Ch.111110. Final Exams (4)

# 110. Final Exams (4)

Another quiet, desolate evening at the Academy.

In that darkness where even breathing felt cautious, two shadows moved without anyone’s knowledge.

“But… how did you break through?”

“Who knows.”

Lilith had effortlessly penetrated the Imperial Academy’s security, which was rumored to be impenetrable.

And she did it with such delicacy that no one detected it.

Lu found Lilith’s feat fascinating.

“More importantly, the question is whether he’s even here now…”

“He should be, right? You said he’s not the type to rest after overcoming just one obstacle.”

“That’s just a figure of speech… If it were me, I’d be resting right now…”

Both the timing and the hour were significant factors.

It was a relatively peaceful period, during the evening hours just before nightfall.

For most people, this would be the time to wrap up the day’s work and rest for tomorrow.

“But sis, you say that while not resting yourself. You came straight here after sending that guy back.”

“I guess you’re right…”

Lilith had rescued Fenex, who had nearly died, escorted him to the Babylon Kingdom, and returned immediately.

Of course, the person beside her was in the same boat, but unlike Lilith, Lu had diligently fulfilled her role as a succubus, so she had much more physical energy to spare than Lilith.

“I’m fine, but you’re not.”

“I’m fine too, for now.”

She wasn’t exactly overflowing with energy, but she wasn’t in a critical state either.

Maintaining that middling level of stamina, Lilith arrived at the dungeon conquest room where Albert was likely to be.

However, arriving didn’t mean they could enter right away.

“Wouldn’t it be dangerous to just go in?”

“Yeah, it would be. We’ll have to wait until he comes out.”

Although Lilith had easily penetrated the barrier surrounding the entire Academy, she needed to be cautious since she didn’t know what security measures might be in place for individual buildings.

“But what if he’s not here?”

“Then… we’ll have to try another time.”

“So we’re just hoping he’s here…”

“That’s right…”

As they were praying that Albert would be inside the building, Lu spotted some female students entering.

“Oh! Someone’s going in! Isn’t that the girl from before?”

“You’re right, that red-haired girl… but so what?”

“Couldn’t we ask her for help?”

“Would she believe us?”

From Rachel’s perspective, these two were just demons who had invaded her academy.

“That boy might have told her about us.”

“And what if he didn’t?”

Lu mumbled dejectedly.

“I guess you’re right… Is there no way we can break through this security?”

“Just wait… this isn’t our first time doing this.”

“Ah… there was a nice boy earlier…”

“Is that what this is about?”

“He looked so delicious… what a shame.”

Hearing this, Lilith was startled and said to Lu:

“…Aren’t you being too explicit?”

“This is normal for our kind.”

“That’s… still…”

“You’re the strange one, sis. You’ll have to do it someday too, won’t you?”

“Me…!? I… only with someone I truly love…”

“Ah… yes, I’m sure. But you’re almost 500 years old and still single.”

“That’s… that’s…”

Lilith couldn’t say anything after that.

She seemed quite shocked.

“Ah… I’m sorry.”

“It’s too late for… apologies now…”

“You’ll find someone someday too.”

“Find what?”

“Someone you want to devour.”

“No! Stop saying things like that!”

Lu deactivated her [Stealth] and waved at Albert, who was staring blankly at Lilith, who was so flustered that she didn’t even realize her [Stealth] had been dispelled.

***

After clearing the rather nutritious dungeon, I exited the building.

The sun had disappeared due to the late hour, replaced by the moon and stars.

And against this somewhat romantic backdrop stood two women who matched the scenery perfectly.

However, logically speaking, neither of them should have been there.

“Those people… what are they doing here…?”

“Hello? It’s been a while.”

“…Who are these people? Is that a tail? And are those horns?”

Rachel was severely wary of Lu and Lilith.

And for good reason…

‘Because they’re demons.’

It would have been more unnatural to remain calm.

But now was the time to maintain composure.

“Ah… they’re both demons, but don’t worry, they’re not like those demons from before.”

“Huh? What does that mean…”

“Um… it might be easier to understand if I say they’re on our team.”

“Our team?”

When I nodded, Rachel looked at the two with a frightened expression.

Seeing Rachel’s reaction, Lu made a mischievous face.

“Wow… seeing that kind of reaction makes me want to tease her, but I shouldn’t, right?”

