One of the big perks of the Imperial Academy is that it offers great benefits to students.
Sure, the entrance is tough, but once you’re in, you get high-quality education for free!
Is that all?
With just a student ID, you can access most of the facilities on campus, including medical institutions like the church!
The practical exams are conducted in a duel format, so many students get injured. Usually, it’s under teacher supervision, so no one gets hurt badly enough to be hospitalized—except for Rena, who had a slightly different experience.
Most of her wounds weren’t caused by others but by herself.
If the duel got heated and she got hurt by her opponent, that’d be one thing, but in Rena’s case, her own flames hurt her, leaving no room for moderation.
So, her injuries were particularly severe compared to others. She was at the Empire’s best medical institution, but it wasn’t like they couldn’t treat her.
Waking up in an unfamiliar hospital room, she felt like she had been dreaming for a long time.
“······.”
Through her half-closed eyes, she spotted someone’s face. It was someone she recognized.
With a cold impression and a blunt face that showed no expression.
“Celine?”
“······?”
No, it wasn’t her.
Though the face and atmosphere were similar, it was clearly a different person.
With long, silver hair and crimson eyes. Not green but silver. She had to correct herself upon seeing that difference.
Still dazed from waking up, she mumbled the name of a dead person without realizing it.
After rubbing her eyes once, she confirmed the face clearly and called out a living person’s name instead.
“Iria.”
She was the one who brought her here. After all the exams ended, there was no special schedule for a day.
It wasn’t because she had a reason to help Rena; she just felt sorry for her.
It seemed like Iria had some stake in Rena’s misfortunes too.
Looking at Rena, who was propped up in her upper body, Iria spoke.
“Oh, you’re in a hospital. Don’t worry.”
Iria was feeling somewhat conflicted about Rena too.
While Rena was lying down, Iria had peeked into her dreams.
It was lonely, waiting alone in that quiet hospital room. In the dream Iria peeked into, she saw herself.
It was blurry, but it was her. Rena seemed unaware of that fact.
“I had something I wanted to say to you.”
Rena spoke as she looked at Iria.
Seeing her somewhat heavy expression, it didn’t seem to be a light topic.
Iria quietly sat beside her, signaling that she was ready to listen.
A bit of time passed. Rena needed a little more time to relay everything she wanted to say.
*
Rena opened up about her past.
She seemed quite aware of the words she had heard from Wendy in the waiting room.
The gist was that if Rena stuck around, it would lead to Iria’s misfortunes.
So, she decided to confess. She thought she had a lot to hide.
Starting from the fact that her past wasn’t very honorable, she slowly recounted how she lost a friend because she couldn’t stop it.
She figured Iria would be disappointed.
Her past was messy compared to others, and she had tried to keep it hidden.
But unexpectedly, Iria didn’t really react much. Rather than seeming disappointed, she exhibited that everyone must have things they hide.
Nobody would quit being friends just because they learned something as insignificant as that about the other.
“I also have things I’m hiding from you.”
Because what Iria was hiding was worse than what Rena had kept to herself.
Unlike Rena, who was at a comprehensible line, Iria’s situation was a bit more complicated.
If it were found out, it wouldn’t end with just quitting their friendship. Someone would probably have to die.
Iria was the one who killed Celine.
It was a fairly long time ago, but she remembered it. Celine was the first human she had eaten after causing that disaster.
Everyone must have secrets they can’t talk about.
But what would Rena’s reaction be if she found out that Iria was the one who killed Celine?
That question had lingered for a while.
The exam results came out sooner than expected.
Not being particularly interested in the middle ranks, I just scanned the top-ranking names on the score bulletin board in the central corridor.
As expected, I was the top student, and Lucia was the second.
Did I really manage to be the top student despite messing up the written exam and not doing anything on the practical? Getting the top spot at the Imperial Academy might not be as tough as I thought.
Aside from Lucia being added to the list of high-ranking students, there weren’t many changes from the entrance exam, but Rena’s ranking had improved.
