The Academy's True Ruler
In New World Academy, Alpha and Omega were one thing, but the principal could be seen as the very crystallization of mystery. The sovereign of magic. The strongest living being in the world. A monster beyond the bounds of providence, born with the qualifications of a ruler—a dragon.
“I like stories about demons too, so I’d love to hear it!”
Among them all, her power eclipsed the rest by a vast margin. The guardian of the world, entrusted with protecting the planet’s records—the Akashic Records. The Divine Dragon Arsha.
She smiled at us. “Zeon and Mir, right?! Our adorable new freshmen!”
There was nothing to worry about. She was a being—no, a dragon—who cherished her students with fierce affection.
The only problem was that she had overheard our conversation and caught the keyword “demon.”
“Relax! This principal doesn’t eat her cute students!”
Even though she said that, I couldn’t relax at all. Because I knew exactly what kind of power she possessed…
Gulp.
“Um, Principal?”
“What is it!”
“The demon we were talking about is from a game… the kind that appears in it.”
“A game?”
When Arsha tilted her head, Mir nodded vigorously and tried to smooth things over.
“The game we just got is about a hero fighting demons. We were discussing the demons that show up in it.”
“Oh! Hmm! Is that all it was?”
“Yes. Yes.”
“I see. Then I’ll let it slide… for now.”
She had clearly seen through our verbal sleight of hand.
“More importantly, you’ve all worked so hard. To think such a filthy incident would occur inside the academy!”
Maybe it was her youthful appearance, but the way she waved her arms in anger was indistinguishable from an adorable child’s tantrum.
“When I catch the culprit, I’ll tear them limb from limb and make them scream in eternal agony!”
Of course, the words that came out were brutally vicious, completely at odds with that cute face.
Come to think of it, Bell Artos might have been luckier dying by my hand. If she had gotten hold of him, the thought alone was horrifying.
-A dragon, huh. Quite different from that Yongyong fellow.
-Dragons and wyrms are fundamentally different in the very nature of the power they wield.
“Kao.”
Cheonma and Hoya were busy comparing Arsha’s identity as a dragon with Yongyong’s species.
“Hmm? Zeon. Isn’t the one around your neck a spirit beast?”
“Ah, yes. His name is Yongyong…”
“Grrrrr!”
Chomp.
“Ow. His name is Cheonmaryong.”
“Grrrng.”
Biting my neck just because I called him Yongyong? After I corrected it to Cheonmaryong, he finally released his jaws and proudly displayed his presence to Arsha.
“Oho? Ohhh! A dragon! There aren’t many dragons even among spirit beasts—this is impressive!”
“Grrrng. Karr.”
“More than that, he really doesn’t have wings. His body is much thinner, his legs are short, and finally there’s this Yeouiju that we don’t possess.”
Tap.
The hand touching the Yeouiju—which only reacted to its owner—was incredibly cautious, yet even that light, careful touch made Yongyong flinch and bite her finger.
“Ouch.”
“Hey, hey!”
“It’s fine! It was my fault for acting carelessly!”
Crunch.
She was clearly being bitten, yet the sound wasn’t flesh being crushed by teeth. It was the sharp grinding of fangs against hard scales.
“Hmm. Hmm. So this is his bite force!”
I had no idea what she’d figured out, but Arsha lifted her gaze from Yongyong to look up at me.
“Zeon’s spirit beast has incredible potential!”
“Thank you.”
“If things go well, he might even succeed the Spirit Beast King himself!”
I flinched.
Well, since he carried the bloodline of the Spirit Beast King, it was a natural remark. But the fact that Yongyong was that being’s offspring was information only I possessed. There was no way she could know… right? I couldn’t be certain. Not when she had lived through eons and guarded something with such immense power.
If she had used the Akashic Records, she would definitely know about Yongyong.
And not just Yongyong. She could easily uncover the secrets behind Mir’s power as well. There was even a high chance she knew about my own secrets and the Heavenly Demon Cult.
Even if we were outsiders, the fact that we existed and moved within this world remained unchanged. With only that, the Akashic Records would have documented every piece of information about us.
I’d like to use it just once.
The knowledge of the world where every record was stored. If I could access the Akashic Records, I might learn everything I’d been dying to know.
But that’s probably impossible right now.
The idea of fighting Arsha, who protected it, and forcing my way through still felt completely out of reach.
“For someone like Zeon, using it once would be perfectly fine!”
“…Pardon?”
Had I accidentally spoken my thoughts out loud?
