Once today’s classes are over, I should go see the headmistress.
“…Ain?”
As Professor Hallen’s voice carried on from the front, diligently explaining the announcements, I went over my remaining schedule for the day.
“…….”
“Ain!”
At the sound of Kiana’s voice beside me, I stopped twirling my pen and snapped out of my thoughts.
“…Huh? Oh, what?”
“You were sitting there zoning out like an idiot, so I called you. What were you thinking about?”
“Nothing.”
“Hmm, really? Anyway, what’s with that old book? You’ve had it open for a while now.”
“Oh, this?”
She pointed at the worn-out book in front of me.
“…Uh, just a notebook?”
“You haven’t written down a single thing the professor said, so why’d you even take it out? It’s completely blank.”
“It felt weird having nothing on my desk.”
“Your damn notebook with no writing in it looks even emptier, dumbass.”
She might have seen it that way, but to me, it was different.
I could see it. The pages of this worn-out book were filled with all sorts of crazy stories.
I closed the book and tucked it back into my coat.
I had brushed it off as just a notebook, but this was far from ordinary.
To me, it was both a guide and a roadmap for what lay ahead. And to the world, it was something commonly referred to as a “relic”.
…If what’s written in the book is correct, the first incident will happen in a week.
I had to be fully prepared by then.
Because if the plan failed—
“…….”
“…What? Why are you staring at me again—huh? Ain, what’s with that face? Are you feeling sick?”
“…It’s nothing.”
Pushing away my uneasy thoughts, I averted my gaze from her.
Kiana Edenweiss.
I could only hope that a week from now, she would still be here, talking to me like this.
.
.
.
.
.
“Alright, that concludes the announcements. Starting tomorrow, classes will officially begin, so make sure to get plenty of rest today~”
“””Yes!”””
“Oh, and as I explained earlier, your dorm keycards have been loaded with points based on your entrance exam results. Use them wisely.”
At her words, the students around me including myself began fiddling with our keycards.
Since the academy was a place of learning, it spared no rewards for high-achieving students.
Points were one such reward, and in the game, if you saved up enough, you could even choose one of the treasures that the dragon headmistress cherished.
…Come to think of it, how many points did I get?
Since there was no special admission route in the game, I had no idea how many points I’d receive.
If I remember correctly, Ren, the top student, got 1,000 points.
On the other hand, students with the lowest grades received just 10.
The gap between scores was massive.
Not being able to check my points without a magic tool is pretty inconvenient.
…Guess I’ll just have to hope the headmistress was feeling generous.
I slipped the keycard into my pocket and got up from my seat.
As expected, my first day at the academy ended quickly.
Since it was right around lunchtime, all the students leaving the classroom were talking about nothing but the cafeteria.
At Ella Academy, students were free to explore various facilities until dorm curfew.
The academy was so vast that it could easily be considered an academy city in itself, and since dormitory life was mandatory, it was packed with all kinds of convenient facilities.
Naturally, that also meant there were plenty of famous restaurants.
Should I grab a meal too?
A loud growl from my stomach reminded me that I was hungry.
It seemed like I needed to grab a quick meal before meeting the headmistress.
“Hey, Ain! You’re heading to lunch too, right?”
“Mhmm, that was the plan.”
“Where are you going?”
“Not sure. I don’t really know any good places, so I was thinking of just grabbing some bread.”
“What? There are tons of restaurants here, and you’re just going to eat bread?”
“Well… I’m a little short on money. I wasn’t exactly living large outside, you know.”
“…Oh.”
She looked at me with a sympathetic expression.
Judging by her face, she was probably imagining me as some poor commoner who couldn’t even afford a proper meal.
…I mean, she’s not exactly wrong. I really am low on money.
“Ugh, just follow me.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll treat you, so quit complaining and come along, you little punk. This big sis is feeling generous today.”
“Oh, wow. The daughter of a count is buying me a meal? I’m honored.”
Thud!
“You want to die?”
“……..”
“Come on, let’s go eat already. I’m starving to death here.”
I swallowed hard as I nursed my side where her fist had landed again and followed her out of the classroom.
***
After having lunch with Kiana, I returned to the academic building and made my way to the headmistress’s office, just as I had originally planned.
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
It was a familiar voice. But it wasn’t the headmistress’s.
When I stepped inside, I was greeted by the same office I had seen just the day before.
However, the person sitting at the desk across from me, scanning through some documents, wasn’t the headmistress.
“Where is the headmistress right now?”
“…Ah. You must be Ain.”
Was it because I was asking for the headmistress while standing right in front of her? The woman, who had been focused on her documents, finally lifted her gaze to me.
The witch Sharine Hillier. The vice headmistress who often handled the headmistress’s duties in her absence was the one sitting there.
