The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

“Illyna.” Perserque called to her with a puzzled face, but Illyna just hastily walked away.

“I had to deal with something, so I came to Earth separately. I’ll explain the details later.”

“Okay…?” Perserque answered with a strange expression as she saw Illyna run away. At the same time, she quickly approached Davey and fell into his arms.

“Davey. I was very worried about you.”

“...”

“I heard that you saved me from the hallucination... I heard everything from Rinne.”

“Are you alright? Any pain anywhere?”

In response to Davey\'s hesitant question, Perserque silently stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his. The cold night breeze swirled around them.

“Why would I be hurt? It’s you that is doing all the work.”

Noticing how much she trusted him, no matter the situation, Davey felt like crying inside. He couldn’t bring himself to say anything.

“Per... serque.”

"What\'s the matter, Davey?” she said as she hugged him with a mischievous smile. But Davey couldn\'t help but purse his lips in response to her question.

‘Wait, I don\'t have to tell her. It must have been some accident after drinking. In fact, I\'m not even sure what happened. Besides, Illyna said it was just a one time thing. I can just brush it off.’

He tried to tell himself that it was okay, but he simply couldn\'t.

[If you start doing everything your dick tells you to do, be ready to die in my hands. Do you understand? It’ll be too late once you start regretting it. So behave yourself, you stubborn-ass bitch.]

Daphne, despite being the most holy saintess in the Hall of Heroes, had warned Davey with rather vulgar language—fitting one of the top foul-mouthed heroes of the hall. But it wasn\'t just going against her warning that mattered to him. Regardless of whether Illyna said it was okay or not, Davey had placed a burden on her, and since he gave her that burden, he knew he had to take responsibility for it.

Aeria had been in the same situation, and Perserque had desperately tried to keep Aeria by her side, knowing she would disappear at that time.

But now… things were different. Her soul was now liberated from Thanatos to some extent. Davey didn\'t know if her soul was created in the Abyss, or if the power of Thanatos resided in the soul of some demon, but he knew she wouldn\'t be dragged back there again for now.

Davey knew the idea of sharing a husband with another woman wouldn’t be easy to swallow. He, of course, thought it was impossible. By Earth\'s standards, it would be such a grave mistake that even signing divorce papers with one\'s hair being dragged while being screamed at wouldn’t be enough to make up for it.

But despite knowing this, he kept trying to rationalize it.

He thought it might be best not to tell her—just this once—for the sake of peace. He knew that if he just kept his mouth shut, nothing would happen. He didn’t want to break the peace they had now. All sorts of thoughts flooded his mind, with a new voice inside him trying to persuade him.

Davey wasn’t even sure if telling Perserque was the right way to take responsibility for the accident with Illyna in the first place. In the midst of his complicated thoughts, he could feel Perserque calling out to him, looking up at him with concern.

“Davey? You’ve been acting strange for a while now.”

"I..."

She nodded as Davey mumbled with a stern expression.

"Okay. I can tell you want to say something, but it’s something difficult to say.”

“Perserque.”

“It\'s okay. I can understand everything. So take your time.”

As Davey remained speechless, she giggled.

“It’s amazing to see you so embarrassed.” She smiled calmly and asked, “Is it something you really need to tell me?”

“...”

“If you don’t want to tell me, you don’t have to,” she said as she buried her head in his arms. “Unless you’re trying to leave me or go die.”

“Per.”

Her soft smile made Davey feel like his conscience was getting torn apart.

‘What on earth have I done because of the damn alcohol?’ he thought.

It’d be a lie to say he hadn’t been interested in Illyna. Having lived as a bachelor for nearly a thousand years, it would be painfully true to say that he lacked judgment or familiarity with these kinds of experiences.

"Well… Nevermind, it’s nothing."

In the end, Davey couldn\'t tell her the truth. Even if he had to live with this sin for the rest of his life, he had no confidence in giving her grief.

“You’re lying,” she replied sharply. “Tell me what’s on your mind.”

“...”

"Say it, Davey. What are you scared of?”

"It’s nothing.”

“Davey.”

“It’s really nothing...”

“Liar.” She lightly pinched his cheek. “I know you. Even if you became a mass murderer who kills countless people, you are not the person to lie.”

“...”

“What else would you find so difficult to tell me? If you’re not disappearing, I think I know what’s on your mind.”

Davey\'s eyes widened at her words.

“Something must’ve happened—something between you and Illyna.” Judging by her words, he had a hunch that she knew him much better than he thought.

