CHAPTER 103
The Ex–Demon Lord and the Return of Normally
It was all over.
The tangled web of fate that had lasted for thousands of years was settled at last, though not by my doing. The one who had brought this trouble to the best possible conclusion was my dear friend, Ireena.
Making Alvarto live rather than killing him. We owed this happy ending to her bright personality and strength of character—two things I lacked. The recent trouble had made that plain, and I came away from it with a renewed and deepened respect for her.
Now…
…with the final battle over, we gathered and left the underworld together.
Lizer, Sylphy, Olivia, and Ginny, who had been separated from us during the journey, were alive and completely unharmed. Alvarto had only been seeking his own death, and never sought revenge. Thus, he’d worked to minimize the possibility of anyone perishing.
Immediately after we returned to the material world, we activated the Strange Cube and returned the world to normal…
…and reclaimed our peaceful everyday lives.
The first priority was to enjoy what remained of our summer vacation. This entire incident had occurred right in the middle of it. We’d lost half of our break getting things back to normal. To reclaim our lost time, we used the Strange Cube to rewind stuff while making it so that the meddlesome events had never happened.
Then, Ireena and I returned to our homeland. And after enjoying a wonderful summer vacation, we returned to the academy to resume our studies.
At the beginning of the new semester, we took part in the opening ceremony, then went to our dorm rooms. It appeared that they had been maintained in our absence, allowing us to resume our life at the academy with little effort.
I spent the day in my dorm room for the first time since before the break.
On the following day, I awoke, along with my roommates Ireena, Ginny, and Sylphy, and headed for the cafeteria to get breakfast. It was on our way there that it happened.
“Oh, Elrado. Are you getting food as well?”
“Y-yup…” Elrado had been turned into a monster during the recent unpleasantries, but he was back to his usual self now. After looking at my face, he immediately turned to Ginny. “That reminds me, I had—”
“A lovely coincidence. Why don’t we go together?” I grabbed his arm before he could flee and pulled him along with us.
Ever since the incident with the Asylas Federation, Elrado and Ginny had mostly settled their differences, but not completely. It was a deeply rooted problem, after all, and if we left it to the two of them, it would take forever. So I elected to play mother hen for a bit.
Elrado was a classmate and friend. I wanted him to enjoy his time at the academy unburdened by awkwardness. Shortly after we had conscripted him into our party…
“The most important thing when standing behind the lectern is how much you can care for the students. Are you even capable of that?”
“…I don’t know yet. Still, I’ll do my best. That’s why I’m here.”
…we heard two people chatting at the end of the hall.
One was Olivia. The other…
“Well, this academy really is becoming a ridiculous place. We have a history-making prodigy among the students, and we’ve also now got two legendary apostles in the faculty.” As Elrado’s remark indicated, the man next to Olivia was another of the Four Heavenly Kings.
It was Alvarto Egzex, dressed in the uniform of a male teacher. He glanced briefly in our direction and then tried to avert his gaze, but…
“Oh! Lady Olivia! Alvarto, too!” Ireena called with a bright smile before running to them.
“S-she just addressed Lord Alvarto without a title…?!”
To Elrado, who was ignorant of recent events, Ireena’s casual greeting must have seemed exceptionally rude. But Ireena paid that no mind and beamed.
“You totally flubbed your lines at the ceremony,” she said.
“…I did not.”
“If that’s enough to get you nervous, it’s going to be a long semester.”
“…I wasn’t nervous.” Alvarto looked away and returned with an attempt at seeming cool.
While Ginny watched the exchange, she asked, “Will this…be all right?” Undoubtedly, Alvarto still seemed like a dangerous enemy to her. Now he was going to be a teacher and involved in her daily life. Her caution was understandable.
“There’s no issue. He’s changed quite a bit.”
That was clear from the fact that he’d discarded the mask he’d worn for so long and was displaying his genuine personality. His attitude made plain that he was discarding the desire for death and now looked to the future.
“That reminds me. Where’s Kalmia?”
“She was right there a minute ago… But she disappeared because she saw someone she didn’t like.” Alvarto’s eyes shifted to me. There was no malice or hostility there, yet…it seemed his partner thoroughly hated me. While I couldn’t blame her…
“I was hoping to have breakfast with her, too.”
“…If that’s what you want, I’ll try asking.”
“Really? Thanks!”
“Speaking of which. I, erm…haven’t eaten, either.”
