Ch.120Academy Transfer – 1

“So you came to me for help, you said.”

After briefly being dumbfounded at realizing that her planned method was to cling to me for help, I decided to assist her since there was clearly no other option. I returned to the academy and gathered the other possessed individuals.

Having already brought Nika without any consultation, getting Elysiere employed as a maid would be terribly unhealthy for Beatrice.

Beatrice vehemently opposed, insisting she needed at least two days of rest, but when I casually mentioned that she could be brought to the academy as an attendant since she had behaved well so far, she immediately became docile.

I never got to see my parents. During that half-day I briefly went to the demon realm, an urgent matter had come up, causing them to be away. Beatrice relayed to me that both of them were extremely disappointed about missing me.

“That’s right. No matter if it’s Bellium Academy or even the Chairman, they can’t completely ignore the Emperor’s orders. Surely they can manage to accept one new student as a transfer? Someone like Elysiere could easily secure a top position here.”

Perhaps because demons naturally have such high capabilities, even though she had lost all her powers as a Demon King, by human standards, she still had enough skill to rank among the top at Bellium Academy.

And that was while she was fighting with her demonic energy suppressed and unfamiliar with her body’s condition. If she could control her demonic energy more skillfully, she could aim even higher.

“If I ask, I believe my father would at least make a recommendation. As for the other details, they can be fabricated as needed.”

Laura frowned.

“However, remember that the Chairman can refuse at any time. Even though he’s my father, he can only recommend, not command. As you know, he’s a dragon. Not someone who would bow to the Emperor’s authority.”

“I’ll figure something out. The Chairman owes me a few favors. You know that, right, Laura?”

This is the same Chairman who tried to reward me for killing Mahrvat, even going so far as to raid the imperial treasury. If I were to make a request, there’s a high probability he would grant it.

If that’s not enough, I also have something like a wish token that I’ve been saving up, so I could use both simultaneously. It works out well since I wasn’t sure what to ask for anyway.

“But Elysiere, you’ll need to hide the fact that you’re a demon. Especially that you’re a Demon King.”

“That goes without saying.”

While it might have been Mahrvat who provoked Meligor’s betrayal, it was the Demon King who drove in the final wedge. When Meligor demanded punishment, the Demon King defended Mahrvat, saying weakness was a sin, and mocked Meligor to his face.

If her identity were discovered, it would be a truly terrible situation.

“I can help with that. I’ll create an artifact that alters bodily properties. It’s merely a disguise, but it should be enough to fool even the Chairman’s senses.”

“…I express my gratitude.”

Once the decision was made, Elysiere bowed her head to us.

“Indeed, asking for your help was the right answer. However, you…”

Her eyes, now disguised as black, glanced at me. No, more precisely, they glanced at Priscilla sitting on my lap.

“You seem quite popular. I wondered why you showed no reaction to that one climbing onto you, but it seems you’re already accustomed to it.”

“It’s not really that I’m used to it. I’m just enduring it. This is… well, it just happened somehow.”

Priscilla was sitting on my lap facing me, with her face buried in my neck, taking deep breaths. Or perhaps she was trying to cover me with her scent.

As soon as I returned, she clung to me, and after noticing I smelled of another woman, she’s been like this the whole time.

In truth, Rosaria had seen this behavior more than once, so she took it in stride, and Elysiere didn’t comment further.

“If my memories hadn’t been sealed, I might have been even more broken than that one…”

Laura was sighing with relief that she had fortunately lost her memories.

“…So. From now on, we need to make plans assuming we’ll be fighting against Demon Gods.”

After resolving the biggest issue of Elysiere’s accommodation, I revealed that Astaroth had been resurrected and that a Demon God was almost certainly behind it.

I deliberately didn’t mention the things I sensed from Astaroth that were connected to my past. At least for now, it was too much for me. Just thinking about it made me want to vomit.

“Don’t you have any established settings for the Demon Gods?”

“No. As I mentioned, they were bosses meant to appear after capturing the Demon Kings. At least until the conclusion, there were only a few fragmentary descriptions. Of course I had conceptual settings in my mind, but those were merely concepts that weren’t written into the novel, so I can’t guarantee they match the Demon Gods that exist now.”

