The New Master
Kyle watched the demon rolling across the floor, its entire body covered in lacerations, and spoke.
“You’re still far from it.”
But those seemed to be its final words. After that, the demon showed no reaction whatsoever. Even when Kyle yanked the Aura Blade out from inside its body and jabbed its limbs, it didn’t respond. Whether it had fainted or was only pretending, there was no way it could suppress its biological responses. The only conclusion was that its mind had completely shattered.
A bit too harsh, maybe.
Kyle thought as he rose to his feet. Even though this was a mental world, his body felt stiff all over. That was only natural. It had been roughly ten days since he discovered he could manifest an Aura Blade directly inside an opponent’s body and began his experiments. Even with the ability to freely adjust the flow of time in this dream world, it had been an absurdly long stretch. On top of that, Kyle hadn’t allowed himself a single moment of rest or sleep—he had been completely absorbed in his research the entire time.
“Hey, are you actually dead?”
He nudged it with his foot, but there was still no reaction. Kyle let out a heavy sigh. Sure, it was down for the count. That was fine. But still…
At least tell me how to get out of here before you kick the bucket…
Kyle scratched his head and glanced around. The demon was defeated. The experiment was more or less complete. With that realization, the tension drained away and all the fatigue he had accumulated came crashing down at once. An overwhelming wave of drowsiness that even a Master couldn’t resist swept over him. In the end, Kyle collapsed, head slamming into the ground as sleep claimed him.
“Guh—?!”
Kyle woke with a massive gasp, realizing something weighing roughly fifty kilograms was lying on top of him. He didn’t need to wonder what it was. The weight was intimately familiar, and once he remembered where he had been last, it was obvious.
“…Yuri.”
“Mmm…”
Yuri was fast asleep, murmuring in her dreams while sprawled across him. Kyle slowly closed his eyes, savoring the sensation of her breasts, stomach, and legs pressing down on his body. He could have stayed like that until she woke up. She wasn’t the type to sleep in, so she’d probably rise soon enough. With that thought, Kyle wrapped his arms around her waist and waited.
She finally woke up six full hours later.
“…Kyle?”
“Oh, you’re awake at last.”
Kyle, who had kept his eyes closed and focused on Aura breathing the entire time, slowly opened them at the sound of her voice. Their faces were close enough that their noses would brush if either moved. Yuri stared down at him for a moment, then carefully pressed her lips to his.
After initiating the kiss herself, she seemed to grow embarrassed. Her face flushed bright red as she quickly slid off the bed and practically fled into the bathroom.
The sound of running water from the sink echoed softly. Kyle glanced at the spot where she had been lying.
Good, it’s intact.
The magic sword rested where she had slept. Considering how she had been fiddling with it all night, it looked remarkably undamaged. Kyle picked it up, a hint of worry in his movements, and instinctively understood that he could now wield its power perfectly.
Why?
He had mercilessly tortured the demon sealed inside the sword, completely destroying its mind. He had assumed that meant the weapon’s abilities would be unusable. After all, the sword simply channeled the demon’s own powers. With the demon gone, how could he possibly use them?
Yet surprisingly, even with the demon’s psyche shattered, the abilities still functioned without issue.
Did it submit rather than die…?
He didn’t know the exact reason, but Kyle decided not to dwell on it. Leaving things as they were wouldn’t cause any major problems, and he wasn’t some obsessive mage who needed to understand every little mystery.
While he was thinking, Yuri finished her quick wash and emerged from the bathroom. She noticed the magic sword in his hand and spoke as if something had just occurred to her.
“You don’t need that anymore.”
“Huh?”
“I figured out all the magic that was cast on it.”
“Oh… you did?”
Only then did Kyle realize he had been dragged into the world the demon had created last night. Yuri must have touched the seal Merlin placed on the sword. Judging by her casual expression, she hadn’t actually broken it—the demon had simply slipped through a tiny gap created when she brushed against it.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Did you identify what kind of magic it was?”
“Yeah. It was pretty tricky, but… I’m a genius, after all.”
