The Heavenly Demon's Special Training
Marianne was smiling. After receiving a quest to find the blue-haired angel, Sardiel, Cayen and I left the church.
‘It’s a shame I didn’t get to see Olga…’ If there had been time, I would have stopped by to see her, but with only ten minutes left until the training session I’d promised the Heavenly Demon, the thought of what kind of tantrum she’d throw if I was late was too horrifying to risk. We decided to move.
“Um… partner? Are we going to receive lessons from the Heavenly Demon now?”
“That’s right. She’s probably waiting with her chest puffed out because of the red bean paste, but… she wouldn’t actually kill me, right?”
“…Then, can I come with you?”
“Huh? Why? There’s no need for you to suffer under the Heavenly Demon, is there?”
I gave Cayen a puzzled look at his sudden suggestion. He actually wanted to be trained by that spoiled brat? Seeing my expression, Cayen began babbling as if making excuses.
“I can pass the first-year exam without any special preparation anyway… and Claire’s been following Zorba Pelkas around lately, so there’s no need for me to look after her. Also, if I had been stronger back at the Rose Pavilion, you wouldn’t have been in danger.”
“…You just want to stick with me. That’s not it, partner?”
Twitch!
Cayen’s body jerked violently. Bingo.
“W-we’re partners, aren’t we? We’re supposed to go through any difficult training together! Right?”
I’d thought he was saying something unusually admirable, but judging by those wandering eyes, at least ninety percent of it was clearly his selfish desire to train while rubbing bodies with me.
“Forget it. Just go to class with Claire. Every time I think about how you snuck into my bed, I still want to punch you right in the solar plexus.”
“B-but… Claire and Zorba said they were going to basic liberal arts class today to learn noble dance and etiquette.”
“…”
“Can you really imagine me dancing intimately with someone else, Artin…?”
When he put it that way, it did make sense. In the original story, there was definitely a scene where the protagonist danced beautifully with the heroine and rescued her from her fiancé… but ‘Could this kid actually pull off the same thing as the main character?’
When I tried to picture Cayen doing any of the cool things he’d shown in the novel, I simply couldn’t imagine it. If Claire had been there it might have been fine, but right now Claire was with Zorba…
“…Sigh. If you give me weird looks or press your body against me strangely, I won’t let it slide. Got it?”
“Yes! I understand! I promise, partner!”
In the end, my heart softened. After all, stealing Claire—one of Cayen’s few friends—had been partly my fault too…
“Now that I think about it, Cayen, do you really have no friends besides me and Claire?”
In the original story, he should have had a few close relationships: the glasses-wearing heroine from the imperial chancellor’s family, the pureblood elf senior who came from the Great Forest, or the classmate who would become the archmage’s disciple. Yet throughout all my regressions, while I’d seen this bastard stalking me, I’d never once seen him getting close to any other girls.
“…What are you talking about, partner? Why would I need friends when I have you?”
Fuck. So he gave up all the companion and friendship events just to stalk me? Then isn’t the fact that he has no friends actually my fault?
“Cayen.”
“Yeah?”
“Let’s walk about three meters apart.”
“…Why?!”
“I’m just not in a good mood anymore.”
Not wanting to continue the conversation any longer, I started running toward the outdoor training ground where the Heavenly Demon would be waiting.
“W-wait for me, partner!”
I hate you, you bastard. Get lost. The words rose all the way to my throat but refused to come out.
Thanks to running, we barely managed to arrive at the outdoor training ground on time. We arrived… but…
“…Partner? Is that, by any chance, a torture device?”
“No way… Why would they bring torture devices to a training session?”
“Then why is there a Buddha statue in the training ground…?”
“…”
When we reached the training ground, I couldn’t easily answer Cayen’s question. Even to my eyes, this was clearly not the appearance of a proper training ground. Various obstacles scattered across the running course, a restraint suit that looked like it could bind the entire body, a large iron pot bubbling with oil for some unknown reason, and a massive stone Buddha statue. No matter how I looked at it, the Heavenly Demon’s clear intent to torture me to death for eating red bean paste was unmistakable.
