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“Just a little more effort, and you’ll get it, Murmur!”

Monica, sitting on Murmur’s feet, smiled brightly as she spoke.

With both hands, she grabbed the inside of Murmur’s legs, pulling and tugging with a strained expression.

“Murmur… doesn’t like this… it’s really hard… can’t… do it…”

Murmur, sweating profusely from her forehead, was in the middle of doing sit-ups.

If hitting the piñata with all her might was a test of strength, then sit-ups were a test of stamina.

“It’s okay! Just push through a little more, and you’ll be able to ride a bike!”

“Murmur… isn’t acting… it’s really hard…”

Murmur’s face turned red as she exhaled heavily.

“Even I can see how hard it is for you.”

“But Murmur’s stamina is incredible!”

“Oh, right. Even when we went on a date in Holimpia, she never once said she wanted to take a break.”

Nicasia, Citrine, and Esme were still under the illusion that Murmur was hiding some incredible strength.

In reality, Murmur genuinely found sit-ups difficult.

After all, it wasn’t a suitable exercise for a tiny demon with massive crimson horns.

“Tsk…”

Marea von Manstein watched the scene with a dissatisfied expression.

She was observing Murmur and Monica through the glass window from outside the room, where various equipment for the stamina test was prepared.

‘Saintess Monica is performing much better than I expected in the test…’

Professor Marea sighed and scratched the back of her head.

Monica’s impressive performance was truly unexpected.

And it was purely a good thing.

The fact that the Saintess, who had lived in the tower for so long, wasn’t a weak jelly blob but a lively troublemaker meant there would be less paperwork to do while sitting on hard chairs.

“It seems the desired results aren’t coming, Professor Marea~”

As soon as Marea heard the voice of the Cosmos Academy Headmaster behind her, she stood up from her seat.

“If there’s a desired result for the students, it’s only that they have the stamina to live a healthy academy life.”

“That doesn’t seem to be the result you’re hoping for.”

The Headmaster smirked and looked through the glass window at Murmur.

The little demon, drenched in sweat, was getting on a bike with Monica’s help.

“Professor Marea, it seems like you’re hoping to see Murmur roll around like a bouncy ball…”

“…It would be a good thing if there was another healthy student like Princess Nicasia at the academy.”

“If she’s the Demon King, she should have strength that wouldn’t be embarrassing even compared to royalty, right?”

The Headmaster smiled.

“Murmur broke the piñata.”

“The piñata that Professor Marea so desperately wanted to see broken at just the right moment, right?”

After exchanging words, Professor Marea let out a long sigh.

“The important thing is that Murmur eventually broke the piñata.”

“Even the respected Princess Nicasia could have broken the piñata…”

“Murmur shouldn’t be able to do what Princess Nicasia can do.”

“Both are just cute students attending Cosmos Academy.”

The Headmaster shrugged her shoulders like a snake slithering over a wall.

“She could break the piñata anytime. And that piñata wasn’t in a normal state.”

“…Headmaster, you did read the documents I submitted, right?”

“Of course, I did. It said that Murmur accurately pierced through Professor Marea’s swordsmanship.”

Through the glass window, Murmur was pedaling the bike with all her might.

Her skills were so poor that it was hard to believe she had been attending school until now.

“Then you understand how dangerous this is.”

“If you say Murmur is dangerous because she pierced through swordsmanship in one go, then no demon should be allowed to attend this academy.”

“Headmaster, you know this isn’t the kind of story that ends with such a metaphor, right?”

The Headmaster still wore her usual slippery, butter-like expression.

“Murmur is a child brought by Siren.”

“A demon of unknown origin brought by a failed hero.”

Professor Marea’s voice was unusually intense.

Even a five-year-old could tell she was angry.

“…I vouch for Murmur’s identity.”

“I used to say the same thing.”

The Headmaster quietly looked out the window at Murmur without turning to Marea.

Murmur, having finished the grueling bike ride, was sprawled on the ground, panting heavily.

The result was undoubtedly a failing grade.

“Back then, I thought it would be fine because I loved her.”

“… …”

“Do you want to hear from my mouth how that turned out, Headmaster?”

The Headmaster sighed.

“My judgment failed, and I lost my right hand while my sisters, who had shed blood and sweat with me, were all killed.”

“… … I know better than anyone what you went through back then.”

“You know what it means for a demon to pierce through the swordsmanship of the Dawnlight Knights in one go, right?”

At the sharp remark, the Headmaster’s expression changed.

It wasn’t the face of a woman who was always relaxed and carefree, who would smirk even when nobles screamed like children.

“The only demon who could pierce, understand, and transform the essence of that swordsmanship is you, Professor Marea von Manstein, the one-armed woman who killed her.”

“Extracting knowledge from a corpse is something humans can do, so demons can do it too. Eyes can also be obtained.”

“You’re saying something as absurd as that happened to Murmur.”

For a moment, the two women stared at each other without saying a word.

