Ch.111Chapter 111

I checked the house, then headed to the Academy. Since everyone was busy with exam period, I planned to use that time to study about the Academy itself.

Knowing things was easy, but showing off knowledge was difficult.

When professors spoke, there was a natural intellectual atmosphere that flowed from their words. It wasn’t about listing everything they knew to prove their knowledge, but rather subtly demonstrating it through their speech.

You need to give the impression of “I already know this, and I’m speaking based on that knowledge!” to come across as intellectual.

Conversely, if you say “I know this” and then explain everything from start to finish, it can make you seem somewhat lacking.

I needed to avoid rambling on about things others might not even be curious about, as it could make them not want to talk with me. This was a lesson I had painfully learned after trying to show off to the Professor.

Cookie…

I shook my head. I decided to assume everyone might already know these things and focused on acquiring knowledge I could use with Ouroboros. I skimmed through the Academy pamphlet with my eyes.

I checked the school’s geography and memorized it piece by piece.

Since each department had its own building, I skipped those and decided to memorize the shared facilities like the cafeteria, dormitories, library, and the auditorium attached to the student center. These were places I had visited during the festival before, so they were easy to memorize.

Humming to myself, I skimmed through the contents of the pamphlet.

While spending time with the Professor in the Research Lab, I got bored just looking at the pamphlet and shifted my gaze. I stared at the Professor who was sitting at the desk, typing something diligently.

Since she mentioned earlier that she had finished preparing the exam questions, she must be writing a research paper or looking into something else. Or maybe messaging other professors?

Various thoughts crossed my mind, but since I couldn’t see the monitor, nothing specific came to mind. Thinking about research reminded me of yesterday’s conversation about Ouroboros.

Of course, I couldn’t possibly offer innovative ideas to an expert like the Professor, but I still wanted to think about it together with her.

However, I didn’t bring it up.

I figured my thoughts were probably common enough that others would have them too, so I decided to just think about it without saying anything.

Wondering if there was something in yesterday’s conversation, I mulled over what the Professor had said, while my eyes remained fixed on the pamphlet in my hands.

I am a Demon God. This body wasn’t created by parents but by the world itself. It seemed unreasonable to consider this a natural process.

It was natural in a way, but somehow distorted—the phenomenon of Demon Gods being born through the condensation of Mana along with gaining self-awareness… So…

It’s difficult. I couldn’t grasp what it meant at all. I also wondered if it was really possible for a human-like body to just pop into existence simply because of self-awareness and Mana.

Has anyone ever witnessed the moment a Demon God is born? Or does it just exist as a hypothesis? I wanted to hear something from the Professor, but I didn’t want to waste time like yesterday.

My thoughts just kept getting deeper.

Well, I wasn’t trying to deny the long-standing hypothesis. I knew there was no point in challenging it by saying “I don’t think that’s right” or “We don’t really know” or “Is that the truth?” when I didn’t know anything myself.

I pursed my lips and tilted my head.

Returning to my previous thoughts, I seriously pondered what constitutes a Demon God. But there was still so much I didn’t know.

“Professoooor.”

I finally couldn’t resist and used my Professor card.

“What is it?”

“Professor, are Demon Gods adults from birth?”

“Hmm… That hasn’t been confirmed, but the hypothesis suggests so.”

“So you don’t know either?”

“That’s right. But seeing how Ourr didn’t have an aura when she was young, the hypothesis that it accelerates rapidly is gaining support. Why? Are you interested in your own birth too?”

The Professor seemed pleased whenever I showed interest in her field. It seemed like she enjoyed researching with others even more than researching alone.

Is that what all scholars are like?

“Umm, no. I was thinking about Ouroboros.”

“Oh? What are you thinking?”

“Umm, I still don’t understand how Demon Gods are born. Condensed magical power gains self-awareness and then…”

I stopped mid-sentence and furrowed my brow. I couldn’t remember what came next, so I just kept making groaning sounds. No matter how hard I tried to squeeze it out, nothing changed. My expression just got more contorted.

