Let's Sort This Out
“Kyaaaaah!”
“W-what’s going on?! Why did the magic barrier activate?!”
“Is it a surprise attack? Or a terrorist strike?”
“The Academy—the Academy is under attack!!”
Chaos erupted. The Academy’s magic barrier had activated, and that was the sole reason.
Students screamed while faculty scrambled to grasp the situation.
“…You sure you’re okay?”
Selaphy, mid-cigarette, tossed the question at Michaela.
The sudden barrier activation stemmed from the demonic energy that had just erupted somewhere nearby.
High-ranking demons. More precisely, the power Demon Kings wielded—their very source.
When that force exploded outward, a defensive barrier springing up was only natural.
“….”
But Michaela said nothing. She simply stared blankly into the distance.
“Michaela—”
“Give me a cigarette.”
“What?”
Michaela, of all people, asking for a cigarette? The woman who constantly nagged her to quit?
Selaphy eyed her for a moment, then finally held one out.
“….”
Michaela clamped it between her lips and flicked her fingers once. A spark flared.
The tip began to glow, smoke curling upward.
“If you just hold it like that, it’ll go out. If you’re gonna smoke, inhale. Otherwise drop it right now.”
The moment Selaphy finished speaking, Michaela drew in a sharp breath.
Something acrid slammed into her mouth and throat.
“Cough, cough!”
“You can’t even smoke properly and you still asked for one.”
Selaphy clicked her tongue and reached to snatch it away, but Michaela waved her off with frantic hands.
Don’t touch it. I’m finishing this thing no matter what, so mind your own business.
In the end Selaphy gave up on prying the cigarette from Michaela’s lips.
“It’s ridiculous.”
“What is?”
“Sir Lethe—the war hero—turns out he was acquainted with the Demon Kings all along.”
“…There’s probably some reason we don’t know about.”
“Yeah. There is. Everyone’s got a past, right? But—”
But she couldn’t help being angry. How much had she suffered after being captured as a slave?
How many times had she been beaten half to death trying to escape?
After being chosen as a Hero she had carved herself down to the bone, striving to become someone like him.
“…But demons are the bad guys. Irredeemable souls.”
The man who had fought demons harder and more fiercely than anyone, who had given people hope—
was now chatting with those same demons without a care in the world, treating them like old family.
She wanted to do something about this restless feeling, yet no method presented itself.
The only thing that came to mind was this cigarette, and all it does is taste foul.
After a few more coughs, Michaela decided on a different approach.
“Selaphy. You’ve still got booze left, right?”
Has she actually lost it? Why does she keep doing things she never does?
Selaphy stared at her former leader with genuine worry.
Demonic energy. It was demonic energy. That terrifying power was pouring out in waves!
They weren’t merely flexing their presence. The Demon Kings standing there fully intended to throw down!
Horns sprouted from the heads of the four women who had looked perfectly ordinary moments earlier.
They appeared before battle or when emotions ran wild—a kind of demonic-energy control mechanism, if you will. But that wasn’t important right now.
“Uncle told us we must never fight among ourselves, so we’ve held back all this time.”
“No, Ashu. This isn’t fighting. It’s simply deciding the order.”
“Right, exactly. Just a simple, truly simple order-setting.”
“Or. Der.”
What the hell are these girls doing?
If four Demon Kings clashed here, the Academy would be gone. No—this entire district would vanish.
Ground zero, literally. A catastrophe was guaranteed. After all the effort put into peace talks, they were about to start a war among themselves!
“Stop it right this second!”
“But Uncle!”
“But Big Brother!”
“But Master!”
“But this, but that—if you want to get expelled from the Academy, go ahead and try!”
At Lethe’s roar the four Demon Kings flinched and immediately reined in their demonic energy.
The horns that had risen from their heads vanished as if they had never been there.
The magic barrier that had been screaming on the verge of rupture fell silent as well.
Once the situation settled, Lethe covered his face and let out a long, weary groan.
He had forgotten. These women were no longer the ordinary demon girls he once knew—they were Demon Kings.
No matter how fond they were of him, no matter how loudly they preached peace over war, that racial trait of theirs wasn’t going anywhere.
If things went sideways—fight. If they didn’t like something—fight. If they couldn’t agree—fight. Always fight first.
“Ashu. Mar. Sitri. And El.”
“Yeah. Uncle. Listening.”
“Please speak, Big Brother.”
“I am all ears, Master.”
“….”
First things first—he needed to sort out those chaotic forms of address.
“Uncle, Big Brother, Master—all banned. From now on you call me Instructor.”
“Ehh?!”
“W-why?!”
“But!”
Immediate, fierce rejection. He had expected it. These girls were weirdly obsessed with titles.
Of course Lethe hadn’t said it without thought.
“That’s the rule here. Rule. You know what rules are, right? They’re extremely important.”
In the past Lethe had drilled the importance of rules into the four Demon Kings countless times.
Always wash your hands before eating. Go to the bathroom before bed.
