Chapter 66 : Hand on heart

“Ay, don’t mess around.”

Even if there’s magic or mystery that can change appearances, not even a dragon’s polymorph can make someone look like such a perfect

child.

At best, I could’ve assumed she was just a short person, but this is clearly a ten-year-old kid.

A small girl barely tall enough to reach my chest.

“Don’t listen to that drunkard—wanna come with big sis instead?”

I heard someone snort beside me, but I chose to ignore it. She’s cute. Maybe it’s because I’ve never had a younger sibling?

When I tried to hug her and lift her up, the small girl struggled in my arms.

“N-No, please put me down…”

“It’s okay, you’re a good girl… Ow!”

Ouch! Heila lightly thumped my head with her small clenched fist. Why does something so small hurt so much? She sighed and said to me:

“Trea, don’t you know angels don’t age or die?”

“…Angel?”

Hearing that, my gaze turned to above the girl’s head.

The halo floating steadily wasn’t just some headband.

Wait—so this little girl is actually the principal of the Academy?

I quietly set her down on the ground.

She wobbled a bit before straightening her back and bowing politely to us.

“…Nice to meet you. I’m Lu, one of the founders and the current principal of Morado Academy—and an angel.”

“Uh, right. Nice to… meet you too?”

This is wild. The top S-rank beauty in the city turns out to be the Academy’s principal?

What a ridiculous plot twist—like something not even worthy of being firewood.

Aside from the small halo above her head, Lu looked like an ordinary little girl, just with slightly fairer skin.

Her face was cutely delicate—probably the kind of look that would attract dangerous people.

“A founder of the Academy?”

I’m sorry, but your age—when I asked, she just giggled like a child and replied:

“Um, I haven’t counted, but I think it’s been over 1000 years. Hehe.”

Unbelievable. But fine—I’ll shelve my doubts for now.

In a world where even snakes talk, what’s so surprising about a thousand-year-old little girl?

How did I even end up in a world like this?

A sigh escapes me.

If I’ve done anything wrong, it’s just that I read the wrong book.

Despite claiming to be over a thousand years old, Lu didn’t just look like a child—she acted like one too.

I leaned in and whispered to Heila.

“She’s just a brat.”

“…I can hear you.”

“Ah, sorry. I mean—my apologies.”

Didn’t expect her to hear that. Was she upset?

She looked a bit sulky.

Feeling guilty, I fumbled in my pocket and found a candy I had stashed away earlier.

When I handed it to her, she grinned and took it as if nothing had happened.

Even Arwen doesn’t act like that.

Seeing my exasperated expression, Heila offered an explanation.

“Angels are the purest race, closest to children. It’s only natural she acts that way.

Even so, everything she says is true.”

“Can someone like that actually run the Academy?”

“That’s why we have staff. Her role is basically honorary.”

So she’s a figurehead, huh.

Just reinforces what I’ve always felt—this Academy’s a total sham.

It may look prestigious on the outside, but inside, it’s full of holes.

Watching her suck on the candy was kind of a buzzkill,

but I decided to move on to the main topic.

“So then, why did you call for me, Principal… ma’am?”

Gulp.

Having finished her candy at some point, she grabbed my hand and cheerfully led me inside.

Heila stayed behind—seemed she had other things to do.

Deep inside the room was the corpse of a demon I saw on the day of the ball.

Pointing at it, she asked me:

“This is the body of a demon. What do you think?”

What do I think?

I stepped closer to examine the corpse.

I hadn’t gotten a good look at it that day.

Now’s my chance.

The demon’s body resembled a human’s, but it was at least twice as big.

This must’ve been a mid-level demon.

Its horns were fairly large, and its skin looked incredibly tough.

“It’s… damn nasty.”

“Right? Demons are all twisted scum—sons of whores, the lot of them.”

“P-Please calm down.”

Turns out she was very close to Edwin, the former hero.

Of course she’d hate demons.

I get that she despises them,

but hearing such foul words from such a tiny mouth is still jarring.

