her face.

"Y-you!"

I spared a glance towards the head butler and his male subordinates. Not a single of them looked like they were willing to start a fight.

A wise choice.

And the old man… was that a smile I saw on his face?

Victorious, we left the mansion. With not a single soul stopping us.

Only after we passed through the ruined gates that Myrilla spoke her mind.

"That woman… She treated her sister horribly."

"I know." I smiled wryly. "Yet said sister still wants to be with them. My hands are tied.”

“No, you don’t understand.”

“I shall put it bluntly. She forced her to perform sexual acts with an orc slave before sending her off to her husband.”

I froze.

“A-are you certain?” I whispered.

“Yes. That human… she watched with joy as her sister denigrated herself. Truly a disgusting creature.”

She spoke with me through telepathy. Perhaps she didn’t want Theo to hear the grisly details, deeming him too young for such a knowledge (even though he wasn’t that much younger than me).

“But, her virtue remained intact. The woman smartly knew her future husband would not be pleased if he received a deflowered woman as his wife. And so, she only commanded her to perform other kinds of sexual acts, in the guise of teaching her how to please said husband.”

I chuckled grimly. Virtue. How funny that in this world, that simply meant virginity.

I used the same excuse. That it wasn’t that bad for me to do all that lewd things with Felicia since we never actually had penetrative sex.

But, if a girl is forced to give a handjob or a blowjob to a man she does not like, in modern Japanese society, that girl is sullied forever.

"Felicia has told me about her. That girl is a fool through and through. Now that she's under Balthazar's domain, there's nothing you can do for her. I don't care how strong you've gotten. You cannot expect to take on a Demon Lord and win. As you should already know, despite your lie back there.

"I told you a long time ago that I preferred humans to not mingle with demons. And yet, if we're to avenge your parents, we'll require Sherry's strength. It's your job to explain how you ended up romancing another woman to her.

"A year. We'll take a year or so to get there. I expect you to have your answer then. As for this Victoria, forget about her."

I smiled nervously towards the demoness.

Aahh, getting lectured through telepathy. I have to get used to this.

But she's right. I am still not strong enough to face any Demon Lords. I still need a lot more training.

Those Time spells… learning how to dispel magic better so I can do it even to a magic of a Demon Lord… so many things to do…

I'll work myself even harder on this one year trip.

And Victoria… I can only hope your husband treats you well. Better than that trash in that mansion behind me.

-----------

We departed from the city immediately under the cover of the night. The guards opened the gate for us. Just like their counterparts in the mansion, they knew better than to stop us.

Normally, traveling under the stars was a bad idea in the Demon Continent. But with how many of us there were, I figured we would be safe enough. Theo, Tira, and Tama — they had become a lot stronger these past months, thanks to the dungeon.

We made our way south for a few hours before we decided to rest. To make things go quicker, I conjured earth huts with my magic instead of setting up tents.

And, as promised, I made my way to Myrilla's hut to confess.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" Myrilla spoke. She was sitting on the stone floor with her hands hugging her knees.

"You're not going to read my mind?" I smiled, sitting down as well.

"Do you want me to?"

"No. Let me do this myself."

I then told her everything, emphasizing how it was a grown man who ran away three years ago. And on top of that, how when I was a baby, I would play with Renee's breasts every day with glee and watch her get changed or be naked while having her fun time with Alan.

I wanted to be scolded. I deserved to.

"And that's the gist of it." I smiled weakly. "Now, you know just how depraved I really am."

Silence. The Nerthusian did not say anything. She instead only stared at me, seemingly drilling into my brain.

"You wish for forgiveness? Then it shall not come from me. Ask your dead parents and sisters instead."

Damn, now she reads my mind.

"Does Felicia know?"

I nodded.

"Good. Tell Sherry when you meet her."

Suddenly, she stood up.

"Wait, aren't you going to say something to me?" I rose up to me. "You must be disgusted by me now, right?"

"... You're a lecher. Just like your father. Just like the man you are in your previous life. I don't like lechers."

Yep. Here it comes.

"But, I fell in love with your old man. And that was because of his kindness and bravery. So, as long as you become a man as kind and brave as him, I will not despise you."

That… wasn't what I was expecting at all.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, it's my turn to take watch."

She walked forward, brushing her shoulder with mine as she exited the hut.

Once she was gone, a smile slowly formed on my face.

No forgiveness. Not until you have proven that you’ve changed to be a better person.

Of course. I wouldn’t want it otherwise. It would be too easy if all can be forgiven with just words.

Well, time to get started then.

That night, I meditated in my tent, ignoring Felicia completely as I trained the range of my raw mana. I already committed the method on how to more efficiently increase it, thanks to Xaela. She, of course, understood my drive to learn and did not complain in the slightest. And even when it was my turn to take watch, I continued my meditation outside. Only afterwards did I take my rest of the night.

