episode_0132

“… You are a mischievous person, Joker.

Maria spoke briefly and rubbed her face in my arms like a baby. I giggled and looked down at the figure from above.

“Maria, that’s how things are in the world. It’s a bit mischievous, isn’t it?”

“It’s a mischievous but warm place. But why is Joker so mischievous?”

“Because you couldn’t learn it? ha ha ha! So Maria, please tell me!”

Maria’s back was gentle and soft. It feels like my mind and body become more stable when I fiddle with it.

Mary during the day and Mary at night clearly look the same. Height, body type, weight, and appearance are all the same. Of course. Because it’s the same body.

However, just by changing one personality, the expression and tone of speech, it creates the opposite atmosphere.

No matter how long the time gap is between the two personalities, it is still a difference that cannot help but be curious.

“Maria, I want to ask you something.”

“Please tell me.”

“I told you this last time. Maria had a somewhat conceited personality when she was young, but that changed as she grew up.”

“Yes, I was embarrassed, but I was.”

“What exactly did you experience? There must have been a special incident that changed my thinking.”

“… It’s not a particularly happy memory, but let me tell you… .”

Maria’s eyes were lost in reminiscence. I waved my hand.

“No, if it’s a painful memory, you don’t have to bring it up.”

“I already took it all out. And, I was going to tell you today anyway. Please listen.”

“Huh? today? Why?”

“One big event that will happen in the future… I have a request to make regarding that.”

Maria raised her head. A white, clear, crystal-like gaze stares into my eyes. I said, cupping both cheeks of that round face with my hands.

“Tell me about it. I will grant anything Maria asks.”

“Thank you. When… It was the middle of the first semester of my first year at the academy. Around that time, students must take an assessment. This is an evaluation called a midterm exam.”

“Midterm exam? Why is that?”

“The midterm exam tests many things in a complex way, but among them, there is one traditional practice that measures the skills of first-year students. Monster hunting. It was an evaluation in which students gathered in groups of two each, went into a mountain, and ranked them by calculating the number/grade of monsters that the group caught.”

“Uh, I think I understand after listening to that. There was an accident during the monster hunting at Eden Academy this year, right? I remember hearing that this is a story related to the Demon World and the Demon Lord’s army.”

Was it the Lacht Mountains? First-year students go there to take assessments. With some teachers.

And there, he encounters a dangerous being.

“The Lachst Mountains are not a very dangerous place. Although the number of demons is not small, there are no top-class demons, and teachers and supervisors stand by on trees in various places to ensure the safety of the students. Perfect for taking assessments. On rare occasions, unlucky students were caught by hordes of demonic beasts and ended up dying, but that was a very small number. Even if he was still alive, he could be revived with the military’s medical technology and divine power.”

“There is also a saint there. An all-rounder of divine power.”

“… If it were truly all-rounder, how great would it be?”

The sight of Maria muttering her words is somewhat depressing. I pulled her soft cheek like a rubber band.

“At that time… That guy ‘descended’, right?”

“Yes, it was a disaster, a disaster, a disaster. Unless you are an absolute powerhouse level expert, it is impossible to stop.”

“Kwikkk, my stomach still feels numb when I think of that guy. Before I absorbed Merlin, I was the second-in-command in the Demon King’s army.”

Maria and I both remembered the same person. Then, Maria opened her mouth, a little distressed, and I a little excited. Two voices spoke the same words at the same time.

““Grand Duke of the Eastern Demon World, Jack.””

jack. One of the Four Dukes of the Demon World, he is on par with Lilith, the Succubus Queen, the West Duke, King, the Southern Duke who lived the longest in the Demon World, and Joker, the head of the Lucifer family and the Northern Duke.

He is a foreigner. From another world.

Rattling-.

Mary’s hands tremble like bare aspen trees. The fear imprinted in her memory is shaking Maria.

“The sky turned black, and the mountains wept bitterly. She was a being who twisted the environment with just her presence.”

“A strange person. There is too much demon energy to be a warrior, but the focus is on nothingness to be a demon. To be a magic swordsman, he has Tao in his heart, and to be a magician, his knowledge of swordsmanship is too deep.”

“From the beginning… Because they did not belong to this world. A monster from another dimension… 18 students faced her as she descended, and then a huge explosion occurred.”

“Is it Jack’s doing?”

“Who else besides her could cause an explosion that could disintegrate an entire forest?”

Pupil Jack. she is a madman

“From what I heard, there was a bit of an argument between the students and her. When Jack asked for the map and location, the students asked why he was asking such a question, and then they said it was suspicious that a woman was alone on a rugged mountain like this and accused her of being a spy.”

“It’s a reasonable suspicion. Even if it’s not true, you just have to prove your innocence and apologize.”

“That’s right. However, it seems that such a concept did not exist in the world where Jack lived. The friction grew more and more, and when the students finally decided to arrest the students and take them to the police, Jack sensed that the atmosphere was not normal and took the lead. The aftermath was devastating.”

“How many people died?”

“17 out of 18 people died. The reason I kept one alive was to inquire about the terrain and location. However, there were students scattered all over the mountain, and there were also teachers. There was no one who would not judge Jack as an enemy upon seeing him grabbing a student’s neck with blood all over his body.”

