It would have been nice if everyone could have reunited together.
Right now, the disappointment of not being able to meet Teresa was great, but still, sadness didn’t come.
It wasn’t a meeting without a promise, because I had faith that it would surely come someday.
The chance to meet… that hope definitely existed somewhere, even if it was as vague as mist.
Just knowing that it existed gave me the strength to carry on.
It was only a matter of time, just like I met Menelapie, there was a possibility that I could reunite with Teresa as well, which allowed Shia to feel the anticipation as if opening a Christmas present.
That alone was enough to satisfy me.
However, I still couldn’t understand the meaning of what Menelapie had said.
What could be the price that Teresa had to pay?
Just like Menelapie came here… couldn’t Teresa have come in the same way?
If that wasn’t possible, could there have been a reason…?
‘Could it be that Menelapie returned to Earth all alone, trying to hinder the reunion between me and Teresa…? No, that can’t be true.’
I knew best how great Menelapie was and what kind of a person she was.
I believed in Menelapie as much as I believed in Teresa. And just as I believed in Teresa, it stood to reason that Menelapie would believe in Teresa too.
There was no lie in those words.
Menelapie and Teresa often had conflicts, like enemies that would spar often.
But even if I was as dense as they say, I knew well enough that these conflicts arose from a place of affection and feelings for each other.
The reasons for Teresa and Menelapie bickering were usually simple personality differences or annoying each other about whose side I would take.
They wouldn’t fight just to hinder each other’s meetings like that. On the battlefield, they trusted each other and had each other’s backs.
Yeah, I would be able to meet Teresa soon.
So for now, even if it’s vague, let’s believe.
The only thing I can do now is to believe.
”Ah, Shia! How are you!?”
At that moment, the cheerful voice made Shia and Menelapie turn around.
Choi Bomi, the director.
She was the person who provided the mental counseling and ethics review when I first came here.
“It’s been a while since the last ethics review. I hope you’ve been doing well? Have you been sick or troubled at all? Oh, by the way! Are you using the drone camera I lent you properly?”
“Yes, I’m having quite a bit of fun with the broadcasts.”
“That’s great to hear! Oh, is this person next to you…?”
“Yes, this is Menelapie Heilam. My hero.”
With a slightly shy tone, as if showing off a girlfriend, Shia introduced Menelapie with a slightly flushed face, and Menelapie shrugged her shoulders and made eye contact with Choi Bomi.
“I am Menelapie Heilam. It’s our first meeting so please take care of me, woman of this world.”
“Ah… yes…”
As Choi Bomi’s shining golden eyes curved like a crescent moon, she unknowingly became entranced for a moment.
Menelapie’s face was undoubtedly a beauty, breathtakingly stunning.
But Choi Bomi wouldn’t lose herself just because she saw a pretty face like a celebrity.
Menelapie’s appearance was like gold.
It seemed to glow without shining.
The dazzling blonde hair and golden eyes had an aura that drew people in without effort.
Add to that her towering height of over 180 cm and a sculpted figure, it was inevitable for anyone who is human to be a bit mesmerized.
”K-Khem! I apologize. Shall we get started right away?”
Choi Bomi had some information about Menelapie Heilam from the previous ethics review and a few counseling sessions.
The emperor of this other world.
The hero who defeated the Demon King.
The person who has the deepest connection with the returnee Isia in the previous world.
Thus, the ethics review of Menelapie by the Returnee Management Bureau began.
○○○○○
While Shia was waiting briefly in the waiting room of the Returnee Management Bureau, Menelapie began the official returnee entry procedure through Choi Bomi.
“Well then, let me see. I’m Choi Bomi, the director. Nice to meet you, Your Majesty.”
“Likewise. By the way, you don’t have to call me Your Majesty.”
“Uh… is that really okay?”
“You don’t need to refer to me as Your Majesty or put on airs. This is another world, and here, I am just a human named Menelapie.”
With the cooperation of the Yeon Family, the Returnee Management Bureau provided Menelapie with a new ID and a memory as a returnee who lost their recollection. Though it seemed that everything in this unfamiliar world was new to her, it was clear that she had grasped some of the workings in the Bureau as she was no ordinary emperor.
