Demon King's Castle Field Trip (2)
When Sai suddenly called Gale the Demon God while staring at him, I carefully shifted my gaze toward the man. That’s when it happened.
“Hmm. That title feels far too generous for someone like me.”
He was smiling with clear satisfaction. What the hell? Why is he reacting like that? The normal response should have been anger. Calling someone the Demon God usually carries the meaning of the deity of the demon race. As I stood there puzzled—
Master. It looks like that uncle is misunderstanding it as the God of Magic.
Jukchang immediately cleared up my confusion. The moment I heard her, everything clicked. I understood exactly why Gale wore that pleased little smile.
I decided to move first before these idiots could cause any more trouble.
“Jane, take the students and show them around the mansion.”
“Yes, young master. Understood. Everyone, please follow me.”
With those words, Jane took the lead and began guiding the students. I left the chattering group behind and turned my attention back to Gale. Unlike before, his expression had settled into a perfectly neutral mask.
“I have something to discuss with you. Let’s speak privately in the family head’s chamber.”
“Yes, I understand.”
With that, I followed Gale.
A short while later, the two of us reached our destination. The moment Gale stepped into the family head’s chamber, he turned to look at me.
Hmm. Something has definitely changed.
When he had first heard the headmaster’s report, Gale hadn’t believed it. After all, it wasn’t as if this was the first or second time Elric had pulled some outrageous stunt. The boy’s talent was undeniable, but so was his endless trail of incidents and accidents. That was why Gale had remained skeptical.
His gait, breathing, flow of mana, personality… I can see the differences.
He had overheard the conversation between the headmaster and Elric through a communication orb yesterday, yet even that hadn’t prepared him for how much the boy had truly changed. Still, it was too soon to believe completely. Rumors had a way of exaggerating everything.
As Gale’s mind turned over these thoughts, Elric spoke.
“So, Father. What exactly did you want to talk about?”
The question came in a genuinely puzzled tone. Gale felt oddly awkward and answered while trying to appear indifferent.
“I spoke with the headmaster. He said you’ve changed quite a bit.”
“……”
“To be honest, I still find it hard to believe. Given everything you’ve done in the past.”
“I see. Well, it’s my own fault, so I have nothing to say on that matter.”
Elric accepted the criticism without hesitation. Gale was inwardly surprised by the reaction and continued.
“Yes, it’s refreshing to see you acknowledge it so readily. In any case, what I want to say is this—I’d like to test you myself to confirm these changes.”
“Hmm. What sort of test did you have in mind?”
“That would be…”
The moment Gale tried to answer, the door burst open with a thunderous crash.
Both of them turned at once. Standing there was a girl with the exact same golden hair and eyes as Elric, someone whose entire aura closely resembled his.
Gale let out a deep sigh at the sight of her.
“Huu… May. Haven’t I told you to knock before entering the family head’s chamber?”
“Ehehehe. Sorry, Dad.”
“So why have you suddenly come here?”
“Hm? Obviously to knock some sense back into my brother.”
She flashed a sharp grin as she spoke. From her attitude, it was clear she didn’t believe the rumors about Elric changing any more than Gale did.
Perfect.
Gale had planned to handle it himself, but now there was no need. After all, May was the one who had been most disappointed by Elric’s past behavior. She wouldn’t show him any mercy.
“This works out well. I needed to test Elric anyway. Let’s all head to the training grounds.”
With those words, the three of them made their way toward the training area.
Meanwhile, the A-class students Jane was guiding were busy touring the Demon King’s Castle… or rather, the Vandesar family mansion.
“Whoa… A duke’s household really is on another level.”
“Yeah. I thought our family estate was pretty big, but this…”
“This feels less like a mansion and more like an actual castle.”
“Agreed.”
The students gawked with their mouths hanging open. Sena approached Jane and asked softly.
“By the way, where did the professor go?”
“Hmm. I believe he went to speak privately with the family head.”
“Did you hear anything specific?”
“No. I honestly didn’t expect the family head to come out and greet us himself. Even in the previous timeline, when the young master returned home during break, the head never came out to meet him.”