“Did you develop feelings for her?”

“That’s…”

"Wait, no. That’s not even worth asking. I know you\'ve given me more love than I deserve, but honestly, I know you had some strange feelings you couldn\'t share with both Aeria and Illyna from the beginning."

From the beginning.

These three words just felt so painful to Davey.

“...”

“I’ll ask you again, Davey. If you lie again this time, I’m going to be really angry.” She then asked with a stern face. “What happened with you… and Illyna?”

Davey knew he couldn’t hide it anymore. He felt too sorry for her. Even if it was because of alcohol, it was no different than betraying Perserque. Of course, he didn’t try to come up with any excuses.

“I think… Illyna and I... had an accident.”

In the end, he told her the truth.

“Hmm...” But Perserque was calm.

“So what?”

“I don’t remember how it happened, but it’s true that I started hugging her first.”

“So you want to take responsibility?”

Looking back on what he’d done so far, all Davey could think about was how bad he was.

“No.. Not if you don\'t want me to…”

Whack!!

Perserque slapped Davey immediately, glaring at him with intense anger. It was only natural, given that he had married her and promised to love her for the rest of his life. Now, here he was talking as if he was about to take two more wives.

His love for her and his sense of responsibility for everything he had done were now in conflict, leaving him in a state of conficted confusion.

“So, sigh. I’m sorry.”

She glared at him without saying a word.

“You still don’t seem to know what you’ve done wrong. I’m going to slap you three more times first, and I’ll explain it to you afterward.”

The moment she was about to raise her hand again,

“Perserque!!” Illyna suddenly appeared and approached her.

“This is all my fault! It’s because I said something unnecessary!”

“Something unnecessary?” Perserque asked calmly.

“Honestly, I had Davey… in my heart. I thought about him so much that I couldn\'t help it. So I said... that I might soon marry a noble from the Lyndies Empire... So it’d be okay if it\'s just for one night... That... That’s why I…!”

“Is that why you hugged her first?” Perserque looked at Davey and asked.

“That... That’s not it... He refused to the end, saying he couldn’t betray you.”

“Then what really happened? Are you trying to say that you purposely did something to Davey?” Perserque asked coldly in a deadpan voice.

“That’s…”

Illyna contemplated for a moment before she began to speak. She talked about the nearly seven months they had spent in that special space with a hall-like environment. She told her about the incident where the two of them drank an absurd amount of strong alcohol—alcohol that one of the heroes of the hall gave them after they were exhausted from their initial fight with Eclipse—before they eventually passed out. And that by the time they both came to their senses, it was already too late.

Perserque, who had been listening intently, smirked. She slowly approached Davey, who seemed pathetic as he stood there unable to say anything.

“Davey. Do you know why I slapped you?”

His mind wasn\'t working like it usually did. All he could think to maybe say was sorry.

“I don’t think you do.”

She spoke calmly and leaned herself against a nearby railing.

“You probably tried to take responsibility for Illyna, didn’t you?”

“Yeah.”

He wasn’t lying. If he had indeed had an accident with Illyna, he planned to take responsibility to the end.

“However, your heart wavered when you saw me, so you tried to avoid responsibility. Don’t you know how much that hurts Illyna?”

“Per, that’s...”

“I know. You were afraid that I’d feel betrayed by you. You were afraid I’d be sad.”

She knew Davey all too well. It was only natural for her to know.

“But why didn’t you get what was going on in my mind?”

But Perserque took her anger in a completely different direction than he thought. Davey tried his best to avoid eye contact.

“It was bound to happen sometime in the first place. Even if it wasn’t an accident like this, I would’ve made it happen.”

"What?"

Ignoring his question, she asked Illyna again. “I remember telling you this before at one point.”

“Hmm?”

“To seize the opportunity when you have the chance. Did you think I said that out of simple sympathy or because I had different intentions?”

Ilyna knew she had said this before. But she had also figured that she had only said something like this because she figured she would disappear from his side.

Not for a time like this.

“Well, that doesn’t apply anymore, does it? You’re not going to disappear anymore...”

“So, now that the situation has gotten better, you can just ignore what I said?”

She glared at Illyna, her red eyes shining.

“Illyna.”

"Yes…”

“I think you’re completely mistaken about something. Even if that incident hadn’t happened, I would’ve definitely kept you by Davey’s side.”

“What…?”

“Davey had you in his mind even before he married me.”

At her words, Illyna widened her eyes in shock. Davey also looked at her with a surprised face.

