Chapter 455: A Truly Happy World (The End)
Chapter 455: A Truly Happy World (The End)
I was the greatest villain in the empire.
Because of me, the world burned, my loved ones hated me, and my family left my side.
Every moment was a struggle and a test of my limit.
The only thing I could do was keep running, hoping for the end that would someday come.
I spent those days shedding miserable tears, breaking down, and even half-losing my mind.
Yet, the trials and hardships that were thrown in front of me continued. The endless hills of tragedies made me want to give up countless times.
How many times have I looked at the hill of never-ending tragedies and told myself that I wanted to give up everything?
I wanted to let go of everything and find peace so badly that I prayed to the heavens countless times to take the burden away.
But in the end, I couldn’t do that.
... If I cannot let go of my burden.
Because the last prayers that I did every day before the regression were always the same.
I will force myself to swallow it.
The small act of rebellion I made was declaring that I would do all of this not by the will of the heavens, but by my own will.
The reason I was a hero was because I wanted to define it myself.
Looking back now, it was quite ironic.
The reason I could realize my divinity and use transcendent power at the last moment.
It was because of the conviction, determination, and identity that started from that small act of rebellion.
It was a coincidental yet inevitable miracle that came to me when I was completely broken and pushed to the extreme.
And that miracle did not only come to me.
The heroines I loved so dearly.
Those who were mere pawns and puppets of the mastermind eventually discovered their own identities in the long tragedy.
At the last moment, despite the interference of the mastermind, they defined themselves and provided crucial help.
And ‘her’ whom the mastermind despised the most.
She played a decisive role in weaving our miracles into a story.
That’s right.
Because of that, as you who are reading our story somewhere now know,
We finally reached the end we had longed for.
We all got a happy ending.
A happy ending.
In other words, the true ending.
Honestly, it still didn’t quite feel real.
But since we reached the end we wanted so much,
I wanted to end it with the words I’ve always wanted to say and put the most beautiful period on it.
Even though I was the greatest villain in the empire.
The current me is...
.
.
.
.
.
“Young Master.”
“Huh, uh?”
I was staring blankly out the window in my room in the mansion when I quietly turned my head at Kania’s voice.
“What are you daydreaming about?”
“Oh... well...”
“It’s time to leave. If you’re ready, please come out.”
It felt a bit embarrassing to say I was being sentimental due to reminiscing about the past, and it would be awkward to say I was just about to recite a word to end all the grievances in my heart.
“...Alright.”
So I quietly closed my mouth and started following Kania.
“Young Master, just to make sure... there are no more quests, right?”
Then Kania, with a slightly wary look, asked that question.
Recently having become the second Demon God, she proudly declared a refusal of her duties and returned as my butler.
She said the status of ‘Butler of Young Master Frey’ was enough for her.
“Of course. The system is completely gone. I’m free now.”
“...I see.”
When I confidently assured her, Kania smiled gently and walked close to me.
“By the way, it’s been a long time since we’ve been alone like this...”
“...Is that so?”
“It feels like just yesterday when I was sharing secrets with you, Young Master, but time flies.”
Now that I think about it, it has been quite a while.
There was a time when Kania was my only ally.
The hopeless yet close feeling from back then was hard to forget.
“In that sense, Young Master, how about we...”
Kania, with a nostalgic expression, opened the door and started to suggest something to me when suddenly,
“Hey! Why are you so late!?”
“H-How rude. Making someone who’s about to become the Empress wait...”
“Aren’t you getting too relaxed? Ferloche fell asleep waiting for you.”
“Zzzzz... Snore...”
“As the former Demon King, I should straighten things up.”
Familiar voices echoed from the entrance.
“...Tch.”
Kania clicked her tongue in disappointment as the other four main heroines and Ruby appeared.
“Hey, you freeloading cat. You’ve had enough sweet time these past few days, come down now.”
“Lady Irina seems to have gotten even more violent.”
Irina was as cranky as ever.
“The dragon bastards are annoying. I’m staying by Frey’s side.”
After being constantly pestered by the dragons of the western continent since the battle ended, she finally settled things and returned today.
Of course, her way of settling things involved her fists and magic rather than peaceful dialogue, but still.
“Young Master doesn’t like dogs or reptiles...”
“What did you say, you brat?”
