What should I do if the hero is resurrected in the Monster Girl Encyclopedia?

Chapter 164 The Serpent's Digestive Prison

into the night.

Mirad's home, her little house.

Today she successfully got another family to accept her apology.

Crossing the names off the list, Ophiucas was satisfied with her earnings from today's part-time job.

She counted the coins over and over with her pale fingertips, and finally hooked the end of her finger and pulled a small box out from under the bed, putting the coins inside.

She had seen the box with her Eye of Stagnation; Mirad shouldn't be able to take it out.

Thanks to Baphomet's help, I've been working as a newspaper deliveryman for a few days now, and my earnings should cover my food expenses... Most importantly, I have the opportunity to offer my humblest apology to those who have suffered because of her.

Oh...it's her turn to help Mirad today.

He sat properly on the edge of the bed, his huge snake tail piled up behind him.

Her snake-like eyes were fixed on the wall, unblinking. She could feel the familiar heat source on the other side, and smell the scent in the air that she longed for… He would soon, as always, pass through this wall and come to her, to share his pain and troubles with her.

coming.

Mirad entered Orpheus's room.

Those pure white eyes, glowing in the darkness, flickered a few times the moment he appeared. Then, the snake's body coiled silently before him, its mane extending out to gently touch his face with its snout.

“Milad, I’m ready.”

"...Are you hiding something from me?"

Mirad watched with great interest as Orpheus, along with her snakeskin, froze for a moment. Then, like a child whose secret had been exposed, she nodded obediently.
“I went to apologize. Obora said that if I brought you along, people would accept it out of consideration for you, but that won’t work… so I didn’t tell you.”

As if she had thought of something else, she reached under the bed with the tip of her tail, pulled out the small wooden box, and pushed it in front of him.

The box was opened, revealing a gleaming box filled with coins. Orpheus scooped up a handful of coins and carefully placed these fruits of her labor into Mirad's palm... they felt heavy.

"This is what I earned delivering newspapers. It should be enough to cover some of my food expenses."

That day, the noisy Lilim barged into his room, yelling that commemorative coins with Mirad's image would be released... Only then did Orpheus remember that there was such a thing as currency trading in this world.

Recalling the food she ate and the room she slept in at Mirad's house, Ophiuchus realized with despair the fact that she seemed to have been eating and drinking for free at Mirad's house all along.

"The hard currency for monsters is actually magic power, so the family doesn't need your financial support. But... I don't blame you. After all, I put you under house arrest as soon as you woke up, and I didn't have time to explain this to you."

Mirad put the coins back into the wooden box, removed the snake hair that was wrapped around his face and almost obscuring his vision, and looked at Orpheus, whose eyes were slightly widened by the shocking truth.

"When I eat, do I not have to pay for something in return?"

"no need."

"……Oh."

Was it his imagination? Mirad squinted.

Why does Orpheus in front of me seem a little... disappointed?
"However, that's not my main question."

He shook his head. "You refused the resident's request to atone with his death. You may not have realized it... but I was right next to you at the time."

"You were following me?" Orpheus asked.

"Yes, I'm following you."

Mirad then noticed that Orpheus's sense of loss had vanished without a trace, and her pale golden snake hair wrapped around his head even more passionately, with many strands even opening their small mouths to gently nibble at his skin... It didn't hurt; it seemed to be their way of expressing affection.

She was quite certain, "You like me. You would follow me if you liked me."

Mirad thought for a moment, without mentioning that Hyolitta had also been present at the time, "I...maybe. I did like you before. But now I'm not so sure."

"Then I will not die. I promised you that I would be your possession, to share your pain, frustration, resentment, and hatred... My life does not belong to myself alone."

She leaned forward, her icy hands encircling Mirad's neck, her flawless, pure white eyes gleaming in the darkness.
"I can't die. I won't die. I...I don't want to die...I'm sorry."

Only when you're alive can you sleep in a warm bed.

Only by living can one eat his cooking.

Only by living can one converse with Milady.

Only by living can we share his pain.

One day, when Orpheus realized she harbored a strange fear of cold death, she finally fully understood the emotion in the mist.

It's not just guilt, not just love, not just greed.

It is the desire to always be by the side of the person in my arms, the expectation to witness every tomorrow of his, and the delusion that one day he will be able to fully accept me.