As for whether I used the Dream Crystal Xaela gave me, I did not. I was too tired to fill the necessary mana for it to function. And besides, I had yet to think up what I wanted to say to Sherry or Marina.

Sherry now knew about Alan and Renee’s death and I figured when I sent a dream to her, I should comfort her in some way. Though I still hadn’t decided whether I wanted to tell her I had met Myrilla and how I was now heading right to her village. I kinda wanted it to be a surprise.

As for Marina, I need to ask for her forgiveness as well.

...No, I think…  I should contact Erika instead. She deserved to be the first to hear from me. I was the one who broke my promise. I was the one who ran away. And unlike Marina, she wasn’t so kind that she would not hate me for it, which I deserved.

I would apologize. And I would ask if she’s doing alright. I would tell her that I was doing alright as well and how I couldn’t wait to meet her again and to see how much she had grown ever since I left her.

...Yes, that would be the first thing I did tomorrow night.

----------

“Greetings, little one. We meet again.”

There, I saw her, sitting on her golden throne, face veiled with blinding light.

The Goddess. The True Enemy.

She didn’t even wait a day to make herself known to me.

“I see now that the curse of that dragon has been lifted from you. Congratulations. Though of course, if you had accepted my offer, you would’ve awakened the truth much, much earlier.”

There was no doubt in my mind that she was smirking behind that light.

Lowering my view, I looked at the eight stakes surrounding her.

Sure enough, two of the chains from said stakes had been broken. Two seals, just like Xaela said.

But, I also took notice of a third chain, for there was rust and cracks in its surface.

The third seal. It was going to break soon.

I returned my attention to her face, putting on my most defiant expression.

“What do you want?”

“Oh, I’m here just for a chat. Seeing how you have learned the truth of this world, I figure I’ll give you my side of the argument.”

That taunting voice. She always had been this infuriating.

“Not interested. You think I’ll trust a sadistic goddess like you?”

“Hmm? Still mad for what I did to your family?” She chuckled. “Ah, what a pity. It’s your own fault, you know. I’ve told you over and over that disaster will strike you if you don’t pledge your allegiance to me. You know, I don’t believe you deserve a second life. No one does. Life should be a one-shot thing, where you only have one chance to do it right. And clearly, looking at your memories, you didn’t do it right at all the first time around.”

She let out a giggle.

Never before have I heard a more annoying noise.

“You know, the Ancients, or, as I like to call them, my naughty Firstborns…” She placed her index finger on her cheek. “They’re not good people at all. I think they deserved what came to them.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Extinction. Genocide. You think they deserved those two just because they refused to obey you. You really are a tyrant, aren’t you?

“Oh no, not at all.” She lowered her hand. “You see, back then, it was their own weapons who wiped them off this star. To simplify it for you, taking your world’s history here, imagine your world engulfed in Global Thermonuclear War, all because of the egos of the few, privileged few in charge.” She chuckled. “Ah, peering through your memories, I see it almost happened a couple times as well in your world. How amusing.”

She knows about Earth. Somehow I feel this isn’t a good development. She can’t mess up anything there, right? She’s just a goddess of this fantasy world.

Not that I care about Earth anymore. I’m no longer a resident of that world.

“Now, here, it happened. Two warring sides nuking themselves to oblivion. And who rejuvenated the land afterwards? It was me. And yet, they blamed me for it. They blamed their own failures, their foolishness, their obsession with freedom and what-not, only to end up at the pointy end of their own swords. And they had the galls to seal me with that Dragon too, right after I rejuvenated the land. They would be worshipping and thanking me instead. ‘Oh Gaia! Thank you so much for your blessing!’”

“So you’re saying you weren’t responsible.”

“Exactly. I’m glad you’re catching on. Don’t trust everything that girl has to say.”

I paused. Should I trust the argument coming from a tyrannical, sadistic goddess or should I trust the argument coming from the cute, sisterly elf?

Yeah, the answer is obvious.

“Alright then. You can wake me up now. Still not interested in your offer. Especially not after what you did. Should’ve played nicer. You’re making your own enemies, goddess.”

It was her turn now to pause. A flash of anger colored her face.

“...Ah, such arrogance. Very well. I shall let you return to your slumber. However, steel your heart, o foolish soul. For more calamities are coming your way. Whether you like them or not.”

“I’ll stop them. I’ll protect myself and anyone I care about from you.”

That was my oath. My promise. And I wasn’t afraid to let her know that.

I was done with fear.

“Ahahahahaha! I’m sure you would! Just like you protected your mother and father!”

With those laugh echoing in my ears, the dream disappeared.

I woke up inside my tent. Morning had already come, judging by the light coming from the outside.

And, just like Xaela promised, I did not forget.

---

A/N:

Hugo x Sherry chapter is finished over at Patreon! Next one will be Felicia's!