Editing Hagure Yuusha no Aesthetica:Volume 1 Epilogue


==Epilogue==

===Part 1===

Alayzard’s residents almost all believe in the same religion.

That is the only holy light god <Aleiketia><ref>Temporary Name</ref> that the Church of Richard believes in. The religious <Aleclasta> was the birthplace of the Church of Richard. <Aleclasta> kingdom’s capital — that is the flying capital <Aslanda><ref>Temporary Name</ref> has two large buildings, one which is the church’s holy land, or otherwise known as the base for the Holy Association of Richard.

The other building is the symbol for the kingdom, which is the Pope’s city <Coranda><ref>Temporary Name</ref>.

Right now the conference hall of <Coranda> was enveloped in a solemn atmosphere.

Alayzard’s three countries’ leaders were all present in the hall.

The religious country <Aleclasta> Pope Volk Rem Aleclasta IV.

The mechanical militarist empire <Disdia> Emperor Baram Dy Alon Disdia.

And —

The magician country <Sherfied> Queen Listy El Da Sherfied.

These three countries had had a military alliance to jointly fight against the country <Galevain> led by the Demon King Galious.

One week after the downfall of Galious, the three heads gathered to hold talks. The location was the large table in the middle of the conference hall.

“—Yes, we generally have a consensus.”

Aleclasta’s Pope Volk Rem Aleclasta IV was currently aged 68. He was stroking a long beard revealing a smile of satisfaction. The pure white holy garments had glamorous embroideries, which further added to the sacred temperament.

“The Demon King Galious has already been defeated, but the remaining Demon King military forces are still resisting everywhere. To clear up the remaining forces, we should set up a common battlefront, and at the same time, try to recover the places that were devastated by the war. This is the conclusion of this meeting, are there any objections?”

His slow and calm tone showed a majestic pride. Listy nodded in agreement—

“Our country has no objections against the proposal of Aleclasta. In order to maintain the peace and safety in Alayzard, we should form closer bonds, in case there is a need of help.”

A steady and calm tone. Listy’s current identity was the Queen, and at the same time the representative of Sherfied; what she said represented the intention of Sherfied.

Listy glanced towards her right side. The person sitting opposite of Volk was the Disdia Empire’s Emperor Baram Dy Alon Disdia. He had his eyes closed, silently sitting on the the chair. As the talks were about to end, Baram’s reaction made Listy feel a little uneasy.

…The atmosphere was quite strange.

Baram had always been known for his combative side. In each conference, he would always firmly protect his claims, but today he had barely said anything. For the arrogant Baram, this was not common. It seemed to represent that the topics today had no value.

Volk also seemed to have noticed the abnormality. Across the extravagant table, the old Pope stared at Baram.

“Baram-dono, what does Disdia think of it?”

“…This…”

After gently coughing once, Baram slowly opened his eyes.

“To destroy the remaining forces of the Demon King is just natural, our country does not have any objections. However—“

Baram’s sudden ending made Listy feel shocked. Yes, the following is the main point. Only to see Baram stare at an empty spot.

“About a week ago, Disdia received some information.”

After a short pause, Baram continued to talk:

“About the missing Demon King’s daughter…”

“—“

Listy’s expression immediately stiffened. Volk also narrowed his eyes.

For the residents of Alayzard, the Demon King’s lost inheritance was undoubtedly a major threat.

Baram nodded in satisfaction,

“I am pleased that the two of you understand the seriousness of this problem. Please allow me to make a proposal, and immediately send pursuers to capture the Demon King’s daughter.”

“Wait a minute, Emperor Baram …”

Listy expressed opposition.

“The Demon King’s army has already lost the center of its leadership, the only resisting opposition is the remaining forces. The Demon King’s army will eventually accept the truth about the death of the Demon King, and go back to <Galevain> to live peaceful lives, I do not think that capturing the Demon King’s daughter has any value—“

“This kind of thinking is too naïve, Queen Listy. Showing mercy to your enemy means hurting your own.”

