Suddenly.
It was just sudden.
Leopard was repeatedly flexing his hands and looking at his forearms.
Having used this body for over 50 years, there was no reason to feel unfamiliar with it.
However, thinking that it had likely been someone else’s body before he possessed it made it feel a bit strange.
It was the first time since possessing this body that he thought about its original owner.
“I’m really sorry, you see.”
Just as Julia had killed Aerial upon possessing her, Leopard must have also killed the girl who was the original owner of this body.
That girl, who should have lived happily and aged comfortably, was now living in a hideous way, merely keeping a heart tainted by magic alive.
He decided not to express any kind of hypocrisy, believing that the dead girl would be grateful for the honor brought by the name of some insignificant country girl.
I killed the girl and took her life.
Finally accepting that fact, Leopard felt that he could no longer condemn Julia.
He didn’t think he could hate Julia.
“Then, who should I hate now?”
Leopard had always lived hating and despising someone.
He hated the Demon King who invaded the human realm and cast a cruel curse on Aerial, and since Julia’s possession, he had loathed Julia, who obliterated Aerial’s soul.
But now, if he could no longer hate Julia, who should he direct this arrow of hatred toward?
The anguish and confusion didn’t last long.
It quickly diminished, and he felt calm and peaceful.
It became clear what he should do.
“I can just leave.”
It was time to depart from this world.
He had defeated the Demon King and achieved world peace.
With Aerial dead, the motivation for living had vanished.
Despite being stubborn and managing to reunite with Aerial at the end, this time he personally sealed her away with his own hand.
There was no longer any reason to remain in this world.
Staying would only cause pain and suffering.
That conviction gradually strengthened.
“I must unavoidably return the title of Hero to Leopard Prauda. I also hereby order the immediate return of Leopard Prauda.”
Having received a command from the Papal Office, he was strangely devoid of any feeling.
He wasn’t angry, nor did he feel like retaliating.
It felt as if he was listening to someone else’s affairs.
I have truly let go of all attachments to this world.
He realized that he was confessing to being the one who had caused the chaos in the city and embracing and sacrificing Julia would be his last task.
Thoughts about what he would do after returning began to arise already.
Though a year’s grace was given until the return, he didn’t intend to spend all that time.
He planned to request a return immediately, tomorrow.
Once he returned, this body would become a hollow shell, devoid of a soul.
No one would care for discarded trash.
Leopard was wandering aimlessly through the heavy rain without an umbrella.
At that moment, someone grasped his hand.
“What are you doing here?! Getting soaked! You’ll catch a cold. Come to the villa for now.”
“······.”
“Ah, don’t resist! The Duke is not here right now!”
“······.”
It was Julia.
After a brief moment of resistance, upon hearing that the Duke was absent, Leopard obediently followed Julia.
Then, he took a shower as Julia instructed and wore the clothes she provided.
They were women’s clothes, but he felt no hesitation.
After all, he would leave tomorrow; it didn’t matter if he wore women’s clothing or men’s.
Thinking about it, today would be the last time seeing Julia’s face.
For Julia, Leopard likely never had a good image to begin with, but he thought he should thoroughly ruin things today.
That way, Julia wouldn’t miss him.
That way, Julia wouldn’t cry for him.
He would leave a deep wound in Julia.
With that thought, he suddenly lunged at Julia, but…
“Did you have a hard time? Thank you, and really, thank you, Leo.”
“······!”
He was completely disarmed by the unexpected words.
The tears he had been holding back poured out all at once.
While he hugged Julia and cried for a long time, in a very brief moment, Julia seemed to overlap with Aerial.
“Have you finished crying? Then let go now. It’s creepy.”
“Sniff. Haah. Sniff······.”
“Hey, hey! What are you doing?!”
At that moment, the desire to live resurfaced.
Burying his face in Julia’s chest and breathing in her scent made that longing gradually intensify.
“I will definitely take Julia.”
He set the ultimate goal he had to achieve by staying here.
That was to take Julia’s virginity.
Forcing her would be easy enough.
But truly sharing love with Julia was something no one had achieved until now.
Currently, it seemed Julia regarded him as just a same-sex friend, so if he could charm and push through, it might be possible at least once.
“You bastard, stop satisfying your own desires and get off my chest!!!”
“Sniff, Fwaah······.”
“Ugh, your breath is way too hot! Get lost!”
“Leo nee-chan!”
Boom!
The moment the door opened, Leopard, who had been burrowing against Julia’s chest, lifted his head and straightened his back as if nothing had happened.
Tia, entering the reception room with a bright smile, rushed to Leopard.
Seeing Leopard nonchalantly embracing Tia and talking, Julia wore a look of disbelief.
“Hehe. How did you know I was here?”
“Hmph! I heard from the maids that Leo nee-chan was here! But Leo nee-chan’s hair seems a bit long, doesn’t it?”
“Ah······ I haven’t cut it in a while.”
“Planning to grow it out?”
“I haven’t really thought about it.”
“Let’s grow it! If Leo nee-chan has long hair, it would look super cute! Ah, ah! Of course, you’re already super-duper pretty now! If you have long hair, I think it would be even more super-duper pretty!”
“Really? Then, I guess I should grow it out.”
“Mhihi! Great!”
Leopard lifted Tia and carried her on his arm as they left the reception room, casually glancing back at Julia.
