The Misfit of Demon King Academy: Volume 5, page 6
Surrender your daughter! I’ll bring her happiness at the cost of my life!
No, no, no, no, no, no!
“Amazing. Your style is so flexible, yet immovable at its core.”
“That just means you’re a hundred years too early.”
“I will overcome those hundred years by exchanging blows with you!”
Lay used Evansmana to absorb the Pillage Blade’s momentum as though he were absorbing Shin’s techniques. Shin’s body wavered slightly as his own power was used against him.
What part of me isn’t good enough? I’ll fix all my flaws!
The sword he swung so desperately in order to have his relationship acknowledged was truly the blade of a hero. No regular person could display such resolution. It was his earnesty that had allowed him to use his full strength right from the start. It wasn’t easy to make up one’s mind to such an extent. This was a marriage proposal only possible because he was Hero Kanon.
What utter nonsense. With this level of skill, you’re not ready for marriage. You can’t protect my daughter!
But that swing of resolution was mercilessly struck down without question. That was the Demon King’s right-hand man for you. He dismissed all logic and reason with his blunt refusal, and he had the impregnable sword skills to defend his irrationality.
Surrender your daughter! Please, give me your daughter! Please give her to me, please!
Never, never, never, never, never, never! Not in a hundred years!
Blades crossed as sword clashed with sword, but in contrast to the fierce blows being exchanged, the magic of the two swordsmen was fading with every moment. Each was aiming to perform their sword’s hidden art: a finishing blow to end the match. For Lay, who had seven sources, that was nearly impossible to accomplish. The first to succeed was Shin.
“Pillage Blade, first hidden art...”
Gilionojes bent like a whip, lashing out at Lay as though it were alive.
“Dispossession.”
Return my daughter to me!
Six consecutive slashes struck in an instant. Lay was helpless against the attack and fell heavily to the ground. His life had been taken six times.
“That’s six points. Come back in two hundred years.”
“Lay!” Horrified, Misa ran up to Lay, but a magic circle appeared around his body. It was Ingall.
Lay sat up slowly. Shin’s cold gaze pierced him.
“If you’ve learned your lesson, stop taking Misa out so late. Otherwise, I’ll be taking your sources instead next time.” Shin turned his back and walked away.
“Father... I mean, sir, please wait!”
As Misa started running towards Shin, he staggered and fell to one knee.
“Ah... A-Are you okay?” She peered into her father’s face worriedly.
“Yes,” he said, touching the left side of his chest. It was stained red. “Heaven Splitter...” he muttered.
It was near impossible for Lay, a man of seven sources, to call upon the hidden art of a sword. But just then, there’d been a brief moment when he’d been pushed to his limits. His attack hadn’t been enough to take Shin’s life, but there was no denying it had been too fast for his Eyes to see.
“Now that I think about it, Reno proposed to me right away too.”
After losing himself in his memories for a moment, Shin stood up.
“Misa, I have just one thing to say to you,” he said with his back to her. “I will not allow you to date anyone who cannot defeat me.”
“But that rules out basically everyone. You’re too strong, father.”
Shin walked away without paying her complaint any mind—but paused and added one more warning. “Also, don’t lie about your whereabouts. If you’re going to be home late, contact me through Leaks. I won’t ask why.”
“Huh? What does—”
“Reno will worry.”
Misa turned to Lay, beaming. He returned her smile with a grin. Meanwhile, Shin marched briskly away. Perhaps, just a little, the Sword of Three Races had cut through that stubborn parental love that refused to acknowledge their relationship.
§ 8. Hero of Justice
The second lecture hall.
The Conflagration King had just finished his explanation of a spell formula through the use of dramatic gestures when the bell rang, ending the class before he could select students to practice the spell.
“Hmph. Is it already over? Fine, we’ll stop here for today. Don’t forget to revise the spell we just covered! And make sure you don’t practice casting Ingall on each other. At your level, you may end up dying permanently. Bwa ha ha!”