Baram laughed uncontrollably.

“As long as the Demon King’s daughter is still alive, the Demon race will regroup under her arms, and once again attack the humans. At that time, it will become a bloody time and the world will once again be caught in grief and panic. The peace was hard to obtain. I believe that it is natural to completely eradicate all possible seeds in order to ensure the safety of the human world.”

“…That is true, but…”

“Baram-dono’s opinion is justifiable.”

Listy could not reject this view. The silent Volk also expressed his agreement.

“Although the Demon King’s daughter is innocent, she is indeed a threat. For the world to finally manage to obtain real peace, we must not relax and make every effort to eliminate all possible obstacles. Queen Listy, I believe you also have no objections?”

“…Yes.”

Listy nodded, with a painful expression. Ignoring Listy, who was tightly biting her lower lip, the two leaders continued their conversation.

“So…Did you find the whereabouts of the Demon King’s daughter?”

Volk urgently tried to unearth the information, but Baram only shook his head.

“Unfortunately, she has not been found yet.”

Because…

“According to our information, the Demon King’s daughter is currently residing in an alternative world—“

“W…Wait a moment!”

Listy suddenly interrupted—

“Emperor Baram, are you saying that the Demon King’s daughter passed through the <Gate of Another World>…?”

“That is correct. She passed through the <Gate of Another World> and escaped…no…exiled into another world.”

“H…How is this possible? I can’t believe it.”

Listy shook her head. This was common knowledge in Alayzard, so it is no wonder that she would have this reaction. Alayzard’s world does have a gate leading to another world, but Alayzard’s residents are unable to pass through this entrance and enter another world. This was the absolute truth and an undeniable reality, thus, Volk also revealed a look of disapproval.

“Baram-dono, even I don’t understand. The Demon King’s daughter is residing in another world…? Your argument is really interesting. To propose such an absurd topic in this important conference regarding the peace of the world, do you think that it is not suitable?”

“Pope Volk, this is not an extremely absurd thing. I have already obtained evidence that the Demon King’s daughter passed through the <Gate of Another World>, so I was able to boldly mention it in the conference.”

After a short pause, Baram continued to speak.

“—The rogue hero brought the Demon King’s daughter back to his own world.”

“What—!”

Listy immediately rose from her seat, even the chair fell down with a large noise, but she did not seem to care. Only seeing her hands slam onto the table, her face extremely pale.

“Emperor Baram, this is just baseless talk right?  Slandering the hero that defeated the Demon King alone, don’t you feel rude? Please immediately take back what you said about the “Rogue Hero”!”

“Rude? Who do you think is more rude? Defeating the Demon King was his own decision. Do not forget that we had an agreement, that the three countries form a common battle front and attack the Demon King’s castle together.”

“This way, the collective army would inevitably have suffered significant losses.”

“Maybe so, but maybe not, this is only just a hypothetical question. Since we are both assuming, then I can also boldly say that the escape of the Demon King’s daughter and the situation where the Demon King’s remaining forces are still resisting is all because the collective forces did not completely eradicate the Demon King’s army.”

“Y…You think you can say this kind of thing…!”

Listy was speechless and filled with anger. Volk hurriedly tried to act as the peacemaker.

“Queen Listy, do not mind the hypothetical situation. The Demon King Galious was definitely defeated by Akatsuki’s hands. This is the undeniable truth. The gratitude for Akatsuki will never change in this world. However—“

Volk changed the subject and pointed his finger at Baram.

“Baram-dono, how do you plan on proving this? Your plea is only an hypothetical situation, I do not think it is enough to push back Queen Listy’s claims.”

Stopping for a bit, Volk continued to talk:

“The <Gate of Another World> only allows people from an alternative world to pass, Akatsuki could not possibly bring the Demon King’s daughter into his own world. If your hypothesis is true, how do you plan on proving it? Don’t forget, but we cannot go to an alternative world.”

