Even Though I Defeated the Demon Lord, My Wife and Daughter Treat Me Like Trash ~ I Found Out My Wife's Child Isn't Mine, and When I Confronted Her, She Got Mad and I Was Exiled. The Country's in Trouble Because the Demon Lord Came Back? Sorry, I'm Getting Remarried to a Princess, So I Can't Help. - Chapter 39: Homework

Chapter 39: Homework

Dad stabbed his own neck with the dagger.

Blood started pouring out immediately.

Dad wasn’t as skilled as Mom, but he should be able to use the regeneration spell to stop the bleeding. But his wound wasn’t healing.

—He was willing to die to make sure the Demon Lord couldn’t hurt me.

Dad pulled the dagger out.

Even more blood gushed out… and then he collapsed.

“D-Dad…”

“Hahaha, Van Ismir. For a man as powerful as you, to die like this… It just proves that humans and we demons are fundamentally different. A demon would never choose such an end.”

After a short while, Dad’s heavy breathing… stopped.

“At last, he’s dead.”

The Demon Lord, satisfied with Dad’s death, released his grip on me.

“I can’t afford to accidentally hurt you, or I’d end up sealed again.”

The moment I was freed, I rushed to Dad’s body.

“Dad! Dad!”

Clinging to his body—as if I was holding onto him—I secretly slipped one hand into the bag beside him, hiding it from the Demon Lord’s view, searching for what I needed.

I felt the staff and the item I was looking for.

This was it— 

It was time to check the answer to the “homework” Dad had given me.

I had to replicate the Self-Resurrection Magic used by the immortal witch, Galforne.

Dad must have cast that spell right before he died.

I grabbed the katsushiro for the self-resurrection magic and slowly pulled it out of the bag.

Carefully, I pressed it against Dad’s neck to let it absorb some of his blood, then slipped it inside his shirt.

With that done, I began to manipulate my magic, searching for any traces of Dad’s remaining magic.

—There it was.

I could sense Dad’s magic.

But there wasn’t enough of it to activate the self-resurrection spell.

So now, all I had to do was follow the same steps as before—the hint Dad gave me when he assigned me my “homework.”

“Let the flower bloom.”

In hindsight, it wasn’t just a hint—it was practically the answer.

Dad really spoils me.

When Rena was moving away, I helped her bloom the artificial magic flower.

Since her magic alone wasn’t enough, I borrowed a method from Dad and lent her some of my own magic.

Dad had said that it was possible to replicate self-resurrection magic.

Normally, human magic wouldn’t be sufficient.

But if another person supplies additional magic—

I poured as much magic as I could into him, and Dad’s body began to shimmer like mist.

Next, the katsushiro I had placed inside his shirt started to move.

Good, it’s working—

“Hey, what are you doing!?”

Ah.

The Demon Lord had noticed!

Dad’s body was nearly reconstructed, and the wound on his neck had completely healed.

But his heart still wasn’t beating.

I pushed more magic into him and shouted,

“Dad! Hurry up and wake up! If you stay dead like this—I’ll never forgive you!”

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

“—Hey! Dad, wake up!”

“Mmm, sorry, Emilia. Dad’s just a little tired…”

“What? You’re the one who promised to teach me magic during the next break! Get up, get up!”

“Alright, alright. Honestly, who did you get your love for magic from?”

“That’s obvious—it’s from you, Dad!”

I snapped my eyes open and quickly grasped the situation.

Emilia had supported my self-resurrection spell, successfully bringing me back.

But now, the Demon Lord was preparing to attack me.

Still a bit groggy from waking up, I realized it would be tough to block it right away—so I tried to delay him with words just before his spell completed.

“Are you sure about that? If you involve Emilia with that spell, you might get sealed again.”

“…Ugh! YOU!”

A fireball launched from the Demon Lord’s left hand.

It wasn’t as powerful as he had intended.

He must have lowered its power at the last second to avoid hurting Emilia.

I caught the fireball with my right hand—and crushed it.

“Emilia, stay back. The Demon Lord can’t harm you, but you could still get caught up in the fight.”

“O-Okay!”

“But first…”

I placed my hand on Emilia’s head.

“Well done. You’ve passed the practical exam for your homework.”

For a moment, Emilia looked happy, but then she puffed out her cheeks, trying to hide it.

“…Next time, please give me a heads-up before a test.”

“Yeah, I will.”

With that, Emilia moved to the corner of the room.

The Demon Lord remained silent, watching me… but then he spoke.

“I never expected a mere human to succeed in using the self-resurrection magic that was supposed to be exclusive to Galforne. It seems I underestimated you. But now that you’ve come back to life, the contract may be null and void.”

He was trying to shake me.

Hinting at the possibility of taking Emilia hostage again, implying she could become a liability.

Sure, it wasn’t an impossibility, but…

“It’s pointless, Demon Lord. In the end, that’s up to divine will, isn’t it? You wouldn’t bet on something as fickle as a one-in-a-million chance, would you?”

“Hmph, insolent fool. In that case…”

I could already guess his next move.

To avoid being sealed again, he planned to retreat for now and buy time to break the contract.

But I wasn’t going to let him do that.

I quickly formed the seals and cast my spell.

[Dark Prison]

A black magical barrier surrounded the throne room.

A wall that forbids any life from leaving or entering.

No one could escape from within, and no one could enter from outside.

“Impossible… this magic…”

“That’s right. It’s the same magic you used ten years ago.”

Back then, during the fight with the Demon Lord, Albert, as the leader, ordered a retreat to regroup.

The Demon Lord had used this very spell to stop us from escaping.

“You learned it just by seeing it once?”

“Yeah.”

Thanks to the training I received from old man Barnes as a child, I can replicate most magic after seeing it once.

Of course, there are exceptions.

“I’ll return the words you once said. Demon Lord, you can’t escape from the Hero.”

“…I see, so that’s your plan. You intend to stall for 30 minutes, and wait for the contract to seal me once more. I must say, I’ve been outplayed. But now… I simply need to kill you and leave the capital before the time runs out.”

The Demon Lord still had a confident smile on his face.

He clearly believed he could carry out what he just said.

“And even if I’m sealed again, it would only be a temporary slumber. Some foolish humans will awaken me once more. By then, troublesome people like you won’t be around. In the end, I’m destined to win.”

He spoke proudly, trying to rattle me again.

But he couldn’t be more wrong.

“You’ve misunderstood something.”

“…What? Are you saying I’m wrong?”

Yes, the re-sealing was part of the plan, a backup in case things went wrong.

But, as the Demon Lord suggested, there’s a chance the contract is void since I resurrected.

And more importantly… there’s something else.

“You’ve done something unforgivable. You took Emilia hostage and terrified her more than necessary. That alone is reason enough for you to die a thousand times. Demon Lord, here and now—I will kill you.”

“Hmph, all that talk? Ten years ago, you barely managed to seal me away, and now you make such bold claims.”

“You don’t get it, Demon Lord. While you’ve been sleeping for the past ten years, I’ve continued to train, becoming stronger than I ever was back then. And more importantly…”

I glanced over at Emilia, catching her eye.

She stood there with her hands clasped in front of her chest, as if she were praying.

“I want to show my daughter, whom I haven’t seen in so long, how great her Dad is. So yeah, I’m a little fired up right now.”

“…And what of it?”

To make it clear for the Demon Lord, who was clueless about human emotions, I took a deep breath and shouted.

“I’m obviously the strongest in the world right now!”