Ch.87Chapter 87

To be honest, I was too busy.

The commotion that happened yesterday was so big that even though it was Saturday, I couldn’t enjoy a relaxing day.

“I’m exhausted.”

I let out a deep sigh.

I was on my way back from explaining things to the Academy committee, and it was a headache because the older people in the committee seemed to think that just because an incident occurred, it was automatically a problem, and they were trying to hold me responsible.

It took too much time and mental energy to make them understand. I was completely drained after finally reaching the destination after going around in circles on an issue that should have been resolved with a simple “Oh, I see.”

Fortunately, they didn’t immediately blame everything on me. Thanks to the police CCTV footage that was added later—without it, they would have definitely accused me of negligence.

The truth that “the Demon God tried to kill a student and escape” shifted toward “the student provoked the Demon God and suffered the consequences.”

“What?”

“…Explaining various things because they questioned my management responsibility for you walking around the Academy exuding aura and stabbing a student.”

When I complained like that, the Demon God tilted her head beside me.

“I didn’t kill him. I had no intention to kill. Wouldn’t it be excessive to end someone else’s life when my own life hasn’t ended?”

Her way of thinking was peculiar no matter when I heard it.

He probably would have died, but it was strange how she seemed to dismiss it, perhaps because as a being insensitive to death, she didn’t consider it truly dead even if someone died.

If it had been Ourr… would Ourr have cried?

It might be natural for this one to be indifferent. It was Ourr who was stabbed, not Ouroboros. This one chose death with sufficient preparation, but Ourr wasn’t like that.

According to Sera, Ourr had said she wanted to join the study group, but then was stabbed with a knife while coming with her. I was worried enough to wonder if Ourr felt betrayed by people.

It was a moment that made me feel troubled for no reason. I put my hands together and sighed deeply. After drooping my shoulders and moistening my dry lips several times, the Demon God next to me stared at me intently.

“What’s wrong?”

“…I was thinking that Ourr must have been stabbed to death and wondering if it hurt.”

When I expressed my complicated feelings, the Demon God tilted her head.

“I don’t know. Was she a fragile one?”

“A little bit.”

“Then she probably cried. Being immortal doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.”

Looking at the Demon God answering so calmly, I thought, she really is a Demon God.

Even though she’s said to be another personality, is she treating herself harshly because it’s her own personality? Or can she speak like that simply because she thinks she knows herself best?

Still, since I’m the one who has directly observed Ourr, I couldn’t help but worry deeply. My biggest concern was what state Ourr would be in the next time she appeared.

It was Saturday afternoon.

There was no immediate directive on what to do with Ourr or Ouroboros. After all, no matter how many times you kill her, she won’t die, so any conclusion would be impossible to implement.

As a result, no definitive conclusion was reached.

That was fortunate. If she had been a Demon God who could be killed like other Demon Gods, an execution order might have been issued long ago.

“The student you stabbed was one who attended my lecture. If the reason you emerged was because of that student, then it would be reasonable to assume that he killed Ourr.”

I felt bitter about the fact that one of my students harbored such feelings toward Ourr.

Actually, there was nothing strange about it. It felt exactly like looking at my past self.

It’s my past, but why are then and now so different? Have my thoughts changed because Ourr has started to occupy space in my heart?

That could be the case. If I went back to that time without knowing Ourr existed, I would probably walk the same path. There was no one to blame.

It’s possible that when presented with a Demon God during a particularly sensitive time, he prepared a knife thinking it was his chance.

“Reasonable? That guy is definitely the one. Don’t you believe me?”

“It’s not a matter of trust. The problem is that people don’t trust Demon Gods.”

Hearing my words, the Demon God tilted her head and said, “Hmm,” then told me:

“Do they consider everything others say as lies?”

“More precisely, everything a Demon God says.”

“I understand.”

The Demon God didn’t particularly push her own thoughts.

After explaining adequately, she stepped back saying it could be so, which I was grateful for.

I was already being pressured enough by the committee and higher-ups, and if I had to engage in a heated argument here, I might not have been able to endure it.

“Let’s go back.”

“What will you feed me today?”

“…You don’t get full even when you eat, right?”

“But Ourr ate, didn’t she?”

What can I say to that?

“The things I ate yesterday were good too.”