She claimed that it was the traditional dragon way of dialogue, so I suppose it didn’t matter much.
“F-Frey. You... you haven’t forgotten, have you?”
“Hmm?”
While thinking that and watching Kania and Irina’s staring contest, a timid voice came from beside me.
“T-the... the... the coronation...”
Clana, who had shrunk under the pressure of the two girls, looked at me with anxious eyes.
“The coronation?”
“Y-yes...”
As she reminded me, the coronation where she will be crowned empress will be held soon.
There would probably be a press conference about me too, and I’m slightly worried about how to handle it.
How should I explain my relationship with Clana?
“Did you think of a way...”
“Don’t worry, Clana.”
Well, it didn’t matter.
“I have a way.”
“I... I see.”
If worse comes to worst, I just have to act crazy again.
“Yawn...”
“Ferloche, we have to go now. Wake up.”
“Oh, right!”
After reassuring Clana, I walked to the entrance, where Serena was shaking Ferloche awake.
“You’re too late! Frey!”
“Haha... Sorry.”
Having fully merged her fool and regressor personalities, she had returned to her pure and cute self and was recently rebuilding the Church with Serena and Clana’s help.
The newly established church under their leadership would be an organization focusing on service and mercy with little actual power.
“Bad Frey! Fool Frey!”
While I’m glad her old violent self wasn’t showing, it was a bit regrettable too.
But it was necessary to protect her soul.
Still, it would be nice to meet that side of her again someday...
“If you had been any later, I would have...”
“...!”
No.
“...dragged you out by force!”
Both were still alive inside of her.
“Chomp...”
“S-spare me.”
“What?”
“...Never mind.”
I muttered to myself as I hid behind Kania, then cleared my throat awkwardly and stood at the entrance.
“You.”
“...Serena.”
Then, as if she had been waiting, Serena wrapped her arm around my neck.
“We have to announce it at the upcoming press conference, right? About my pregnancy.”
“...Yes.”
Hiding her swollen belly with magic, she seemed to be planning to secure her position during the press conference while quickly rebuilding the Moonlight family.
“If you hear any negative opinions, let me know. I’ll handle– I mean, I’ll persuade them well.”
“...”
Well, can that really be called a plan?
“Frey, are you going to announce my news too?”
“Ah.”
As I pondered the extent of Serena’s “handling,” Ruby cautiously approached from behind.
“It seems like the baby will be born around the same time as Serena’s...”
Recently, Ruby has been sorting out the good demons and remnants of the Demon King’s Army.
Her goal was to socialize and re-educate the demons.
It was a difficult task, but we tackled more challenging issues before, didn’t we?
If we all work together, true peace might not be far off.
“Oh my, then shall we raise them together?”
“Hmm, that sounds good to me.”
“...”
Picturing that dreamlike scene in my mind, I walked out the front door, leaving behind the heroines who were watching Ruby and Serena grow closer with anxious expressions.
“Frey!”
“Master!”
Then, I heard familiar voices again.
“You finally decided to come out.”
“I’ve been waiting, hehe.”
Isolet and Lulu, standing on either side, smiled at me.
“Was I that late?”
“You were a bit late. Tardiness is unacceptable.”
Isolet, who recently returned to teaching at the academy, planned to teach the new sprouts according to her beliefs.
Isolet, who has been fighting lonely battles all this time, would see the academy completely reformed, allowing her beliefs to truly shine.
“I’m actually happy!”
“Huh?”
“Master is now able to take his time... It’s the life you always wanted!”
Lulu was assisting her sister in the re-education of demons.
Thanks to her Magic Eyes and the title of former Demon King, those ferocious demons tucked their tails when they saw the two sisters.
“If you put it that way, what does that make me...”
“It’s time for me to return as your pet, Master!”
“That childish game should stop. Frey finds it burdensome...”
“Grr...”
“Grr...”
“Alright, let’s all just get on the carriage. Okay?”
Scratching my head, I separated Isolet and Lulu, who had been bickering more frequently lately, and headed for the carriage.
“...”
Fortunately, they stopped fighting and began following me closely.
“Let’s go together!”
“I’m the Young Master’s butler, so I should sit close to the Young Master.”
“You’re really annoying.”
With the main heroines quickly joining in, my surroundings soon became bustling again.
- Thud...
“...Hmm?”
