I Decided to Abandon the Traitors Who Planned to Use and Dispose of Me, the Hero, at the Last Moment. - Chapter 06: Enjoying a Relaxing Hot Spring Life, So Please Stop Bothering Me and Just Disappear!

Chapter 06: Enjoying a Relaxing Hot Spring Life, So Please Stop Bothering Me and Just Disappear!

After leaving the Demon Lord’s castle, I spent my days relaxing at a hot spring rumored to be great for healing battle wounds, all while being carried by Thorn. 

Freed from my role as “Hero Elliot,” I could now just live as plain old Elliot, and life felt wonderfully carefree.

Thorn, who used to frequent brothels, surprisingly didn’t become a regular at one. Instead, he spent his days wandering around town, playing with kids, and helping the townspeople with their various problems, big and small. 

Even though he had lost most of his combat strength, he was still more skilled than the townspeople and guards who had never seen real battle. Because of this, people began to rely on him. Thorn’s friendly nature and quick way of bonding with others, especially kids, also contributed to his popularity.

As for me, I enjoyed good food, took things easy, and helped Thorn with the occasional task. Every day was a slow, peaceful, and thoroughly enjoyable life. Slow living at its finest!

This commercial city, by the way, is located by the sea. Not only is it a hot spring town, but it’s also an important hub connecting land and sea routes. However, due to its location, it often faced threats from monsters, bandits, and pirates. We helped deal with those problems. 

Whenever large sea monsters, like a sea dragon, appeared, the city would call for aid from various nations, and it would turn into a grand naval battle. But if I stepped in, I could settle things quickly, so the townspeople greatly relied on me.

The rewards I received for helping out were used to cover my stay in the town. With so many hot springs, delicious food, and a lively atmosphere, I was so content with my peaceful days that I started thinking about buying a house here and settling down for good.

One of the main topics of conversation among the townspeople was the downfall of the kingdom and the pitiful, miserable fate of its royal family. When the first news came that Hilde had died in battle, Thorn casually commented while reading the newspaper:

“Ah, Hilde finally kicked the bucket, huh.”

I didn’t feel much about it either. Honestly, she was just a stranger to me at that point. Marle and Cecilia were reported as missing, but I didn’t really care what happened to them. My only hope was that they wouldn’t cause any trouble for me.

After that, the kingdom was utterly destroyed by the combined forces of the Demon Lord’s army and the allied neighboring countries. The kingdom was completely erased from the map, with its lands divided up. 

They say the citizens of the kingdom were treated as humanely as possible, but the royal family, including those married off to other nations and their children, were all executed. The royal bloodline was blamed for dragging all of humanity into war.

As for the prince, the main culprit of the war, he didn’t get an easy death. It seems that demon torturers and execution specialists from various countries have gathered to take part in his public execution. Using extremely powerful healing magic, they keep “killing” him over and over. The healing spells used by demon priests can revive someone even if they die from a fatal wound, as long as it’s within about three seconds. So, every time he dies, he’s automatically revived, only to be tortured and killed again in front of an audience.

Apparently, he’s to endure as many torturous deaths as the number of lives lost in this war. To make it even worse, they constantly cast mental stabilization spells on him to prevent him from losing his mind. It’s a perfectly orchestrated hell of endless death.

When I think about the crimes he committed… all I can say is, well, he deserves it.

“What’s with the serious look, Elliot?”

“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing. Sorry about that.”

Thorn’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. We had just finished helping the townspeople by defeating some monsters near the town, and now we were soaking in the hot springs. I’d lost my childhood fiancée and my home, but at least I still had my friend, and that was enough for me!

“You both seem to be in good health.”

We turned to see the Demon Lord standing there, completely naked, holding a wash bucket. It seemed like he had come to join us in the hot springs.

“W-Whoa… that’s like a mammoth….”

Thorn stared in awe at the Demon Lord’s… groin. I wasn’t sure what kind of monster a mammoth was, but the Demon Lord’s “sword” was so impressive that any man would be struck with fear. It was huge! Absolutely massive! Now that’s truly on a Demon Lord level…!

