The Greatest Demon Lord Is Reborn as a Typical Nobody - Volume 1 - Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

The Ex–Demon Lord in High-Key Danger

Even in a million years, I never would have imagined that the death of the Demon Lord would cause a magical revolution, much less dilute airborne mana, which led us…here.

“I’ll ask once more, Ard Meteor. What in the world are you?” And my ex-right-hand woman was trying to murder me.

“Oh, Lady Olivia is smiling…!”

“Even though she’s famous for being expressionless…!”

“I’d expect no less from the son of the Great Mages! I mean, we’ve hardly finished the entrance ceremony, and he’s already caught her eye!”

Wrong again. She doesn’t make this expression when she takes a liking to someone. This is her “Should I kill this guy? Hmm, what to do?” face.

You see, when Olivia was in a sour mood, she became a peppy little chatterbox. On the other hand, when she was happy, she’d zip her mouth tighter than usual and play childish pranks on you. Oh, and it was completely possible to guess her thoughts at any given time by observing her cat ears and tail.

As of right now…she absolutely suspected me of being the Demon Lord Varvatos. No, more than suspected. Wait… Had she already made up her mind?

“Son of the Great Mages. Do you have anything you want to say?”

Ha-ha, that’s not it. Right, Olivia? You’re not actually trying to ask me that. You mean: Do you have any last words? I’m guessing you’re gonna kill me now, right? Right?

…I’ve got to know why things turned out this way. Question the party responsible for all this. Someone, anyone—please call them.

…Ah, so this was the end. I’d at least fight until I was completely done for.

As cold sweat poured down from every part of my body, I locked eyes with Olivia.

“I’m the son of the Great Mages. Nothing more, nothing less.”

We continued to stare each other down.

“Fair enough. I suppose I’m satisfied. For now.”

Was I safe for the time being…?! I heaved out a huge sigh of relief as Olivia pivoted and sauntered away.

This woman was known as “Olivia,” my right-hand woman who I could trust more than anyone else… To me, she’d acted the part of an older sister, and I was sure she’d loved me as a younger brother at one time.

That was to say, until I became the Demon Lord.

I couldn’t place my finger on the exact moment it’d happened, but I realized as time passed that she’d ended up in the position of my underling, putting up invisible boundaries between us. That’s when I realized that I’d been locked up…in a prison cell of loneliness. I guess I’d been operating on false pretenses that she alone would always be on equal footing with me—which was exactly why her betrayal tormented me the most… In truth, I’d partly reincarnated into this new body to spite her.

Oh, and to clear up one thing: This wasn’t my fault. Honestly, 80 percent of the blame was on Olivia.

…Well, even if that was the absolute truth, this present situation wasn’t going to change anytime soon.

I mean, if she found out my past identity, she’d throttle me—even though I didn’t do anything wrong. Best-case scenario, she’d beat the living crap out of me. Worst case? I could say bye-bye to my social life. If I could have hightailed it out of here, I would’ve in an instant. But I had to preserve my parents’ dignity—plus, it’d only confirm her suspicions that I’m actually the Demon Lord.

I’m guessing she still wasn’t absolutely sure about my true self. Which meant the best plan would be to quietly go about as a normal student at the academy. That’d clear away her suspicions for sure.

That settles it. I made my way over to my very first class.

The clock ticked dangerously close to our starting time when our teacher strolled into our class. It was Jessica, whose silky platinum locks swayed behind her as she walked into the room. Upon surveying the class and confirming that I was there with Ireena, she broke out into a bewitching grin.

“Hee-hee-hee. We meet again,” she cooed.

This caused a bit of a stir among the students.

“I didn’t realize they had connections with this genius…and a marquis at that…!”

“I’m thinking we ought to get buddy-buddy with them. They’ll come in handy when we need to network someday.”

The commoners displayed their honest surprise, while the aristocrats plotted some more of their wicked little schemes. Jessica finally reached the podium, casting a glance in our general direction before aiming a pointed stare toward the front corner by the entrance.