Ignoring the sparks flying behind me, I opened the carriage door and saw a familiar face.
“Hello!”
Glare, who had somehow gotten inside the carriage, waved at me with a bright smile.
I heard she took a leave of absence from the academy and returned to the Magic Tower.
Did I hear wrong?
“Today is a field trip! I want to join!”
Ah, just a whim of the little one.
But there didn’t seem to be enough space for her to sit.
“Well... it can’t be helped.”
Scratching my head at the unexpected guest, I sat down and placed her on my lap.
“Your lap is warm, hero!”
She smiled and glanced at the heroines outside.
“...”
For a few seconds, there was a tense exchange of looks in the air.
...What is this?
It must be my imagination.
“Bleh...”
“This kid...”
“Quite bold.”
Maybe?
.
.
.
.
.
“Young Master, are you really going?”
After a few minutes of a quiet yet intense struggle for seats, Kania, who ended up sitting in front of me, asked with a puzzled expression.
“Of course.”
“You could rest a bit more... Why are you going to the academy?”
As she said, our destination, now that we were all seated in the carriage, was Sunrise Academy.
Yes.
We were going to participate in the entrance ceremony as third-year students.
“It’s the wish I longed for.”
And the reason was simple.
“From now on, I can enjoy a peaceful and pleasant academy life.”
Although there was only one year left until graduation, we had a normal and enjoyable third year ahead of us.
As a reward for all our hardships, it might seem a bit lacking, but to me, it was a gift worth its weight in gold.
“That’s true...”
“Now we can attend peacefully...”
“No more dreadful schemes or bloody battles.”
Agreeing with my words, Kania nodded, and Serena and Ruby, with dreamy expressions, murmured.
“I want to go back too!”
“You’re too young, little one.”
Glare, sitting on my lap, interrupted with sparkling eyes, but I pinched her cheek with a smile.
“Ouch...”
“You should enjoy the academy life at the right age.”
Aria, too, was on a leave of absence from the academy, strongly recommended by me and our parents.
When she reached the appropriate age and joined the academy with Kadia, the three of them would probably become close friends, right?
“Phooey...”
“Alright then... let’s get going...”
As I patted the pouting little one’s cheek, I was about to signal the coachman, who had been waiting for an hour, when...
“Wait a moment!!!”
“...?”
A voice called out urgently from a distance, causing me to pause and stick my head out.
“Wait for me!!!”
“I thought you left already?”
“I was late because I was making lunch...!!!”
Holding a lunchbox in her arms, Roswyn was waving frantically as she ran towards the carriage.
“Huff... Huff...”
Eventually, having sprinted a long distance to catch up with us, Roswyn collapsed into the carriage.
“First, let’s expand the space with magic.”
“Should we rearrange the seating?”
“Talking nonsense again.”
Helping Roswyn up, the heroines began another serious discussion.
“Since she’s late, she should just sit wherever...”
“No, that’s not fair. We should start from the beginning...”
“I’d prefer a corner...”
“I’ll sit at the master’s feet!”
“Sigh, can’t we just go?”
Watching them, I scratched my head and turned my gaze to the window.
“Truly peaceful...”
It was a dreamlike, incredibly happy moment.
“...Huh?”
Listening to the voices of the heroines still arguing, I smiled contentedly and then widened my eyes, fixing my gaze on the mansion’s entrance.
“I said you didn’t have to see us off.”
My father, mother, and Aria were standing at the entrance, waving at us.
“See you later.”
- Squeak...
Murmuring as I raised my hand in response to their farewell, the carriage began to move slowly.
“Whoa!”
Taking advantage of the moment, Roswyn quickly sat between Ruby and me, signaling that we were all set to head to the academy.
“Tch.”
“I wonder what the new first-years will be like?”
“Don’t even mention it. There’s already a fan club for Frey...”
“It’s already overwhelming; we can’t have more.”
“Let’s all cooperate at the academy...”
Watching the still serious heroines in the now slightly calmer carriage, I couldn’t help but laugh happily, recalling the words I wanted to say earlier.
“Everyone.”
I, who was the greatest villain in the empire...
“I love you.”
seem to have become the happiest person in the world.
“Always.”
Their smiling faces, as they turned to look at me, confirmed this fact.
The Main Heroines Are Trying to Kill Me – Fin
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