“Oh? Then let’s go together!”
“…Okay.”
This is all pretty adorable, Alvarto.
Although he had been my enemy, I carried no lingering ill will toward him. If anything, I hoped life at the academy would help him discover how to live.
Once that happened…I thought I’d like to host a drinking party with the Ex-Four Heavenly Kings and Ex-Demon Lord.
While we had shared meals in the ancient world, our relationship was quite complicated. I now found myself hoping that we could move past all of that and become friends who could laugh and share memories. Ireena was the one who made it possible for me to think that way. She really was an amazing girl.
“Oh, would you also like to come, Lady Olivia—?”
“No. I need to fetch the transfer student. I’m afraid I’ll have to miss breakfast.”
With that, she walked away.
“Let’s get going, everyone!” At Ireena’s cheery statement, everyone else relaxed and smiled in return, nodding.
Our life continued to change with each passing moment.
I couldn’t help but pray that it would bring everyone happiness.
After breakfast, I got ready for class and left the dorm. I walked through the quad with my friends for the first time in a while, entered the school hall, and headed toward our classroom.
We exchanged greetings with acquaintances from other classes before going in and taking our usual chairs.
“Elrado. There’s no need to sit so far away. There’s an open seat here.”
“W-well, I…”
Elrado briefly looked to Ginny for approval.
She sighed at his unvoiced question.
“That strange consideration is unnecessary. Honestly, it’s a bit unsettling.”
“O-oh, th-thanks?”
Elrado looked a bit flustered, but he took the seat I recommended. Apparently, improving their relationship would be the highest priority for the immediate future. While thinking as much, I caught some gossip between a few classmates.
“I wonder what the transfer student is like.”
“Well, if they’re coming here, they must be pretty promising.”
“Mysterious origins, right? Lady Olivia found him or something?”
A transfer student? Oh, right, Olivia did mention something about that.
It wasn’t unheard of to get a fresh face or two at the start of the semester. For some reason, though, the notion troubled me.
“Elrado, I believe your family is closely involved in the running of the academy, yes? Perhaps you might have some information about the new arrival?”
“Hmm? Oh, I didn’t know you were the type to care about that sort of thing.”
“Well, I suppose I am.”
My eyes urged him to tell me what he knew. Elrado rubbed his jaw with his palm.
“It’s true that we handle the entrance exams and oversee the approval process for transfer students. Usually, I only know the grade they’re joining and stuff like that. But this time…the person coming to our class is truly ridiculous.”
“Ridiculous?”
“Well, see…a transfer student needs to pass a test to get into the academy. And, well, it’s harder than the entrance exam. It’s why transfer students are all prodigies of one sort or another—exceptional ones, even. Of course, I suppose that makes it easier for odd or eccentric types to get in, but…”
Elrado’s expression said it all. The new classmate was clearly more odd than usual.
“And?”
“What’re they like, exactly?”
It seemed our conversation had piqued the curiosity of Ireena and the others. Elrado kept rubbing his jaw as we pressed him for more.
“First, I have no idea where they came from, or whether they’re a commoner or the child of a noble. There’s no data at all related to their past. Ordinarily, that sort is dropped during the application phase, but…Lady Olivia sponsored them, so that didn’t happen.”
“Her support is concrete proof they’re legit, so it is.”
“Yeah… It’s hard to put into words. Even though Lady Olivia is backing them…there’s something strange.”
“…Strange?”
“Erm… Well, the first thing is their appearance…”
“Are they super ugly or deformed?”
“No, the exact opposite. I saw their picture from the portrait spell, and they’re truly extraordinarily beautiful, or maybe I should say pretty…”
“Oh? She’s that pretty?” Ginny asked.
“She may very well end up being a bit of a wild card in terms of relationships,” remarked Ireena.
“…Ahh, yes, but…no one knows their gender.”
“Really?”
“Like, they appear vaguely feminine, but there’s something masculine about them, too.”
“That certainly sounds like a person with quite the air of mystery.”
“Right? I’m pretty sure you’d be surprised, too. In particular, they have a unique smile. One glance is enough to burn it into your mind.” Elrado scratched his head. “Then there’s the test results… They were insane as well. The first one since you, Ard, to get more than a perfect score. And that’s on a substantially harder test than the one you took.”
“Oh? Sounds like quite the prodigy.”
“Yeah. Evidently, they wiped an entire mountain range off the map during the skills exam. Crazy stuff. Word is, they did it by accident, but… Who could possibly eradicate mountains unintentionally?”