“Ha! Ha! Ha! So you’ve finally shown up, you damn disciple who dared to covet your master’s one and only joy!”
At that moment, the Heavenly Demon descended gracefully from the sky, surrounded by fluttering cherry blossom petals and wind, stepping on empty air before landing lightly in front of me. She was probably trying to portray the image of a transcendent sage from the Republican Federation by using aerial steps, but… because of her grudge over the red bean paste, her blazing eyes and the murderous anger radiating from her prevented even a shred of respect from forming.
“Heavenly Demon, what is all this?”
“What is all this, you ask? I heard you enjoy rather intense training, so I prepared a very special session for you?”
“Isn’t that a torture device?”
“No, it’s simply a training tool that happens to be quite painful, that’s all?”
When I pointed at the thorn-covered restraints, the Heavenly Demon shamelessly insisted they were training tools. It made me want to give her a good smack on the head. The unfortunate part was that, unlike with Unicor, I couldn’t actually do it.
“By the way, why did this friend of yours, the Hero, come here?”
“Ah, this guy said he wanted to receive your teachings as well, so I brought him along. Isn’t that right, Cayen?”
“…Yes, that is correct.”
This bastard hesitated for a moment after seeing the state of the training ground before answering!
“Hoo… Is that so? So that’s how it is?”
“…What’s with that smile?”
The Heavenly Demon gave Cayen a creepy, unpleasant smile, then began alternating her gaze between me and him.
“I had originally prepared a full course of the Blood Hell training regimen, but a much better idea occurred to me.”
“…Blood Hell? Is that even training?”
“It is training! It’s a revolutionary training method that allows peak experts to gain great enlightenment in less than a week when put through it!”
“Then what exactly is the boiling oil for?”
When I pointed at the still-bubbling oil, the Heavenly Demon subtly avoided my eyes. Fuck, what is that even for?
“S-such trivial details don’t matter. Here, take this.”
“…What is this now?”
The Heavenly Demon threw something at me. I caught it and unfolded it to find a piece of red cloth.
“Both of you, remove your tops and wrap that red cloth around each other’s wrists and ankles.”
“Pardon?”
“Did you not hear me? I said remove your tops and tie the red cloth around each other’s hands and feet.”
What kind of training method was this? Stripping and tying each other up? But at the Heavenly Demon’s firm tone, Cayen and I reluctantly took off our tops and began tying the ends of the cloth around each other’s wrists and ankles.
“Ahem! When did I tell you to tie it like that!”
“…Then how are we supposed to tie it?”
“So that your bodies are pressed tightly together! Tie it firmly!”
“Excuse me? Is that really necessary?”
“Are you refusing your master’s orders right now? According to the terms of our bet, you must do anything your master tells you during lessons. Wasn’t that the condition?”
Ugh. There really had been that shitty condition among the bet’s terms.
“…For now, let’s just do as she says, partner.”
“…You’re calling me partner, but I can see your face turning red, you know?”
“I-I can’t help it! The Heavenly Demon told me to do it!”
This shameless bastard clearly didn’t want to miss any chance for physical contact with me. He began tightly wrapping the red cloth so that our bodies were pressed firmly together.
‘Ah, fuck. Do I really have to be this close to Cayen…?’
Feeling his bare skin and muscles so directly made me barely able to hold back the curses rising from within.
[How is it? How do you feel right now?]
“…?”
At that moment, a woman’s voice echoed in my head. When I looked away from Cayen’s flushed face, I saw the Heavenly Demon openly smirking at me with the corners of her mouth stretched all the way to her ears.
[I heard from Shao Mei. You and this Cayen fellow don’t get along at all? She said he’s a man who openly shows his longing for you.]
“…No way?”
[Then… are you ready to receive intimate training with the man who likes you?]
This woman. She was using Cayen to get back at me for eating the red bean paste…?
[You must pay the price for eating the red bean paste, mustn’t you? Granddaughter’s husband? I pray you enjoy the sticky sensation of sweat-drenched skin.]
In that moment, I finally understood why everyone said that once the Heavenly Demon got stubborn, no one could stop her. This woman named the Heavenly Demon was far too faithful to her own emotions—and she crossed every line without hesitation.
