TFHITS Chapter 243

After defeating Kaeld, the first thing I did was ask Bion to call us back into the bosom of the world.

Idria must have had quite a rough time, because the negative energy accumulated in the laboratory was more than enough to summon all of us.

When I came to my senses, we were inside the laboratory.

“Mr. Mide. Everyone!”

Bion greeted us by practically hopping in place.

Neril snorted softly.

“She is like a kid.”

“True. She is younger than you, Neril.”

“Oh, seriously.”

“You all really, really worked hard.”

Bion grabbed my hand and shook it up and down.

Then she did the same with each of the party members.

Last, she took Neril’s hand and said,

“Neril, you really went through a lot too.”

“That’s enough.”

“No. I was watching everything through the Eye of Omniscience. If you hadn’t provoked Kaeld at the very end to buy time, today’s victory wouldn’t have been possible.”

Bion was smiling and crying at the same time.

“I admit it now. Mr. Mide’s partner is Neril. Not me.”

“Didn’t need your approval. It’s been that way for a long time already.”

“Way to kill the mood. At least after coming down to the world, you’re still lovers, not married.”

“Hmph. Did you really think you would have room to squeeze in?”

“Just a little… somehow.”

“Dream on.”

Neril snorted and waved her hand at her.

“You worked hard too. Now that everything i’s over, rest easy.”

“Hehe. Yes. Though I don’t think I will actually be able to rest.”

Saying that, she turned around.

By the tanks storing the negative energy stood Idria, Trail, and the Demon King’s children.

“They know how to pour in negative as a power source, but they don’t know how to handle the many devices and machines in the laboratory. So for a while, I will have to stay and manage the world.”

“For a while?”

“The Demon King and his children can’t touch the laboratory equipment. This place can only be used by humans.”

I understood what she meant.

Neril asked,

“But Trail can?”

Trail answered that.

He scratched his head awkwardly.

“Seems so.”

“Please drop the honorifics already. How many times has it been?”

“Um… now that I think about it, I feel like there’s a reason I can’t quite do that.”

At that, Offense spoke up as if he had realized something.

“Ah. Come to think of it, didn’t you say we acted as parents here for about thirty years?”

“Yes. You said you created me by copying Idria’s soul, then raised me until I chose this task myself.”

“…….”

“I don’t remember any of it, but I think I unconsciously see all of you as my parents.”

I cut in, dumbfounded.

“No, you talked casually to me right from the first time we met.”

“Huh? Did I?”

Then Bion laughed and said,

“When Mr. Mide was educating Trail here, he specifically told him to be comfortable around him, at least.”

“I did? Why?”

“At that time, everyone had already lived about 230,000 extra years, so you said someone needed to treat you like a friend.”

…….

Why did I do that?

Trail spoke in a teasing tone.

“Too late to change it now.”

“I don’t plan to. You and I suit being friends best.”

“Ahem.”

That was when Idria’s voice cut in.

“Then why are you still calling Bion ‘Trail’? Bion is Bion.”

“No. Can’t you give that up already? The original Bion is her.”

“I don’t want to.”

Then Trail spoke.

“But actually, I like Trail better too.”

Idria tilted her head.

“But you have used the name Bion for much longer, haven’t you?”

“Trail is a name I gave myself. I came up with it in a hurry because Mide’s naming sense is disastrous and he was about to call me ‘Invisible.’”

“Invisible… I must have misheard that.”

“But the moment I called myself that, it felt like a different world opened up. Like I wasn’t walking a path someone else set for me, but carving my own for the first time.”

He turned his gaze to Idria.

“So I want to stay Trail from now on. Is that okay?”

“Why are you asking me?”

“Huh? Because you have always wanted to call me Bion.”

“No. I just insisted because I thought you would like that better. I like it if you’re called by the name you want.”

I was quite surprised.

The reason she had kept insisting on the name Bion had actually been for Trail’s sake.

Trail, too, looked dazed, like he had been hit with something.

But Idria simply turned her head as if nothing strange had been said.

“That woman can keep using the name Bion.”

Then the Demon King’s minions standing behind Idria each spoke up.

It seemed she’d summoned her children here at some point.

“Mother, aren’t you giving in to him too much?”

“Yeah. Feels like this is how it’s going to be from now on.”

“Trail, hurry up and say thank you.”

Trail seemed to ponder Sabach’s last remark for a moment.

Then he spoke calmly.

“Thank you, Idria. For understanding how I feel.”

“Huh? Ah. Yeah.”

“…….”

“That’s a first. You thanking me.”

A deeply satisfied smile spread across her lips.

The three minions pressed their hands to their foreheads as if they had headaches.

For some reason, I could already picture the future scenery of the laboratory.

Once the names were more or less settled, Adwin changed the subject.

“So, isn’t there any food today?”

“Huh?”

“We should have a party. All our worries are gone now.”

“Oh! I didn’t even think of that. Though, to be fair, we didn’t really have time to prepare.”

At that, Lisel rolled up her sleeves and stepped forward.

“I will handle it, so leave it to me. Where’s the kitchen here?”

“To think the day would come when Lisel cooks here again… it’s really moving.”

“Come to think of it, wasn’t that originally my role?”

And just like that, a party began to take shape.

Everyone bustled about, taking on their respective roles.

Even Trail, Idria, and the three minions were given tasks.

But Bion didn’t assign anything to Neril and me.

“You two just sit here for a moment and wait.”

“Uh… is that okay? That feels like special treatment.”

“Everyone else agreed. Mr. Mide is a hero who has never once demanded special treatment, so just accept this much.”

“Ahem. Thanks.”

“By the way, no special treatment for Neril. I left her out because she wouldn’t help anyway.”

Neril leaned back in her chair.

“Don’t mention it. Thanks.”

