Winner and Loser
The demon leaned back lazily on the sofa.
— A little hasty, aren't we?
“You know how strong that child’s mental barrier is. A simple suggestion won’t yield much result.”
— We don’t even know what he’s doing right now.
That was what worried Katrina.
The fact that they had no idea what situation Ethan was currently in.
A demon’s summons didn’t take the surrounding circumstances into account. If he had been eating in the cafeteria, he might have come straight here without even paying the bill.
“I’m not that incompetent, Katrina.”
She had added an order to clean up any loose ends before coming.
“What exactly do you take me for?”
— Think about all the mistakes you’ve made.
The demon had a habit of causing trouble without ever thinking about the aftermath. Cleaning up after her had never been easy.
If she hadn’t been a princess, she would have been dragged away long ago.
“H-hmm.”
The demon, stung by the remark, cleared her throat awkwardly.
While they bickered back and forth waiting for Ethan like that—
“He’s here.”
She could sense Ethan’s presence. Without even shifting her body, the demon gave a slight nod.
The door opened automatically, and Ethan stepped inside.
“Sit.”
— It still sounds so awkward every time.
Whenever the demon gave orders, she used informal speech that didn’t suit her body at all. She claimed it was for the sake of authority.
Katrina, who knew the truth, simply scoffed at the excuse.
Authority? Bullshit. She was just copying Katrina’s way of speaking.
“...Yes.”
Ethan answered in a dazed voice and sank down where he stood.
“What were you doing before you came?”
“...I was learning magic.”
“From whom?”
“Professor Seah.”
“What kind of magic did you learn?”
“How to circulate mana more efficiently… and a bit more in detail…”
The demon mulled over Ethan’s answers carefully.
Professor Seah, huh…
The demon hadn’t come to the academy to tear it down. Her real goal was to find talented individuals who could form contracts with her in order to destroy that damned woman.
In that sense, Seah was an ambiguous figure.
She was a woman who got in the way of obtaining Ethan—the body the demon valued most—but she also possessed abilities the demon coveted.
“Did that professor notice the suggestion?”
“No… she didn’t notice at a— ugh!”
Ethan clutched his head. His powerful mental barrier had begun pushing the suggestion away.
— What are you going to do?
Katrina muttered in a worried voice. A mere mortal could be broken if the demon used her true body’s power.
But the demon couldn’t do that.
She had brainwashed herself over and over, telling both Katrina and herself that ‘this isn’t fun,’ ‘this is just entertainment’—but that wasn’t the truth.
Pride and fear had shackled the demon’s ankles.
I have to use my true body’s power just to obtain a mortal like this?
My power must be used solely to kill that woman.
If I can’t even handle something like this here, I’ll lose again.
All sorts of complicated emotions held the demon back. She hated admitting it, so she rationalized everything under the pretext of “entertainment.”
— Tsk.
Katrina had vaguely sensed this truth. That was why she found it so utterly tragic.
If she—Katrina—had become the demon, she would have already taken everything.
“Who am I?”
“You are… ugh…”
“Who am I?”
“You are my Master…”
She cast the suggestion once more.
“I have an order for you. Recruit Professor Seah.”
There was no need to brainwash her. Seah wasn’t someone who could be dealt with so crudely.
“And kill the Saintess.”
“......Yes.”
Ethan’s reply came a beat too late. However, the demon failed to notice.
“I’m not telling you to kill her right away.”
It seemed Ethan had formed quite a close relationship with the Saintess.
“Once the Saintess has fully integrated into the academy and the Holy Empire’s surveillance has loosened, then strike.”
“I shall obey Master’s command.”
Ethan knelt on one knee and thought to himself.
Fucking hell.
How long did he have to keep up this ridiculous act? His face was burning with embarrassment.
What? I shall obey Master’s command?
It was truly pathetic to be doing something like this at his age.
That aside…
Setting the embarrassment aside and returning to the main point.
Recruit Seah?
It wasn’t a strange order. In fact, he was surprised it was such a wholesome method.
But the command that followed—
Kill the Saintess?
It was only natural for the demon to hate the Saintess, but in the original story, the demon had formed a contract with her.
By now, thanks to all the butterfly effects, the knowledge from the original story had become useless. Still, something felt off.
I can feel the hatred.
Was there a reason for the demon to despise the Saintess this much? If so, then why had she made a contract with her?
No matter how meaningless the original story had become, this didn’t add up at all.
Should I ask?
Ethan thoroughly continued his act of pretending to be an idiot under the suggestion. However, he couldn’t afford to lose his mind completely.
It was still too early. He had to proceed step by step.
Even if he amplified the engraving, he still couldn’t turn Katrina into a slave right now.