“This you do not have to worry about, I have already found a suitable candidate.”

After Baram finished, the doors to the conference room suddenly opened, and a single youth walked in.

Brown short hair and greenish eyes, with a childlike face showing a faint smile.

After the youth walked to the side, Baram stood up from his seat, and placed his right hand on his shoulder.

“Let me introduce you, he is called Phil Barnett.”

With a short pause—

“—He also came from the same alternative world as the hero, Akatsuki.”

“—“

Listy widened her eyes. The young individual bowed down to perform his respects. His posture was very flexible.

“I am Phil Barnett, Please to meet you, Queen Listy.”

“He was summoned to Alayzard two years ago and stayed in my country. If the collective army invasion plan had been realized, the person to defeat the Demon King Galious would have been him, and not Akatsuki.”

Baram hummed for a bit.

“He can also pass through the <Gate of Another World> and return to the hero Akatsuki’s world. In order to clarify the truth, I have decided to entrust him to find the whereabouts of the Demon King’s daughter. Queen Listy, you should have no objections right?”

This was a gamble.

“—You trust the previous hero, but I trust the future hero. In the end, who is right, let’s leave it for the world to decide.”

===Part 2===

A dark enclosed space.

Although the room was pitch black, outsiders would be able to clearly feel the vast interior space.

The key to figuring this out was the sound. A building with a chimney-like structure can often have a sound amplification effect. The loud sound echoed around, causing the vast space to be further emphasized.

“—It is only that a hero appeared, there is no need to specially summon everyone to this meeting right?”

“And we will see each other in next week’s summit, why did you pick this time?”

“You cannot say this. This is related to the terrorist attack on Babel, we cannot ignore this.”

“Isn’t that man the person who was called the <True Hero> during Norn Screening? I can’t believe it, it looks like we are all fake heroes.”

“…Do I really look like a fake…?”

“This isn’t the main point point, we only need to faithfully follow our own path of justice.”

“Shouldn’t we have a talk with that person? He should also be a hero from one of the worlds? We still have a vacant seat, if he qualifies…”

“About this point, let’s let Kyouya who faced with Ousawa Akatsuki to decide. Kyouya, what is your view?”

“About this…”

Kyouya slowly spoke.

These people were all Kyouya’s partners, their strength was comparable to him or even slightly stronger. However, in the vast space, only their voices could be heard. Kyouya was using a private line to have a conversation with these partners who were spread all around the world. And Kyouya could also understand clearly in his heart —

The voices coming out from the amplifiers were all the future leaders of the world.

“This incident did allow me to witness his strength, but I still haven’t completely understood him, I feel that it is best to continue leaving him in our school’s B-class for a while to observe him. About whether he qualifies to be a new partner of ours, let’s decide in the future.”

Kyouya’s opinion obtained agreement from everyone. The meeting was soon entering the end.

His partners that were dispersed around the world slowly cut off their communications, but Kyouya remained in his seat because he noticed that a partner was still here.

“—The other female that was mentioned in this report is…?”

He, who had not spoken a word since the beginning of the meeting, finally broke the silence.

Kyouya’s face showed a smile.

“The information was written very clearly, she is Ousawa’s sister. Her strength was accepted by everyone so she, along with Ousawa-kun, was placed in B-class…Is there a problem?”

“…No.”

His response was very cold, Kyouya could not help but reveal a wry smile.

“—Ah yes, Ousawa Akatsuki wanted me to convey a few words.”

Kyouya suddenly paused.

“I will definitely stop you, stop you and father— that was what he said.”

“…”

The other person remained silent, and did not respond.

“How is it? Do you need me to help you convey a message?”

“—There’s no need.”

After the short response, the other closed off his communications. The huge room suddenly entered a state of silence.

Kyouya shrugged his shoulders as if he didn’t care, he smiled surprisingly.

…Looks like there’s no mistake.

