The Hero’s Mentor is a Demon (King) Witch

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Hero Lucius became a god.

He provided shelter for the citizens of the Empire and instantly created a new system.

And human greed is boundless.

Lucius demonstrated miracles that would take a lifetime for the citizens to repay, yet they wanted even more miracles.

“Oh, Lucius.
Please create a pillar of fire to protect us from external threats.”

“Oh, Lucius.
Please summon a storm to annihilate all demons in this land.”

“Oh, Lucius, Arthur Lucius.”

Everywhere they sought out Lucius.

Many searched for the sorceress Bel, his master, but most were looking for Lucius.

For the construction of a new Empire.

Or to take Lucius to another country, not the Empire.

For whatever reason, having Lucius meant enjoying god-like powers.

If they could just sweet-talk Lucius, everything would work out.

Just then.

A massive shadow suddenly loomed in the clear blue sky.

Under a sky without a single cloud, an unidentified shadow suddenly eclipsed everything.

Was it some kind of unusual phenomenon?

But Lucius would surely solve it.

“Lucius…!”

Everyone prayed, thinking of Lucius.

They hoped that the Golden Wind would come and resolve this strange occurrence, and their prayers reached the heavens—Lucius.

Swish.

The Golden Wind blew.

As if bursting forth from something, the Golden Wind fluttered, and soon the shadows where the Golden Wind passed began to disappear.

“Oh, Lucius! Divine one who has descended to Earth!”

Praise Lucius.

Praise the hero Lucius who has newly appeared on this land.

Praise the city and land he will create, and the new world he’ll bring forth.

That’s what they called out.

“…gone?”

Lucius vanished overnight.

Along with those who followed him.

With the sorceress’s clones.

With another hero, the Water Hero.

Even.

“The Demon God has vanished!”

Having lain hidden beneath the Empire and used by Demon King Satan.

Suddenly, it was as if he shot up into the sky and disappeared.

“W-where does someone vanish like that?! Lucius! Please, please come back! And be our god!”

“Become the Emperor of the new nation! Please!!”

Lucius did not respond.

As if what he did until now was enough.

As if he had done enough and it was time for them to manage on their own.

As if he were saying he was no ordinary gullible hero as they imagined.

Lucius completed his tasks alone and then abruptly vanished.

Find Lucius.

Find the missing Lucius and have him ‘be present’ in the new Empire’s system.

So that the Arpe Empire could create a splendid and magnificent Empire that would make them forget their previous hardships.

And help the people of the Empire enjoy the glorious cultural life and safe systemic life again.

Without a moment to ask for such things, Lucius evaporated.

“Find him! We must find him!”

“If Lucius has vanished, he surely went searching for the sorceress!”

“Y-yeah! They said he would do anything a sorceress asked! If the sorceress said ‘become Emperor’, he’d do the coronation right away! Find the sorceress! Hurry!”

To find Lucius, they had to find the sorceress.

In the end.

Everyone began searching again for the missing sorceress.

Not just the entire Arpe Empire, but every nation on the continent.

And.

It has been about two weeks since Demon King Satan was defeated.

During those two weeks, the entire continent was turned upside down searching for the red-haired sorceress.

However.

The target sorceress was nowhere to be found.

*

Bride Ship. Food storage.

“Where is Borabel?”

“Dedicated to Liriez.”

“Tch… that guy is just swindling Liriez while he’s at it.”

Excluding Borabel, the rest of ‘us’ gathered in one place.

“How are you feeling these days?”

“It’s awful. I can’t even eat properly. Sure, a hero doesn’t need to eat on schedule, but even the others eat minimally.”

“But you still eat what I give you.”

“Only because you feed me. If the others were around, I wouldn’t even open my mouth.”

I feel terrible.

I’m fasting.

This is not our story.

This is Lucius’s story.

“No matter how much we focus on finding the main body, we need to wash up and eat something. How long are we going to keep empathizing with the Sky Island and sweeping the entire world’s atmosphere?”

“There’s a limit to finding by smell… How am I supposed to find anything when the only scent I have is just the stench of death decaying here? There are countless dead humans across the continent.”

“We’re worried about Lucius, but the others are anxious too. It’s getting harder to cover with clone duplicates.”

