episode_0066

1.

I wasn’t feeling very well today.

No matter what, I didn’t know that I would feel this bad just because I hadn’t seen Kai’s face.

My mood changes like a poor reed swaying back and forth with just a slight sigh.

“Of course I saw your face…”

It’s closer to saying that I witnessed something than the more common meaning of talking to each other and communicating, such as seeing someone’s face.

“”Hyuuuu…””

A long, soulless sigh is drawn out.

It’s a strange picture with Sister Yuli also slumping her shoulders and joining in.

“…”

“…”

After feeling an inexplicable sense of kinship with Sister Yuli, I left.

…

The awkward time between late spring and early summer.

A breeze, a mixture of cool and warm, swept through the forest, making the leaves rustle before coming towards me.

‘If we look at the direction of this wind… could it be the wind coming from the Kingdom of Episia?’

I was thinking about my hometown for no reason and tried to indulge in memories.

The image of my father’s irritated face came to mind and the little feeling of nostalgia that remained disappeared.

When I swallowed my unpleasant feelings and hurriedly put on my clothes.

-Sarak

A gust of wind brushed my cheek.

It is clearly different from the cool breeze that used to blow.

My hair was blowing here and there, and I looked up at the sky with an uneasy feeling of discomfort.

[……………….Ma…………ㅇ……..King……..]

A majestic voice rings in my head.

A strange sensation of vague noises in your head rather than being transmitted through your ears.

“Keuuugh…!!!!!!”

At the same time, the skull rings like a giant bell.

Even with such a huge voice and the pain it can be difficult to tell if it is conveying anything.

Whispers of the spirits of the myth at least.

No, it’s not.

‘The whispers of the ancient spirits.’

Among them, the spirit of air is rooted as one of the concepts of the world.

I wonder if the ancient spirit of the air has something to say to me directly.

But I remember a higher being whispering directly to me like this.

-Oh my god!

“Gyaaah!!!”

-Beep be …

I have never felt such pain before.

I have a splitting headache and tinnitus that pierces my ears.

Even when I whispered to the ancient spirits, it didn’t involve this much pain.

What can we infer from the differences between then and now?

‘What on earth is this about…!’

I had a vague feeling that what he was trying to convey in a whisper might be too important for a mere mortal like me.

-Cheolbuk!

I knelt in the river with my mind dizzy.

No, it would be more accurate to say that he couldn’t bear the feeling of his head becoming heavy any longer and collapsed.

One memory comes to mind involving visions approaching sleep.

One of the happy memories of Kai’s kind smile and the way he taught me things one by one.

“Pukagiosuri…!!!”

A word of thanks.

And it draws up magical power within the spirit.

The sight of the spirits shining brightly like a crystal chandelier during a night banquet is reflected in the water.

The spirit eye is a medium that facilitates communication with spirits.

And for whispering, control the magical waves in your ears and spirit equally and spit out the following prayer.

“D… de capiora, sipiro poalama….”

Pronounce the runes correctly and with respect.

From now on, we use language to ask for the meaning of the whispers and to accept that meaning.

Applying the knowledge I learned from Kai Oppa.

“…I’m going to die, I …

Finally, I ask again about the content of the whisper.

I have prepared to hear the language of the spirits by manifesting my spirit eyes to the point where my blood vessels are about to burst.

Then, as if responding to my language, an unnatural strong wind came crashing down on me again.

It comes to mind.

[……Academy………E….Ma….Demon King…..this….]

Even in situations where my head felt like it was going to burst, it was heard much more clearly.

And then I realized something.

[……….there is………]

This whisper contains a prophecy.

The prophecy is [absolute].

Just as an ancient spirit is in charge of one absolute component of this world, a prophecy is something that is guaranteed by [absolute power] to come true.

Its source is the World Tree of the Kingdom of Episia.

And the content is that the Demon King lives in the Academy.

“There’s… a, a demon king… at the academy…?”

2.

Somehow I managed to get into the classroom on time.

As the roll call was about to begin, Ms. Casselina entered the classroom.

And when I saw that sight, something from the past came to mind.

The adventure story of the warrior party that Ms. Casselina herself told us.

‘A prophecy has been handed down from the World Tree Mother.’

It was a fitting beginning to a heroic tale.

A prophecy came to Teacher Casselina, announcing the start of the Hero Party and containing the danger that would come to this world.

Teacher Casselina once left a comment saying that perhaps that too was a path of destiny.

He also left behind a saying that everything begins with prophecy.

I don’t know why it has to start with me now of all times.

I can’t understand at all why it was conveyed to me through whispers.

‘Is this my destiny?’

The ‘prophecy’ from the World Tree was passed on to me through an ancient spirit.

Not just random words from a cheap fortune teller, but a clue to the future that will [absolutely] happen.

The repercussions of such prophecy are too heavy and scary for me, who is not even an adult.

“Haaa…”

A headache came over me, so I put my hand on my forehead and let out a deep sigh.

Next to me, Yuni spoke to me with a fidgety expression.

“Srenya. Do you have a migraine? Do you feel any pain?”

