– Yeriel, close your eyes for a moment.
In that moment, I wondered why I asked her to close her eyes.
After returning to Black House Dormitory, Yeriel stood in front of Lev’s room, waiting for him to come down after preparing dinner. Time passed, yet he still hadn’t come out.
After all, the leader of this party was the upperclassman, Yeriel herself.
But then, an unexpected hidden boss appeared.
When I saw the wave of magic power, it must have been a high-ranking demon.
Yet, she found herself unable to do anything.
She felt powerless.
Lev Denec, due to her personal feelings for him, had missed an important task that she should have done.
In the end, it was Lev Denec who cleaned up the mess.
– Everyone, let’s just say we coordinated together.
The academy had already testified that the five of them worked together to defeat it.
‘Once again, I’ve been taken care of…’
If the truth of the incident were revealed, the responsible Yeriel wouldn’t be able to escape her responsibilities.
‘…What kind of person is he?’
The evaluation of him within the academy was somewhat fortunate, being seen just as someone who managed to defeat Galeon.
Of course, Yeriel didn’t agree with that.
‘It’s not luck…’
Even though Aria was by her side, could they handle the Flame Demon together?
No. She could firmly answer that.
There were many questions she had about Lev Denec besides this one.
Freshmen panic and become tense at the sight of demons, high-rank monsters, or even lowly demon creatures.
This time, it was a demon, yet he had not a single scratch on him.
– …
Suddenly, an odd scene began to replay in Yeriel’s head.
It was when she finally found Lev, and Aria was holding him then…
And…
The time she wrapped herself up in misunderstanding, closed her eyes, and puckered her lips…
As a woman… her own self.
This wasn’t something she should be thinking about, but she wanted to hide in a mouse hole out of embarrassment.
Should she knock? Or not?
Yeriel was still pondering outside his door.
– …
There was no sound from inside.
In her embarrassment, Yeriel’s defense mechanism was activated.
‘Could it be…?’
When facing a demon, there’s a possibility of being consumed by dark magic due to aftereffects.
Could it be that the aftershock was hitting now?
“Lev, can I come in for a moment?”
Her sense of duty as a dormitory supervisor motivated Yeriel to be more proactive.
– Clang!
Just as she was trying to find a spare key…
– Clang!
Finally, Lev Denec appeared and opened the door for her.
*
– Clang!
Before my door swung open on its own, I opened it with my own hand.
Yeriel looked like she had come to scold me, but when she saw me, what she wanted to say seemed to get swallowed.
“Can you let me in for a bit?”
.
.
.
In my room, there wasn’t really a place to sit, so we perched ourselves on the bed.
“It’s been quiet for a while, so I thought something happened.”
Yeriel’s voice had that formal air, like a school senior conducting official business.
Since I had left her hanging…
This was an awkward situation, to say the least.
“Come on, you’re not going to faint now, are you?”
I casually asked, and Yeriel let out a slight sigh.
“Everyone is exhausted, and more importantly, Lev, you fought alone.”
“It’s fine, I’m okay.”
I had reported that we all defeated it together to the academy.
I don’t really have a hobby of hiding my strength, but in this world, there are not only pure organizations of good but also evil organizations, so if more people take an interest in me, it could get annoyingly complicated.
“Can I ask you a few things?”
Yeriel’s tone was cold and blunt, still looking downward as she spoke sadly.
“Sure.”
“Why did you tell me to close my eyes and act unexpectedly?”
Well, since I couldn’t just show my demon transformation openly.
I had no choice because it was an urgent situation.
But I couldn’t say that.
“I’m sorry.”
I had no real excuse, so I simply apologized.
Then, finally facing my gaze, Yeriel said,
“Lev, I was the party leader. I wish you had explained the situation to me first…”
She gave a faint smile.
Yeriel seemed to feel a sense of responsibility and was likely feeling quite bitter about not being able to step up.
“I’m sorry.”
“Must be that I’m bothering you, right? As your upperclassman, and as a colleague…”
Her gaze dropped to the floor again.
This pattern was Yeriel’s self-deprecating routine…
This is not a good trend.
Reluctantly, I spoke up to break this chain.
“Yeah, you’re a bother.”
“?!”
Yeriel looked at me as if I had delivered a grave sentence upon hearing my short response, her eyes glazing over with tears.
“So it really is…”
“Which is why I’m apologizing for thinking of you as a bother.”
“…”
“Right now, I don’t think of you as a bother, so I’ll apologize once more.”
“I was feeling really upset? I thought we were becoming friends, Lev…”
“……”
“You never ask me anything, or joke around, always seeming uncomfortable…”
Oh no.
It seems I completely misread Yeriel’s character.
I didn’t realize she was this interested in others.
At this rate, before she turns into a Tarchangel, she might change in another unexpected way.
Thinking this, awkward words slipped out of my mouth.
“Then from now on, we can be close friends…”
Upon hearing this, Yeriel’s beautiful silver hair swayed as she turned toward me.
“Are you saying you want to be friends now?”
“…Yeah.”
Let’s just say ‘friends’ sounds nice enough.
As long as it doesn’t develop into anything more, there shouldn’t be a risk of her turning dark…
Yeriel kept nodding her head while looking down, then she looked at me again and gave a warm smile.
“Lev is my friend…”
It’s surprising how someone who already has many friends could be this happy…
I felt like I had cleared a hurdle.
