I walk through the door leading to the room where the girls are sitting. They look toward the door as it opens. I step through; their eyes widen and their cheeks turn beet red with embarrassment. I look at them with a serious face. The girls look at each other briefly; they had planned to confess their love to me tomorrow anyway.
"Suri, go to Milo. He has something to tell you," I say with a serious expression. Suri and Lilly head out, as Lilly isn't in love with me either. She loves no one, that much is clear. Suri goes to Milo's room and knocks.
"Milo, it's me, Suri." Her voice is gentle. In my room, the air is thick, and no one says a word; an uncomfortable silence permeates the space.
"Min, you heard everything, didn't you?" Luna says with a slightly embarrassed voice. I nod slightly, so subtly that one could almost miss it. Luna then looks at the other girls, who still look bashful.
"Then we don't have to beat around the bush for long," Kira says with an impatient voice. However, you can't really call this a harem. Two girls are already incredible, of course, but based on what Milo said about what that means, it's usually four girls who love you. But with two, I am more than satisfied. Luna looks at the floor, then at Kira. She sees how much Kira loves me and realizes that she could never love me that way.
"Min, I've changed my mind. I want Kira to have you all to herself." Luna looks at the floor and then leaves the room. Tears fall from her eyes and hit the floor. It pleases me, of course, because I'm not actually a fan of things like a harem. Kira looks at me with sweet eyes, her gaze shining with anticipation. She stands up slowly.
"Kira, do you want to be with me?" I ask in my typical direct voice. Kira looks slightly toward the floor, her pupils directed at me. She toys lightly with a strand of her hair.
"Yes, I do," she says very softly and shyly, barely audible. My cheeks flush slightly red. She approaches me with her head lowered. She slowly raises her gaze, goes slightly onto her tiptoes, and places her hand on my shoulders. She slowly closes her eyes, and I do the same. We kiss slowly, while Suri enters Milo's room, who is currently reading a book titled This Adventure is my new life. He looks up and sees Suri entering.
"What is it, Suri? Is everything okay?" Milo asks with a gentle and loving voice, completely different from usual. Suri notices it, of course. She looks down, and like Kira, only her pupils are fixed on Milo.
"Min... he said you had something to tell me," Suri says with an embarrassed look. "This guy is a real genius when it comes to manipulation," Milo thinks. He puts the book away.
"Yes, I actually do have something to tell you." His voice is hesitant, wondering if he should really confess to her. Suri still looks at him with embarrassment while Milo searches for the right words. Suri slowly raises her gaze again, briefly touching her heart.
"I l... l... love you, Milo. Do... do... do you want to be with me?" Suri says with a nervous and bashful look, as if she had just made a mistake. Milo's eyes begin to glisten; an unusual joy is visible on his face. He looks at her more intensely.
"Yes, I want to be with you," Milo says with a determined voice and a red face. Luna and Lilly are just standing downstairs in the entrance area, while Milo and Suri now also move in for a kiss. After a few minutes, things settle down again. Kira and I say our goodbyes for today, as do Suri and Milo. Everyone goes to their rooms. Kira lies on her bed on her stomach, holding her pillow in her arms. Her eyes shine brighter than all the stars in the world. The same is true for Suri, though she lies on her back. Both clutch their pillows with red faces.
"I am together with Min, after such a long time," Kira says softly to herself.
"I am together with Milo, I am so happy." Suri's cheeks are still red, her voice gentle and happy. I just lie in bed and think a bit about the past. How I got here, how I was separated from Lisa. After that, I met Kira during training back then. When I had lost everything, she was the only one who cheered me up and stayed by my side. But then I was separated by an incident involving a guard from the small town of Dingari in the south of Limbora; after that, I fled. By that time, I had already spent quite a while with her. I didn't notice she loved me, and I loved her too. If I hadn't run away back then without telling her, maybe she would have come along and we would have gotten together sooner. But because of that, I ended up in Lagoon and saved Luna. Then I learned about the legend, how it worked, and everything that would happen. After that, I took the school exam and passed, even saving Suri that night. I met Mia after fighting the teacher, who was truly powerful, and it wasn't exactly easy back then. After that, I also helped Alya and her family. A short time later, I was sentenced to death, where Luna, Suri, and Mia saved me, even if Suri just watched. We fled, went to Kimura, and joined the guild. I trained the girls and met Lisa for the first time during the flight while I was unconscious after the fight against the Archmage and the King. Then we encountered the Star Orc Lord. Everyone forgot me because of the magic, and I received the power "Erasure," which I haven't used a second time since. The girls went back to Lagoon and I followed them. Of course, it was hard for me, but thanks to that situation, I met Milo, who was actually reincarnated, allowing him to grow stronger faster. Suri was the first to remember me; she loved me then, but now it's Milo. Then the two of them had a training match, which was good on both sides. My life changed there, and from that point on, the gods had their eyes on me—I think on the entire group. Over time, after we arrived in Lagoon, Mia and Luna slowly remembered me too. The demons appeared, which is likely the work of the gods; at least that's the only explanation I have. During dinner, Milo told me everything about his reincarnation. Mia died. We didn't mourn, but it affects us all. After all, mourning does Mia no good and does us no good in such a situation. Especially not us; we are humanity's last hope. Demons are a hundred times stronger than normal humans, and our group is just as strong as demons. Only Milo needs a bit more training, just like Kira. But Kira can play support if necessary; Milo must be the attacker. If Luna can always use that magic from the other day, it will be perfect. This team is at a god-level. All of us against one god should be doable. And then there's what just happened: having a girlfriend now will hopefully not change the group dynamic. With Milo, everything is as usual; he's just sleeping. My thoughts come to an end, and I fall asleep as well.
