The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic

The banquet was really hard.

I really didn't feel alive when Master Lucas and Master Harold were arguing with sparks flying and smiles on their faces.

I could not hear the conversation very well because I was away from the place, but I am sure that they were talking about something related to me.

After the situation was settled down, I went to greet Mr. Norn, who seemed to have been the most difficult person to deal with this time.

When I saw him up close, the stagnation in his eyes was as bad as when Mr. Karon was out of control, so I gave him a healing spell as part of shaking his hand after getting his approval.

After that, the representatives talked to me ...... and I felt more tired than in a normal training session.

"Amako is going back to her hometown with Ms. Nagi, right?"

"Yes."

A day has passed since the banquet.

The representatives of each country had returned to their respective countries after the meeting, and I had come to see Amako off as she followed Hayate and the others back to Hinomoto.

On the ship docked at the port, Amako, who was standing next to Nagi-san, nodded her head in agreement with my words.

"I've got to go and punish my mother now."

"What do you mean ......?"

"I'm going to get mad at you as a daughter because you're roaming around town on a whim and annoying Hayate."

Ah, Hayate had a hard time, didn't she?

Well, I'm sure Kanoko will be happy to see Amako for the first time in a long time.

"Is Usato going to the Demon Lord's territory?"

"Oh, you know about that?"

"No, I heard something about that, and I thought if anyone was going to be chosen, it would be Usato."

"Correct. But don't spread the word too much."

I know.

Well, it's not like I'm going right away.

It's only half a month at the most, so I'll have time after I get back.

"Enjoy your hometown for the first time in a long time, Mr. Nagi."

"......"

"Mr. Nagi?"

I called out to Ms. Nagi, but she seemed to be in a daze for some reason.

Thinking it was unusual for her, I called out to her again, and she immediately came to her senses.

"Are you all right?

"Uh, ah, ah, I'm sorry. I didn't hear you."

"....... Is there something on your mind?"

It's hard to imagine this guy just sitting around.

I ask him, convinced that he is.

"....... It's about the demon who was killed, you know. I'm still wondering who killed him. ......

"I was told that the only way to kill a demon was to strengthen its lineage with hisago-san's light magic ....... Maybe he was--"

"No, that's not true. It's never going to happen, Usato."

I tried to say that he might be alive, but Mr. Nagi assured me that he was not.

"It would be possible with the skills that Hisago has. His lineage enhancement can even make the life energy of an adversary his own. He's stubborn, he's always dark, he's an old man, and he eats anything edible, even bugs. ......"

"Kannagi, hundreds of years of complaining."

"Oh, sorry, sorry."

I felt a sense of kinship with these angry words of discontent.

I've been told by Nack and Amaco in a similarly nuanced way: .......

"But no matter how rotten they are, they're still good-natured at heart. Besides, he told me to look to the future, ...... so I guess he himself didn't intend to live long."

"I see."

I wasn't going to live long, huh?

As someone who was shown his past by the demon king, I'm curious to hear what happens to him after that, but I'm not sure what will happen to him now that ...... Nagi has been sealed away and he is left alone. .......

"He's a really annoying guy. ......!　That man ......!!!!"

"Yeah. ......"

Nagi-san's words stunned me.

"Because, I was supposed to celebrate my sister's engagement if I hadn't been sealed ......!　When I woke up, there it was!　I was so confused when I woke up and saw my sister in this tiny little body!

"Tiny?　Did you just call me tiny?　Did you just call me small?　Kannagi?

"I can't believe you are my sister's descendant. ......!　And my techniques are still around, and the annoying demon king is back, and besides the awakened me, there's another soul with a personality like mine, and there's just so much going on that it's hard to keep track of it all. ......!

Well, that sounds like a lot of work.

I laugh as I step in between Amako and Nagi-san, who are both giving off a swarthy vibe.

"...... sorry, I'm distraught ......"

"I know you've been through a lot, Mr. Nagi. I don't mind."

I do care.

Amaco, who is easily rooted.

"What I can say with certainty is that I do not believe that Hisago is still alive to this day. That's why it's so puzzling. ......"

"Besides Hisago's magic, was there any other way to destroy demons or ......?"

"That's possible. ...... Well, there's nothing we can do about that now. Let's leave that kind of thing to Falga-sama and the Demon Lord."

So is that.

Master Farga and the Demon King are smart enough to know what they're doing. .......

"Hinomoto, are you still looking forward to it, Mr. Nagi?"

"I think it's changed a lot. Ha-ha-ha.

It must be a memorable place for Mr. Nagi.

