—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“…Alright. Let’s go out. Lev Denec.”
Dinner ended with Aria’s shocking declaration.
“Lev…”
Yeriel’s gaze weighed on me, but she forced a smile, as if to say she was fine.
‘I’ve become even more of a scumbag today…’
I sat on my bed and ran my hand through my hair. There were so many misunderstandings to resolve with the heroines, but at the same time, Chapter 5 was approaching. Too much to think about.
As I had just confirmed with my familiar, Yellody, the Great Demons had already started to move.
‘Haa…’
In the corner of my room was a pile of mail that had arrived while I was away. Mostly settlement statements and gold from the adventurer’s guild, dozens of skill books that seemed to be rewards… and… a letter from the Denec family.
‘I should take care of the most important thing first.’
I stood up and headed towards the room of… my new girlfriend, Aria Bluebell.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Knock, knock.
After a single knock, Aria’s door opened.
“Mr. Rev?”
Her inscrutable expression made it seem like the events of dinner had all been a dream.
“I have something to say. Can I come in for a moment?”
“…Yes.”
Aria stepped aside, inviting me in. As I entered, the comforting scent of lavender, as if she had just showered, greeted me.
As I closed the door…
Hug.
“?!”
Aria wrapped her arms around my waist.
“Aria?”
“You’re really back, aren’t you…? It’s really you, right?”
“Yes.”
“I still can’t believe it. I’m so happy you’re back…”
“Happy, huh…”
It was always nice to have someone waiting for me, but it was also a little bittersweet.
“Your scent always… calms me.”
Aria nuzzled her face against my chest. Then, as if she remembered something, she looked up at me.
“Ah, about what happened earlier… don’t worry about it. Everyone’s emotions were a little high, so it couldn’t be helped. When things calm down, I’ll say it was a joke…”
“Th-That, Aria.”
“Yes?”
“I’m late, but there’s something I need to apologize to you for.”
“Apologize?”
“Yes. I said something I shouldn’t have to you.”
“What was it?”
“That… I said let’s go to your room… didn’t I?”
“Ah…”
-…Should we go to your room?
It was a scummy thing to say, not something a playboy would say to the considerate Aria. Even if I had said it to avoid showing her Yeriel’s Fallen Angel state… it was just an excuse.
I knew her heart better than anyone, yet I had asked her as if I were toying with her.
“I’m sorry, for talking like someone you hate.”
“It’s alright. I know you’re not that kind of person.”
“And, I also want to apologize for carelessly saying I’d help you with your revenge.”
“Mr. Lev?”
“I’m sorry for acting on my own. For suddenly disappearing… I’m sorry.”
Aria buried her face in my chest without a word.
“…Stroke my head.”
She acted childishly, which was unlike her. I smiled, trying to control the corners of my mouth, and stroked her head.
“Shamelessly, will you forgive me?”
“I’ll forgive you.”
“R-Really?”
“But in return.”
“In return?”
“Don’t leave me alone again… please.”
Aria Bluebell. It was a simple and poignant request, just like her. Her lost gaze was so pitiful that I quickly answered,
“Okay.”
“Then, promise me.”
“I promise.”
As I hooked my pinky finger with hers and pressed our thumbs together…
“If you don’t keep it, will horns grow on your butt…?”
“That’s, if you smile while crying…”
Aria smiled for a moment, then…
Slide…
“?!”
…with our pinkies still linked, she led me to the bed.
“We’re a couple, so you can put me to sleep, right?”
“Huh?”
Flop!
We ended up lying on the bed, facing each other. Aria smiled sweetly, and it felt like we were the only two people in the world. And her cute lips moved.
“Let’s just stay like this for a moment…”
“…Okay.”
Aria soon found her peace and closed her eyes.
“I don’t want to have nightmares today…”
“It’s okay. You won’t.”
She probably hadn’t slept properly while I was gone.
“You can’t disappear…”
“I won’t.”
Sniffle, sniffle…
I watched her for a while as she fell asleep, her beauty otherworldly, and stroked her hair.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The next day. Clarice Main Street Cafeteria.
I decided to meet Yellody to hear about the new Great Demons.
‘Hmm.’
As I watched the couples showing affection while walking around campus, I was lost in thought.
‘Now, if I tell Yeriel that I’ve made up with Aria…’
What would happen? Would Yeriel finally give me an answer to my confession? But I was already supposed to be dating Aria.
‘Then Yeriel would probably reject my confession…’
The concept of a love triangle… was morally reprehensible, both in South Korea and in this world of .
But… Yeriel and Aria. If I had to choose one, I couldn’t.
‘I’m definitely a scumbag.’
Despite the wise proverb, ‘If you chase two rabbits, you will lose them both.’
‘Come to think of it, Lily and Selena too…’
I’ve made too many mistakes.
As I was marveling at my own mess, Yellody appeared in my line of sight.
“Helloo. Junior’s here.”
“Ah, you’re here.”
I ordered Yellody her favorite chocolate drink and started the conversation.
“Those people you saw yesterday, they were Great Demons, right?”
“Slurp… That’s right~.”
Yellody, cheered up by the sweets, told me everything she had seen. The most shocking and interesting fact was that the dean of Clarice was the Great Demon Belial.