“…Oh?”
No humans from the modern era could manage that feat. Which meant…the transfer student in question must have been born in the ancient world. As for those who could accidentally wreak mass destruction… I knew a few former subordinates who met that description.
“History unknown. Gender unknown. That set them apart already, but their written and skill test scores were off the charts like Ard’s… Seems this semester’s going to be interesting in a lot of ways.”
“Yes, but that’s just part of the fun, isn’t it?”
Mild problems would be a good stimulant for me.
“To be compared to Ard, though… Just what sort of person are they?”
Immediately after Ireena voiced that question, the door to the classroom opened, and Olivia entered. In response, all eyes went to her. Clearly, everyone was eager to catch a glimpse of the transfer student.
Whether aware of the class’s feelings or not, Olivia slowly walked over to the lectern. “Before we begin homeroom, let me introduce you to a new face joining our class,” she stated frankly. “Don’t fight one another. Make sure you learn from and with each other as we go forward. All right…” Olivia signaled for the transfer student waiting in the hallway to enter.
The moment they did…
Shudder.
…I felt an intense shiver run up my spine.
Upon seeing the new member of our class, I asked, on reflex, “What’s going on?”
This couldn’t be happening. It was way too strange. Why was he here, of all places?
“Wow. Really beautiful, or maybe really pretty.”
“Huh? What are you talking about, Miss Ireena? He’s clearly a very handsome and rugged young man.”
“Huh? Are your eyes okay? They’re a child shorter than I am.”
People who should have recognized him did not, and they found nothing at all amiss with the situation. Thus, he sauntered through the room wearing the skirt from the girl’s uniform and the blazer from the boy’s uniform. His long, shimmering hair waved with his steps. The moment he reached the lectern, he caught us all in his golden eyes. A devilish smile spread on his angelic face.
“…Now, introduce yourself.”
At Olivia’s instruction, he gave a nod and glanced around at the students.
Stop it. Don’t look at them with your eyes. Don’t look at their faces. Don’t—
“Don’t taint their faces with your eyes!” I shouted at him without thinking, unable to bear it any longer.
The room went silent immediately, and everyone looked at me. Their gazes were cold, and their faces seemed hollow, devoid of personality.
“Why would you say such a terrible thing?” Ginny questioned, without the faintest inflection in her voice.
That started it.
“That’s going too far, isn’t it?”
Everyone…
“They did so much for you. You’re such an ingrate.”
…spoke words…
“The whole reason we have a normal life is thanks to him.”
…that tossed me…
“Hold up—”
…into a pit of despair.
“““Who are you?”””
I couldn’t manage a reply. All my friends had changed, utterly transformed by his curse.
The scene unfolding drove home the fact that the triumph of regaining my ordinary life…had been an illusion. Chaos had crept up on me while I was distracted, tainting everything precious.
“Why…?! How could…?!”
I felt faint at the nightmarish display.
He smirked, as though mocking me for my astonishment.
“Hello everyone. I’m happy to see you. It’s been quite a while since I’ve had this sort of life, and I don’t really remember the basics… So I ask that you help me through it.”
At his words, the doll-like expressions of my classmates shifted. Everyone in the room gazed at him and blushed.
“Such a beautiful voice! It reminds me of vomit!”
“What a small body! How could they be so stupidly absurd…?!”
“There’s a nauseating contradiction between the formality and casualness in the greeting.”
Everything was broken and had gone mad, likely beyond repair.
I held back a shiver of nausea as I looked at him.
“Since it seems we’re short on time, let me make my introduction short. I would have liked to talk about my hobbies so you’d all know me better. I guess that can wait for later, though.”
Then he gave his name. It was one I could never forget, for it was that of my worst enemy. The name of the fated opponent who I had hoped never to meet again.
Yes, it was…
“Mephisto Yuu Phegor. Please affectionately call me Mephy.”
As everyone applauded…
…I heard the sound of destruction. Everything was collapsing.
The peace that we had regained. The ordinary days spent with my friends. It all was being irrevocably altered at the hands of that devil.
“Have you forgotten my sweet words, my darling?”
As though to reply, my mind called up the statement he was referring to. Each revolting syllable was its own curse. The words floated into my head and repeated incessantly.
“You can’t escape from the past. You can’t escape from me.”
“I won’t…the past won’t…ever let you go.”
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