“Do you think you could?”

“What a shame, I like girls too…”

It was definitely a response befitting a succubus.

Because of this, Rachel tried to distance herself from them even more.

“Are you sure they’re okay?”

“They’re trustworthy.”

“Oh… you actually have a pretty good opinion of us?”

“But why did you come today?”

Lilith stood up with a charismatic face that made it hard to believe she was the same person who had been flustered earlier.

“First, to let you know we’re on your side, and to share some information.”

“If the information is about the alliance expanding, we already know.”

“I thought you might know… but you really do.”

“So we’re also trying to expand our alliance, though it will take some time.”

Rachel showed a calm response, as if she already knew.

“You act very quickly.”

“Is there anything decided about the next battle?”

Knowing that would make it easier to prepare.

And by then, if we were allied with the Persian Kingdom, we might even be able to invade the Babylon Kingdom.

“Nothing specific except that it will happen at the end of this year. There’s talk it might be canceled due to the casualties from the last incident… but knowing that person’s personality, I doubt it.”

“So will you two stay here?”

“We need to go back now, but if anything is decided, we’ll come to let you know.”

Until recently, we had spies deployed on our side, so we hadn’t felt a lack of information yet.

Of course, things would be different going forward, and in such a situation, an alliance with Lilith would play a crucial role.

‘But… there was something I wanted to ask when I met her… Ah!’

I suddenly remembered something I had forgotten.

“By the way, is Fenex still alive?”

“Yes, he’s alive.”

“I figured… why didn’t you kill him…”

“The Demon King was watching Fenex the whole time, so it wasn’t possible.”

“Ah…”

I remembered Fenex speaking to the air at that time.

It seems the person Fenex was addressing was Bael.

“So he was watching…”

“It’s best to assume he watches all battles that way. He’s secretly quite a coward, so he doesn’t tend to participate in battles directly.”

Indeed, Bael rarely participated in battles unless we were the ones invading.

It was the complete opposite of our Emperor, who participated in almost every battle as long as his physical condition allowed.

Of course, this would be much more advantageous for us, forcing Bael to participate in battle, but in the past, the Emperor couldn’t participate due to his deteriorated mental state.

‘Actually, with the Emperor alive, there’s a higher chance Bael will participate in battle, and he’ll probably bring more monsters too.’

Still, having the Emperor in good health was a positive factor that outweighed such negative elements.

Naturally, war is still dangerous even with the Emperor in good health.

That’s why thorough preparation is essential.

“What kind of monsters will they bring to the next battle?”

“Well… that hasn’t been decided yet either… but given the scale, I think they’ll bring at least dragons.”

“Dragons!?”

Bael seemed more serious about the next battle than expected.

He seemed tired of the continued assassination failures and wanted to achieve something notable.

“He needs to maintain public support too. While humans aren’t as necessary, he still needs to keep them in check.”

Rebellions actually occur more frequently in demon society than among humans.

Of course, demons rarely rebel due to poor politics, but there’s no harm in maintaining public support.

“Is public sentiment poor these days?”

“They’ve been losing battles and failed at assassination, so yes. And it wasn’t that good to begin with.”

Rachel, who had been listening to our conversation, asked me in a very small voice.

“So… are these two really demons?”

“Did you think they were just humans in cosplay at first?”

“Well… it’s just so unexpected…”

“They are real demons, I can guarantee that.”

She seemed to have lost some of her fear now.

“Are you okay with them now?”

“Um… can I touch those horns once?”

Perhaps she had lost too much fear.

“Huh…? Huh!?”

“Don’t you know what demon horns are?”

“Of course I do. They absorb magic from the air and send it to the heart.”

“Oh, you know your stuff.”

“It’s on the exam.”

However, demon horns don’t just serve that purpose.

Like elven ears, demon horns are extremely sensitive areas, commonly known as ‘demon erogenous zones.’

“H-horns are off-limits.”

“Really? That’s a shame… but why not?”

“Think of demon horns as similar to elven ears.”

“Huh? They have something in common? Ah… don’t tell me… is it what I’m thinking?”

“Yes, that’s exactly it.”

After that, Rachel sincerely apologized to them, and I blankly watched the scene.

“Shall we go now? Staying longer is dangerous.”

“We know.”

“Take care, I’ll come again.”