“Heee…”
“Miss Jane! Miss Jane!”
At that moment, Karen thrust her hand into the air, calling out. Jane turned with her usual stoic expression.
“Yes. Is there something you’re curious about?”
“Um, what exactly is that place over there?”
Following the direction of Karen’s finger, Jane saw a door sealed behind a powerful barrier.
“That room is restricted to direct descendants of the family. It’s where the Vandesar family’s most valuable magic tomes are stored.”
“Ah. So is that where the professor used his knowledge to create the Demon King… I mean, the professor’s weapon?”
“……”
Jane wanted to answer, but the truth was she had no idea. After all, the weapon Elric carried performed on a level that made the empire’s national treasures look like toys. No matter how renowned the Vandesar family was for magic, she doubted they could have crafted something like that. If they could, the other children would have similar weapons.
“Hmm. I don’t believe so.”
“See? I told you. That decisive battle weapon is something no human could create.”
Kai pushed up his glasses and smirked. Immediately afterward, Sai, Kun, and Karen quietly produced coins and handed them over to him. It seemed they had placed bets on whether Elric’s weapon had been made in that room.
Jane continued guiding the cheerfully smiling students. Some time later, as they were finishing their tour—
“Miss Jane, is the mansion usually this empty?”
Sena’s puzzled voice cut through the quiet. It did feel unusually deserted today.
“It does seem a little empty. Let’s head to the final training ground. Everyone might be gathered there.”
She led the students toward the training area. Sure enough—
The place was packed with members of the family who had been nowhere in sight earlier.
“The young master and… the young lady?”
May and Elric were warming up in the center of the training ground. The students behind Jane wore similar expressions of shock. Wondering what was happening, Jane tapped the butler who was watching from the spectator seats.
“What’s the current situation?”
“Hmm? Oh, Jane. It’s been a while.”
“Yes, but what’s going on? Why are both of them in the training ground?”
“From what I understand, the family head wishes to test the young master. It appears Miss May will be his opponent.”
“I see. Thank you for telling me.”
Jane gave a small bow and turned her gaze toward Elric. At the same time, the students’ voices drifted over.
“Wow. The list of victims just keeps growing.”
“But it’s his little sister. Maybe she already knows what’s coming?”
“No way. If she’d ever tasted the professor’s spear, she wouldn’t look that confident.”
“If it were me, I would’ve surrendered the second it started.”
“Ah, there goes another one. Dear gods.”
After that, the students began staring at May with deep pity in their eyes.
I watched May as she loosened up her body. Her eyes burned with the same intensity as in the previous timeline—like she was determined to beat some sense into me. It seemed she, like Gale, didn’t believe the rumors about my change at all.
Master. Just how many incidents and accidents did you cause?
That wasn’t me.
You’re still pushing that possession theory? Give it up, Master. It’s getting sad now.
Jukchang refused to believe the truth no matter what I said. I really needed to give this girl a proper mental education one of these days.
Anyway, there are a lot of people here.
I had no idea when the rumor had spread, but the training ground was packed. Among the crowd were the A-class students, including Jane.
But why are they looking at us with those eyes?
They wore expressions of pure pity, as if they already knew a victim was about to appear. The fact that their gazes were fixed on May rather than me told me they clearly understood what was about to happen.
How do you know that?
Probably because the sight of the little sister in front of me getting hit by you and screaming is something every student over there, every yandere, and every reader watching right now already knows all too well.
Ah. So that’s the future you were talking about! Got it!
Jukchang finally sounded convinced. I shifted my gaze forward. As if she had been waiting for exactly this moment, May lifted one corner of her mouth in a smirk.
Master. Just how badly did you torment your little sister for her to make an expression like that?
Sorry, but I didn’t do anything.
It was all the original Elric’s doing before I possessed this body. The moment I tried to add that—
“I will now explain the rules for this spar. It ends when one person falls or declares surrender. Do both of you understand?”
We nodded at Gale’s question.
“Then let the spar begin.”
And so the sibling fight started. To be precise, it was the beginning of a one-sided beating of my little sister.