In a grassland far from the Royal Capital, I sat upon a rock.
Before me, two figures could be seen from behind.
They were the elf chieftain, Logan, and Yura, the great spirit's divided body.
Straining my ears, I could hear their conversation.
"The flow will generally take this form. Understood?"
"Comprehending the instruction—I will now transition to practice."
Nodding, Yura manipulated her mana.
Like splitting the earth, a tree grew from the ground.
It swelled to a towering height in an instant, worthy of being called a great tree.
(The incantation is stable as well. Magnificent.)
What Yura had employed was spirit magic.
It was precisely the technique she had just been taught by Logan.
As a divided body of a great spirit, her compatibility with spirit magic was, needless to say, superb.
In terms of aptitude, she likely even surpassed the elves.
And so, it was Logan who had suggested it, and the plan to have her learn spirit magic had been set in motion.
Yura herself was eager to try it, so they had begun immediately.
According to her, she was simply delighted to have more things she could do.
Since that morning, she had been acquiring various spells in that manner.
Because she was such a diligent and capable student, Logan was also strangely enthusiastic.
(A peaceful sight, isn't it...)
Three days had passed since the confrontation with the previous Demon Lord.
The Demon Lord's domain had regained its peace.
Thanks to the efforts of the dispatched subordinates, the monsters and magical beasts that had been rampaging in various regions had been neutralized.
Currently, reconstruction work was in full swing.
When I asked my subordinates about the situation at the time, it seemed there were no particularly dangerous moments.
Even Dolda, the dullahan whose sanity had been a concern, had reportedly fought fiercely to protect the townspeople.
It was said he had maintained his reason during the battle.
Though, of course, as soon as he returned, he had reverted to his usual state.
While his true nature remained unclear, it seemed Dolda had done his best in his own way.
I lowered my gaze to the glass in my hand.
It was fruit wine infused with holy energy, one of many experimental concoctions created for the undead to enjoy food and drink.
As for beverages, we still had not achieved success.
I hoped this could serve as a foothold.
I raised the glass to my lips.
At that moment, I sensed a peculiar presence appear behind me.
Without changing my posture, I turned my head.
Standing there was a tall woman in a black one-piece dress.
Gray skin, long, deep blue hair.
Of the two horns on her temples, one was broken off, as if severed by something.
In stark contrast to her youthful appearance, her golden eyes held a shrewd gleam.
She was staring over at me with interest.
The former demon lord.
This was no hallucination.
The woman I had killed was standing right before me.
While I was frozen in confusion, the demon lord raised a hand in greeting.
"Well now, three days has it been."
"…………"
I couldn't form a reply, my body rigid.
At some point, I had spilled the wine from my glass.
My feet were wet, but I had no composure to care about it.
Logan and Yura, who had noticed the disturbance, were looking this way.
Logan especially wore an expression that said he couldn't believe it.
He had silently assumed a combat stance.
I stopped them with a gaze.
Moving carelessly would be dangerous.
The demon lord's attention was focused on me.
It would be wise not to provoke the situation.
I naturally posed the question to the demon lord.
"Why are you alive?"
"That, even I do not know. When I came to, I had been resurrected."
The Demon King speaks in a troubled manner, beginning to explain the sequence of events leading to the present.
She, who should have died in battle with me, had awakened in the old demon territory half a day prior.
Her body, which had turned to ash, was restored to its original state, and there seemed to be no memory loss or similar issues.
Unable to grasp the situation, the Demon King had wandered the desolate land until she sensed my location and came to find me.
"You are a sage, are you not? Could you not decipher the cause of this resurrection?"
"Even if you say that..."
I focused on the Demon King's condition from a magical perspective.
She seemed to have undergone further changes since three days ago.
She possessed immense magical power, but it was naturally restrained, suppressed.
The previous Demon King would have detected it immediately.
Something had definitely changed.
"Come now, show me the intellect of my arch-nemesis."
"I'm thinking, whether you ask or not."
Ignoring the Demon King, who was cheerfully teasing me for some reason, I continued to build up my deductions.
And then, I wove together a single hypothesis.
(...Could it be, perhaps, because of my actions?)
I had destroyed the horns, which served as the catalyst for her resurrection.
That was a necessary step to kill the Demon King, and it had destabilized the spell that anchored her to this world.
The Demon King's body at that moment was in a state of seeking the lost catalyst.
It was akin to a drowning person struggling to breathe.
Otherwise, death was the inevitable outcome.
Personal will played no part in this; the body instinctively sought survival.
I plunged the residual blade into the Demon King in such a state.
As it turned out, this proved fatal.
The residual blade was a weapon of deep significance to the Demon King.
The instant I drove it home, it likely acted as a lost catalyst.
The Demon King met her second death, yet the ritual itself revived her, I believe she was resurrected after a time delay.
"---That concludes my deduction. Are you satisfied?"
"Hmm. I don't grasp the complexities of magic, but if you say so, it's likely correct."
The Demon King furrowed her brow with a low grunt.
