Taming The Villainesses

Chapter 451: Epilogue

Looking down from a high place is quite an exhilarating experience.

Skyscrapers climbing higher and higher by the day. A view that reveals everything below. Airplanes. Spaceships.

Maybe humans are instinctively made to admire high places, like ladybugs. You just keep wanting to go higher.

I suppose I was like that too.

Sitting higher than anyone else and looking down at the world below—it was pretty fun. Opening a window ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) and watching the playground, the garden, the children playing, and the adults coming and going—it made time pass without me even noticing.

Even now, it's the same.

I stood at a place higher than anyone else in this world, overlooking my life and the lives of those colliding with it, all at a glance. The world was smaller and more intricate than I had imagined.

Like a precious glass box someone carefully crafted. Even the moments I cried, laughed, or frowned over annoying matters felt like the trivial games of children.

However—

I realized something long ago. That rather than watching from high above, it's better to go down beneath that window and play together with everyone.

“Everyone looks like they’re having fun.”

I too wanted to go down there right away—to the place where everyone laughed, cried, and lived, brushing against each other. But... the reason I couldn't do that was the same as before.

My eyes fixed on a distant hill from long ago. Like a little boy from an old, old time waiting for someone to come back, I waited for someone to return to this land.

“I wonder when they’ll come.”

“......”

“When do you think they’ll arrive?”

Sitting in a flower field, the most beautiful gift in the world, I asked the man behind me. As always, he remained silent.

I thought we’d spent quite a lot of time together here. Enough to at least make small talk. But he was far more tight-lipped than I expected. Was he still holding a grudge because I broke his sword? Or because I smashed his helmet with magic?

There were just too many things it could be.

Just when I was resigned to watching the sun set and rise again alone for yet another day— For the first time in what had been several days, no, months, he finally opened his mouth.

“Aren’t you angry with me?”

“Well.”

It would be a lie to say I wasn’t. But just as much as I resented him, I also liked him. A perfect fifty-fifty. So, plus and minus, zero.

“Isaiah Gospel.”

“......”

“I don’t know how you did it, but—you’re Solomon, and at the same time, you’re Isaiah. The words you showed me. The ones that told me to go back. The story about making a family and having children.”

“......”

“That was all you. I know that now. Because as much as you saw me, I saw you.”

The words I saw in my eyes held both malice and goodwill. The malice belonged to the fallen Demon King Solomon. The goodwill, to Isaiah—the father and husband.

Suddenly, I became curious.

“Why did you split into two in the first place?”

“Because beside a nymph... only good people can stay. Only kind, good people can remain near Beatrice.”

It was a vague explanation. But the nuance, I understood.

The Demon King Solomon must have known. That even if his precious nymph Beatrice returned to the world by a miracle... He himself, by then, would no longer be someone good or kind enough to be at her side.

And so the two were split. Even after they reunited as one again, he continued watching over me. He was helping me.

Because I understood that, I could neither resent nor forgive the man before me. That's what family is like. Yes—family. The man in front of me is my father.

But—

Since I’d never called him that even once in my life, the word wouldn’t come out of my mouth. It merely swirled in my mouth like a tiny vortex, then faded.

No matter how high I climb, some things are simply impossible.

Still, fortunately, we had plenty of time. If not today, then tomorrow. If not tomorrow, the day after. We’d find the right moment.

It was with that feeling that I looked out at the distant horizon of this eternal flower field—when I saw it. Far away, among the swaying petals, someone was walking toward us.

At that, both the man and I stood up.

The small figure gradually grew larger until I could make out her face, her expression, even her disheveled breath from running so hard.

It was exactly the face I had been waiting for.

“I... took a while, didn’t I?”

The woman spoke.

“I got a little lost. Had to come the long way around...”

A gentle hand touched my cheek.

“You... were waiting all alone this whole time, weren’t you? Suffering by yourself. And I didn’t even know... I don’t even know what to say...”

There were so many things I wanted to say. And truth be told, so many things I resented too. But at that single sentence that seemed to understand my heart, the snow that had piled up over a long winter melted like spring sunshine.

“Ah...”

So this was the feeling.

I think I understand it now.

No need for elaborate words. As long as it’s sincere, that’s enough. “I’m sorry.” “I love you.” Those words are enough—just as Elga once said.

Because this is what family means.

But—

My mother was wrong.

I wasn’t waiting alone. Now that I think about it, there were countless people who stayed with me. It was a surprisingly pleasant time.

When evening came, the children who played with me would return to their mothers' arms with happy faces. Now, I can understand how they must have felt.

With that same feeling, I took her soft, cool hand in mine.

“I wasn’t waiting alone.”

Rustle.

With my other hand, I pointed at the man standing silently like a shadow over there. He’d been around when things felt confusing and lonely. I’d relied on him for a lot.

“......”

“......”

The gazes of a man and woman long separated finally met. No one seemed to know what to say, so all remained silent.

Still, a corner of my heart filled up with the realization that I had a mother and a father. And yet, another part of it felt empty, aching slightly.

I have a family.

Not just here.

Out there in that distant world, too... My family is surely still waiting for me.

