Everyone was dumbfounded by the sudden appearance of the mysterious figure.
Despite the students and the professor gathering their shocked gazes, the Demon King, who had broken through the window, casually dusted off their body as if nothing had happened.
The professor belatedly asked, “Who are you?”
“I am Victoria. From today onwards, I will be a student here, so just accept it.”
“I haven’t heard anything about that. Your name isn’t on the attendance list.”
“Are you doubting me?”
The Demon King pulled out a document from inside their robe.
After examining it, the professor let out a dry laugh.
“A foreign student from Belcadia, huh?”
“Is that explanation sufficient?”
“It seems you’ve already received approval from Arcana. Although you’re not listed as one of my students, there must have been some sort of mix-up.”
The professor nodded.
What a relief.
He had been wondering how to handle this situation, but it seemed like the Demon King had already made some preparations.
However… even if the administrative process was properly handled, the fact remained that she had entered the middle of the classroom by breaking a window.
“Regardless of your grades, one thing is clear—you lack proper manners.”
“Lacking manners?”
“Yes. You barged into a classroom full of students, broke a window, and used an impolite tone with me. Do I need to spell out every little thing for you?”
“Hmm. Where’s my seat?”
Despite the professor’s reprimand, the Demon King only looked around for a place to sit, as if ignoring the scolding completely.
Then, without hesitation, she strode toward where Kalian and I were sitting and took a seat right next to us.
“Is this the part where I say, ‘Let’s get along’?”
She looked straight at Kalian and me, asking the question bluntly.
No, at a time like this, the first thing you should be saying is, “I’m sorry, Professor.”
Not that it would make much of a difference at this point.
The professor glared at the Demon King and spoke.
“Judging by your utter lack of basic etiquette, you really must be from Belcadia. But let me make one thing clear—you won’t get away with that behavior in Arcana.”
Damn it, another headache is coming.
Sure enough, in the middle of the lecture, the professor called on the Demon King.
At Arcana, professors had to be able to discipline and control the powerful and arrogant noble students.
So, it wasn’t uncommon for them to demonstrate their techniques or magic by calling on assistants—or, in some cases, sacrifices.
And today, the Demon King was chosen as the sacrifice.
The topic of the lesson was magic nullification.
While the term “nullification” could be used in various contexts, in magical studies, it specifically referred to techniques used to neutralize an opponent’s magic.
“So, I just have to nullify your magic?”
The Demon King asked the professor after hearing the explanation.
The professor gritted his teeth at her continued disrespectful tone but soon forced a smirk and nodded.
The professor brought the Demon King to the front of the classroom and ordered her to nullify his attack magic.
The official reason was to demonstrate to the students how magic nullification worked in practice…
But it was obvious.
It was really just a way to put the Demon King in her place.
By casting a spell far beyond what a student could nullify, the professor wanted to make the power gap crystal clear.
It was a solid plan—if only the opponent weren’t a Demon King disguised as a student.
Crackle
“What a pathetic spell.”
“W-what…?”
As expected, the professor’s attack magic was nullified effortlessly.
The professor, who had just attempted an electric spell, gawked in disbelief as he watched his magic shatter before it could even reach its target.
Most students shouldn’t have been able to nullify it at all.
But this one did it so easily—it was no wonder he was stunned.
“Ahem… well, it seems you do have some understanding.”
“Anyone could nullify magic of such a low level.”
“How arrogant. If you’re so confident, then I’ll raise the level a bit.”
Perhaps provoked by the Demon King’s tone, the professor continued casting attack magic.
As time went on, the intensity of the magic increased.
What started as a slight electric shock escalated into spells powerful enough to demolish a building.
By the time the class ended, the professor, exhausted from the repeated attempts, was panting heavily.
“Huff, huff… It seems you have quite a talent for nullification.”
“Is this even worth calling a talent?”
“Such arrogance. You need to learn humility first. No matter how talented you are at nullification, the real key to magic is not nullification, but attack magic.”
“My specialty is actually attack magic.”
“Boasting, are we? I’ll admit that you’re exceptional at nullification, but just because you’re good at that doesn’t mean you’re skilled in attack magic as well.”
Having had his full-power magic nullified, the professor seemed to conclude that the Demon King’s talents were solely in nullification.
He decided to shift the situation in his favor.
“Very well, then. This time, you cast an attack spell, and I will nullify it. Go ahead, use magic as freely as you like.”
“Freely? Then not only you but everyone here will die.”
“Hah! Plenty have talked big like that before, yet not a single one has ever managed to land so much as a scratch on me.”
“Hmm, understood.”
The Demon King conjured a small flame in her palm.
At first glance, it was just an unimpressive little fireball, but I could see the intricate layers of magical formulas hidden within it—hundreds of them.
“N-nullification… isn’t working? What did you do?”
The professor had scoffed at the tiny flame, but when he realized he couldn’t nullify it, his expression turned to shock.
The Demon King flicked the fireball forward.
Oh, crap.
I thought she was just trying to intimidate him, but she was actually going to fire that thing?
Everyone in the classroom watched the fireball’s movement with a relaxed attitude.