“You really take that as a compliment.”

“Go on. You’re probably busy.”

“Phew. Anyway, I will call you when it’s ready, so get some rest for now.”

After Bion left as well, only Neril and I remained in the laboratory.

Slide.

As if she had been waiting, Neril leaned against my arm.

“So, what now?”

“We wait for the party to be ready.”

“No. I didn’t mean right now. Everything’s over now.”

“…….”

“I was asking what you want to do after retirement.”

I chuckled and answered.

“First, we should turn Lisel into a proper human. With the negative energy Idria will gather here and the various devices, it shouldn’t be difficult.”

“Right. Will she head straight to the underworld to see Grade?”

“Probably not. I think she will live out the rest of her life as a human with us first, then go.”

“Yeah. I think so too.”

She looked up at me.

“And after that?”

“I will probably get in touch with the heroes who went to other worlds.”

“Ah.”

“I will thank them for helping this time… and more than that, tell them everything about the hero system and our existence.”

“Is that okay? What if someone like Aktion shows up again?”

Neril’s concern was perfectly reasonable, but my intuition was telling me there was no way that would happen.

Back then, I spoke from the position of the person who created the hero system, so the response hadn’t been great.

But this time, I would be speaking from the position of the person who abolished the hero system.

Besides, even if something bad did happen, it wouldn’t be a problem.

“Did you forget how much fame I have right now?”

“Pfft. Right, I guess so.”

“The reason we couldn’t stop Aktion when he invaded another world back then was because we were trying to use only the power of negative energy.”

“But fame is different, right?”

“Yeah. If someone gets funny ideas, I can just pop over for a bit and smash things to pieces.”

Neril nodded, looking convinced.

Then she asked again.

“And after that?”

“Uh…… well. After that, I guess we should visit the capital once. I’m officially listed as dead, so you or the other party members will need to reassure the emperor. Last night’s disturbance was just too big.”

“Mm. And after that?”

“After that…… well, let’s see. Maybe help Offense find his parents? Or invest in Serein’s business.”

“And after that?”

Only then did I realize it.

I really am slow.

“Sorry. I need to redo the order of things.”

“Mm.”

“As soon as we are done here, I’m marrying you.”

Only then did Neril break into a radiant smile.

“That’s more like it.”

That day, we held a party in the bosom of the world.

For a full three days.

After eating and drinking on repeat and washing away all the fatigue that had built up over time, I made a formal request to Bion.

“Then shall we try talking with the masters of the other worlds?”

“Huh? Already?”

‘Already’? It’s been three days.”

“…….”

“Looks like you want to put it off if you can.”

Bion spoke carefully.

“The reaction Sabert showed back then left me with some trauma.”

“Perfect. Let’s wash it away while we’re at it.”

“Mr. Mide…… yes. All right. I can’t keep brooding over it forever.”

In the end, she used the negative energy that Idria had gathered, along with the lab’s devices, and began connecting to the other worlds one by one.

The first hero she connected to was a former hero named Betik, now the master of his world.

Surprisingly, he was said to be the first hero ever born in ‘Mide’s world’.

In other words, he was the first hero born after the hero system was created, and aside from us, the oldest hero in existence.

‘Isn’t this starting at too high a difficulty level?’

I thought that, but didn’t show it as I spoke.

“Nice to meet you. Mr. Betik.”

-You are……?

“I am the one who manages your home world.”

-Ah! The one where the primordial demon king descended before.

“Yes. Thank you again for that time. Thanks to you and the other heroes raising my fame, we were able to overcome the crisis safely.”

Betik, as seen through the Eye of Omniscience screen, looked like a man with very kind eyes.

He replied with a gentle smile.

-Not at all. If a demon king beyond humanity was born, helping was only natural. Of course, I was quite surprised that something like this was even possible.

“…….”

-If you really want to express your gratitude, please help out when such a demon king is born in my world someday too.

“Actually, that’s exactly what I wanted to talk to you about.”

He smiled softly, as if telling me to say whatever I wished.

I took a deep breath and spoke.

“There will be no more demon kings descending. And so, there will be no more heroes either.”

-What?

“Let me explain.”

I revealed everything, without leaving a single thing out.

Whenever I got stuck, Neril and the other party members helped fill in the gaps.

Since it was such a long story, sometimes someone else would take over mid-explanation, like passing a baton.

How much time passed like that?

When all the explanations were finished, Betik closed his eyes and stroked his chin.

-To think something like that could happen……

“I’m sorry.”

-Pardon? What are you sorry for?

“Well, um. Your fate also became rather harsh because of the hero system we created unilaterally.”

-That’s ridiculous.

He waved his hand as if it were nonsense.

-Harsh is far too strong a word.

“Huh?”

-I am very satisfied with where I am now. And my past, when I fought demon kings for the sake of the people of my world, remains a memory of glory to me.

“……!”

-More than anything, your world is my role model. I did everything I could to surpass what you cultivated, the so-called ‘Mide’s world’. If you ask whether I succeeded, I can only answer ‘not yet’.

He continued with an awkward smile.

-Well, if you had only ‘created’ the hero system, I might have said something bitter…….

“…….”

-But you are also the one who stopped it. In that case, I have nothing at all to complain about.

I felt my chest tighten.

The oldest hero, whom I had thought would be the hardest to convince, understood me instead.

As the atmosphere relaxed, Serein asked in a slightly teasing tone.

“Is our world really that amazing? Enough to be a role model?”

-Yes. Of course. You don’t interfere, you don’t impose expectations. But you stop the world’s crises.

“…….”

-It’s like a world where the ideal of a hero has been fully realized. Hmm…… yes, I suppose this description fits.

He continued in a gentle voice.

-Mr. Mide feels like a ‘hero of heroes’.