‘So there was someone behind the scenes.’
This wasn’t even mentioned in the original story. Until now, I had thought that the Chapter 5 Clarice raid was simply a collaboration between Yellody, Bune, and another Great Demon.
“And, the other one was an illusion of Paimon.”
“Paimon?”
“Slurp~Yes. Paimon is one of the stronger Great Demons. He commands the most legions.”
It made sense that a Great Demon with a large army would be the one to occupy the academy.
“Junior… this Great Demon is on a different level from the ones you’ve faced so far.”
Yellody even sounded worried. It was true, we were in the late game…
“If you’re careless, you’ll just increase the number of casualties.”
“That’s fine. What’s their plan?”
“Hmm? Simple. Belial, disguised as the old dean, will tour all the magic towers in the academy.”
“A tour? That’s it?”
“On the surface. Belial’s goal is to close all the dimensional gates without arousing suspicion.”
“Close the dimensional gates…?”
Yellody tapped her empty glass with her finger, as if disappointed that she had already finished.
“He’ll slowly tour the magic towers and cast a delayed magic on the dimensional gates, then close them all at once to isolate Clarice from the outside…”
Delayed magic. As the name suggested, it was a magic that activated later. The reason they were targeting Clarice was simple, as mentioned in .
There was the matter of avenging the now-dead Bune, but more importantly, Clarice had the highest concentration of magic towers in the empire. If the demons got their hands on it, they could easily utilize a vast amount of magical power. That’s why they weren’t just going to destroy the magic towers to seal the dimensional gates.
“Ultimately… it’s the central magic tower.”
“The sanctuary?”
“Yes. He plans to corrupt it.”
In other words, a Sanctuary of Corruption.
It could summon powerful monsters like the Lord of Pleasure and Cerberus, and it granted a field buff equivalent to, or even greater than, a demonic territory. In short, they planned to completely turn Clarice into a demonic territory.
“That’s incredible.”
“And, I’ll say it again, this is only possible because it’s Belial.”
“Right. Who would think that the dean of this school is a demon?”
“That’s also part of it… and he has this thing called humanization.”
“You can do that too, can’t you…?”
“It’s not just about changing my appearance like me… It’s the same as me in that it can’t be detected by any surveillance magic. But Belial isn’t affected by the sanctuary in that state?”
“!”
Perhaps it was similar to me, who was only properly judged as a demon when I was in my demonized state. Anyway, because of the ability ‘a demon who is not weakened even in a sanctuary,’ it seemed he could cast multiple delayed magic spells.
“I want to copy that…”
“Hmm?”
“Ah, nothing.”
Yellody sucked on her empty glass with a straw and said to me,
“But junior, you’re not thinking of trying to snipe him from a distance again, are you?”
“…Busted.”
She had read my one-trick pony.
“Don’t even think about it. Belial is stronger than Marchosias, and he can sense killing intent within a 500-meter radius.”
Yellody shook her head and continued, “And, unless he’s on the verge of death… his humanization won’t be undone… You’ll just become the worst student in the empire for trying to assassinate the dean.”
“Interesting.”
“Huh?”
The worst student in the empire. It had a light novel-like feel to it, which made me chuckle.
“That means I just have to kill him in one shot.”
“……”
Yellody was now looking at me with a bewildered expression.
“I knew you weren’t a normal person, junior, but…”
“It’s even stranger to hear that from you, senior…”
“I don’t know~. Junior, get me another one. The same thing.”
“Just a moment. I need to think about something.”
I took the empty glass from her and thought about a few things.
‘Belial, Paimon…’
The Great Demons just below the Demon Kings, Lucifer and Baal… No matter how many bugs there were in the closed beta of Reincarnation, I don’t think I ever one-shot a Great Demon at full health.
Even Marchosias, I had to weaken him with countless holy crossbow bolts. If I let this guy do as he pleased, Paimon’s legions would join in, and things would get out of hand. It would be even harder to deal with them then.
‘Should I just ask the Saint to handle it, like in the original story?’
That was also difficult. Psyche had lost half her power, and because of the recent assassination attempt, the Imperial Family wouldn’t let her go. Therefore, as always, there was only one answer.
“I guess I have to kill him myself…”
“Junior, I don’t want the person who buys me chocolate to go to jail…”
Yellody said that Belial’s killing intent detection range was 500M. And I was probably the only one who could attack from that distance.
All that was left was to find a way to kill him in one shot, without using Weakened State or Shadow Kill.
‘A way to pump up my damage…’
Suddenly, I remembered the entrance exam I had taken when I first possessed this body. I had been looking for a way to make up for my low damage then too.
In the end, I had defeated the Abomination by taking advantage of the fact that the Weakness Exploit perk and the Critical Strike perk stacked.
‘…This is it.’
I didn’t know if it existed, but I had to find it. A ridiculously overpowered perk that would break the balance of the game and make me even stronger. I stood up and packed my things.
“Junior?”
“I’ve ordered it for you, so you can eat and go.”
“Alright. Just in case…”
“Yes, yes.”
And avoiding Yellody’s gaze, as if to say, ‘don’t do anything reckless,’ I ran straight to my room in the Black House.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