He left the classroom while still laughing joyously.
“He doesn’t need to say that twice,” Sasha muttered weakly. “Who’d want to do something like that? Come to think of it, why does my head hurt so much? Ingall didn’t fail, did it?”
During training earlier, Sasha had died twice. Of course, she had immediately been revived with Ingall.
“It’s just a minor case of death sickness,” I explained, “a common occurrence when you’re not used to dying. Its potency can depend on your constitution, but you’ll get used to it soon enough.”
“I don’t want to get used to it.” Sasha lay face down on her desk, looking unwell. Misha made her way over to her and patted her head gently. “How come you’re fine, Misha?” Sasha shook her head. “Everyone else is good and lively.”
Misha looked up. Lay, Misa, Eleonore, and Zeshia appeared to be completely unaffected.
“I’m used to dying.” Lay shrugged.
“Oh, I’ve never experienced death before, but I think I’m fine because my lore is the legend of Avos Dilhevia,” Misa said.
Eleonore held up her index finger. “Source magic’s my specialty, so maybe that’s why. I’m also the Demon King’s magic.”
“It was Zeshia’s first time, but I’m fine...”
Sasha glared at them all hatefully. “It’s not fair. Are all heroes this good at dying?” She staggered to her feet. “Say, does anyone wanna go to a café? I wanna drink something cold.”
Misha nodded in agreement.
“Oooh, that sounds great! Let’s go somewhere with alcohol!” Eleonore piped up happily. In her head, she was already deciding what she would order.
“A drink after school...is the best...”
“You’re too young to be drinking alcohol, Zeshia. I’ll order a mocktail for you, okay?”
“Zeshia will wait...” Zeshia looked disappointed.
“Are there any joints that serve alcohol at this hour?” Lay asked Misa.
“I don’t drink, so I’m not sure,” she replied.
Sasha looked at me. “Will you be coming too, Anosh?” she asked, then leaned in to whisper in my ear. “It won’t look strange if you return to being Anos and meet up with us there.”
“Hmm. Unfortunately, I have a prior engagement to attend to.”
“Huh?”
Just as Sasha was looking at me confusedly, a student in the black school uniform came over. It was Ramon.
“Let’s go, Anosh.”
“Sure thing.” I got down from my chair and turned to Sasha and the others. “I received an interesting invitation.”
Sasha shot Ramon a pitying look. She immediately leaned in to whisper to me again. “Inviting you of all people... He has my condolences.”
I responded with a smirk. “I’ll see you all later,” I said. With that, I walked over to Ramon. “So, where are we going?”
“That’s a surprise for when we get there,” Ramon said smugly.
So it was a place he was hesitant to mention in the classroom. If I was lucky, he might just take me to the hideout of the resistance group itself. At the very least, I should be able to meet other remnants of the Royalists.
Just then, the door to the classroom slammed open. The eight girls of the Anos Fan Union rushed inside.
“W-We made it!” Ellen cried when she spotted the students still in the room. She then looked over at the podium and noticed the lack of a teacher there. “Huh? Did we not make it?”
“The teacher isn’t here...”
“B-But it might be break time!”
“Isn’t it the last class of the day? There shouldn’t be another break.”
The fan union girls stood there in confusion. Their duties as the Demon King’s Choir must have run overtime, making them late for class.
“Unfortunately, the last class just finished,” I called out to them.
“Aw, okay. Thanks.” Ellen turned to me and froze. “L-L-Lord Anos?!” she shrieked. “Why have you become so adorab—I mean, so deliciou—I mean, so mouthwatering?!”
“C-Calm down, Ellen! You’re making it worse every time you correct yourself!”
“Aaah! I mean, no, that’s not, uh— Why have you become so small?! And... Huh? Why are you at school?”
Hmm. My source was hidden, yet she’d seen through me in an instant.
