Chapter 109
Chapter 109
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: Reason for Existence (7)
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From a young age, the opponent I'd envisioned staking my life against in battle was a demon. I had no intention of straying far from the main storyline, and besides, the primary enemies in the latter half of that story were all demons.
Needless to say, to fight demons—who outclassed humans in overall specs—I needed rock-solid fundamentals, plus the Goddess's power for special attacks tailored against them.
Fortunately, Julius's peak performance in the main story was impressive, and the level I'd reached through training that bordered on my father's abuse wasn't half bad either. Topping it off with a contract for the Goddess's power had gotten me to a point where I could confidently claim to be "strong."
"Your lower body balance is excellent."
"...Thank you."
From that perspective, Natalie was putting on a decent showing. Unlike me, who'd honed my skills sharply for the sole purpose of crushing demons with optimal matchups and abilities, she had all the well-rounded qualities expected of a knight.
A nicely compact hexagon, you could say.
Having been trained in a knightly household since childhood, her basics were solid with no bad habits. Bluntly put, I didn't think teaching her anything specific would boost her skills much—better to build experience through spars.
And so, my assessment of today's spar.
True to someone well-versed in the sword, her lower body control, stance, and balance were outstanding. But her growth felt stalled by physical strength limits and a lack of mana-handling finesse.
A mage's mana control know-how is worlds apart from a swordsman's, so we'd have to repeat the cycle: show her, spar, show her again, spar some more.
We went at it like that for an hour—Natalie attacking, me parrying and spotting her weak points.
I compiled a rough feedback list, and Natalie wrapped things up by collapsing in exhaustion.
"Cafe Manager, you've got real margin for error."
"My goalpost was different. Not to brag, but due to my family's nature, my job was facing demons head-on—unlike regular knights. Whether it was training intensity or whatever."
"You've got talent too."
"I won't deny that, but looking back on my training, I can't say effort played no role."
"Hm. Impressive."
Mina Big Sis stretched out her legs and lightly tapped my crown with her toes. She looked young like an elf should, but she had this habit of treating me like a little boyfriend.
Of course, I didn't mind it—in fact, it was more comfortable during breaks or meals, so no complaints.
Reimi Big Sis felt more like a friend despite being a big sis type, and Cosetica Big Sis... well, she had this animalistic vibe that didn't quite scream "big sister."
For someone with a longing for a normal family life, having a properly big-sis-like big sis was comforting.
Mina Big Sis wasn't without her childish moments, but those leaned more cute than annoying.
Honestly, the spar hadn't worn me out much, so I was fine. Natalie was the only one who dragged off to wash up.
Anyway, whether it was her playful side kicking in or whatever, Mina Big Sis climbed onto my back, and the rest of the onlookers gave their "that was entertaining" verdicts before heading back to their seats.
"Man, Cafe Manager, you're always seriously badass no matter how many times I see it."
"Sophia, most people would end up strong living a life like mine. It's just a matter of degree."
"Well, I never had any desperate reason to push myself~."
From what I'd heard, Sophia was a bit of a dullard in various areas—a family's useless youngest, ignored by everyone.
The most common end for her would be getting used as a marriage alliance pawn for expanding influence.
Succeeding the family was basically a given for me, so I was miles away from worrying about my sibling's marriage prospects—I'd never seriously mulled it over.
"That's why I wonder sometimes. Hanging out with you all, I forget... but why am I even at the academy?"
"Well, enrolling all noble heirs is basically a loyalty oath to His Majesty the King."
Children were a hugely valuable asset to nobles. Mana manipulation skills often passed down bloodlines, so kids ended up resembling mage or knight parents, and marriage made for prime alliances.
Sending such prized offspring to live in dorms under direct royal oversight was like half-offering your neck—at least your wrists—as a pledge of fealty.
"Heh. Cafe Manager's popular enough already—must be nice. Me? No popularity, bad at studies, hopeless at practicals. Mom says just act demure and my face'll carry me, but I can't pull that off."
I laughed at her scrunching her face into a goofy mask, and Sophia leaned in toward me, whispering quietly.
"So, how far have you gone with Karin? Your body's gotten hotter in all sorts of ways, and with that lust curse, won't she just pounce on you?"
"Nothing happened."
"Aww."
I'd given Karin, who couldn't contain her urges, a little relief, but that was it.
Hardly counts as "doing" anything.
"Not that it's my place to say."
"Yeah."
"Karin's the type who takes wounds to heart. She's gotten used to it now, but she went through hell mentally because of people like Rias senior. So if the curse made her feel ashamed as a woman, make some good memories to overwrite it—strong enough to bury the bad ones."
It was good advice. If she hadn't grinned lecherously while poking her index finger through a hole made by her thumb and index.
Still, since she'd said something praiseworthy, I ruffled her hair wildly and whipped up a sweet fruit blend for her.
"You've got good instincts."
"...What're you two up to?"
"Talking about you."
"What about?"
"How you're doing, that sort of thing."
Karin plopped down beside me and pouted at me.
Sophia took one look at her and muttered.
"Whoa, those are seriously huge."
"That the same person who just complimented me?"
"Nah, it's just—I've never seen a rack that plops right down on the table like that."
Truth be told, same here.
Anyway, Karin—who'd stopped hiding or compressing her chest and started enjoying it comfortably—looked none too displeased as she casually pulled out a vial and whispered in my ear.
"Cafe Manager."
"Yeah."
"If I don't express it, it just keeps building up endlessly, so I milked it all out and collected it this time."
Just toss it.
I took the vial with an awkward, almost grossed-out expression and stared down at it. Karin giggled, turned on her heel, and started chattering with Sophia and the freshly washed Natalie, whose hair was still damp.
For now, I stashed the vial in the fridge.
Handling this any other way would just make me look like a freak.
In the end, I prepped snacks and coffee for the chattering trio, then slipped into my private room to rest, dodging the growing crowd.
"What was in those books Justina sent?"
I flipped through books, checking titles. Most were journals—records left after clashes with demons.
The biggest issue with these journals? The people who'd faced the strongest demons died without leaving records.
But Svetlana was better in that regard; she preferred slowly tormenting victims to death.
If you got on her bad side, you'd suffer horribly—but at least it left records, chances to find countermeasures.
"Svetlana, Svetlana."
Immortal. Master of mental manipulation. Could remodel bodies by injecting parts of herself. Skilled at disguise, unlike other high demons who built forces—her specialty was infiltration.
"Among those entering the labyrinth, Karin's the only one without resistance to demonic power. Me, Mina Big Sis, Ermina—we all have the Goddess's power."
I didn't know what the mark the Goddess left on Karin's hand meant or its functions, but unless it packed enough punch to beat Svetlana, I couldn't let my guard down.
And Svetlana would know all this too, so step one: make Karin look isolated. Step two: take out the Svetlana who shows up.
It was already known that Svetlana was immortal against both Goddess and Demon God powers.
So, was there a way to neutralize her without killing—render her powerless for good?
I slowly pored over the roughly 40 books Natalie and Sophia had labored to fetch, mulling the best approach, until drowsiness hit and I dozed off.
The boss sleeping during business hours? Deserves the flak. But they'd manage fine without me.
I'd earned the rest after all that exhaustion. When I woke, a small gift of unknown origin sat by my head, and an unknown blanket covered me.
Outside the window, night had fully fallen.
With my wakeup momentum, I squeezed in more study time until sleep tugged again. Then I locked up the cafe and turned in.