I nodded. If she had only conceptualized them in her mind without writing them into the novel, we couldn’t be certain that Laura’s imagined Demon Gods shared the exact same settings as those actually existing in this world.

“I’ll tell you what I know, which is better than nothing, but shouldn’t we resolve the artifact issue first?”

The artifact Laura mentioned was the Thousand Changes Necklace. An item she had used when living as the Crown Prince.

Since even the Chairman couldn’t detect her true gender, she argued that with a bit more refinement, it would be sufficient to hide her demonic nature.

“Of course, we’ll need to test it. If we request a transfer, thorough examination of the candidate is a given procedure. In my case, they were convinced I was male and didn’t investigate deeply.”

I was the same. I was so convinced of Laura’s gender that I never properly checked. If I had been more suspicious, I might have approached things differently.

“And we won’t reveal its true purpose. Even if he is my master, there should be a few secrets that are exclusively ours. The master surely has his own secrets as well.”

The conversation assumed the Archmage would create the Thousand Changes Necklace, but there was a good reason for that confidence.

“It’s me. Archmage Valera.”

“Do you want something? Just say it.”

Because I was the one asking.

“Could you make another Thousand Changes Necklace? I’d like one with better concealment effects than the one the Crown Prince used. And the sooner it’s completed, the better. About… four or five days? I believe that should be sufficient time for you.”

I could sense Valera’s surprise as she realized my words were closer to a notification than a question or request.

“W-wait. I can make it, but the time—”

“Hmm. I forgot to mention this. Have you heard of the Mana Breathing Technique?”

“I’ll have it ready in three days.”

Valera ended the communication with those words.

Shortly after, Laura informed me that the Archmages had collectively descended upon the imperial treasury again, causing the Emperor to clutch the back of his neck in dismay. To be raided not once but twice—truly unfortunate.

Actually, it’s not unfortunate at all. He’s indirectly supporting his daughter whom he cherishes more than anything, so he should be pleased.

“Is it acceptable to reveal the Mana Breathing Technique so easily?”

Elysiere, who had seen me use it when fighting Astaroth, cautiously asked. It seemed to appear as no ordinary technique even to an uninformed observer.

“Just because I tell them doesn’t mean they can immediately replicate it.”

Though I use it casually, even in that magic-obsessed world, only about the top 1% of elites could properly utilize this technique when measured numerically.

There’s a lot to prepare, consider, calculate, and the activation sequence is hellishly complex. Excluding everything else, I could milk lectures on the Mana Breathing Technique alone for years.

“I understand. If you say so, it must be true.”

Elysiere nodded lightly and withdrew.

Around this time, another special event occurred. Beatrice entered Bellium Academy as my attendant.

Nika, who had finished her duties as Queen, came along as well.

As soon as she met me, Nika revealed what had happened in the demon realm. That my essence was so high in quality—not just in efficiency but also in taste and fragrance—that they deliberately mixed it with lower-grade essence to prevent addiction.

The problem was that even after doing so, it still produced something above high-grade quality. I was starting to find this absurd, but when I heard that the quality of essence is proportional to the subject’s strength, I could accept it.

I’m not someone with such poor self-awareness, after all.

“I am Beatrice, the young master’s exclusive maid and head attendant of the Crate family.”

After formally introducing herself in the club room, Beatrice looked around and gave me an impressed look.

“…What is it?”

“Do you truly not understand what surprises me, looking at everyone in this room, young master?”

“…”

How could I not? I quietly closed my mouth.

Everyone else had different reactions.

Priscilla and Elysiere remained composed, Laura averted her gaze, Leona and Rosaria blushed, and Aria was fidgeting uncomfortably. Nika, on the other hand, seemed rather proud.

I know. Everyone here except me is female. But I didn’t just bring anyone here—apart from Nika and Beatrice, they’re all important characters who played significant roles in the original work.

If this were to be pointed out as an issue with my conduct, it would be somewhat unfair. This should be taken up with the person who set this world as a yuri romance fantasy with an awkward gender ratio.

“…”

Namely, a certain Crown Princess who’s avoiding my gaze right now.

On the second day after returning to the academy.

—Could you come to the Chairman’s office for a moment? I have something for you.

The Chairman summoned me with a completely different tone than usual, perhaps having completed what he had prepared even while raiding the Emperor’s treasury.