Ch.177Chapter 177

“I was tricked.”

“I know, right?”

I agreed with Ouro’s words.

It looked exactly like a strawberry cake, so I thought the middle layer would be filled with strawberries. But it seemed they were only on the outside, while the inside was completely filled with whipped cream, which made it somewhat disappointing.

While Ouro was moving her fork with eyes that clearly showed her disappointment, she suddenly jerked her head up at the sound of the front door opening.

Her face resembled a meerkat, reacting to even the slightest sound.

“The Professor is here.”

“Professor!”

When I turned my head, Ouro had already dashed to the entrance.

Following a step behind, I could see the Professor who had just arrived. Though I was happy to see her, my attention was immediately drawn to the box in her hands.

“Professor, what’s that? Cake?”

“Ah… Ouro, you know the ways of the world now? How did you know?”

The Professor looked surprised when Ouro immediately guessed it was cake.

That’s not what the Professor meant though.

“We shared a cake earlier, but it wasn’t enough, so I guessed.”

“Really? Well, I suppose cake does come in boxes.”

“As long as it’s cake, that’s what matters.”

When the Professor nodded in understanding, Ouro shook her head as if to say that wasn’t the important issue.

After all, the Professor was here and we had cake, so nothing else really mattered.

“I bought this because I was worried you two might fight over a single slice of cake.”

The Professor’s expression suggested her concern had been unnecessary, and for a moment I felt my breath catch.

Still, since she bought it to give to us, she wouldn’t withhold it just because we weren’t fighting. I slightly raised the corners of my mouth and pointed to the table in the kitchen.

“We were sharing nicely! But there were hardly any strawberries.”

“Really? I heard the strawberries were supposed to be delicious.”

“They were only on the outside like this, but when we cut it open, it was all whipped cream inside.”

“That’s a shame.”

The Professor chuckled and held out the box.

When I took it and peeked, I could see a pure white cream cake through the transparent part on top of the box.

It felt like glimpsing through a window.

“Ouro, look at this. It looks similar to what we just ate.”

“Then we’ll split it three ways.”

Ouro’s eyes sparkled as she held up three fingers.

It was impressive how she carefully considered the Professor’s portion too. Since they lived together and she knew the Professor was good to her, even the greedy Ouro was being considerate.

I placed the cake on the table.

“Professor, do you have any more work today?”

“Hmm, probably not. I’m planning to rest today.”

The Professor put down her things one by one and changed into comfortable clothes.

“By the way, Ourr.”

“Yes?”

“I’m researching whether we can make your body like Ouro’s, and I was wondering if you’d like to come to the lab with me later?”

I blinked while gathering dishes with Ouro.

I understood what “like Ouro” meant. But I wasn’t sure if it was that simple, so I tilted my head.

“Really?”

“No, I’m not calling you because I can do it for sure, but I think we need to try something together to find out.”

“Ah…”

I got excited for a moment, but it didn’t seem to be quite like that.

Well, if Ouro and I are the only Demon Gods who get along with humans, it would be difficult to find methods elsewhere. Can’t be helped.

“Let’s do that then.”

“Really? Then starting next week… no, I should take you there after things are organized.”

“Okay, let’s eat together for now. Ouro is drooling.”

“She sure is.”

“Hurry up!”

Sure enough, Ouro raised her voice from the table.

She seemed tired of waiting while the Professor and I were just talking, not thinking about eating.

“Oh my, Ouro has been waiting patiently.”

The Professor smiled wryly and took a seat across from Ouro. Ouro nodded with an “Mmm” and grabbed the plastic knife that came with the package.

“I cut with this, right?”

“That’s right.”

“I’ll cut it.”

The result was quite different from her enthusiasm.

“What is this?”

“Oh, Ourr cut it well.”

“As expected, Ouro is only good at eating.”

She must have thought she could do it well after seeing me cut it nicely.

Ouro trembled slightly, mumbled something, and then turned her head with a “Hmph.”

“I don’t know, just eat it.”

She seemed upset.

They say good-looking food tastes good too, but a poorly cut cake doesn’t lose its flavor, so I decided to just eat it anyway.

“Ewww.”

