NOVEL NEXT Chapter 161
Sellafi Hall, communal dining area.
With the meat soup made by Yeriel, there is bread on the table.
“Lev is here.”
“Oh, everyone is gathered.”
“Lev! A… welcome…”
“Welcome.”
“…”
The dinner of five has begun.
I found my empty seat and sat down.
Something feels different?
But today has a vibe that’s a bit off from usual.
Normally, Lily would have clung to me since the entrance, but instead, she’s sitting across from me with a teary face, repeatedly shoveling soup into her mouth, and there’s this weird tension in the air?
I guess I need to properly apologize to Aria today.
– First, I need to get forgiveness from Aria.
– And if I handle the confession properly…! I’ll think about it again then…!
There’s a promise with Yeriel too, and until now, Lily hadn’t stopped bothering me, making things a bit awkward…
But today, Lily doesn’t seem to be in a good mood, so I think I can quietly leave her alone and approach Aria.
At that moment,
“Lev Denec, who is that?”
“Huh?”
Breaking the silence was none other than Selena, who had her eyes closed and arms crossed.
“There’s a smell of another girl coming from you.”
–Gasp!
She opened one eye and spoke to me.
“……”
In an instant, I became mute, and then,
“Lev.”
Yeriel, sitting in the prestigious front seat like a proper dormitory supervisor, coldly opened her mouth.
“Huh?”
“It’s noted that your last lecture today ends at 5 PM… but you’re already 5 minutes late for dinner time at 6 PM…?”
Since I had shared my schedule with Yeriel at the start of the semester, she had me down to a T.
Seems like she’s a little upset that I didn’t follow my curfew (which only applies to me).
“Yeah, yeah, Lev usually keeps his promises… Could it be that the Circulation Train had an unexpected accident…?”
“Oh, Yeriel, that’s…”
Calculating it out, I realized I was 5 minutes late from missing one train because I was chatting with Yellody.
Seeing Yeriel smile while denying reality brought on a rather heavy sense of guilt.
“I was talking to a senior from my department, sorry.”
“Ah…?”
“Who?”
This time, Selena asked who it was.
“It’s Senior Yellody… She’s the head of the Magic Department.”
“Why would she be with you? Aren’t you in the Marksman division?”
“Well…”
As the interrogation piled up, it was once again Yeriel and Lily who came to my defense.
“Selena, it’s dinner time. Let’s keep it to this much…”
“Right! It’s cowardly to ask during meals! Nom nom…”
“Well, considering she’ll be my partner, isn’t it fair to ask?”
“…Huh?!”
“What…!”
Selena’s mention of “partner” left the other two, aside from Aria, a bit shocked.
“Oh my, didn’t you know? I’ve already introduced Lev to my parents!”
–Gasp!
…That did happen.
-By the way, Lev Denec. You were easier than I expected?
-Elves inviting others into their realm… what do you think that means?
Though accompanying Selena to stop Dalian was unavoidable, everyone halted with their utensils in hand.
The atmosphere lowered significantly.
It’s exceedingly rare for an elf to introduce a human to their parents.
Isn’t this a dangerous development…?
“Also, since elves live much longer than humans, I’d prefer you don’t even think about stealing him away like a thief in the night.”
As Selena continued to act nonchalant, Lily asked me with tears.
“Lev… is what Selena said true…?”
Yeriel had a confused expression as if she wanted me to deny it.
I’m going nuts…
This is all my fault, but how did it get so tangled…?
As I rubbed my throbbing head, pondering how to break through this, suddenly,
“You mentioned a thief cat?”
It was none other than the Saint who came to my rescue.
No, it was Aria.
Whether good or bad fortune, she seemed calm.
“I have no interest in belittling others, but it might refer to you, Selena.”
“What?”
“I received Lev’s confession long before he even met you, Selena.”
“…?!”
Selena frowned cutely, glancing between me and Aria.
This was also true, though.
-“I want to date you. After all, you don’t care about anyone else too much, right? Wouldn’t a guy like me be alright? You’re not actually interested in that trash Edwin, are you? After all, that guy Edwin doesn’t—”
But that was a confession from the real Lev Denec, not me.
-“I didn’t expect you to be so oblivious to this kind of thing.”
-“…Do I really have to say it myself?”
If Aria said that to me, didn’t that mean it was essentially a rejection?
“Lev, is there something wrong with what I said?”
“You’re right, but…”
“Lily, I can’t allow this!”
“Lev Denec! You…!”
Selena feigned anger.
Even if that looked beautiful, it wasn’t the time to admire it.
I guess it’d be better to take side with one of them to escape this situation…
But, ta-da, that wasn’t the end of it.
With a serious yet slightly sad expression, Aria declared to all of us.
“Then, I will now state my position.”
–Gasp!
Uh… what?
“I will tell you the answer to Lev’s confession now.”
“Wait a moment!”