“Alright then, first run a hundred laps around the training ground at full speed! I’ll keep you running until your entire body is soaked in sweat!”
This… damn bitch…!
While silently cursing the Heavenly Demon with my expression, I gritted my teeth and began to run. When I glanced sideways, that bastard Cayen looked positively happy. Fuck.
I take it back. The Heavenly Demon wasn’t simply trying to make me fool around with a gay guy.
“Huff…! Huff…!”
“J-just hold on a little longer, partner!!”
“Ahem. Is the Buddha statue not shaking? In my day, when the master woke up, he would beat us like dogs with a bamboo rod!”
What had started as a simple sweat-inducing, unpleasant training session had somehow turned into a genuine taste of hell. Right now, Cayen and I were using nothing but our strength and posture to hold up the massive stone Buddha statue that the Heavenly Demon was sitting on.
“You will be punished if you use mana, so absolutely do not use it. Divine power is obviously forbidden as well. Only strength and posture! Understood?”
“Khhrrrrk…!”
I was exerting so much force that I couldn’t even answer. It was only because my potential had recently reached the Awakening realm that I was barely holding on. This was not a level a human should have to endure. The joint training with Cayen that had felt so disgusting at first now made me feel grateful that he was here. In fact, he was currently bearing seventy percent of the weight.
“Hm, five minutes have passed. Since you’ve completed two hours, you may rest for five minutes before we begin again!”
──Kwaaang!
When the Heavenly Demon lightly jumped down and gave the Buddha statue a gentle push with her fingertips, the massive stone statue bounced like a feather and landed on the ground. Thanks to that, Cayen and I collapsed onto the training ground floor, completely spent.
“Tsk tsk. With this kind of stamina, how do you plan to defeat the Demon King? To become this exhausted after only two hours of training. This lady will go rest in the shade.”
“…Fucking bitch…”
“Thank you for the high praise, my disciple. I will take it into consideration when deciding the difficulty of the next session.”
I ground my teeth as I watched the Heavenly Demon walk away, laughing heartily. Even I, who was used to harsh training, found this session so grueling that it made my teeth itch.
“Cayen… are you okay?”
“…Mmm… partner… as long as you’re not hurt, I’m fine…”
“You son of a bitch… saying something admirable while lying there…”
Because he had been covering for my insufficient share throughout the entire training, Cayen was drenched in sweat that poured from his entire body like a waterfall. What had once felt repulsive now filled me with guilt.
“Partner… sorry, but can I… close my eyes for a bit…?”
“Hey…! If you pass out here you’ll die from dehydration! Snap out of it, Cayen…!”
I shouted in alarm at his weak voice, but no answer came from Cayen. I needed to get up and help him, but my muscles were screaming and my limbs refused to move. On the contrary, my own consciousness was gradually fading.
‘Ah… I’m going to regress at this rate…’
The thought that this moment might be the end of this regression crossed my mind. Surely I wouldn’t actually die from training…?
──Splash!
“Pwah! It’s cold!?”
“Ugh…!?”
The cold water suddenly poured over us jolted both Cayen and me back to consciousness before we could faint.
“Are you okay, Artin? You look terrible… Is that old hag actually teaching you properly?”
The kind person who had splashed us with water even poured some into our mouths, then specially gave me a lap pillow while examining my condition with a worried voice. However, the moment I saw her face, I could only make a very subtle expression.
“…M-Marianne… noona?”
The person who had come to save us—someone I had expected to be Shao Mei, Violet, or Agnes—was none other than Marianne noona.
“What’s wrong, Artin? Do you need more water?”
“Ah, no, that’s not it… Why are you here…?”
No, the important question wasn’t why Marianne noona was here right now.
“…Noona, did you put on makeup?”
“E-eh?! You noticed? Artin, you really have sharp eyes!”
Instead of answering my question, Marianne noona blushed and began glancing at me as if trying to gauge my reaction.
“S-so, how is it? Does it look bad?”
“…No, it looks pretty, but…”
“P-pretty? Right? I usually don’t dress up, but if I put in the effort, I won’t lose to Agnes! Hehe!”
…Just what was going on? What was this situation?