COCOON member’s personal history was one of the top-secrets within Babel, any one member could not learn about other members’ past. Even Kyouya, who had the highest authority, could not use Babel’s information database <Revelation><ref>Temporary Name</ref> to obtain relevant information. But he would be able to access Ousawa Akatsuki’s data and identify several suspicious areas from the data. Most of them were related to Ousawa Akatsuki’s brother and father. The content from <Revelation> could skillfully avoid the sensitive topics, but Kyouya combined Akatsuki’s message with other reports, and concluded a surprising fact.

…Then what would he do next?

Imagining the infinite possibilities of the future, Kyouya laughed.

“His father whose location is unknown is the founder of the world’s strongest terrorist organization <Scarlet Dusk>, but he has a goal of assassinating his father, and at the same time, one of the top leaders in COCOON that is controlling the world...Stopping these two figures means to stop this world...Ousawa Akatsuki, do you really understand?”

===Part 3===

Everywhere you could look around, all you could see was a white, bright and organized atmosphere with the smell of disinfectant. This was JPN Babel’s infirmary. Aside from Miu and Akatsuki, there was no one else. The infirmary had a total of 8 beds. Miu was sitting in the innermost bed.

“I can’t deal with you…how is it, does it still hurt?”

Miu’s tone involved a hint of anger.

“Ah? This? There’s no problem, it won’t kill me.”

Akatsuki gaze rested on the bandages on his waist. He had a carefree smile on his face. After being bandaged by the doctor, Akatsuki’s upper body was wrapped in layers and layers of bandages, as if he was a mummy in Egypt. According to Akatsuki, this came from the impact when he forcibly blocked the attack of Cockatrice’s sharp claws. In theory, inside Babel’s barrier, you should not receive any damage to your body, so impacts should all turned into mental damage, and once you exceed your limits, you will lose consciousness. A person who has strong willpower will be able to withstand greater amounts of damage. Once the mental side feels pain, it will automatically affect the body, producing an illusion of being hurt. In short, the mental damages will still provide a feedback to the body.

—The Cockatrice’s abnormal strength originated from the malfunction of the training system. Right now the chaotic scene was already under control, but the Cockatrice’s attacks caused many students to lose consciousness, and they were all sent to the medical building that houses critical patients. Even the medical staff in the infirmary all hurried over to support the medical building after wrapping Akatsuki in bandages. Luckily, the unconscious students’ conditions were all fairly stable. Kuzuha and Chikage’s damages were not serious either. As for the petrified students, it was confirmed that there wasn’t a problem after a precise examination. At the same time Akatsuki defeated the Cockatrice, the petrification was lifted.

Miu looked at Akatsuki. She was constantly pondering.

…Were you not afraid?

—At that time, Akatsuki prevented the combat skills instructor from using the forced termination of the system, expressing his willingness to defeat the Cockatrice, and successfully ended the crisis, settling the out of control program as well. The system engineers specially went to the infirmary to express their gratitude to Akatsuki, proving that Akatsuki’s judgment was correct at that time. If they had decided to use the forced termination, the petrified students would not have been able to recover until the system had recovered. Akatsuki must have noticed the danger, but he did not hesitate and jumped in to protect Miu, even if it meant his body would be petrified. Miu felt uncomfortable<!-- "unconceivable" in translation -->, her heart had hidden doubts since the time that she came to this world.

…Why are you willing to protect me?

Hide her from his comrades, and bring her to this world.

Even allowing her to pretend to be his dead sister to avoid suspicions.

Miu staying beside Akatsuki wasn’t without any reasons, she was only following her father Galious’s will.

If the situations permitted, she would live together with Akatsuki; if Akatsuki was not reliable enough, she would immediately kill him. Based on her feelings, Miu despised Akatsuki who killed her father. If killing Akatsuki could avenge her father, she did not know how happy it would be.

