———One day, a week later.
“———Starting tomorrow, you will all be attending the Demon Academy for two weeks, where you will take joint exams!! Do you all know about demons? ———Well then, Rudo, please explain.”
The usually calm and collected Miss Emma spoke energetically, surprising everyone, but they nodded in agreement.
Among the students, she pointed to Rudo.
“Yes! Spirits are beings that govern ‘light,’ while demons govern ‘darkness.’ Their abilities are diverse and powerful, but they are few in number!”
“You’re well-studied! As Rudo said, demons are an essential part of this world and are not inherently bad. The students at Demon Academy possess a special aptitude for hosting these demons. Please get along with them and pass your exams successfully!”
“Yes!!”
And so, our usual life resumed.
———First period: Physical Education.
Today, we’re playing mixed-gender Magic Baseball — a version of baseball in another world where we enhance our bodies or use magic skills while playing with a ball and bat made of magic.
Our C Class is close-knit, and everyone was having a great time playing together.
Meanwhile, I stayed in the corner of the field, trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible.
Just then, Arthur, the boy receiving a chorus of cheers from the girls, approached me.
“…Even if you have a girlfriend, if you get too much attention, the other guys might get upset.”
“It’s not like I’m choosing to be surrounded by girls…”
This must be what it’s like to be confident in your power.
Well, I have Hera, my favorite, so I’m not envious at all.
In fact, aside from Hera and Arthur’s girlfriend, Maria, most girls are like stones on the side of the road to me. I even feel a little sorry for Arthur, surrounded by so many pebbles.
“So, what do you need from me?”
“Well, I was just wondering how you’re going to handle things.”
Arthur was probably talking about the incident that was about to happen.
As Rudo mentioned earlier, demons are as he described, but at the top are the seven demons who represent the seven deadly sins. Below them are the high-ranking demons who serve them, and further down the hierarchy it goes.
Additionally, no matter how much aptitude someone has, they have to pay some kind of price. That price varies depending on their level of talent.
And then there’s the Demon Academy.
Most of the students there are demons or have a high compatibility with demons. Only a small number of other races attend, and the total student body is fewer than 200—far less than the over 1,000 students at the Spirit Academy.
However, the students there are powerful and have very strong personalities.
For instance, the student council president has a contract with the Demon of Sloth and is always sleeping on a sofa. The vice president has a contract with the Demon of Lust, and being a flirt who swings both ways, things get chaotic whenever they’re around.
But there are two people who are even more troublesome than those two.
One is Wilhelm, a third-year demon. He’s a battle maniac who’s impossible to control once he switches on. He attacks indiscriminately, causing rampant destruction. The real problem is that he has a contract with the Demon of Wrath, and because of this pact, he becomes unstoppable.
The second is Kurt, a psychopathic demon with no combat talent, but he has a contract with the Demon of Envy, making him a “kill anyone more talented than me” kind of guy.
Kurt is universally hated. He’s the reason this game is often referred to as “depressing,” and he’s responsible for the first “viewer discretion advised” scene.
As I mentioned earlier, Kurt doesn’t just kill people more talented than him—he takes them to his lab, experiments on their bodies while they’re still alive, and then steals their talents. He does this to both the protagonist and heroines.
Although Hera always fights him off in every route, I plan to deal with him myself before he even comes close to Hera in this world.
Wilhelm doesn’t get directly involved, but a greedy Kurt will cause both spirits and demons to go berserk, leading to a massive battle. The protagonist and their friends have to fight off the rampaging spirits and demons while trying to kill Kurt, the cause of it all.
In other words, if I take care of Kurt, the whole problem ends.
“For now… I’ll make sure Kurt regrets everything he’s done.”
“That’s the best plan. Even I think taking him out right away would be pointless.”
Even Arthur called him “that thing,” which shows just how hated Kurt is.
His name constantly tops the list of most disliked characters.
But there’s one concern.
“We don’t know what the hardcore fans might do.”
“Yeah… You’ve completely deviated from the original storyline, Shin.”
If I act, they’ll surely react.
However, since they didn’t interfere last time, it’s possible they don’t know about my existence or that reincarnators are unaffected by the forbidden Akashic Record.
In that case, they might ignore me completely, stay hidden, and manipulate someone else from behind the scenes.
I think it’ll be one of these two scenarios.
If the reincarnator is arrogant, it might make things easier for me… They’ll likely come straight to me. I don’t know how strong they are, but at the very least, I want to see their face.
“Arthur, you be careful too. Don’t go anywhere alone.”
“I know. I’ll always stay in groups.”
Arthur said that and then returned to the group after being called over by the other classmates.
Popular people really do have it tough. As I was musing on that, I suddenly felt a presence behind me. When I turned around———
“———Ah, there you are.”
“He-Hera!? What are you doing here!? And aren’t you supposed to be in class…?”
———Hera had poked her head around the corner of a building.
Surprised, I watched as she mischievously smiled and said, “I don’t have to attend classes, you know. Were you surprised?”
Hera gracefully sat down next to me on the bench.
Usually, we wouldn’t do something so risky in public, but no one was around, so maybe that’s why she was relaxed.
Lately, I’ve been seeing sides of Hera that I never saw in the game.
I never realized she could be so expressive.
Well, she seems happier this way, and as long as Hera’s happy, that’s all that matters.
But lately… has she been standing a little too close?
Right now, she’s sitting so close that our shoulders are almost touching.
On top of that, she smells amazing, which only makes me more nervous.
“Is something wrong?”
“N-no! I just… Hera, be careful at Demon Academy. We never know what might happen.”
“Haha… What’s gotten into you? But don’t worry. I’m always on high alert when I’m not in my room.”
Ah… She’s right.
That kind of advice was unnecessary for Hera.
“Oh, but…”
“Huh?”
Hera blushed and glanced at me, then softly said———
“When I’m next to you, Shin, I feel so safe and calm. So… I’d be happy if you stayed with me…”
“…!”
“See you tomorrow.”
With a shy smile, she quickly disappeared.
…What?
I couldn’t sleep that night, thinking about what Hera meant by those words.
