episode_0060

“What happened with Emma, Lizley? Emma has been unusually quiet lately.”

“I told her to reflect for now. Bringing loan sharks into the school, how idiotic.”

On Thursday afternoon, Lizley and Leon were at one of their secret meeting places.

Fragrant tea and sweet refreshments complemented the tastefully manicured garden.

Leon was caressing Lizley with an exceptionally gentle voice and touch.

Lizley was secretly pleased with Leon’s recent behavior, which increasingly treated her like his ‘true fiancée’.

In truth, there was no particular reason for Leon’s sudden gentleness; it was just his characteristic capriciousness.

Additionally, if a toy is constantly hit, it breaks, so it was also like oiling it up.

“Indeed. If a subordinate acts foolishly, you must muzzle them or whip them. That Lergo fellow deserves a whipping too, if you ask me…”

‘Decline’, Lergo’s attack targeting Ras and his team, which was entrusted to Lizley and Emma like a children’s game.

Leon hadn’t expected much since Emma wouldn’t be able to acquire the proper materials anyway.

Of course, Leon didn’t know that the curse, which seemed to have taken effect, would dramatically lift right before the exam, but he figured Ras might have received a minor release since he was close with Rosalie.

Rather, what made Leon shake his head was not the half-hearted success of ‘Decline’, but Emma’s shoddy and inconsistent work.

“From the start, who does a black magic assassination so obviously? If there are five people in a team, you should only target one or two of them. This alone shows her complete lack of competence.”

Lergo’s Curse of Death causes an unknown decline syndrome, but it has the advantage of leaving no trace of its origin, so it’s unlikely to be discovered…

Nevertheless, in a place filled with accomplished academy professors, one should avoid any actions that would openly invite suspicion like, ‘something fishy happened.’

“Right. Sigh… Leon, I just realized I forgot to report something. Emma said she signed a penalty contract. But… there was a loan shark who had Lergo in debt, and he apparently took the penalty fee.”

At this obviously idiotic explanation, Leon uncharacteristically furrowed his brows and gestured for her to continue.

“Emma must have been short on the commission fee when she made the request. So she borrowed money from a loan shark in the underworld. And that loan shark was also Lergo’s creditor, and Lergo couldn’t pay him back and ran off somewhere… that was her excuse, you see?”

“…..A very unfamiliar story. Well… it’s not unusual for a bug-like fellow to have messy financial dealings.”

“I suspected Emma was lying, so I sent some of my subordinates. It seems there’s indeed someone wreaking havoc in Delphi recently. It’s true that he swallowed up all the organizations in the area where Lergo resides.”

Lizley actively using her personal subordinates for work was a good sign for Leon.

“Well done, Lizley. Your report was a little late, but I like proactive work. Did you find out the loan shark’s or organization’s name separately?”

“Emma said the loan shark calls himself ‘Orca’. He doesn’t publicize his organization’s name, but… unlike a typical back-alley boss, he seems to have a strong tendency to annihilate rival organizations without mercy.”

He must be some kind of mudskipper-like fellow who gained power from somewhere and is running wild, thinking he’s above the sky.

After summarizing his thoughts on Orca, Leon let out a slight sigh.

‘Lergo is supposed to meet me on the last day of every month to cast ‘Decline’ on the Emperor. I’ve placed a geas on him so his heart will explode if he doesn’t… So even if he’s gone into hiding, he’ll appear again at the end of the month…’

Black mages ultimately value their own lives most, and Lergo, furthermore, is quite diligently loyal to Leon for the sake of prosperity beyond that.

Annoying back-alley bosses who don’t know their place can simply be secretly removed.

After all, Leon himself had assassins readily available even in Delphi.

“Anyway, I’ll have to order a clean-up of the back alleys soon. Thank you for the information, Lizley, I’ll put it to good use.”

“Don’t mention thanks. This is all my job. I can get blood, and filth… all on my hands for you. Unlike that woman.”

Lizley flirted gently, and Leon stroked her with satisfaction, but neither of them had yet realized that a small crack had formed between them.

*

“Hehe! Ras, don’t you have anything else for me to do today?”

Irha’s eyes sparkled as she eagerly asked for errands.

Irha was becoming a master of bread errands these days, and she was diligently gardening and cleaning in response to my casual command to do anything helpful for the Academy.

Her working hands and her running form while doing bread errands were so delightful that even upperclassmen came to observe this “experience of life’s labor” scene.

Thus, my minion was, unknowingly, becoming a renowned figure among the first-year students of Leone Academy.

“Uh… studying or something? You are a student, after all…”

“No! Irha is a blockhead, she’ll get sick if she does that. And I don’t think I’m the kind of minion who uses her head…!”

My head throbbed as I watched my minion rebel as naturally as breathing, declaring, ‘I won’t study!’

Is this how fathers feel when their daughters declare they’re building a wall against studying? I was feeling a father’s heart.

