It was a long-awaited reunion between father and daughter, so the rest of us chose to give them some space. Quietly, we stepped back and watched over the two of them from a respectful distance.
There must have been so much they wanted to say. So many unspoken thoughts and memories waiting to resurface. But both Routier and her father seemed to understand the gravity of the situation; they spoke only briefly before the two of them began making their way toward us.
“I’ve heard everything from Routier,” her father said, his tone calm but commanding. “Allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Zephal Beaut—Routier’s father, and the current Demon King. Thank you… for helping my daughter.”
He bowed his head low in gratitude.
Zephal Beaut, the Demon King. The very one who, moments ago, had been possessed by the Night King. And now here he was, speaking with the gravity of a sovereign, yet the warmth of a father.
Panicking a little, I rushed to return the gesture. “N-No, please! I’m just glad I could be of help!”
“No need for such humility,” he replied, straightening. “Without your power, I would have been completely devoured by the Night King. It’s only right I ask, what is your name, brave one?”
“Ah, um… Seiichi Hiiragi.”
“I see… Seiichi-dono. You have my deepest thanks.”
His words carried a quiet strength, reflecting not just gratitude but also recognition. As he turned his gaze toward me, even Saria and the others naturally straightened their postures. The tension returned; this time not from fear, but from the burden of what nearly happened.
If I hadn’t finished the spell in time… Zephal wouldn’t be standing here. None of this reunion would have happened.
I really had cut it that close.
Still, there was one thing that bothered me. A small, ridiculous detail, but it wouldn’t leave my mind. For some reason, it felt important to know. So I decided to ask.
“Um… can I ask you something?”
Zephal nodded, his expression firm. “Of course. If I can answer it, I will.”
He straightened a little, clearly preparing himself for a serious question.
And so, with all the weight of my sincerity, I asked:
“Assuming you had been absorbed… what would the Night King have been called afterward?”
“That’s your question?!” Al barked from behind me. “Out of everything you could possibly ask right now, that’s what you’re curious about?! And it’s bad luck to even say that out loud!”
Okay, fine. Maybe it wasn’t the most appropriate question. Maybe it was a little ominous.
“But don’t you kinda wanna know?”
“I mean, now that you said it, yeah, kinda, but that doesn’t mean it’s worth asking! Aren’t there more important things to ask the Demon King, y’know?!”
“More important things?”
“You’ve gotta be kidding me!” Al threw up her hands, incredulous.
But honestly, I wasn’t joking. I didn’t really have anything else I wanted to ask Zephal. Nothing burning, nothing pressing. I was genuinely just curious about the name thing.
Though now that she was getting worked up about it, I had to wonder… did Al have something she wanted to ask?
Watching our exchange with a solemn expression, Zephal gave a firm nod.
“Indeed. I imagine he would have taken the name… The All-Day King.”
“Huh… Makes sense.”
“Wait, you’re seriously answering that?!” Al exploded. “And that name is so lame!”
She was on fire with comebacks today.
Honestly, I’d been betting on something like The Day-and-Night King myself, but The All-Day King… yeah, that’s pretty awful. Then again, Day-and-Night King would’ve been just as embarrassing. And let’s be real, I’m in no position to judge anyone’s naming sense. I’m the guy who accidentally created a world-shaking spell called Cock-a-doodle-doo. That’s the kind of person I am.
While Al massaged her forehead like she was nursing a migraine, she finally exhaled a long, heavy sigh and turned back to Zephal with a serious look in her eyes. “All right… jokes aside. I need to ask something real.”
“Go ahead,” Zephal replied, his tone steady.
“Are you absolutely sure the Night King is completely gone from inside you?”
“Without a doubt,” he said confidently. “I devoured his will entirely. He no longer exists within me. There’s no need to worry.”
“I see…”
Routier tilted her head slightly, watching Al as she narrowed her eyes in thought. Something was clearly still bothering her.
“Altria?” Routier asked softly.
Then—
“Just to be safe. Seiichi,” Al added.
“Yeah?”
“Check him.”
“Me?”
“You can do it, right? No, you will do it.”
“That’s not a request! That’s a verdict!”
Zephal raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised, but not offended. “Hmm… To think that you could even confirm something like that. The fact that this world has morning now is already astonishing, but to verify whether the Night King has truly been purged… You must be quite the exceptional man, Seiichi-dono.”
“Mhm… Seiichi-oniichan is amazing,” Origa added, utterly serious. “He’s not even human.”
“Origa-chan?!”
I’m human, okay?! It says so right there on my status—
Wait…
That thing’s still AWOL, isn’t it?
Where are you right now, status window?! How far did you wander off?!
“Ahem! Well… I don’t know if I can really pull this off,” I said, clearing my throat and straightening up. “But I’ll give it a try.”
“I suspect it’ll be a waste of effort,” Zephal replied, though not unkindly. “But I’ll leave it to you.”
So, now the question was how to determine if the Night King was still inside him.
Should I use Magic Creation once more and conjure a mind probe spell?
No. No way. Not unless it’s the absolute last resort. I don’t want to use that skill again today… not after the Cock-a-doodle-doo incident. Who knows what kind of name would come out this time?
Still, I kept the option in my back pocket just in case.
As I was wracking my brain, a thought struck me, something I hadn’t been able to try back when Zephal was still under the Night King’s control.
Now that Zephal had reclaimed his body, what if I used the Synchronization skill? If I could align his spiritual signature to match the number of mental presences around him—that is, to reflect only a single consciousness—then the Night King, as a foreign entity, should get purged automatically, right?
It wouldn’t just detect him; it would eliminate him. One shot, double payoff. Definitely worth trying.
So, without any further hesitation, I activated the skill.