Chapter 29 /// Reunion and Future ///

Huuuuugs~

A soft touch enveloped Shion.

“Err, wai… Ari…”

Shion, who is always calm even when dealing with strong opponents, was flustered when Aria hugged him.

“I wanted to see you. …… Shion-san …… I knew you were alive…… you’re…… not dead……”

With that comment, Shion understood the meaning of Aria’s action. He thought that the information about his death had been passed on, and that it had reached Aria’s ears as well.

“I’m sorry for worrying you. A lot of things happened, and I retired as a Dark Hero, but I’m still alive”

“Yeah, Zion’s not going to die, is he? I’m so glad …… waaa!?”

So, Aria jumped back, blushing. She realized that their faces were too close together.

Aria’s shyness as she fidgets with her fingers and Shion’s confusion over how to respond are very new to everyone around her.

What are you, teen couple!? The villagers resisted the urge to interject.

‘You two knew each other, didn’t you? You’re both beautiful men, and you look great together’

“Don’t tease me! His name is Haku. He’s working with me right now”

“It’s amazing. I can’t believe you can tame such a powerful demon. …… I’m Aria, nice to meet you!”

‘Please take care of me’

We greeted each other there and then, and discussed in detail our current situation and the reason why we were in the village.

Shion told her that Athena was looking for Aria and asked if he could help her.

“Of course I’ll go. Athena is my friend, and Shion asked me to go too”

“Thank you. Well, let’s go shall we?”

After thanking the villagers, the group departed.

She straddled Haku’s back alongside Shion. Aria was impressed by the bushy and shiny fur, but was troubled about where to sit.

I wanted to close in on him, but I felt that if I got too close, he would think I was a vulgar woman. Haku read this and sent a gentle pass.

‘My back is a little bit unstable, so you’d better make sure Shion catches you. Okay, Miss Aria?’

“Y…Yes, thank you Haku! We…Well then… If you’ll excuse me…”

Aria boldly put her arms in front of him. Her face was attached to his back and her eyes were closed. Her heart was pounding and felt like it was going to burst.

“It’s stable, so you don’t need to hug me tightly like that”

‘You’re so oblivious, Shion~”

“What? What is it?”

When Shion, who really didn’t know what he was talking about, asked him, Haku said, Dunno, figure it out yourself.

We had no problems on the road and returned to the spring in the evening. Athena was still there, and she squealed with joy when she saw Aria.

[ Ooooooh, I’ve been waiting for you, Aria! ]

“Athena! My, it’s been so long!”

Shion and Haku were heartened by the sight of the two women cackling with their hands together. Both of them are amazing beings, but if you just look at them here, they are no different from young town girls.

‘She’s a beautiful woman’

“Which one?”

‘Miss Aria!’

“Well, I’m surprised too, you know? The last time I saw her, she was still a kid, but she’s grown up so much”

Her long, beautiful light blue hair was well groomed, and she had grown taller and more stylish. Her breasts had also grown quite a bit, and Shion felt self-hate at the fact that he had looked at them.

Once the excitement of the reunion had settled down, Athena finally got down to business.

The reason she was looking for Aria.

It was related to the recent frequent occurrence of beastmen turning into ogres.

After explaining the incident, Athena said.

[ You had a spell that could fix their condition, right? Wouldn’t that be enough to break the ogre? ]

“You mean [Holy Water]? If their transformation is not that long, I think we can turn them back”

Holy Water is clean water that is transformed by magic to have special effects. It can heal minor poisons, but is most effective against plague and zombification.

[ The case of the beastly ogre …… who comes to me for advice is miserable, and I want to do something about it. Can you lend me a hand? ]

“I understand. As a Hero myself, I can’t leave you behind”

[ It’s a wonderful way to be. A true example of a Hero ]

“I’m just an impersonator”

After glancing at Shion as well, Aria filled with a smile. Haku and Athena see this and are completely aware of her thoughts, but not the all-important Shion.

He tilted his head lightly, not knowing why they were smiling so happily.

Athena sighs and then hands the [Demonic Robbing Stone] to Shion.

[ Here’s what I’ve promised ]

Shion nodded, breaking the stone and letting the magic power return to him. He couldn’t help but smile at the power that had returned to him, as much or more than the first time.

“Feels much better”

‘Why don’t you test your strength?’

“I’d like to do that……”

Shion looked up at the dawn-tinted sky, a reluctant expression on his face. There were multiple bird demons circling overhead, and it bothered him.

It is not very big, about two meters long, but its face looks like a human. They are called “Human-Face Bird”, and they often kidnap and eat people in the dim light of night.

[ That? It’s been coming around here a lot lately. I’ve already defeated a few of them, but they always end up running away ]

“I just hope [Black Wings] comes out right”

With a FLAP, jet-black wings sprouted on Shion’s back. They were not the single wing of the past, but had evolved into two wings.

YOSH, and clenching his fists, Shion soared up into the sky. As he ascends, he draws his sword and thrusts his blade at one of them, ramming it under its stomach.

Flesh rips open and blue blood spurts out.

Effortlessly, he took care of the first one.

“Quee!?”

The man-eating bird was surprised by the sudden attack, but it did not run away. It was because it judged Shion to be human, even though he had wings.

He basically underestimates people and decides that he can win even if the situation is a little bad.

“Can you move at this level?”

With a flap of his wings, Shion created a wind in front of him. The expressions on the faces of the human-face birds were distorted because the wind pressure was overwhelming, and if they were not careful, they would be blown away.

Dozens of black feathers mixed in with the even stronger wind and flew at high speed.

“Kuya……!”

The pain was too much to bear, and the man-eating birds all crashed to the ground.

The impact seemed to kill him instantly, and Shion looked a little bored as he returned to his friends.

“The opponent was too weak to even try to test anything……”

‘Eeeeeeh~’

[ What… Who… How…]

“Sasuga Shion-san! So cool!!”

The rave reviews from the three parties didn’t reach Shion, and he was left hmming and puzzling.

What he was thinking was, where can I find stronger enemies……