Chapter 229
229. The Last of the Festival (3)
The woman seated in the office of the Magic Department of the Unique Hall flipped through various documents.
Talena Kristen. It had been over a decade since she took on the role of department head, and she had encountered numerous students along the way.
Some, despite being commoners, dreamed of becoming great magicians, while others aimed for high grades to support their future families, and there were even those so gifted that they just did their own work and wrapped things up carelessly.
There were even noble students who aspired to live decently after graduation.
“Is that child involved again?”
Yet, there existed a student who acted purely on whim with no specific purpose.
Mary Ryudshiel. The top student of the Magic Department.
However, despite that title, she was so unpredictable that she was often referred to as insane.
“Is she really…?”
Talena had conducted a thorough investigation into the group behind the recent incident, the Bloodymir School and the Yellow Magic Tower.
Their chaos in the village was not merely for physical terror.
It was to find some evidence. Evidence that our academy was harboring a Demon King.
‘At first, I thought this was nonsense…’
When the incident ended, Talena had managed to recruit a few members of the Bloodymir School.
Through a brief inquiry, they revealed that the person in question was none other than Mary Ryudshiel.
When Talena wondered what was so special about Mary, they responded that Mary Ryudshiel was the host of Demon King Beelzebub.
If they had that evidence, they claimed, Aligieri would be finished.
She considered torturing them with electric magic, but Elder Enviel appeared midway to mediate the situation.
‘What on earth is that human doing…’
She could never forget the atrocities Enviel had committed in Aligieri.
Yet, to hear that all his past misdeeds were in pursuit of revealing the Emperor’s true nature was beyond absurd.
The factions he once followed were hell-bent on destroying Aligieri, while he claimed he had no such intentions.
However, it seemed that the Emperor truly was the Demon King, and it appeared that Enviel had deliberately played the villain all along.
‘Still, something doesn’t add up.’
As Talena sipped her coffee, she recalled the Nine-Tailed Fox Incident. Enviel’s demeanor during that time was vivid in her memory.
His actions to try and unleash the Evil God using volcanic energy were sincere, and she could see how malevolent he truly was.
He was a man who never changed, no matter what happened during his absence.
It felt far too unnatural. It was as if someone had arbitrarily rewritten the script of reality.
“Anyway, the problem lies with Mary…”
They claimed that Mary was the host of the Demon King.
At this point, it was nothing but nonsense without evidence, but apparently, that evidence existed within the academy.
This was incomprehensible, but there was one person who had once been solely responsible for overseeing Mary.
The former vice-principal Heidern, who had been dismissed and escorted to prison.
Before his dismissal, he had known more about Mary than even Talena herself.
Moreover, considering that he had once been a disciple of Elder Enviel, the situation was rather suspicious.
“Could it be…?”
Once, the being that had brought the empire to the brink of destruction was Demon King Beelzebub.
If such a being was still alive, the citizens would surely scream without prompting.
No matter who the host was, they would insist on immediate elimination.
If evidence surfaced that it was Mary, their political maneuvering would undoubtedly be successful.
Then, Aligieri would have faced the crisis of being shut down.
“I knew from the start that she was a troublesome kid…”
If she had been just a simple problem child, it would have been one thing. But she was far more serious than that.
She often caught and ate bugs.
If anyone referred to her as small, she would throw a tantrum with magic.
Her sudden outbursts could shatter the atmosphere.
At this rate, she was practically a disruptive species in the ecosystem.
Even a Master Magician like Talena and the principal were struggling to control her.
She missed the days when Heidern was in charge. At least things were more manageable back then.
“Head, Head of Department!”
At that moment, a student council officer rushed in breathlessly.
Entering without knocking and bustling about broke the rules of the Unique Hall, which made Talena frown.
“It’s a big deal!”
“What’s wrong?”
Talena coolly sipped her coffee as she asked.
Although etiquette had been violated, she decided to hear the story first.
“I-I admitted it!”
What exactly did they admit?
Thinking it was nothing significant, her irritation began to rise…
“Mary admitted that she’s small!”
“Puhuhuhuhup!!!”
She immediately gasped and spewed out the coffee she had been sipping.
*
That evening, a shocking exclusive swept through Aligieri Academy.
Students approached no one, as if participating in a disaster evacuation drill.
It felt as if a bomb had dropped into the academy, and they were too afraid to touch it.
“Am I not dreaming right now?”
Mary was sitting very quietly and sipping tea, looking exceptionally composed in Lyman’s eyes.
Her behavior, devoid of any silliness, made Lyman doubt his own eyes.
“Mary… what’s up with you today? This isn’t like you.”
“Huh? Me?”
“You usually would’ve been catching bugs and stuff, right?”
When Jenny asked with concern, Mary smiled like an angel and replied.
“When did I ever eat those? You’re still joking.”
“Yikes!”
In that moment, Jenny thought she was seeing a ghost.
Not only was Mary sitting still, but the idea of her not eating bugs was unimaginable.
On top of that, she was dressed neatly and fashionably.
It was an elegant school uniform that Mary would absolutely never wear.
Most importantly…
“Eating that wouldn’t make me grow taller anyway.”
“Puhuhup!”
“Ahem!”
Jenny and Lyman both broke into laughter at her nonsensical statement.
Then they turned to me and whispered.
“Radon! Something weird is definitely going on, right?”
“It’s not just weird; it’s like the sun’s rising in the west. It’s like the moon is out during the day!”
I couldn’t help but share their sentiments.
Could it be that this incident had somehow scrambled her brain?
It was utterly unthinkable for her to admit to being short.
