Chapter 25: Rainy Days Go Best with Magic and Getting Lost
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
Because of the Hero’s faint, sensitive emotions, the Demon King spent the next few days feeding him medicine under the name of “strange-flavored candy.” But no matter what name it went by, medicine tasted nothing like candy.
The Hero wasn’t without suspicion. Yet every time he doubted it, the Demon King would confidently pop a few pills into his own mouth right in front of him, insisting it was just some bizarre specialty he’d picked up while traveling.
And so, the Hero’s doubts would be put off—at least until the next morning, when they would fade entirely. Then, he would “accidentally” run into the Demon King again, light up with joy, confess his longing or affection, listen as the Demon King shifted the blame onto the princess once more, and accept—with only mild confusion—the strange candy that didn’t quite taste right.
On the rare occasions they returned to the apothecary for checkups—
“Where were you yesterday? Do you remember?” the physician asked curiously, staring at the Hero.
The Hero, who was sitting quietly in front of the physician, looked at the Demon King and recalled his own fragmented memories. “Yesterday…”
When he woke up, he’d been in the inn. So yesterday must have been…
“Yesterday, I was traveling on the road,” he said seriously. “I found an inn, stayed there, and then woke up in my room this morning. After that, when I went outside, fate led me to Joshua, and I came here with him.” Then, lowering his voice, he added, “You know… it must have been destiny, right? Otherwise, what are the odds that out of all the inns here, I’d choose the one closest to you? Or that I’d meet you right when I stepped outside? Or that, just when I was about to miss you, fate gave me the chance to fix that mistake?”
The Demon King: …
“Just prescribe the medicine,” the Demon King told the physician flatly. “Or, if there’s anywhere else nearby—someplace more specialized—give me a name.”
He had no interest in the Hero’s ramblings about fate. After all, every so-called coincidence had been orchestrated by him. He simply nodded at the Hero’s words, using that gesture to smother any further speculation, then turned back to the physician.
The Hero, reassured, beamed. The physician, however, looked baffled as he scribbled down another prescription. Then he hesitated and added, “Well, there is someone… a senior physician in the neighboring city. Honestly, he’s far better than I am—he’s cured countless rare conditions.”
The Demon King paid for the medicine, yanked the Hero by the arm, and dragged him out before he could ask what kind of “rare illness” required such a specialist. Behind them, the physician called out:
“Thank you for the generous payment, kind-hearted citizen!”
The Demon King glanced back and replied, “Oh.”
Then he gave the Hero’s arm another tug, pulling him away from staring back at the apothecary. “Let’s go.”
The ever-trusting Hero, who always merged his waking memories seamlessly with his dreams, followed without complaint.
***
The Demon King, once he reclaimed his full identity and wealth, was a very rich demon. The highest-ranking kind. Which meant that when it came to paying for treatment, he gave money based entirely on mood.
The physician had been polite enough, so the Demon King had paid generously. Unfortunately, that simple act made the Hero leap to one disastrous conclusion—
Rare illness. Enormous medical fees. Searching for a renowned physician. Put together, it could only mean… The Hero’s face went pale. As the Demon King dragged him away, the Hero looked at his silent figure ahead, glanced back at the apothecary, and finally stammered out, “J-Joshua…?”
“Hm?” the Demon King replied without turning his head. The Hero froze in place, forcing the Demon King to stop and turn slightly. “W-what… what exactly are you sick with?” the Hero asked, voice trembling. The Demon King gave his usual answer. “Amnesia.”
He frowned slightly, impatient. The Hero immediately exhaled in relief. “Oh…”
His shoulders loosened, his pace steadied, and he followed the Demon King obediently again. The Demon King, satisfied, pulled him along as they set off toward the neighboring city.
“Why?” he asked suddenly. “From the sound of it, you seemed… emotional.”
The Hero gave a small, sheepish laugh and admitted his misunderstanding, treating it like a joke.
The Demon King: “… Please,” the Demon King muttered dryly, “stop cursing me, Hero.”
He shot a sidelong glance at the Hero—this walking disaster who was blissfully unaware that his own imagination was the true danger here. Because of the Demon King’s request—and his funding—a carriage promptly pulled up right outside the inn.
The Hero, carrying what he thought was the Demon King’s medicine, went upstairs. As usual, the Demon King kept tossing disguised “strange-flavored candy” at him for consumption. After a moment, the Demon King muttered, “Mind if I borrow your body for a bit?”
He leaned against the Hero to catch up on some sleep. The Hero, juggling the many medicines and luggage, just nodded, “Sure.”
