Ludger looked back on a distant past.
Numerically speaking, it wasn’t even that long ago. If he had to be precise, perhaps around four years.
But to Ludger, four years was an eternity.
He had lived far too busily. He never rested, and he constantly faced major incidents.
Time itself might be absolute, but the density of the life he had lived within that time lost to no one.
And then came the following three-year void.
As though it were the price for having sprinted through all his previous years without pause, he spent three years alone in a place with absolutely nothing.
They said that if you locked an ordinary criminal alone in an empty solitary cell, they would go mad.
Even solitary confinement had an officially designated maximum of thirty days.
In a place perhaps worse than solitary confinement, Ludger endured three full years.
There, he was able to reflect on his life and settle the matters of his heart.
Violetta’s question poked at the lingering regret buried in one corner of Ludger’s heart.
“You certainly know how to stab straight at the core.”
Did he miss it?
Of course he did. If he had to choose the most rewarding time of his life, he could declare without hesitation that it was when he worked as a teacher at Seorn.
There, he met countless people and discovered one of the few true joys in his life.
He realized that he was capable of showing such passion for teaching someone.
If only he had not been born into this kind of life.
If only he didn’t have to run from the Holy Nation, didn’t have to live hidden, if only he could have lived openly.
Perhaps he might have continued working at Seorn.
But that was a meaningless assumption.
In the end, it was the past—Ludger had made his choice.
The Holy War had broken out, and he had become the Demon King.
He had things he had to do.
“Well, even so... if I ever get the chance again, I suppose there’d be no harm in doing it.”
“Hehe. I knew you’d say that. You know, Owner—when it came to things related to students, you were strangely emotional.”
“Ah. The boss definitely had that side to him,” Hans said, folding his arms and nodding as if in agreement.
Ludger didn’t refute it. He acknowledged it, so there was no need to point it out.
“So. Why are you asking me something like that? You’re not just probing.”
“I told you, didn’t I? I’ve gotten close with Seorn’s Headmaster, Elisa.”
Rederbelk bordered Seorn.
For Violetta, who might become Rederbelk’s next mayor, knowing Elisa wasn’t surprising.
In three years, the two of them probably became far closer than people would expect.
More than enough to have this kind of conversation.
“What did she say?”
“Elisa knows. That the Demon King has returned, and that his execution is basically just for show. Well, she was one of the main figures involved in the Holy War, after all.”
At Seorn, Elisa Willow’s influence was overwhelming.
She had officially participated in the Holy War. One didn’t need to say how sky-high her reputation soared after the war.
Originally a 6th-Circle Lexuror, she apparently surpassed some barrier after the war and was now on the verge of reaching the 7th Circle.
That alone made the already-powerful Elisa into an unshakable absolute authority at Seorn.
So much so that noble-faction instructors—or nobles like Hugo Burteg—couldn’t even meet her gaze.
“When you work in a high position long enough, you can see the flow without needing to check the details. Elisa has more or less figured it out. That you’ll receive a new identity and regain your freedom.”
“Well, that’s possible.”
Elisa hadn’t become Seorn’s Headmaster just because she was skilled in magic.
She excelled in politics and knew how to use people.
Her characteristic smile and the power of her golden mana eyes—their force had raised her to that position.
“So she’s looking forward to it. That the legend of Ludger Cherish might return to Seorn.”
“That’s an overly generous expectation.”
“But Owner—you’re hoping for it too, even if just faintly, aren’t you?”
Ludger chuckled softly and nodded.
“Yes. I won’t deny it. If you ask what I plan to do from now on, I’ll probably start teaching at Seorn again.”
Of course, it wasn’t without regrets.
The students he had taught had already graduated and gone their separate ways.
But if he could meet new children and teach them so they could move forward properly—
Wouldn’t that be enough?
“Elisa would be thrilled to hear that. Are you going to start right away?”
“No. I don’t dislike the idea, but there are things I need to do first.”
“Things to do?”
“There are people I haven’t met yet. It’s been a long time since I’ve had this kind of freedom. I’d like to travel the world a bit and meet old acquaintances.”
Ludger found himself curious—
How those people were living now, how they had changed.
Learning that would be quite fun.
Even though he refused her suggestion, Violetta didn’t seem disappointed.
Rather, as if she had faintly expected him to say this, she simply smiled.
“Hehe. Elisa might feel a bit sad. No—maybe she’ll be glad, since she at least got an answer that you’ll come eventually?”
Just then, commotion rose outside.
A bright, confident voice was carrying on some lively conversation.
Ludger immediately smiled—he knew that voice well.
“Well, well. It’s been that long, and she’s still the same.”
Hans sprang to his feet and rushed to the door.
When he opened it, the person waiting outside stepped in.
“I’m here!”
Seridan Ironfeet.
She was wearing the same outfit as before—the only difference was that this time, it wasn’t stained with oil or gunpowder.
“My lord! Long time no see!”
Seridan greeted him cheerfully.
Judging from her reaction, she was treating him as casually as if they had met just yesterday.
Really, if she suddenly burst into tears and sobbed from the emotional reunion, that would’ve been stranger.
“Yes. It’s been a while. Have you been well?”
“I always am. My wallet’s bursting with money, and I get to build everything I want—life’s perfect.”
“I’m glad you seem happy.”
“Hm? But what is this, why are you looking back and forth between me and Hans?”
