The Lowest-Ranked Hero Has Returned
The next morning, after a night spent in passionate pleasure and heat.
“......”
The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was Camellia, hugging the blanket with a deeply sulky expression.
Even after spending the long-awaited first night with me, Dale, she looked utterly dejected—and the reason was simple.
“...To treat your empress like some mere toy. It seems I must reteach you the proper etiquette one must uphold toward their sovereign.”
Camellia glared at me with puffed cheeks, her eyes filled with complaint.
“No, I mean...”
The way she said it made it sound like I had done something terrible.
‘Although... yeah, maybe I did go a little overboard...’
Looking back, I might’ve gotten a bit too heated halfway through and lost control.
“You said you’d leave everything to me...”
Camellia trailed off, pouting in disappointment.
I let out a quiet groan as I watched her.
Originally, I had every intention of staying passive, just like she asked—letting her lead the way.
But...
“If I’d left everything to you, we wouldn’t have gotten anywhere even by sunrise.”
Yeah.
Despite her bold declaration that I should leave everything to her, Camellia’s actions were laughably clumsy from the very beginning.
It took her several minutes just to get my clothes off, and once she finally did, she froze with a shocked expression on her face.
How was I supposed to just sit back and watch that?
“Ugh...! I-I couldn’t help it!”
Camellia’s face turned red as she pouted and hugged her knees, turning her head sharply away.
She mumbled in a voice barely above a whisper.
“I-It was... my first time.”
“......”
Why is our Empress so damn cute?
‘Ahem.’
Just as the heat that had calmed began to rise again, I gently laid my hand on Camellia’s shoulder and carefully leaned her back onto the bed.
“Y-You...?”
“Then we just need to build up more experience from now on.”
“......”
Her cheeks flushed a deep red.
“H-How indecent of you.”
“You’re the one who started it.”
“Hmph. I hardly remember what happened.”
“Is that so?”
Then I’ll just have to help you remember.
“Kyaa! W-Wait...!”
And so, round two continued until the sun was high in the sky.
“Hoo...”
After showering, I changed into my cadet uniform instead of a hospital gown.
“...Surely you’re not thinking of getting discharged already?”
“I’m fully recovered. No reason to stay in the hospital.”
“Hmm. Still, wouldn’t it be wise to rest for a few more days?”
“You’re the last person who should be saying that, considering you’re the one who kept me from resting.”
“Ugh... T-That’s...!”
Hmm.
Is it because she lets her guard down around me?
She shows expressions I never imagined back when we first met.
‘That contrast just makes her even more charming.’
Seeing her flustered like this compared to how she was in the Imperial Palace brings a smile to my face.
“...Why are you grinning like that?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Hmph. Still as arrogant as ever. But more importantly...”
Camellia narrowed her eyes and got up from her seat.
She walked slowly toward me and gently touched my chest—specifically, the spot where the Stigma was engraved.
“By the way... is the Demon God’s flame you absorbed still within the stigma?”
“Yeah. Seems like it.”
“No unusual activity?”
“Not yet.”
“......”
Camellia’s gaze grew solemn.
“Are you worried?”
“How could I not be? Especially after what the Archbishop of Destruction said.”
“......”
The Demon God.
The worst and most fearsome deity.
Humanity’s enemy.
I’ve become a vessel for such a being.
“Don’t make that face.”
Camellia softly cupped my cheek with the hand that had been touching the stigma.
“Just because the Demon God’s flame resides within you doesn’t mean you are the Demon God.”
“But...”
“Just as a sword can be used to kill or to save, it’s not about the power itself—but who wields it, and how.”
“......”
It’s about who wields the power.
She wasn’t wrong.
In fact, she might be right on the stigma.
However...
Reality doesn’t always follow what’s logically or morally sound.
“If that were the case, then wouldn’t the same apply to the Demonkin?”
“...What do you mean?”
“The only difference between a hero and a demonkin is which god gave them their Stigma.”
Even so, heroes with the Seven Gods’ stigmas are hailed as saviors of humanity, while those with the Demon God’s stigma are branded as destroyers.
Their lives are completely shaped by the nature of the power they hold.
“Maybe I’m just like them...”
“Hmph. Is that what you’ve been moping about?”
Camellia scoffed at me as if it was ridiculous.
“Demonkin were not cast out because they bore the Demon God’s stigma, but because they failed to suppress the destructive urges that came with it.”
But—
“You’re different, aren’t you?”
I never gave in to destruction.
I didn’t go on meaningless rampages, nor did I lose control of my power.
At least, not yet.
“Of course, there’s no guarantee you won’t in the future. But... if the day ever comes when you can’t control your power anymore...”
A soft, radiant glow of seven colors began to emanate from Camellia’s body.
“In the name of the Empress, I will stop you myself.”
“...Camellia.”
She knows as well as I do—if I really do lose control, she won’t be able to stop me.
Even so—
“Thank you.”
The wild, growing spark of anxiety within me began to fade away.
‘Yeah, just because I hold the Demon God’s power... doesn’t mean I’ve become the Demon God.’
If having the Demon God’s power is all it takes, then hadn’t I possessed it ever since I absorbed the Primordial Flame before the regression?
Adding one more Primordial Flame on top of that didn’t change much.
“However, others may not think as you do, so it would be best to keep this fact hidden.”
“Of course.”
If the world were to find out that I had absorbed all of the Demon God’s power, things would become much more complicated.