I quickly scanned Mir’s, Cheonma’s, and Hoya’s faces, but they were simply tilting their heads in confusion at Arsha’s words.
Don’t tell me… mind reading?
“It’s not that. Just call it the wisdom of long years!”
If she could read my inner thoughts in such detail, wasn’t that basically the same thing?
-Hmm. My disciple’s face usually reveals his thoughts quite clearly, but even I couldn’t read that one.
-Come on, that dragon has lived an entirely different span of time than us. You do know the academy principal’s true identity, don’t you?
-Roughly. She’s the living history that has existed since the primordial era.
“Haha! If you keep calling me that, even I’ll get embarrassed!”
I flinched.
If I wasn’t imagining it, she had just reacted to Cheonma’s words. Her gaze was fixed on me, but I was certain—she had responded to what Cheonma said.
And I wasn’t the only one who realized it.
-Did she actually hear our conversation?!
-I can’t say it’s impossible. Even I don’t know the full extent of that person’s power.
-T-then shouldn’t I get out of here?!
“Since you haven’t done any harm, it’s fine!”
As expected, she answered properly. At Arsha’s words, Hoya’s fur stood on end. She backed behind me, fully on guard.
-C-contractor shield!
-What are you doing, using someone else’s disciple as a shield?
Smack.
-Aack!
“That must hurt!”
“Principal, is something wrong with your head?”
Of course, to Mir who couldn’t see Cheonma or Hoya, it probably just looked like random muttering to herself.
More importantly, was she serious earlier?
The part about allowing me to use the Akashic Records once. If that was true, I could satisfy my curiosity right this second…
No. Calm down.
If I used it now, what information would I actually seek? The secrets of the Heavenly Demon Cult? And even if I learned them, what could I do in my current position?
Almost nothing.
Yes. No matter how much information I gained, I was still just a first-year academy student. It was difficult to move freely from this position, and if the key figures were hiding behind someone of high authority, I wouldn’t even have a way to meet them.
I need to wait for the right moment.
So that no matter where or how any schemes were plotted, I could respond immediately.
“Hmm~ Looks like you’ve made up your mind!”
“Yes. I’ll make use of it next time.”
“I was only joking, but I didn’t expect you to take it seriously!”
“Ha, haha.”
“Just kidding~!”
Good grief. One joke from her and I break into a cold sweat. In any case, she was far too dangerous to let my guard down around simply because of her childlike appearance.
“Um, Principal?”
“Yes! Our dear Mir student!”
While Arsha answered in a bright voice, Mir wore a somewhat awkward expression and pointed to one side.
“That… From a while ago, that person has been staring at the Principal the whole time…”
“Lady Arsha. I have come to escort you.”
“Hic!”
The moment Mir finished speaking, an unfamiliar voice rang out. Arsha jumped in surprise and spun around, then trembled when she saw the familiar maid.
“A-Alpha!”
“You disappeared without a word, so I came looking for you.”
Arsha’s exclusive maid who served at her side. Alpha—with hair as dark as the night sky and eerie crimson eyes that looked as if they had drunk blood—bowed her head toward Arsha.
“T-that is… Our cute children were injured, so I came out for just a moment—just a tiny moment—to get some air and check on them!”
No matter how powerful she was, in everyday life she lived under someone’s thumb, so even she struggled against Alpha.
Alpha watched Arsha avoid her eyes and stammer, then let out a small sigh and gently comforted her.
“Omega is preparing snacks, so let’s return quickly.”
“Waa! Snacks!”
No matter how silly she acted, she was the ruler of the academy and the divine dragon who protected the world. Alpha, one of the few who knew her true identity, would not carelessly offend her.
“Snacks~!”
With a huge smile spreading across her face at the word “snacks,” she left the infirmary. Alpha followed after her but paused when she saw Mir and spoke.
“…You are Mir student, correct?”
“Yes? Yes.”
“To notice my presence. Your future looks very promising indeed.”
“Thank you…?”
Mir probably wondered what the big deal was, but it was simply thanks to the nature of her power. Even I hadn’t detected Alpha’s presence. If I had taken out Lemegeton the situation would have been different, but that wasn’t an item to bring out under those circumstances.
Rustle.
Having said all she needed to, Alpha turned and headed outside. In that moment, our eyes met for the briefest instant.
Right before leaving the infirmary, her eyes widened, and a tiny whisper only I could hear brushed against my ear.
“…Halpas?”
As expected, she noticed immediately.
Arsha’s maid. Alpha… No. One of the 72 demons of Lemegeton. Baal.