“Oh, and by the way…why is the legendary apostle here? One instructor per class is plenty,” Jessica observed.

She was talking about Olivia, who’d been in the classroom this whole time, standing unflinching in the corner to glare at me.

“…There’s a student who caught my eye. I won’t be a disturbance. Think of me as air,” Olivia suggested.

The class began to rumble again.

“That’s gotta be him.”

“Wow, of course. Ard’s gotten ahold of Lady Olivia’s heart…!”

“Oh, gosh. If she’s my rival for his love, this battle’s already been decided…”

Wrong, and wrong again. It went without saying that our relationship wasn’t in any way romantic.

“Huh, that so? Well, in that case, go ahead,” Jessica answered casually before turning to address the rest of the class.

“Well, then. Welcome to the study of magical transmutation. For the first half of our lesson, we’ll be going over the history of magic potions. After that, I’ll score you with a practical exam on transmutations. You need fifty percent or more to pass, and anyone who fails will be pounded with supplementary lessons—without mercy. Prepare yourselves,” Jessica announced, planting her hands on her hips and sticking out her chest with a big old grin.

I guess the majority of the students in the class, especially the boys, perceived this pose of hers as adorable and charming. There were quite a few who appeared absolutely transfixed by her.

Jessica pinched a piece of chalk between her slim fingers and began writing all across the blackboard with an elegant flick of her wrist.

“As many of you know, the use of potions is still relatively new. Its first recorded case was close to five hundred years ago. One of the Four Heavenly Kings, Sir Verda the Apostle, stumbled across potions when he was trying to find a substitute for healing spells, which were undergoing a rapid decline. Using the medicines he’d developed, he created a prototype for…” Jessica droned on.

The lecture continued. No problems so far. Jessica’s sonorous voice echoed throughout the silent classroom, accompanied by the crescendo of scratches as the chalk hit against the blackboard.

“Which means potions have done us a lot of good—as a substitute for healing spells. Let’s see…for example, think back on the incident that’s better left unsaid. Yes, ten years back, the Evil God was resurrected by the demons, leading to civilian causalities. Without enough healers on hand, we resorted to using potions and—”

No sooner had demons and Evil God left Jessica’s mouth than the atmosphere in the room totally shifted. Before, all the students had been unruffled and attentive…until those taboo words sent everyone into a nervous panic.

Well, that was reasonable, seeing as how their religion put the Demon Lord on a pedestal, meaning any of his enemies were fair game to hate on. On top of that, the demons were still well and alive, terrorizing modern civilization and striking fear into their hearts. That was plenty enough to justify this hostility.

In the middle of all this, Ireena was the only one hanging her head sadly. Just as I was asking myself why, Jessica interrupted me.

“All righty. That’s enough lecturing for now, so let’s move on to the practical exam.”

Another woman assisted in hustling ingredients for potion transmutations into the classroom, along with some kind of sorcery device. Jessica plucked out a box about the size of her palm.

“This right here will measure the effectiveness of your potions. You’ll all take turns pouring your final product into this tube, and then it’ll display a number based on its potency. I’ll be grading you on that score. Just make sure you get higher than fifty percent!”

With that, we trucked the materials to our desks and got to work.

“Hey, Ard. Let’s have a contest to see who can get the higher score!” Ireena suggested.

“I wouldn’t mind.”

“Heh-heh-heh. I won’t lose this time!” she declared, jabbing a finger in my direction with a triumphant smile.

How charming. She cleanses my soul—from all the stress brought on by that damn Olivia.

But I wasn’t about to put up a fair fight, unfortunately. I’d already decided to let her win, because I was planning to make the most average, most regular potion of all time.

And with that, I promptly started to work. We were assigned to make a potion to treat wounds using three blades of Nelgi Grass, two pieces from the root of a Mitsumi plant, and two wings from a Morgan Butterfly. Using a mortar and pestle, I ground the dry ingredients down into a fine powder before dissolving it into some water in a vessel.

