Ch.89Chapter 89

“I don’t sleep.”

Just like yesterday, I said the same thing again today.

It might have seemed like Ouroboros was just being difficult for no reason, but she had her own thoughts on the matter.

The whole routine just felt meaningless to her. Besides, she had agreed to stay for only five more nights, so spending several hours sleeping seemed irrational.

Yuria stared at her for a while before letting out a groan. Since this was exactly what Ourr had said to her when she finally finished her safety management and research work, Yuria pondered for a moment.

Soon enough, she had no choice but to repeat the same words she had said to Ourr.

“If you go out now, people will be scared. Both in the Academy and in society, you can move freely only because I’m your guardian.”

“Freedom? I wonder if the meaning of freedom has changed significantly while I wasn’t aware.”

Ouroboros tilted her head.

She had thought freedom meant not being bound by anything, so the fact that she couldn’t go out without Yuria’s protection was a somewhat uncomfortable condition.

But Yuria didn’t see it that way, so she gently took hold of Ouroboros, who was sitting there blankly, and laid her down on the bed.

“Come on, let’s sleep. I’m human, so I need to sleep.”

Ouroboros lay quietly, looking at Yuria.

Yuria couldn’t take her eyes off those golden eyes that shone even in the darkness.

“Freedom requires some degree of discipline. You need a place to return to. Otherwise, it becomes lawlessness and wandering before you know it.”

“That’s difficult.”

“It’s difficult for me too. Let’s sleep.”

Even though she felt like she had already gotten plenty of rest while in Ourr’s body, she wasn’t pleased about having to sleep here too.

Still, since Yuria said she needed to sleep, Ouroboros simply accepted it with an “I see” and went along with it.

The weekend passed in the blink of an eye. When Monday came, Yuria got up early to go to the Academy. Ouroboros, awakened by the rustling, rubbed her eyes drowsily.

“What’s happening?”

“I need to go to the Academy. How many nights do we have left?”

“Five nights.”

“Four nights?”

“Uh…”

Ouroboros wanted to believe it was five nights, but time wouldn’t extend itself at her whim. She had confidently held out her hand to answer, but at Yuria’s correction, she stared at her own hand.

She folded one finger and confirmed, “It really is four nights,” feeling slightly disappointed.

“Can’t it be five nights?”

“…Alright.”

Yuria gave in to Ouroboros’s whining.

While she did want to get Ourr out as quickly as possible, contrary to that desire, she also wanted to give Ourr time.

There’s nothing more painful than feeling betrayed after trusting someone.

Although falling asleep doesn’t necessarily give one time to think, she hoped that by going to bed, Ourr might be able to sort out her emotions to some extent.

It wouldn’t be too late even after that.

Yuria headed to the Academy again today. Brushing off the pressure from the higher-ups, she checked her lecture schedule, determined to focus on her work.

Afterward, she went to the second-year class with Ouroboros.

“Why is it flapping?”

Ouroboros questioned, wondering if the uniform tailored on Sunday was too big. Yuria smiled bitterly as she explained the reason.

Ouroboros immediately understood and nodded.

“I don’t want to be constricted by clothes when I grow.”

Yuria gave a wry smile at Ouroboros’s words, which were similar to what Ourr had said.

“Do I have to sit still during the lecture?”

“Well, that much…”

“Ha.”

Unlike the nonchalant Ouroboros, Yuria’s heart was pounding.

It was unsettling to think that among her students, there might be someone who would act on their hatred toward Demon Gods.

She shouldn’t have brought Ouroboros, but she had no choice. The Academy had pressured her to keep close supervision, and she felt a psychological compulsion to keep Ouroboros by her side, not knowing when someone might try to attack again.

She placed her hand on her pounding chest and took a slow, deep breath. When she felt somewhat calmer, she moved forward.

She flung open the door and stepped into the quiet second-year lecture hall. In the tiered classroom, she felt all eyes turn toward her.

“Hello, everyone.”

“Hello.”

When Yuria greeted them with a trembling voice, the students responded. Ouroboros, momentarily dazed, belatedly followed Yuria into the classroom.

Ouroboros’s appearance caused a stir.

The atmosphere was inevitably unsettled as news of the incident had already spread far and wide.

