It's Monday. The magic items are supposed to be finished sometime today, but I've already left the house to go to school.
It feels like my first day back in three years. …What a long weekend that was.
There's a bit of nostalgia, but surprisingly I'm heading in like any ordinary day—no real sense of dissonance. I tried to remember what I was thinking the last time I came to school three years ago, and all that really comes back is that it wasn't a good memory.
Grandma had just died, and I hadn't sorted out my feelings yet.
I'm a little worried about the companions and the Demon Lord I left at home, but yesterday I taught them how to use the plumbing, toilet, and appliances. They should be fine.
At the bus stop near my house, people are lined up for work and school.
It's mid-April now; I've only just entered high school, and it hasn't even been a month since I moved. I recognize a few faces in a "seen them around" way, but there's no one I'm close enough with to strike up a conversation.
Some people are listening to music on wireless earbuds, others are on their phones. Maybe it's my imagination, but it feels like a lot of folks are trying not to engage with the people around them.
I guess that's normal.
I suddenly remember walking around the royal capital right after I was summoned. How people acted, how they lived—some things were different, some things the same.
I wonder what became of everyone in that world—the humans, the demons, the other races…
Well, it's a world where conflict—war—is close at hand. They're probably getting by in their own ways.
My high school is private: Kusanagi Academy, Upper Division. I chose it because I thought its freer school culture would suit me better than the local publics or other privates. I picked it from a few candidates after talking it over with Grandma.
"Morning."
"'Sup."
A guy who'd arrived a little before me—he sits next to me—greets me as I sit down. My relationships are neither good nor bad. It's been less than half a month since we started; that's about what you'd expect.
"Hey, Amabashi—picked a club yet?"
I was thinking about three years ago and everything since when the guy who just greeted me suddenly spoke up.
"Not yet."
What was his name again? I'm sure we've made small talk, but…
"Good morning, Amabashi-kun. Good morning, Kitamura-kun."
Right—Kitamura. A classmate coming in jogged my memory. That's Horii Asuka. I remember her—an heiress, parents are loaded. A picture-perfect beauty.
Naturally, I don't remember talking to her beyond greetings.
"Yo."
"Morning."
The way she greets Kitamura looks completely natural. I remember thinking she was well-bred and good with people.
So this is what high school feels like, huh.
How to put it… it's easygoing. No one's paying me any special attention. I'm just another face in the crowd.
Over there, being the Hero meant people were always around me, always watching. From one angle it was special treatment; from another, surveillance of a dangerous element.
The voices I hear now are classmates chatting about nothing in particular.
After spending so long living with my guard up, I can finally relax. Life without being the center of attention… it's this comfortable, huh.
School felt like a hassle before, but maybe I could actually enjoy it.
Side:Sanctina
The Hero went off to school.
We don't have anything particular to do. The Demon Lord is in another room making magic items, Her Highness is training indoors, and Filia has been watching that thing called "television" nonstop to learn about this world.
I'm offering prayers to God—but do they reach the gods of our world? Or the gods of this one?
"My physical abilities are clearly much lower here than over there," Her Highness said, uncharacteristically anxious.
Still, this should be a world without monsters, where people can live without fear. She's wary of the Demon Lord, but I'm inclined to trust her.
Freed from being the Demon Lord, she has no reason to oppose us. In fact, it would be less trouble for her if she sent us back quickly.
"Sanctina, is there any oracle?"
"No, Your Highness, there isn't. And… this is really supposed to be strictly confidential, but even those with the Oracle skill sometimes go their whole lives without receiving one. I don't even know if there will be an oracle concerning us… I've never received one."
In fact, if what's been passed down from saint to saint is true, the last oracle was hundreds of years ago.
"What do you mean? Summoning a Hero is only supposed to happen after an oracle—so you received it this time, didn't you?"
"I…"
"Pricha, that's just for show," Filia said, stepping in when I faltered. As expected, she knows a great deal. The High Archbishop warned us to be wary of the elves, but perhaps…
"No…"
"Was there any point in defeating that Demon Lord? You know perfectly well what would've happened if she'd gotten serious. I've heard this Hero summoning was for human convenience."
That I didn't know. I knew the summoning had been done without an oracle, but I wasn't told the reason.
"Gh…"
"The Elder said it: 'This time's sacrifice will be a young woman.'"
A sacrifice. To call the Demon Lord that…
"Don't be fooled by appearances—elves are long-lived and ruthless." The High Archbishop's warning starts to make a little sense. Filia knew and still fought the Demon Lord. Of course, so did I.
"What an amusing conversation you're having," came a voice.
We hadn't sensed her at all. At some point the Demon Lord had come out of the other room.
"It's the truth, isn't it? I wasn't certain, but when you said you never wanted to be Demon Lord, everything clicked," Filia said.
"It doesn't do to confess what's better left unsaid. There are things everyone is better off not knowing. You're going home, aren't you? Don't worry. I'll make sure you get back."
She never shows hatred or resentment toward us. She seems far nobler than the people of the church.
Perhaps I no longer have the qualifications or ability to be called a saint.
"Go back?" I'm not simply happy to hear that. I don't know this land well enough to say I want to live here—but if I return, I won't have a shred of freedom.
Is my training insufficient?
Or is it… something else?