However, Miu currently did not have any plans on killing Akatsuki based on her personal feelings. To complete her father’s will, Miu wanted to observe Akatsuki clearly, to determine what kind of person he was.

—Although her father entrusted her to Akatsuki, it was not necessary for him to promise. That being the case, why does he still risk his life to protect me?

In order to fulfill his promise with her father? Or to atone for the death of her father? There were too many possibilities; it would be easier if she asked directly.

Miu suddenly had a feeling, maybe Akatsuki would never say the answer. However, in order to determine whether Akatsuki was a reliable person, it was a very important piece of evidence.

…So I must be aware of it.

Even if Akatsuki was not willing to say it, she would still look for the answer herself.

From now on, she would use the identity of Ousawa Miu and remain beside Ousawa Akatsuki and attempt to enter his inner heart.

—In the world of Alayzard, a group of people called Akatsuki a hero. A hero does not just mean the title of a hero, those people must understand Akatsuki as well.

If others can do it, so can I.

One day, I will be the same as those individuals, able to see Ousawa Akatsuki's truest side.

“—Hey.”

“Huh…Waaaa!”

Miu who was lost in thought was surprised to see Akatsuki looking at her. Miu was shocked and unconsciously shrinked back. Seeing this, Akatsuki could not help but sigh.

“Are you still confused? If you have time to care about others, why don’t you care about yourself first.”

“Huh —W…Wait! What are you trying!”

Akatsuki grabbed onto Miu’s hands and dragged her onto the bed.

“N…Nooooo! Release me! I’m not hurt at all!”

“Don’t pull this act, you think I’m blind? If you’re not injured, then why are you clutching onto your right shoulder? During the time when you tried to protect class rep and Izumi, you raised your holy staff and barely managed to maintain the defensive barrier, as a result you hurt yourself accidentally right?”

Ah, she was discovered.

“…Mmph!”

“Don’t use those pitiful eyes and look at me. There is no need to think or endure during painful times.”

Finishing what he said, Akatsuki slowly patted Miu’s right shoulder.

“Yes…”

A thick warm hand. A slight pain came from Miu’s right shoulder.

The reason was the same as Akatsuki, it was the feedback of the pain on the mental side to the body.

“…Ahh!”

Miu’s body gradually lost strength, but she could feel that her right shoulder’s pain was slowly being relieved.

Taking a closer look, a bright light came from Akatsuki’s left hand.

“Is this…recovery magic?”

“Of course not, I cannot use magic at all. This is just a simple first aid.”

Akatsuki gazed rested on Miu’s shoulder.

“This is called inner ki, its effect is to stabilize the body’s ki and rapidly increase the recovery abilities.”

So Akatsuki asked what feelings she was experiencing.

“The pain is gradually being relieved, and what is replacing it is a warm feeling. But…”

Miu glanced at Akatsuki.

“You aren’t going to take this opportunity and disrupt other people’s ki and make me do strange things right?”

“Ahh doing good deeds really doesn’t get rewarded…Since you were looking forward to it, I will fulfill your wish then!”

So Akatsuki's right index finger gently poked Miu’s forehead.

“…Huh?”

Miu was suddenly surprised.

“Waaaa…ahh…ahh…ahhhhh —!”

Then she held her forehead and screamed, probably thinking of the tragedy in the gym warehouse.

“What did you do? What kind of ghastly acupuncture point did you press this time?”

Miu was trembling nervously. This kind of appearance made Akatsuki shake his head and give a wry smile.

“An acupuncture point which will make you more honest.”

“Liar, I won’t believe…Huh?”

Miu waited vigilantly. Afraid of the painful tragedy being reproduced again. However, after a while, nothing happened. A confused Miu suspiciously stared at Akatsuki.

“—If you want to cry then cry.”

“Uh…?”

At this point Miu was completely confused.

“I just pressed an acupuncture point that will make you more honest, so you can cry as much as you want.”

Akatsuki whispered into Miu’s ears.