After venting for a while, she finally calmed down and asked again:

“Trea, if a demon like this suddenly appeared—could you handle it?”

“Of course.”

They may have higher resistance to magic than beastfolk,

but someone of my level can handle that easily.

What do you think I’ve been training for?

“And if a group of them attacked at once?”

“Hmm. Well… I could still take them.”

Judging my skills objectively,

I’m easily on par with someone like Rena, a master mage.

That’s kind of amazing, really.

Even if mid-tier demons came in waves,

I might get hurt—but I wouldn’t die.

Ah… suddenly I feel sorry for the original Trea again.

To get impaled by one of these monsters—seven days and nights, too.

Honestly, my main reason for training in magic all this time was to avoid that fate.

I really, really don’t want to die.

Maybe I was stronger than she expected.

Lu looked a bit flustered, wiping sweat and asking nervously:

“R-Really? Then what if a high-tier demon came, leading a horde of monsters?

What if the Demon King invaded the continent?”

“For f**k’s sake, just say what you wanna say already.”

“Eeep…”

Lu may be the principal in name, but her looks and other restrictions mean she rarely leaves the Academy.

So I doubt I’ll get in trouble for being a bit blunt.

With a slightly timid voice, she fiddled with her fingers.

“Umm… what I meant was, we should strike first, before they march south.

Just like Edwin once did.”

She was talking about the hero who vanished centuries ago.

He went into the Demon Realm and came back with the Demon King’s head.

Not many remember him now, so even in the original story, his name barely came up.

Still, he’s oddly connected to me.

“Isn’t that a bit much?

Sending elites into the Demon Realm is a huge gamble.”

There’s a reason the original story featured guerilla tactics.

It’s not called the Demon Realm for nothing—just standing there wears you down with ambient demonic energy.

“Of course, I’m not saying we’ll do it right now.

Just that… it’s a possibility.”

She looked downcast.

Her plan must’ve never come to fruition in the original.

Maybe it was just her idea, or a minority opinion.

It must not have been that important,

because she quickly changed the subject.

“Actually, the real reason I called you is to ask a more practical favor.”

Of course.

No way she summoned me on a golden holiday just to show me some demon corpse.

And conveniently, I’m feeling energetic—so I can handle a little errand.

When I nodded, Lu happily grabbed my hand.

“Actually, we need a student envoy to go to the land of the elves…”

“For f**k’s sake.”

I was dreaming of a peaceful Academy life.

How did things turn out like this?

Any excuse I prepared didn’t work.

‘Exams? Don’t worry about those.’

‘Errands in Reins? No big deal, you don’t have to go right away.’

‘Other elf students? Oh, they’ll just be biased—plus they’re weak.’

With that innocent face of hers, Lu managed to force me into going to elf territory.

She said I was the only suitable candidate.

They’re providing top-class funds and transportation, sure,

but still—this was supposed to be an Academy story.

At least in the beginning.

What I wanted was a return to school life,

not a continent-wide tour.

While walking with Heila after finishing our errands,

I brought up my frustrations.

“Talented people are always busy. Like me.”

She said it shamelessly, as if it were a fact.

I let out a dry laugh.

“…Put your hand on your chest and say that again.”

“Like this?”

“N-Not my chest! Don’t grope it!”

Squish.

The booze-loving, thankless heretic saint groped me so naturally it was like second nature.

Her chest is way bigger than mine, so what’s the big

idea?

And she’s unexpectedly strong, so I couldn’t resist.

“Let go

Only when a weird noise came out of my mouth did she finally release me in a panic.

I haven’t found a proper fix since the bandage incident!

Just when I was starting to get used to it—what is she doing?!

When I glared at her, Heila looked genuinely apologetic.

“S-Sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

“I’m leaving.”

We were done with our business anyway.

No reason to stay here any longer.

Especially not with someone who just molested me.

I wonder if Teferi’s finished cleaning by now.

For some reason, I kept thinking about that sweet girl today.