"For now, I think I'll take Kannagi to Linka's parents' house. I'll show him the statue of Kannagi there."

"Really, don't do that!　I'll die in agony!"

"Ha-ha-ha."

I remember there was a bronze statue of Mr. Nagi.

I guess it must be a very complicated feeling for him to have his own statue made.

"Amako and Kannagi seeing him off?"

"Hayate, Rinca..."

"Hey, Usatoh."

While I am talking with them, Hayate and Rinka come to this place.

Hayate gives a smiling look to Rinka, who comes running toward us with an excited look on her face.

"Well, I'm glad we were able to finish the meeting safely despite the problems that arose.

"It was a tough meeting for both of us. ......"

"Ha ha ha ......"

I came here as the head of a tribe of beastmen.

I'm sure it must have been mentally hard for you, with all the prejudice and discrimination around you.

"I wasn't at the meeting, but you were great, Usato!"

"Not that great!"

"That's definitely not true!"

"How can you be so sure ......?"

And then, with a smile on his face, Linka told me it was a lie.

Is that it?　Is he talking about the time he created the Healing Cannon, the original technique of Healing Flying Fist?

Does she still think I released the fist pressure ......?

"d*mn, the pure words of Linka resonate more than the malicious words of the mascots. ......!!!"

"I think Usato has a problem with that."

"Shut up ......!"

I reply to Amako's quick quip and turn to Hayate, who is smiling at me.

"...... are we leaving soon?"

"Yes. How about you?

"I'll be coming too. I'll be in the same boat as the Demon King for two days again.

"It looks like you're having a hard time ......"

He seems to have a tendency to open up after the battle is over.

He's having fun playing with me.

He's got a really bad personality, you know?　I'm sure he thinks I'm a toy or something.

"I can see that Usato seems to be enjoying what he's doing."

"Oh, are you a demon king, too?"

I didn't expect Amako to agree with me.

Just as I'm slumping my shoulders in disappointment, the boat Amako and the others are on blows its whistle.

"It's time to go."

"Yes."

"It's good to see you again."

Hayate nodded at his words.

He, Nagi, Amako, and Rinka board the ship.

"See you later, Usato."

Bye!

I wave to Amako and Rinka as I see them off.

The boat that Hayate and the others boarded is moving through the lake toward the other side of the shore, and I leave the place and head toward the boat I'm going to board.

The landing place itself is not that far away, so I proceed with a gentle step and notice three figures heading in the same direction as me.

"......Hey?　Leona-san, Karon-san?"

Two of the three people walking in the same direction are Leona and Karon.

Leona is supposed to accompany us on the return trip, but I wonder if Kalon came to see us off.

"Oh, Usato. I was just going to see you off."

"Oh, thank you very much.

The other person looked to be about the same age as Leona and Karon, with flaxen hair and a calm atmosphere.

Ms. Karon introduces me to the woman behind her.

This is my wife Mirfa. I didn't hear that you wanted to meet her. I brought her here to see you off."

Nice to meet you, Usato.

"Oh, it's nice to meet you, I'm Usato. I see, you are Mr. Karon's ......."

I had heard about her, but she is a beautiful woman.

I hurriedly greet her back, and she smiles broadly.

"You don't have to be so formal. He used to be a knight just like me and Leona.

With a gentle smile on his face, Mr. Milpha turned around and hit Mr. Karon in the abdomen with the bottom of his palm.

Ah, that's what he meant by "being on my ass." .......

"Kalon, I told you, didn't I?　He saved your life and you want to greet him properly.

"Oh, oh, sorry."

Mr. Milpha talks to a moaning Mr. Karon.

He is a knight just like Leona and Karon, so he must be very strong as well.

In fact, his palm strike just now was amazing.

"As usual, these guys are ......."

"So it's not unusual?"

"Yeah."

I call out to Ms. Leona, who is letting out a sigh of exasperation as she watches the exchange between the two.

She laughs and nods.

"I guess this kind of thing is part of what makes us good friends."

"Haha ......"

"It's a little irritating to see that up close and personal all the time, though."

"......"

I felt like I casually caught a glimpse of Leona's true feelings.

Let's not go through this here: .......

Then, Mr. Milpha turned around and bowed deeply to me, as if he had finished his conversation.

"Thank you so much for helping Kalon when he lost his mind," she said. Thanks to you, my husband is here without losing his life. ......"

"No, not at all. ......"

To my surprise, Mr. Mirfa continues.

"I was surprised to find her more normal than I had expected. Both Karon and Leona were exaggerating. ......

"Yes, I get that a lot. ...... By the way, what did Leona say?"