The next morning begins quite normally. We make ourselves a delicious breakfast, eggs with bread. We eat in a relaxed manner, as we always do. Outside in the city, there is construction noise from the rebuilding. We finish eating. I leave the house while the others relax a bit. I can understand them; yesterday was exhausting. But for me, that's not an option. In the legend, it was said that no one would notice, but if they didn't notice, they are simply stupid. I walk through the destroyed city, and everyone looks at me like a hero. The King seems to have told them everything—that I stopped the demon attack. But actually, it was the others. Alone, I would have died against the demon general; only thanks to my friends did I survive without someone forgetting me again. And being forgotten once more would be far too much for me. I could use Erasure, of course, but if there's a fight against Freyja, I definitely need it. Since I'm sure there isn't just one single god, I need more than one Erasure. I see a man searching his house for valuables.
"Hey you there, is that really your house?" I ask skeptically.
"Yes, it's my house. I'm looking for a family heirloom," he replies with a panicked voice. A family heirloom sounds quite important. I go to him to help with the search.
"What does it look like, the heirloom?"
"Um, it's a necklace with a red jewel in the center and small violet jewels around the outside," he replies. I start with a tracking spell and search directly for this heirloom. I sense deep beneath the rubble that the heirloom must be lying there.
"Good, far down beneath all this." I point to the middle of the heap of rubble. The man nods gratefully and starts digging everything out himself since he doesn't want my help here—at least that's what I assume since he didn't ask. I walk on. Some people still look at me, some whisper: "Isn't that the hero?" or "That's the guy who stopped the demon attack." At all these words, I just sigh. I arrive at the school where I was before and where Milo signed up, but he can forget about that now. I continue and see the guild building, which is currently being rebuilt. How naive of me to think we could lead a peaceful life here.
"I dragged everyone into this, even though Freyja only hates me," I mutter quietly to myself while the others are spying on me. They hear what I just said. Their eyes turn slightly happy at the knowledge that I am worried. I look around a bit; everything is so clear since everything lies in ruins. If I could, I would restore it. I can try, but whether it works is another question. I walk as far as the city wall, which is still completely intact. Only at the spot where Lilly and I lured the demon general away is there a hole. I take a short breath and then fly up with a flight spell. There, I notice the presence of the others. I slowly raise my hand straight up. A glow begins to spread through the city. The King runs panickily out of the palace. The others look into the air and see me.
"If I couldn't achieve anything during the demon attack, I can at least do it now," I mutter to myself. The rubble of the houses and the streets begin to disappear. Then, intact building materials appear, stacked neatly on the plots of land. The residents are fascinated, as is the King. The basic structure of all the houses reappears. Granted, they have to build the houses themselves, but the framework and materials are already there, so no unnecessary costs will fall on them. I float slowly to the ground, where Milo and the girls are already waiting for me, as is the King, who is slowly coming in our direction. I land, and the King arrives at that moment. He bows to me.
"You were just like a god descending from heaven." That word "god," which the King uses, makes me instantly tense.
"Wait, god? Do you know something about gods?" I ask with a serious voice. The King merely nods in response. He points to the castle, meant as an invitation. We nod and head toward the castle. Maybe I can find out more about the gods this way, or at least how many there are and their strength. Those are the most important points for me right now. We arrive at the castle. This time, instead of walking down a long hallway, we go to a hall with a large table in the middle, used for meetings. At least usually. This time, it's more of a meeting to take action against the demons and an explanation about the gods. We all sit across from each other. I sit opposite the King. Milo and Suri sit opposite each other, as do Lilly and Kira. Luna sits alone next to Milo. The King clears his throat briefly and looks for a place to start.
"Good, you want to know everything about the gods then. Let us also talk about the demons and how we will proceed," the King says with a determined look. We nod in agreement, and thus the meeting begins.