124. Play

"Vice Dean."

"Hm...! Eliarnes! It's been a while! Pina, Stella, Eurasia—it's been a while for you too! Hi, hi!"

Leona, who had been avoiding my gaze, waved at the group standing behind me in shock.

Seeing them still dazedly returning Leona's greeting, it seemed they'd heard the Flame Emperor's words at the end.

"Nothing happened, right? That old geezer didn't do anything weird to you? Hm! Seeing you're all spotless and haven't been crying, she didn't do anything at all! Good. Good! Eliarnes, you! The old geezer didn't say anything weird, did she?"

"She said something weird, all right."

The Fist Demon. The First Pillar.

Four hundred years ago, among all beings except us, the one who killed the most humans and killed the most Demons.

And the only being who lived through the same era as us.

I walked up to Leona.

"The Flame Emperor called you the Fist Demon. Is that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠true?"

At my blunt question, Leona's ears perked up and her tail quivered.

"Nyahaha... yes. I used to be, but now... I've cast that name aside. It's not a name I'm fond of."

"Good heavens..."

"The First Pillar..."

Eurasia was startled, and Stella muttered blankly. Pina... judging by her expression, she already knew.

"Mm. No. I cast off that embarrassing name too. Right now, I'm just the vice dean of Karelai Academy."

Leona shook her head.

In Leona's voice as she said that, there was an air of wanting to change the subject.

I quietly watched her.

The Fist Demon. If I met the Fist Demon, there was a lot I wanted to ask.

My comrades' whereabouts. The Holy Kingdom. The silent Ge Vihenum. The quiet Demons. Legion Commander Resurrection. The Demon King's Seal.

My comrades' whereabouts. The whereabouts of the remaining three besides Arisa... I had at least a rough idea.

About the Holy Kingdom, I still knew nothing.

Still, there would be plenty I could learn by going to the Holy Kingdom in person.

On the other hand, I knew nothing about the Demon World.

I didn't know why the Legion Commanders had been resurrected, nor why they hadn't invaded the Empire despite that. If the Demons moved in this era, humanity would be annihilated.

The Demons would know that too. There's no way they couldn't. Even in this imperial capital alone, Black Wizards walk around perfectly fine on two legs, so there are more than enough things to serve as the Demons' eyes, rotting and festering.

But the Demons are quiet. Why? I don't know.

That was what I wanted to ask.

But I couldn't right now.

There were far too many listening ears, and at Eurasia's waist hung the sword I had once used.

I immediately turned and walked over to Eurasia.

Then I removed the short sword hanging at her right hip and hid it in my subspace pouch as fast as I could.

Eurasia didn't question my actions either. She'd realized it would be trouble if it was openly displayed.

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠patted Eurasia on the shoulder and turned back around. Leona... hadn't noticed yet.

I let out a sigh of relief and opened my mouth.

"They say the Fist Demon is over four hundred years old. Is that true?"

At that, Leona's eyebrows twitched.

"...Nyahaha! Rather than something wishy-washy like ninety-seven, isn't it way cooler to boldly cross into three digits? Ninety-seven is a real grandma, but four hundred makes you seem like a different kind of being. And besides, I look way younger and prettier, don't I?"

"Hm... you're completely ridiculous."

"What?! Ridiculous! I'm not ridiculous! If you're going to count age, you should count it in Beastkin years!"

"Come on. Even in Beastkin years, you're basically a hundred, aren't you? You're a total grandma."

I snickered as obnoxiously as I could.

And before Leona could snap and throw a punch, I continued.

"Still, since you don't seem to like it much, I won't ask any more. Instead, please postpone today's supplementary lesson to next time."

At my words, Leona, who had turned bright red and was grinding her teeth, tilted her head.

"Hm? Since when? You're always saying there's not enough time and begging to do just a little more."

"Mm... well, sure."

Honestly, even now I want to run off to the training hall with Leona and experiment with this and that.

But I can't today.

I glanced back.