Ta-da! Yuri thrust her thumb out proudly to showcase her accomplishment. Kyle couldn’t help but chuckle. Seeing her puff out her chest like she was waiting for praise, he stepped closer, ruffled her hair, and headed with her toward the mansion’s dining hall.
It was only then that he understood why Yuri had slept in so late.
“Ah.”
Today was the weekend.
“Merlin, Merlin…”
Slurp— Sera kept sucking on her special fruit drink, humming thoughtfully as if nothing came to mind. Then she smiled brightly.
“No idea.”
“Then spit out what you ate. Are you messing with me?”
“Ow, owww—! No take-backs!”
With her mouth grabbed, Sera flailed in protest, but Kyle squeezed until her lips poked out like a duck’s. After thoroughly squishing her cheeks and tormenting her for a while, he finally sighed and let go. Sera rubbed her reddened face and glared at him.
“Hey! Is it okay to grope a girl’s body like that?!”
“You don’t register as a girl to me, so it’s fine.”
“What the hell is wrong with you, you lunatic?!”
Sera thrust her modest chest forward, desperately trying to assert her femininity. But after seeing Arthur, Yuri, Ruby, and the other well-endowed women around him, Kyle could only categorize her as ‘below female standards.’ When he let out a mocking laugh, Sera exploded.
“Waaaaah—!”
Kyle ignored her completely and pressed for answers.
“So? What does the name Merlin usually mean?”
“Hmm… I’ve never seen it in this game, but it’s actually a really common name.”
“Why?”
“It comes from the legend of King Arthur. You don’t know? The wizard Merlin.”
“First time I’m hearing it.”
“Ah… right. You were a muggle.”
She explained the origin of Merlin and how the name had been used across countless works of fiction. Of course, it became most famous thanks to a certain Japanese mobile game, but the name and concept originally came from the Britannia Chronicles of 12th-century Britain. Every game, anime, and novel had borrowed from it. Therefore, Sera guessed there was no reason the original Dairos Academy wouldn’t have used the same setting.
“But why don’t you know about it?”
“Beats me. If I had to guess…”
“If you had to guess?”
“Maybe they saved it for DLC?”
“What kind of answer is that?”
What was certain was that even Sera didn’t know. Since she usually claimed to know everything, the disappointment hit harder. But that only lasted a moment. When he thought about it, she hadn’t known Arthur’s true identity or why she was being targeted either. Sera was just a player, not the creator or programmer of this world. It was only natural.
And that meant…
There are still plenty of secrets in this world that neither I nor she know about.
His heart began to race with excitement. How many more secrets and battles awaited him? How many enemies would block his path? To overcome them all, he needed to become stronger—stronger than anything else could ever hope to match. He had to become a transcendent existence standing alone.
The day after Kyle made that vow, the news that he was a Master spread throughout the academy.
“These are yesterday’s and today’s papers. Looks like everyone who needed to see them already has,” the principal said, watching Kyle.
The very thing he had predicted long ago had finally come to pass. The fact that Kyle was a Master had been revealed, and people would never leave a teenage Master alone. That was exactly what he had foreseen.
Yet Kyle simply took a calm sip of the tea in front of him, showing not the slightest hint of panic. The principal sighed at the sight.
“What do you plan to do now? If the imperial palace issues an order to hand you over—”
“You don’t need to worry about that, Principal.”
“…Why not?”
“I already took care of everything when I visited the imperial family a while back.”
Kyle recalled his recent visit. After the discussion with the royals had ended, he had been granted a private audience with the emperor.
The emperor had granted him unlimited freedom. Whether he left the academy or stayed was entirely up to Kyle.
“That’s not what’s important right now.”
“Then what is, Student Kyle? Or should I say, Master Kyle?”
“The guys who are going to come looking for me after reading this.”
“Come looking for you…?”
“Yeah, well… it’s a little embarrassing to admit, but.”
Kyle gave an awkward laugh.
“I’ve made quite a few enemies along the way.”
They would definitely come to the academy.