After that, I used hydro-alchemy to transcribe a special-class magic circle onto the desk. I placed the vessel on top and supplied it with magic.

Even though the use of potions hadn’t been explored yet in my past life, I’d familiarized myself with how to mix and create potions by poring over textbooks in our home library during my childhood.

That said, I was surprised that they used these special magic circles for a procedure as simple as potion making. I mean, back in the good old days, we’d reserved them for major ceremonies or to cast spells that required the magical energy of more than one person. I guess the state of magic in this world was worse than I’d previously thought.

Anyway, I pushed all that thinking aside to make a potion according to the textbook at home.

Awesome. Totally mediocre.

And the same color as everyone else’s potions to boot—a vibrant green. On the other hand, Ireena’s concoction was bubbling crimson, unlike any other one in the class.

“Heh-heh-heh. How does it feel to lose?” she chided.

“Ha-ha-ha, we’ll see. We won’t know who won until we cross the finish line,” I cautioned, but I was full-on ready to lose and see my darling little Ireena delightfully assume her victory pose. But that was beside the point.

By this time, everyone had finished concocting their potions.

Jessica nodded. “All righty, let’s start with the front row. Get in line and come up to the podium, please.”

The students began to move forward in unison.

“Hmm, this device is giving me three hundred points for your potion. Meaning you score thirty-five percent. I’ll have you join me for some super-fun remedial lessons.”

“Whaaaaaaaat?!” the boy lamented despite his expression of pure joy.

Jessica assigned more and more students to extra coursework, though none of the boys seemed particularly down about their results. Well, I guess it made sense in a way. With a curvy beauty for a teacher, anyone would jump at the opportunity to stick around for a few extra lessons.

At any rate, the line in front of us shrank until it was our row’s turn. We clambered out of our seats and made our way through the class to the podium, where we began to receive our results one after the other. Ireena was up next. Honestly, she was the type of girl who made every guy want to give her half the world.

Ireena poured her potion into the device with pride etched all across her face, confident of her impending victory.

“Nice…!” Jessica’s eyes almost popped out of her head. “One thousand two hundred points! Amazing job, Ireena! One hundred percent!”

Upon hearing this grand reveal, Ireena puffed out her chest adorably and cast a few inconspicuous looks in my direction.

“Heh-heh-heh! A piece of cake, really! (glance)” she boasted in a thinly veiled attempt to hide her usual attention-seeking.

That said, her face was totally plastered with You know you can praise me, right? C’mon, please! Woof, woof!

Oh geez. This smug little face of hers was way too cute to handle. Meaning, of course, that I happily obliged her request.

“Wonderful job. You’re the best of the best, Ireena.”

“Heh-heh-heh-heh. Well, what can I say? That’s who I am!” she chirped, practically melting in my hands as I stroked her silver hair.

Her facial expression dissolved into a sloppy mess as she closed her eyes in complete and utter contentment. Kind of like a dog praised by its owner. This puppy side of Ireena was seriously too cute.

“…An honest young maiden. Unlike when Weiss was at the academy,” noted Olivia in a low mutter.

Ireena’s head snapped up. “What?! Did you know my daddy when he was younger?!”

“Y-yeah,” Olivia stuttered, taking a step back in total bewilderment as Ireena pushed her way closer to her with sparkles in her eyes.

“Ooh, please tell me tales about his school days!”

“W-we’re in the middle of class. If you really want, ask me in the staff room later,” Olivia advised, to which Ireena bobbed her head eagerly.

Olivia looked completely at a loss as to how to handle this excitable ball of energy since it was rare for others to interact with her with such blinding innocence and naïveté. It’d been a while since I’d seen Olivia with an openly flustered expression.

Huh. I guess I forgot that she has a soft side—

“Hey, son of the Great Mages. Who do you think you’re smirkin’ at? I’ll smack that grin right off your face.”

