The bathhouse was enormous. Even with four or five more people, there would still be plenty of space.
Thoughtful Eveena had already filled the bath with hot water in advance, and at the bottom of the pool, runes kept the temperature warm.
El let his mind go blank, his whole body soaking in the hot water, quietly watching the white mist rise from the surface.
“At least I ended up in this world. The food’s delicious, there are even showerheads for bathing. Apart from the lack of the internet, it honestly feels better than real life.”
Such a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
Cielsa Reinhardt, the emperor’s eldest daughter, bestowed with the title of “Iris Princess.”
As a child, she hadn’t been favored by the emperor and was sent to be raised in the family of the empress’s mother, in Count Rosent’s domain.
Cielsa and El had been very close in their childhood, practically childhood sweethearts. Having lost his father, El was often bullied by his peers, but the three-years-older Cielsa always stood up to protect him.
He had always looked up to Cielsa as a respectable older sister, even though their contact grew less and less as they got older.
Back then, Cielsa loved to say strange things, like that line just now. She always believed she’d come from another world and often filled El’s head with odd knowledge.
Little El, not knowing any better, just thought Sister Cielsa was amazing—stars practically sparkling in his eyes. Thinking back now, El couldn’t help but feel so damn embarrassed.
It was like if your classmate told you they were an alien, and the worst part was you actually believed them.
He’d take you on a tour of his alien base and train you to become an outstanding alien warrior, and you’d stand by, all excited, “I promise to complete the mission!”
Looking back, it was still a happy memory.
Instinct told El this scenario might very well be connected to Cielsa. So, after finishing his bath, he lay down on the soft bed, took out his communication stone, and called Her Highness the Princess.
“Hello? Is that little El? What made you think of calling me today, hmm?”
On the other end came Cielsa’s lazy voice.
“We’ll talk about the details when we meet. Yes, it’s important. You pick the place? Eh, wait a second…”
The call was hung up.
“She’s so troublesome.” El complained weakly, “Well, it’s come to this—might as well get some sleep.”
His eyelids closed, and not long after, El’s consciousness plunged into the depths. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself surrounded by a horde of grotesque monsters.
There was no wind, only the air thick with sulfur and rot. The ground was lifeless black, and the glow of burning flames kept this land from utter solitude.
This, no doubt, was the legendary Abyss, where demons dwelled. He was probably among the very few humans to witness such a sight—when he woke up, he could even publish a thesis about it.
El forced a bitter smile at the thought.
This wasn’t El’s first time here. That’s exactly why he was sure a real, living demon existed within his own body. From his judgment, this place should be the demon’s innermost consciousness.
His body was talking to the monsters around him, but El couldn’t understand the demon’s language. However, based on the syllables they used, he decided to name the demon in his body—Anger.
Before long, battle broke out on both sides. Each demon on the opposing side was terrifyingly strong, perfectly matching the stereotypical image of demons: powerful and wicked.
But Anger’s strength was exaggerated to the point that he seemed to be on an entirely different plane. Cataclysmic attacks rained down like they cost nothing, turning the battle into a one-sided massacre.
Even a casual punch from Anger would leave a crater of darkness in the ground.
In Anger’s memories, there seemed to be nothing but endless slaughter—battle made up the greatest part of his life. Then again, maybe El had simply seen too few memories.
As for why he’d never noticed another tenant in his body before, El guessed it was because of Meme Contamination.
Before getting that script, El had never learned anything about demons. To him, demons were nothing more than the monsters adults mentioned to scare kids into sleeping.
It was only after realizing he might become a demon himself that his soul grew hypersensitive—only then did he discover the “Anger” inside his body.
All night, El remained trapped in the Abyss where the demon resided.
***
The next morning, El’s exhausted state gave Karen quite a fright.
“…I wanted to believe you, but looking at you now, it’s hard not to doubt.”
With a sigh, Karen took out a white cloth bundle.
“She told me to give this to you. I don’t know what it is either.”
Although Karen didn’t say who, El wasn’t that slow. He opened the bundle.
It was a sky-blue potion. El recognized it immediately—a Revitalization Potion, mainly used to refresh the mind, but on a higher level, it affected the soul.
In the past, when he’d study Magic Theory late into the night in his office, Aurelia would make one of these for him to feel better.
He took out the other item from the bundle: a blank sheet of paper bearing the Godefel family crest.
“El, just what did you do to make her pour her heart out for you like this?”
Karen felt as if he’d swallowed ten pounds of lemons—his face twisted in sourness.
The crest meant that whatever would be written on this document would be granted permission by the Godefel family.
The blank page meant that El could decide the content. Whatever he wrote, he could bring the paper to the Godefel Chamber of Commerce, and it would come true.
This was the Duke Family’s promise: as long as you weren’t insatiably greedy, you could treat this paper as a wishing machine.
If El harbored ill intentions toward the Godefel family, this sheet could cause them unimaginable loss.
It made Aurelia’s attitude clear—no matter what difficulties El faced, she would do her best to solve them for him.
El opened his mouth, but couldn’t utter a word. He could choose not to use this power, but he couldn’t trample on another’s sincerity.
The bell of the tower rang—the morning class was about to begin.
El’s grasp of Magic Theory was extremely high, even higher than some of the Academy’s professors.
The morning’s “Arcane Magic Introduction” was clearly a breeze, yet he suddenly felt an urge to study magic seriously in class.
Aurelia’s potion worked wonders, making El feel like everything was just as it used to be.
He didn’t need to be on edge because of that damned script—he was just an ordinary magic genius, thriving at the Academy.
After morning classes, he headed to the East Gate, as he’d agreed last night.
A noble lady with blonde hair and a white sunhat stood by the flowerbeds. Although the hat hid most of her face, her beauty outshone the flowers around her.
A number of young noblemen were gathered, eagerly vying for her attention.
With a dark look, El walked up to the lady, grabbed her hand, and pulled her out of the crowd. To the surrounding young men, he declared, “Sorry, but she already has a date with me.”