Ch.16Chapter 16

I felt like something had been taken away from me after receiving it. It had definitely grown bigger, but then it became small again, leaving me with a sense of emptiness and thinking, “Huh?”

Of course, how complete could a magic circle be that was hastily created just from listening to my instructions? I tried not to expect too much, since greater expectations would only lead to greater disappointment.

But contrary to my thoughts, a surprisingly well-formed spell greeted me. My body had grown larger, and my loose clothes now fit me perfectly.

The problem was the disappointing duration. My enlarged body didn’t even last a full minute before returning to its original form. To this small form.

If it had been a complete failure, I might have just accepted it, but the fact that it worked so well except for the time aspect left me with lingering regret.

Still, since I did grow larger even for a moment, could there be hope? Maybe the duration could be extended, though permanent effects might be impossible.

While I was lost in thought, Aria, who was sitting to my right, leaned close and whispered in my ear.

“…By the way, Ourr, are you not wearing a bra? The male students didn’t know how to react earlier.”

With those words, all my previous thoughts instantly evaporated. I could only recall what my body had been like earlier.

As my body grew, the oversized clothes I was wearing became the right size, and with my chest swelling beneath my shirt without a bra…

“Oh.”

When I thought about how I must have appeared to others, my eyes widened in shock. I groaned and turned my head from side to side, and Aria gently placed her hand on my head.

“Actually, acting embarrassed now will make it worse. If you don’t want to leave an impression, you should act like nothing happened. When you show embarrassment, people remember that image too.”

“R-really?”

I folded my arms between my legs, causing my balance to shift downward into a crouched position. I rested my chin on the desk before burying my face completely.

Sera, who was sitting to my left, was rustling some magic paper when she patted my back.

“At least you saw the possibility, right? Though I’m not sure how to extend the duration… it seems everything goes wrong when trying to increase the time.”

Her voice sounded serious, as if she was thinking about rewriting the magic circle.

While it’s true I had been feeling down about that until just now, I wished she would realize I was currently embarrassed.

Perhaps Sera was the type who couldn’t hear anything around her when she was concentrating. If so, Aria patting my head might have just looked like a scene of consolation.

As I stayed pressed against the desk, I could feel glances from the students in front of me. I kept alternating between avoiding their gazes and hanging my head low.

It seems I only act this way when I’m in front of third-year students. I wonder why.

Seriously wondering if I might be cursed, I fled to the research lab as soon as the lecture ended, holding Sera’s hand tightly.

Additionally, I did get the magic circle from Sera, but unlike her, I lacked the specialized knowledge to read, deconstruct, or modify it.

“…You actually grew larger once?”

The Professor’s eyes widened. She seemed surprised when I told her about what happened when I was with Sera and Aria. After contemplating for a while, she sighed and came over to check the magic circle.

The magic circle was drawn on regular paper, not magic paper. When I handed it to the Professor, her eyes quickly began analyzing it. Then she handed it back to me.

“It’s cleverly constructed, but… I don’t think it can be maintained permanently like you want, Ourr.”

“Then how about extending the time? Professor, please teach me.”

“…Teach you what?”

“How to read magic circles.”

“For that, you’d need to learn all the writing first… There are parts where small text is written in the magic circle. You need to understand what those mean.”

I groaned at the Professor’s pointing finger.

Perhaps approaching magic is truly difficult. I had been wondering whether it would work or not, but it seems the right approach is to climb one step at a time.

“By the way, Ourr.”

“Yes?”

“Let’s just go home today.”

“Why? Don’t you have a lecture for the graduate students?”

“…Something came up.”

The Professor put on her coat, seeming to have some urgent business. Then she headed home with me.

**

After dropping Ourr off at home, Yuria quickly moved to another location.

“Haah…”

Yuria sighed. It was because of her additional duties as a “Demon God Slayer,” beyond just being a professor.

Originally, she would have spent time reviewing research papers with the first-year Academy students, but she had to clear everything and move to the designated area.

After quickly traveling through a warp point, Yuria found herself facing an enormous crater that dominated the landscape.

In the center of what looked like a meteorite impact site stood a man.

Yuria took a ring from her coat pocket. Inside the ring was a magic circle drawn using the ring as its boundary. After slipping it onto her right index finger, she checked the sword at her waist and stepped into the crater.

She descended the deeply carved crater with crackling steps and headed toward the Demon God standing ahead.

