It’s been just nawing at me and in the shower I made a plot. A beginning and end to this?
The hero returns, Jareld, and he just ask’s to be a blacksmith, a royal blacksmith. Why? He wants to make little trinkets for dolls he makes - that will go to children. Skip awhile. So we are in the future with 7th hero, slayed the true demon king.
He wants to go to the most dangerous land, he wants to die fighting or win. The king, the son of the old king who caused the first hero to become a demon lord, is just questioning why. Jareld just pops out of nowhere after the 7th hero gives a threat/joke. Saying he’ll take his balls with his hammer, which the king backs up that he can even though he’s older now.
Blah blah the king agrees and it ends with the 7th hero getting a pink rabbit doll as a condition (has a consumable protection spell on it) and he leaves. Jareld offers the king dolls for his daughter because he seen guys trying to court her. The king completely agrees and skips to Jareld giving him a rabbit trinket and a cat one (Rabbit to clip onto stuff and the Cat to be worn). Broship, more Grandpa & grandson relationship.
(Side flavor after Jareld wanted to do a profession the king made it mediatory for hero’s after their journey to retire and take up a trade, and to supported through it. - Jareld is 300+ yr old and looks fifty. He is the grandpa for the royal palace, which everyone loves him. He yearly gives dolls imbued with magic to children for free. | The old king caused the 1st hero to become a false demon lord. | Jareld made a cannon and got bored of smithing weapons after that. Which helped in the war, but Jareld made it solely because he wanted to make weapons again.)