Chapter 21: The Hero Lost Crucial Memories
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
Lying down soaking wet was just terrible. After a while, the Demon King came back to his senses, sat up, and summoned a servant.
…
After bathing and changing clothes, the Demon King decided to shove the foggy behavior from earlier out of his mind. He refused to think about how strange it was to be running around all drenched. Having been plagued by rumors for so long, he finally called over the marquis.
The marquis confirmed, “So the task is to monitor the rumors that the Demon King stole the Hero’s lover and report the latest developments to Your Majesty?”
Known as the most sensitive to information among the demons and a social butterfly by nature, the marquis carefully verified his mission from the Demon King’s words. The Demon King emphasized, “No, the task is to report on the disappearance of the rumors. Focus on the key point, Marquis. I only want to hear that.”
He didn’t want to hear again about how terrible the Demon King version of himself supposedly was, nor about how beautiful and pitiful the human realm version of himself was portrayed. After the headache that caused, he chose to filter the news by keywords. All he needed to know was whether the rumors had disappeared and how effective this trip had been.
The marquis nodded. “Understood, Your Majesty.”
At last, the Demon King laid back down with peace of mind.
***
The first time the marquis was summoned, he reported, “The rumors still spread widely throughout the human realm.” People had resumed criticizing the Demon King’s cruelty, especially since the Hero had been dumped countless times in some corner of the human lands.
The marquis, following the Demon King’s special request, only shared part of the information. The Demon King tilted his head and sat on his throne. “Alright, I see.” His headache began to worsen.
The second time, the marquis reported, “The rumors are still widespread, but the level of discussion has dropped a bit.”
The Hero in the rumors seemed to be slowly disappearing from certain places. People talked about it less. The Demon King nodded after hearing this. “Good. I look forward to your next report, Marquis.”
He tapped his fingers lightly on the throne’s armrest, starting to believe this trip had been effective. Thinking back to the Hero’s behavior during their last confrontation, he twitched the corner of his mouth. So that’s how passive resistance looks during a final battle. Seriously, was this generation’s Hero stupid enough to commit suicide?
The third time, the marquis came proactively. “The rumors have slowly faded into everyday life. Now, people only mention them occasionally when suddenly reminded.”
Instead, news about a certain princess’s upcoming wedding or a prince hosting a feast took over. The Demon King said, “Very well, Marquis. Your mission is complete. Choose whichever reward you desire.”
After receiving the outcome he wanted, the Demon King smiled, nodded with satisfaction, and sent the marquis off to pick his reward himself. Then, happily, he ran back to his chambers.
In his room, the Demon King reviewed his recent routines and range of activities. Relieved to have shaken off the rumors, he happily planned ahead. After quickly rejecting the idea of staying longer at the castle, he mapped out seven travel spots throughout the demon realm. Each spot looked interesting and perfect for traveling during the pleasant autumn weather.
Then the Demon King packed himself and his belongings and declared a holiday. Before his break, he visited the magical vines and the newly sprouted magic plants he had recently planted. The magical vines sighed, “We’ve been treated so unfairly.”
Soon after, the marquis sent the latest update: “I heard, Your Majesty, the rumors you care about have started to spread again in certain places…”
After learning this from the vines, the Demon King returned to the castle with a pounding headache. The marquis’s newest report hit him like a bomb, making his head throb and his temper flare.
…
The magical vines said that the Hero once ventured into the Deathlands and had restrained them and their companions’ hunting and living habits.
—Two foolish rabbits had wandered over when the Demon King was away, nibbling on the leftover leaves of the magical plants nearby. After boldly munching on those remnants, they even dared to nibble on the magical vines themselves.
After a series of interactions and a growing understanding, the magical vines, the rabbits, and the newborn bunnies reached an agreement: the rabbits would lure prey to the vines and other magical plants nearby, and in return, the vines would allow the rabbits to feed on them.
Before the Hero imposed restrictions, they had collectively caught thirteen wolves, eight eagles, and a few other fierce beasts. But after the Hero’s constraints, their behavior and range of activity were greatly limited. They felt very wronged.
The marquis reported that the Hero had appeared near a certain country and once again came to rescue his lover. So the peaceful calm the Demon King desired suddenly turned into turbulent waves. When the marquis came to report the latest news, the Demon King, shocked and suffering from a headache, interrogated him on all the previous information. The marquis revealed everything he knew before the Demon King, exhausted, waved him off and allowed him to take away the dresses he had already selected as rewards.
After being surprised by these dual sources of news about the Hero’s movements, the Demon King traveled to that “certain country” the marquis mentioned. There, after locating the Hero, he watched as the Hero swore to drive away monsters and help the residents return home. The Demon King felt the world was somewhat absurd and bleak.
Never mind how the so-called army looked more like children playing house, but dear Hero, didn’t you already know your so-called lover was just a misunderstanding? Didn’t you slowly disappear after learning the truth? Didn’t you practically put the rumors to rest?
“So, Hero, what exactly are you doing now?” When the Hero was leading his troops to drive away the so-called monsters, the Demon King heard a soldier nearby ask what he was doing, and the Hero replied that he was going to rescue his lover.