Seridan’s intuition was sharp—she seemed to have sensed the strange tension hidden in Ludger’s gaze.
When she suddenly turned toward Hans, he flinched and looked away.
Seridan thought for a moment, then a wide grin spread across her face.
“Aha? So my lord heard everything?”
She hopped lightly and pulled Hans down by the neck with her slender arm.
“This guy told you, didn’t he?”
She poked Hans’s cheek repeatedly with her free hand.
Hans couldn’t do anything—he simply let Seridan do as she pleased.
“You’re being properly whipped around, Hans.”
“N-no, sir, it’s not—”
“Shh. Quiet, will you? I wanted to surprise my lord when we met, and you just blabbed immediately?”
Hans glared resentfully at Alex.
Alex looked away, whistling like an innocent bystander.
No matter what he said now, Seridan would only take it as an excuse.
“Still, you look good together. As long as you’re happy, that’s what matters.”
“Well, it is true that life’s not boring. Hans got depressed a lot because my lord wasn’t around, though.”
“W-when did I ever do that?!”
“See? He’s embarrassed again. Oh, right—Bellaruna’s coming soon too.”
“Really? Come to think of it, what is she doing these days?”
“She’s living her life doing whatever she wants. You’ll have to see her yourself to understand.”
At the mention of Bellaruna, Alex and Hans coughed awkwardly.
It happened almost simultaneously, and Ludger sensed something strange.
But before he could unravel that uneasy feeling, an elven woman appeared through ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) the still-open doorway.
“Hm?”
Ludger’s first reaction was confusion.
Naturally, the one who should be entering at this moment was Bellaruna.
But the woman before him... no matter how he looked, she didn’t resemble Bellaruna at all.
She wasn’t gloomy, didn’t reek of chemicals, didn’t smile creepily, wasn’t hunched over.
Rather, she was neat, noble, and every step she took radiated the etiquette drilled into her upbringing.
The only similarity she shared with Bellaruna was the orange hair.
But orange hair wasn’t particularly rare among elves—there could easily be many similar-looking elves.
“Who are you?”
When Ludger asked, the elf woman answered not with words but with a gentle curve of her lips.
That smile exuded the refined grace of a young lady from a noble house.
Hm. No matter how he looked, she was definitely not Bellaruna.
As Ludger cemented that conclusion, Alex suddenly snorted with laughter.
Ludger glanced at him in confusion.
When he looked at Hans, Seridan, and Violetta, their reactions were similar—they were desperately suppressing laughter, while strongly agreeing that Ludger’s assumption was completely understandable.
Seeing all their expressions, Ludger could only arrive at one inevitable conclusion.
“...Are you really Bellaruna?”
Even as he asked, he couldn’t erase his doubt.
That elf? Really Bellaruna Petanada?
The Bellaruna who brewed suspicious drugs, smiled gloomily, spoke in ways that drained affection—
That Bellaruna?
Wearing a glamorous dress, holding her back straight, giving proud, noble eye contact like a debutante?
His mind said she must be Bellaruna given the situation,
but his heart rejected the idea entirely.
When was the last time his rationality and emotions had crashed into each other this violently?
It felt so distant that recalling the memory was difficult—and yet it was unfolding right now.
“It has been a while, Mr. Ludger.”
“...!”
The moment he heard her voice, his certainty jumped from 50% to 70%.
The balance he was desperately maintaining collapsed in a shock large enough to bring down the sky.
“What on earth happened to you?”
Ludger forced himself to hold onto reason as he spoke.
He still couldn’t be absolutely certain—someone could be using her name, or imitating her appearance and voice.
After all, there were cryptids like doppelgangers that mimicked others... though surely this wasn’t one of those?
Regardless of what he was thinking internally, Bellaruna politely lowered her head.
“Yes. It’s me. Bellaruna Petanada—the elf who made your mana medicine with you. Huhu. I was going through my stormy adolescent phase back then.”
His certainty rose from 70% to 90%.
In his mind, Ludger felt the universe contract into a single point and then explode anew in a primordial big bang.
He normally didn’t get shocked by much,
but the reality before him was a different story.
“What... the....”
He couldn’t continue. He had to close his eyes and take a deep breath.
“...What happened to you?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing? You changed this much because of nothing?”
He wanted to argue that this made no sense.
Judging by the others’ faces—eyes shut, nodding deeply—they agreed wholeheartedly.
They had already gone through this same shock before him and couldn’t pretend it was someone else’s problem.
“Oh my, why are you reacting like this? Did I do something wrong?”
Bellaruna covered her lips with her hand in feigned surprise.
The moment Ludger saw that gesture, his internal organs twisted.
Not even when he saw the true form of the nameless goddess.
Not even when he fought the Beast of Jévaudan that vomited endless monsters.
Never had he felt such visceral revulsion.
While Ludger struggled to speak, Bellaruna smiled brightly.
“They say a woman’s transformation is never a crime, don’t they?”
No. For this level of transformation, it should be life imprisonment—no, execution.
She should be hanging on the gallows next to Demon King Heathcliff.
Whether she understood his internal screaming or not,
Bellaruna lifted her hand and displayed a ring.
Like Alex, she wore a diamond ring on the ring finger of her left hand.
“Oh, and I no longer use the surname Petanada. From now on, please call me Bellaruna Bennimore. Hehe.”