You don’t casually hurt people. Be a little suspicious of strangers at least once.
And for the love of everything, do not climb on top of me while I’m sleeping… things like that.
The moment he brought up rules, the Demon Kings quietly shut their mouths.
If we want to stay with this man, we have to follow the rules! That unconscious conclusion produced a near-miraculous result.
“I’m not saying call me Instructor all the time. Just in official settings.”
“Okay! Uncle!”
“I’ll do that, Big Brother.”
“Yes. Master.”
Nod, nod—
“All right, then we’re doing interviews. Nothing weird or special—just a formality—so the order doesn’t matter at all. Being first doesn’t get you anything good, and being last doesn’t get you anything bad. Got it? Okay, I’ll decide the order, so…”
“Uncle! But first is always better, right?!”
“First is good in general, but not for interviews, Ashu.”
“In the end, isn’t first still better? Big Brother?”
“First isn’t automatically better, and for interviews it’s even less so, Mar.”
“Master. Still, if we’re doing it anyway, being number one is more…”
That damn racial trait again. Could they never fix the discomfort of not winning?
How were they even more desperate to win now than when they were little kids a few years ago?
At this rate they’d still be arguing over the order when the sun came up. And if he picked himself, three of them would definitely sulk.
In the end the Demon Kings—no, the freshman interview order—was decided by who was tallest.
“Ah, not height! Do it by bust size, bust! Uncle!”
“M-Master! What about hips?!”
“Shut up!”
It was over. Finally, finally, those endless interviews were finished.
Lethe exhaled in relief and collapsed onto the sofa.
“….”
A sweet fragrance clung thickly to the cushions. A scent that rattled reason and stirred instinct.
Those shameless Demon Kings. Every last one of them had been wagging their tails at him.
If he’d been starving for women, he would have lost control and jumped them without question.
He’d sensed that vibe since they were kids, and now they were openly trying to devour him.
“Sir Lethe. May I come in?”
“Yes, Headmaster.”
The moment he sat up properly, the Academy Headmaster entered from beyond the door.
He had been away all day for one reason only: the Demon Kings who had enrolled today.
“What are they saying upstairs?”
“Exactly what you’d expect. Watch carefully so nothing major happens, but don’t stop every little act of hostility from the students.”
Of course. They wanted to show their discomfort and take petty revenge, even if only this much.
The Empire had suffered under the demons for a long time. No matter how many ceasefires or peace talks there were, people’s hearts couldn’t be controlled so easily.
So that was the decision: don’t stop every bit of harassment—just rein in the big stuff.
Let’s see how long those so-called Demon Kings can endure it.
“Um, Sir Lethe. There’s one thing I’d like to ask…”
“If you’re asking what relationship I have with the four Demon Kings who arrived—the Four Heavenly Kings—then yes, you’ve heard correctly. We got tangled up in various ways in the past.”
“So it… really was true.”
Awkwardness settled over the Headmaster’s face. He looked like he was struggling with how to phrase the next part.
It was obvious without looking. Every strange rumor under the sun must be flying around right now, thinking this was the perfect opportunity.
“Sounds like talk is circulating both inside and outside the Academy.”
“Regrettably… yes. How can a war hero be so close to Demon Kings? The past is the past—as the Empire’s sword he ought to treat them coldly, they’re saying.”
What the hell are they spouting? Lethe wanted to grab every last one of those people and thrash them.
It wasn’t as if the Demon Kings had been driven to the brink and surrendered. The Empire and the other races hadn’t attacked and destroyed them either.
They still had their full forces intact, yet they had bowed their heads and proposed peace. You couldn’t treat them carelessly.
Even with no prior relationship, the right move now was to get along. And they wanted him to stay cold no matter how close they were, just to push the Demon Kings into deeper repentance? What absolute nonsense.
Were they seeing some kind of hope because the number of Demon Kings had suddenly dropped?
Are these people insane? Those girls wiped out every other Demon King, which means they’re stronger than the old ones. What miracle math are they running here? Fuck, this is driving me crazy.
The war is over. The Demon Kings are saying let’s stop fighting. Our kids apologized.
So end it already. Do they want to go all the way and find out who’s the bigger idiot left standing?
If they really did that, twice as many people would die—couldn’t they even think that far?
Lethe softened that point as much as possible and relayed it to the Headmaster.
“I agree with your view, Sir Lethe. But… please understand our side as well. How can years of accumulated hostility disappear overnight?”
“….”
“Please speak to those Demon Kings carefully. If they made that decision, then for the sake of that peace, ask them to endure and keep trying to the very end.”
Honestly, our kids don’t seem particularly interested in peace or anything like that.
Lethe recalled the conversations from the interviews just a short while ago.
“Why we’re doing this? Obviously because of Uncle!”
“We brought peace for Big Brother. Now live comfortably at the Academy.”
“I’ll stay by your side, Master. That’s enough for us.”
“…Like. Lethe. Very. Much.”