Demon King's Castle Field Trip (Interlude)
How the hell was I supposed to respond when my own little sister suddenly asked if I’d slept with one of my students?
-How else would you take it? By not denying reality, obviously.
'Denying reality? I’m just stating the truth because it isn’t true!'
I pretended not to hear Jukchang-i’s heartfelt sigh and cleared up the misunderstanding.
“I think you’re misunderstanding something. I’ve never had that kind of relationship with any of my students.”
“Hmm. Really?”
“Yeah. Sena was probably just messing with you. Who in their right mind would get involved with a Saintess candidate like that?”
“With your personality, Oppa, it honestly seems like something you’d do.”
“Must be a misunderstanding. Anyway, I need to head over to the students, so I’ll be going. Good work.”
With that, I turned and started walking toward the training grounds. I could feel a sharp, stinging gaze boring into the back of my head, but I decided to ignore it.
***
The moment I arrived at the training grounds, the sight before me left me speechless. And for good reason.
“As expected. The Demon King’s subordinates really are on another level.”
“Damn it. I need to run away right now.”
“No! The Demon King is here!”
“Ah, just kill me instead.”
Every member of Class A except Sena was in absolute shambles. From the way they were talking, it looked like they’d tried to flee and Jane had beaten the crap out of them.
Just then—
“You’ve arrived, young master.”
Jane naturally stepped up beside me and gave a polite bow. I asked, half-expecting the answer.
“They all tried to run, didn’t they?”
“Yes. So I took the liberty of warming them up a little.”
Warming them up? The kids already looked like they were one step from death.
“I see. Good work. Go rest beside Sena for a while.”
“Understood, young master.”
With those words, Jane walked gracefully over to Sena. I didn’t even glance at her as I approached the Class A students.
“Well then. Did everyone warm up properly before I got here?”
“We warmed up so much that there’s no strength left in our bodies…”
“Damn it. This really is the Demon King’s castle.”
“Ugh…”
They stared at me with eyes that screamed please spare us.
They’re throwing a fit over a little warm-up? Kids these days really have no backbone.
-Isn’t it just that the owner is the abnormal one?
'No way.'
If we’re using that logic, wouldn’t most men in South Korea be abnormal? They’re the ones who endured military service and late-night study sessions just like I did. In Korea, people like that are the average.
-Just what kind of life did you live, Owner?
'Knowing would only hurt you.'
With that answer, I quietly turned my gaze back to the students. Soon, I put on a gentle smile and pulled out Jukchang.
“All right. Anyone injured, come over here so I can heal you with th—”
““We’re completely healed!!””
They cut me off mid-sentence and sprang to their feet. As expected, they’d definitely been faking it.
“Good, good. Then today we’ll do the class you all love so much.”
With those words, I bestowed upon the students the whip of love.
***
The morning class eventually came to an end. To be more accurate, it would be better to say the students had been beaten with Jukchang until they passed out.
“Ugh…”
“Save me…”
“H-Hero, please defeat that Demon King…”
No. You’re the hero.
The guy who didn’t even realize he was the destined hero was begging the hero to defeat me. I opened my mouth, inwardly dumbfounded.
“Everyone. Pay attention.”
““Ugh…””
They let out weak zombie-like groans at my command. In times like these, pulling out Jukchang once was enough to snap them back to reality. And sure enough—
““We’re paying attention!””
The moment they saw my Jukchang, they straightened their backs at perfect right angles and opened their eyes wide. Yes, yes. How pleasant to look at.
Satisfied with their attitude, I smiled and continued.
“Now, you all know I’m not actually a devil, right?”
“Huh? That…”
When the clueless Kun tried to deny it, the other students shot him sharp glares. Immediately—
“That’s right! Of course! The professor is absolutely not a devil no matter what!”
Kun did a complete one-eighty. It was absurd, but I ignored his blatant flattery and kept talking.
“Anyway, I’ll give you all free time this afternoon. We did come here to have some fun, so this much should be fine.”
“Th-The free time we’re thinking of, right?”
Karen cautiously raised her hand to ask. At the same time, every student stared at me with piercing eyes full of suspicion.
-Owner. You should’ve gone easy today.
'I did go easy. That’s why I only did the morning.'
-…Normally people don’t train on field trip days, you know.
'I really don’t get it.'
Back in my hometown, they called it a “training camp” and worked the students half to death. Push-ups were the baseline, and total control was considered normal.
-What? Was that place a prison, Owner?
'Sorry, but it was a place you go to have fun from school.'
-To me, it looks like you got scammed.
'I’ll allow it.'
That’s why I gave the students free time in the afternoon. The moment I slowly explained it to them, their eyes started glistening with tears.
“I-It’s really free!”
“We’re liberated!”
“Waaaaah!”
They were so happy they even threw the training weapons they’d been holding. Seeing them like this, I truly must be an angel-like professor.
-Do you honestly believe that?
'Of course I do.'
-……
Jukchang-i looked like she had a lot to say, but I could just ignore her like always. I turned to the students and gave them a warning.