“Hahaha. I shall join you in the hot springs.”

The Demon Lord rinsed himself with water from the bucket and then sank into the hot spring up to his shoulders. His enormous body displaced a huge amount of water, causing it to overflow from the bath, but since it was just the three of us here, it didn’t really matter. 

This commercial city is neutral, so demons regularly come and go. No one would bat an eye at the Demon Lord being here, though his massive size certainly made him stand out.

“Good job out there!” 

Thorn called out cheerfully, as if to congratulate the Demon Lord, who nodded in acknowledgment of his words.

“Indeed. It will soon be in the newspapers, but the kingdom has effectively fallen. There are still details to be worked out with the rulers of other nations, but the war is over.”

“That’s great news! How about a drink to celebrate?”

Thorn, with a smile, offered some sake he had floating on a tray in the hot spring. The Demon Lord returned the smile with a grin.

“Very well, I shall partake.”

Thorn poured the sake into the cup the Demon Lord held. Thorn really wasn’t intimidated by anything—his ability to socialize was incredible. Offering the Demon Lord a drink and pouring it for him without hesitation? Impressive!

“Ah, so this is the taste of victory shared with a worthy foe.”

“Right? It’s called Dassai, a fine sake from the land of Mahoro. It’s got a special flavor.”

Watching the two of them drink happily put me in a good mood, but then a voice I didn’t want to hear suddenly interrupted, ruining the atmosphere.

“I… I found you…!”

Even though this was the men’s bath, the voice was unmistakably female. Emerging from the bushes, having pushed through and climbed over the fence, was none other than Marle. Her appearance was haggard and filthy. Her hair was a tangled mess, her skin rough and dry. She was emaciated, likely from not eating properly, and she hadn’t washed in who knows how long—despite the distance between us, a foul stench reached our noses. She looked less like a person and more like a walking corpse, having abandoned all dignity as a human being. The sight made me cringe in pure disgust.

“Elliot… please… help me…”

Tears streamed down her face as she staggered toward me. But before she could get any closer, Thorn hurled a bath bucket at her. Quick thinking! The bucket hit Marle, and she let out a pitiful scream, but no retaliatory magic followed—she must be completely drained of mana by now.

“Ugh, gross! Stay back, you filthy thing!”

Thorn raised another bucket, ready for a second throw, flipping her off with his other hand. But Marle ignored him, crawling toward me with tears streaming down her face, desperately trying to cling to me… Ugh, disgusting!

“Please, Elliot, help me! I’m sorry! I’ll apologize for betraying you, so just save me! The assassin, Red Shadow, keeps chasing me everywhere! He runs without moving his upper body, just his legs at high speed, and he never stops! Because of him, I can’t go back to the kingdom, I can’t even stop in any towns… I’m so tired… I’ve been running, trying to find you, and I finally did… Please, Elliot…”

“I don’t care. Go back to the kingdom and face your punishment.”

She stank, looked disgusting, and, well, she’d done terrible things. All I could think was that she should just go back to the kingdom and get arrested already. It was annoying, but I started considering reporting her. Meanwhile, Marle, oblivious to my thoughts, kept crying and pleading.

“No, I don’t want that! They’ll kill me if I go back! I don’t want to die! Please, Elliot, you’re still important to me! Save me, just like you did back then…!”

“Like back then…!? Bwahaha!”

Thorn burst out laughing at Marle’s desperate pleas. Apparently, she had hit his funny bone somehow, though I didn’t really get why.

“—This is unbearable to listen to.”

Finally, the Demon Lord, who had been silently drinking his sake, spoke up. Go on, Demon Lord, tell her how it is.

“Higyoeeee!? D-D-D-D-De-De-Demon Lord!? What are you doing here!?”

Marle, practically flipping over in shock, looked like she was about to faint as the Demon Lord glared at her with an intense, almost audible glare. She couldn’t even manage to run, her legs giving out as she lay on her back, flailing her arms helplessly. It was almost comical.