“Sorry, but you’ve got the wrong person. I’m the new transfer student, Anosh Polticoal.”
“Anosh Polticoal? But...”
The fan union girls stared at my face. Their expressions seemed to be saying they were confident that I was Anos.
“Anos became small?” Ramon muttered, turning to look at me.
Hmm. It wasn’t a good idea to let him get too suspicious. He might become more wary about taking me to meet the resistance group.
Well, there was no need to fret. After all, I had brilliant followers on my side. I turned to Sasha and gave her a pointed look. Although she looked startled at the sudden demand, she immediately nodded and opened her mouth. “Jeez, don’t be silly, Ellen. Have you started seeing Anos in everything? Do you miss him that much?”
“Huh? Oh...”
“You were talking to a bronze statue as though it were Anos the other day too, weren’t you? I know you worship him, but at least keep it to your own room.”
Ellen snapped back to her senses with a gasp. “Oh no! I did it again!”
The other girls promptly responded.
“Jeez! There goes Ellen’s Lord Anos withdrawal symptoms again!”
“Honestly, she thinks anything’s Lord Anos if it bears even the slightest resemblance.”
“She said the orchestra conductor’s baton was similar to Lord Anos last time.”
“How is that similar?!”
“W-Well Lord Anos hasn’t banned idolatry!” Ellen cried.
“What kind of reasoning is that? Besides, you can worship objects, but you shouldn’t do it to people.”
Ramon narrowed his eyes at the fan union, this time for a completely different reason. “Anosh does look kinda similar to Lord Anos, doesn’t he? Especially the eyes.”
Ellen stared at my face again. “Are you a relative?” she asked.
“I’m a royal. It wouldn’t be odd for me to look similar in some respects.”
“You also talk like Lord Anos.”
“Oh, I was a traveling entertainer for a while. I learned how to imitate the Demon King of Tyranny, and the speech just stuck.”
When she heard that, Ellen perked up. “Then...will you show us an imitation, Anosh?” she asked nervously.
“Very well.” I hopped into the air and landed on the teacher’s podium. “I am Anosh Polticoal, the Demon King of Tyranny,” I declared boldly. “Did you really think that because I’m a child, I’m not the Demon King of Tyranny?”
“Awaaaaaaaaaaaah!” Squealing, Ellen threw herself at me. She pressed her cheek against mine and ruffled my hair. “Lord Anosh! You’re so adorable!”
“N-No fair, Ellen! I want to pet Lord Anosh too! Don’t hog him to yourself!”
“No, get your own. Besides, you’re the one who said not to worship people.” Ellen hugged me close as though to defend me, but there was a shadow sneaking up behind her.
“Got him!” Nono cried, snatching me away and squeezing me tightly. “Lord Anosh, you’re so small... Nono will look after you from now on. Let’s go home together, okay?”
This time, Jessica grabbed me, hugging me by the head. “No fair, no fair! I want Lord Anosh too!”
“My turn next! Everyone line up. We all get seven seconds each. Contact is limited to B-rank areas. Hey! Maia, that spot’s rank A!”
“All right everyone, let’s do this! We’re going to pass Lord Anosh around fairly!”
At that moment, a dangerous glint entered in the girls’ eyes. Their movements afterwards were rapid. The eight fan union girls quickly formed a neat circle and passed me around like a baton. They even made an impromptu and highly nonsensical song to go along with it.
“Form a circle; pass him round!”
“Pass around Lord Anosh!”
“Round and round for lots of fun!”
“Round and round goes Lord Anosh!”
That aside, it was my first time being treated in such a way. I supposed even the Demon King of Tyranny could only be treated like this during times of peace.
“Nice one. After that much disrespect, no one should suspect him, right?” Lay whispered.
Sasha glared at the girls, somewhat offended on my behalf. “It looks to me more like they’re using that as an excuse to fulfill their own desires.”
“Hmm. Are you almost done?”