“Irha. A good minion must be smart and have high academic achievements.”

“Can’t I make up for it by being better with my body…?”

At Marisa’s sudden advice on ‘minionology’, Irha looked a little crestfallen and retorted.

“Because minions who only use their bodies are usually the first to become arrow fodder. While minions who only use their heads live comfortably in castles or hideouts, just giving orders and enjoying luxury.”

It seemed Marisa had recently read a novel that contained a similar situation.

“No. Ras won’t make me arrow fodder. Ras is a great leader who will fight alongside me if that happens, or go first. But minions who only use their heads would probably be like you said. Like a mean crow…!”

Irha, though, seemed to trust me implicitly, or perhaps her trust in me was simply very high… Anyway, she gave me a pretty good evaluation.

However, her evaluation of Pisces, whom she usually found annoying, was predictably stingy. The two of them didn’t genuinely dislike each other, but their bickering was simply cute.

When left alone, they would chatter away happily, only to pointlessly compete in “minion power”.

Anyway, as we were aimlessly gathered, chatting about this and that, an unfamiliar girl suddenly popped out.

“Excuse me, but could I take Irha for a moment?”

It was a girl I hadn’t seen before, probably a freshman.

“You should ask Irha that. Irha, do you know her?”

“No… well, Irha is your subordinate. So I asked you first…”

Come to think of it, Irha openly went around saying, ‘I’m Ras’s subordinate,’ so it wasn’t particularly awkward for a stranger to act this way.

Irha, who was resignedly letting Marisa, addicted to stroking her round head, do her thing, looked up at the girl when I spoke.

“Huh? Lina, what brings you here?”

“Sigh… The club seniors are a bit angry because you keep not showing up for club activities. They said if that’s the case, you should just start a separate errand club and leave.”

“Ugh…!!!”

The words ‘club activities’ from the girl named Lina brought back forgotten memories of my academy days.

True to an academy gathering young students, there were various club activities for networking and socializing.

These academy extracurricular departments, also called Clubs, required everyone to join for at least one semester to graduate.

“Speaking of which, minion, which club did you join? I haven’t asked you all this time.”

“I’m in the cooking club. Actually, I joined because I could pick up some food there, hehe… I forgot, since I’ve been eating my fill lately!”

Oh dear… My hungry seagull-like minion had joined the cooking club for survival… As for our lady next to me, it was obvious.

“For your information, I am in the literature club. It’s a place for reading novels and creative writing. However, it’s sad because students keep leaving.”

Marisa, speaking sadly next to me, was in the literature club, but she was lamenting her loneliness, caught in a triple bind: an unpopular club + unmanaged by seniors + new students fleeing (because Marisa made them uncomfortable).

“Hmm… I’m in the tea ceremony club. But now that I’ve broken up with Lizley, it’s annoying to see her face there. I’ll have to escape.”

At my declaration of escape, both Irha and Marisa oddly cheered with open arms.

“Screech! Then Ras, come to our cooking club…! And munch on Irha’s cooking!!”

“Sir Ras, you can explore the vast sea of novels with me and try writing drafts. With your ability to master the ‘Golden Water Hand’ in one go, you could be the greatest author…!”

The two girls looked at me with expectant eyes, but the flustered Lina grabbed Irha’s hand and pulled her up.

“Hey… hey guys. The seniors are pretty angry, so I’ll take Irha first. Sorry!! Bye then!! Also, the cooking club is full, so there’s no room now!”

“Raaaas!! Definitely the cooking club. The cooking club!!! Chase Lina away and Ras can take her place…!”

Seeing them disappear so noisily, it seemed the girl named Lina was quite close with Irha.

*Clutch*

Hmm???

Something incredibly soft and warm filled my hand, and when I looked in surprise, Marisa was gripping my hand tightly.

Marisa, being Leon’s fiancée, absolutely did not engage in skinship with men. No, she didn’t even engage in skinship with Leon to begin with… truly a princess with an iron wall.

She had never attempted any physical contact with me, aside from that ‘Golden Water Hand’ thing, so I was surprised.

“Hey! What’s going on? Suddenly holding my hand…!”

“It’s that urgent. If we fail, the club might be disbanded… No, in fact, disbanding the club isn’t important. I am extremely lonely without someone to have fresh and lively discussions with.”

Since she was so beautiful, just a hint of a pitiful act was enough to make my heart ache a little.

“But Sir Ras… wouldn’t you abandon me for your soulmate, Irha? Ahh..! After all, a literature club nobody like me can’t possibly win against the cooking club, which has no vacancies anyway…”

Her skillful manipulation was so strange it was as if she had eaten five asparagus mayonnaise breads.

“Won’t you give the literature club just one chance? At least until the May Festival. It is my wish to write and submit even a short story…! Without the name ‘Princess’ attached, of course.”

Come to think of it, was it next week? Or the week after… Anyway, Leone Academy’s festival, ‘Rose of May’, was just around the corner.

