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The day of the mock duel with Hein.
I spent the rest of my classes in a daze. I had no choice, nothing was getting through.
Because I was utterly stunned by Hein’s swordsmanship.
No, “stunned” doesn’t even cover it.
Honestly, I couldn’t believe it.
──It’s completely different from “before”.
He’s not the same Hein Sera Aster I knew.
“Before” refers to the “original world” I came from.
In that world, Hein did possess immense magic power.
But he was an arrogant, evil man consumed by that power.
The same went for his swordsmanship.
His style was just… brutal.
He’d simply channel his vast magic power into his sword and swing it around by brute force.
Technique was an afterthought, less swordsmanship, more an extension of violence.
And above all, his way of fighting was dirty.
He’d use any means to win.
Eye-gouging, groin strikes, cheap shots.
He wouldn’t hesitate to sneak in a spell during a match.
There wasn’t a shred of noble pride in him.
He ignored the basics entirely, resting on his natural talent.
But now?
The sword he showed today was calm, fast, and terrifyingly precise.
Not a single wasted movement.
Faithful to the fundamentals, yet each one refined to perfection.
Like a master who’d lived by the sword for decades.
He perfectly adapted even to the unorthodox movements of my Rishin style.
That’s not something you achieve with ordinary training.
──So Hein really ‘isn’t’ “Hein” in this world.
That’s what I found myself thinking.
It felt close to certainty.
Even the way he looks at me is different.
The “him” from before saw me as nothing but an insect.
He’d call me “inferior being” like he was spitting it out.
I was in his field of vision, but he never truly ‘saw’ me.
That’s how it felt.
But now, he sees me clearly.
As a fellow swordsman. As an opponent worth facing.
…Well, some parts of him are still like the old Hein.
He’s just as unapproachable, and his mouth is just as sharp.
But something fundamental is decisively different.
As I was lost in these thoughts──
「Azel-kun, are you perhaps bothered by it?」
During break, a voice called out to me from beside my desk.
When I looked, it was Serena.
Serena Ira Fafnir.
The saint who fought the Demon King alongside me in the “previous” world.
And my precious… former lover.
She was peering into my face with a worried expression.
「N-No… It’s not that I’m bothered or anything.」
I hurriedly tried to play it off.
A lie.
I was extremely bothered.
But not because I was upset about tying with Hein… I think.
Well, maybe a little.
I’ll admit that.
I wasn’t called the Hero for nothing.
I have some confidence in my swordsmanship.
But more than that, somehow… I found myself questioning the meaning.
The meaning of me coming to this world.
I returned to the past to save Hein.
To prevent him from becoming the vessel of the Demon King. Because that would lead to the world’s peace.
The Hein from that world honestly wasn’t a good guy.
Or rather, he was a bad guy.
To the extent that he was chosen as the Demon King’s vessel.
But I think he was lonely, in his own way.
I can see that now.
Needed by no one, understood by no one.
Power was his only proof of existence.
And at the end of that loneliness, he sold his soul to the Demon King.
At that time.
In the heart of the burning imperial capital.
With all my comrades fallen and me on the verge of collapse.
The moment I drove the Holy Sword through Hein’s, no, the Demon King Hein’s, chest.
Just when I thought everything was over.
For just an instant, he returned to himself.
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・
・
『The Demon King’s soul is wounded now. But given time, he will revive again』
Coughing up blood, Hein spoke.
His voice was terribly hoarse.
『So do it. Right here, right now, burn this body to ashes along with him. I’m holding his wounded soul captive』
『H-Hein…? You… why..』
Yeah, I had so much I wanted to say to Hein.
So much I wanted to ask.
Why would someone like you willingly offer your body to the Demon King?
Why did you destroy the Aster ducal house, the very thing you took so much pride in, with your own hands?
Didn’t you want to become king?
Why did you burn the entire country to the ground?
As I tried to voice these questions, Hein spoke as if he’d read my mind.
No, maybe he really had.
『Inferio… no, Hero Azel. You wouldn’t understand』
Hein laughed, a sound like self-mockery.
His smile was hollow.
『Many people need you, so you would not understand. I was needed by no one.』
Those words made me catch my breath.
I had not imagined Hein could think such a thing.
He was the prodigy of the Aster ducal house.
A man who should have had everything.
『There is no time left. Before his soul flees, do it. With my soul, destroy the Demon King’s soul. Make sure it never is reborn.』
Hein said that and closed his eyes.
In that moment Hein looked extremely lonely to me.
Ah, I realized then that he had not been a hateful person for no reason.
If only I had noticed sooner.
For example, when I first entered the academy.
If I had become Hein’s friend, if I had let him need me.
No, if we could have become the sort of people who needed each other.
Perhaps the Demon King would never have been reborn.
Maybe that regret pulled me into this world.
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・
・
That is why, in this world, I resolved never to let such a tragedy happen again.
I would not let Hein be left alone.
I would be his friend.
Lately, though, that resolve had begun to waver.
I found myself thinking there was nothing I could do.
I stole a glance at Hein in the corner of the classroom.
Emmy was there.
Esmeralda Ira Sarion.
My dear comrade and the woman I loved.
Emmy was talking to Hein with a slightly nervous look, but she seemed happy.
In the world I remembered, that could not have happened.
Emmy had seen through Hein’s cruelty and had broken off their engagement quickly.
Not only Emmy.
A few demi-human nobles gathered a little distance away, surrounding Hein.
In their eyes I saw clear respect and admiration.
It was obvious they all admired Hein.
Even I, who Emmy called dense, could see that.
In short, I thought Hein was needed.
He was not shunned by everyone like the Hein I knew before.
If that was true, maybe my role was already over.
「Azel-kun?」
Serena’s voice brought me back to myself.
「Y-yeah, sorry. I was just thinking.」
I hurried to cover it up with a smile.
「I knew it! Well, I guess it’s natural to feel a bit frustrated…」
I stopped lying.
There was no way I could hide it from her.
Serena was always very sensitive to people’s feelings.
At least, the Serena from the previous world was.
After she awakened as a Saintess, she could feel the pain in people’s hearts as if it were her own.
──Though in this world Serena had not yet awakened as a Saint, so I could not be sure.
As I thought that.
「Are you frustrated because your match in swordsmanship ended in a draw? Or because Esmeralda-sama is getting along with Hein-sama?」
Serena’s words made me jump.
My heart leapt in my chest.
When I looked, Serena’s eyes were fixed on me.
It was as if her gaze could see straight into the depths of my heart.
Serena was still Serena after all.
Even without the power of a Saintess, this girl was sharp.
I gave in and decided to answer honestly.
「…Both, I guess」
The frustration of ending in a draw in swordsmanship.
And the small pang of jealousy at seeing Emmy getting along with Hein.
Ore wa, EmiliaSerena ga suki da(I love Serena).
But I also still cherished Emmy, with whom I had fought in the “previous” world.
I could not help these feelings.
「…I see」
Serena gave a short reply, lowering her gaze.
「Hey, Azel-kun」
Serena quietly asked.
「Why is it that you…」
She stopped halfway, closing her mouth.
「No, it’s nothing… Sorry for asking something strange」
She forced a smile as she said it.
That smile looked painful.
I did not know what words I should offer to Serena then.
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