CHAPTER 4
The Ex–Demon Lord Reunited with Trouble
I looked and looked again at the score in front of me, which remained a zero each time. But I was still listed as the top-ranking score.
What does this mean? Also, the test was apparently out of ten billion points, which had been written next to the big, fat zero. What the hell was this all about?
Ireena and I were at a total loss, cocking our heads to the side in absolute confusion, when we heard a familiar voice.
“Hey there, you guys. Congrats on getting in!” chirped a platinum blonde, Jessica, grinning and standing in a crowd of test takers overcome with joy—or sorrow.
She called me over. “Come with me. The headmaster will explain your score.”
We followed her lead to his office, where Golde greeted us the moment we stepped through a door.
“Ard! You’re a genius! No, more than a genius! An absolute monster! No, even greater! A god! Yes, you’re a god!” Count Golde bombarded me with accolades.
“…I’m sorry. I’m afraid I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“Ah, yes. Ahem. Sorry for acting so childish and getting all riled up,” he replied sheepishly, scratching his head in embarrassment. “About your score,” he started.
“Yes, a zero. I don’t want to come across as rude, but I wasn’t expecting that.”
“Hmm… I want to ask you something. What compelled you to write those answers?”
“I thought the questions were too easy and assumed they were trying to trick me.”
“‘Too easy,’ huh. I’ll have you know, our exam is infamous for having the most challenging questions worldwide,” Golde added with a wry smile.
I tilted my head. The most challenging exam? Really? Even a toddler could pass it.
“Well, in any case, you got every single question wrong. Your answers went…far beyond the correct ones.” His eyes began to sparkle once again. “How did you come up with these answers? I’ve never even heard of someone using a magic-amplification circuit to make magic circles! And your idea to rearrange these techniques is godlike—divine! Even if I lived several hundred more years, I wouldn’t be able to come up with that!” he exclaimed, reaching a fever pitch.
Golde wrapped up his little speech. “You might have scored a zero. But as a thesis on magic theory, this gets full points! No, more than that! These thoughts of yours would rock the entire world if we presented them to academic circles! They have the potential to alter history! You’ve ranked far beyond your fellow students, Ard! Take up a teaching position! Guide us as both student and teacher!”
He grabbed my hands and looked at me pleadingly with tears in his eyes… Why was he saying all of this? I was supposed to be a painfully average villager… Well, whatever.
“Heh-heh-heh! That’s right! Ard is totally amazing! He’s my friend and teacher! No one in this whole wide world is more awesome than he is!” Ireena smiled ecstatically, blasting away all my fears, which were trivial anyway.
And what could I say? Ireena was seriously the cutest person ever.
We moved into the student dorms immediately afterward and settled in. The following day, we attended the entrance ceremony.
Though it’s customary for the top student of the new class to deliver a speech at the ceremony, I was thankfully spared from this duty. I knew more than anyone else that conformity was the best cure for the odd one out. Nothing good ever came from being the black sheep, that’s for sure. And plus, if I wasn’t careful, I’d end up getting bullied all over again.
But Ireena wasn’t having any of it.
“Why didn’t they ask you to go onstage, Ard…?! I wanted to see you up there in all your glory…!” she grumbled next to me.
I redirected my attention to the ceremony: The gorgeous student council president delivered the opening speech, followed by the heads of the four duchies, and on, and on… A real snore, if I’m being honest. Ireena started nodding off in the middle of it.
Right before the ceremony ended, the headmaster went up to the podium to deliver his final words.
“Well. You’ve all managed to conquer the grueling exam, rising to the top as the chosen few… But you mustn’t forget that you’re still baby chicks from our perspective. Remain diligent in your studies and stay humble.”
Right on, Golde. We’re practically newborns in this respect. I was on the same page as the headmaster for once. Right, I’d be prudent and study with—
“That said, there is one exception: a lion among you—a god on earth. Yes, we’re blessed to observe this genius up close! Feast your eyes on this historic moment.”
…Wait, what? Hold up. What the hell are you on? And why are you looking at me?
“Heh-heh-heh! Yes! Good one, Golde!”
Um, hello, Ireena? What are you getting all excited for—?
“Let’s go, Ard! It’s our time to shine!”
“Wha—?!” I yelped as she yanked my arm and dragged me to the podium, where Golde placed a hand on my shoulder.
“And his name is Ard Meteor! This girl over here is Ireena Litz de Olhyde! I’m sure you know what this means!”
Golde’s comment created a stir: “Meteor?” “Olhyde?” “Hey, it can’t be they’re…” “Y-you’re kidding!”
“Yes! These are the children of our heroes!” he roared.
“S-seriously?!”
“The child of the Great Mages?!”
“I—I never imagined I’d study alongside their kin…!”
It seemed our parents were highly revered, considering how this was enough for some students to tremble with joy or weep or faint from delirium… At least that was how the commoners reacted. The noble students were less enthusiastic.
