It Seems That the Demon King Is Among the Members of the Hero’s Party

62. Precious Memories

───After the tournament, I met up with my friends who came to celebrate once the commotion died down. Eclair wasn’t among them. According to Daru, she had returned to the inn earlier. I was honestly relieved.

It was after my conversation with sensei, and I wanted some time to think. When I met her gaze, strange noises would run through my head, and I’d become distracted. I didn’t want to worry my friends, and most importantly, I didn’t want them to know that Eclair was the cause. I didn’t want to hurt her.

“Congratulations on your win! You’re indeed Kyle!”

“Even as a commoner, you’re quite capable. I’ll praise you.”

“You’re indeed my Kyle! Let’s have a rematch next time!”

I received the congratulations from the three, and Daru handed me Durandal. Toru patted my back, which hurt quite a bit. Toru is excessively excited.

“Let’s go eat to celebrate Kyle’s win!”

“Let’s celebrate! I’ll treat you, brother-in-law!”

“Hahaha! We’ll have a victory party with Kail’s prize money!”

Wait, why am I the one treating? I’m the one being celebrated, right? Well, it doesn’t matter. The prize money is a huge amount, and to be honest, I wasn’t satisfied with the last two matches. This money is just begging to be spent lavishly. We’ve already received a considerable amount, so it’s not like it’ll decrease much even if we splurge a bit…

Darl, who has already heard recommendations from various shops in the royal capital, is leading us to a restaurant. Apparently, they serve dragon meat. They must have predicted that either I or Eclair would win and reserved a table.

It’s nice that they have faith in us, but did they think we’d splurge with the prize money? I mean, you guys are rich too, right?

I just want them to treat me to a celebration. Ah, but it’s also awkward to have women pay for us. Lizzette’s words come to mind, and I feel a pang of guilt.

After getting dumped by her boyfriend, she taught me to be kind to women. I was worried that I was the reason she got dumped, so I consulted with my mercenary friends.

In the end, it turned out that Lizzette’s drinking habits were the problem, and her boyfriend ran away. Lizzette gets violent when she drinks… I recall her terrible drinking habits and can’t help but feel distant.

“Hahaha! Kail can drink too!”

“Brother-in-law! This salad is delicious! Let me serve you!”

“Kail, I’ve already gotten drunk…”

This is chaos. Compared to Lizzette’s time, it’s still better, but it’s exhausting to deal with each person individually. Cecil is okay, at least. She’s only serving me salad.

But please, stop serving me only salad. I feel like I’ve only been eating salad all night. It’s a characteristic of elves to prefer vegetables over meat. We do eat meat, but we simply prefer vegetables. And we like to eat the same food as our loved ones, which is also a strong trait. As a result, we end up eating only salad.

When will the dragon meat be ready? I’m getting full just from the salad.

Tora is trying to get me drunk, but I’m not affected. Maybe she’s trying to get me drunk? Also, please stop touching my butt. It’s annoying.

And please stop whispering sweet nothings in my ear, like “How about tonight?” It’s too direct. You’re being too manly, Tora! I’m sorry, but I don’t want to betray Noel, so I’ll have to decline.

Finally, there’s Darl. She’s definitely not drunk. She’s looking at me with a reddened face and an upward gaze, making me want to tease her. But she’s not drinking at all. She’s strictly following the king’s orders.

It turns out that Darl was drinking juice made from fruit. Of course, she wouldn’t get drunk. Is she drunk on the atmosphere? Is she waiting for a reaction? Should I take her home? If I do, the light in Noel’s eyes will disappear, so I won’t.

───It was a very rowdy dinner party. By the time the main course, the dragon meat, arrived, I was already 70% full from the salad. But it was still extremely delicious.

I heard that the dragon meat was from the Ancient Dragon we defeated. It’s said to be high-grade meat among dragon meats. They told us that since we defeated the dragon, it would be cheaper, but it was the same price as for other customers.

That makes sense. The restaurant wants to sell it at a reasonable price since they’re sourcing the meat. But then Darl negotiated, and the price went down. I don’t understand why.

Darl is ridiculously strong in negotiations like this. It doesn’t matter to me since I can afford it anyway.

“I’m a good wife who takes care of the household finances!” she said with a loud laugh, so I just had to tease her.

I brushed off Tora, who was trying to invite me to her room, saying “I’ll take you home if you want!” with a reddened face. I also managed to calm down Darl, who was getting excited, and Cecil, who was drunk and staggering. I brought Cecil back to her room and put her to bed.

It was a proper and decent night. Noel, I did my best.

The exhausting celebration finally ended, and I returned to my room. I placed Durandal on the desk and sat down in the chair.

It’s still strange, though. Usually, she would start talking to me, but…

“Are you okay, Durandal?”

“Huh?… Ah! Sorry, Master. I was a bit dazed.”

“Were you sleeping?”

“Maybe because I didn’t sleep well last night? I fell asleep while Master was drinking.”

“That’s rare. Don’t overdo it.”