The Professor peeked out from behind the monitor and chuckled.

“Condensed magical power gains self-awareness, and when certain conditions are met, it forms a physical body. Some scholars claim these conditions ‘don’t exist,’ while others hypothesize that it ‘devours humans.’ But since none of this has been confirmed, there’s nothing definitive to say.”

“Eww, I don’t like the devouring part.”

“Right, but since we don’t know when Demon Gods are born, it’s difficult to make connections even when people go missing. Plus, it’s rare for anyone to claim a Demon God resembles their family.”

The more I listened to the Professor’s explanation, the more I felt how stupid I was.

I appreciated her trying to explain things simply, but when we got deeper into it, it started to feel strange.

Though it was nice to listen to her explanations in a comfortable way.

“…Umm, Professor.”

“Yes?”

“But people have mothers and fathers, right?”

The Professor coughed repeatedly at my words.

“Yes, why…?”

“Do Demon Gods absolutely need to not have parents?”

“Huh?”

The Professor’s eyes widened at my question.

“If Demon Gods have bodies similar to humans, couldn’t they have parents too?”

“…Huh? I’ve never seen such a case.”

“Oh? You don’t know either, Professor?”

“Well… there might be something in research papers, but since we can’t test it, it probably remains just a hypothesis.”

I made a humming sound.

At first, I thought everything I could think of would already be known by the Professor, Sera, Aria, and even Karen. But realizing that some of my thoughts were unknown even to the Professor made the corners of my mouth curl up involuntarily.

I felt my pride swelling without even realizing it.

Still, I opened my mouth before my thoughts were fully organized, eager to share what I had come up with.

“If there’s a mother, wouldn’t the Demon God resemble her? Then the father… the father… um… never mind. Well, anyway, since Demon Gods can be created when Mana condenses…”

“…Ah. That could work.”

The Professor rolled her chair with a squeak. Moving away from the monitor that had been hiding her upper body, she stared at me intently.

“What could?”

“No, I mean, I was struggling with how to create a framework, but I just realized that if we do it this way, we don’t need to worry about how to structure it or what DNA means for a Demon God.”

“Huh?”

I stared blankly at the Professor.

Come to think of it, we had started talking about Ouroboros, then suddenly shifted to body creation, and then to becoming a mother. I only realized this belatedly.

Startled, I covered my mouth with my hand. I looked at the Professor with wide eyes, wondering if I had said something inappropriate, but the Professor had already stood up from her chair, apparently thinking it was a groundbreaking idea.

The wheeled chair trembled and moved away from the recoil.

The Professor strode over, grabbed my hands, and looked at me.

“…Ourr, I think it would be good if you could help a little.”

“Eh? Eh…? I-I’m not mentally prepared yet?”

My tongue got tied. Or rather, my voice rose in surprise. My vision blurred. Even though I might be foolish, I at least knew how babies are born.

“Y-you can’t get them by rubbing…!”

I closed my eyes tightly and tried to push the Professor away, but she just stared at me blankly.

“You thought that far?”

“Ah, well…”

I barely regained my senses at the Professor’s words. Along with that came embarrassment. Making a small groan, I covered my flushed face with the pamphlet and hung my head low.

If only there was a mouse hole somewhere I could hide my small body in.

“Ourr… if you’re okay with it, would you like to research this with me?”

“W-what research?”

I asked the Professor while keeping my face hidden behind the pamphlet.

After a moment of silence, the Professor quietly continued.

“Research on Ourr having a child…?”

“N-no way… I’m not… I don’t…”

“What are you not?”

“I don’t want to become a mother…”

“Not a mother, just making two Ourrs. It’s just about figuring out how to create the framework…”

The Professor started to persuade me. She really seemed to think it was a good idea. I couldn’t understand why I had said such a thing.

I really was a fool. I should have just kept my mouth shut.

“Ourr…?”

“Ourr doesn’t know. Ourr doesn’t know about such things.”

I hung my head low under the table.