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The Demon King’s horn was cut off. The owner of the voice that echoed in the room, which I thought was just me and the Demon King, was none other than Luna.

Even after entering the castle, Luna had been silent and stayed out of sight. She didn’t even show herself during my battle with Keltus.

Of course, I never once thought she was in danger. Luna’s stealth skills had long since surpassed my own, making it difficult for me to sense her presence when she hid.

I couldn’t believe she’d even deceive the Demon King’s perception, but seeing the Demon King caught off guard by the loss of a single horn, it seemed like even he couldn’t sense her presence.

“Are you okay, senpai?”

As I caught my breath after escaping the Demon King’s grasp, a look of surprise appeared on the Demon King’s otherwise expressionless face.

“I’m not hurt in any way. Thanks for helping me at just the right moment.”

This was also the reason I wasn’t overly worried after being grabbed by the Demon King. Even though I couldn’t sense Luna’s presence, I trusted her as a companion.

In a way, Luna had turned into my spare life.

Moreover, it seemed that Luna, even if only vaguely, understood the situation from the conversation between the Demon King and me, choosing to cut off his horn instead of aiming for his neck. Well, perhaps she simply couldn’t target his neck, but still.

What would happen if a person suddenly became one-armed?

It wouldn’t just end with the loss of an arm. A swordsman would struggle to balance themselves and properly execute their sword techniques, while a magician wouldn’t be able to form spells effectively. Especially if the lost arm was the one they primarily used? Eating would be a struggle.

For a demonic being, a horn likely carries even more significance than an arm.

I didn’t know what kind of hindrance a single cut-off horn would bring to the Demon King, but one thing was certain; the situation had shifted slightly in our favor.

As Luna, who had just made a big impact, looked at the Demon King, who bore a striking resemblance to me, her expression became complex, filled with a desire to speak. However, she pushed that aside for now and came over to me.

Instead of hiding again in the darkness, Luna expressed her concern for me. No matter how great Luna’s stealth was, once she had revealed herself, it would be almost impossible to launch another stealth attack on the Demon King, who was now aware of her presence.

Even if the Demon King was weakened by the loss of a horn, he was still the Demon King. He wouldn’t be foolish enough to fall for the same ambush twice.

“If you’re grateful, let’s go on another date later!”

“…That suddenly sounds very out of the blue, doesn’t it?”

It didn’t seem like a topic worthy to be brought up in the Demon King’s castle, especially in front of the Demon King, yet Luna continued to insist.

“But I barely remember our last date because I was drunk! Right? Right? You’ll go on a date with me, right? If I don’t insist this much, it’ll be hard for us to be alone because of those other ladies!”

‘Ladies’? How casually she speaks words that could flip over if other friends heard! Even I, despite being the same age as my friends… wait, that’s not right. I’ve gotten used to playing the role of ‘Elysia Frentz,’ so I often forget, but in reality, I’m two years younger than Selian and the same age as Frecia.

Hmm… at this point, I’m quite a step away from what Luna calls “ladies.”

“Alright. Since I understand, go back and help the others for now. From here on, I can handle it alone.”

As an assassin who had already revealed herself, I would have nothing I could do against someone stronger than me. Of course, if I were more than just a simple assassin and had some prowess as a swordsman, that would be a different story; but sadly, the most Luna could do in this situation was give me some encouragement. Of course, receiving her encouragement would give me some strength, but it wouldn’t be of much practical help.

Luna, being the cold and quick-witted assassin that she was, understood this fact and merely frowned for a moment without being stubborn.

“…You promised. If you break the promise, I will chase you to the grave!”

Realizing that helping our comrades more quickly down below would ultimately help me, Luna quickly left, leaving me alone with the Demon King.

By the way, a date with Luna… Remembering how I was swept away by a drunk Luna from last time made my face flush with embarrassment.

“Well, isn’t it common sense that a hero shouldn’t be alone? This much is acceptable, isn’t it?”

Putting aside such pointless thoughts for a moment, I picked up the Holy Sword I had dropped on the floor and threw a joke at the Demon King. It seemed to be so lacking in humor that the Demon King did not react at all.