“By the way, anyone who causes an accident will have a personal meeting with me, so keep that in mind.”
““Yes!!””
In an instant, they nodded with energetic expressions. I opened my mouth again.
“Then, from now on, you’re free.”
““Waaaaaaaaah!!””
The next moment, they vanished from my sight like kids visiting an amusement park for the first time. As expected, all that groaning earlier had definitely been an act.
Anyway, now that the students were gone, I figured I should rest too—when a voice called out.
“Professor~”
A seductive tone tickled my ear. I turned to see Sena approaching with a relaxed expression unlike the others. She immediately linked her arm with mine.
“Could you give me a tour of the estate? It’s my first time here, so I don’t know my way around.”
“……”
The woman who had stormed this very place in the previous timeline was saying something like that. It was so shameless I momentarily lost the ability to speak.
-To me, that woman was definitely a fox in her past life, Owner!
'I can’t even deny it.'
She was even shamelessly pressing her soft, squishy chest against me! If she weren’t a yandere, I would’ve fallen for the temptation long ago.
As I inwardly began singing the national anthem to maintain composure—
“You don’t need to worry about that, Miss Sena. I’ll give her a proper tour myself.”
As if she’d expected this, Jane slipped between us. The next instant—
“Tsk!”
Sena openly clicked her tongue in disappointment. At the same time—
-Crackle!
I had the distinct feeling that sparks had flown between the two women.
-That wasn’t an illusion. It really looked like sparks flew, Owner.
'Let’s just call it an illusion. Anyway, it’s an illusion.'
I tried to carefully slip away from their battle of nerves, but—
“Young master, where are you going?”
“Professor?”
They both stared at me with ice-cold eyes. It seemed escaping was no longer an option.
And so I spent the entire afternoon being forcibly dragged around by the two of them. At some point, a rumor must have begun spreading among the Class A students that I was two-timing.
-It’s your own fault, Owner. Fuck.
***
Meanwhile, at that same moment.
In the imperial palace, there was a woman known as the bird in a cage. It was none other than the Third Princess, Rosewin. A genius with an outstanding mind and talent in many fields, yet for some strange reason she rarely left her room. Today, however, she felt inexplicably uneasy.
What is this? Why do I keep feeling this sense of incongruity?
It was as if she needed to regain some forgotten memory. As she tried to calm herself by reaching for the black tea on the table—
-Princess. May I enter?
Her escort knight, Margaret, knocked on the door. When Rosewin gave permission, Margaret entered. The moment she turned her head—
“Hmm? Margaret, what is that?”
She saw Margaret holding a strange crystal orb. To Rosewin’s question, Margaret answered in a grave voice.
“This is the item you entrusted to me roughly one or two months ago, miss.”
“I did?”
No matter how hard she thought, the memory wouldn’t surface. She was someone who remembered events from ten years ago in perfect detail. For her to have no recollection meant one of two things.
Either she’s lying, or there’s a gap in my memories.
Just in case, Rosewin asked, “What exactly did I entrust to you?”
“Yes. You said that the moment I returned this, you would suspect me. Because there is no memory you cannot recall.”
“……”
Margaret answered as if she had read her inner thoughts exactly. Hearing that, it seemed she really had entrusted it to her.
So it’s the latter, not the former.
Well, Margaret had followed her since childhood. There was no chance she would betray her now. Having reached a swift conclusion, Rosewin accepted the crystal orb.
The moment she infused it with mana—
-Whoosh!
A blue light burst forth, and then—
“Ah… So that’s how it is.”
The memories she had briefly forgotten came rushing back all at once. Her head throbbed slightly from the flood of information, but it was bearable. More importantly, she needed to organize the current situation immediately.
“Hmm… As expected. So that’s what’s happening.”
It took her roughly thirty seconds to sort everything out. In that short time, she had grasped the entire situation.
As expected, it seems the professor and the others have regressed as well.
The current flow of events was clearly different from the previous timeline. Of course, she would need to observe more closely, but there was no need to think too deeply. At first glance—
The professor and those women are probably locked in a staring contest right now.
Thinking that, the princess took a sip of her black tea. Then she shifted her thoughts elsewhere.
Hmm. But the Demon King’s army’s movements are strange as well.
There had been multiple reasons she had sealed her memories, but the biggest one was the part that concerned her most: the Demon King. When considering the position of someone who had regressed, there had also been a fallen Demon King besides themselves. She had speculated that perhaps she too had regressed.
Judging from her current movements, the probability is high.
Otherwise, there would be no reason for her to act so differently from the previous timeline. No matter how strong the butterfly effect was, suddenly sending executives to the academy made no sense. Therefore, an investigation into the Demon King’s army was necessary.
“Margaret. Order the spy unit to investigate the internal affairs of the Demon King’s army.”
“Understood. And you, miss?”
“I plan to return to the academy soon.”
It’s been a while since I’ve seen the professor.
Swallowing the rest of the sentence, Rosewin slowly curved her lips into a smile.