“Oh! Our apologies, Lord Anosh.”
The fan union girls shrunk back, taking three steps away from me.
“It’s fine. I can be the idol of your Demon King whenever you want.” I left after those words, returning to Ramon. “Sorry for the wait.”
“Nah, it’s okay.” Ramon looked stunned by what had just happened, even if he didn’t comprehend it. “Those girls are always like that, so I’ve stopped trying to make sense of it. Let’s go.”
“Right.”
We left the second lecture hall and exited the Demon King Castle. Ramon walked straight down the streets of Midhaze. He was heading in the direction of the Necron family estate—in the area where the most influential families of Dilhade lived. Perhaps there was a bigger name involved in this than I’d thought.
“Anosh.” Ramon came to a stop at a three-way intersection. “You said you admired the Royalists for being the heroes of justice, right?”
“Yeah.”
“The truth is, I know who the heroes of justice are,” he said quietly, as though he was sharing a secret.
“I’m intrigued. Will you let me meet them?”
“I’d love to introduce you to the people you admire, but those on the side of justice have to be careful. That Demon King has his eyes on them, you see. The second they try to do anything, the Midhaze army will be upon them. Do you get what this means?”
“That trust comes first.”
“You really are clever for a kid, huh? That’s right—we can’t just bring anyone along to meet our comrades, or we’d be risking everyone’s lives.”
Ramon drew a magic circle. It was Zecht.
“If you want to meet them, you have to swear an oath of brotherhood with me. They’ll trust you if I tell them we’ve been in this together for a while.”
Hmm. So he wasn’t foolish enough to take me there without conditions.
“I don’t mind, but can you really trust me when you only met me today?”
“You’re not a bad person. I can tell that much by looking at you.”
Hmm. That was a lie. Ramon was most likely at the bottom rung of this resistance, which was why he was so anxious to make a name for himself. He probably believed he could rise in the ranks of the Royalists if he employed the abilities I’d displayed in class that day. There was no other reason he’d risk bringing someone he had just met to meet his comrades.
“But in the adult world, it isn’t enough to trust with the heart. This Zecht will ensure that you obey whatever order I give you. If you sign it, I’ll let you meet the person I trust the most in the world. How does that sound?” Ramon suggested nervously. He must have really been desperate not to let this opportunity slip past him.
“Fine.” I signed the Zecht without hesitation.
Ramon sighed in relief. “We’re in this together now, brother.”
“So we are.”
Ramon resumed his walk, heading straight through the intersection with a spring in his step. Before long, the Angart family’s estate came into view.
The Angart family was directly descended from the Seven Demon Elders and heavily involved in Midhaze’s politics. Demon Lord Elio trusted them deeply, and they weren’t known for being Royalists. Apparently, that had all been a facade.
“Well? Even a child like you should know where we are, right?”
“The Angart family estate?”
“Heh. That’s right. Let’s go—I’ll take you to the head of the family.”
I followed Ramon into the mansion.
§ 9. Savior of the Royalists
We climbed the stairs to the top floor of the mansion and came upon an obnoxiously extravagant door. Ramon stood in front of it and knocked.
“It’s Ramon Iver!” he called loudly.
“Enter,” a voice replied from within.
“If you’ll excuse me.”
He opened the door and let us into an office. Armored demons equipped with swords stood at attention on either side of the room. At the back was an ornately decorated desk with a man sitting behind it.
The man had pale, bluish skin and a white beard. His frame was tall and spindly, and he had a nervous look on his face but a sharp look in his eyes. I had seen him once before when I’d gathered all the influential people of Midhaze—the magic flowing from his source confirmed that this was indeed the same person.
Zerceus Angart was the head of the Angart family and the second most powerful demon in the city, after its Demon Lord. He attended all the meetings to decide Midhaze policies, and always offered valuable opinions. If anything, the proposals he put forward were rather strict towards the Royalists, but that must have been a cover for his true persuasions.
