35: Everyday Life (1)
The next morning, I spoke to Luna while she was eating breakfast.
"Luna."
"Yeah?"
"Can you answer my question honestly?"
"Sure!"
Luna answered brightly without even asking what I was going to ask.
"Can you tell me why you lied to the professor yesterday?"
"That's…"
Luna fell silent for a moment, but whether it was because she'd just promised to be honest or because she'd found her courage, she spoke again.
"It can't be found out."
"Why?"
"They'll misunderstand."
"Misunderstand what?"
"That I'm a monster."
Luna looked at me with a face full of conviction.
"So I have to hide it."
I had no solid proof, but I was certain. Luna was the sole survivor of that experiment.
But could I really compare Luna to Lunacia?
Before she met me, Luna had probably been almost identical to the original Lunacia from the novel. Then could I be sure that the Luna who'd met me had walked a different path from Lunacia? It had only been a little over a month. At the very least, Luna had spent happier days than Lunacia ever had.
Well…
I'd just have to make it different.
For now, let's try to keep it from getting out.
If it does get out…
There's no answer for that. In other web novels or comics, the villains hide while pretending to be something else, but I wonder how they manage it.
Do I really have to sleep rough in the Demon Realm?
First, to escape into the Demon Realm if it looks like we'll be found out, I need to get strong enough to receive entry permission.
"Let's get stronger, Luna."
"Okay!"
To protect our everyday life.
Contrary to our resolve, our daily life didn't change much. In a way, it made sense—after all, the whole point had been to protect that routine.
It was just that our determination had grown a little firmer.
"Oh, Kihote, you were here first?"
"You're a bit late today."
"Yeah, something came up so I went to bed late."
"Your eyes look different."
"Do they?"
"They look even more bad-tempered than usual."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
What was wrong with my eyes? Luna said I looked kind, so my eyes were kind eyes.
"They said class isn't happening here today."
"What?"
"You didn't know? There should've been a group message."
"Really?"
Checking every single notification that came in was annoying, and with so much on my mind lately, I'd stopped bothering.
"Then why are you here?"
"I figured you'd be like this. Check your schedule."
I pulled out my phone and looked at the updated timetable.
It was a Demon Realm-related class.
Was it always like this? It felt a little different from before.
In the original novel, each class had handled it on their own. Professor Wilhelm's class had been pretty weird—something about identifying tree bark you could eat in the Demon Realm…
Ah, I got it.
Back then everything had been such a mess that no one had time to worry about what the professors were doing. Now that things had calmed down, they'd noticed all the classes except combat training had turned into complete disasters.
Instead of overhauling everything, they'd just merged the normal professors' classes together because they were too busy.
But our professor's class was pretty normal, wasn't it? Why did it get merged?
I scrolled through the academy homepage to see which class we'd been combined with.
Professor Nova from the Alchemy Department.
"Tch…"
"Shall we head over now? It's about time."
"Let's wait a bit. If we're late, maybe there'll still be seats in the back?"
"Stop talking nonsense and let's go."
So I ended up moving while being carried by Kihote.
Lately it felt like the kids were treating me more and more like luggage.
"Put me down. I'll just walk."
"Got it."
It was convenient, but it also felt like I was losing something as a human being.
Since we were inside the academy, the distance wasn't far anyway.
"Everyone get the hell out!"
And what I saw was…
Hmm…
"Why the hell is everyone coming here and causing a scene!"
Yeah, they must've been really disappointed that the entrance ceremony never happened.
Was this the entrance ceremony hall?
"Everyone get the hell out!"
I turned my head, looking for familiar faces.
Aria was over there, Estelle was over there, Minerva was on that side.
Iv and Niv were here too.
Honestly, I hadn't expected a high attendance rate, but it looked like Niv was dragging Iv around.
More than that, I was curious about how this situation had developed, so I headed toward where the professors were gathered.
"You crazy bastards, why is everyone here?! No, Hyera, you explain first."
"So, as I was saying. I specially captured Queen-class entities for this class to make it meaningful, but the president canceled it, saying it wasn't in the lesson plan."
"Are you insane? Why the hell would you bring those things? How long has it even been since the incident?"
"The lesson plan said we'd capture some demon beasts. It wasn't an important detail, so I just made the text a little smaller to save ink."
"Damn it."
Professor Kim Hyera… was she actually crazy?
I revised my internal evaluation.
Professor Nova's expression grew visibly worse with each cancellation. Every single reason was completely abnormal.
One professor had planned to take students into the Demon Realm and break a limb or two for a survival exercise. Another had apparently mistaken the students for bear grills.
After most of the professors got canceled, their final words were all similar.
"In my day, we actually did these things!"
Ah, there it was again.
"Shut up, you senile old fool! These days if you need nutrients you just take a pill that lasts months in one bottle. Where would you even use that stuff?!"