“You can’t live eating the same things all the time.”

When I said that, the Demon God put her hand on her chin. Seeing her mumble “Come to think of it…” made it seem like she really intended to enjoy everything to the fullest before going back.

“How satisfied do you need to be before you go back?”

“…Well, from your perspective, someone like me is an uninvited guest. Hmm, five nights?”

The Demon God thought for a moment and then stretched out her hand to show me. It looked like a small hand spreading wide as if it would grow bigger, which made me smile a bit.

Five nights, huh.

“So after exactly that much time, you’ll switch with Ourr?”

“Yes, but I’d prefer not to waste days senselessly.”

“Alright. Today, let’s eat out first and then go back.”

She didn’t seem to have any desire to steal this daily life, even promising to go back after five days. She even added that I shouldn’t let her spend that time carelessly, which seemed meticulous.

It sounded too gentle to be a warning, feeling more like a request.

I didn’t feel like something terrible would happen if I violated it.

Still, knowing that Ouroboros, the main personality, wasn’t bad, I didn’t want to treat her poorly. She wasn’t wielding her eerie power or anything, just quietly following me around, so there was no reason to do anything bad.

I took out Ourr’s ID badge from my pocket and scanned it at the reader.

We moved outside the Academy. I pondered for a while where to go with Ouroboros. Since we’d already had pizza, I thought about trying something new and turned my head.

Something cool because it’s hot? Soba?

I wondered if Ouroboros would like that. Deciding to avoid anything she might find unusual, I thought of something else.

Since she seemed to like cheese, I figured she might also like fried food, so I took her to a place that serves tonkatsu.

“This place serves fried meat. They have sirloin, tenderloin, chicken, fish, all sorts of things.”

I handed her the menu. The Demon God looked at me indifferently. She didn’t even seem interested in looking at the menu, not even making a gesture of lowering her head.

Her gaze seemed to drop once before returning to me.

“What’s wrong?”

I asked, hoping she would express any dissatisfaction she might have. The Demon God answered quietly:

“I don’t know what those are. Anything is fine.”

She meant she didn’t have the knowledge to distinguish between sirloin, tenderloin, and such. Seeing her reaction of “How is sirloin different from tenderloin?” made me think that was understandable.

After scanning the menu, I just ordered the most expensive assortment.

It was a luxurious menu with one of each type. It was expensive, but considering the quantity, it was worth the price, so I didn’t feel it was wasteful.

“Hmm.”

The Demon God first sniffed the tonkatsu placed in front of her.

Seeing how well she ate what I gave her the first time, she didn’t seem to have any aversion to eating.

It’s probably the same principle as not killing people. She simply didn’t eat because there was no reason to, just as she didn’t kill because there was no reason to.

Still, the mere existence of such a Demon God was good news to me. I thought it might even be worth writing a thesis about.

People have come to fear Demon Gods only because many evil ones have been seen. They’ve come to hate them. Just as we can’t hate all of humanity because several murderers have appeared, I wondered if perceptions of Demon Gods might change someday.

It remained like a task.

“It’s hot. …But delicious.”

“Ouroboros, there’s a fork here.”

“What is that?”

When I came to my senses, I saw the Demon God eating the tonkatsu with her hands.

Surprised, I picked up the fork in front of the Demon God, but she didn’t care and pushed the tonkatsu she was holding into her mouth.

“You should use utensils.”

“…Why? I ate with my bare hands yesterday.”

“That was because it was pizza, and this isn’t pizza.”

Despite my explanation, the Demon God lowered her gaze as if she couldn’t understand.

Seeing her small hands covered in oil made me sigh. I quickly pulled out some tissues from the side and wiped the Demon God’s hands, and she chewed quietly before asking me:

“How should I eat it?”

I was glad she wasn’t planning to ignore me and do as she pleased.

“Here, hold the fork in your hand like this.”

“I’m holding it.”

“Now, stab it.”

“I stabbed it.”

“Then you can eat it. It’s even better if you dip it in this sauce.”

I showed her how to dip it in the sauce in the middle and put it in her mouth. The Demon God, though clumsy, followed diligently and successfully put it in her mouth.

“Delicious.”

The Demon God seemed satisfied this time too, nodding her head repeatedly.