The subtitle Ingaouhou kanaa (因果応報かなあ – "Karmic retribution, I suppose") fully manifests here. The four girls wanted fame and reward. Instead, they gained infamy and loneliness. The manga does not portray this as simple revenge fantasy — it shows their regret through internal monologues.

By the end of Chapter 5, the Thief suggests they find Arata to apologize. But the Swordswoman refuses, saying: "Even if we beg, he’s already happy without us."

The raw Japanese chapter label included “atsui” (hot), which scanlators kept as “Hot.” Three interpretations:

The chapter opens with a global assembly of kingdoms, guilds, and temples. News has spread that the four heroines—Elise (priestess), Lilia (swordmaster), Meryl (archmage), and Sylvia (assassin)—colluded with a corrupt faction of the human church to murder the hero and claim he died fighting the Demon Lord. Their motive: they coveted the hero’s legendary weapons and the political power of being “widows of the savior.”

However, the hero and Demon Lord, now living peacefully in the Demon Lord’s castle, release recorded magical evidence (via a truth-seeing orb) showing the heroines attacking the hero from behind. The world is horrified. Crowds gather to denounce the four. In a particularly striking panel, a child throws a stone at Elise, crying, “You killed our hero!”

The hero watches from afar, conflicted but resolute. The Demon Lord holds his hand, saying, “Their karma is now complete. You owe them nothing.” The chapter ends with the four heroines being stripped of their titles and imprisoned, while the hero and Demon Lord share a quiet meal—the first truly happy scene since the betrayal.