Erm. I take that back. Yep. She inspires as much fear as ever. Just like an older sister.

After a few other students received their assessments, it was finally my turn.

“Up next, Ard… Hee-hee-hee, I’m expecting a lot from you, Mr. Child Genius,” Jessica called out.

But she wasn’t the only one anticipating my evaluation. Every single student in the class was eyeing my potion and me, looking all anxious. Even Olivia was glaring at me with a stern expression on her face.

Ha. Stare all you want. But mine is absolutely, totally, completely normal. No surprises here—

“W-wait, an error…?! Immeasurable…?!” Jessica yelped.

—Hold up.

“H-how can that be…?!” she stammered. “This device can even measure the strength of the most potent elixirs, but… N-no, wait… I-it can’t be… Is this the Essence of Philosopher’s Stone…?!”

Um, no, actually…

The classroom broke into a sea of panicked cries.

“Th-the Essence of Philosopher’s Stone?!”

“The one from fairy tales…?!”

“You can’t possibly mean the legendary potion, right? The one that gives those who drink it supernatural strength? Or raise them from the dead…?!”

Wait a sec. C’mon. Please.

“U-um. Well, this is, er, a regular potion, isn’t it?” I clarified. “I mean, the Essence of Philosopher’s Stone isn’t even in the same league. And I followed the instructions on my parents’ book exactly, so I can assure you that this is nothing but a normal potion.”

“…And the title of the book?”

U-um… What was it? Oh yeah, now I remember.

“I believe it was The History of Altria-Style Transmutation.”

“Th-The History of Altria-Style Transmutation?! You mean the ultrarare book by the legendary transmutationist Master Altria?!”

“Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?!” I gaped.

Th-that stupid book?! Ultrarare? No way! …Awww, crap! I forgot! My parents are the Great Mages! Of course they don’t have any old library! I screwed up big-time!

“…The Essence of Philosopher’s Stone? It seems like quite the creation, eh?” Olivia commented.

D-dammit! Her whole face is getting brighter! She’s actually smiling for crying out loud!

“N-no! Th-this is, well…” I tried to deflect. “Oh yeah! It’s all thanks to my mother and father! Yep. All thanks to their possession of this legendary book. Without it, I would have never—”

“Sure. In fact, the transmutation of potions depends entirely on creating the magic circle that corresponds to the technique.”

“Yep! That’s right! That’s what I’m saying! Which all means it wasn’t a big—”

“Now, hold on. In order to properly transmute this, you would need enough magical energy to activate the magic circle. To fulfill the needs of this one, you’d require tens of thousands of times more than your average spell…! If you’re able to supply this power all on your own, we’ve got no choice but to call this a big deal!”

DAMMIT, STOP MAKING THINGS WOOOOOORSE!

“T-tens of thousands?”

“He’s in a different dimension compared to the rest of us…”

“Heh-heh-heh! Are you impressed yet?! That’s Ard for ya! And he’s my friend!” Ireena sang out, standing proud and tall. I could almost hear her thinking, Whaddaya think? Isn’t he the best?

She was looking as sweet as always, but to be honest, it was only making matters more out of control.

“She’s right. He’s amazing. That’s for sure,” Olivia agreed.

Aghhhhh… She’s looking so gleeeeeeeeeful… She’s practically beeeeeeeeaming…

“Ha-ha-ha. Ard Meteor, huh. You’re really somethin’ else, aren’t you?”

Eek?! I-is she laughiiiing?! Whyyyyy is she laughing?!

O-oh geez. We’re at the part where she kills me, aren’t we?!

“Hee-hee-hee. You’ve really grown on me, Ard.”

AAAAAAAAAAH! She called me by my name! My first name! No one’s ever been called by their first name and lived to tell the tale! Foreshadowing my death, I see!

A—a—a plan! I’ve gotta think up a plan! And fast!