Even standing still, the flow of mana around him bristled toward Yuria. It felt like killing intent, warning her not to come closer.

“…How many have you killed?”

Yuria ignored the warning and moved forward.

The man in the center, intoxicated by his own power, widened his eyes at Yuria’s appearance. He slicked back his snow-white hair and raised the corner of his mouth.

“Ho, I didn’t expect anyone to approach this far.”

“I asked how many you’ve killed.”

At her cold question, he shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, they were unfortunate ones. But roughly calculating the lifespan I’ve absorbed… hmm, I don’t know. I could live about another thousand years.”

As soon as Yuria heard those words, she understood how this Demon God maintained his existence.

Confirming that he was a harmful being who stole others’ remaining lifespans to make them his own, she abandoned hope and moved forward.

“But you’re the first person to come this far. Are you quite strong?”

“Yes, quite strong.”

In response to the man’s playful words, Yuria answered emotionlessly and extended her hand. Her hand, which had been at her waist, instantly drew her sword.

With a swift stroke too fast to follow with the eye, Yuria swung her sword at the Demon God. Caught off guard by the merciless strike, the Demon God lost an arm.

“Kuk…!”

Surprised by the unexpected speed and power, the Demon God realized he could have lost his head if he had been any slower.

Her presence was different from the mediocre lifespan puppets he had killed and stolen from.

Yuria approached with an aura enveloping her entire body.

An aura powered by her mana, using the ring as a medium. The Demon God felt the pressure as if the grim reaper was approaching. Having already lost an arm, he wondered if he could face this monster in a proper fight.

He rolled his eyes, trying to identify an escape route. But as if the only way out was to the afterlife, the sword came flying.

The Demon God barely managed to step back, but couldn’t completely avoid having his eye slashed from top to bottom.

Having lost his right hand and left field of vision, the Demon God gritted his teeth, realizing this was an opponent he couldn’t test or try to escape from.

“Uwaaaaah!”

Show no mercy to Demon Gods. Though they appeared as intelligent beings resembling humans, whether naturally occurring or transcended from their original form, they were undeniably threatening.

The moment word spread that a Demon God had harmed people, their existence became known to “Demon God Slayers” like Yuria, and they were destined to die.

Unless they were Demon Gods who had reached the level of Sword Masters through infinite lifespans, they could usually be killed.

“You were just a youngster.”

Yuria poured all her strength into beheading the approaching Demon God. After wiping her blade, she looked at the corpse, whose expression showed a desperate struggle until the end.

“……”

The only Demon Gods who didn’t harm humans were those who stayed away from humans.

Since mature Demon Gods instinctively emitted an aura that consumed human life, nothing was more dangerous than a Demon God roaming the city.

If they insisted on coming to where people lived, there was no choice but to kill them without mercy—that was the current reality.

Unless they were exceptional cases like Ourr, coexistence with humans was impossible. Since no others like Ourr had been discovered, no other Demon Gods capable of coexistence had been found.

Though regrettable, Yuria accepted this as inevitable and turned away.

She returned home. As she was taking off her shoes at the entrance, Ourr came running.

“You’re back?”

“…Yes, just finished and came back.”

Yuria smiled at Ourr and checked her condition. There was still no sign of her emitting an aura like the Demon God she had just met.

Still, she feared that as time passed and Ourr aged, an aura might naturally develop in her body.

She stroked Ourr’s head. After confirming this, she looked over her body. It was important to monitor her physical growth to be prepared for future responses.

She wished Ourr wouldn’t grow any larger. It would be better if she just stayed as she was, wearing loose clothes and even falling down occasionally. With that thought, Yuria stared at Ourr, who tilted her head curiously at Yuria’s gaze.

“What do you want to eat?”

“…What do we have?”

If somehow her research was completed and Ourr could grow without emitting an aura, then she truly wanted Ourr to be able to enter society without causing fear.

As long as there was no aura, it would be difficult for anyone but an expert to distinguish between human and Demon God. And if she only knew how to live like a human, Yuria judged that no one would think of Ourr as a Demon God.

That’s why she had to teach her. That’s why she had to ingrain habits in Ourr.

Eating meals at mealtime even when not hungry. Sleeping at night even when not sleepy. All were training to make her appear human.

Because if not instructed, Ourr would neither eat nor sleep.

“Well, shall we order takeout today?”