I hadn't known about that. If I'd known when I was trying to save money, I could've lived off those.
"Still, I'm better than them, aren't I?"
"As if… Yeah. You're better than those lunatics. Sorry about the senile comment."
The comparison group was just too overwhelming.
"You prepared these kinds of classes, Professor?"
Even Kihote, who usually threw in sarcastic remarks whenever I said something negative, had nothing to say about this scene and kept his mouth shut.
"B-But Professor Nova's lecture is normal, so that's why everyone gathered here, right?"
"Probably?"
The question was whether "normal" was relative to the other professors or absolute.
"Ugh… Why did you look over here and then go somewhere else…!"
A girl with light purple hair approached us.
"Ah… I'm dying… There are too many people… Urgh…"
"Hold on, don't throw up!"
"I-I won't… Urgh… I won't."
I grabbed Aria's head and turned it toward Kihote.
"Don't push your face this way!"
Kihote also freaked out and moved aside.
"What do you take me for!"
Oh, she was definitely doing better. She was even raising her voice.
"Oh, looks like you've improved."
"It was quite effective, Seoha."
"See? We wouldn't play pranks on Aria just for fun, right?"
"Right, right."
Aria tried to protest, but Kihote and I cut her off.
She must've thought she'd improved quite a bit herself, because she didn't get angry anymore.
"Ah, more importantly, is this real?"
Aria showed me an article.
"Oh, you're seeing this now?"
Aria had gotten excited after discovering the dating rumor about Estelle that had been out for several days.
"No, I was busy so I didn't know. So is this real? The part where they say they keep hitting each other means they're that close…! H-How far have they gone? Like…"
I pressed down on Aria's head as she started talking faster and faster.
"Don't ask and then keep going by yourself. The photo is real, but the article is bullshit."
"Eh… Boring."
The excited Aria had been calmed down.
"It's really not true?"
"You think it is?"
"Boring."
She was getting more and more annoying by the day.
"Then if the photo is real, what scene is it?"
It was a tricky question to answer.
"We were just heading to the entrance ceremony and there were too many people, so she gave me a ride."
Still, I wasn't stupid enough to say we'd been riding together because we needed a place to discuss how to prepare for the terrorist attack at the entrance ceremony. I just made up something that sounded plausible on the spot.
"Even so, Lady Estelle looks like she's shoving something in there in a hurry?"
"Probably Photoshop."
Our chatter was cut off by a voice coming through the speakers.
[Ahem, can you hear me? Class is starting now.]
Maybe the other professors had succeeded in persuading her… or had they?
Looking at the state some of the professors were in, it seemed more like negotiation than persuasion.
[First, let me go over the precautions. Don't talk while I'm speaking. It won't end with just getting kicked out of the lecture hall.]
Aria wrote something on a piece of paper next to me.
'That's real. On orientation day alone, over twenty people quit because of the professor.'
I nodded, understanding.
Since I already knew Professor Nova's personality to some extent, it wasn't that surprising.
[Ah, there are a lot of idiots here.]
She said that and added that she'd like it if we talked a lot today so she could kick us out, but the lecture hall remained silent.
She displayed the lecture materials on the screen.
[Alright, you all know that the Demon Realm on the 5th Continent is different from other continents, right? The demonic energy erodes not just objects but living beings too.]
When no one answered, she got annoyed.
[I said don't talk, not don't answer. Answer.]
"Yes, we know."
A few of us, including me, answered.
[Originally, I was going to explain the general areas, ruins, and finally the Zones of the Demon Realm today, but I'll just cover demon beasts, Devils, and demon races and be done with it.]
She made it obvious she found it bothersome, but the volume had actually increased, probably because of requests from the surrounding professors.
[You guys aren't interested in how the Zones and ruins are formed anyway, right? It'd be better to explain the details to my own class separately.]
When she manipulated the screen, photos appeared showing desolate landscapes or plants dyed in strange colors.
[Well, there are all kinds of general areas, but the ones you'll probably see often look like this. Either so barren that not even a single blade of grass grows, or so rotten and decayed. The former means a large number of demon beasts have passed through and eaten everything, so there are quite a few of them living nearby.]
[The latter can actually be more dangerous. If plants are left to rot like that in a Demon Realm swarming with demon beasts, it means there's an absolute predator there. Of course, near the Entry Office they keep demon beasts away so it looks similar, but if you see a place like that away from the entrance, you should be careful. It's not something to blindly trust, but generally, if it's barren there are a lot of them, and if it's rotting there are fewer but each one is stronger.]
[Just in case, if you have questions, ask right away. I won't get mad.]
After saying that and seeing no questions came up, she continued the lecture.
Information about general areas was easy to come by, so there was nothing strange about it.
[Next are the ruins.]