They had no idea how much power was packed into that little flame.
If no one stopped it, the professor would be reduced to dust, and the entire classroom would be blown away.
There were only two ways to prevent this disaster.
Either the Demon King nullified her own magic, or someone else did it.
If she had any common sense, she would cancel the spell herself.
But after hearing the way she talked to the professor just moments ago, I was sure she wouldn’t.
She had no common sense.
“Ahh…”
I let out a sigh and extended my hand.
In an instant, the fireball vanished, as if it had never existed.
The professor and the students, who had been watching in anticipation, looked at the Demon King in confusion.
I had acted as discreetly and quickly as possible, so most people probably didn’t notice what had happened…
But fooling everyone completely was impossible.
“You…?”
The Demon King stared at me with wide eyes.
***
After class, I took the Demon King to a nearby café.
“Why are you here?”
“To study.”
“Don’t give me that nonsense.”
“Isn’t school a place for studying?”
The Demon King replied while shoveling the cake I ordered for her into her mouth.
“Do you really think I’d believe that?”
“Then why don’t you guess my real reason for being here?”
“Oh? Are you saying you can read my mind? Interesting. Go ahead, if you can.”
“You came because of Kalian, didn’t you? You want to get close to him, no matter what.”
“…How did you know? Can you really read my mind?”
“No, I don’t need to read your mind. Your expression says it all.”
“Fine, you got me. I came all the way here just to see him.”
“I thought the people around you didn’t like it when you left your castle.”
“That’s true, but in the end, I make my own decisions. It doesn’t matter what they think.”
“Why are you so desperate to meet Kalian?”
I never imagined the Demon King would openly appear outside her castle like this.
Even if Alcatraz had schemed something during the last festival, this time, it seemed like the Demon King was acting purely on her own desires.
She had cream smeared all over her lips as she made a serious expression, staring into the air as if reminiscing about something.
“That is… well. How should I put it… I don’t really know myself. Ever since I met him at the festival, I keep thinking about that moment.”
“The way he stood on stage, singing about love, the way he personally reached out his hand to help me—I can’t get it out of my mind.”
“Oh… I see.”
‘This is that thing, isn’t it?’
‘We’re in trouble, aren’t we?’
The Demon King didn’t care about my look of despair or my deep sigh. She just kept rambling on as she pleased.
“In plays, the male lead always saves the heroine in a moment of crisis. That’s the beginning of love. And just like in the play, Kalian saved me.”
“Of course, that wasn’t actually a crisis for me or anything, but still… It made me realize that there’s a destiny between me and Kalian.”
It seems like the Demon King has developed a strong affection for Kalian.
For her to ignore the advice of her most trusted aides and leave the Demon King’s castle just to meet a man… that means it’s serious.
In the original story, the Demon King does develop feelings for Kalian, but that happens much later.
I thought we’d be safe for now, but… things have spiraled out of control.
‘How am I supposed to handle this?’
I managed to suppress Evelyn and Elia with sheer force, but if I tried that with the Demon King, I’d have to be prepared to see an entire city reduced to rubble.
“I have something I want to ask you this time.”
After going on and on about Kalian, the Demon King finally turned her attention to me.
She looked extremely serious, but with cream still smeared on her lips, it was hard to take her seriously.
“What exactly is your true identity?”
“As you know, my name is Wade, and I’m a student of the great Arcana.”
“You nullified my magic with ease. No one has ever done that to me before… Just how strong are you?”
“There are more people with my level of skill than you might think.”
“You’re lying. The moment you interfered with my magic, I caught a glimpse of the power within you—an immeasurable strength beyond my comprehension.”
“…Hah.”
The Demon King had taken notice of me.
To nullify her magic, I had to reveal a portion of my true power, and in doing so, she realized I had been hiding my strength all along.
I needed to say something fast before I aroused any more suspicion.
For now, I just had to buy some time to think.
Clasping my hands together, I spoke in a relaxed manner.
“Victoria, you watched Kalian’s play from beginning to end, right?”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“There was a character in that play—a close friend of the male lead. That friend helped bring the male lead and heroine together, allowing their love to grow.”
“…So what?”
“As you know, I played that friend’s role in the play. But here’s something you might not realize—I’m also Kalian’s closest friend in real life.”
I pulled out a tissue and gently wiped the cream from the Demon King’s lips.
Then, I leaned in and whispered into her ear.
“If you want to continue your fateful connection with Kalian, you’ll need my help more than anyone else’s. Now… do you understand who I am?”
It was an obvious ploy.
I was blatantly trying to steer the Demon King’s interest away and make her see me as an ally rather than an enemy.
I knew full well that she wouldn’t fall for such a shallow trick, but that didn’t matter.
What I needed was time to think.
And yet—
Just as I was about to lay out my carefully thought-out reasoning, the Demon King suddenly grabbed both of my hands.
For a moment, I thought she was about to attack.
But instead—
“I see. I’ll be counting on you, then.”
Her eyes sparkled with excitement.
…Don’t just accept it that easily!
Now I feel ridiculous for overthinking everything.