The girl with gray hair… no. When Luo Gen was deeply in love, she had shouted out her words of affection, and she truly envied the way Luo Gen openly expressed her love. How exactly did Luo Gen say those words…?
“I love you, Miradmipa.”

You killed me on the throne. You taught me what love is. You made me fear death.

You've given me so many weaknesses I don't want to be attacked. I want to protect you and the girls you cherish, so you can laugh forever. But having weaknesses makes you weak, doesn't it?

and so……

"Suddenly I have so many weaknesses, I've become so weak. So weak that I can't protect myself, so can you stay by my side until I've completed my atonement?"

The Demon King of Sloth and Deception, expressionless, uttered his last and most clumsy lie of his life.

Obora's atonement was not a lie, but she did rely on it to stay by his side.

"Wanting to live is a good thing."

Mirad's voice echoed in the silent room... He was certain that none of the three remaining girls in the house were asleep; they were all intently eavesdropping on his conversation with Orpheus. Hyolita was probably covering her mouth to avoid making a sound, Loran's furry ears were likely pressed against the wall, and Obora... she was probably watching everything silently with magic.

"However, you probably don't need to use atonement as an excuse. If you want me to stay by your side, just say so directly."

"...Then can I continue to love you?"

"Ah."

"Then could you... try to love me?"

Her clumsiness, her humility, her sincerity.

Clumsily learning to atone for my sins, humbly praying to survive, and sincerely dissecting my own heart.

But her unwavering stubbornness and pride made her stand tall when she said "I love you."

A series of contradictory qualities coexisted in the girl in front of him, yet they were just right.

Mirad saw it all, little by little.

Sometimes, he even saw many shadows of his past in her. It was as if the girl he once loved had never left, and had always stayed by his side.

No.

He knew perfectly well that the other person was not the phantom from his memory.

The Fallen God's narration made Mirad understand that Orpheus had done everything in its power at that time.

Yet, this completely new version of her still unknowingly attracted and ensnared him.

He might still like the princess who needed his care and attention and was not good at dealing with the trivialities of life, and he might also like the demon king in front of him who was powerful enough to destroy a country, yet so fragile that he needed a hug.

The past is history, the future is yet to come.

It's right in front of you right now; you can grab it with just a reach.

...He reached out his hand.

"In what capacity do you speak these words, Princess Ophiperro in distress? Or the Demon King Ophius?"

Mirad brushed aside the pale golden snake hair that had been brought close to her lips and whispered, "I love the fictional princess Ophiperro who is in distress. As for the Demon Lord Ophius, I think I'm slowly starting to like her too."

"I am the Demon King Orpheus. This time, there will be no falsehood or pretense. Aside from your pain, your troubles, your resentment, your hatred... I also want your love."

"My love...like those negative emotions, can't be possessed by you alone."

"enough."

“Then, I am the hero Miradmipa. This time, I will not run away or hold back. Apart from my body, my strength, my responsibilities, my promises... I will also try to give you love.”

Then their figures overlapped, and the long snake tails slowly closed, curling into a sphere like closing flower petals, locking Mirad and Ophiuchus's bodies inside.

…This was the bridal chamber she had prepared, a sweet prison that held only the two of them.

In the cramped space, the air became moist from their breathing. He could smell the unique, crisp scent of Orpheus, and she could smell the scent of Mirad's sweat that she cherished.

Their gazes had nowhere else to go but to be fixed on each other. In the pitch-black darkness, their azure eyes and pure white snake eyes reflected each other's figures.

Then, they did everything they could, everything they should, and everything they wanted to do.

"I've learned spatial teleportation magic."

Orpheus lay quietly in Mirallard's arms, her pale gold skin mingling with the gold of her surroundings. She raised her hand and gently stroked the scales on her lower abdomen; the area there was warmer than the rest of her body.
“It’s a very simple magic spell… From now on, wherever you go, I can see you whenever I want to.”

"Don't you want to go to Rescueye?"

“I want to go. But I can’t go with them… I haven’t finished atoning for my sins.”

She paused, then rubbed her cheek against his chest.

"So I thought, at least every night, we can see each other again. When you need me, when you are troubled by those pains and troubles... I will come to help you."

"Besides... someone always has to look after the house."

(End of this chapter)