Episode 12
“Yurina.”
“Yes.”
“First — sit down.”
“…Yes.”
At Teresia’s return and that instruction, I found myself naturally settling into formal seiza on the floor of the room.
Seeing me so proper and contrite, she laughed, looking somewhat troubled. “No, you don’t need to be quite that sorry about it.”
“I’m not planning to get angry — well, only a little.”
“I am truly, deeply sorry.”
“…Yurina, did you do something wrong? Apologizing like that implies you have something specific in mind.”
“Ah, if I explain it myself it’ll probably just dig the hole deeper, so I’d rather not be the one to bring it up…”
“Hmm. Then I suppose I’ll have to press you on it myself.”
She let out a breath.
Then Teresia asked, “Unless I’m mistaken, though—”
“Did you use the demon lord’s power?”
“Yes.”
“Is your body alright? Nothing hurting anywhere?”
“Nothing hurts, but… given the situation, that’s hardly the main concern right now…”
Once I’d used the demon lord’s power, Teresia the saint and I were meant to become enemies.
No — to begin with, I, the demon lord, had chosen self-destruction back then, and it had conveniently seemed as though only the “demon lord” part of me had vanished.
That premise itself had been wrong from the start.
Both Teresia and I would need to rethink everything going forward.
“First, Yurina — I think—”
“Yes.”
“Right now you’re able to hold a normal conversation with me like this. You’re keeping your reason, aren’t you?”
“…At least, I believe I’m being normal right now. No sign so far of being swallowed by madness and going on a rampage. Not so far, anyway.”
“Next, then. What exactly did you do earlier?”
Teresia glanced toward the window, where the sunset had already sunk and the sky was darkening.
“I was fighting monsters that had gone feral. But suddenly they calmed down, and at the same moment, I sensed Yurina’s presence.”
“That part’s honestly hard to explain, since it was pretty instinctive. The simplest way to put it is that I used the demon lord’s power to calm the monsters down.”
“So you’re saying you can properly control the demon lord’s power?”
“That’s my intention, for now.”
“I see.”
Teresia nodded deeply.
Then she fell silent and seemed to start thinking something over.
After a long pause, the first thing she said was, “For now, though — isn’t that a good thing?”
“At the very least, you didn’t suddenly get swallowed by the demon lord’s power and go on a rampage — if anything, it’s the opposite. You used your reason to dispel its influence.”
“That’s true, but… I don’t know how long that’ll hold.”
“That’s certainly something to think about going forward. But I don’t think we need to worry about it right now — first, I’m just glad you’re safe.”
Teresia let her shoulders drop, releasing the tension she’d been holding.
It seemed she’d been unconsciously tensed up this whole time without realizing it.
Her fists had been clenched tight, and her expression had been somewhat rigid too.
Now, seeming relieved, her complexion looked brighter.
“For now, I’m just glad you’re safe. That’s enough for me.”
“…Yeah.”
But that was also, in its way, just putting the problem off.
I had no intention, at least, of suddenly being swallowed by madness and rampaging.
But this wasn’t a problem that could be solved by feelings alone.
…Someday, a time might come when I lose my reason entirely.
When that happens, will the story — fate — trace the same ending?
Will I choose to end my own life again, the same as before?
Or will I end up dying by Teresia’s hand instead?
“…”
Either way.
The story of the demon lord and the saint still hadn’t ended.
“Hey, Teresia.”
“What is it, Yurina?”
“You—”
Suppose, hypothetically.
Suppose I really did become the demon lord this time, for real.
Would you actually be able to kill me?
But that question never left my mouth. Instead, all I managed was a vague deflection: “Anyway, I’m tired today, let’s just go to sleep.”
And perhaps Teresia sensed that too.
Narrowing her eyes, wearing her usual gentle smile, she said, “It’ll be alright,” patting my head softly.
“…Treating me like a child?”
“It’s because I trust you, Yurina. Whatever happens, I’ll be with you.”
“That’s a heavy amount of trust to carry.”
“You and I are childhood friends. Close friends. I think that much weight of trust is allowed between us, don’t you?”
“I want to be the kind of person worthy of that trust from you.”
Even so, I couldn’t honestly believe from the bottom of my heart that things would stay alright going forward, and I thought that, when the time came, I should be prepared to make my choice.
And yet.
“Teresia.”
“What is it?”
“I love you.”
She blinked, eyes widening.
Then she said:
“…Yes. I love you too, Yurina.”