When she manipulated the screen, the previous photos changed to images of buildings or stairs leading underground.
[You can think of about 90% of the ruins as being from the Hero Era. They were built before the Demon Realm covered the world, and the ruins that have appeared are said to have artifacts hidden somewhere inside. Come to think of it, I think I heard there was a freshman who had an artifact made from a ruin?]
No way.
[Come out.]
There had to be others besides me, right?
The problem was that several gazes were now fixed on me.
I hadn't really hidden it and had used it openly, but it wasn't a big issue. Professor Nova wasn't the type to care where her students were looking anyway.
But there was a bigger problem. Professor Kim Hyera's gaze was also fixed on me, and Professor Nova followed that gaze to look at me.
I quickly covered my right hand, but—
[Hey, student over there.]
It was too late.
I stayed seated and shook my head, but—
[It's fine, I'm not taking it away. Ah, if anyone tries to take it because of this, tell me and I'll properly beat them up.]
She actually had a record of beating up a prince from the 2nd Continent in the original novel, so it was a very trustworthy statement.
[Hey, come out quickly.]
I gave her a look that said "Why are you doing this to me?", but her attitude didn't change, and I was eventually pushed forward by Kihote and Aria urging me to go out.
[Oh, look at this. The one on the middle finger that's gone out is a ruin-made artifact.]
She personally extended my right middle finger to show the others.
Was this a public middle finger?
Actually, it was closer to her deliberately making me flip the bird rather than me wanting to do it.
I almost flinched at her cold hand, but I managed to hold it in. It would've been rude, especially to her.
[If the user isn't trying to take it off, it won't budge even if I pull. Just because it's a ruin-made artifact doesn't guarantee it's useful. For example, among the artifacts I know someone found, there was even a jam knife that spreads jam evenly on bread.]
"Hey, activate the artifact for us."
She took her mouth off the mic and spoke to me.
It felt like I'd become an assistant without consent.
Actually, maybe I had become one?
When I channeled a bit of mana into it, the light from the ceiling lamps gathered in one place and solidified.
[Looks like the effects are light condensation and solidification. There might be more functions, but let's go with these two for now. Neither is particularly impressive, but some of the sharper students probably noticed. Ruin-made artifacts consume almost no mana. So if two artifacts have the same effect, the one from a ruin is always better.]
[Then isn't finding a good ruin-made artifact basically cheating? You're right. If the effect is good, it's cheating. In fact, once you reach a certain level, you barely feel the consumption anyway. The hard part is obtaining one in the first place. I've only seen ruins in the Demon Realm twice myself, I think?]
"Ah, thanks for cooperating."
She said that and let me go.
Cooperating?
Cooperating???
"Ah, right."
She suddenly put her hand in her pocket and rummaged around.
From the movement of her arm, it looked strangely exaggerated, probably because she was wearing clothes she'd modified into a pseudo-artifact.
"This is a gift. One of the things I made when I was bored. If you put mana into it, it'll make things as bright as day even in the middle of the night. You can't use it for a few days after one use, but since it consumes little mana, it'll be useful when you really need it."
"Thank you."
It wasn't cooperation—it was something I obviously had to do.
Our Professor Nova just had a rough way of speaking, but she had a kind heart, was pretty, and was smart too.
I bowed my head 90 degrees and returned to my seat.
When I got back, Estelle raised her hand.
"Professor! Then what happens to a ruin that loses its artifact?"
[It deactivates and goes back underground.]
"Then can a deactivated ruin rise again?"
[Good question. There are recorded cases of that happening. The ruin rose again and they were able to find an artifact of a similar type to the one previously discovered.]
"Then how was that artifact created?"
I'd explained it to her before, but whether she wanted to confirm the facts or was curious about an expert's opinion, she asked about it.
[Hmm, there's still not enough research on that. Personally, I think the timing of when the star fell and when the ruin reappeared are similar? Of course, that's just speculation, so just think "maybe" and move on. If you're more curious, go look it up yourself. Moving on…]
The Zones.
[Zones.]
[A unique phenomenon that only appears on the 5th Continent.]
A place that could be the safest or the most dangerous.
[A place where traces of the Hero Era have been eroded and preserved intact in the Demon Realm.]
The photo she displayed was just one. A scene of countless demon beasts, Devils, demon races, humans, spirits, and heroes from the Hero Era indiscriminately killing each other.
[I've only been to a Zone once, so I don't have anything else. So if you're disappointed, go see it yourselves.]
In fact, the reason she'd retired from active duty was because she'd entered that Zone and suffered a fatal wound. A wound she couldn't heal until her death in the original novel.
[The war of the heroes might remain there, or complete peace might remain there. But usually…]
She paused for a moment.
[It's hell. I also sacrificed many things to get out of there.]
With those words, she added that it was break time and told everyone to get lost before leaving the lecture hall.