Was it because she defeated Wendy, who ranked 4th, in the last duel? Rena rose to 5th, with Wendy dropping to 6th.
After that, Wendy couldn’t walk around with her head held high like before. But she did seem to have calmed down a bit.
There are two ways to make a nasty person kinder: one is to beat them with physical attacks, and the other is to smack them with magical attacks.
Wendy was in the latter category.
While Lucia, who had a similarly nasty personality, underwent physical therapy to become nicer, Wendy opted for magical treatment.
She must have been pretty embarrassed to lose in front of a crowd.
“······tch.”
As I passed by, Wendy avoided eye contact when our gazes met.
What’s up with that?
Isn’t this our first actual meeting?
I guess the effects of the magical treatment reached this far.
I decided to ignore her like I would anyone weak since I had no interest in those who were weak.
If she showed up before me again, I would take that as her wanting another dose of physical therapy.
While standing in front of the score bulletin board, Lucia walked past me next.
Of course, she couldn’t meet my gaze either. Leading her clique like usual, the haughty expression from the time I first saw her was nowhere to be found.
She was gauging my reaction.
“W-what, I-I didn’t do anything this time!”
“I didn’t say anything either.”
“D-don’t look at me like that…”
“······.”
Was my glare that fierce? I wasn’t even trying to stare at her!
This must also be the effect of physical therapy. Once someone turns kinder, they don’t get bothered anymore.
Anyway, after checking the results, I walked out of the academy building, heading towards the back alley.
It was about time to go home.
After the exams, class was free for a few days. Plus, with overlapping holidays, I didn’t have to show up at the academy for a significant amount of time.
Thanks to that, I had ample time, but I didn’t have any scheduled plans.
It had already been about two weeks since I last consumed someone.
Was it finally reaching my limit, relying on the energy from the Fragment of the Demon King?
I was starting to feel a little rumble in my stomach.
But I didn’t really want to kill any humans. I wasn’t killing for fun, not yet anyway.
Instead, wouldn’t it be okay to meet the monsters lurking underground in the Empire and ask them to hand over the Fragment of the Demon King?
It seemed that consuming the Fragment wouldn’t establish it within my body like a vital organ.
The monsters I saw during the practicum experienced that too; even I didn’t die after consuming a fragment.
Therefore, if lucky, I could buy some time without having to kill anyone. Who knows, maybe I could gather information about myself.
According to Leonard, the monsters trapped underground in the Empire possess intellect comparable to humans. I hoped I could communicate with them.
‘But still, it’s the Empire’s underground…’
Most of the Empire’s main forces would likely be gathered there. No matter how strong I was, I wouldn’t match the cumulative strength of the Empire.
The Empire specialized in eradicating monsters. It might be quite risky for me, the Seed of the Demon King, to stroll into a place like that.
But the potential rewards were plenty. I had always wanted to converse with monsters of the same kind.
If communication was possible, I had many questions for a senior who had lived as a monster longer than I had.
For instance, about their physical traits. How to live undetected by humans.
Living alone as a different race in an unknown world was quite a harsh experience.
To survive, I had to act on instinct, and following my instincts often led to killing people.
Being the only one of a different race felt lonely too.
So, it seemed I wanted to meet someone in a similar situation as mine.
I was lost in thought for too long.
“······.”
Upon arriving home, I immediately flopped onto my bed. I hadn’t slept the previous night, and I was exhausted.
I had to be busy tomorrow once I opened my eyes. So I needed to sleep early like this.
And.
Just before I fell asleep, Rena’s past crossed my mind. It was a bit untimely, though.
It wasn’t anything monumental.
That day, the day I killed Celine, I had met Rena.
She was there as a victim wandering into the back alley, while I was there as the assailant killing her friend, in the same place on the same day.
I didn’t remember everything clearly, but I think I had grabbed the human who approached me.
And Celine wasn’t far from Rena.
So, if that day Rena had taken one step closer than Celine, would I have killed her instead?
If she had taken one step closer and recognized my face, would I have killed the witness, Rena, along with Celine?
Today too, I pondered for a long time.