After that, there was nothing unusual.
“From now on, Menelapie Heilam will be assigned a proper support fund and accommodation as a returnee with a lost memory. Oh, how would you like to handle your accommodation?”
“I’m currently living with Shia for now.”
“Then I’ll place it on hold for the time being. Typically, returnees are assigned a house called a ‘Resting Place’ and are given several years of grace period to purchase a new home, or they may extend the contract of the existing resting place through specific conditions or missions.”
Upon being gifted a name.
ID cards, passports, and various social insurance and health insurance enrollments were automatically completed, and in an instant, Menelapie’s status as a human living on Earth was established.
Normally, this process would take at least a week, but thanks to the Yeon Family, everything was wrapped up more quickly than expected.
“Castle walls.”
“Safety, sturdy, stronghold, guardian, family, safety, soldiers, sacrifice.”
Clack, clack…
“Crown.”
“Something I have laid down now, power, meaningless, but it should not be taken by the wrong person.”
“Indeed, it seems that you’re not just blowing smoke when calling yourself an emperor. Among those I’ve connected with through Thought Bond, there are very few who can articulate things so crisply and clearly.”
“Well, is that a good thing?”
“Of course, it is! That shows how strong your mental fortitude is and how clear your personal beliefs and ego are.”
Choi Bomi, who was meeting a returnee after a long time, wore the warmest smile she could muster.
The returnee report and mental assessments proceeded far more smoothly than expected.
‘No, this person is not a returnee at all. She is a native of a completely different world…’
Nonetheless, due to the influence of Yeonhwa and the Yeon Family, Menelapie was treated as a ‘returned person who lost their memory.’
That made it easier to receive various forms of support, especially since living with Shia made it worthwhile as those were the necessary procedures.
‘To be honest, I was quite scared when I first heard that the great hero who dealt with the Demon King from that ‘previous world’ has appeared, but…’
Not just as a noble or a king.
But an emperor.
The fear that the emperor might disregard Earth’s laws and roar, “How dare you kneel before the emperor! Such sacrilege!” or swing a sword and demolish the building of the Returnee Management Bureau was real.
Some returnees lost their memories and suddenly started swinging swords, injuring some staff members or damaging properties. In some cases, returnees who had been kings of nations or city-states showed up and started killing hunters and trainee personnel, claiming we had kidnapped them without reason.
Recently, incidents of that nature have drastically decreased thanks to the systematic management of returnees, but in the past, casualties caused by returnees were almost commonplace, leading to some returning individuals becoming criminals overnight.
Thus, to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances, Choi Bomi had already sent most staff home and even had S-grade hunter Yeonhwa waiting in the room across the hall.
The pretext was attending for preliminary hearings and matters related to the previous Erosion Dungeon, but in reality, she was stationed there to restrain Menelapie, should the guest from another world cause any unusual disturbances.
Of course, from Yeonhwa’s perspective, knowing what Shia had said about Menelapie, she naturally believed that this person wouldn’t do anything senseless… but to others, even the slightest hint of danger could not be dismissed.
In any case, Emperor Menelapie Heilam was much easier to deal with than I had thought.
“You don’t have to call me Your Majesty or put on airs. This is another world, and here, I am just a human named Menelapie.”
In that moment, Choi Bomi felt a huge wave of relief.
Ah, what a relief!
This Menelapie Heilam is a person who is very easy-going and quite sane!
She is not a returnee, but a native of another world, yet thank goodness!
No one will get hurt, nor will the building be demolished in chaos.
As the head of the Returnee Management Bureau, she had to always be prepared for the worst-case scenarios, and having seen various ridiculous cases of returnees, Choi Bomi couldn’t help but feel relief.
Immediately after, Choi Bomi smoothly progressed with the mental assessment and ethics review for Menelapie as she had done with Shia before.
“Haha, you have no idea how relieved I am thanks to you, Menelapie!”
“Me… no, I haven’t done anything, why is that good?”