“It’s okay. Thanks for worrying, Uni.”

As I looked at Uni, one fact came to mind.

Although he looks somewhat broken, he comes from a prestigious and long-standing family that has produced warriors.

How will Yuni, the only daughter of Aperiel Pikanan, react to the Demon King?

“Uni. I have something to ask you.”

“Uh, huh? What is that?”

“What would I do if I were the Demon King?”

“…Huh?”

A strange question that you wouldn’t imagine someone with a headache asking.

First, I stopped thinking and just waited for Uni’s answer.

“Uh, uh…? If you’re the Demon King… Since the Demon King has appeared, you should gather your allies, right? First, prepare to subdue the Demon King with your friends from the warrior club… In the end, you set out on a journey to subdue the Demon King, but it turns out that it was Srenia…”

“Stop, stop.”

But since Uni had a huge romantic interest in the warrior party from the beginning, she wasn’t much help.

Rather than imagining a situation where your friend is the Demon King, imagine the Demon King appearing and becoming a hero party.

He stopped talking, shaking his head.

‘You don’t understand this feeling.’

[There is a Demon King in the Academy]

The reason why those words feel heavy to me is because it means that there is a slight possibility that everyone except me is the Demon King.

The Unicorn whose eyes sparkle next to me could also be the Demon King.

The obvious story that there would be no Demon King in this class has become not so obvious.

Every relationship I meet will be filled with suspicion and unnatural reactions.

You will have to go through a tragic situation where you will even have to doubt your friends.

Moreover, it is burdensome that I am the only one who still knows this secret.

I’m not the only one who hears the whispers of the ancient spirits that contain the prophecies of the World Tree.

No matter how knowledgeable Kai is, he lacks the ability to be a spirit sorcerer since he doesn’t have the spirit eye, so he would be unable to interpret it.

‘Sigh… what should I do…’

Can I bear the responsibility of this secret along with the secret itself?

When the thought occurred to him, Yuni opened her mouth again.

“Well, by the way. If you were the Demon King, wouldn’t it be okay?”

“Huh?”

“Have you ever done anything bad?”

“…a little?”

There are things that prick my conscience.

The desire to expose one’s naked body to others… is using other people’s kindness for one’s own selfish desires.

“Do you want to bring destruction to the whole world?”

“No!?”

“Would you like everyone, including the devil, to kneel at your feet and worship you all day long?”

“No!”

“…Then it doesn’t matter if you become the Demon King.”

ah.

Even if I have the title of Demon King, if I am only a Demon King in name and have no connection to the actions of the Demon King, does that mean it is okay?

It was a comforting thought to Srenya, who found words that were easier said than done, but more helpful than expected.

…

Even though I was comforted by Uni’s words, the prophecy still felt heavy as lead.

Even if we face each other halfway.

‘…He glanced at me. Could he be the Demon King…?’

Even when facing Cariel.

‘He’s too strong for his age. Could he be the Demon King…?’

Even when facing Taina.

‘Hiding your true feelings, or making a wish… Could it be the Demon King…?’

Even when facing Ignis.

‘…The way he holds the sword is so fierce. Could he be the Demon King…?’

Half of it was just nitpicking over really ridiculous issues.

As you know, it is a prestigious family that produced members of the previous generation of warrior parties.

Taina also respects Altina very much.

Is Ignis… the Demon King?

If you just look at his actions, he’s so far removed from the category of a criminal.

Of course, it is far from the Demon King, but it is also far from humans.

“Euuu….”

I think I’m becoming paranoid.

It’s a disease that makes you unbearable if there’s even the slightest problem.

“…I can’t live like this.”

Finally, I made a decision.

…

“Is Ms. Casselina here?”

“You can come in.”

After school, I went into Ms. Casselina’s office.

I couldn’t face it with pride because the things I did left behind as karma…

If it’s to get rid of this anxiety right now, then awkwardness is nothing.

After exchanging greetings as a courtesy.

I threw out the main point.

“Teacher, if there is a demon king.”

One thing to add to what Uni said about one household is something to consider.

“But if the Demon King is so good, is there a need to kill him?”

The part that made me feel the most uncomfortable was the fact that there was a Demon King in the Academy.

There were no signs that the Academy was causing a big uproar, preparing for the return of the Demon King, or that anything strange was happening.

It’s hard to understand that there’s no noise about the important matter of the Demon King being in the Academy.

So, one thing that came to mind was that maybe the Demon King wasn’t such a harmful being after all.

If someone’s status is guaranteed enough to enter the academy, wouldn’t they be able to live in peace even if they were the Demon King?

It was like the novels that Ignis often told me about, where the Demon King marries the hero, or is a sloppy person, or is more of a loner than expected.

Maybe I had imagined a future that would be peaceful and full of my wishes.

“…The existence of the Demon King is not simply that of the king of demons, but that of the one who brings destruction.”

It has been confirmed that the being that will bring about that destruction is in this academy.

And with Ms. Casselina’s words, the peaceful future I had been dreaming of came crashing down.

“If the Demon King appears, this world will be destroyed.”

“Fuck.”