“Professor Aiaie said that Murmur can use magic that was never taught in the elementary section.”

“Demons are born with exceptional magical abilities, and the library is filled with enough magical books to build a mountain.”

“What if she didn’t read it in the library?”

The Headmaster looked down at Professor Marea with eyes hidden behind her shimmering silver hair.

“What if our judgment is fundamentally wrong?”

“… …”

“What if, like the changeling I promised to spend my life with, Murmur is deceiving us?”

Professor Marea’s doubts and suspicions were valid, so the Headmaster didn’t speak carelessly.

“What if Murmur has the ‘Eye of Argos’? What if she planned to learn the swordsmanship and magic of the hero in advance?”

“…Then we would be raising a Demon King who would slit our throats and stomachs.”

“If that happens, even if I can’t use the name of Dawnlight, I must stop that child.”

Marea frowned as she watched Murmur get up and start jumping rope.

Her inability to do even three jumps made it seem like she was faking it.

“But Professor Marea.”

The Headmaster, her expression quickly turning sly again, moved her hand.

Her hand naturally patted Professor Marea’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry, she can’t possibly have the Eye of Argos.”

“Can you be sure? That’s impossible.”

“I can guarantee it.”

In truth, even the Headmaster wasn’t entirely confident in her words.

Her heart was also complicated.

She, too, didn’t know Murmur’s true identity.

But as the Headmaster, she had a role to play.

“If she had such an eye, she wouldn’t have needed to save Princess Nicasia.”

“…Are you talking about what happened at Piglet House?”

“Exactly. If she truly had the Eye of Argos, there would only be one purpose, right? To endlessly learn and steal…”

The Headmaster watched with amusement as Murmur threw the jump rope to the ground.

“If she had the eye, she wouldn’t have thrown her life away to save the respected Princess and the academy.”

“…You’re being too optimistic, Headmaster. She acted strategically because the academy needs to remain intact for her to continue learning.”

The Headmaster watched Monica jump rope for a moment, then stopped patting Marea’s shoulder and lightly tapped her on the backside.

“Professor Marea. Do you still remember what that woman said at the end?”

“Headmaster…”

“Think back to her last words. And think about what Murmur has done.”

Marea bit her lip roughly.

‘It just… seemed fun, seeing you cry…‘

Recalling the horrifying, incomprehensible laughter and the words that followed, Marea let out a long sigh.

“It’s simple, right? And look at that. Could a student with the Eye of Argos not even do ten jumps?”

* * *

“With this level of stamina, even elementary school kids just starting out would do better.”

Professor Marea spoke in a voice full of dissatisfaction, but reality didn’t change.

Even without Nicasia, Citrine, and Esme stepping in, my, Murmur’s, stamina was terrible.

Breaking the piñata wasn’t about strength, so it didn’t count.

“Anyway… let’s continue with the stamina test. Do your best until the end.”

“Yay~! I’m doing my best! Murmur too!”

Professor Marea pointed directly at me, Murmur, but it was just unfair.

“Anyway… I’ll explain the test you’ll be doing next.”

Despite being extremely uncomfortable with the situation, Professor Marea proceeded with the test decisively.

I hope she keeps it up until the end…

Since we haven’t really met before, there’s nothing to worry about, right?

“This test starts the moment I blow the whistle.”

Professor Marea walked to the center of the classroom as she spoke.

She stood on a large gray circle.

“You’ll stand here, and when the test starts, you’ll step on the starlight that appears on the floor and return here.”

“Do we have to come back?”

“Yes. This is a test to see how agile you are. You must step on the starlight and return.”

Monica nodded and pointed to the floor with her finger.

“The stars there are different colors, right?”

“Blue stars are 1 point, green stars are 2 points… red stars are 5 points, and so on. Remember that.”

“Ah! I see! It’s not just about stepping on all the starlight you see, but also making quick judgments!”

At least this time, it’s a relatively easy test.

If it had been a disappearing platform test, I would have honestly stepped on the first platform and fallen.

“Take it seriously and do your best.”

Professor Marea stepped back as she spoke.

“Murmur! This time, you can get a perfect zero!”

“Murmur will never get more than 10 points, so don’t worry.”

From the start, my, Murmur’s, agility isn’t enough to dream of green or red stars.

And even with blue stars, the time it takes to step on them and return means I can’t earn many points.

“This time, let’s perfectly erase Professor Marea’s suspicions!”

“Oh~hohoho! You were perfect with the bike and jump rope earlier!”

“Starlight Step is pretty hard for me too, so it should be fine! Pretend to aim for the red star even if you can’t!”

So! I, Murmur, can’t step on the red star from the start, right?!

“I’m so excited!!”

Unlike someone who’s suffering, Monica’s eyes sparkled like a child’s.

“Murmur… is excited too. Wow, this is gonna be fun…”

At least this test should be fine.

In a way, it’s just a fun game with Monica.

I felt a little relieved.

 

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