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

“Ouro only gave me whipped cream…”

I didn’t expect it to be cut this badly.

There was so little cake that the sweetness was doubled.

“The cake part is delicious.”

“Then I should give you some too…”

Ouro calmly took the portion with more cake and munched on it.

**

Research Lab.

I often visited the Research Building, but it had been a long time since I followed the Professor into her lab.

This was the building where that empty laboratory used to be, and I felt strange coming back here, not expecting to return.

I hope there won’t be any painful experiments like before.

“This experiment is the Demon God Humanization Project. Actually, it’s full of theory but no experiments, so I’m not sure.”

“Are you going to do that on me now?”

“I’ll do just a little bit, and I’ll exclude anything dangerous.”

“I’m fine with it. Since I’m a Demon God anyway, it doesn’t matter if I die.”

When else would be a good time to take risks?

Not dying even when you die might be a blessing. Picking up a life you accidentally lost isn’t something that normally happens.

But here’s a body like that?

So I thought, since it’s come to this, why not use this body that doesn’t die even when killed for experiments as we please?

“…Don’t think like that. Dying is painful.”

“Ah, I understand.”

My thoughts seemed to have quite an impact on the Professor.

At the Professor’s serious voice, I nodded and took a step back.

I probably wouldn’t die and disappear, but the Professor didn’t want to see me suffering through the experience of death.

Of course, that’s a good thing. But what I wanted was to resolve this body issue so that I wouldn’t be left alone.

The Professor, Ouro, and other friends too.

When everyone lives their own lives and fades away, what fun would it be for me to just observe from a distance? I don’t have the luxury to feel superior while experiencing the feeling of being left alone.

It’s natural to close old connections and form new ones as you move forward, but I didn’t want that to span centuries.

“Still, I was hoping you could do it for sure, Professor.”

“…Ourr.”

“Hehehe.”

I laughed awkwardly.

To be honest, it would be more accurate to say I was counting on the Professor’s skills.

I felt like I wouldn’t be able to find someone like the Professor later on, so if not now, I might never have someone to rely on.

“Then shall we try this first? It shouldn’t hurt, but just in case, could you bear with it a little?”

“What is this?”

“It’s a newly written magic circle, but I’m not sure if it will work.”

“If we’re using magic, wouldn’t it be better if I grew larger and used it myself?”

“No. Although that might be a solution all at once… people prefer certainty. They don’t easily believe when a Demon God says ‘I’ve become human~’ on their own.”

The Professor seemed to have her own thoughts on the matter.

Perhaps she needed something like a thesis. Maybe people can only be reassured when there’s evidence that can be proven.

Well, the argument that there should be reliable evidence makes sense, so I decided to follow the Professor’s words.

It might take quite some time, but that was fine too.

“Wow.”

“It didn’t work…”

I stretched.

As the Professor worried, it didn’t hurt, but unfortunately, contrary to her expectations, we didn’t get any results.

Expressing her disappointment, the Professor stared intently at the magic circle drawn on paper before tearing it up.

“Useless magic circles should be torn up like this.”

“Really?”

“Just in case, you break the circular form. Without the circle, magic power won’t flow through the magic circle.”

“Hmm.”

Come to think of it, it had been quite a while since I started learning, but since I was taking mixed-grade classes, I gradually got confused and couldn’t keep up with the pace.

Though I didn’t really have a set pace, as I was studying on my own.

“Then shall we call it a day and go back?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll pack up, would you like to wait in my office?”

I nodded.

On the way to the office. Inside the Research Building, not only professors but also students were staying for research.

I wondered when these people go home.

Since I was already here, I thought about seeing Lenya and peered down the corridor.

Even though I was peeking like this, I didn’t know which place was doing what research, so it was difficult to find her easily.

“Oh, it’s Ourr.”

As I was struggling to look around and was about to give up, I turned on my heel. And at that exact moment, a familiar figure waved from a distance.

My eyes widened.

Come to think of it, I remember they said they were aiming for the Academy, but I was surprised to see they had already come here and started research.

“Sera, Aria!”

As I approached with open arms, they both hugged me tightly.

“I can’t breathe.”

“That’s because we’re happy to see you.”

Sera smiled with a mischievous grin.