Ch.5Chapter 5

The entrance ceremony was nothing special. Aside from the grand welcome and such, it was all quite typical. There were speeches, top students coming up to the stage to show their faces, and that was it.

It was so boring that I almost resented the Professor for bringing me here to experience it. I hadn’t planned on attending originally.

While sitting in my seat, I tucked my shirt under my skirt and adjusted my belt. After folding up my sleeves twice to prevent them from covering my hands, I pulled up my slipping outfit back onto my shoulders.

I stretched in various directions to loosen my stiff body.

“Mmmmm…”

After saying goodbye to Karen, I moved to another seat with the Professor.

“I have to teach a class for second-year students today.”

“Second-year…”

Chronologically, these would be the students who arrived at the Academy when I did. By now, they probably know more about the Academy than I do.

I followed behind the Professor with small steps. Honestly, the Professor is pretty, but with a height over 170cm, just keeping up with her long legs was exhausting.

As I was trudging along, the Professor seemed to notice and glanced back at me. Seeing that she might adjust to my pace, I readjusted the materials I was hugging to my chest.

We crossed through the massive building. After walking down a long, pristine white corridor, we finally reached the lecture hall where the Professor would be teaching.

I hesitated to enter since it was my first time, but the Professor gestured for me to come in, assuring me it was fine.

Being second-years, the students were all wearing white and red uniform combinations, unlike Karen’s white and blue.

“Everyone, quiet down.”

With one command, she silenced the bustling lecture hall. At the Professor’s appearance, everyone closed their mouths and focused their attention on her as she stood on the podium. My heart began pounding as I found myself caught in their gaze as well.

Do I have stage fright or something?

“Let’s see… Second year, the course name is ‘Principles of Demon God Birth,’ right? Who took ‘About Demon Gods’ in their first year?”

More than half raised their hands. I wondered if they were all interested in Demon Gods.

“Good. You can lower your hands. ‘Principles of Demon God Birth.’ You might think this should be a first-year course, but it’s actually quite profound and better understood after taking ‘About Demon Gods.'”

The Professor continued explaining her course. I was fine with her starting the class on the first day, but I seriously questioned whether it was appropriate to keep me standing on the podium during the lecture.

Of course, I’d be the only one in that debate.

“Since it’s the first lecture anyway, we’ll start exploring how profound it is next week. Today, I’m going to introduce this one to you.”

The Professor put down her chalk after writing only “Principles of Demon God Birth” and approached me, placing her hand on my shoulder.

I glanced up at the Professor, but her gaze was directed at the students.

“To get straight to the point, this one’s name is Ourr, and she’s a Demon God.”

“…Hello, I’m Ourr.”

Following this simple and clear introduction, I bowed my head. After I finished my greeting, the previously silent lecture hall filled with astonishment.

The noise was even louder than before the Professor entered. Bewildered, I turned my head around, and the Professor tapped the podium beside her.

The commotion subsided again.

“If you skipped the lectures about Demon Gods thinking, ‘Why learn more about them? Just fight and defeat them,’ then you wouldn’t get benefits like this.”

“Excuse me, Professor. I have a question.”

While everyone was still confused about how to respond to the Professor’s explanation, a female student raised her hand. The Professor silently nodded, indicating it was okay.

With light blue hair and blue eyes—someone who would look perfect in the first-year uniform—she directed her gaze at me.

“Aren’t Demon Gods dangerous? You told us before that Demon Gods cannot coexist with humans.”

“That’s what I thought then, but through research, I found it’s not entirely true.”

The Professor made a regretful expression, as if acknowledging her past error.

“I’m thinking that if a newly born Demon God is raised by human hands, we might be able to create a situation where they don’t become hostile to each other.”

“…”

There were no results yet. There couldn’t be. I was the only Demon God who remained calm under human touch.

Making definitive statements based on a single case would be foolish before it was arrogant. So the Professor indicated that this was something she would continue to research.