Even with Selena’s outcry, Aria gazed intently at me with her cheong-geum-seong eyes and whispered.
“…Alright. Let’s date, Lev Denec.”
–……
With that one concluding remark from her…
My record of 0 confessions and 3 failures turned into 0 confessions, 2 failures, and 1 success.
*
Claris Academy, central area.
At the end of the straight main street connecting the central plaza…
There stood a tall magic tower visible even from outside the academy.
Originally, each magic tower in Claris had its own purpose, so people resided there regularly, but this Central Magic Tower was strictly controlled, and aside from occasional cleaning and maintenance, there were hardly any signs of life.
The reason this place was specially managed was simple.
Claris has two sanctuaries, one in the form of condensed essence positioned near the Sacred Hall training grounds for priests and clergy, and the other here.
The sanctuary is established in a gigantic jewel shape at the very top of the Central Magic Tower.
And right now…
There was an old man here.
Considering the neatness of his attire and the dignity radiating from his long beard, he was not an ordinary old man.
He was the Dean of Claris.
Of course, that was just the public facade, and…
“Belial. Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“Heh heh, not really?”
“…”
The one chuckling inappropriately for his appearance was a great demon known as Belial.
Belial’s ability was to “corrupt.”
Most notably, he could disguise himself as a human, incite schemes, create chaos, and lead to destruction, which was a unique power only he possessed among the Great Demons.
Beside him stood a boy with an innocent voice, the illusion of another great demon named Paimon.
Paimon was considered the second strongest next to Baal among the 72 demons, following Baal.
His command moved a legion of at least 200 demons.
The reason the two were secretly meeting at the academy, right in front of the sanctuary, was exceedingly simple.
Up to now, this was their third case.
26th – Bunea,
35th – Markosias,
63rd – Andras.
This wasn’t good news for the demon clan.
“Their master is still recovering his power. It’ll take some more time. However, this flow isn’t good.”
“Hmm~”
“Belial, it’s time for you to take action.”
“Okay~.”
Belial had been waiting for this day.
How long had he concealed his true self among humans?
Finally, he could annihilate all these disgusting humans, reveal his identity, and terrify them…
He was about to enjoy a perfectly excitement-filled demonic pastime.
–Cough…
Just as Belial was licking his lips, Paemon paused him with a single remark.
“I’ve got something else to take care of first.”
“Ugh…! What is it?”
“There are far too many dimensional gates connected to the densely populated human areas. Moreover, if the Central Sanctuary takes a hit, the war heroes and imperial army will immediately rush to this location.”
“Hmmm~”
“So, I will transition all the dimensional gates before returning and prepare for the operation here.”
Paemon’s suggestions were quite rational.
Considering their strength, even if the humans sent reinforcements, they could win, but looking at Bunea and Markosias’s precedents, it wasn’t guaranteed.
Both demons shared a common flaw in their defeats.
First, Bunea opened a dimensional gate and summoned himself into Lint Forest while summoning his legion into the old city to take the academy in the chaos, but…
The dimensional gate itself closed, leading to his failure.
Markosias faced a similar situation.
He activated the magic tower to occupy Mystic Island with himself and his legion, but the magic tower was destroyed, failing to open the dimensional gate, and he didn’t even get the chance to counter the enemy.
In other words, as embarrassing as it was, if they couldn’t bring their troops…
Unexpected variables could arise.
Of course, they were aware that this time would be different.
Belial was a genius at disguising as a human…
When he’s in human form, he won’t be affected by the sanctuary’s power, nor will anyone suspect him.
A significant amount of time had already passed since he feigned being the dean of the academy after the war.
He could neatly seal each magic tower.
Until then, Paimon had no plans of revealing himself, unlike Bunea, which meant no risk for him.
“The last one…”
Of course, it was the sanctuary in this Central Magic Tower.
If they corrupt this sanctuary with the power of the three Great Demons, they could immediately use the tower.
As for the Sacred Hall, it would be entrusted to Yellody Latashia, while this place could be seized by the great demons accompanying him, ending the situation.
Claris Academy would receive no support, nor the blessing of the sanctuary.
“Kiyoho!”
As Belial began to grin unpleasantly in response to Paimon’s reasoning…
*
Atop the tower, a black crow sat yawning.
Its identity was… the demon girl Yellody Latashia.
Not loyal to anyone, she was free even within the demon society made up of her kind.
In short, she could not be specifically pinpointed.
Of course, currently, she was tied down to her junior, Lev Denec…
I’ve heard so many things…
This is a state of emergency.
The head of Claris is a pawn of the same demons as her!
This was a top-secret fact even Yellody was unaware of…
極秘事実~.
Thus, she had to choose.
Whether to trust Lev and continue with him, or… wish for his death to escape her ties.
“Um… who should I choose…~.”
–Wanna try some power?
…
In an instant, chills ran down her spine at his voice, and Yellody Latashia hurriedly left the spot.