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The war has ended.

It was the seventh year since the Demon King started his full-blown activities and the fifth year since the Hero party was formed—well, it was actually a bit longer than five years, but who’s counting?

The Elves began recording history thousands of years ago. In those vast records, the ‘Demon’ has risen and trampled the world repeatedly. Humanity and Elves managed to survive until the existence of the Goddess supported this world purely by luck.

In the long history of war, this ‘Demon’ was recorded as having the shortest active period.

However, the damage inflicted by that ‘Demon’ was no small matter. Several human cities vanished, and part of the roots of the World Tree rotted. The number of people killed by the Demon Race is still being counted, and due to the conscription of many young men during the war, a huge hole was left in the kingdom’s workforce. Just reducing the massively bloated military requires immense administrative effort.

But even such significant damage was considered relatively mild compared to all previous disasters.

The kingdom didn’t completely collapse, nor did the dynasty change; there remained enough manpower for the nation to precariously keep going. While small and medium-sized cities fell, humanity was regrouping around the populous large cities.

The Church reported that a significant portion of the corrupted territories within the kingdom could be restored within ten years. Of course, it would require the clergymen to work their bones off during that time. But it was unavoidable for humanity’s survival. Moreover, the Church did not lose the Saintess in this battle. It was thanks to the Saintess’s Divine Power that they could even think about restoring such a vast territory in just ten years.

The kingdom anticipated that even if they reduced the number of troops, their military strength wouldn’t decrease dramatically. The knights who survived the constant battles were a precious force for the kingdom. Even with the remnants of the Demon King’s army and rampaging monsters, a significant number of seasoned troops had survived, leaving the kingdom with hopeful prospects for the future.

Additionally, Knight Commander Kalia was not dead. The wounds she received in the last battle could all be healed by the holy sword left by the Hero. Kalia’s charisma and her accomplishments would greatly help prevent the breakdown of the kingdom’s military force.

Ironically, the Magic Tower made brilliant advancements during the war. The kingdom poured support into conducting various experiments that previously had only existed in theory, and they could apply that knowledge to the battlefield and observe the real power of those theories. The owner of the Magic Tower, the genius Mage Dana, like no other in history, based her new theories on those practical experiences.

Although she couldn’t complete them in time to use during this conflict, the records she established to combat the Demon King would continue to be researched steadily and become a beacon of hope for humanity. There were even optimistic predictions that next time the Demon King emerged, they might be able to suppress him before even a year passed.

The Elves would rise again.

Thanks to the sacrifices of the Hero, Arna could utilize the power gathered by the Elves instead. That power returned to the World Tree. It was preserved intact enough to regrow the rotten roots and restore the contaminated soil that the Demon had touched.

Of course, the world wasn’t perfect. Whether human or Elf, even without the ‘Demon,’ they would still clash with each other.

They would envy, hate, misunderstand, and continue to fight.

But—

Arna raised her head.

The kingdom.

Finally, the dreadful moment had ended, and the world regained peace.

With the joyful news, the troops that had been deployed on the battlefield were returning to the kingdom.

Cheers ringing in her ears.

Laughter and chatter. Someone was whistling.

Petals were pouring down with the wind. People from the second and third stories were scattering colorful petals above their heads.

“Welcome back! We celebrate the return of the Heroes!”

“Thank you for coming back alive!”

Arna turned to see who was sobbing, only to find a knight almost two heads taller than her shedding tears at the sight of the dancing petals. He was barely managing to hold back his tears.

The knight walking beside him patted his back. Thud, thud, the sound of metal hitting metal.

Finally, the people were back home.

Those who had fought with their lives now wore expressions that reflected they had come back after finishing everything.

They had also lost much.

Some lost comrades in battle, and others saw their hometowns annihilated during conscription.

All of that must be wounds. Scars that would never heal throughout their lives.

Just like Arna.

But right now.

For just this moment, they were forgetting all of that and feeling joy.

The fact that they no longer had to be in such a horrific battlefield. The fact that they could return to a warm home.

“Long live the Hero party!”

… Someone somewhere shouted such words.

“Thank you! Thank you!”

Someone was crying out like that.

Hero, party.

The group that had wandered into the most dangerous parts of the previous battlefield and fought the fiercest battles.

But now, there were no Heroes left in that Hero party.

In this world, wouldn’t it be great if we helped each other out?

Yeah, he really lived by those words.

Desiring no honor at all, just to help others.

Simply, in such a difficult situation, he helped others as someone a bit more privileged, just a good and kind person.

“……This world.”

The ‘world’ he spoke of was surely a difficult and harsh one to live in.

Thanks to his efforts, this world had become a little better to live in.

Even though the darkest parts of humans and Elves remained the same, at least they managed to escape the moments of extreme suffering.

At least,

In those very short moments where they didn’t envy or hate each other,

Joyful laughter and singing would surely fill the air.

Sometimes they would hold hands, hug, and love one another.

Because they had a chance to do all of those things.

“This world was made by you.”

But that Hero was no longer present.

The holy sword was held by Pia. She was at the very front of the procession representing humanity and did not smile for even a moment.

She merely walked quietly, holding the holy sword with both hands carefully.

“……Now that this world has become what it is, you should have been here.”

You deserved to see this world.

Arna harshly wiped her eyes.

Yeah, it’s a good day. A day to celebrate joyfully and with lasting memory.

At this moment, shouldn’t she smile?

They said the time to mourn the dead was set for the night.

It was enough to be sad then.

Someone patted Arna’s shoulder.

When she turned her head, it was Kalia. Kalia smiled at Arna and pointed towards a distant place with her finger.

The palace.

On the high point of the palace, usually where the King stands, today many people gathered there along with the King.

There were Elves there too.

Elders of the council who usually almost never leave the Capital City.

Their eyes met Arna’s.

They smiled warmly at Arna and bowed deeply.

“Good to see.”

Kalia said with a smile. Arna didn’t understand the meaning of those words at first.

And—only after a moment passed.

She remembered what she had arrogantly declared when she first joined this party.

That she had come not just to be an aide, but to be a hero, to leave her name in history. That’s what she had said.

From Kalia’s reaction now, it wasn’t mocking her at all. Instead, she seemed genuinely happy. Although they had clashed so much at first, there was an unbreakable friendship rooted between Kalia, who always protected and stood in front of Arna, and Arna, who supported her from behind.

“……Yeah.”

Arna smiled.

She hoped her expression looked like a smiling one.

But those five years were by no means a short time for Kalia. It was long enough for her to realize what kind of expression her comrade had.

“……”

Seeing Arna’s face, Kalia quickly stiffened her expression, and she patted Arna’s shoulder twice.

Then she let her arms fall weakly.

She felt sorry.

She must have said those words to ease Arna’s heart somehow.

But Arna, who had lived much longer than she did, couldn’t accept even that one thing.

Kalia must be sad too.

“……”

Dana, wearing a large-brimmed hat, was obscuring her expression. She was merely following the procession silently from the very back.

As they reached the palace, the cheers became louder.

Surely, a grand welcome ceremony would be held inside the palace.

Please, may she be able to laugh more naturally than now when that time comes.

Arna wished for that.