Published at 17th of July 2024 7:26 am

Chapter 376 Memories Accumulate Within Everyone and, Though They May Fade, They Are Never Truly Lost.

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“—-So, Ed and I are bound by a strong bond! Alright, then the story ends here!”

“Waah!”

The fairies who had been listening to the story with the Demon King applauded with cheers as Tia finished summarizing the tales of our journey from our first meeting until now.

Of course, fairies couldn’t remain silent for long periods, so there were frequent rotations and returns in their audience. Probably, not a single one of them heard the entire story, but well, for the fairies, the atmosphere of having fun seemed more important than the content of the story.

“Oh, I see. Ed and Tia have been on such a journey… Fufufu, it’s a good relationship.”

“That’s right! Ed and I are very close! Right, Ed?”

“Y-Yeah…”

Innocently questioned by Tia, I turned my face slightly, feeling a bit awkward. Of course, my relationship with Tia was good, and if asked, I would confidently say she’s precious to me. But, how should I put it, talking about it in detail and having someone ask about it felt somewhat embarrassingly intimate.

“Anyway, that’s enough! Let’s hear your story next!”

“I don’t mind, but… Shouldn’t we take a break first? It’s already well past noon, you know?”

“Whoa!? Now that you mention it…”

With a slightly exasperated look, the Demon King looked up at the sky, and following suit, I raised my gaze. The sun was long past its zenith.

“Tia, how many hours did you talk…”

“Eh? If it’s about me and Ed, there’s still a looot more to tell! Because, you know, we started our journey together… um, for how long? Probably several decades, right?”

“Hm? Oh, it’s been about that long.”

Although the physical time rewound each time, the memories of the time spent together didn’t disappear. I hadn’t counted precisely, but it had certainly been more than twenty or thirty years.

“With that much time together, we have lots of memories. Traveling through different worlds, meeting various people… even in the worlds we stayed briefly and the ones we lingered in for a long time, all of them are precious memories.”

“…Yeah, you’re right.”

As Tia spoke, memories of the days when we traveled together with the faces of the heroes we spent time with gently resurfaced in my mind. Compared to the time I lived as a Demon King, or even the countless loops before meeting Tia, it might be an insignificantly short period—maybe even shorter than a blink in terms of ratio—but each moment was irresistibly dear.

“So, I can still talk for many more years, but for now, shall we have lunch?”

“Hmm, wise decision, Tia-kun. Hey, Demon King, how do we handle food here?”

“The fairies bring fruits and nuts from the forest. We haven’t faced any particular issues with that.”

“I see. In that case, we can whip something up on our end.”

I thought the Demon King might hunt forest beasts for food, but considering the situation, using the available ingredients was more practical than going hunting now. I took out items from the [Stranger Box] including dried meat and basic cooking utensils. Although we were in the forest, it was a well-established fairy settlement, so we didn’t need to worry much about wild magical beasts. So, it was okay to take a little extra effort in cooking.

“Big outsider, eat this!”

“Big outsider, have this!”

“Hey, wait!? Jeez, can’t be helped.”

While I was making soup, the fairies who approached tossed various things into the pot. The soup, which was initially a light brown color, gradually turned into a vivid purple.

“…Ed? Can we eat this? I mean, is it edible?”

“Hahaha, it may look like this, but it’s perfectly edible. The taste is, well… normal.”

I had lived for six months in the first loop, so this kind of thing was a long-familiar experience. After adding dried meat and long-lasting vegetables, I let it simmer and poured the contents into Tia’s cup.

“So, there you go, enjoy.”

“U-uhm… Ah, it’s really quite delicious.”

“Right? Well, let me try… Hmm, not bad.”

The soup I tasted had a taste that could only be described as normal. It might have had a slightly stronger sourness than usual, but on the other hand, the black-spotted mushrooms resembling human faces provided a delightful chewy texture. The mysterious nuts that seemed to be the cause of the purple color, when crunched, released a faintly sweet juice. It was surprisingly tasty.

I wouldn’t pay money for it, but as a meal, it was satisfying. After finishing our lunch with a reasonably filled stomach, I rubbed my belly and spoke to the Demon King again.

“So? Are you finally going to tell us your story?”

“Sure. However, even I don’t know where to start… It might sound strange coming from me, but honestly, when I descended into this world, the events right after that are a bit unclear to me. It’s like the vivid memories of the dream I should have remembered clearly upon waking up are spilling away…”

“Heh. That’s a typical trait of a Demon King.”

If you were to classify Demon Kings broadly, there were those who possessed intelligence and rationality, and those who didn’t. For example, the Demon King in Waffer’s world or the Mist Demon King in Rebecca’s world were straightforward demonic or calamity types. Driven by some impulse, they mindlessly scattered their power.

On the other hand, speaking of Demon Kings with intelligence, the first that came to mind was John from Canal’s world. There were several others who could engage in conversation… Thinking about it, the Demon King in Eleas’ world could barely speak, so perhaps it was in the process of transitioning from a demonic beast to a human.

“…I see, it’s not always fixed; it can change.”

“Hmm? What’s the matter?”

“Oh, sorry. It’s nothing. Please continue.”

From a sentient mass of power without ego, acquiring intelligence and rationality over many years. Or perhaps, at the end of too long a time, wearing down the mind to become less than a beast. Certainly, such transformations were to be expected, but it was a story that currently had no relevance.

“Hmm? Well, fine then. Anyway, I am such an existence… Thus, one day, I suddenly realized that there was something within me that I could call myself. Or you could say that intelligence developed to the point where I could recognize the self as an ego? Anyway, several hundred years ago, I became who I am now… and then I thought. I want to eat something sweet.”

“…Eh?”

“Yeah, sweet things are always desirable, right?”

“Eh…?”

Caught off guard by the Demon King’s words, I was further bewildered by Tia’s deep agreement for some reason.

“What’s wrong? Even Ed likes sweet things, right?”

“Well, I don’t hate them… but what’s the point? If you want to eat, just eat, right?”

With a somewhat indescribable half-smile, I said, but the Demon King quietly shook his head.

“Indeed, that’s true. But think about it. Sweetness readily available in the natural world is quite limited, isn’t it? Fruits have their seasons, honey is a one-time thing, and above all, constantly having similar things would get boring. Probably the easiest way is to blend in with humans and procure sweetness, but in my case, with this appearance…”

“Ah, that’s…”

“I guess you can’t just stroll into town looking like an orc.”

“The body shape aside, having a face exactly like mine won’t get you into town. Or maybe, if I save a human being attacked in the forest, I might start socializing from there… but stories like that, sung by minstrels, rarely happen in reality because they’re so rare.”

“Huh? But then, why do you look like that? Shouldn’t the default face for a Demon King be mine unless you do something about it?”

“Even if you tell me that. Although I vaguely retain memories from my time as the Demon King, I don’t know where to start in trying to change my face… Changing one’s face is something I don’t even know how to begin.”

“Well, yeah. I guess so…”

I didn’t know what words to offer. In front of me, who wore a face of uncertainty, the Demon King’s story continued…

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