Field Trip to the Demon King's Castle (5)
As I followed Gail through the corridors, we somehow arrived at our destination before I knew it. The moment we stepped into the family head’s chamber, he spoke first.
“You’ve changed quite a bit, Elric.”
“Well, a lot has happened to me too.”
To be exact, I’ve just been running for my life from a bunch of yanderes.
Jukchang-i threw in a snide internal jab at my words. The instant I secretly squeezed the ring form she had taken—
“I suppose that’s true. In any case, the reason I summoned you here is to discuss your reward.”
He stroked his chin, voice turning grave. In moments like these, staying quiet usually gets you halfway there. I kept my mouth firmly shut and maintained my silence.
He continued. “Is there anything you want?”
“Hmm.”
Truthfully, there wasn’t much here worth taking. Even if I grabbed some spellbooks, where would I even use them? My abilities revolved around Jukchang-i and spearmanship; I barely touched magic at all.
Besides, I hardly have any mana to cast spells in the first place.
The moment I closed my eyes, sinking into thought—
Master. Master. How about that resort? It was super nice back in the previous round, right?
Jukchang-i offered her opinion in an utterly thrilled voice. The “resort” she mentioned was the private island the Vandesar family had turned into a vacation spot. I’d enjoyed quite the sweet life there in the previous timeline.
Not a bad idea.
Come to think of it, midterms were right around the corner. Holding separate exams for my class on that island didn’t sound half bad.
That was actually a decent suggestion, Jukchang-i.
Ehem!
I praised her internally and immediately spoke up.
“Father. Could I possibly receive the Vandesar family’s vacation island as my reward?”
“Hmm? You mean that island?”
“Yes.”
“Any particular reason? Honestly, I expected you to ask for something else.”
“Midterms are about to begin at the academy. I’d like to make use of the island for that.”
He nodded with an understanding look. Soon, a benevolent smile spread across his face.
“I see. You want to let the students rest there after the exams.”
“Pardon?”
Gail had suddenly jumped to a strange misunderstanding all on his own. Before it could dig any deeper, I quickly clarified.
“I just plan to hold the exams and training there together. That’s all.”
“......”
“Anyway, that’s my reason. There’s nothing more to it.”
“Hmm. Very well. By the way, may I ask you one other thing?”
“Of course. Go ahead.”
“Then let me ask. Just how did you raise a bunch of ordinary students to that level in only a month? From what I saw, they could defeat most mid-tier demons now.”
Gail’s eyes sparkled with clear curiosity. Since telling the truth wouldn’t cause any problems, I answered plainly.
“It’s simple. Make them arrive by eight, hold regular classes, then continue lecturing until ten at night after school ends.”
“...That’s it?”
“Yes.”
“What the...”
He let out a hollow laugh, face full of disbelief. I added one more detail.
“Of course, that after-school session includes sparring with me every single time.”
“...Even then, is it really possible to become that strong in just a month?”
“Well, people tend to do anything when they’re fighting to survive.”
They say a person’s true worth only emerges right before death. From the students’ perspective, Jukchang-i’s strikes brought pain so intense that actual death would feel more comfortable. So, every after-school session was essentially a brush with death.
“Anyway, I’ll take my leave now.”
“Hmm. Where are you headed?”
“To visit my little sister.”
With those words, I turned and headed toward where May was resting.
At the same time.
May lay on the oversized bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. The moment she recalled her spar with Elric—
Ugh… so embarrassing!
She covered her face with both hands. She had boldly declared she would teach him a lesson before the duel, yet the opposite had happened—she’d been one-sidedly beaten. She wanted to go back in time and slap her past self upside the head.
Still… Brother seems to have changed a lot…
Compared to the last time she had seen him, his aura felt much lighter. If he used to be heavy and serious, now he seemed full of mischief.
If you were going to change, you should’ve done it sooner. Ugh…
Another embarrassing memory surfaced, and she kicked the blankets in frustration. Just then—
“Hmm? You’re awake already?”
Sena, the Saintess candidate who had treated her, entered with a gentle smile.
May sat up and gave a polite bow. “Thank you for healing me.”
“Not at all. It’s only natural since you’re Professor’s younger sister.”
“Ah, yes…”
Come to think of it, what kind of image did the other students have of her brother? She had only ever seen his good-for-nothing side, but they clearly hadn’t.
Driven by curiosity, May asked cautiously, “Um… may I ask you just one thing?”
“I’ll answer most things.”