At that moment—

As if sensing my wistful gaze, the man spoke.

“Go, Teo Gospel.”

“Go where? I belong here now. We’re finally together as a family.”

At my words, the man gave a faint, somber smile.

“This isn’t where you’re meant to be yet. Let me show you proof.”

Clap.

He clapped his hands. And then—my body began floating into the air.

I was stunned. I had assumed he’d lost all magical, miraculous power. I thought all of it had been passed on to me! But clearly, that wasn’t the case.

The man said:

“Young life—don’t be disappointed. Fathers are meant to grow old. Your era is just around the corner. I understand the restlessness of youthful blood, but there’s no need to rush.”

“What are you—”

“You don’t need to take responsibility for the things I’ve done. You’ll do better than I ever could.”

My body, which had floated like a soap bubble, suddenly began plummeting toward the faraway ground—as if a heavy lump of iron had been tied to me.

And then—

Both my mother and father, as if they had arranged it beforehand, scooped up flower petals from around them and tossed them into the air.

Well, sure. It’s been a long time since they last met. They probably have a lot to talk about. In this place, perhaps it's my duty as a son to give them space.

***

And so...

I fell from the heavenly throne. Into the glass box I had once only observed and cherished from afar.

The omnipotence of looking down upon the world slipped from my shoulders. The once-light body, now weighed down by gravity, felt a touch of nausea, but still, I felt incredibly happy.

I was returning to the place where everyone was waiting.

...What if I’m too late?

What if they’ve all forgotten about me and gone on living happily without me?

So many worries flared up, but like the tail of a falling star, they one by one burned out and vanished. Now inside me, there was only joy—that I would see my family again.

But, uh...

How do I stop?

I flailed my arms and legs, but it was no use. All I could do was spread out my limbs like a gliding bird or flying squirrel and steer a bit.

Still, it was a needless worry. Right before hitting the ground, my body came to a safe halt midair.

The bubble that had surrounded me popped, and at last, I stepped onto the earth I had been watching for so long. I didn’t know where I was, but—

It was a beautiful path, with flowers and foliage gently swaying. The rain of petals falling from the sky felt so unreal, like I was inside a dream.

But I didn’t have time to savor it.

I began to walk.

Down a path I didn’t know, toward a city I had grown so familiar with. Home. The place where my family waited.

And as I climbed a hill where I could see the city walls—

I locked eyes with a set of brightly colored irises staring up at me in the sunlight.

“I told you, didn’t I? On the day the petals fall—he’ll return...”

Before I could even say anything, they ran at me. As if they wanted to meld into me like sticky putty, they hugged me tight.

The warmth, the softness of their hair, the texture of their clothes and skin...

“Hey! Why are you so late?! I gave birth without my husband!”

“Everyone! Beat up this wicked nymph bastard!”

“Ah, wait—heek...!”

The women grabbed my arms and legs and began yanking me around. They were clearly furious I had spent so many nights away from home.

In the end, their anger finally cooled—on a sunny spring day, in a bright meadow, when the biggest wedding the world had ever seen took place.

『The Wedding of the Great Mage Teo Gospel and His Beautiful Brides!』

Countless people from all over the world gathered, a surging sea of guests— and among them were some truly unexpected attendees.

━This body... demands more honey for Yujinoi...!

━This Punchnoi’s honey-fist! Taste the Honeyfistna...!

━Ogre Gorgor... sings the wedding song.

Well... Let’s talk about the chaos caused by the guests and the events that unfolded—later. There’s not enough pages just for the happy stories alone.

Yes, there were so many joyful moments.

“Here. A gift.”

Like, for example, a tiny wedding present from my mother and father, sitting on the groom’s side.

When I opened the small box, there was a shimmering, translucent body and alternating moving forelegs...

━Hyuooooong...!

“Bael!”

Yeah, something like that.

━Aaah! Lord Reinhardt is playing the saxophone again...! The legendary live show begins once more...!

━It’s not saxophone, it’s saxxophone. I can tell the subtle difference.

It was all noisy and delightful. Imps and nymphs chatted away merrily. Beautiful flower petals fell from the sky. The weather was that of a perfect spring day.

It truly was a wonderful time.

Unfortunately—

I’m out of pages, so I have to end it here. This is why I said we should’ve bought more notebooks. But no one listened to me. Is this what married life is like?

Well, I didn’t expect the story to go on this long either. Originally, I thought it’d wrap up in about 200 chapters, right?

Yes.

My story should have ended with a period long ago.

But life... Life doesn’t end neatly like stories do. Boasting about “ending it with a period!” when I didn’t even understand that... was pretty embarrassing.

Even if I put a period here and close this book—

My story will go on and on, without ever ending.

So I write it down again, with that hope in mind.

The title?

Taming the Villainesses.

I had a lot of other options, but since it’s about me and the girls, this really is the best one.

And who knows, maybe you, reading this, opened the book out of curiosity because of this title.

That’s why I hope it was you who read this story.

Then, to you, who might still be sitting alone by some window, waiting for spring to come on a twilight hill...

To you, enduring an especially long winter...

One day.

One day, spring will come for you too. A spring brighter than anyone else's.

I promise.

* The END*