Chapter 108

In a shabby tavern in the Demon Realm.

Leopard tipped back his drink repeatedly.

He had returned to the Demon Realm solely to find the arms craftsman who had created strategic weapons for him.

Duke Dragania had clearly said that he would overlook Leopard.

However, that did not mean he would forgive everyone else involved with the strategic weapons.

Leopard’s predictions proved correct.

The arms craftsman’s workshop had been completely burned to ashes.

Within it, a single bone of a demon was also discovered.

It was evident whose doing it was.

“Tsk······.”

Leopard crunched on ice, grimacing.

If he had succeeded in killing the duke, this would not have happened.

There would not have been anyone innocent sacrificed for revenge against Leopard, except for the person who manufactured the weapons as requested.

Leopard felt as if his body was twisting with guilt.

‘What kind of hero am I······.’

What kind of hero can’t even save a single person?

It had always been this way.

The hero party had faced countless failures since the Human-Demon War fifty years ago.

They had witnessed the slaughter of the demon residents who cooperated with the hero party by the Demon King’s army, and had even killed innocent demons to plunder.

Such events occurred frequently.

Yet, humans remembered only the victories of the hero party.

No one cared about the process, focusing solely on the result of penetrating the Demon Realm and beheading the Demon King.

They were unaware of how many sacrifices were made for that victory.

They did not know what sacrifices the Holy Maiden had made.

People revered the hero party as the strongest guardians of justice.

However, the evaluation of the hero party within the demon population was far more accurate.

A cruel slaughterer and a vile deceiver.

That was the result of viewing the hero and their companions with a clear perspective.

“I really don’t understand anymore.”

It had been quite a while since he stopped fighting for what the people thought was justice.

Yet, Leopard believed he was living to protect something.

He firmly believed he was protecting the human realm, the Holy Maiden.

But now, he no longer knew what he was protecting.

He even began to doubt whether he was the one who posed a threat in this peaceful era.

The trivial worries quickly spiraled into a contemplation about the very reason for his existence.

“Sailor······.”

“······.”

Leopard quietly murmured Sailor’s name, leaning over the bar table.

At that, a man standing behind him flinched and trembled.

Realizing his identity had been exposed, he awkwardly walked over and took a seat beside Leopard.

Sailor took off her hood and gasped at the row of glasses lined up on the table.

“What do you think? Do you think it would benefit the world if I were to disappear?”

“Why do you look so dead? Not very heroic of you.”

Sailor sensed something was off about Leopard’s condition.

He was not himself.

Normally, he wouldn’t be this downcast.

After all, he was merely trying to kill someone who deserved to die, and it was just a failure.

He would pay respects to someone sacrificed while doing the right thing, but he would never regret it like this.

The only time Leopard indulged in such unproductive thoughts was when he questioned whether his actions had been in vain.

For example, realizing that the person he so wanted to kill should not have died.

“Leo. You’ve realized it.”

“What?”

“I can tell by your face. You just now figured out who Tia’s father is.”

“······.”

Leopard lifted his tear-stained face and glared at Sailor.

It was the truth.

It was so obvious he wondered why he hadn’t realized it sooner.

The daughter of a dragon and a dragon.

As soon as he saw that connection, he might have suspected it, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so.

He dismissed the possibility by thinking there was no way it could be the duke.

He had trusted the duke too much.

When he found out that the duke had assaulted Julia, that trust shattered.

However, even then, he had never imagined Tia’s father would be the duke.

He felt foolish.

There was no other way to think about it.

Could a dragon that had assaulted a human not do it again?

The answer had been right there, yet it took him a long time to accept it.

“So, have you lost your way?”

“Seems so······. I don’t know what to do anymore······. He deserves to die, but he’s not someone who should just die. That bastard needs to live. He has to pay for his sins. But how? How can that guy be punished······?”

“······.”

Leopard desperately wanted to kill the duke, but that would be a punishment far too light considering the crimes he had committed.