“Yeah, yeah, the Great Mages? Peasants.”
“How dare these commoners look down on us…!”
Oh, yikes. This is real bad.
As a simple villager, I wouldn’t be able to deflect any new bullies, much less get payback when I dropped out of school again. And now that I’d been thrown into the wild, one part of the student body was all too quickly marking me as their newest enemy. At this rate, my reincarnation would end up completely pointless.
I turned to Golde as I started to feel danger creeping up my spine.
“U-um? I-I’d appreciate it if you’d stop—”
“Yessiree, this young man is a true genius! He’s not like the rest of you! I mean, compared to him, you’re…hmm…boogers! Yes! Snot! In conclusion, you should all aspire to reach his level and devote yourselves to your studies!”
This only escalated the situation.
“Hey, let’s call one of the upperclassmen, like Raile, and get him to join in the brainiac hunt.”
“Nah, Ma’s better for these things, right?”
“Whatever. This ‘Ard’ character is on our hit list either way.”
I was done for. Old news. Totally doomed. My school life had started and ended with the entrance ceremony. As I stood amid the turmoil Golde had wrought, I thought to myself: Why did things turn out this way?
They broke us up into our classes after the ceremony, and Ireena and I were assigned to the same class. We were all herded by the instructors to our respective rooms, where we waited for the homeroom teacher to arrive…and where the two of us were swarmed by hordes of students.
Ireena had captured the boys’ attention, while I was crushed by girls, gritting my teeth as I listened to her get showered in compliments. As she flipped her silver hair with a whoosh, she replied, “Heh-heh-heh. I mean, this is me we’re talking about! Duh!”
As for me…
“Ard! M-my name is Crea!”
“Hey, don’t try to worm your way in! You can just ignore her, Ard!”
“Please go out with me and keep marriage in miiiiiiiiiiiiind!”
“Damn! She beat me to it!”
“…Ha-ha.”
This was certainly something that had never happened before. Meaning I was completely lost.
The last time I was in school, none of this would have ever happened, since the other students ostracized me as “that thing in the corner” or “Mister Invisible” and laughed at me behind my back. How did that turn into this? It was like I’d become the protagonist in one of those cliché young-adult romance novels.
…All thanks to my status, I bet.
You see, I was a nobody the last time I was a student. But now, I was a son of the Great Mages, which was exactly the reason why people followed my every move. Yeah, that had to be it. And it made me happy, seeing as I wasn’t on the receiving end of fearful or dismissive looks for once. They were treating me like one of them, which was a really big deal—that said, I did have one hang-up.
“Tch. Those commoners better pipe down.”
“Wish they’d just die. Damn! They’re all annoying as shit.”
As I took notice of a smaller crowd whispering among themselves from the distance, I realized my school life wasn’t gonna be all fun and games. And I knew exactly who was to blame: the headmaster. That guy provoked the hell out of my new class, and the boys in particular couldn’t stand me.
How am I gonna respond to the abuse coming my way? I felt sharp pangs in my gut as I mulled it over. I hadn’t felt this bad since an army of gods drove me into a corner…!
Just as I was very seriously weighing my future actions, I heard another voice.
“…Dis…ing.”
“St…”
As the other students chatted among themselves, I picked out the sounds of a particularly disagreeable conversation—a random boy hurling insults at someone else. I cast my eyes in their direction and spotted a boy with cropped orange hair slicked all the way back with far-set bug eyes and the boyish face of a reptile. And there was also…a girl with peach-colored hair.
Based on their uniforms, I could tell they were the rich kids. That boy was an elf, no doubt. Well, his facial features were all scrunched up in a rage, which wasn’t very elven of him, but his pointed ears matched those of Ireena.
As for the girl… Well, she didn’t have any discerning physical features, but I could feel a mysterious power radiating off her. Her peach-pink hair came down to her shoulders, framing skin the color of porcelain. A mature beauty. A peek at her low-cut uniform revealed shapely breasts and voluptuous thighs. Her body…sparked a flame of desire within me. Involuntarily.
Hmm. I bet this chick was a succubus, an especially rare race.
Anyway, the elven brat was dumping abuse on her.
“Color me surprised. Never would have thought a stupid hack would get accepted by the academy. What, did ya bribe the headmaster with your body?” he sneered maniacally.
“N-no, I would never…” She sniffled in response.
It was a revolting scene to say the least.
“…I’m sorry, are you acquainted with those two?” I asked the crowd around me.
“Huh? Y-yeah. The boy’s Elrado. He’s kind of a big deal. From the House of Duke Burks, and a child prodigy at that. And the other girl is…Ginny. She’s famous for having no talent whatsoever, even though she’s from an incredibly renowned duchy.”
“Her family serves his…and it seems he’s always bullied her.”
