novel[29th Round] Companions
| ← Ch.399 | Ch.401 → |
"Do you have a place in mind for our honeymoon, Han Soo?"
"Our home is located on the Northern Continent, so it would be logical to go somewhere farther like the Southern Continent."
"Oh! Alright."
The Demon Lord's Tower was located in the southern part of the Central Continent, so we weren't that far from it either.
Of course, there was no need to tell her that I had business there.
Kaisa recovered much faster than I expected.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes. Thanks to you."
"I'm glad."
The Sword Princess I knew was a woman with an unpredictable personality, but now she acted like a wise woman who had gone through countless experiences both before and after giving birth.
It had to have been tough.
If I added up the span of their lives in parallel worlds, it would easily exceed tens of millions of years.
That made me curious about how the others reacted to it.
"Are you okay, Han Soo?"
"Hmmm? Yes, I am. It seems my memories are in disarray as well."
My cowardly wife also divided Kang Han Soo into many worlds for a short while.
But it didn't affect me all that much. It was just like having a pebble thrown into the ocean.
"What are you thinking about? Did millions of women flash in your memory?"
"... No."
"You sound uncertain."
"Ahem! Well, I crossed paths with some while traveling alone."
ã??A certain innocent goddess expresses her hate for harems. ã??
No, I didn't have a harem. I was just acting upon a completely normal mammalian instinct.
"Hmmm~"
"But I now understand how you feel a little better."
It was similar to how major and serious events often turned into long-standing memories and how minor ones were easily forgotten. It could also be likened to how unusual experiences were remembered separately, while those recurring or mundane merged into one.
Kang Han Soo was such an example.
Upon being summoned to the Dumplings Kingdom on the Central Continent, he wandered through the world of Fantasy, eventually staying at the Kureil Estate on the Northern Continent.
"Really?"
"Yes. My journey ends with me visiting a certain lady from a noble family to marry her."
"I know. You and your handsome face didn't even go through the tournament properly because of your amazing smile."
"Well..."
Not always.
Due to some "variables, " there were quite a few cases where the future turned out completely different.
One of them was Hero Sieg.
There was a time when he spread strange rumors about me being the Demon Lord because of the bad blood between us.
Events caused by such individual differences branched off in similar ways, remaining in one's consciousness in the form of a parallel structure to the rest of the memories, which were remembered sequentially.
"I'm worried about Green Cake. He's been with the Heroes since the first days."
"Only Green Cake?"
The Holy Empire, which had been summoning Heroes from the 5th curriculum, was probably in complete disarray at the moment.
Every inhabitant of it, from its noble emperor to its lowest slave, was somehow connected with the Hero.
I didn't know how it would end unless I checked it myself.
"Well, let's move out."
Kang Han Soo didn't own Mollanfors, but its creator, Connoisseur Shakespeare of the Western Continent, would probably understand if he underwent the same phenomenon.
Using satellites was outside the fantasy genre, but he had to be aware of the situation around the world of Fantasy.
Coming out of the Demon Lord's Tower, I waved my hand towards the sky.
"Hey! Look at me!"
"... What are you doing?"
"Hmm. It looks like Shakespeare is still processing all of his thoughts, much like my son."
He used the mollanphone network to preserve important memories even after his return.
But he probably had a chaotic mess in his head right now.
All I could hope for was that he wouldn't go crazy.
"We most likely won't be able to use the aircraft, Han Soo. What should we do?"
"Let's fly."
Fshuh!
I couldn't use divine power to constrict space. The Righteous Hero's Wings would have to suffice.
... My current ones were an outdated version, though.
These still had the early design I came up with while fighting Boris and his harem over the Pacific Ocean on my home planet.
Compared to the flight speed of the latest model, my current wings were clearly worse. It was like comparing the speed of a tractor to a sports car.
"Every time I look at your wings, my heart starts to beat faster."
"It was an exciting night."
We ascended to the skies and, feeling the cool night breeze on our skin, intertwined in a fit of passion.
Sex in heaven.
Perhaps angels or demons were doing this.
"Making this journey with you makes me forget my sad past."
"I'm glad."
The Righteous G-Class newlyweds set off for the Southern Continent!
*****
As I expected, the degree of chaos in the integrated world of Fantasy was determined by the frequency of the Heroes' visits and preferences per area.
The Central Continent, the starting point, suffered the most.
However, the Elf Empire, friendly to humans and Heroes, was also undergoing difficult times.
Prince Nasus.
He was an "important" companion, appearing regularly in numerous guides posted in the mollanphone community.
I decided to visit him along the way.
"The prince... is not in a position to receive guests, " said Aries, his right hand and bodyguard. She sounded sorrowful.
"Is he not well?"
"Something like that. However, the Hero has come this far. Is there anything I can do to help you in his stead?"
"No. It's okay."
Female Heroes were always eager to get Prince Nasus into their party due to his rather muscular body, which was far from his race's ordinary physique.
Their kind had a gentle disposition, which wasn't practical for Fantasy's native female humans, who didn't like slender elven men.
They preferred robust human males that could be used as reliable shields.
"Prince Nasus seems to be in bad shape too, " Kaisa said.
"There's nothing we can do about it."
The only ones who liked male elves were the Female Heroes who grew up in a peaceful, monsterless world.
"I can at least arrange a meeting for you with Princess Sylvia. She's not all that interested in married men, however, so she might refuse you."
"You don't seem to be in that good of a shape either, Aries."