The fear and hatred that had built up over the centuries toward the Demon God were unimaginably vast.
“I plan to tell only the party members.”
“In my opinion, it might be best not to tell even them....”
“It’s fine. I can trust them.”
They already knew I had regressed and that I carried the Primordial Flame in my body.
And more importantly—
“...Because someone said if I lied again, I’d be in big trouble.”
I thought of Iris and smiled faintly.
“Hmm. Even so, I still think it would be better to keep it a secret... but I will respect your decision.”
“Speaking of which, I was just about to head to the party house....”
I reached my hand out to Camellia and asked,
“Wanna come with me?”
Camellia nodded without hesitation and took my hand.
At the party house, I told the party members everything that had happened in the deepest part of the Abyss.
“So... the Demon God wasn’t sealed, but already dead?”
“Yeah. At the bottom of the Abyss, there weren’t remnants of a sealed being—just the remains of one already long gone.”
“And... you absorbed all of those remains?”
“I did.”
“......”
“......”
Silence fell over the party house.
The party members looked confused at first, overwhelmed by the sudden influx of information—but soon, they nodded in understanding.
“Actually, that’s a relief. It means humanity’s greatest threat is gone.”
“In a way, this is the best possible outcome.”
Professor Elisha nodded, arms crossed.
“Hahaha! So should we start calling you Demon God now? Heh... To think I have a god among my blood brothers! My heart is racing!”
Berald shouted excitedly, eyes gleaming.
Sofia pinched Berald’s side mercilessly.
“Keep your voice down. And since when were you and Dale blood brothers?”
“Huh? That time he drank from my beer mug?”
“...How is that blood-related?”
“There must’ve been spit in the beer. So, doesn’t that count? Oh! What’s your blood type, Dale? I heard drinking someone’s saliva with a different blood type can be dangerous!”
“...Ugh.”
Sofia sighed with a look that screamed, “This idiot is my fiancé?”
“...Ha.”
Camellia, who had been listening from a little distance, let out a dry laugh.
“Something wrong?”
“No, it’s just... everyone’s reacting so casually to all of this.”
She had spent those two weeks, while Dale was unconscious, tormented and agonizing over whether to accept the truth.
And yet...
The party members, upon hearing Dale had absorbed the Demon God’s power, quickly nodded and said things like “Actually, that’s kind of a good thing.”
“Ah... well....”
“Hmm. I guess it’s because...”
“Because it’s Dale?”
“Yeah. That pretty much sums it up. It’s Dale, after all.”
“D-Dale can totally handle something like the Demon God’s power!”
Iris, Yuren, Professor Elisha, and Lanez exchanged glances, silently agreeing that “Well, it’s Dale, so it’ll be fine.”
“......”
Seeing that, Camellia looked dumbfounded.
“Well, we’ve all known Dale way longer than you have, Your Majesty.”
“You could call it an experience-based conclusion.”
“If you spend enough time around Dale, you’ll understand too.”
Iris, Elisha, and Yuren shrugged, smiling wryly.
Their relaxed expressions made Camellia flinch a bit.
“You’ve all known Dale longer than I have, huh....”
For some reason, hearing something so obvious made her heart twinge painfully, as if pricked by a needle.
It took her a long time to recognize that the unfamiliar feeling was jealousy.
‘To think I’d feel jealousy over someone...’
Camellia shook her head and looked around at Dale’s lovers.
“I heard Iris was Dale’s first lover?”
“Yes.”
“And Dale told me you two were lovers even in a previous life... is that true?”
“That’s what he said. Though I don’t remember that life.”
“Hmm. A bond that transcends lifetimes....”
Well, if it’s a connection from a past life, what could she do?
“Professor Elisha, I’ve heard quite a bit about already....”
Camellia’s gaze shifted to Dale.
Behind him, a girl with violet hair was peeking out, watching Camellia warily.
She was dressed in a maid outfit for some reason.
“No need to look at me so suspiciously. As I’ve said, just because I’m now one of Dale’s lovers doesn’t mean I intend to deny the bond you two share.”
“...You really mean that?”
“Heh. In terms of rank, you probably outrank me.”
To be considered of higher status than an empress.
Just a year ago, Lanez had been scorned as a “witch” by trainee knights.
Now, such a rise in position was unimaginable.
“Ugh. I-I shouldn’t laugh, but....”
Imagine one of your subordinates becoming the ruler of an entire country.
The thrill of that power shift was indescribable.
Even Lanez’s obsessive devotion to Dale wavered for a brief moment.
“So that makes me Dale’s fourth lover.”
To think the Empress had become the fourth lover of a man already claimed by three women.
Even she found it so absurd that she couldn’t help but laugh.
“...Huh?”
“Fourth...?”
“That’s not right.”
The three women looked puzzled.
Camellia frowned.
“What do you mean it’s not right? Don’t tell me... there’s another lover?”
“......”
Iris, Elisha, and Lanez all looked at Yuren (currently in male form).
“...But Yuren Helios is a man, isn’t he?”
No way.
A horrifying thought flashed through Camellia’s mind.
“D-Dale, don’t tell me...!”
Camellia turned to Dale with a stunned expression as if staring into the abyss.
“Uh... well....”
“I-I-It’s fine! T-There are all kinds of love in this world!”
“There are... uh... circumstances....”
“I-I accept it! All of you! Every part of you!”
“No.”
‘Please. Just listen to me.’

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