Julia was still staring at Leopard with flushed cheeks.
Even her annoyed expression was incredibly cute.
Leopard grinned and turned his back to Julia as he exited the reception room.
They say that wounds made by women are healed by women, and it seemed that saying was indeed true.
He never imagined that he would come to love another woman after parting with Aerial and taking her body.
‘Is my type a Holy Maiden?’
It seemed he could now recognize Julia as a Holy Maiden.
Although he couldn’t find even the slightest trace of Aerial’s nobility, dignity, or kindness in Julia, those traits aren’t the qualities of a Holy Maiden.
Integrity. It is unwavering firmness and strength that truly embody a Holy Maiden’s qualities.
In that regard, Julia was already a proper Holy Maiden.
“Leo nee-chan.”
“Yes. Why do you call?”
“Sis, do you like Tia’s mom?”
“I do. She’s such a wonderful person, your mom.”
“Mhuh, no. I was asking if you want to marry her.”
“What······.”
In an instant, Leopard’s face reddened like a beet.
Thinking that Tia, of all people, had caught on to this crush made him suddenly feel embarrassed.
“Listen well! I’m not some pervert who’s lost in base desires! I love your mom as a person, as an individual! Have you heard of platonic love? It’s not vulgar or anything; it’s a pure love! Got it?”
“M-muhh······.”
Leopard, panicking, started a rapid-fire rant before Tia even asked.
Of course, while saying that, Leopard felt guilt himself.
The claims that there were no urges and it was platonic love were all lies.
After ranting for a bit, Leopard belatedly shut his mouth tightly.
He just realized how ugly he must look.
“Mhuh. I don’t know what it is, but Tia will support you, Leo nee-chan!”
“Tia······!”
Leopard, moved, hugged Tia tightly.
At that moment, lightning struck, and a shadow appeared at the end of the corridor.
Though only a faint silhouette was revealed, Leopard immediately recognized its identity.
“Tia. Can you go stay by your mom for a moment? I’ll go to the bathroom.”
“Mhu! Hurry back!”
“Got it. I’ll come back and play with you again.”
Tia scampered back towards the reception room, and Leopard walked the corridor with a stiff expression.
He tried to put his hands in his pockets, but since women’s clothing had no pockets, Leopard’s hands only awkwardly flailed in the air.
Just as Leopard was passing halfway down the corridor, a shadow began to grow larger around the corner, revealing Duke Dragania.
He appeared to be fairly amused.
“You’re looking quite feminine.”
“Please don’t tease······.”
“I meant it as a compliment. I hope you continue dressing like this.”
“······.”
Leopard was no longer a Hero or anything else.
There was no need to dress as a man to maintain the strong Hero image.
Leopard seriously contemplated whether he would continue to wear women’s clothing like this in the future.
“I don’t want to play the fool. Please answer me. Is the sealing fully completed?”
“There were no errors whatsoever. Aerial is completely sealed, so you can rest easy. Or do you wish to hope that the sealing hasn’t been done perfectly?”
“That’s not the case. Is there no risk of Aerial’s memories resurfacing and consuming Julia’s body?”
“There’s no absolute certainty. However, the likelihood is close to none. Unless some elaborate unsealing technique created by Makarov is activated again.”
The method of completely erasing memories could not be used.
Since Julia’s body recovered everything, even the removed memories would revert to original.
The best approach was to cast the sealing technique through Julia’s heart, isolating Aerial’s memories deep within her consciousness where it couldn’t reach.
That was possible due to Julia being under the curse of eternal life that endlessly healed her.
Still, because it was in the form of sealing, if an unfortunate accident occurred, where Julia’s heart burst and then healed, or if Tia’s anti-magic beam struck Julia directly, Aerial could be resurrected.
However, this was the safest and most reliable sealing method available at the moment.
With that, Leopard sighed in relief.
“Huh. That’s all I needed to say. I don’t see any further reason to see you, Duke.”
“Are you leaving the villa already? That’s a bit disappointing.”
“No, isn’t it you who’s leaving, Duke?”
“Oh. Didn’t I mention? I’ve decided to stay in the villa again from now on. Julia insisted so much.”
“······.”
Leopard’s brow furrowed sharply.
As the Duke naturally began to head toward the reception room where Julia was, Leopard turned his footsteps toward the reception room as well.
Without either of them going first, their pace gradually quickened until they found themselves racing ahead of one another.
“Don’t be mistaken. Surely you don’t think the Duke has a chance? You rapist.”
“It seems you’re the one who’s mistaken. Can you persuade Julia with a woman’s body? Besides, you’re about to return home, aren’t you? I am an immortal race suitable for Julia who lives forever.”
“Hmph. Are you bragging about being of a different race? Moreover, Julia doesn’t know your true identity right now. How will she react when she learns the truth?”
“We can just ensure she never finds out.”
“You’re audacious!”
“I’ve heard that to win love, one must be audacious. Am I wrong?”
“Don’t be ridiculous! There’s a degree of ugliness!”
“Isn’t someone who lusts for a same-sex body ugly?”
“Hrk!”
A fierce mental battle took place between the two men as they walked quickly down the corridor.
Soon, they both pushed the door to the reception room almost simultaneously.
‘By any means necessary, I will seize Julia.’
The two shared the same thought, glaring at one another.