Then, still smiling, Yeriel asked me,
“Still, from now on, don’t push yourself too hard alone…?”
“I’ll try my best.”
“This is as your party leader, as a senior, and… as a dorm buddy, telling you.”
“Okay.”
“Then, since we’re friends, can I ask one thing…?”
“Uh? Sure.”
Feeling healed by her warmth, I simply replied.
“Back then, why were you… holding onto Aria…?”
“……”
…Looks like there are still plenty of hurdles left.
*
The next day,
The issue of a dual dungeon hadn’t been considered yet,
and while the royal family began to investigate thoroughly into the situation,
the curriculum at Claris Academy proceeded without any issues.
Since we managed to pass the evaluation thanks to the Flame Demon,
now, doing well in other subjects would help in reducing the demerit points accumulated by Lev Denec.
Yesterday was…
– I didn’t enter, I just tripped.
– Oh yeah, I see!
– ……….
I had tried to cover it up like this, but whether she truly believed me or not, I couldn’t tell…
Anyway, looking ahead at the schedule,
there was just a week left until the ranking battle, followed by written exams.
In between, there would be several incidents, but this would sum up the first semester of first year.
What I should clearly focus on now is of course, preparing for the ranking battle.
Keeping an eye on Caeran is the most crucial.
[Owner Gems: 25,788]
To that end, I was planning to spend quite a bit of the academy’s official currency, Gems.
Thus, I started scanning the member recruitment posters posted on the academy bulletin board.
Extracurricular activities, i.e., circle activities, attract people, and where people gather is where I can use my abilities to foresee some future.
Among the posters, one particularly caught my eye:
– Alchemy Circle New Member Recruitment!
Alchemy Circle…
Even though alchemy is already incorporated within the Yegudi Green House,
the fact that there’s a separate circle activity implies that alchemy isn’t feeling too secure in its standing.
Take Hazel, the ‘Alchemist’ I helped during the selection exam, for example. She spent so much time researching in her room that she was ignored outside, and with her own food supply being threatened, she became increasingly passive.
She nearly got expelled during the selection exam.
Thus, the alchemy members began to band together tightly.
However, just gathering people doesn’t always lead to good things.
Maybe it’s due to their suppressed feelings about their abilities.
Those folks create absurd homunculus demon creatures.
This is precisely the main theme of Chapter 3.
[Academy Homunculus Incident].
These creation demons don’t disappear no matter how many times you kill them, they keep appearing, causing horrifying rumors to spread throughout the academy, but in truth…
They aren’t homunculi created through alchemy but parasitic monsters.
As a result, many students suffer from parasitic infection, draining their magic power, turning them into incapable individuals, causing chaos.
Since we’re nearing the latter part of Chapter 2, I wonder if they’ve started cultivating them yet?
Of course, ensuring that such a disaster doesn’t occur among those who are the main forces is important, but knowing this beforehand, I feel like I might be able to take advantage of it.
‘If they are parasitic monsters, maybe the skill involves parasitism?’
I’m not particularly fond of bugs, but…
The host is likely to be a named-level monster, and defeating that should reward me with a skill.
If that skill involves parasitism, well, that’s something I can’t resist.
I returned to the classroom while thinking of this amusing possibility.
.
.
.
– Class is starting now.
Today’s class topic is [Expectations of Party Members].
It’s the same class as Aria.
“Hmm?”
But Aria was nowhere to be seen.
The mascot of diligent attendance, Aria, was missing…
‘Is she absent…?’
*
Raphae Cheong-gwan,
Aria’s dorm room.
“Ugh…”
A groan escaped Aria’s lips involuntarily.
She’d been suffering from a high fever since last night.
Being a pure maiden, even with her talent in sacred power, she wasn’t a saint, just a trainee priestess at best.
Yet now she had faced the black magic of a B-class demon directly and managed to purify it, so it was only natural for her to experience overload.
Although Aria had never missed a single academy class, this time was truly unavoidable.
“Ugh… I’m so weak…”
Her body refuses to cooperate.
Even the towel on her forehead was nearly dry, turning into a hand warmer, and she didn’t have the strength to replace it.
But this was her choice.
– Aria.
– Don’t speak.
– Oh?
– …Just stay as you are.
She didn’t even know why she made such a choice.
– Aria.
Lev Denec had called her name, probably having made a decision.
“…”
Maybe she was avoiding him because she feared learning the truth about herself.
But,
‘Seeing such a back figure, I can’t just ignore it…’
So beautiful and clear, yet
hollow and lonely.
For that moment, Lev Denec appeared very lonely indeed.
Loneliness.
This feeling was far too familiar for Aria, and she couldn’t just turn a blind eye.
“It’s so hot…”
Aria didn’t seek the Restoration Chamber.
She didn’t want to show him her vulnerable self.
For some reason, if he were to show up like he did during the selection exam, he might angrily ask why she had done that.
It was like one of Aria’s most precious memories from her childhood,
– You worried, didn’t you?
The day she had come home late, wanting to gather flowers for her mother, only to be scolded instead.
“…”
That peaceful past no longer existed.
So the relationships they had now… were comfortable for her.
‘Maybe Selena is right…’
At that moment when Aria tried her best to change the towel,
– Knock. Knock!
“…!”
Someone knocked on her dorm room door.