“Right. So… what kind of image do you have of my brother, Sena?”
“......”
Sena fell silent in thought. Then an ecstatic smile bloomed on her face.
“To me, he is my one and only prince.”
“Huh?”
A prince? May doubted her ears. Ignoring her reaction, Sena continued dreamily.
“I can’t tell you everything, but recently he came to save me when my life was in danger. How cool he looked… Ah…”
Her cheeks flushed crimson as she pressed her hands to them and shook her head. She then explained the recent terrorist incident at the Imperial Academy.
“The way he rescued me from a Demon King’s executive who was about to kill me was exactly like my one and only prince.”
“Ah… I see…”
Was this what a girl in love looked like? May never imagined the Saintess candidate could make such an expression. She was famous for never showing emotion, after all.
But something feels way too exaggerated here.
Rescuing someone wasn’t unbelievable given his strength. Still, the idea of him flashing a cool smile was impossible to picture.
If anything, I bet he wore that wicked villain smile.
While May was thinking that—
“Ah, and we recently became intimate. How happy I was back then… He kept pushing me so intensely, like he never wanted to let me go… haa…”
“What?”
A bombshell dropped from Sena’s lips. May’s eyes widened as she asked, “Intimate… as in?”
“You know—the kind of relationship a man and woman have?”
As she spoke, Sena formed a circle with one hand and inserted her index finger. Seeing that, May screamed internally.
Brotherrrrr! What the hell have you been doing?!
She could accept that he was an adult and might sleep with women. But the other party was the Saintess candidate! This could turn the entire church into an enemy.
The silver lining was that the church hadn’t made any moves yet, which probably meant they still knew nothing.
Why did this brother of mine change in all the wrong ways?!
While she was reeling from the shock of Elric’s behavior and trembling—
“D-did you… inside…”
Creak!
The door suddenly opened. Speak of the devil—there stood Elric von Vandesar.
“Hmm. You’re already up? Good work, Sena.”
“Not at all. Your sister is very sturdy, so the treatment was quick, Professor.”
“I see. In that case, you should head to the training ground. I have something to discuss with my sister alone.”
“Yes, Professor~”
Sena skipped out humming a cheerful tune. As May stared after her in disbelief—
“Feeling any better?”
Elric sat in the chair across from her and asked. Uncomfortable under his concerned gaze, May slowly nodded.
“Y-yeah.”
“Good. If you’re fine, that’s all that matters. Now that I’ve confirmed you’re okay, I’ll be going.”
“Wait, Brother.”
Before he could leave, she quickly grabbed him. Elric turned his head and tilted it.
“Hmm? What, you have something to say?”
“That…”
The next moment, her face burned bright red and she hung her head. Her fingers fidgeted, but no more words came out.
Ugh. I still need to apologize.
She hadn’t believed he had changed and had only spat harsh words at him. Of course, judging by his current expression, he didn’t seem particularly bothered, but her conscience still stung.
One way or another, she had to apologize.
“I’m sorry… for not believing you changed… Brother.”
For a split second, she barely managed to squeeze the words out in a tiny mosquito-like voice. The next instant—
Grin.
He flashed an annoying smirk and perked up his ears!
“Hmm? What did you say? Say it again.”
How could he be so infuriating? She wanted to smack him on the head right then and there. But since she was in the wrong, she absolutely couldn’t.
Clenching her trembling fist, she repeated herself.
“I’m sorry for not believing you changed, Brother—urk!”
She had spoken with too much force and accidentally ground her teeth. He asked again.
“Huh? What?”
“Argh! I said I’m sorry for not believing you changed, you jerk!”
Unable to hold back any longer, she hurled the pillow in her hands while apologizing. Elric casually tilted his head and dodged it with ease.
“Haa… haa…”
Seeing his relaxed face only fueled her anger even more.
Damn it. I really just want to hit him once!
While her face burned with shame and her body trembled—
“Well, since I’ve received your apology, I’ll be going. Take care.”
Elric turned to leave. Desperate to land at least one blow, May’s mind raced. A lightning bolt of inspiration struck.
She lifted one corner of her mouth and fired her counterattack.
“Brother. I heard the story. You did that with Sena, right? You two really suit each other.”
“That?”
The next moment, he turned around with a puzzled expression. Huh? What? Why was he reacting like that?
While she was still wondering, he asked, “What are you talking about?”
“You know… didn’t you have sex with Sena? She said you pushed her so hard because you didn’t want to let her go.”
“Uh…”
Me?