Chapter 40
【Alto’s POV】
I see, Lord Eld must have defeated the Demon King.
Looking at his face, he seems very tired.
The battle must have been intense.
I thought to offer words of praise to Lord Eld.
But just then—
「Whoa, Alto! You really are amazing!!!!」
「Huh…?」
Lord Eld grabs my shoulders and says eagerly,
「To think you defeated the Demon King alone! As expected of the man I had my eye on! Right, Domingo?!」
Lord Eld also seeks agreement from Domingo behind him.
Domingo nods vigorously, though looking confused, and agrees,
「Y-Yes, Master Eld! As expected of your keen judgement. Good work, Alto!」
Both Lord Eld and Domingo praise me.
What is going on…?
「I… defeated the Demon King…?」
「That’s right! You were amazing! You went on a rampage and lost your memories after defeating the Demon King! You had collapsed from exhaustion when I arrived and healed you with healing magic! That’s what happened!」
「Is that so…?」
Even when told so, I have absolutely no memory of it.
This doesn’t make sense to me at all…
Did I really defeat the Demon King…?
But I have no recollection of it at all.
But well, if Lord Eld says so, then it must be true.
Yes, Lord Eld would never lie!
「Lord Eld! This is all thanks to you! Thank you so much!」
「No, it was all your skill! You did great! Yeah!」
Being praised by Lord Eld, I was simply happy.
I had been desperately doing my best to defeat the Demon King.
To be told this by the person I wanted approval from the most, I was overwhelmed with emotion.
「But Lord Eld, you look quite tired…did something happen?」
「Ah, yes…that’s because I treated you. You were on the verge of death after the battle with the Demon King.」
「Is that so… Thank you for saving me, Lord Eld.」
「Well, I couldn’t let the hero who defeated the Demon King die after all.」
I was truly grateful to Lord Eld. I will devote my whole life to this person from now on.
◆
【Eld’s POV】
Well, somehow I managed to deceive Alto.
But the problem is the King and Claire.
I have to do something about those two…
I brought Alto and Domingo to the castle to report the defeat of the Demon King.
「So, Your Majesty! We have splendidly slain the Demon King!」
「Oh! Eld, good work. As expected of my daughter’s fiancé…」
Urgh… My stomach hurts.
I feel like puking.
I have to somehow steer the conversation in the direction of breaking off the engagement.
「Um…actually, I was not the one who slew the Demon King…」
「What…!? Then who was it?」
「It was this man, Alto Franciphone!」
I introduce Alto to the King.
「Your Majesty, I humbly meet you for the first time. I am Alto Franciphone.」
「I see, so you were the one… That was a tremendous accomplishment. I shall grant you a reward later. Of course, one for Eld as well.」
But I deny that.
「Please wait, Your Majesty. I am in no position to receive a reward.」
「What…?」
「The truth is, I pushed the task of defeating the Demon King onto Alto, and was holed up in the fortress. I am an utter coward. So I do not need any rewards! Also, I believe Alto is more suitable for Princess Claire than a man like me! So, about the engagement to Claire as well, please consider Alto…」
I spat it out quickly.
And Alto denies it.
Hey, don’t say unnecessary things!
「Please wait. Lord Eld was healing everyone in the fortress! The true hero is Lord Eld! He saved me from the brink of death!」
Hey seriously, this guy… don’t say unnecessary things.
「Is that true? Why be so modest as to refuse rewards?」
The King asks.
「No, that is Alto’s made up story. He is covering for me out of pity. Alto is a capable man. Yes, Alto is truly fitting to be the hero. Please, the engagement talk as well, to Alto…」
「Hmm… anyway, you seem to really not want any rewards, do you? Very well. If you insist so stubbornly, I shall grant all rewards to Alto.」
Looking surprised, Alto asks me.
「Lord Eld… is this alright…?」
Yeah, it’s fine so look away.
If I stay here any longer, I’ll be digging my own grave.
For now, I’m getting away by pushing Alto onto the King.
「Well then, I’ll be off…! A useless man like me will disappear!」
「Ah, Lord Eld…!?」
Run away at full speeddddddddddddddd~~~~!!!!!
I don’t know anything else.
Do as you wish with the rest.
◆
【The King’s POV】
「What was that about him…」
「Who knows…」
Eld ran off, leaving me and Alto behind.
I was thinking of rewarding Eld, but…
And about Claire too.
But to refuse so stubbornly…
He is a hopeless man.
Well, he must have his circumstances.
I shall respect the hero who saved the country.
「So Claire, are you alright with this?」
I ask Claire who was hiding behind me.
Claire was supposed to have feelings for Eld.
「I-I’m fine… Lord Eld is not suited for me… With the way Lord Eld looks at that elf girl, I don’t stand a chance…」
As I thought, Eld must be involved with that elf girl.
It was obvious at first glance.
「I see. And it looks like you aren’t ready yet either…」
「Father…! You noticed…?」
I was aware that Eld had not laid a hand on Claire yet.
I told him the engagement and to defeat the Demon King, but it was probably too soon for Claire…
「Of course. I’m still your father. I’m sorry to force this on you, even if it was to defeat the Demon King.」
「No…I’m glad Lord Eld is an earnest man.」
「Yes, such a man is rare.」
Eld is truly a capable man. I had hoped for such a man to sincerely become Claire’s partner, but…
Well, nothing can be done if he refuses so stubbornly. I shall respect his will.
And the Demon King has been defeated, so there is no need for a political marriage or such.
Claire will find a good man again someday.
But I don’t have much longer left.
The truth is, I’m afflicted with a serious illness.
That’s also why I wanted to defeat the Demon King by any means before I die.
That’s why I forced Eld to cooperate with defeating the Demon King.
Thanks to Eld and Alto, it somehow worked out in time.
Yes, I must reward Alto as well.
I made this proposal to the man before me:
「Alto, good work defeating the Demon King.
Say, Alto. Are you not interested in the throne…?」
――To be continued
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