“Alright, then let’s start round two. I won’t be caught off guard so easily this time.”

However, the Demon King seemed to be in quite a shock from having his horn cut off, as he stood there, still dazed and swaying when I tried to speak to him.

“Urgh… How is this… even possible…?”

Even if losing a horn was a significant blow, this reaction seemed a bit excessive, didn’t it? It seemed he couldn’t believe that a mere assassin had fooled his senses and delivered such an ambush.

Yet that was only for a moment. As if he had collected himself, the Demon King’s furrowed brows slowly relaxed, and he straightened his bent back.

And, unlike before, where his eyes were filled with emptiness, now they were full of life as he looked at me.

“Zeno…”

The voice calling my name was warm.

—

There was a girl. To be precise, she was not an ordinary girl. In the world, there are children who are abandoned by their parents because of poverty, and children who, despite deserving love, do not receive it.

Compared to those children, the girl, born into a wealthy noble family, surrounded by loving parents, and with a sibling whom she can share love with, couldn’t really be called ordinary, but it wouldn’t be wrong to say she was a happy girl.

Each day was filled with bliss.

When she opened her eyes in the morning, she was greeted by the adorable face of her younger sibling, with whom she had fallen asleep holding hands due to last night’s thunderstorm. Although she usually woke up several minutes before her sibling, she always found herself getting out of bed right when her sibling woke up because she was busy admiring their cute face.

The morning began well. Today seemed to be a little more joyful than usual. The girl whispered to herself with a giggle.

“Oh, our daughter. You seem to be in such a good mood today! Did something good happen?”

“Hehe, it’s a secret!”

During the time she greeted her parents in the morning, her mother asked, grinning as she saw her daughter’s bright face. Yet the girl kept her reason for feeling good in the morning a secret, wanting to monopolize the image of her adorable sibling.

Of course, her mother could easily see through the little girl’s secret. So rather than questioning her daughter, she responded playfully.

“I’m glad to see you in such good spirits. It seems you’ll be able to enjoy today’s history lesson!”

“Eek…”

Just as her mother expected, the girl’s expression twisted immediately. If she were to name her second least favorite thing recently, undoubtedly, it would be the dreadfully boring history lessons she had just begun. Of course, her first was the carrots in stew, but the fact that anything could be just as bad as that was a shocking revelation for the girl.

“Sister, sister! Can I join you?”

If it weren’t for the cute sibling next to them, who would draw cute pictures with a little finger on her tiny notepad, the girl would have immediately selected history lessons as her first pick. Over that nasty carrot!

“Sure, of course! If you don’t understand anything during the lesson, you can ask me anytime!”

The girl proudly puffs out her chest while placing her hands on her hips, wanting to appear as a proud older sister. Just as she had hoped, her sibling looked up at her with sparkling eyes.

The fact that she usually got one or two questions wrong compared to her younger sibling in their written quizzes didn’t matter much to either of them.

“Hoho, my son. Isn’t it about time you began learning the sword from me?”

“But reading and writing are more important… Swordsmanship is too hard.”

Nervous and scared, the boy mumbled with his head hung low.

“A man should have strength. After all, if fearsome monsters were to show up, wouldn’t you need to protect your family?”

Instead of responding bravely to his father’s words, the boy flinched at the term ‘fearsome monster’ while grabbing his sister’s sleeve tightly.

“It’s okay! Protecting you is the older sister’s role!”

The girl confidently thumped her chest and declared on behalf of her younger brother. She was also afraid of scary things, but she wouldn’t let that stop her when it came to her sibling.

“Hoho…”

The father, who had dreamed of building a bond through sword training with his son, now had to wonder whether he should feel sad about being abandoned by his son or if he should feel grateful that at least his daughter would save him, only letting out a forced chuckle.

Just like that, another day passed filled with lessons alongside her sibling, sneaking out to play in the garden during break time, getting dirt all over her from playing, and both receiving a light scolding from their mother, yet giggling all the while; it was an ordinary but happy day.

