Was This the Right Choice?

The place I was summoned to was exactly as I’d guessed—the heart of an underground passage. Before my eyes stretched an endless dark space, its damp, clammy walls glistening with moisture. It didn’t look like a dungeon meant to imprison a specific being, so it was probably a secret corridor connecting one building to another. From the look of it, this passage seemed to be for Leticia’s personal use alone.

As I glanced around, I asked, “Where does this lead?”

“The academy.”

“...The academy?”

“To be precise, it connects to my room at the academy.”

So it was basically the same thing. Without the slightest change in expression, Leticia tossed out the answer in a detached tone. A short reply that got straight to the point. Still, it was enough to clear up my question.

Ah, so it was a passage leading to the academy.

Watching Leticia speak so casually, I simply thought, Oh, I see, and let it slide. For information she was willingly giving to a demon she hadn’t even formed a proper contract with yet, it was surprisingly generous. And given the setting, Leticia was currently one of the most prominent professors at the empire’s top academy, so it wasn’t strange at all for her to have a secret passage or two.

...Though something about that logic felt a little off.

Leticia was the former mage of the hero’s party and the eldest daughter of the Lisianthes family that ruled the entire north. Having a personal laboratory or room inside the academy was perfectly normal. If she’d gone so far as to build a secret passage, that was even more in character.

Anything beyond that wasn’t my concern. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I had no idea why she’d abandoned the position of heir and chosen to work as an academy professor instead, but there was no way Leticia would have thrown away the seat of the next Archduke. The Leticia Lisianthes I knew was a woman full of greed and ambition.

I secretly curled the corners of my lips while Leticia wasn’t looking. She had been the one who, from the moment she joined the hero’s party, had firmly declared she would never hand over anything to her precious little sister. So her becoming a professor was completely unexpected. I had naturally assumed she would return to the north and become its new ruler.

That was why, when I first heard she appeared as an academy professor in the sequel, I’d actually been excited—only to later think the character development was completely ruined.

I should’ve at least watched the story video once, even if it meant getting spoiled.

I let out a small groan. Who could have known I’d end up getting kidnapped—twice—under the name of possession?

Of course I wanted to ask whether she had become the Archduke, but since we still only knew each other’s names and nothing else, suddenly bringing it up might seem suspicious. I couldn’t ask recklessly. If I started talking about her family from the very beginning, it could raise even more doubts. Maybe I should start with topics unrelated to her house and build some rapport first.

As the awkward silence stretched on, I sighed and stared intently at Leticia’s back before speaking up first.

“Your tastes are certainly unique. Summoning me in a place like this.”

“Don’t you think it’s the perfect spot to summon a demon? Who would dare summon something like a demon right in the middle of the imperial capital without knowing what might happen?”

Her sarcastic tone should have irritated me, but Leticia simply scoffed as if it weren’t even funny. She was right—if an uncontrollable demon rampaged in the heart of the capital, it would be a serious problem. In a place like this, no matter how wildly it thrashed about, it wouldn’t cause any damage to the capital. In other words, she had considered all of that before carrying out the summoning.

I simply shrugged at Leticia’s answer and said nothing.

The two of us ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠continued walking, relying on the flickering torches attached to the walls. Honestly, even without the light, it wouldn’t have mattered much. With vampire blood mixed in my veins, my night vision was excellent, and Leticia had always had good eyes in the dark. Still, having light was better than none.

Wearing a sullen expression, I quietly followed behind her through the underground waterway. At one point, I frowned at the filthy sewage water flowing beside us, a murky mix of various contaminants. It was hard to believe that Leticia, who hated anything dirty with a passion, would attempt something like a demon summoning in a place like this.

She wasn’t the kind of woman who would do something like summon a demon in the first place.

What on earth was going on? Could a person’s personality and mentality really change so much just because time had passed and their face had matured?

I compared the Leticia I had last seen before we parted with the Leticia before me now and shook my head. There was no comparison. When I had first been summoned, I hadn’t noticed much of a difference and had recognized her immediately, but seeing her up close like this, the atmosphere around her felt distinctly different.

Even so, she was still the Leticia Lisianthes I knew. Not some imposter wearing her shell, but the real Leticia Lisianthes.

If she weren’t the real one, there would have been no need to make that wish or summon a demon to fulfill it. I recalled the madness and obsession that had flickered in her eyes when she asked whether I could bring a person or soul from another world. For a brief moment, a look of horror crossed my face before I quickly hid it.

Even if I knew who that madness and obsession were directed at, I would pretend not to know for the rest of my life. No—I didn’t even want to know. Because the only person from another world who could have taken her “first” and then run away was me.

She must have interrogated Leo, the hero who was the only one who knew the truth, and dug out the reason for my disappearance. After all, he had watched Demian Ladius vanish into particles right before his eyes. There was no way he could have hidden it even if he tried.