After the recent scare, he was especially willing to accommodate any request—especially small ones like this. Then— The carriage, rushed to steal the business from competitors, broke down halfway there. Wanting to avoid the excuse of running late before the Hero’s memory reset at midnight, the Demon King was silent for a moment.
The Hero, assuming they were rushing to see a doctor, looked worried and said, “Uh… shall we just go on foot then?”
The driver called out, “Wait, I’ll fix it soon—just a moment…”
As he spoke, the carriage broke down a little more.
The Demon King tossed him some money, “Forget it, let’s go.”
The Hero checked the carriage once, then followed quickly, carrying the luggage.
Then— As the clear white clouds above quickly turned into dark storm clouds, the Demon King glanced up, frowned as the first raindrop fell, and muttered, “What’s going on today?”
The Hero grabbed his arm and started running. “I don’t know, but it looks like trouble…”
Seeing the Demon King frown, the Hero pulled him toward a big tree. The Demon King, feeling like everything was going wrong, frowned harder and shot a look at the source of it all—the Hero. Once under the tree, the Hero said with a smile, “This rain will probably stop soon, no worries.”
Rain poured down, splattering on the leaves, making them tremble and dance with each drop. The wind blew fiercely, pushing rain even under the tree’s canopy, shaking the branches in wild gusts.
Under this sudden, relentless storm, the Hero took off his jacket to shield the still-ill Demon King and said, “I’ll go see if there’s any proper shelter nearby.”
The tree was no longer enough protection—especially as the rain intensified without sign of letting up. The Hero wrapped the jacket around the Demon King and said,
“Wait for me here.” Without another word, he dashed off down the road. The Demon King frowned deeply—this wasn’t looking good. “Wait—” he called out, but the Hero was already swallowed by the sheets of rain. The Demon King muttered to himself, “Can he even find his way back?”
Looking up at the storm clouds, he raised a hand and gestured.
“Boom.”
As if answering the command, patches of the dark clouds began to break apart and vanish.
“Boom.”
“Boom.”
“Boom.”
“Boom.” After a little self-voiced “boom” effect, the dark clouds in the sky completely vanished.
Once the rain stopped, the Demon King pulled the Hero’s wet clothes off himself, glanced at the luggage and medicines—half soaked by the rain—and grabbed a bottle of the disguised “strange-flavored candy” before heading off. The Hero? Of course, he didn’t know where he’d run off to this time.
Although the Demon King had a natural dislike for the Hero, for some special reasons, this dislike wasn’t as sharp or as sensitive as the Hero’s intuition. It certainly didn’t allow the Demon King to sense or track the Hero’s whereabouts from a distance.
So, when the Demon King finally found the Hero lost by the roadside, it was long after—hours passing from afternoon into evening. The Hero ran up when he saw the Demon King, “I… found a cave…” Even though the rain had stopped a long time ago.
The Demon King replied, “Oh.” Judging by your expression, you know you messed up, huh? With the Hero looking guilty, the Demon King pulled him back along the path, occasionally glancing up at the sky. With the clouds cleared, stars and the moon appeared. The Demon King thought about the time, quickened his pace, and dragged the Hero along. After retrieving their belongings, he said, “Alright, let’s head to this cave you found.”
Looking at the time, they wouldn’t make it to the neighboring town before the Hero’s memory reset again. The Hero, feeling a bit useful for once, said, “Yeah! It’s this way…” Wait, which way was that again?
…
Anyway, after some descriptions from the Hero, the Demon King managed to find the cave. Upon arrival, he looked at the Hero, who was starting to look headache-ridden but was still holding up.
“Sleep.”
At a fixed time, the Hero would fall asleep and wake again, everything resetting. For several days in a row, the Demon King—who mostly understood the situation—would push the Hero into the cave just as he was about to collapse.
The Hero slept inside the cave. The picky Demon King couldn’t possibly sleep in there. After staying inside a while, the Demon King went out to look at the stars and moon he had somehow “created.”
Looking at the human settlements scattered around, the forest, the trees, and the moonlight, memories from a long, long time ago surfaced in his mind. So long ago that the Demon King wasn’t even sure if his memories were accurate anymore.
As dawn approached, he left— Only to find the Hero, whom he expected to meet on the way back… Was gone again?? The Demon King tilted his head at the empty cave. He even considered just blasting out some magic to forcibly summon the Hero back from wherever he had wandered off to.
Author’s note:
The Hero: “Today, I’ll show you how to shelter from rain outdoors!”
Said while running headfirst toward a thunder-attracting giant tree in the storm.
Demon King: “Today, I’ll teach you a magic for finding people.”
Raises his hand and causes the cave to shake and partially collapse.
Author: “And today, I’ll show you what it means when the author runs out of things to say.”
= =＋ ← That’s how it is.
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