“First of all, you accepted my greetings. I was honestly quite worried and felt burdened upon hearing that a high-ranking person such as an emperor would be here. The moment you introduced yourself as ‘human Menelapie,’ it was as if more than ten items on my mental counseling and ethics review list were deemed passed.”
“I don’t quite understand, but it sounds like work is easier now?”
“Exactly! Now, here’s the next picture.”
Thus, Choi Bomi showed Menelapie the next picture.
It was a drawing of a ‘cliff.’
Menelapie passed all ethical assessment and mental assessment categories with above-average results, but the cliff drawing had elicited the most intense reaction during Shia’s review.
Zzzt!
“Gah!?”
However, at that moment, Choi Bomi suddenly felt her Thought Bond connection with Menelapie snap forcibly.
It wasn’t that the mana was insufficient, or that the connection was weak; the connection itself had been forcibly severed by Menelapie.
This was unprecedented.
It was as if the connection path was destroyed by the sheer overwhelming power of memories and brilliant flashes that flooded in.
“Um, Um… Menelapie…?”
“………….”
Menelapie, who had been staring at the cliff picture for a while, seemed to fall deep in thought before opening her eyes again.
As soon as Choi Bomi noticed that reaction, she sensed something unusual.
“Sorry about that. Did you say Choi Bomi? May I take a break for a moment?”
“Uh, yes… yes…”
○○○○
Suddenly, the ethics review was halted, and instead of Choi Bomi, it was Yeonhwa, who had been waiting in the opposite room, who sought out Menelapie.
Normally, another overseer or counselor would need to come, but Yeonhwa, who had been watching the situation unfold, seemed to have wanted to understand what Menelapie was all about, so she voluntarily facilitated this meeting.
In fact, at the very moment the Thought Bond was severed, Yeonhwa could no longer determine whether Choi Bomi’s safety was assured, so she stepped in to attempt conversations with Menelapie in place of Choi Bomi.
“I’m Yeonhwa. I’ll be taking over and conducting the assessment from now on instead of Choi Bomi, the director.”
“I see, you’re the girl I saw the other day.”
Menelapie recognized Yeonhwa’s face perfectly.
The girl who fought with Shia in the Erosion Dungeon.
Although she was still young, she wielded ice power and showed remarkable overall skill.
Even though I hadn’t seen her fight properly, if she could stand alongside Shia, she must not lack in strength.
“Turning the assessor suddenly might be a bit troublesome for you?”
“Rather than troublesome… I just didn’t expect it. A single drawing could make my heart waver like this; I still have a way to go.”
“The procedure for entering as a returnee is originally a bit complex. But it’s still getting better than before.”
And so, Yeonhwa took a seat in front of Menelapie.
“Well, since you’ve said I can call you anything comfortably, may I call you Menelapie?”
“Of course. As I mentioned to Choi Bomi earlier, here I am simply human Menelapie, so feel free to call me however you like.”
“Then, to ease my mind a bit… what exactly is your relationship with Shia?”
“Well, that’s a relationship…”
“I know you both hold each other dear, but I’m quite curious about the level of that relationship.”
At Yeonhwa’s words, Menelapie shrugged.
“It’s not a relationship that can merely be described as a lover or a friend.”
Having entrusted her back and having lived together, sharing life and death for quite some time…
“It’s closer to comrades than lovers; perhaps closer to family than comrades… This is an impolite question, but since you have been precious to Shia, I will answer.”
If you’re precious to Shia, then I, too, shall treat you as such.
“Wow, that was quite a high bar for the first question. Now, let’s get on with the rest?”
“………Okay.”
“You don’t need to make that face. The emperor from a world that isn’t even documented in any of your world’s literature is here. It’s perfectly understandable that you take extreme precautions and that everything seems new. I too recognize that everything is new to both of us.”
Menelapie spoke calmly as if she understood everything and was unperturbed even by the sudden environmental shifts.
After that, numerous questions flew back and forth.
“How much land did you rule as an emperor?”
“Well, it was much larger than this small country. Comparable to the continent of America, I suppose.”