“After Galious’ death, you still haven’t cried right?”

Her eyes widened. What he said was absolutely true…

“…You…You’re so mean, why do you suddenly…”

Miu did not understand the reason why Akatsuki was doing this, and did not even understand why he was making her think about this past.

It’s not like you can cry if you want to cry.

“That’s too much… How would you right now make me…”

Akatsuki’s expression was very calmly.

“Clumsy fellow.”

Akatsuki gently stroke Miu’s hair.

“Do not force yourself to accept everything. Come, I’m just standing here, let all your grief, hatred and your suppressed feelings out.”

That’s right.

“No matter what the reason is, I am still the enemy who killed your father.”

“…!”

Miu’s body shuddered. 

Akatsuki’s expression was extremely serious.

“Even if you were psychologically prepared, it will be difficult for anyone to accept the truth about their father dying at someone’s hands. There is no need to hold back. When you want to cry, you should just let it all out. Then —“

Akatsuki paused.

“—In front of the enemy, scream out your hatred.”

This was the starting point. Only by mutually accepting it and facing the facts could they continue to go on.

“Galious wanted you to observe whether I am trustworthy, but it does not mean that you have to suppress your own feelings.”

So —

“When you want to cry, but if you can’t cry, I’ll think of a way to make you cry. In the entire world only I can do it, so feel free and cry, cry as much as you want.”

Because —

“—I already pressed the honest acupuncture point.”

“Ah…!”

Miu finally understood Akatsuki’s intention. There were no abnormalities in her body, and there was nothing called an honest acupuncture point in the world, but Akatsuki had really pressed onto that acupuncture point. Just like the time at the gym warehouse, he never obtained Miu’s consent.

So feel free to cry, everything is my fault — This was the meaning behind Akatsuki’s words. Miu raised her head and looked at Akatsuki, and from Akatsuki’s loving expression, she found the face of her father.

Father will forgive me.

—Cry.

“—!”

The pent up tears slowly slid down her cheeks.

“…Uwaaa…Uwaaa…”

Once she started to sob, her emotions bursted out.

Just cry, Cry as much as you want.[[File:HYnA vol 01 013.jpg|thumb]]

“Uwaaaaaaa —!”

“That’s correct, just cry as long as you want.”

Miu escaped from Akatsuki’s hands that were on her shoulder.

Her forehead pressed along Akatsuki’s shoulder and her clenched fists pounded Akatsuki’s chest.

“—“

Letting all of her sorrow, pain and hatred out.

Akatsuki silently accepted it.

Accepting Miu’s venting

===Part 4===

A calm breathing sound echoed in the silent infirmary. An exhausted Miu was currently sound asleep.

Her emotions were finally released. After coming to this world, perhaps it was the first time she slept so soundly. 

Akatsuki could not help but shake his head and smile. Not letting women cry was his aesthetics, but sometimes he would have to face a woman’s tears and allow them to cry out, this was ironic.

—However, everything hadn’t ended yet. They were still standing at the starting line. For the future days, she would continue to observe Akatsuki, then make her final decision, so Akatsuki must step up his pace. That’s right, Ousawa Akatsuki had another matter he must complete.

Akatsuki clenched his right first and silently closed his eyes.

Allowing his thoughts to flow through this world and the faraway alternative world.

—Everything began from here.

Bearing a flag about maintaining the world peace, by turning all alternative world returnees into a weapon for power struggles and sending groups of young males and females to battle: COCOON.

To establish a country for alternative world returnees and continuing to show the overwhelming might to the world. The terrorist organization <Scarlet Dusk>.

Under the bloody situation of terrorists running amok, superhumans killing each other, or even pursuers from alternative world that is slowly approaching…

A young man with a determined will courageously face this chaotic world 


The name of this young man was about to spread to every corner of this world.

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==Translation notes and References==
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| Forward to [[Hagure Yuusha no Aesthetica:Volume 1 Afterword|Afterword]]
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