When I said, "You can be a hero," to a child with no talent, he really started to become a hero, so I acted like I knew what I was doing, like I was a wise master.

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“Hahaha, you’re doing it, aren’t you? Certainly, in terms of the speed of the sword alone, you might be the top among those I’ve faced so far. But that’s where it ends, right? You can’t beat me. Death was the victory condition until now, right? Too bad, it doesn’t apply to me!”

“…”

“I’m different from the previous Demon Kings, aren’t I? Don’t make me repeat myself: you cannot win. There’s another reason you can’t win, and that’s the absence of magic. I can endlessly cast magic of the twelve strata. Soon I’ll show you–“

“–I have no need to learn anything from seeing your magic now.”

At the moment the Demon King attempted to activate his magic, gathering his magical power, his head had already flown off. Three times, time rewound. Watching this, the hero calmly stated the facts.

“I see. It rewinds, meaning if I kill you when you’re trying to activate your magic, it rewinds to before the activation. You can’t rewind time and activate the magic at the same time, can you?”

“… Heh heh, that’s right. But what will you do with that knowledge? You have no means of winning–“

“–How about this?”

Again, the head flew off.

(Damn, I died again… Wait, what? My head isn’t severed!? That’s absurd… I clearly felt my head fly off just now…!?)

But it wasn’t true; his head hadn’t flown off. His head and body were perfectly connected, as if time had been rewound. Yet it was strange. The Immortal King Ifrit had indeed felt the sensation of his head being severed. However, his head and body were connected. He touched his neck with his hand to confirm the feeling. It was indeed attached.

“You seem puzzled.”

“… It doesn’t matter anyway. I’m the one who’s going to win.”

“Then, I’ll tell you something special since I’m the one who will win. Knowing this won’t hinder me at all. If you cut fruit cleanly, without distorting or damaging the fibers by even a fraction, and then align the cut surfaces, you can restore it to its original state. I can make that possible even with life.”

“――You must be kidding.”

A living being, and what’s more, the body of the Demon King with its complex structure, could literally be cut without a fraction of error―― the shock of this statement ran through him like an electric current. How much training and madness would it take to make that possible? Could it even be done in the first place? Was it a bluff?

(Impossible. In a raw state, it’s like interfering with time itself. Even if I cut the state, it can be undone…!?)

(Bluffing? Maybe he has some hidden ability, and he’s saying this on purpose to keep me from figuring it out? Otherwise, he wouldn’t speak about his own hand like that.)

(Yes, his abnormal speed in the first place. It wouldn’t be strange if he had a special gift to stop time. Then, there must be some conditions for activation, and to divert my attention from them…)

(No, is it really true? Reproducing supernatural concepts with just a single sword…?)

“But I won’t use this sword.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll fight you with my fists. A sword that wears out against you, who revive endlessly, is a waste. More to the point, a sword is unnecessary against someone like you.”

“Oh, you won’t even use the legendary holy sword?”

“I don’t need it. For you… Your ability just drags you back into the past. I can kill you seven times in one second. These seven times include your revivals.”

“…”

“And I, as an entity, always move ahead at the speed of light. You fall back into the past, but I always walk ahead of the summit. There’s no element of defeat. It’s the first time I’ve thought defeating the Demon King could be this easy.”

“――!”

That was the confidence of a strong man. The hero showed off his overwhelming skill and then sealed it himself. It was to mentally corner his opponent, to brazenly tell him that he could be defeated even if he restrained himself.

It was an arrogant statement, but it didn’t seem like a lie. The Demon King himself knew it well, having been killed by the hero; he had the strength to make it a reality. However, he was also infinitely immortal. The Demon King grinned, knowing that the battle of strength between them was about to begin.

And then, for three days, in 25,920 seconds compressed into mere seconds, the hero infinitely beat the Immortal King to death until he ended his own life. And once again, peace came to the world.

***

“It’s over.”

“I know, the prophecy has vanished.”

After defeating the Immortal King, Hero Dan once again made his way to the oracle, Voyager. The old woman clutched her head and sighed.

“Three days, huh? That was rather quick, wasn’t it?”

“It was a trivial task. So, the prophecy has truly vanished?”

“It’s gone. You blew the prediction away, after all.”

“If that’s the case, then it’s fine.”

“You really are something else. Even though your name is nowhere to be found in the prophecies or the divinations.”

“Ants can’t see the stars.”

“What?”

“Small ants can’t observe the stars. Only those of the same level or slightly larger can.”

“I see. So, your existence is too great for anyone to observe.”

“Of course. I stand at the pinnacle of this world. Who can comprehend me at this summit?”

“You’re arrogant… but, well, you have a point.”

“Maybe it’s because I’ve always been deviant from this world…”

“What do you mean?”

“No, this is something only I would understand.”

Hero Dan had originally lived in a place called Japan, so he felt that perhaps he had escaped some of the world’s rules. But saying it out loud wouldn’t change anything, so he closed his mouth.