“I swore that I would make sure Davey didn’t have any regrets about following his heart. I still haven’t changed my mind about that.”

“But this is wrong... Polygamy is just a practice term, and this is just betraying your loved one…”

“Since you went after my husband, you should also take responsibility. Were you trying to just run away?”

"Perserque…”

Perserque turned to Davey again.

“Davey.”

"Yeah."

“The only ones I will allow are Aeria and Illyna. They’re exceptions since they’re the two people that you unknowingly had in mind even before you and I got married.”

“...”

“Just don’t look at any others. From now on, don’t reach out and hurt them or give them your heart.”

It hurt to hear that a part of his heart already had feelings for the other two from the beginning. He tried to ignore what she said, but figured maybe it was truly just as she put it. She pulled on his collar and stared into his eyes.

“I know your feelings. I know even your smallest habits. I love everything about you, even those parts. That\'s why I wanted to do everything I could for you. Isn’t that how you feel toward me too?”

“Don’t talk nonsense. Do you think I said I love you as a joke?”

Perserque had loved him even though she knew from the beginning. Davey couldn’t even fathom how much love she had given him. He felt bitter that he had contemplated ways he could keep things peaceful, even though it was just for a moment. He realized his actions just now could’ve caused quite the damage to Illyna, just as she had said.

"Thank you for telling me all this.”

She then made a faint, playful smile. It was Davey\'s favorite smile.

“I think there’s already been talks of an engagement.”

“Most likely. That guy, Sullivan, is quick on these kinds of things.”

Davey had refused to marry Illyna, and the chosen alternative for someone who would protect her instead was a Duke of the Lyndis Empire.

“What I want to happen now is for you to bring Illyna back using appropriate means—you\'ll have to figure that out on your own. Whether it’s dropping a meteor or kidnapping her to live up to the name of the Demon King, you can come up with something.”

“...”

While Davey remained silent, she spoke clearly and firmly.

“You figure it out.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Maybe there\'s hope for you yet…”

She snorted, turned gracefully, and walked away.

“By the way, I forgot to tell you something,” she said calmly while showing a playful face Davey had never seen before.

“Davey.”

"Yeah?"

“You know, nothing happened between you and Illyna.”

He could hear the complete confidence oozing from her voice, instead of it being uncertainty or guessing. At her words, Illyna and Davey both made doubtful faces. It was as if they heard a statement so absurd that it wiped all human features from their faces and replaced them with a giant question mark.

‘Wait, what? Ma’am, wait, no what…?’

“I joked around a bit because the situation was so funny. I got you two good.”

"Hey, wait a sec! How do you know that?”

Davey had no clue how she was so certain of this.

At his panicking cry, she paused for a moment and smirked at him. Strangely enough, her gaze was directed to the core of his lower half.

Davey had a creepy feeling run through him. It felt like something terrible had happened to him without his knowledge.

“If you’re curious, find out for yourself. And don’t go back on what you said. I don’t like to deal with variables. It means that I have no intention of tolerating any variables, even if they cause difficulties for you in the future.”

“Hey, wait a minute! Per!”

As Davey rushed after her and tried to catch her, she laughed and gently escaped his range. “If I had to give you a hint, then...”

And then she said in a joking tone, “I’m not a philanthropist. You can think about the rest yourself.”

Illyna and Davey stayed silent for a long time as they watched Perserque disappear while giggling.

ChubbyCheeks & FriedNook\'s Thoughts

Orb\'s thoughts.

‘What on earth have I done because of the damn alcohol?’ he thought

Davey needs to see Dr. Phil and get real. He can’t just blame it on the alcohol https://youtu.be/MlhHj9iOolE

"At her words, Illyna widened her eyes in shock. Davey also looked at her with a surprised face."

At her words, Illyna widened her eyes in shock. Davey also looked at her with a surprised Pikachu face.

“This is all my fault! It’s because I said something unnecessary!”

Girl. Who was it who purposely got you both shit-faced and put you two together, because it sure as hell wasn\'t you (⁠╯⁠°⁠□⁠°⁠）⁠╯⁠︵⁠ ⁠┻⁠━⁠┻

“You know, nothing happened between you and Illyna.”

-_- Then what was the fuckin’ point of this entire infuriating subplot. We already knew Perserque was cool with polymagy. Gimme a break (⁠╯⁠°⁠□⁠°⁠）⁠╯⁠︵⁠ ⁠┻⁠━⁠┻