“M… Master. I have a question…”
“A question? As expected, the suggestion still hasn’t…”
Just as Ethan had predicted, the demon began to doubt the suggestion.
“Go ahead and ask.”
“Why do you want to kill the Saintess…”
“She is an obstacle to the greater cause.”
The demon answered instantly.
“And that bitch…!”
For a moment, rage surged through the demon, and she ground her teeth. It was an impulsive act born from uncontrollable anger.
As I thought.
Ethan caught on from that small reaction. The order to kill the Saintess was nothing more than venting.
The real enemy was someone else.
— Ordering that man to kill the Saintess carries too many risks.
“I know that.”
The demon turned away from Ethan and began conversing with Katrina.
Watching the demon mutter to herself in the air, Ethan secretly curled the corners of his lips upward.
This is my chance.
He hid his right hand behind his back. Raising his mana as stealthily as possible, he activated the engraving magic.
A pattern of intertwined chains appeared on his right palm.
From the center of the pattern, intangible chains stretched outward. At the same time, Ethan caused his mana to run wild.
The chains wrapped tighter and tighter, binding the demon who had taken over Katrina’s body. Unaware of the magic, the demon continued muttering to herself.
It’s working. But it’s not enough.
It was far too weak to turn her into a slave.
That didn’t mean it had no effect, though.
Ethan flicked his left index finger.
“Huh?”
The demon let out a short cry as she was slightly yanked forward.
— Stop messing around.
“I-I’m not messing around. It feels like something is pulling me.”
— But Ethan is just standing still.
The demon whipped her head around to look at Ethan. He stared back at her with unfocused eyes.
There was no way that man could have moved this great demon.
“Ethan, what are you doing?”
“...I am waiting… for the next command.”
“Sigh. You may leave.”
“As you command…”
Ethan trudged back to the dormitory.
Watching his retreating figure, the demon pressed hard on her temples.
“It seems the stress was quite severe.”
Just hearing about that woman had made her lose her composure in a way that was unlike her.
— Hmm.
Unlike the demon, Katrina felt a sense of unease. There was no way Ethan would fall so easily.
Perhaps we are the ones being played according to his intentions.
Katrina couldn’t shake her head at the demon, who was pretending to be composed. After all, the body was still under the demon’s control.
— Give it back.
“Alright.”
Having regained control of the body, Katrina flexed her hands.
“Who the hell do you think you’re looking down on?”
Katrina shook her head in disbelief.
“So that’s what happened.”
“That’s wonderful!”
When Seris heard that I had been appointed as her escort, she jumped up and down on the spot.
“Are you that happy about it?”
“Of course! Because Ethan is the most ideal person to be my escort.”
“Isn’t there anyone in the Holy Empire stronger than me? Someone who could protect you even more safely…”
“No.”
Seris cut me off.
“Being by your side is the safest, Ethan.”
With her face slightly stiff, Seris declared firmly. I wasn’t that amazing, though.
Of course, my growth rate lately had been extraordinary. Even I was amazed at how quickly I was progressing.
I was confident that if I fought the version of myself from the entrance exam, I would win a hundred out of a hundred times. Who would have thought magic would suit me this well?
If Erde saw this…
She probably wouldn’t say something like, “You dare learn magic instead of the sacred sword?” If it was Erde, she would definitely congratulate me.
“Hmph!”
Linea sent a signal that she wanted to be acknowledged too. She tightened her arms even more and glared at Seris with wary eyes.
Why was she acting like this lately? It felt like solving one problem only created another.
“Ethan. You’ve become my escort, right? There’s one thing I’d like to ask of you.”
“Speak.”
“I want to look around outside.”
“Is that alright?”
“Yes. Because you’re my escort, Ethan.”
Seris smiled brightly.
“Shall we go right now? There’s no need to delay.”
“Yes. But…”
Seris turned her gaze toward Linea, who was linking arms with me.
“Is she an escort as well?”
“No.”
Linea had escorted Seris in the temple by following my orders. Maybe the memory from back then had been positive?
“If not, then I want to go alone with just Ethan.”
“Hah?”
Linea’s eyes narrowed fiercely.
“The Holy Empire would never allow the Saintess to travel with someone who isn’t an escort.”
Seris’s argument was reasonable. Even though Linea had watched over Seris before, she was ultimately an outsider.
Unless she was an official escort, the Holy Empire wouldn’t permit it.
“Understood. Linea?”
I unwound her arm from mine. Linea’s face twisted in displeasure.
“Let’s go, Ethan. Just the two of us.”
For some reason, Seris kept looking at Linea, who had entered full-on demon-slaying mode.
“To go on a date.”
Crack—
Behind that sound, a victor’s smile rose on Seris’s face.