She had dark circles under her eyes as if she hadn’t gotten much sleep.
And yet, instead of looking haggard, her beauty only took on a strangely seductive, almost decadent charm.
Her weary eyes, staring right at me, made me feel an odd sense of kinship.
“Do you know who I am?”
“The headmistress has spoken a lot about you, Ain. It’s been quite some time since she granted a special admission.”
“…Haha.”
“Did you need to see her?”
“Oh, yes.”
“Hmm… Unfortunately, she’s currently unreachable, so meeting her might be difficult. Would you like me to pass along a message?”
“It’s something I need to tell her in person.”
I clicked my tongue in disappointment.
I had hoped that asking the headmistress would give me at least a clue about the whereabouts of the Sage of Stars.
But it seemed the role of a headmistress was even busier than I had expected.
Does this mean I’ll have to track her down myself?
As I debated my next course of action, she spoke to me again.
“I’ll let her know as soon as I’m able to reach her. If it’s her, she’ll most likely come find you directly.”
“I’d really appreciate that. Sorry for bothering you when you’re busy.”
“Fufu, a short break like this is fine. More importantly—”
She pointed her pen at me and asked,
“Ain, you’re carrying something interesting. That book.”
“…..…?”
“A demon, perhaps? It seems to be sealed, but… quite a high-ranking one.”
.
.
.
…What?
At her words, I felt my blood turn cold.
How did she figure it out?
Had it awakened just now?
If that was the case, the timing couldn’t have been worse.
Of all people, why did she have to find out?
Since ancient times, witches and demons had always been hostile toward each other.
After all, most of the discrimination witches faced stemmed from prejudices created by demons.
Of course, thanks to the headmistress, she was in a much better position than most. But even so, there was no way she could have any fond feelings toward demons as a race.
“Don’t be too on guard. The headmistress must have been aware of this when admitting you, Ain, so it’s not my place to impose any further restrictions.”
Fortunately, she truly seemed to have no intention of interfering. She shifted her gaze back to her paperwork and continued speaking.
“I was just curious, that’s all. A high-ranking demon sealed inside a holy relic isn’t exactly common, is it?”
“…It would be difficult for me to answer that.”
“I figured as much. Sorry for asking something unnecessary.”
“It’s fine.”
…As expected of a witch.
Like the dragon headmistress, witches were incredibly curious people in many ways.
“Still, be careful. You know better than anyone what the existence of demons means to ordinary people, don’t you?”
Of course I did.
The Holy See was already hell-bent on killing me because of this.
“…I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Take care on your way back~”
I gave her a polite nod before stepping out of the room.
…Why did everyone I met seem to drain all my energy?
***
Thud!
The moment I arrived, I threw myself onto the bed.
Since I hadn’t been able to meet the headmistress, I ended up returning to the dormitory earlier than planned.
And then—
Thump!
A familiar, piercing pain shot through me, as if I had been stabbed with a blade. Something had changed.
I reached into my coat and pulled out the book.
“…Lilith. When did you wake up?”
.
.
.
[Not too long ago.]
A seductive voice seeped into my ears.
No matter how many times I heard it, I could never quite get used to it.
[My dear, how much time has passed this time?]
“Just under two months.”
[…The intervals are getting shorter.]
“It can’t be helped. Lilith is still sealed, while the curse inside me keeps growing stronger.”
[……..]
A wave of exhaustion slowly washed over me.
Like a dam finally bursting, my body, which had gone two months without sleep, was screaming in protest.
If I closed my eyes now, I felt like I would fall asleep instantly.
[If only I had more strength left, I could have suppressed it for longer….]
“Lilith, you’ve already done your best. The real problem is how stubborn this damn curse is.”
[…I’m sorry, my dear. Because of me and my daughter, you ended up shouldering a burden you never should have had to bear.]
“Oh, come on, not this again. I already told you. It’s fine.”
For now, at least, it really was.
Considering I had twisted the fate of someone who was supposed to die no matter what, this was a small price to pay.
Lilith had to survive. She was essential to preventing the death of one of the playable characters.
“…I don’t think I can hold out much longer.”
[Is this place safe?]
“Yeah. This is the academy I told you about before. At the very least, no one will attack me while I’m asleep.”
[That’s a relief, at least.]
“Haahm…”
A yawn escaped me.
Drowsiness hit me like a tidal wave.
I was truly on the verge of losing consciousness.
[…I’ll do my best to keep the nightmares at bay.]
“Yeah… I’ll leave that… to… you…”
[………]
Suuuu….suuuu
The boy had fallen asleep in an instant.
Watching over the ever-fragile boy, Lilith was always worried for his well-being.
[…My dear, please… don’t let the curse win.]
Because there was nothing she could do.
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