The incident where a Demon God who looked like Ourr had blocked the main gate and sat calmly by the flower bed, combined with the incident where someone was stabbed in the alley leading from the academic building to the Research Building—those who knew had already pieced things together.

But since that had happened to Ourr, not Ouroboros, she remained indifferent to the faces of people she was seeing for the first time.

“Go sit down.”

“Where?”

“Anywhere. An empty seat.”

When Yuria tapped Ouroboros on the shoulder, she turned her head.

Just as Yuria thought Ourr would sit next to Iris, Ouroboros plopped down at a nearby table.

The students were shocked. They had expected her to sit next to someone else, but not next to a student without a nameplate.

The student sitting next to Ouroboros was uncomfortable. There are many reasons to dislike Demon Gods, of course. But he didn’t like being viewed in the same light as someone who would stab them with a knife.

“Ah…”

From others’ perspective, it was Ourr’s impulsive action. Ouroboros had simply chosen an empty seat close to where Yuria was, but the student got so annoyed that he moved to a seat in the back.

Suddenly, there were two empty seats at the desk. Ouroboros glanced briefly at the student who was hastily retreating, then looked back at Yuria as if she couldn’t care less.

Yuria was sweating profusely, but the lecture finally began.

“How was it?”

After the lecture ended, Yuria cautiously asked. The lecture had been about the principles behind the birth of Demon Gods, and after meeting and talking with Ouroboros, she had slightly modified some parts.

She had focused on explaining that while a Demon God’s personality certainly plays a role, the most important factor is what physical characteristics they possess.

As if seeking Ouroboros’s approval, she asked casually, and Ouroboros closed her eyes and nodded.

“It was interesting. Is this how I would feel if I were to study humans?”

“Do you want to study them?”

“No.”

At the flat rejection, Yuria gave a dry laugh.

“Ourr!”

As they were leaving after the lecture, Iris came running with quick steps, calling Ourr’s name.

Both the professor and Ouroboros stopped and turned around.

Iris had been curious and worried about why Ourr, who she expected would sit next to her, had instead sat alone at the front after chasing away a student without a nameplate.

This wouldn’t have happened if that second-year student hadn’t been absent from today’s lecture.

“—Ah, Professor, hello. I wanted to talk to Ourr…”

“Mm, sure.”

Yuria stepped back slightly and gave Ouroboros a hint by mouthing the words.

‘Friend.’

Ouroboros saw the lip movement and nodded. Then, with a slightly solemn expression, she looked at Iris.

For Ouroboros, this was her first encounter with a “friend,” so she felt a bit tense.

“Um, there’s a lot of talk going around, and I was worried about whether Ourr really got stabbed…”

Iris continued, glancing nervously at Yuria.

“I don’t know if it was some kind of awakening, but they say there was a big Ourr. Anyway, if that’s how you grow, I hope you don’t grow. And, and…”

Iris wanted to comfort Ourr. It was her first time trying to comfort a Demon God, so she was struggling with what to say.

“Friend, is this what having a friend feels like? Someone who genuinely worries about me?”

Ouroboros felt something peculiar watching this.

All she had seen were people who tried to avoid contact with her. But now that she had withdrawn her threatening aura, she realized that friendships like this could form, which piqued her interest.

It’s the same principle—you can’t become friends with someone holding a knife to stab you.

“Thank you. I’m fine. ‘I’ am.”

Ouroboros cut her words short like that.

Iris couldn’t possibly understand the meaning, but it was enough to draw a sigh from Yuria standing beside her. Though that probably wasn’t Ouroboros’s intention.

“Ourr is having a hard time. …Let her rest a bit.”

“Ah, yes… But has Ourr turned off her phone completely?”

Iris asked before parting. Yuria blinked, then bent down in front of Ourr and started patting her all over.

“What, what are you doing?”

Ouroboros froze at Yuria’s sudden body search.

“The phone is gone…?”

She had been too busy and living too urgently to remember. That moment when she had tried to call and it seemed like no one was answering, then the power went off completely.

She furrowed her brow, wondering what would have happened if it had been Ouroboros instead of Ourr at that time.

“Did this go somewhere?”

Yuria took out her smartphone from her pocket and showed it to Ouroboros. Ouroboros sighed as if remembering.

“I threw it away. It suddenly started vibrating strangely.”

Hearing Ouroboros’s words, Yuria let out a deep sigh.