She didn't seem to understand much.
(Oh right, she has little knowledge of magic theory.)
The spells she could use without incantation were all executed by pure instinct.
They were wholly innate talents.
The Chain of Light and the power of the Holy Sword she acquired after resurrection also differed from systematized magic.
They were closer to intrinsic abilities; the Demon King must have relied on feeling to wield them as well.
It seemed my current reasoning didn't translate to her.
(Indeed...)
I observed the Demon King closely.
At present, I sensed no connection whatsoever between the residual blade and the Demon King.
The function of the catalyst has been lost.
This resurrection appears to have been a one-time miracle.
In other words, the current Demon King is sustaining life without a catalyst.
While it seems unstable and on the verge of self-destructing again, observing the flow of mana reveals no immediate issue.
Normally, the resurrection spell should have failed the moment she turned to ash.
However, when using the heirloom sword as a catalyst, the embedded formulation had reconstructed itself.
Thus, the Demon King achieved a perfect resurrection that required no catalyst.
It was unbelievable, yet the reality before my eyes could not be denied.
None of these steps could have been orchestrated; it was likely a phenomenon brought about by a coincidence of accumulated chances.
Even if replicated thousands of times, it was hard to believe the same result would occur.
(...Could this also be the work of the Will of the World?)
As had become customary, I could not help but question it this time as well.
The Demon King contained the remains of the current-era Hero and Saintess.
They were heroes chosen by the Will of the World.
Those who had gained their power through a miracle.
Perhaps, upon their deaths, that power had also acted upon the Demon King.
She had been filled with regret at the moment of her death.
That, too, may have been a factor that bolstered the resurrection.
It would not have been strange for such a thing to happen.
The fact that the Demon King was here... I could at least accept that much.
However, there was something I had to ask her.
I needed to confirm it.
"Coming to see me like this—do you intend to fight me to the death again?"
"Not at all. Even while using borrowed power, I was defeated by you. My character isn't so spiteful that I would refuse to accept that."
The demon lord shook her head.
I had vaguely suspected as much.
I could sense no hostility from her whatsoever, and her manner was remarkably calm.
It almost made me doubt she was truly the demon lord.
"I am a retired demon lord, after all. I have no intention of fighting you, nor do I plan to resume world domination."
"I see..."
With her declaration, I breathed a sigh of relief.
If the turmoil were to reignite, things would become complicated all over again.
There were numerous other matters that still needed to be settled.
I wanted to bring this whole affair to an end soon.
At that moment, the demon lord wore a meaningful smile.
She pointed a finger at me.
"More importantly, I am interested in your future."
"—What?"
"I wish to witness what path my junior with such different aspirations will walk."
The demon lord stated this with a smug air.
She did not appear to be lying or joking.
She was genuinely interested in me.
"I was aiming for a pretty death, only to be brought back to life. It is embarrassing, but I intend to face it head-on. I shall savor my second... no, my third life now."
"…Wait a moment. Surely that's—"
"I have already decided on a place to live. I will be using the territory I once ruled. We shall be neighbors from now on."
The Demon King was already enthusiastic.
She cut off my protests and treated me with a familiar tone.
Honestly, it was quite a troublesome matter, but for her, it seemed to be a done deal.
Then, the Demon King's smile vanished, and she peered into my eye sockets with her enigmatic gaze.
In an atmosphere that evoked the past, she whispered.
"---However, if you become spineless, I will not hesitate to seize the Demon King's army. Be sure not to forget that."
"Demon King, you are..."
I was about to utter another objection.
At that moment, she pressed my chin upward with her finger.
This gesture prevented me from speaking.
"You are the Demon King. Call me Diera. It is a name I cast aside long ago, but it suits one who has become nothing quite well."
The former Demon King—Diera—said this, then removed her finger and folded her arms.
She raised one corner of her mouth in a smile.
"Demon King of the new generation, I look forward to working with you again."
"…Likewise."
I agree, though reluctantly.
Unfortunately, I felt no confidence in besting her in argument.
Moreover, Diera really doesn't seem to intend world conquest.
If that's the case, there's no need to go out of my way to kill her.
From what she says, it might even be called a neutral relationship leaning toward alliance.
I can't trust her yet, but for now, I want to observe.
(A reconciliation with the former Demon King, huh…)
I chewed the thought over in my mind, still unable to believe it.
But the scene before me was real.
If I were to voice my personal feelings, this resolution was far from a bad one.
It felt as though we had settled our karmic debt in the battle three days ago.
Of course, I am not affirming Diera's past misdeeds.
And yet, I find myself ready to accept this new neighbor.
I felt as though something had advanced on a mental level.
That's probably not a mistaken impression.
A strange conclusion, perhaps, but it makes sense to me.
(…The world, it seems, never goes as one wishes.)
Looking back, it was always thus.
I have memories of constantly facing hardship.
Perhaps I was born under such stars.
As I contemplated the matter, I looked at Diera and shrugged my shoulders.