"Memories about Heroes taking away the one I love are messing with my head... It's unpleasant. There are other bad memories mixed among them as well."
"... Is that so."
Aries was a human-elf hybrid who inherited only the strengths of the two races.
Essentially, she was an elf with large breasts.
She was her kind's iteration that men fantasized about.
I was a little surprised, though.
Sylvia was also a popular companion and lover among male Heroes.
Was she really okay?
"What?! You're that demonic Hero!"
Turning around to leave the palace, Sylvia found us.
She looked pretty cheerful.
Judging by the fact that this flat-chested elf called me a demonic Hero, she, too, had her memories return to her like Kaisa.
"... Are you alright?"
It was amazing.
Elf Princess Sylvia.
Future Queen of the Elves.
Prior to the 4th curriculum, she was obsessed with her kind's superiority, but during the 5th curriculum, she worked tirelessly to marry a male Hero.
Shouldn't her condition be worse than Nasus?
"I have seduced and dated more men than any other elf in the world of Fantasy."
"Wow..."
Again, individual differences.
She spoke like a mercenary, proud of every scar she received from monsters.
"Hmph! Even Aries was less popular with the Heroes than I was. That serves as proof that inner beauty is more important than outer beauty!"
"..."
I didn't answer, but Sylvia, looking down on the human-elf hybrid, was wrong.
If she had also been diligently trying to get herself a boyfriend, she would have easily surpassed her even though Sylvia looked pretty good when she kept her mouth shut.
"I would've dealt with past grievances now that we've met again, but since Kaisa looks happy with you, I'll be patient. Be grateful."
"Ha..."
She regained her sassy personality.
In the past, that was caused by her ideology that her race was superior, but now it was caused by her arrogance about her being the most beautiful woman in Fantasy.
Some things never changed.
"Are you married now, Kaisa?"
"Yes."
"Well... Congratulations. Your wish came true in the end, it seems. I remember many of your versions, but I have never seen you smile like you do now next to a man."
"Thank you."
"Once I've also gotten married in the future, I'll visit you in the Northern Continent... That's where you'll be settling down, right?"
"We haven't decided yet."
"Let me know when you decide."
"Sure. Good luck, Sylvia."
Having been in the same unit for quite a long time, the two chatted for a bit before saying goodbye.
Was Sylvia an exception, or were there others like her?
I again flew into the sky, holding my wife in my arms, and headed south.
"Do you have a specific place in mind, Han Soo?"
"Hmmm. Since we're already here anyway, let's check up on the other nearby dummies."
"Are you talking about the companions?"
"..."
"Your attitude towards them hasn't changed yet?"
"Little has changed."
For example, Alex, when he got married, stopped being as cruel as before.
It wasn't that I shifted my attitude towards him. Rather, it was his lifestyle that became different.
"Now that I remember all the different Heroes, I think I understand why you fought against your companions constantly."
"What reason do you think I had?"
"Priorities."
"In terms of?"
"You always think about the situation as a whole and not only about one of the persons involved. In the case of a certain political marriage, we tried to protect the princess who escaped because she didn't want to marry a man she didn't love. However, you tried to get her back as soon as possible to avoid the conflict between their countries and families from escalating."
"Of course. She considered herself the unhappiest person in the world, but she didn't even think of all the people who would've directly or indirectly suffered due to her selfishness."
"Oh..."
"What?"
"Nothing. Who are you going to visit first, Han Soo?"
"The Saintess."
"She grew up in the Southern Continent's harsh conditions, and she tended to understand your way of thinking."
"No. I'm going to meet the Saintess who recently replaced her."
Hearing this, Kaisa looked at me with suspicion.
"How do you know that elven Saintess?"
"... well, we've crossed paths."
I had painful memories of her tricking me with her fake breasts.
"Isn't her name Illeana? Did you sleep with her?"
"My memories of her are vague."
"I didn't want to dwell on the past since I am not any better myself, but the future still worries me."
I thought only my cowardly wife had such a trait, but it seemed Kaisa was also very jealous and hungry for monopoly.
In novels, the women of the protagonists got along so well they treated each other like sisters, but if in reality, they wouldn't be able to avoid poison and murder if they were put near each other.
"I owe her mother a small debt..."
"Mother-in-law?"
"No! She was... a companion."
She had long since reunited with her husband in Festival, though, allowing her to find her happiness and forget about her daughter.
"Is that so? She was a companion of my husband, who hates companions?"
"..."
After leaving the Elf Empire, we arrived at a temple in the center of the Giant Empire.
Temple of the Great Child.
The dimensions of this temple were beyond common sense, as one would expect from giants.
Since only Heroes could enter this sacred place without permission, it was quiet inside.
Kaisa and I went straight to the prayer room, where the Saintess could always be found.
... Did she even go to the toilet?
I turned to the woman kneeling in front of the golden statue of Captain Fantasy.
"Sorry. Hero A, who is on his honeymoon, wants to discuss something with the Saintess."
"Yes, I am a Saintess. What did you want to talk about?"
The woman turned around.
"You?"
Instead of an elf with fake breasts, a beautiful female angel greeted me.
I already met her before.
"Do you know me?"
"Why are you here, Umamiel?"
Kaisa stared at me for an explanation, but I found myself unable to provide one at the moment.
How did this happen?
"I didn't think anyone knew my real name. I'm sorry, but I don't know where my predecessor went."
"Tsk!"
This was a serious problem.
That elven thief disappeared along with the romantium.
| ← Ch. 399 | Ch. 401 → |