Killing the duke was practically impossible from the start.

Informing Julia and Tia of the truth would certainly be a form of revenge against the duke, but it would be an incredibly harsh act against them.

How much shock would Julia endure if she learned that the man who raped her had assaulted her again?

And how deeply would Tia be hurt upon realizing she was an unwanted child born of that assault?

Thinking about that, he could only keep it a complete secret from both of them.

“I can’t do anything now······.”

Leopard shivered with helplessness and agony.

If he truly cared for Julia and Tia, it would be best for him to remain silent.

In fact, it might be better to disappear entirely.

“Should I go home?”

“Home? Did you buy a house somewhere?”

“No, not that house. I might just permanently return to my hometown.”

“······.”

Sailor, understanding the meaning behind his words, quietly fell silent.

Leopard’s hometown was not in this world.

On the day the humans summoned him because they needed a hero, he had been reincarnated into the body of a country girl.

Having had no particular attachment to his original world, Leopard quickly adapted to this one.

Having finally rescued the human realm, he was soon offered a chance to return to his original world.

The conditions for the magic to return the possessed soul were simple.

The soul must be undamaged and untainted, just as it was originally.

As long as that condition was met, Leopard could return at any time.

But Leopard chose to stay here.

Believing that someday the human realm would face danger again.

That he had to remain here to protect the human realm.

But now, he began to think differently.

Perhaps returning now would be better for both himself and this world.

“To go this far and then try to run away? Cowardly bastard.”

“What do you want me to do······. A washed-up, troublemaking hero has to disappear now. There’s nothing left for me to do or that I can do.”

“You need to keep the promise you made. You still have a promise with me.”

“What was it again?”

“You promised to return Julia. Have you already forgotten?”

“······!”

Leopard’s eyes widened.

“Wh-What do you mean by that?”

“I’m talking about sending Julia back to her original world. Did you forget?”

“Then what about Tia? She’ll be left alone.”

“Leo, you decided not to kill the duke. You valued Tia and Julia more than revenge against him. It’s time to make another choice. Is it Tia or Julia? If you truly wish for Julia’s happiness, you must send her back to her original world.”

“······.”

Leopard’s pupils darted around.

The reason he initially wanted to return Julia was perhaps due to a glimmer of hope that if Julia left, Ariel might come back.

But now that he had completely accepted Ariel’s death, the meaning of that return was different.

It would be about returning Julia, who had clearly become unhappy in this world, to her own life.

But if he did that, Tia would be left all alone.

He would be taking away the mother of an innocent, unfortunate child.

“Choose, Leo. Tia or Julia.”

“Isn’t there an option to just maintain the status quo?”

“Stop acting like a coward, Leo. Doing nothing doesn’t absolve us of responsibility. Being able to make Julia happy while doing nothing is no different from leaving her miserable and neglecting her.”

“We need to hear her opinion on this······.”

“Stop being so frustrating! If you were to ask a drowning couple whom to save, what would happen? Of course, they would beg to be saved! Asking is meaningless. Tia will plead for Julia to be returned, and Julia will insist on staying. One of them will surely be unhappy. The choice is ours to make.”

Sailor pressed Leopard, forcing him to answer.

Leopard hesitated for quite some time, swallowing dryly.

Then he quickly acknowledged that Sailor was right.

Julia and Tia.

Both would easily give up their own happiness if it meant the happiness of the other.

So the choice now lay with Leopard.

Who would he make happy?

Who would he make unhappy?

The choices, responsibilities, and later resentment all fell on Leopard’s shoulders.

“Damn······.”

It was not an easy problem at all.

Both were far too precious to Leopard.

Leopard bit down hard, blood spilling as he raised his head.

Finally, he made his decision.

“Let’s send her back. Let’s make Julia happy······.”

Leopard took hold of the hand Sailor extended to him.

In truth, the answer had been determined long ago.

If he had to choose only one between the person he loved and her child, it was only natural it would be the former.

---