This might be the worst-case scenario.

“Rosmas, Droniel, and Yan are all upset. They send clones to themselves while they’re screaming that the main body is up at the top of the Bride Ship looking for the sorceress every day!”

“Calming them down is a daily struggle. What should we do now? At this rate, we’re going to get sucked into the void.”

“Is this usual? Five hundred years ago, it was common. It’s just this time is the hardest difficulty yet.”

Issues regarding the romance front of the hero party have always been my specialty.

Depending on how I intervene halfway, the hero party may crumble or reach a marriage and pregnancy ending.

“But that time was to put an end to the hero party, and now the goal is to keep this party intact.”

“Hmph. Anyway, once we crush Asydia, it won’t matter what happens, right? Honestly, I don’t care who wins—Rosmas, Droniel, or Yan.”

“Whether all three marry or all three fail, frankly, it doesn’t matter.”

…

“Nevertheless, now that it’s come to this, we should go all the way!”

“This is a matter of pride. As the party breaker who has made countless hero parties retire in marriage, my pride won’t allow it.”

“We’ve already come this far. So we should see it through.”

Lucius’s obsession with the sorceress Bel, the main body, has only one reason.

“Lucius wants praises right now. No matter how much we clones try, it’s useless.”

“Defeating Satan. Saving the citizens of the Empire. Obtaining three Holy Swords. Visiting the Sky Island. Oh, there are so many praises to heap.”

“Exactly. He’s aiming to receive them all at once, that’s why he’s so eager to find the main body. The main body is probably completely unaware right now.”

Lucius has achieved the very best accomplishments in his journey so far.

Not just anything—he defeated Demon King Satan, so it would even be fine if the main body praises him for 24 hours straight.

Or sing a lullaby of praises would also be good.

“The praises from the main body resonate.”

“It’s praise from none other than Demon Lord Belphegor.”

“There’s a difference between clones offering praise and the genuine article. No offense, but praise mixed with Leviathan, Mammon, and Satan’s colors can’t compare to pure 100% Belphegor’s praise, right?”

I understand.

Because I understand, we need to find the main body quickly.

It’s already been two weeks since we defeated the Demon Lord.

– Master! I caught the Demon Lord!

– Right. That was a month ago, huh? Good job.

-…….

“Oh no. Not that future. I can’t handle it. How will I endure this suddenly oppressive atmosphere?”

“We need to find him quickly. The main body must be somewhere in this world.”

“But if Lucius can’t find it, shouldn’t we see it as effectively impossible?”

…

A little, that’s true.

“The fact that Lucius is sweeping the aerosphere without finding anything means…”

“There are many possible scenarios. Specifically…”

“Don’t say it. If it gets into Lucius’s ears, it’ll just cause headaches.”

Lucius still believes that he hasn’t found the main body due to his lack of ability.

But.

What if our thoughts align?

It’s true that the sorceress Bel has been kidnapped by someone, and if the kidnapper is someone capable enough to hide her while Lucius is sweeping the entire atmosphere with the power of Spirit Devices?

The scope narrows.

“Could it be Asydia?”

“No. If it were Asydia, he would have certainly figured it out. It’s not her.”

“Then who the heck is it? Any suspicions?”

“There is one, but I can’t believe she’s still alive.”

One person does come to mind.

“If it’s her—”

“What are you mumbling about over there?”

Borabel has joined us.

We were about to say something to Borabel, who had been busy swindling Liriez—

“…you, what the…?”

“Oh, this?”

Bel’erje’s hands were shriveled.

As if she had been submerged in water for a long time, Bel’erje pointed upward with a blissful smile.

“…the late winds are quite scary. Heh, just don’t end up like this.”

“…….”

“Tell Lucius to hurry to the Papal Office… With all four Holy Swords as boosters, we’ll get there faster. You never know; there might be answers at the Papal Office.”

With a resolve to grasp at straws, the Bride Ship flew toward the Papal Office at full speed.

And.

“Welcome, Hero Lucius. And companions.”

Upon arriving at the Papal Office and meeting the Pope.

“Let’s get to the point. There’s a location believed to be where Sorceress Bel is.”

“…Moon Goddess.”

Lucius exclaimed in awe.