“Red Shadow, you are here, aren’t you? Take her.”

At the Demon Lord’s command, the red-masked assassin appeared by Marle’s side, lifting her up effortlessly.

“Aaiyeeee!! No, save me, Elliot! Please, help meee!!”

Marle cried out, desperately pleading for help, but I ignored her.

“You are an accomplice to the prince, guilty of serious crimes. You will not escape a severe punishment. Whether it’s having your limbs severed, being sawed in half while hanging upside down, your spine and skull pulled out, or your insides turned into a living musical instrument… Prepare yourself for a cruel death.”

“Noooo! I don’t want to die!! I don’t want to dieeeeeeee!!”

As the gruesome execution methods were listed, Marle began wetting herself in terror while still being carried by Red Shadow. I had to admire how unfazed he was, holding her without a single reaction. If it were me, I would’ve dropped her out of sheer disgust.

“So, Elliot,” the Demon Lord said, turning to me. “If you have a preferred method of execution, I’m willing to hear it.”

The Demon Lord asked for my input, but honestly, I didn’t care what happened to Marle anymore. I was more concerned with what to eat for dinner after getting out of the hot springs.

“I’ll leave it up to you.”

“Very well, then! She will receive all of them! The full course of all 101 Demon Lord Army execution methods, with repeated resurrections. Red Shadow, inform the executioner.”

“Understood.”

He spoke! Red Shadow actually spoke!!

Before I could recover from my surprise, Red Shadow gave a bow and then left… moving at high speed with only his legs, just like before.

“Whoa! That’s fast! That dash skill looks so useful!”

“That is the ‘General’s Dash,’ a technique all of the Demon Lord’s generals can use. It requires no magic, only a bit of stamina at the start, allowing continuous running without fatigue.”

The smooth, deep voice made me turn, and there stood Impactor, one of the Demon Lord’s generals, entering the bath with an extra bottle of sake in hand. That skill sounded really handy—I should ask him to teach it to me sometime.

“Hey, Impactor! Long time no see.”

“And to you, Thorn. Lord Demon King, may I join you?”

“Of course, Impactor. You did well in the final stages of the kingdom’s downfall. Take your time and relax here.”

When the battle ends, all that remains is mutual respect between worthy rivals. It’s such a heartwarming story! Forget about that dirty past, and here we were—four men, soaking in the hot springs, drinking sake, and having a great time together.

“By the way, Elliot, I have a proposal for you.”

“Oh? What’s up with the formal tone?”

“Would you consider marrying my daughter? Her name is Asmodius. She has vowed only to marry a man stronger than herself, and as you’re the only one who has defeated me, it seems she wouldn’t be opposed to the idea.”

Asmodius! She’s the demon girl with horns growing from her temples, blue skin, bat-like wings, and a tail. We fought a few times, but I let her go because she was still a young girl. Not to mention, she was cute and had an incredible figure… really amazing!

“Nice, nice! Looks like your time to shine with the ladies has finally arrived!” 

Thorn cheered, almost as if it was happening to him. But I wasn’t sure about it yet.

“Sounds like a happy occasion. As it happens, I just picked up something rare from the market—some meat from a rare sea creature called ‘La-Co.’ I’ve never had it before, but they say the best way to enjoy it is in a dish called ‘La-Co Navet,’ slow-cooked in a sealed pot. How about we all try it after we’re done with the bath?”

Impactor’s suggestion came just in time—I was starting to get hungry, so I quickly agreed. Thorn, however, seemed a bit puzzled, mumbling,

“La-Co Navet…? La-Co… Navet? La…co…? Ugh, my head…”

He tilted his head as if trying to remember something, but I just patted his shoulder and said, “Hey, it’s a rare delicacy, so it’s gotta be delicious, right?”

And so, my life in the hot spring town continued, full of visitors and unexpected excitement. It was way more fun and lively than I had imagined. Living freely and enjoying every day—it doesn’t get any better than this!