“I know what happens after that. They said it was a huge fight, 1 to 100? I heard his vivid experience firsthand while drinking with Jack. Jack said? ‘Even things like flying flies, his strength and magic were outstanding compared to his age. Although the use of energy and detailed control were disappointing, it was comparable to the teachings of our school.’”

“… So what should we do then? Almost half of them died.”

“Umm… .”

Maria held out a trembling hand. It meant to cover. There was no reason to refuse.

“At some point in the battle, although it was their turn, the students and instructors slowly began to realize.”

“What?”

“There isn’t a single wound on Jack’s body, but our side is being chipped away at. Also, Jack is trying to figure out our level by hiding his true skills.”

“Shouldn’t you realize that during battle? You lose your will to fight.”

“Yes, so the students started running away. Teachers are human too, so they had no choice but to run away. In the face of overwhelming fear, no matter how old you were or how good your skills were, you could not stand it. but… I couldn’t take my feet off it. I can’t help but think about the students who died so cruelly.”

How did Maria feel at that time? During the midterm exam, which I took with a light heart, a monster suddenly came out and slaughtered my friends and teachers.

She tried to resist until the end, but everyone else ran away and she was the only one left. In a place where the corpses of my friends were lined up, I was left alone with the monster who killed them all.

“So, what happened?”

“There was Jack in front. At that time, she seemed as big as a mountain to me. I hated Jack for murdering his friends, but I couldn’t attack her.”

“Because she’s a saint?”

“No, I’m afraid. The feeling of fear filled my head, and I didn’t dare to resist. All I could do was hug the body of my dead friend, tremble and shed tears endlessly.”

“Fear is the historical survival mechanism of prey. You can swallow up your anger.”

“Jack approached me step by step. Then he knelt down on one knee in front of me, looked me in the eye and spoke softly.”

“Ah, I heard it from Jack too. Still, I want to hear the saint’s position. Tell me.”

“she said. ‘You are good at discerning between right and wrong. Like an underdog. I don’t know what the laws of this world are, but where beasts exist, there must be at least some providence that states that the weak should not oppose the strong. If not, well, there’s nothing I can do.’ Even though the ugly face that killed my friends was right in front of me, I couldn’t throw a single punch.”

“Yes, yes.”

“She said again. ‘If you fail to keep that providence, you will end up like them. Because that is the way of the fittest. I don’t know why he risked his life to try to capture the throne. But alas, the power you carry is truly clear and enormous. The energy is so pure. If shamans or Shaolin disciples had seen it, they would have been amazed that it was a fragment of a hermit or Buddha. Are there many children like you in this world?’ Naturally, I had no answer. I was speechless due to the overwhelming pressure.”

“What’s next?”

“Nothing happened. When I delayed answering, Jack shrugged his shoulders, stood up, and disappeared like the wind. Until then, she was an unidentified strange woman, but a few weeks later, I heard news about her. A new duke has been born in the demon world… Pupil Jack, that was the name she was called.”

Memories come flooding back to me too.

I never imagined that a human woman would storm into the demon world and destroy a duke without even using divine power. Until the Demon King Kanos came down and captured him, Duke Jack was an unstoppable tank.

“It was at that point that my personality changed. After Jack left, I was left alone among the bodies of my friends who had been brutally murdered. I felt utterly helpless, unable to do anything.”

“It must be a terrible memory.”

“I was sad. Before that day, I was a child who grew up without any shortcomings. The quality of life provided by the church was rich, and every time I used my sacred power, there were many people who praised me and said it was a ‘miracle.’ No matter how serious the wound was, if I injected it with divine power, it would recover just fine. Because of that, I was conceited.”

“Yes, but what about there?”

“No matter how much divine power overflowed, no matter how much I begged the Lord for infinite mercy, the dead man did not come back. Until then, my divine power had not worked on anyone. It was my first defeat and a bitter realization. In fact, I buried in my heart the realization that I was nothing but an ordinary person with just a little bit of divine power.”

Maria spoke in a self-deprecating tone and touched her bulging chest with her hand.

That’s why Maria’s disposition changed.

To be honest, I don’t hate the girl Maria’s personality right now. When you praise them, they puff out their chest with pride, or they look embarrassed but can’t hide their laughter, which is refreshing.

“So, what do you want? He said he wanted to ask me something.”

I got to the point. Maria placed her bulky breasts on my lap, and from there, she slowly climbed up and sat on my lap. Her eyes and mine met on the horizon.

Maria, holding both my hands tightly, spoke with a twinkle of earnestness in her eyes.

“Sorry for your inconvenience, but please help prevent accidents that day. This is something only Joker can do.”

“… Puheup.”

Arsenic came out. Unable to hold back my laughter, I burst out laughing rashly.

“Puhahahaha!”

Maria asked in confusion.

“Why are you doing that?”

“No, no, I was planning on stopping it anyway even if I didn’t ask so earnestly. I am.”

“Yes?”

“Do you think I brought Beatrice, Nioh, and Aru to the academy for no reason? To protect the saint from future events! That’s why I brought you here! Hahahaha!”

Pupil Jack. She and I are pretty close. In my past life, we had a lot of drinking alone together, so we had a lot in common, especially in the area of alcohol.

So I know. How powerful is Jack. If the Southern Duke King’s strength is unimaginable, and the Western Duke Queen’s strength is overflowing, then Jack’s strength is unparalleled.

In order to protect our saint from such a woman, even a little preparation is not enough. Of course, the best course of action is not to fight at all.