Hearing my murmur, Grom's shoulder twitched.
He couldn't hide his unease.
Grom spoke in a groan.
"That's... surely you don't mean..."
"I want to bring her back."
I declared it flatly.
The thought I'd kept locked away for so long—I'd finally spoken it aloud.
The instant I did, my true feelings surged forth like a dam breaking.
"I know she shouldn't be resurrected. The situation is already tangled with countless problems at this point. But there's a feeling I simply can't let go of."
"Demon Lord..."
Grom murmured as though enduring pain.
Though my lost eye throbbed, I ignored it and continued weaving my words.
"This is not the wish of a demon lord. It is the desire of the sage Dwight Harvelt. The man who was betrayed by the world he saved—he is still, even now, her servant."
It was a fact I had no choice but to acknowledge.
The feelings I'd carried from when I was still human still lingered in the depths of my heart.
Even at the moment I swore a new resolve in the Valley of the Dead, I could not purge them.
The smoldering obsession threatened to push aside my duties as demon lord.
(Pitiful. Truly pitiful.)
I was caught in a vice of my own making.
If it were merely a passing worry, it would be a small thing.
But that was not the case.
In my situation, the scale was such that it could determine the fate of the world.
From the moment I became the Demon Lord, it was no longer a personal matter.
"When I was executed in the Valley of the Dead, I felt rage at my own powerlessness. What if I could have wielded my strength there... how would fate have been different? Part of me always wonders."
Countless scenes flashed through my mind.
The ache in my eye intensified.
It demanded attention with a pain that became unbearable.
I consciously relaxed my body.
When I paused my thoughts for a moment, the pain eased slightly.
It was little comfort, but I felt some relief.
"I have always been indecisive. Hesitating at critical moments is a habit I've had since I was alive. Without someone pushing me from behind, I can't make a single decision. Don't you find that pathetic?"
"I, n-not at all..."
Grom hesitated.
He was searching earnestly for words, but couldn't find them.
I was aware I was burdening him.
I was just venting my unresolved emotions on Grom.
It was an outburst made with the full certainty that he, of all people, would never get angry.
A despicable act, surely.
Knowing this, I fell even deeper into self-loathing.
Just then, another presence appeared behind Grom.
I stop thinking and stare intently.
From behind the large Grom, a face pops out.
Wearing a mischievous grin, it was Luciana.
Hovering with her wings, she elegantly leaps forward.
Then, spinning as if dancing, she sings.
"I heard the Demon Lord's little complaints~"
While she rejoices, someone was running toward us from afar.
A bow slung over his back, it was Henry.
He's sprinting as if there's solid ground in midair.
Henry doesn't have flight capabilities.
Looking at his feet, a force field was generated.
Judging by the mana, Luciana seems to be supporting him.
It seems the two of them made it this way together.
It's a surprisingly uncommon pairing.
Luciana approaches me with her hands clasped behind her back.
After a meaningful pause, she narrows her eyes and peers into my face.
"—That sounds like a fascinating topic. Why don't you let us join in?"