Stella and Pina, dressed up very prettily.

The two of them had even put on makeup.

Eurasia. She'd come back from a long journey and, without even unpacking, had come out to hang with us.

How could I ditch kids like that?

I'm tempted, but today is a day for fun.

"But today's no good. It's a promise I made a week ago."

"Hm, all right. Got it. I had a lot of places to stop by anyway, so this works out."

Clicking her tongue, Leona nodded and rummaged through her pocket.

Then she pulled out a crumpled piece of paper.

"Eliarnes. This is a letter for you."

Leona's expression as she handed me the letter was as crumpled as the letter itself.

"A letter? Aha."

She said nothing about who it was from or why she was the one holding it, but I understood at once.

It was a letter from Mom.

I immediately ran over and took the letter.

A smile spread across my lips on its own.

In a way, wasn't this Mom's first letter?

And seeing that the letter had arrived like this... it seemed she'd reached Ge Vihenum safely too.

Thank goodness.

But.

"Isn't it way too crumpled?"

I hadn't noticed from far away, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but up close, it was so wrinkled I was lucky it hadn't torn.

"Hm. I couldn't help it—I was running hard to get here!"

"You didn't crumple it on purpose, did you?"

"Ehehe... would I really be that mean?"

"Vice Dean. Do you not get along with the person who wrote this letter? Is that why you crumpled it all up? And then you saw the recipient's name and smoothed it back out?"

"...No?"

Leona's quivering tail thumped against the floor as if uneasy.

Even for a Beastkin of the Fist Demon's caliber, it seems she can't control the movements of her tail and ears at will.

Well, that's that.

I clicked my tongue as primly as I could.

There was something I wanted to find out through Leona.

"Forget it. I'm disappointed."

"Disappointed...? Ha! Eliarnes. What can you even do to me just because you're disappointed? Hm? I am, in fact, the vice dea—"

"What you talked about with the Flame Emperor today. I won't tell you."

Leona flinched.

"I, I... don't care. I can just go find that old geezer and ask."

"Liar. You can't find her."

Leona won't be able to find the Flame Emperor.

It was nothing more than a simple guess based on the Flame Emperor's behavior and Leona's response, but I said it confidently.

If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. If I'm right, the range of things I can ask of the Flame Emperor widens.

"Hm? No, no? I can find her, you know? Do you still not get how amazing I am?"

Yeah. Leona can't find the Flame Emperor.

If a Beastkin of Leona's level can't find the Flame Emperor, that means she hides herself pretty damn well.

This is going to be a wish voucher with a lot of uses. A pleased smile spread across my face at that fact.

"Hmm... sure, then. I won't say anything, so go find the Flame Emperor and ask her."

With that, I spun around.

"Eliarnes!"

"What?"

"Still, I... delivered it properly, right?"

I giggled, stuck my tongue out, and kept walking.

"Just do the supplementary lesson properly later."

*****

The play Stella had worked so hard to get tickets for was truly awful.

No, it was absolute, worthless garbage.

"Hey. What's the name of the bastard who made this?"

"Hic... hic, h-hic..."

It was that kind of garbage, but the three who watched it with me were bawling. All the other audience members left crying too.

"You guys, the hell—this is sad to you? Huh?"

"H-hic... th-then is this, hic... is this not sad?"

Stella, snot running down her face, glared at me.

"Bullshit. Hey. This, this... is sad? Th-that protagonist, Ronan—fuck. The protagonist who's just like Ronan... sir. That goddamn Rozan. Rozan, before he croaked, got a confession from Irysa and liked it—that shitty melodrama is sad? Does that make any sense? Ronan... sir would never have done that!"

"Why are you yelling?! And that's not the real Ronan sir. It's a fictional character. And... hic... now that I think about it again, it's sad again..."

Stella blew her nose into a tissue with a honk and continued.

"Not only did Irysa confess to Rozan right before he died, but Rena liked Rozan too. But... because she was already broken, she wanted him to end up with Irysa, so... hic, hic... she did that, she did that...! But Rozan died in the end..."

