Mastema, who had been shaken repeatedly, was staggering.
“Even demons can’t train their semicircular canals, huh?”
Having no other choice, I explained various things to the girl who was the headmistress.
It would be difficult to withhold information from the headmistress, considering what might happen later. It’s better to tell her now. After all, the kingdom probably doesn’t think they can keep it hidden forever.
“I’ve heard rumors about the kingdom’s incident, but did devil worshippers really summon a demon?”
“It was quite the ordeal.”
“I can imagine. And the one who summoned it was promptly killed by this one here, I suppose.”
The girl headmistress looked Mastema over from all angles.
When she tried to lift Mastema’s skirt, Mastema chopped the headmistress on the head to stop her. Thankfully, she didn’t seem to put much strength into it.
The headmistress rubbed her head and once again puffed out her chest proudly.
“A demon, and not just any demon, but a high-ranking one with its own domain. And you defeated it and now have it under your control?”
“That’s right.”
“Hard to believe, but seeing a demon behaving so obediently now makes it seem like it’s true. It’s very different from the demons I’ve seen before.”
“It’s only like this now, but when I fought it, it was every bit the demon you’d expect.”
“Hmm. Want to see?”
Mastema reacted.
“Just the appearance. Don’t release your magic power. It’ll draw too much attention.”
“Okay~”
Mastema returned to the form it had taken when I fought it. Though she didn’t release her magic power, she exuded a fitting aura. Quite the detailed performance.
“…Oh, yes, it certainly resembles a demon I’ve seen once before.”
It must have been quite some time ago that a demon appeared. No, let’s not go there. It’s rude to ask a woman her age.
The headmistress now tried to touch Mastema’s horns, but Mastema swatted her hand away.
“Now that I think about it, I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Sepia. Sepia Sladegemil. As you can see, I’m the headmistress of the magic academy.”
She looked no older than a girl.
Her purple hair extended down to her shoulders.
“You can just call me Sepia. I don’t care for the bulky surname.”
“I’m Ahavain Orbst. And this is Mastema.”
“Hmm. The renowned Sky Knight of the Empire, huh?”
“Oh, you’ve heard of me? That makes me happy.”
“Of course, any mage who doesn’t know of the ‘Angel Slayer’ is a fool. Others will realize it soon enough, though they might not care, since everyone’s so self-absorbed… and the adjustments are such a hassle…”
It seems I stepped on a landmine.
Despite appearances, she seems to be a proper headmistress.
“If you’re the Sky Knight who killed an angel, it wouldn’t be strange if you had the means to defeat a demon. What about the corruption?”
“Once one of the cores was shattered, the link to Hell was severed and it ended halfway.”
“I see. So the hypothesis that corruption links a demon to Hell was correct. If the core is destroyed, the value of the demon as a medium diminishes. Well, it’s also due to the world’s corrective force at work…”
She started rambling, clearly engrossed in her own thoughts.
She seems more of a researcher, even among the mages.
After a while, she finally calmed down.
“We’ve gone off track quite a bit. So, what brings you here? If it was just a greeting, that’s quite commendable.”
“No, that’s not it. I’d like to buy a house within the academy.”
“A house, huh? The dorms… no, that won’t do. After hearing all this, I can’t possibly have you live with the other students.”
With that, Headmistress Sepia pulled out a map.
“This house should be vacant. However, this is a magic academy. There’s no place without a curse.”
“What?”
“In other words, there’s a high possibility it’s cursed. There might even be ghosts. Leaving it unattended has allowed the curse to fester.”
“So?”
“If you can deal with that, you’re free to live there. It’s a fairly decent house.”
I see. So, there’s an available house, but it’s full of problems. They don’t have the time or manpower to fix it.
It’s quite logical to have someone who wants to live there solve the problem.
“Alright, I’ll take care of it. Sounds like an easy job.”
I’ve got a demon that’s way more powerful than any curse or ghost. Just having her there is enough to nullify them. Easy win.
“Yes, and it would be helpful if you could tidy up the exterior too. With a demon around, everything should sort itself out.”
With one problem solved, Headmistress Sepia gave a satisfied smile.
“Oh, and… what is it?”
But she seemed hesitant to bring up something else.
Her tone was concerning.
“Is there something else? I’d like to get back to the classroom.”
“Well, it’s about the demon.”
“Please don’t tell me she can’t enroll.”
“It’s not that…”
Sepia, uncharacteristically, became a bit timid.
Her youthful appearance made it seem like it was my fault for some reason.
“We have, well, not demon worshippers exactly, but something similar here too…”
“Huh?”
Now that I think about it, there was a mage using a familiar to spy on us. Could this be connected?
“There’s a group of mages called the Hell Research Society… They study demons and Hell to enhance their magical abilities. They’ve actually made some progress.”
That name is already a red flag. Did no one point that out?
“They’ve even started forming factions within the academy, with some instructors joining them. I’m a bit concerned about the group, and now that a real demon has appeared, it could be dangerous.”
“I doubt anyone could do anything to Mastema.”
“I think so too. Once they see her, they’ll understand the difference in dimensions.”
She told me to keep that in mind, and the conversation ended.
Leaving the headmistress’s office, I headed back to the classroom.
Mastema had returned to her mage form, gripping her thorny staff…
“Put that away. It’s dangerous.”
“No way. I like it; it’s cool.”
“Sigh… Just don’t let anyone else hold it. That alone could cause a murder.”
“Don’t worry. I made sure it won’t activate without my will.”
“Alright then.”
Upon returning to the classroom, Arnella looked somewhat flustered. It seemed something had happened…
“Ahavain-sama, Noel has been challenged to a duel!”
On the first day?
