Ch.71Chapter 71

The exams were finally over. It was already May, a hot month when the warm spring reached its peak and the festival was held.

I heard some schools hold their festivals around October, but the Academy scheduled it earlier so graduates could enjoy it too, which explained the timing.

The students were busy preparing for the festival.

I could see it clearly when I attended lectures.

Second-year students wearing name tags like mine were bustling about with activity. Sitting next to Iris, I glanced at her from the corner of my eye.

“What is it?”

Iris rested her chin on her hand and gazed at me intently. Her subtle eye-smile gave me an odd feeling.

“Everyone seems so busy and excited.”

“They’re all noisy because they’re planning things with their clubs.”

I see.

Sitting in my chair, I casually placed my hand on the edge of the desk. I stretched my legs out and shuddered as I stretched. As I opened my eyes after squeezing them shut and took a deep breath, Iris chuckled.

“Your stretching looks so cute and dainty.”

“…Huh?”

I blinked and glanced at Iris, who removed her hand from her chin and pointed to the students sitting below.

I realized that despite the busy chatter, some students were subtly looking in my direction. Blinking, I quickly turned away from their gazes as if escaping.

Wondering why they were watching such trivial things, I mumbled.

“Do you have a club, Iris?”

“Me?”

I asked casually.

The department had too many people, so that was a bit much, but I was curious since they mentioned doing things by club.

Come to think of it, was our study group considered a club? If so, would we do something for the festival? No, we were just a study group, so probably not.

“I don’t have a club. I just go home.”

“…Hmm, isn’t there any club you’d like to join?”

I asked while swinging my legs.

Iris seemed to think hard about my question before shrugging.

“I don’t really have any hobbies, so I haven’t thought about it. I applied to the Academy because it seemed weird to go straight into employment.”

“I see…”

With such a vague goal, it was difficult to recommend the study group.

Unless someone had a clear goal like Karen who wanted to focus on studying, or Sera who wanted to attend an academy, they probably wouldn’t join such a serious group.

I turned my head again.

Some people were glancing at me, but most were chatting with their friends about something.

“…Club.”

I took in the scene.

When I arrived at the research lab, I stared at the Professor.

“Professor, is a study group considered a club?”

The study group wasn’t an official club registered with the school. I wondered if it was recognized as a club or if we needed to apply for official club status, so I asked.

The Professor tapped her pen and stared at me.

“I think it’s a club? I remember getting that separate room because it was recognized as a club.”

“So we’ve been a club since we got the room?”

“I suppose so?”

I walked over to the calendar on the wall and stared at the dates. It was the fourth week of April, and with the festival coming next week, everyone was in high spirits.

There was also a culinary department that used magical cooking equipment to prepare food.

The Engine Research Department was planning to operate bumper cars on a large site during the festival.

Besides clubs, some departments allocated large budgets to participate in the festival. I didn’t know about the rest, but the bumper cars sounded fun.

As expected of the Academy, even things that could be made with ordinary scientific technology were all created using magical formulas.

No wonder the magic department lectures were so popular.

“Hmm~”

As I held the calendar and poked at the festival dates for next month, the Professor quietly observed me.

“What is it? Is there something you want to do with your club during the festival?”

“Bumper cars…”

I had overheard second-year students talking during lectures. I wanted to ride bumper cars.

Normally, I would have said I was too tired to think about amusement parks and such things, but I was different now. I wanted to ride something with intense collisions.

That was bumper cars right now.

Bored with my mundane daily life, I was looking for something interesting and stimulating. Like alcohol, for instance. Not that I wanted to drink again. That was too stimulating a method, so I shook my head to dismiss the thought.

The devil whispers…!

I squeezed my eyes shut and covered my ears. As I shook my head vigorously, the Professor who was watching chuckled. Then she approached me.

“Why are you suddenly acting like that? Are you embarrassed about wanting to ride bumper cars?”

“No, no. That’s not it…”

“Come to think of it, clubs and departments had to register in advance for festival activities. Shall we see what they’re doing?”

“Can we see that?”

“As a professor?”

The Professor said this as she seated me at the table. She sat close to me and showed me her phone screen.

“Since Ourr seems to like rides, let’s take a look.”

She quickly scrolled through the screen.

Although I could read to some extent, I wasn’t skilled enough to read everything at a glance, so I waited for the Professor to stop and read it to me.

After just a few seconds, the Professor’s hand stopped abruptly.

“Engine Research Department has bumper cars…”

“Bumper cars.”

“And the Bike Club has bumper cars…?”

“Bumper cars…?”

Why are there two bumper car attractions? And isn’t it strange for a bike club to have bumper cars?

As I leaned in toward the screen in disbelief, the Professor made a troubled expression.

“I’m surprised they approved this… I’ve never heard of bike bumper cars, but it’s creative.”

“Would it be fun?”

“No, Ourr, don’t ride those.”

“Okay…”

I nodded.

I don’t know how to ride a bike anyway. Even if they let me ride, I’d probably fall over not knowing what to do.

The Professor and I looked through the list of booths run by clubs and departments. There were many fun things, but unfortunately, the Demon God Research Department had nothing notable.

Well, it’s hard to imagine what they could do with Demon Gods for a festival.

“The Magic Inscription Department doesn’t have anything specific.”

“That can’t be helped.”

The Professor shrugged.

“It’s not that the Magic Inscription Department doesn’t have anything, but rather that it’s distributed everywhere. Even the bumper cars are made with magic inscription, right? The cooking equipment too.”

“But why use magic specifically for cars?”

I asked, tilting my head, and the Professor put down her phone and leaned back in her chair.

She seemed to think for a moment, closing her eyes and stroking her chin.

“There may be plenty of fuel in the world, but it’s ultimately a limited resource, right?”

I nodded.

That was a common issue in my original world too. Disputes between countries over resources like oil and coal, and the resulting price fluctuations that affected people’s daily lives were numerous.

“If you can make cars move forward without using oil, wouldn’t that reduce the impact of international conflicts?”

“Is cooking equipment similar?”

“That’s right. It’s also a department that’s developing to help reduce gas accidents. Though nowadays they’re also making things like induction cooktops.”

The Professor wiggled her finger.

“Then shouldn’t Magic Inscription be taught to everyone rather than as a separate department?”

“Well… specialists learn more advanced content, so I think it’s fine. The Engine Department learns magic inscription for creating engines, and the Culinary Department learns magic inscription for creating cooking equipment, so there’s a certain specialization.”

Even with that explanation, it was hard to understand, and my head tilted to the right. Rather than just looking confused, I rested my head directly on my shoulder, and the Professor smiled wryly as she straightened my head back up.

I returned my head to its original position with the Professor’s help.

“Professor.”

“Yes?”

“If I learn magic, will I be able to use it well?”

I wanted to try using magic too. They call me a Demon God, but I had no idea what abilities I had or how to use them, so I wanted to experience this fantasy world in some way.

But the answer wasn’t entirely positive.

“I’m not sure about that. I thought Demon Gods figured out how to use magic on their own, and you were just learning it as a hobby.”

“Hmm… I remember you said circles represent perfection.”

“What about triangles?”

Although I brought it up first, I was surprised when the Professor suddenly asked this question.

“Uh, um, t-triangles… I’ll study it again…”

I had studied hard, but to forget this…

“No, take your time. It’s difficult to receive Academy education without even having elementary education.”

“…Still, it feels bad to forget something I studied.”

“Really? It seems Ourr is the studious type.”

Seeing the Professor smile, I groaned and shook my head.

“I’m not going to an academy!”