Ch.182Chapter 182

What did you discover when looking at Ouro?

This was a free-response question. There was no single correct answer, but each response would be scored individually.

Originally, it was an idea conceived to identify potential candidates for the study group. However, after requesting help from the Professor, the scale expanded, and it eventually became an exam question for the department.

Though not a regular exam but a pop quiz, it became quite significant since the scores would affect grades or provide additional points for those dreaming of advancing to the Academy.

The students who received the question sheet diligently worked their pens to write their respective answers. Since there wasn’t a single student who hadn’t shown interest in Ouro, everyone would have something to write.

It wouldn’t make sense for students in the Demon God Research Department to not be interested in Ouro, who was a Demon God. Rather, I was curious about what kind of answers would emerge. As the Professor said, I wanted to see if any students could make inferences based on Ouro’s actions and words despite limited information.

After the quiz ended and a brief lecture concluded, I returned to the research lab. When I handed over the stack of about 40 test papers, the Professor immediately took out a red pen and began grading.

The scratching sound of the pen moving across paper ended in an instant.

“How is it?”

Too curious about the results, I approached the Professor who was organizing the papers and peered over. The Professor handed me a stack of papers from one side and showed them to me.

It seemed these were the papers with well-reasoned answers.

“What do you think?”

“…Oh.”

Just as the Professor said, there were people who had added their own insights to infer Ouro’s condition. They hadn’t missed Ouro’s comment “I’m full” after eating snacks.

There was some caution in their statements, perhaps because they couldn’t be certain about declaring Ouro human, but they emphasized that there were many unusual characteristics not typically seen in Demon Gods.

Ouro nodding off and falling asleep, Ouro struggling to eat more because she was full—both were aspects we had learned in lectures that aren’t seen in Demon Gods. For first-year students who had just started learning this, these differences would naturally stand out.

I found myself staring at the papers, finding them quite interesting to read.

“It would be good to remember those students’ names and accept them if they apply for the study group.”

The Professor said this and then began writing something diligently in another file. As I was staring at it from the side, I bent my head down to see the names written on the paper.

Thinking I might memorize the first-year students’ names, I decided not to trust my memory alone and wrote them down to take to where Iris and Karen were.

Since it wasn’t just about getting good scores, I brought all the names, including those classified in the middle. Though it couldn’t be called filtering with just over twenty people, I thought it would be a good indicator for Karen and Iris.

Karen, who suddenly received the list, broke into a sweat and glanced at Iris.

“Isn’t this too many? Since it’s just a simple interview, maybe it’s not that many… But it would be difficult for two people to do one-on-one interviews, right?”

“We might have to interview several at once. It might be a bit challenging to do simultaneously. And since we’re doing this, it might be good to select them all at once.”

After discussing what to do, they seemed to have reached a satisfactory conclusion as they nodded to each other. Watching them, I tilted my head.

“So is this enough? What will you do in the study group from now on?”

“…Study? Focusing more on advancing to the Academy rather than getting a job.”

Iris wiggled her finger.

At least they had a direction, I thought.

**

In the Academy, Lenya is in the second year, while Sera and Aria are in the first year. These are all students who were close to Ourr. The fact that these students occupied the master’s program meant they could continue research for Ourr and Ouro.

The study group was about paving the way for future work, not about helping to solve immediate problems. While the students’ diverse and witty ideas might be helpful somewhere, it couldn’t be called efficient. It was like picking out useful seashells from a sandy beach.

In the end, results had to be produced in research. What was needed for that?

Yuria already knew that direction well. Based on Ouro’s changing physical condition, she thought if there was something to discover or invent, perhaps it could be possible for Ourr as well.

“…There is a shortcut, but…”

After struggling for a while, Yuria let out a deep sigh.

There was definitely a shortcut. But that shortcut was like a button that would end everything at once, without exploring other solutions.

After struggling for a while, Yuria let out a deep sigh.

Using the characteristics of a Demon God was the shortcut. It felt strongly like twisting the laws of the world according to one’s thoughts. It would be fair to say that after producing results, the principles were arbitrarily pieced together.

But her pride as a researcher wouldn’t allow it. She couldn’t just borrow a Demon God’s power and say, “Ta-da, it’s safely done.”

If she said it happened by borrowing a Demon God’s power, people might believe it. But the critical problem was the lack of evidence to support the results. While it’s common to find principles after creating results, stating results in a situation where principles are hard to find was like creating an unsolvable problem during one’s lifetime.

Yuria wanted Ourr and Ouro to be recognized as members of society despite being Demon Gods during her lifetime.

But conversely, if she could create a process where they become more human-like, like Ouro, she thought that wouldn’t be bad either.

The problem was that it would be difficult to apply the same method used for Ouro’s humanization to Ourr. The key was to find a method that could be used on most Demon Gods, but that wouldn’t be easy, causing her to sigh deeply.

During this, her eyes fell on the quiz results that had been set aside.

Even though she thought she couldn’t find such a method there, she flipped through them slightly, thinking that words spoken without knowledge might actually be helpful.

While some students listed what Ouro liked and disliked, others analyzed what drove Ouro’s actions. Anyone could tell which approach was more complex.

Still, she tried to read everything diligently, including the simpler responses. Since it had come to this, she was willing to learn about Ouro’s characteristics that only students could see. While reading, she thought she should have asked them to compare Ouro with Ourr, not with other Demon Gods.

Ouro likes sweet things. She likes chocolate, but doesn’t particularly prefer snacks that transition to salty foods. She likes to put candies in her mouth and roll them in her cheeks. If given two, she sometimes puts both in at once, or puts the second one in after the first disappears. She seems to do as she pleases.

Ouro acts according to the Professor’s words, but doesn’t always act within the bounds of what the Professor instructs. She tends to imitate what Ourr tries to do, and if she develops a competitive spirit, perhaps wanting to oppose Ourr, she either acts contrary or tries to show a more advanced behavior.

She can’t eat more than a certain amount. This is somewhat different from what is generally known about Demon Gods. Typically, consumed food is converted to magical power and forms an aura, but since Ouro currently has no aura, she seems to get full.

Sometimes she nods off. For a Demon God who shouldn’t feel drowsiness or fatigue, her behavior resembles that of a young girl who needs a nap. Looking at it that way, and adding the reasons above, she seems a bit human-like, unlike a Demon God.

Starting from simple observations and reaching the conclusion that Ouro was human-like, Yuria found it remarkable. She let out a small groan, wondering if such results could have been produced without asking for detailed observations.

Though expected, she couldn’t help but be surprised that a student had actually reached this conclusion.

“…Eileen.”

It was the name of a first-year student. It was also the name of a student Ourr often sat next to. Recalling her face, Yuria decided to keep it safe on one side so as not to forget.

There were others who reached similar conclusions to Eileen, those who described Ouro’s behavioral patterns despite the difficulty, and even those who noted the differences between Ouro and Ourr without being specifically asked to.

Yuria quietly read through them and then opened a file. She wrote down the contents once, organized what needed to be organized, and then read through the content again.

While she couldn’t determine how to make Ourr more human-like, she thought that with such observational skills and imagination, it might be possible. In the end, she decided to get involved in the study group interviews, which she had initially thought not to participate in.