"Usato?

I ask, noticing Leona's shoulders shaking.

She said she can't take her eyes off him because he always acts unexpectedly.

"Leona-san, I'm sorry about something. ......"

"No, no, I didn't mean it like that!　Hey, Milpha!"

"I'm sorry."

I was just worried about you in general, man. .......

They are always deceiving us with their looks, monsters, ogres, and lately, demons and demon slayers....

The same is true for where I'm going, and I'm heading to the landing with Mr. Karon and the others.

"Now comes the hard part, Usato."

"...... you know?"

"Yes, from Falga. It must be difficult to be sent to the Demon Lord's territory."

"You're being sent to a hell of a lot of places. ......"

Mr. Karon and Mr. Mirfa are right, it is indeed a difficult place.

We are going to be sent to a place that was enemy territory just six months ago.

I am sure we will face many problems.

As for me, I'm worried that they might be afraid of me.

I know your character. You'll do fine."

"Thank you very much."

I see, Mr. Karon doesn't know.

Well, yeah, it's okay if you don't know ......, I don't bother to tell you.

"Oh, ......"

"...... Leona?　What's wrong?　You look like you know what's going on.

No, no, it's nothing.

It seems that Leona has guessed why I might be afraid of her.

Half of it is the Demon Lord's fault, and the other half is my own fault, but the demon people recognize me as a demon and are afraid of me.

The Demon Lord is just having fun, but for me, I want to clear up the misunderstanding as soon as possible.

"Well, I'm also the deputy commander of the Lingle Kingdom's lifeguard corps. I intend to carry out my own activities as a member of the rescue squad when I am dispatched to a new location.

"Ha-ha-ha, that's the spirit."

Mr. Karon pats me on the back and smiles brightly at me.

Finally, we arrive at the boat for our return trip.

In front of the boat, I see Ferrum and ...... his senpai with an owl-like Nair on his head for some reason.

"Usato's finally here!"

"Oh, hey!　Hey, Usato-kun!"

I wave back at him, and as I arrive at the spot, Nair, who was on top of my senior's head, jumps onto my shoulder.

"You're late!"

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

While I was apologizing to Néa, Ferm was next to speak to me.

"Did Amako leave safely?"

"Yes, and with Mr. Nagi here, I don't think there's anything to worry about.

Your luggage is already loaded.

"Oh, yeah?　Thank you, Ferrum.

"...... something about this exchange shows that she's an unusual girl, but in a good way. He's talking to a little owl and a demon child in a friendly way. ......"

Don't you agree?"

"Why are you so proud of ......?"

As I answer Ferrum, I introduce Mr. Karon and his wife, Milfa, to the seniors.

The seniors seemed surprised to learn that Milpha is Mr. Karon's wife.

"Well, we'd better get going.

After I had taken the seniors on board first, I said goodbye to Mr. Karon and Ms. Millefarras.

Mr. Karon put his hand on my shoulder and gave me a friendly smile.

"Take care," he said.

"Next time, when you're settled, come visit us in Mearaq."

"Yes."

I nodded to Mr. Karon and Mr. Mirfa.

When Mr. Karon saw that I nodded, he spoke to Leona who was standing next to me.

"Well, Leona, you take care of the rest, okay?"

"I know what you're going to do. You make sure that Mirfa doesn't find out that you've been drinking with his men behind his back.

If you hadn't said that in front of him, we could have kept it under wraps.

Karon?

He's pissed!

I laugh at the surreal sight of the big Mr. Karon being scared of Mr. Milpha.

I wish I could come to Mearaak this time without any mission or anything.

Thinking this from the bottom of my heart, I said goodbye once again to Mr. Karon and Mr. Millefa, and boarded the ship with Leona.

"This meeting was very difficult, wasn't it?"

Yes, really. I never thought I'd be called a demon-slayer.

"...... I don't think the word 'kill' would suit you. ......"

"Huh?"

She smiles calmly, her eyes reflecting the distant streets of Mearaq.

"You are the one who can keep people alive. Some may mock you as someone who is not prepared to kill his enemies, but ...... that is not true. That is your strength, I am convinced of it from what I have seen of you."

"......Thank you. Leona."

I keep Leona's words in my mind and look out over the lake from the boat.

My strength.

I wasn't really aware of it, but strangely enough, I was able to convince myself of it.

"I'll have to do my best even in the demon king's territory. ......"

I don't know what the future holds.

Perhaps I will be faced with a choice like I was at the time of the Demon King.

But even so, I hope that I can keep going forward without bending myself, I think to myself.