It was obvious that Leo would have been thoroughly squeezed dry of every last piece of information by Leticia, the Saintess, and Kanf. And among the things he spilled was probably the fact that I was a human from another world. Just imagining my poor friend, stripped bare until he turned ghostly white, made me apologize to him in my heart.

I’m sorry, my friend.

All those women had strong personalities, and with no one there to stop them, I could easily imagine what he must have gone through. Poor Leo. It was the first time I had ever felt sorry seeing his exhausted face every night before we parted.

Ignoring the hallucination ringing in my ears, I stared hard at Leticia. The question about whether she could summon a human from another dimension had clearly been asked with the intention of bringing me here. If I had been summoned as a woman—in my original body from Earth instead of this new one—I wouldn’t have had any strength to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠resist and would have been helplessly dragged into a captivity route… Ugh, just imagining it was horrifying.

I brushed off the change in Leticia’s personality as no big deal. That wasn’t what mattered right now. People could become obsessed with one person to the point of madness over time, couldn’t they? In a world where possessors existed, getting worked up over a slight personality shift was ridiculous. And Leticia wasn’t the only one like that. Humans were creatures that could change completely if given the right trigger.

Doing my best to think positively, I took a deep breath. The real problem was me. If my identity were discovered, could I even handle the aftermath? If I went through with a formal contract and my identity was exposed, my life would be over. Captivity would be the baseline, and the thought of something even worse sent a chill down my spine.

It wasn’t that I hadn’t considered the possibility that Leticia might be a possessor like me. I had asked about things only someone who had lived on Earth would know, but her answers had all been “I don’t know.”

“If it’s something demons use, I’m interested. Could you bring it from the demon realm if I resummon you?”

“...I’m following you because I have nowhere else to go, but it looks like you’ve already decided to use me as a shuttle, huh?”

“If you’re going to play the part of a maid, you’ll have to endure at least this much. If you have any complaints, you can kill me your way and run. This place is perfect for disposing of a corpse too. It’s ideal.”

Though the curse I embedded near your heart would activate and you’d explode together with me.

Leticia said, deliberately poking near my heart. The way she twisted the corner of her mouth into a smile was just a bonus.

At her words, I pressed my lips tightly shut. I wasn’t sure about the curse in my heart, but since we hadn’t formed a formal contract yet, if I killed the summoner and ran, I would be free. However, the woman in front of me was no ordinary person. With my current specs, it was questionable whether I could even inflict a proper wound on her, let alone kill her. If I tried to fight, the result—as I had said before—would be death. I wasn’t the type to gamble on a fight I couldn’t win.

I willingly admitted defeat.

“I’m not the type to pick fights I’ll lose. Since I’m bound by the summoning magic anyway, I can’t kill you, so just calm down.”

“...You joke well. Demons can survive for a while even without a heart, can’t they? Even if your heart bursts, it shouldn’t be a problem to kill me.”

“I’m not joking. How could I possibly defeat the esteemed Sage of the hero’s ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠party?”

“What, you already knew? And here you are, giving such pathetic flattery. Fine, whatever. Let’s talk about the contract once we get back to the room. No complaints, right?”

“As if I would have any.”

When I flashed an exaggerated, bright smile, revealing my white fangs, Leticia muttered quietly, “As expected, a vampire…” and met my eyes. Her beautiful purple eyes curved gently. Then she placed both hands on my cheeks.

I flinched. Leticia’s hands were as cold as ice. After the initial surprise at her sudden action, I quickly adapted. A mischievous impulse struck me, so I deliberately lowered my head to meet her gaze. We were so close that one more step forward would have brought our lips together. This time, Leticia’s eyes widened in shock.

“You…!”

“Why are you so surprised? Do I look like someone you’ve been wanting to see?”

It was a question with a predetermined answer. One that didn’t even need a reply. Naturally, Leticia would say that I didn’t resemble Demian. With completely different appearances and even different genders, saying we looked alike would be strange.

After her initial surprise, Leticia narrowed her eyes and carefully examined my face. Then she twisted the corner of her mouth.

Just as I had expected…

“...Hah. You do resemble him a little.”

Huh?

“Annoyingly so. That’s why looking at your face irritates me.”

Leticia slowly released my cheeks as she spoke. Her answer was completely different from what I had anticipated. I had expected her to curse at me for insulting Demian. I had even braced myself to get hit.

When I made a dazed face at the unexpected reply, a smile instead spread across Leticia’s lips.

“I like proactive women. You even know how to charm a girl. Are you sure you’re not part succubus instead of just a vampire?”

I didn’t even have time to ask what exactly resembled what. Leticia said only what she wanted to say, then turned away without a second thought. She walked ahead confidently for a while before stopping and asking me, who was standing there in a daze.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you coming?”

“...Ah, yeah. I’m coming.”

Looks like checking my stats and skill window will have to wait again.

Grumbling to myself, I hurriedly chased after Leticia toward the room. And I would come to regret this decision for a long, long time. At that moment, I had no idea that I should have run away instead of worrying about the contract.