“Yes! Sorry, but I’ll go to bed early today. I need to recharge.”

“It’s okay today. Goodnight, Durandal.”

“Goodnight, Master.”

As Durandal quieted down, the room suddenly became silent. I don’t feel lonely, though. I also have some things I want to think about alone.

Before that, I’ll change my clothes. I left my armor in this room before going out to eat, but I can smell sweat on my clothes. I had prepared a change of clothes, so I quickly changed.

I sit back down in the chair. There’s no reaction from Durandal. Is she sleeping?

There’s something I need to think about today. It’s not just what the teacher said, but more importantly, it’s about Eclair. Just seeing Eclair’s face makes me feel unwell. This has never happened before. It started after I met Mirabel in my dream.

The teacher’s words echo in my mind, and I can’t help but mutter “blessing” under my breath. Am I being too suspicious? No, I shouldn’t trust her anymore.

Even when I try to remember things from my past life, my head gets noisy. It’s like something is working to prevent me from remembering. This happens whenever I try to recall the black-haired woman who appears in my mind.

She’s probably the woman named “Kanade”. But I don’t know anyone by that name. My head gets noisy again. It feels like something is trying to erase my memories. Is this because of the “blessing”?

“Uh?”

───Suddenly, there’s a knock on the door. Who could it be at this hour? Could it be Tora-san?! I feel a bit uneasy as I open the door, and there’s Eclair standing in front of me, dressed in a white one-piece outfit that I gave her. Her face is slightly red.

“Why did you come here?”

Eclair doesn’t seem to be angry, but seeing her makes me feel uneasy. I get a bad feeling.

She doesn’t respond to my question, and instead, she pushes me aside and enters the room. As the door closes, I hear her embracing me tightly.

I look at her, and for a moment, I think I’ll get a headache again, but nothing happens. The uneasy feeling disappears.

What’s going on?

“Do you have something to tell me?”

“……………” *gulp*

“Is it related to what happened this afternoon?”

“……………” *gulp*

“I see. Can I ask you one thing, Eclair?”

Eclair nods slightly. During the semifinals, her behavior was strange. She was worried about me during the battle, but she seemed different from usual. When I mentioned her name, she froze with a surprised expression. The name “Kanade” and the black-haired woman in my mind. I think there’s a connection.

She might not be able to answer because of the constraints on her soul. But I want to ask her anyway.

“Are you ‘Kanade’?”

I think I’m being ridiculous, asking such a question. Eclair doesn’t react. It’s like she can’t answer. But her reaction is the answer I’m looking for.

When I mentioned Natsume Shinome’s name, she reacted. It’s not like she can’t react to Japanese names.

I think her past life is related to this. And “Kanade” might be her name from her past life.

If that’s the case, did I know Eclair in my past life? The image of the black-haired woman appears in my mind, and I get a headache again.

Eclair pushes me down. But I don’t care about that right now. The uneasy feeling is too strong.

“Wait, Eclair”

However, my voice doesn’t reach her, and she kisses me. The uneasy feeling disappears. I don’t understand what’s going on.

It was just a brief kiss, lasting only a few seconds. Eclair looks satisfied, with a rare smile on her face. She seems happy, but I’m thinking about Noel, and my body is shaking.

“Eclair, can I ask you something?”

She tilts her head. I need to say this clearly. I’m happy that she has feelings for me, but I can’t reciprocate them.

“I’m happy that you have feelings for me”

Eclair blushes and nods slightly. It’s hard to say this honestly.

“But I can’t reciprocate those feelings”

*Gasp* Eclair looks shocked, her face pale. She stares at me with tears in her eyes, as if she can’t believe what I’m saying.

“I’m engaged to Noel. I can’t be unfaithful to her. I’m happy that you have feelings for me, but I can’t reciprocate them”

I’m prepared to get hit. Eclair looks at me with a determined gaze, similar to Noel’s when she’s angry.

Am I dead? I’m getting anxious, but Eclair surprises me by taking off her one-piece outfit and panicking.

“Eclair, calm down!”

It seems my words have no power to stop her. I try to stop her, but it’s too late. She takes off her clothes without caring about me, revealing her beautiful body. I feel a pang of lust, but I shake it off, thinking about Noel.

Her gaze is still the same. The only difference is the smile on her lips, which looks like a predator’s grin. Ah, I’m in trouble.

I recall the time I got Noel angry at the church. The current Eclair is identical to Noel.

───I realized my heart had given up.

To put it simply, I had a physical relationship with Eclair, so I couldn’t face Noel.

I might as well die the next time I meet Noel. But I don’t want to die, so I think I’ll write a letter to Noel in the morning.

I’ll write an apology and express my love for Noel. I’ll also mention the ring I bought, symbolizing our engagement.

I gaze at Eclair, who’s sleeping contentedly beside me. How can I take responsibility for this?

Please teach me, Takeshi-san.

───At that time, I still didn’t realize that something precious in my memories was gone.