“Huh. Well… I’m afraid that just won’t do.” I glared at them.
If I made a move now, I would stick out in the worst possible way. But what of it? I was already destined to be bullied at this academy, so I had nothing to lose.
I got ready to raise my voice in protest.
“You there, stop this instant! Can’t you see she doesn’t like it?!” Ireena’s voice rang out angrily before mine.
…Yeah, this was why we were friends.
When Elrado locked his eyes on his new target, I stepped forward. “She’s right. You ought to apologize to Ginny.”
In response, Elrado clicked his tongue before answering with “The airheaded daughter of the Heroic Baron and the idiotic son of the Great Mages. Well, well, well. I guess Mommy and Daddy got it in your heads that you’re some special snowflakes, huh?”
“That’s beside the point. Apologize to Ginny this instant and promise never to torment her ag—”
“Shaddup, dumb-ass.” Elrado spat at my feet, sending the students into an uproar.
“Yeah, you show ’em, Elrado!”
“How could he disgrace the son of the Great Mages…? Do prodigies fear nothing?”
I ignored their cries. “I’m guessing you won’t consider our request.”
“Hmm. If you win against me in a duel, I guess I might? Assuming you’re not a coward.”
In any normal circumstance, Ireena would have barked back at him…but she glared at Elrado in frustration and unexpectedly left it at that.
“What’s wrong, Ireena? I thought you’d be quick to accept his challenge.”
“I…can’t go up against that kid. At least, not without caution. He’s been called the greatest genius of the century and a child of the gods… I mean, he’s in the fourth rank of mages, or a Square, even though we’re the same age…”
Oh, I see. This guy was powerful enough that even Ireena feared losing to him.
Just as I was thinking, All right, then I’ll—
“Hey. What’s going on?” demanded a woman’s voice, causing everyone to tense up as it echoed throughout the classroom.
Someone was standing in the doorway—a therianthrope. The cat ears on her head were coupled with jet-black hair that reached down to her waist, and a tail sprouted from her rear. Her skin was a translucent lily white. She was about the same height as me, which put her on the tall side for a woman. Whether it was on purpose or not, her dismissively cold looks entranced others around her. And her clothing seemed to prioritize function over form, seeing as they were…pretty revealing for ease of movement and boldly exposed her soft thighs.
…No, wait. One sec. Wh-why was she here? Unless she had a doppelgänger, this woman was—
“L-Lady Olivia?!”
“What?! Y-you mean the legendary apostle…?!”
“I’d heard she was teaching as a special instructor at the academy…but to bask in her countenance on the very first day…!”
Th-that’s right. She was one of the Four Heavenly Kings—my top commander and right-hand woman, Olivia vel Vine…!
W-w-wait. Hold on. Why is she here of all places? I mean, based solely on the fact that she was one of the Four Heavenly Kings, I was absolutely certain that she would have been out there ruling some nation or other—
“Tch. Day one and the class I’m in charge of is already picking fights, huh. Damn, what a pain.”
Wh-what was that…?! Th-this was bad—r-r-real bad.
Oh god, I bet she’d be super pissed to find out that I reincarnated. She’d never, ever forgive me for acting all irresponsible and abandoning my kingly duties. If she found out about my true form… Oh, I—I don’t even want to think about it. And now she’s going to be my homeroom teacher? Gimme a break. At this rate, the risk of getting caught is, like, exponentially higher… I mean, first of all…
“…Is this mess your doing? Son of the Great Mages?”
First of all, I’d already managed to make a bad impression. She totally had her eye on me. B-but everything was still okay. I mean, there was no way she would realize my true form just yet. All I had to do was continue playing the role of Ard Meteor to a T.
“L-Lady Olivia. You’re in good spirits, as usual…”
“‘As usual’? I believe this is the first time we’ve met.”
D-dammit! I totally panicked and chatted her up like an old friend!
“…Hmph. Well, whatever. Explain to me what happened here.” Olivia’s cat ears twitched.
I timidly informed her of the situation.
“Fine, I’ll allow the duel. Hurry and get it over with before first period starts.”
“N-no, I’m not saying I accepted—”
“Damn, you’re a fussy one. Shut up and wrap it up. Show me what you’ve got.” Olivia’s tail swished back and forth as she spoke.
The class fell into an uproar all over again.
“H-hey, what was that just now…?!”
“O-Olivia wants to see his potential…!”
“Amazing! It’s no surprise that he’d grab her attention! He’s the son of the Great Mages, after all!”
Everyone was looking on with such envy, but…
You guys have no idea.
She was looking at me with marked suspicion, that was for sure. She always glared when she was onto someone, with her tail and ears twitching like crazy. If I wasn’t on my best behavior during this duel, there was a good chance she’d piece together that Ard was the Demon Lord.
And to be honest, this was an even bigger problem than some battle against “the child of the gods” or whatever.
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