In my previous life, I was half-crippled around this time, and I was falsely accused by Emma during the ‘ball’ that marked the end of the festival period, so I hadn’t enjoyed the festival at all.

A slight sigh escaped me as I realized I hadn’t really done any proper student-like activities while attending the academy.

Well, then… perhaps I should help Marisa with her festival this time?

“Hmm… well, if you put it that way, what can I do? Who should I go to for enrollment?”

“As expected, Sir Ras is my trustworthy comrade. A firm alliance, truly befitting those who exchanged the ‘Golden Water Hand’. For now, let’s go to Professor Tiria. She’s the literature club’s faculty advisor.”

Our homeroom teacher, who had a slight vagrant feel, was incredibly skilled at finding ‘honey pots’.

It was indeed a testament to her skill that she managed the most comfortable literature club among all departments.

I headed to Professor Tiria’s laboratory with a noticeably excited Marisa.

It was a shame that Leon wasn’t in the classroom; he missed seeing Marisa and me in such an affectionate state.

*

“Should I kill them? Or should I bring them here…?”

The first thought that occurred to me upon awakening in the darkness and realizing my reality continued for several hours.

My name is Kardmos Tergamion de Azuldah.

The Invincible, the Supreme Being, the Absolute, the Great Lord of Azuldah who approached transcendence closer than anyone else… and the Demon King.

The monument of achievements and power I had built was thoroughly shattered and crumbled by mere two women.

But it seems darkness had not yet abandoned me, who had approached immortality closer than anyone.

The terribly powerful and virulent force these women used… the pure white ultimate power, which those damned Imperialists called the power of ‘Heavenly Divinity’, killed me with a light so white it turned transparent.

“The Hero, Lea Iorca… and… the Saint, Rosalie Berhart… If I’ve returned, then those bitches must have returned too…”

What had guided me, the Demon King, throughout my life was the ‘Oracle’ or ‘Destiny’ that I had personally seized.

This powerful blessing, which I had obtained after countless hardships in the deepest part of Azuldah’s ancient ruins, had made me the Demon King.

The rival and formidable foe indicated by my oracle and compass of destiny was clearly the Hero, Lea Iorca.

One of us, either her or I, should have ended our lives in a slaughter, killing the other or dying.

Before meeting the Hero, I was invincible, immortal. And, the oracle and blessing stated that the moment I defeated the Hero, the Demon King’s adversary, I would ascend to an absolute existence…

But I remember.

In the desperate and grueling final battle of Azuldah, it wasn’t the Hero who killed me, and the oracle that had guided me throughout my life was proven wrong at the last moment.

The Saint, Rosalie Berhart.

Was it because the Heavenly Divinity power that woman possessed was so immense that it could pierce through the ‘Oracle’ that enveloped me like a blessing?

Or perhaps, had she, like me, obtained a blessing with powerful destiny manipulation?

In any case, Rosalie Berhart’s power burned, tore, and pierced through my body, which had allowed nothing but the ‘Hero’ since I received the oracle, and killed me.

Of course, that arrogant bitch also died by my hand…

And was it because the mighty ‘Destiny’ had gone awry? I had returned to the past, traversing time for a reason I myself could not comprehend.

“Come to think of it… weren’t those women truly captivating? Befitting a Demon King’s consort…”

Since I have regressed, in this returned life, I will subdue those arrogant and cunning women and place them beneath my feet.

And I shall take the helplessly defeated Saint and Hero as my own.

However, it will not be an easy task.

At this point in time, I have not yet obtained the ‘Oracle’ and exponentially increased my strength.

Only after receiving it could I gain the blessing of invincibility, crush all my rivals, unify Azuldah, and become the Demon King.

“But, what incredible luck this is. Regression… As I have traveled back in time, infinite possibilities have opened up for me.”

There will be no trials and errors, no mistakes, and most importantly, I can keep my rivals, the ‘Hero’ and the ‘Saint’, in check from the start.

Both Rosalie and Lea were women who belonged to Leone Academy, an educational institution of the arrogant Sephiroth, who dared to call themselves an Empire.

One as a teacher, one as a student.

However, Lea, whose history before enrolling in the academy is entirely blank, is difficult to find at this point.

On the other hand, Rosalie Berhart is already quite famous as a retired military-turned-professor at this point, so her movements are transparent.

“Weakening the opponent before fighting is a basic principle of warfare.”

In Sephiroth, the Empire of fools, I have some subordinates and slaves planted to use when I take over the Empire after conquering Azuldah.

My shadow reaches Delphi, where Leone Academy is located, without issue. So, shall I send some proper subordinates to torment them a little?

“The floral breeze is quite pleasant today.”

Looking out the window, cherry blossoms danced pleasantly under the moonlight.

It felt like a night where illicit lovers might secretly commit adultery, and with the sound of adultery flowers blooming, I returned to the past.

April 7, 998, was an unusually beautiful day.