Volume 0 Chapter 0 – Prologue / Return

“It’s over.”

“…Yeah.”

“We’ve witnessed it all. With this, our mission is complete. I must go back ahead and report. You Shrine Maidens should take your time returning. My subordinates will escort you, so rest assured.”

With those words, the temple knight Joachim, our overseer, departed. He was likely heading back to the kingdom right away. If word reached the neighboring nations beforehand, it would be troublesome.

The real challenge was getting out of the Demon Realm. After that, we would switch to a dragon carriage to continue our journey.

In the depths of the Demon Realm, in the place known as the Demon Lord’s Castle, we had finally fulfilled humanity’s long-cherished wish: the subjugation of the Demon Lord.

The battle with the Demon Lord was nothing short of fierce.

Supporting the hero in the vanguard, sometimes shielding him, sometimes engaging in skirmishes, we fought relentlessly, hoping that the final moment would never come, though knowing it was inevitable.

At the moment when the Demon Lord was to be dealt the final blow, we, according to our prior agreement, killed the hero along with him.

As the terrifying magic of the Demon Lord and the magic of the hero intertwined, clashing in the instant their lives were extinguished, they mixed and exploded. Both disappeared without leaving even a trace.

The Demon Lord, Evilcande. The Demon Lord of the End, prophesied to resurrect every few hundred years.

In this world of Alefgard, each time the Demon Lord revived, a hero was summoned from another world.

But none of the past heroes had succeeded in delivering the final blow. The comrades who had grown close always hesitated, letting the Demon Lord slip away.

Thus, the battle between the Demon Lord and the hero had raged on for thousands of years.

This time, however, we treated the hero as a weapon. We didn’t enslave him, but we, the Shrine Maidens who were closest to him, couldn’t allow ourselves to grow attached. That’s why we were watched over, and we were forbidden from unnecessary involvement.

Yet…

Tears quietly welled up in my eyes.

Ah, I wonder if he made it back.

In this land of Alefgard, everyone knows the tale of the hero—the epic that every child dreams of, the dazzling stories that stirred our hearts.

In the month of the Harvest Moon when I was 13, I received a divine revelation at the town’s church where I had been serving. In two years, the Demon Lord would revive. I was chosen to be a Shrine Maiden for the hero.

From that moment on, my life was a whirlwind.

I was just a village girl, but I was summoned to the royal capital, brought to the grand cathedral, and met the other Shrine Maidens. We were informed of the secret mission behind this summoning, sworn to secrecy, and underwent rigorous training to master the power bestowed upon us by divine revelation.

Still, my admiration grew, and I eagerly awaited the hero’s arrival.

Then came the fated day when humanity’s destiny hung in the balance.

We Shrine Maidens were present at the summoning.

The boy who appeared had black hair and black eyes, features not found in this world of Alefgard. He was the Sword of Mankind, destined to vanquish the demons.

The summoning was a success.

But when I first saw him, he was an unreliable-looking boy with lifeless eyes. The hero I had idolized since childhood was nothing like I imagined, and I was deeply disappointed.

“Marie-san…”

“Ah, Lillie.”

Artlily, the Shrine Maiden of the Lily, approached me with tear-streaked cheeks, making no effort to hide her sorrow.

“Do you think Kyosuke-san made it back?”

“I’m not sure. We followed the legend, but…”

Returning the hero required an enormous amount of magic power. When summoning him, he was just an ordinary person, so not much magic was needed.

But to send a hero who had grown strong enough to defeat the Demon Lord across dimensions, the return ritual required both the hero’s and the Demon Lord’s lives.

The only way to destroy the Demon Lord, and the only way to return the hero to his world, were one and the same.

The simultaneous annihilation of the hero and the Demon Lord.

It was a truth that only we Shrine Maidens knew. How many times I had wanted to tell him… I used the surveillance as an excuse and never revealed it, not even at the end.

To grant the hero, who had fulfilled everyone else’s wishes, his one and only desire, we Shrine Maidens had wielded our power against the hero we loved.

“Even just once… I would have loved to go on a date with him.”

“Yeah… we all felt the same way.”

Whenever there were no watchers, he would tell us about his homeland. When we were under surveillance, Lillie would show us the letters he had slipped into books, and we exchanged notes. It sounded like a world in the heavens, and I couldn’t help but feel excited.

Tia Croix, the Shrine Maiden of the Camellia, who had been standing dazed at a distance, slowly approached.

“This is the worst.”

“Kuro.”

“Kuroie-san.”

“I… made eye contact with Kyosuke at the very end.”

“…”

“…”

“He looked surprised… but there was also a hint of resignation in his expression… sniff…”

“I see…”

“…”

We fought with all our might. His skin was scorched, his fingers torn, his bones twisted, his magic nearly depleted, and his heart weary. We fought with everything we had.

“Ungh… he was such a… sniff… a stubborn hero… but in the end…”

“Yeah… he was.”

Now that I think about it.

It was an intense five years, just like the hero stories I had admired as a child.

No matter how many times we faltered, he extended a hand, never giving up. The path he walked shone brightly. Those he saved smiled, and many were captivated by him… our most beloved person, whom we were meant to serve.

“To be thought of as having betrayed the person you love… this is the worst.”

We were closest to him.

And yet, we were the farthest away.

We, the Shrine Maidens of the hero.

Tia Croix, the Shrine Maiden of the Camellia, looked up at the sky and cried openly, without regard for anyone watching.

Artlily, the Shrine Maiden of the Lily, hung her head and wept silently, her tears falling gently.

And I, Rozenmarie, the Shrine Maiden of the Rose, stood before the two of them, my own tears spilling over.

“Kyosuke…”

I gazed up at the twilight sky and prayed for his safety.

I wished with all my heart that somehow, he would return to the world he had told us about—the world that seemed so distant.