Just looking at her game profile stated that she was over 180cm tall.
So, it was time to put this to the test.
“Hey, Butler!”
“Yes!”
Baimon, who responded to my call, hurried over.
His appearance was akin to that of my loyal servant, leaving Jenny and Lyman in a daze.
“Control a few golems for me.”
“As you command!”
Without questioning or hesitating, Baimon executed the order simply because I was Amy’s older brother.
When he clapped twice, two Artificial Golems walked over on their own.
I whispered something into Baimon’s ear, and upon hearing it, he snapped his fingers.
-Biip…, Bip bip.
The golems paused and stood in front of Mary.
Baimon, an excellent alchemist, was capable of controlling the will of the golems.
-Target: Mary Ryudshiel. Securing algorithm.
Indeed. What I requested was simply….
-Despite being ridiculously small, acting all haughty!
-Not a good match at all. It’s like a dirty slime female lurking in a bar.
That immense provocation from the Mosria incident.
“Gah!”
“Ahem!”
Jenny and Lyman widened their eyes and tensed up with alarm.
It felt as if they were witnessing a catastrophic error during a nuclear missile disarmament.
However, Mary seemed completely unfazed.
Under normal circumstances, she would have been screaming and blasting magic everywhere at the mere sound.
-You’re doomed to be forever short. Analysis concluded that this is your innate trait.
-There’s no fixing it with magic. So give up. Your brain’s like a bug’s toenail.
These profound insults were something even the most childlike version of Mary would have rampaged at just hearing.
Yet…
“Hasn’t it always been this way? Why should it be surprising now?”
-Biip?
-Biip?
The two golems tilted their heads in confusion. This wasn’t in their analysis results.
I mirrored the same reaction.
Could it be that she had been switched out with someone who wasn’t the real Mary?
But it was evident she was indeed Mary at first glance.
—————————
<Mary Ryudshiel>
Race: Human
Class: Demon King
Magic Class: 7th Circle
Mana: 260/260
Disposition: Optimistic/Unknown
Feelings Towards User: Friendly (Maximized)
[Additional Notes]
-Demon King’s Mind (Control)
-Shaikar’s Blessing Applied
—————————
Indeed, my ‘Mana Eye’ could not be deceived.
However, I had no way of knowing how she had transformed like this.
It would have been easier if Saint Nebia was around to read Mary’s true thoughts.
Unfortunately, she was out with Angela at the Imperial capital, and Lyman, who could control Mary, had gone with them.
‘That protagonist, he slacks off only at critical times.’
Honestly, this time was unavoidable. And it was hard to call it neglect.
Considering that his main goal was to protect Mirona, it wasn’t odd to view it as such.
Currently, Makia was captured, making it impossible for the God of Destruction’s resurrection plot.
It seemed like I could enjoy a stable school life until graduation…
‘But it’s not over until it’s over.’
As soon as all the materials, including the Archive, were ready, I’d have to completely eliminate Makia’s reincarnation perks.
Until then, it could never be said to be concluded.
He had opened the gates of the demon realm 300 years ago, making him a vessel for the God of Destruction.
Of course, there was still a lot of time until then.
“Guys, there’s no need to be scared. I’ve always been like this.”
Now, Mary speaking such nonsense was just another source of anxiety.
I could hardly believe that she had completely forgotten about her former chaotic self, at least for a moment.
It was akin to the moment in the movie Alien when the protagonist was about to be eaten by the alien, only for it to suddenly polymorph into a cute cat and snuggle beside them.
Mary was the alien.
No one could argue against that.
Even if she looked calm now, I didn’t consider her sane.
“And friend, there’s something I want to tell you.”
Mary set down her teacup and looked at me with a deep expression, which felt somewhat strange.
‘What is she trying to do right now?’
“Why are you asking me? You’re perceptive enough.”
‘If I could read her intentions with that perception, I wouldn’t be asking!’
“Sorry for that. I’m in the same boat.”
Mana, intuition, crisis detection. No matter how many skills I deployed, Mary’s true feelings remained unreadable.
Her unpredictability made her a walking natural disaster.
Hence, even the department heads struggled to manage her.
“Friend, you see…”
What on earth would come out of Mary’s mouth? There were quite a few ears listening in around us.
Jenny, Lyman, and even Baimon and other students were enjoying tea time in the café.
For a normal person… such an embarrassing statement wouldn’t escape their lips in a public setting.
And yet…
“Let’s go out!”
In that instant, all sound faded.
The chatter of the students vanished in an instant.
The only sound was that of the wind.
“Let’s get married later too.”
Jenny and Lyman’s faces twisted into expressions of shock.
Baimon and the golems tilted their heads in confusion.
Mary, who had made the bombshell statement, laughed away, completely unaware of the atmosphere around her.
To her, the concept of ‘business and pleasure’ was merely an unknown term.
“How many kids shall I give birth to?”
My reaction to that statement goes without saying.
Literally frozen in shock, I was a corpse indistinguishable between living or dead.
What kind of creature was she?
Who on earth had trained her like this?
At that moment, I felt like delivering a ‘Counter Strike’ skill with a swift rhythm of a waltz.
Meanwhile, Talena, who watched from afar, had her expression stiffen.
What creature was this Radon Crawler that had managed to charm the monster that was Mary?
Or what secret did he possess?
My curiosity was driving me insane.
“Puhuhuh, this tastes amazing.”
And atop the academy’s main building, Spirit King Shaikar was enjoying cookies he had procured from a shop.
He savored each bite, delighting in the unfolding situations.