"Ha. Cut the goddamn melodramatic horseshit."

Arisa and Luna liked me?

The moment that thought crossed my mind, goosebumps broke out all over my body. As if that weren't enough, dry heaves surged up.

No, at least the names—at least make the names completely different. Like, huh? Use completely... completely different people.

Rozan, Irysa, Rena, Pauly—they'd named them like that.

And on top of that.

Rozan isn't a Martial Artist. He was a warrior who handled multiple weapons. Irysa was the Martial Artist.

So it's even more infuriating.

If you're going to copy, copy it completely.

Or... don't copy it at all.

By copying it halfway, it turned into something weird yet strangely realistic.

My teeth ground together.

Fury boiled up inside me.

In the middle of that, I made eye contact with Pina.

She was crying her eyes out.

"Hey. Why are you crying?"

Why the hell is Pina crying?

How many stories about me had I told her?

And she cries at this?

I glared at Pina with my eyes as wide as they could go.

"Hik?!"

"I said why are you crying. Is it sad? Huh? Is this sad?"

Pina, breathing raggedly, burst into tears again and hid behind Eurasia's back.

And Eurasia looked at me with badly swollen eyes.

"Sniff... then, my lady, did you wish Rozan had ended up with Pauly instead?"

"Would I?"

"Then...? Perhaps, Irysa and Rena... the two of them?"

"H-huh...?"

"Hee... hee..."

Eurasia's face flushed red.

Stella's face flushed red.

Pina was just scared of me.

My brain stopped for a moment.

Irysa and Rena, the two of them... they're the same gender.

"...What's that supposed to mean?"

"Your answer was late..."

"And your reaction was... different."

"Hee... hee...?"

"No, what the—all of you, what... nonsense are you spouting? Shut up and get up. We're going to dinner."

Just as I said that and turned to leave, Stella strode up to me.

"Hey, Eliarnes."

"Wh-what. Why."

"You... really? You really wanted Irysa and Rezan to end up together?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You, you! That kind of... that kind of? Huh? Like... you have prejudices, and... stuff? Isn't it weird? Two women... doing that... don't you think it's weird?"

"Cut the bullsh—"

"Answer me."

Stella's voice hardened.

"...Is it not weird?"

"Oh, for the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠love of—you little brat."

Thwack!

I flicked Stella hard on the forehead and turned away.

"Weird or not, stop talking nonsense and get out here."

I thought I'd hit her a bit hard, but no scream came from Stella's mouth.

"...She didn't answer...? Is that... okay?"

She just muttered quietly.

What the hell is okay?

I didn't have time to ask about that.

The moment I turned around, I locked eyes with a woman with sky-blue hair.

Ophelia Blumin.

She was even wearing the academy uniform.

Why is she here? Not my business.

Actually, this works out. I'd been meaning to go find her anyway.

While I was thinking that, Ophelia's sky-blue eyes moved busily.

She swept her gaze over me, Eurasia, Stella, and Pina. Then Ophelia, who had been wearing a stiff expression just moments ago, relaxed her face and walked over.

"Oh my, junior! So good to see you!"

I blinked at Ophelia's warm welcome.

She's revealing that she attends the academy like this?

No, wait—why is she acting like she knows me?

...Is she saying it before I can make a scene?

Or does she want to hear me use polite speech with her?

Both?

Whatever it was, it was deeply irritating.

I nodded with a sour face.

"...Hello, senior."

"Mm. You came to see the play too, junior? Seeing you in a place like this makes it even nicer to see you."

Ophelia, speaking like a perfectly kind and gentle noble lady—nothing like the person I'd seen before—opened a strange folding fan and covered her mouth.

"This is a total secret, but... this play. I wrote the script. How was it? Did you enjoy it?"

"Ah."

At Ophelia's words, my thoughts stopped for a moment.

Not for long. In an instant, a bright smile spread across my face.

"You're the bastard who made this play, senior?"