On the outskirts of the village of Lax, ... or rather completely outside.
　In the middle of the forest, where no one lives, there is a small hermitage tied up in the woods.

　When I visited there, the master served tea to me expertly as if he had been waiting for me from the beginning.
　It was a very strong flavored tea, not like ordinary tea, which was made by grinding the tea leaves themselves until they were powdered and then dissolving the whole tea in hot water.

　We drank it in a very large cup without a handle.

　It is said that this is the way of drinking that has been handed down in the other person's hometown, and it is said to be in line with the old manners.

"...with a pretty good set up.
The village chief seems to be getting used to the tea ceremony. I'm sure it's understandable, given how often you keep coming back.

　The master of the hermitage, who entertained his guests, smiled sharply.

　His name was Sesha-san.

　As a member of a brave party in the past, he and Radie had gone through many shuras together.
　He was an unquestionably strong man.

　But now I have no such background, no trace of it, and I live a hermit's life deep in the forest.

　I drank the dark tea in the bowl again.

I'm not sure if there is any trouble. There are many things that are lacking when you're this deep in the forest. The cold must be even colder.
I am grateful for your concern. But there is nothing lacking in my hermitage. If nothing is good enough, that is.

　He smiled like a bare sword again.

　Sesha-san, who was a member of the brave party, has been living like a recluse here for about a year now.

　To be precise, since Radie left to defeat the Demon King.
　Since then, Sesha has been hiding out here, as if she were waiting for Reedy, who has not returned yet.

　No, if you're going to continue to wait for Redi's return, there's no need to leave the human settlement.

　You can get a place of residence in the village of Lax and live while working.
　I'm not going to be able to get out of the house, I'm going to be able to work and live within the village.

　Hopefully Sesha-san will live in a human village as well.

　And if an adventurer as senior as he is working for the guild again, that would be reassuring.

　That's why I regularly visit Sesha-san's hermitage to check on him and try to persuade him to stay.

Is this cup made by Sesha-san again?　It's not like anything I've seen before.
It is called a teacup. I have so much time on my hands that there is no need to worry about how many ways to play with your hands. It would be fun to knead clay, bake in the kiln, and make a poorly made wabi bowls, that it would be an interesting thing to do.
Are you happy with your life, Sesha?
I'm satisfied, that I am not, that I'm not.

　Sesha offers an empty hand.
　He asks for the tea bowl back.
　I honestly offer it to him, and he fills the returned bowl with tea powder again, pours hot water, and mixes it vigorously.

　He seems to give me a refill.

I want to find myself again here, that I do. I want to find out who I am, that I am.
You're Sesha, aren't you, Sesha?
"My left. ...But who is Sesha?　A strong spear-handling adventurer?　Are you good enough to get into a brave party?　I used to believe that myself. But I couldn't believe it anymore. Since that time.

　That time.
　There's no doubt about it. It was probably when Radie left for the Demon King's Castle.

"We won't be going with you, Mister Brave.

　Yes, Radey went to the Demon King alone.
　Leaving behind the friends of the party with whom he had shared his pain and suffering until then, Radie challenged the Demon King alone.

　And he never came back.

''It can't be helped. Acting alone is what Radey said. What Sesha-san cares about is........''
I'm sure the brave man must have known that I hadn't regained the courage to fight against the Demon King. I have never recovered the temperament to oppose the Demon King.
Guts.
"Dear left.

　Sesha let out a deep sigh as if he was going to spit out his own internal organs.

I am not the only one. Both Zester-dono and Satome have had their hearts broken, that they have. By that infernal battle beyond human understanding.

　The memories that come back are of a fierce battle that you want to think of as truly hell.

　No, can we call it a battle?
　Isn't it just the Demon King unilaterally torture a rebel who is equal to a little worm?

　The Demon King himself suddenly appeared underneath Inferno, who had once held up the Demon King's defeat.

　And the monster Inferno, which I, Alanziel-san, Granbaza-sama and the strongest people in the world had so much trouble with, was burned down too unceremoniously.

　The brave party that rushed to the scene witnessed this.

They said, "Facing that horror, it is deeply engraved in my heart. I can never win against the Demon King, and no matter what the situation is, I must avoid fighting the Demon King.

　At that time, Inferno had merged with a fiery demonic beast and transformed its own body into super heat.
　The Demon King's super-heated body was consumed by the super-heated body from above with super-heated heat.

　No matter how dull it was to see that in front of him even a wooden stone would tremble with fear.

Seeing that, I can no longer fight, that I can no longer fight, that I can no longer fight the demon king. You are a demon king. If you fight them, they will kill you. No, it's okay if they kill you. When I saw the hell-raiser I wondered if I would suffer more than that.

　Sesha-san wasn't the only one who felt that way.

　Zester and Satome were both broken just by witnessing the Demon King's supernatural battle.
　That was a normal reaction.

　In fact, if you are strong enough to be allowed to accompany the brave men like them, even more so, you will be able to clearly feel the fearfulness of the Demon King-sama.

I'm sure you were so disheartened by this horrifying scene that you thought you'd call off the defeat of the Demon King. But I was wrong. But, on the contrary, you didn't stop moving forward, on the contrary, you tried to defeat the demon king.
The strength of your mind is what made you so brave.

　Really, Radey.

　But not many people can keep up with that.
　The three companions whose hearts were already broken by the Demon King. It's probably too pitiful to leave them along with him, so Reedy decided to challenge the Demon King alone.

I'm ashamed to be a warrior. After seeing the brave man off, I've come to the conclusion that I'm no longer qualified to pick up a spear. This is why I'm going to live as a hermit.

　After Radey left and the heroic party disbanded, the members chose a completely different path.

　Some, like Sesha-san, went into hiding, while others, like Zester, belonged to our village's guild and worked for the people.
　Satome went back to the center guild alone.

''They have all lost their minds and will not return to what they were before. "You will no longer have the ambition to improve yourself, Lord Zester. The only thing that he does now is to use the power he has forged for the benefit of others.
Satome...?
She seems to have her own ideas, that she does. But she is a girl who has been working for a brave man since she was a child. You can't stop even if your heart is broken, that it is. She is strong, that she is.

　We had trusted our lives to each other, even if for a short time.
　It seemed that their hearts were sufficiently in sync with each other.

　But the heart that was shattered by the Demon King's horror was not easily cured.

　Sesha-san seemed to be healing his shattered heart by quietly blending in with the plants and trees in this grass hut.

'By the way, village chief,'
Yes?
How does the Lord Mayor see the truth in the rumors?

What's the rumor? I don't have to ask.

　It would be about the life and death of their most important companion, the brave Radey.
　The world completely considers him dead.

　It's only natural to think so.
　If they challenged the Demon King and he was still alive, it is natural to assume that the brave man lost and died.

　There is no reason for the demon race to keep a defeated hero alive.

''But we already know that. We already know about the Demon King's existence that is so out of the ordinary.

　If you say that Radey has been defeated, then he could be a Valhalla man like Ida and my mother once were.
　It's difficult to judge that as being alive....

'But I think Radie is alive,'

　Not trapped in Valhalla or hell, Radhi will continue to exist in this world as Radhi.

She is the true hero. I'm sure she won't leave early and leave her accomplishments in obscurity. She's going to come back in front of us to show us what she's done.
Yes.

　Sesha holds out a bowl of matcha.

I, too, will wait here for the return of the brave lord. Thinking about how to deal with the shattered vessel that is my heart.

　I took the second cup of tea and looked at the bowl carefully before sipping it and drinking the contents.
　.........It's bitter.

''It's a pretty good set up.