“You know about the American continent? You’re already adapting well.”
“I’ve spent some time with a smartwatch.”
Details about the exact titles and life Menelapie had in the previous world.
“Have you ever killed someone?”
“I have. As both an emperor and a hero, I had my reasons. Not just the Demon King and the demon race… but if need be, I have taken human lives as well.”
Evaluating whether she had killed someone or not was included, and a holistic assessment of the reasons behind such actions.
“And how did you get to this world?”
“… Is Shir going to see this?”
“No, the counseling details will be recorded, but Shir is in the waiting room next door.”
“…..”
At Yeonhwa’s words, Menelapie seemed to contemplate a bit.
“Well, it’s fine. I was going to reveal it at some point anyway.”
With a hint of worry or sadness in her calm and gentle tone, Menelapie began to speak.
●●●●●
“… It’s alright.”
[Creak…! G-Gah…!]
“It’s okay. It’s okay.”
Crack, crack!
Menelapie’s brows furrowed slightly from the agonizing pain felt in her shoulder.
Even though she had reinforced her aura, she didn’t expect her aura barrier could be pierced by just a single fang.
The emperor with the strongest body in humanity trembled slightly, feeling the sharp pain while holding Shia in her embrace.
Yet, the pain Menelapie felt was not just physical suffering.
To her, the most painful thing was her own inability and resentment towards herself for being unable to find a way to help her friend who had turned out this way.
What does it matter if one is a hero.
What does it matter if one is the emperor who saved the world?
Right now, she couldn’t even offer any meaningful help to the friend she wanted to save the most.
Crack!
“Ugh…!”
“Shia! Focus… Come back to me.”
She had chanted those words countless times…
But this time, Shia had been absent for unusually long.
Does my voice not reach you?
Shia, please return.
Please come back.
Please, come back.
The desperate wish echoing like a mantra would only be granted three hours later.
“Ha, Hah… ha… hih…!”
Menelapie felt the pain in her shoulder slowly dissipating as she relaxed her grip on Shia’s body.
“… Have you returned, Shia…”
Come back.
Welcome back.
Such comforting words felt like they had slipped her mind.
At some point, Shia had stopped smiling.
She could not smile.
How many times had it been since she lost her reason and was seized by the pangs of hunger, exposing her fangs to innocent souls?
“… W-What!? W-What!?”
“Calm down…!”
“Uh, huh… Huh! Hah…! Hah…!”
As Schia realized she was biting Menelapie’s shoulder, the self-hatred and terrible hunger made her gag and stumble to get to her feet.
There was nothing left inside her, and thus nothing to regurgitate, but even when her reason returned, Schia teetered dangerously on the edge of madness and meat.
“Now it’s alright… I’m here.”
“Haah, huh… W-What… Menelapieii… Menelapie… hih…!”
“It’s okay. It’s okay.”
While gently reassuring her, Menelapie wrapped her arms around Shia’s shoulders, but it was meaningless to Shia, who had just regained her sanity.
“… This time, how many… Were there any…?”
“Did I kill anyone…?”
“How many… did I kill… this time…?”
“… No one died.”
“Lies… don’t lie to me… just be honest… please?”
“It’s the truth. I do not lie to you.”
“… Hu, huh…!”
In the empty Great Hall of the imperial castle.
Once a sacred and divine place where the greatest and most brilliant saint of the empire resided, today it was darker and had a more ominous atmosphere than an abandoned house.
“I don’t want this anymore… I’m done with this…”
“It’s okay. It’s alright… I’m here. Just you…”
“I’m… I’m suffering…”
At a loss, not knowing what to do…
Even if I don’t know what to do anymore…
“Now, it’s really… really hard…”
The only thing Menelapie could do was caress the shoulder of Shia, who just regained her sanity after the hunger attack.
This time it will be alright.
Nothing happened…
Now that Shia claimed to be struggling, there wasn’t much Menelapie could do.
“Hugh, hih… hih…”
And so, after 178 hunger attacks had passed, Shia found solace in Menelapie’s embrace, weeping for a long time.