The Demon King stepped out from the nearby forest, brushing through falling leaves, and raised his hand to cast a magic circle. The Hero was just about to drive away and handle the magical baby rabbits disturbing the villagers’ lives. While chatting and encouraging himself, he heard a familiar voice—
“Joshua?” Amid the autumn breeze and falling leaves, the Hero turned at the sound and saw a familiar figure crossing through the trees. The figure wore the same cold, bad-tempered expression he had seen before. “Joshua!”
The Hero glanced at those beside him. Seeing their matching expressions, he confirmed someone had indeed appeared beneath the trees. After much time had passed, he joyfully hurried forward, stood before the Demon King, and excitedly pulled the Demon King’s hand.
“We’ve been apart so long. I’ve missed you so much. I really have. Let’s stop fighting, okay? I don’t want to go through what happened last time again. If we don’t fight, we won’t separate, and if we don’t separate, then…”
“What fighting?” The Demon King waved his hand, brushing off the Hero’s attempt to hold him like clearing away a magic circle, confused. At the last meeting, had they even fought? Wasn’t it just stating facts and dueling?
Remembering the Hero’s lack of cooperation last time, the Demon King withdrew his hand and looked at the Hero as if he didn’t understand what he was talking about, headache threatening.
Thinking the Demon King was still angry, the Hero said, “It was about habits and something concerning a person from Iso Town… Anyway, let’s not fight anymore, okay? After this separation, I think when we face problems, we should try to understand each other more, think about why the other is upset. I mean, I won’t force you to keep doing things you don’t like anymore.”
He added quickly, “Except when it involves principles.”
The Hero smiled and took a step back, eyes full of hope as he looked at his lover whom they had been apart from so long. The Demon King’s expression shifted multiple times under that hopeful gaze. Recalling the argument he had staged before leaving the village to drive the Hero away, and remembering the Hero’s mention of “last time,” the Demon King’s face darkened slightly. He twitched his lips and said, “Hero, are you sure there’s nothing wrong with your brain?”
The Hero replied, “I’m okay?”
…
From their conversation, the Demon King realized the Hero had lost his memory—specifically the memories about their last meeting. He pushed away the Hero who kept leaning in.
“…Stop pretending. I’ve already played the amnesia card before. Could you be a little more original? Also, the fact that I’m the Demon King doesn’t change just because you forgot. So, cut it out, okay?”
After driving away the demonized rabbits, the Hero was leading the Demon King to claim a bounty. “Pretending what? Oh, by the way, Joshua, last time I got a book from a kind auntie. Princess Lilia said it’s interesting but not recommended for reading too much. Want to take a look?”
***
Everyone spoke similar words, and everything seemed to follow its destined pattern. Like the legend said, the Hero was meant to defeat the Demon King or be defeated by him; like the princess in the story, destined to be taken away and then rescued. But everything had slipped off the predetermined path. Nothing was as it once seemed.
After leaving Courage Town, the Hero stepped away from the crowds and the center of problems and set off on his own journey.
Along the way, summer’s blazing sun shone as usual. Everyone lived and worked within their own spaces. The Hero was still the smiling, helpful figure everyone knew. After lending a hand here and there, he disappeared from sight once more.
He glanced around at the lush trees and chirping birds, feeling the sunlight still fall warmly on him, and moved toward an unknown future. The Demon King kidnapping the princess marked the start of the story; the Hero was supposed to rescue her and defeat evil.
Replace the princess with anyone else, and the story remained the same. The Hero still needed to save the innocent. But what if there were no “innocent people”?
After leaving Courage Town, surrounded by well-wishers, the Hero answered with actions. After getting lost, he tried to keep going the wrong way, shaking his head when questioned. And so the Hero finally embarked on his adult journey of growth. The rumors’ tales slowly faded away with summer turning into autumn, disappearing without a trace through repeated denials.
“Good morning.”After wandering who knew where for a long time, the Hero greeted a companion from the previous day on another morning. Once again, beneath autumn’s morning dew, he left that place behind. He repeatedly resupplied here, departed from there, gradually moving beyond the reach of familiar faces and into sparsely populated lands.
Until he saw monsters. The Hero paused and looked puzzled at the small white rabbit standing not far away. It was delicate and cute, with pure white fur. Its red eyes sparkled from its snowy coat as it blinked at him. Except for the visible swirl of magical power surrounding it, nothing else seemed strange.
The Hero observed the rabbit and the somewhat familiar surroundings, recalling the two little white rabbits he’d lost in the Deathlands. He glanced back at the rabbit and thought of his own smile—one he believed was far from comforting.
Then the little white rabbit, having caught the Hero’s attention, hopped away. It stopped a few steps later, glanced back, hopped again, and looked once more…
Thinking about how his smile had changed and who he often smiled at now, the Hero gripped his sword and followed. Soon after, in even more familiar surroundings, the Hero was ambushed. Two large white rabbits and a group of small ones looked at him innocently. One even casually nibbled on some nearby magical vines, crunching them crisply. The magical vines ignored the nibbling and attacked the Hero, who had been brought as prey.
Author’s Note:
I’ve got a new cover made by a fantastic artist!
Replacing my messy homemade cover really changed the vibe of the whole book (.)
After swapping it out, I had to scroll through my favorites several times just to find this novel again—seriously, like five times before I spotted it. I suddenly felt face-blind (?).
I wonder if readers might glance at the new cover and, like me, not recognize the book right away or even wonder where it went…
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