The girl was utterly satisfied with the day well spent and closed her eyes, soon drifting off to dreamland.

—

Early in the morning, the girl opened her eyes. She was greeted by the adorable face of her younger sibling, whom she had fallen asleep holding hands with last night due to the thunder. Although she usually woke up several minutes early, she always found herself getting out of bed right when her sibling did, thanks to the urge to admire their cute face.

Wait? Did it rain last night? Was there thunder?

A fleeting question crossed her mind, but it was just that—fleeting. Seeing the cute face of her sibling breathing softly right in front of her quickly wiped that question away.

“Oh, our daughter. You seem to be in such a good mood today! Did something good happen?”

“Hehe, it’s a secret!”

When she came to greet her mother, the girl responded.

“I’m glad to see you in such good spirits. It seems you’ll enjoy today’s history lesson!”

“Eek…”

“Can I join too, sister?”

“Sure! If you don’t understand anything during the lesson, you can ask me anytime!”

Although her mood dipped briefly at her mother’s words, she quickly recovered upon hearing her sibling’s question.

“A man should have strength. If fearsome monsters were to show up, wouldn’t you need to protect your family?”

“It’s okay! Protecting you is the older sister’s role!”

And so, the girl once again basked in her happy and fulfilling day, only to lie back in bed and drift off to sleep.

—

The girl opened her eyes in the morning, meeting yet again the face of her adorable sibling as she welcomed the day.

Despite her gloomy thoughts at the mention of history lessons, she couldn’t help but smile brightly back at her sibling’s words.

She declared once more that it was her role to protect her little sibling.

Thus, she spent another fulfilling day and lay back in bed, feeling happy once again.

—

Every day, filled with love from her family, her lovely days felt almost like a dream come true.

Yesterday.

Today.

Tomorrow.

“Sister…?”

“Uh, yes?”

The girl turned in surprise at the suddenly raised voice of her sibling. Looking back, she saw her sibling gazing at her with a worried look. Even the anxious expression was unbearably adorable.

Now, what were they talking about?

“A man should have strength. If fearsome monsters were to show up, wouldn’t you need to protect your family?”

Ah, right. Her father always spoke to her younger sibling, persuading them about the sword, and she would respond this way each time.

“It’s okay! Protecting you is the older sister’s role!”

However, for some reason, after having given such a confident answer, the girl tilted her head. It felt like she had forgotten something.

“Sister? Are you sick? You can’t be sick…”

Since she was behaving unlike her usual self, her sibling voiced their worry nervously. Even though it somehow sounded like a girl’s voice.

Ah.

Only then did she finally realize why it felt like something was eerily familiar.

The reiterated sweet days were far too blissful. She had loving parents and an adored sibling. There were no trials and tribulations like in hero stories, only joy all around. It seemed foolish to deny this happiness.

If she just ignored it for a while and pretended, then she could savor today just like yesterday, like the day before that, like last week, like a year ago.

But when she saw her younger sibling’s worried face and heard the trembling voice filled with anxiety, she realized. This happiness was a lie, and the truth was incredibly cruel.

Ah, my poor sibling. How terrified must they have been? How difficult? Were they even fed? Were they in any pain?

Thinking of the pain her delicate and tender sibling must have endured, she knew she couldn’t allow herself this sweet dream.

She hadn’t been by their side. Not only that, but their brave sibling must have finally run out of patience, coming to find this foolish older sister.

That’s right.

She shouldn’t just show her useless self as an older sister.

So, it’s time to wake from this dream.

“Protecting my younger sibling is my role as the older sister.”

– It’s okay! Protecting you is my role as the older sister!

As I declared within the repeating days, protecting my sibling is indeed my duty.

—

Thus, ‘Elysia Frentz’ finally awakened from her long slumber and opened her eyes. The person standing before her closely resembled her mother, someone she thought she might look like when she grew up.

Despite the obvious differences, the ‘girl’ naturally spoke the name of ‘younger sibling.’

“Zeno…”

There was no doubt, no question, no hesitation in that voice.