“I see. Well, the festival is going to be held successfully, so why don’t you go and enjoy yourself?”

“Hmph.”

With a nonchalant wave of his hand, he left.

***

(Ah, what should I do now? I have some time before the rehearsal for my speech…)

Having removed his iron mask and revealing his plain face with spiky hair, Hero Dan was walking. No one there could connect his face to the hero Dan. Even though the festival was to start tomorrow, stalls were already set up, and various items were being sold.

“Hey, you with the dull look on your face, brother!”

“Uh? Me?”

“Yes, yes! How about these Hero Dan’s Sacred Sword steamed buns! They’ll change your life!”

(The price is higher than normal, typical of a festival, but they do raise the usual price. After beating the Immortal King for three days, I’m not in the mood to eat.)

“Sorry, I’m not hungry.”

“What! If you eat a hundred of these, you could become like Hero Dan!”

“Uh…”

Thinking that there were a lot of strange people around, he looked around the stalls when a bookstore caught his eye. It was a bookstore in name only, just a cloth spread out with a few books stacked on top.

“What are you selling here?”

“Ah, these are romance novels about Hero Dan and the Great Sage Linlin. Unauthorized, of course.”

“Eh… Unauthorized, you say?”

“It’s interesting. It imagines a scenario where the two were attending a knight training school.”

“Really… Maybe I’ll buy it.”

“It’s fun! Someone else bought one today, so there’s a trend going on.”

“Oh… Who bought it?”

“Hmm, I couldn’t tell because they were hiding their face. But it was a woman, and from the shape of her ears, probably a fairy.”

“Huh…”

(I wonder who would buy something like this… I’m kind of tempted to buy it out of morbid curiosity.)

“I like happy endings, is that okay? You know, Hero Dan and Great Sage Linlin have quite different personalities.”

“No need to worry. Although the two indeed have quite twisted personalities, it is guaranteed to have a happy ending.”

“They’re not that twisted… Well, thank you.”

“But because they’re both quite twisted, there will be some misunderstandings.”

“Misunderstandings, huh…”

(In reality, they couldn’t be more at odds, and even in this book, they misunderstand each other?)

“But since I don’t like that kind of development, the misunderstandings will end in about three pages. Then they’ll go on dates and kiss and stuff.”

“I’ll take it.”

After receiving the book and handing over the money, Hero Dan found a nearby bench and sat down. He couldn’t help but be curious, almost morbidly so, about what was written inside. Thinking it would be embarrassing to be seen grinning while reading a romance novel, he wrapped a cloth around his mouth, ensuring that if he were to grin, it wouldn’t be noticed.

“Heh… ‘Danlinlin Dan,’ what a title… I can’t believe they have the nerve to sell this at my festival…”

As he read on, it was indeed a love romance between Lin and Dan. He almost cringed with embarrassment but managed to hold it in. However, he became too embarrassed to continue reading and looked up at the sky.

That’s when he noticed an elf sitting next to him, her eyes hidden behind black sunglasses and her mouth covered with cloth, her hair wrapped in blue fabric… She looked very suspicious.

“Ehehe, I’d be troubled if anyone found out about this.”

(There sure are a lot of strange people here… Oh, she’s reading “Danlinlin Dan”! She must be the one who bought it earlier!)

He inadvertently looked directly at her book, and she quickly turned her gaze toward him, apparently realizing that Dan had also bought the book.

“Oh, that… Did you buy it? ‘Danlinlin Dan’?”

“Uh, yes, I bought ‘Danlinlin Dan.'”

“‘Danlinlin Dan,’ isn’t it interesting?”

“Uh, um… Well, yes.”

“I have someone I like, and I just thought how nice it would be if we could be like this,” the elf said.

“Oh, really? …But I can relate to that.”

“You, uh, I mean, do you have someone you like too?”

“Yes, but I don’t think we’ll ever be together.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“No, I don’t mind. Recently, I’ve started to think that as long as she’s smiling, everything else is fine.”

“That’s amazing. I can’t think that way. I wouldn’t be satisfied if I’m not by his side… It even makes me angry when someone else is close to him.”

“Ah, I definitely feel the same way.”

“Really? But didn’t you say that as long as she’s smiling, it’s okay?”

“Um, well, I guess I want to act cool in front of her, both outwardly and inwardly… So, deep down, I used to get really jealous.”

(Hold on, am I not saying something really embarrassing? It’s all “Danlinlin Dan’s” fault… Because I’m practically a host in the book, I accidentally said it. So embarrassing, I should go home.)

“Ah, I have something to take care of soon.”

“Oh, okay. Sorry for suddenly talking to you like this.”

“No, not at all.”

After that, Hero Dan, having read all of “Danlinlin Dan,” was so embarrassed by its content that his face turned bright red during the rehearsal for his speech. However, since he was wearing an iron mask, no one noticed.

“Are you okay, Lin-chan? Your face is all red. Did you eat something weird?”

“Sorry… I just read something strange…”