Silence fell. The students seemed to doubt whether I was really a Demon God. The Professor added more to address their doubts.

“As you learned in your first-year lectures, a Demon God is a being that lives by breaking the rules set by the world. Like living infinitely without the limits of lifespan, or possessing strength that couldn’t come from normal muscles.”

The Professor’s hand, which had been on my shoulder, had now moved down to gently push my back. Taking a step forward, I became the center of everyone’s attention.

“Ourr is such a being. Although I bring her around as equipment, I’d like you to treat her like a fellow student, like a friend.”

It felt embarrassing, like having your mother ask other kids to be nice to you. I wanted to escape this level of attention.

But since I couldn’t just hide in a corner, I bowed deeply.

“I look forward to working with you all…!”

For some reason, everyone applauded my greeting. Not understanding why I was receiving applause, I returned to the Professor’s side—though that just meant taking one step back.

“That concludes today’s lecture!”

“Professor, can we talk to her?”

“Isn’t a Demon God dangerous? I heard that in some village, people got sick after a Demon God visited.”

As the Professor announced the end of the lecture, the hall became noisy again. All sorts of questions flew in like darts. Confused, I tried to hide behind the Professor, but the students were getting up from their seats, trying to approach me.

I thought the Professor might shield me, but instead, she grabbed my clothes and pulled me forward. I looked back at her with a betrayed expression, but she just smiled.

“Wow. A Demon God…?”

“Is it safe to get close to you?”

The Professor answered each question from the students. As their prejudices began to break down, fewer students remained wary.

“Hey, why are you wearing such big clothes? Even if you’re small, there should be clothes that fit you.”

“Well, that’s because I used to be bigger…”

“You’re really cute. How old are you?”

“I… don’t know.”

“Do you have a boyfriend?”

“No, no…?”

I never thought I disliked people, but with the crowd surrounding me and bombarding me with random questions, I felt like I was developing a phobia.

I kept turning my head, trying to answer each question that reached my ears.

I suppose people don’t get many chances to talk with a Demon God. Since there are no other friendly Demon Gods like me, it’s natural they’d be curious. Still, I wished they would line up and ask one by one.

“Can I touch you?”

“Your hair is so long. Isn’t it hard to manage?”

“You look really annoyed! Look at all those stray hairs sticking out.”

The Professor didn’t rescue me. Being held by the students and bombarded with all sorts of questions, I was already feeling drained.

With each question answered, it seemed a new one would arise, and the students’ voices grew louder. Seeing the situation intensify, the Professor gently pushed the students back.

“Come on now, you’re making Ourr uncomfortable. Ask one at a time.”

I’m saved. I thought I was going to die.

Just as I caught my breath, the students seemed to realize they had gotten too excited and carefully formed a line.

The first in line was the blue-haired girl who had asked the Professor a question earlier. With more than a 10cm height difference, I had to look up at her.

She bent down slightly to meet my eye level and carefully spoke.

“Your name is Ourr, right?”

“Y-yes.”

“I’m Iris. Nice to meet you?”

“Yes, nice to meet you too, Iris.”

When I nodded, Iris hesitated.

“I’ve never touched a Demon God before. Can I touch you just once?”

“Where do you want to touch…?”

“Your hair. It looks so full.”

“Go ahead.”

Hearing my resigned answer, Iris smiled happily and moved behind me. I don’t understand what’s so appealing about my unkempt hair with stray strands sticking out.

It felt strange, like an animal rubbing against its owner’s fur.

Led by Iris, suddenly all the students in line began introducing themselves to me.

“W-wait… I can’t remember all of you…!”

Overwhelmed by the numbers, the students paused momentarily, then looked at the nameplate hanging around my neck.

“Should we all wear nameplates too?”

“Good idea.”

They started nodding and agreeing among themselves. As I watched, I heard chuckling from behind me.

“You’re quite popular.”

I glared at the Professor with narrowed eyes.

It’s more like they’re fascinated by seeing an unfamiliar animal for the first time.