I Became a Demon Who Can Never Be Headpatted in the Academy?!

《Preventing Mrs. Zepar’s Conspiracy》

《Time Remaining: 6 Days》

Mrs. Zepar, who has fattened up the little piggies, is planning to summon a demon.

When I first learned of this, I thought Mrs. Zepar was going out of her way to suffer, and that the output was garbage compared to the input, but when I learned the truth, I thought completely differently.

Mrs. Zepar was that desperate.

She had heard such a sweet story that she was acting completely differently from her reputation.

“I was thinking of pinching Murmur’s cheeks…”

I haven’t explained Mrs. Zepar’s motives to everyone yet.

Even now, Esme, who is surprised by the magic circle in front of her, and Sitri and Nikea will need time to understand the situation.

“Why pinch Murmur’s cheeks?”

“Well… I was going to joke around, saying that even bad rumors have their limits.”

Esme gulped.

“If someone other than Murmur had told me that Mrs. Zepar was preparing something like this, I would have given them a cold look.”

“I can’t deny that either.”

I didn’t feel bad.

Rather, I felt good that everyone was making perfectly normal and sensible comments.

“But Murmur didn’t lie.”

“Yes, that’s right… With a magic circle of this magnitude, it’s possible to summon a demon.”

“If what Murmur-nim says is true, does that mean there are three more of these magic circles somewhere in the Academy?”

I nodded and squatted down, tapping the floor with the twig in my hand.

We were talking in a rather secluded place in the Academy right now.

How dare they draw something like this in a warehouse near ‘Mercurius Hall’, where high school students are busy taking classes.

It’s like the darkest place is under the lamp; maybe they were targeting the fact that neither the faculty nor the students rarely enter such warehouses. Although, in the first place, it’s an invisible magic circle.

“Yeah, there should be about three more of these.”

“At first, I thought Murmur was teasing me.”

Nikea said, frowning as if her head was already starting to hurt.

“Because Murmur said there was a magic circle but it wasn’t visible?”

“Yes, but when Murmur hit the floor with a twig, it became visible, right? What’s the principle behind that?”

“This magic circle is drawn with paint containing Lunarine.”

Sitri snapped her thumb and forefinger.

“I know because some people in our company request such things.”

Sitri tapped the floor with her foot in pretty shoes. She flowed mana into it, just like I did, and the engraved magic circle quickly reappeared.

“It’s a magic circle that can only be seen with the eyes if mana is flowed into it.”

“Then how did Murmur know about this?”

“Murmur can feel it.”

In fact, Sitri, who is the same demon race as me, accurately took her shoe to where the magic circle was and played with her feet.

To Nikea and Esme, it might look like she was just kicking the floor randomly.

“A magic circle is ultimately a magic circle. The flow of mana flowing through the ley lines is bound to change.”

“Murmur felt that?”

“Yeah, it’s such a big magic circle. I couldn’t help but notice it.”

Esme listened to me, then squatted down and felt the floor with her palm.

“I’m not a demon race, so I can’t understand Murmur’s senses exactly… but after hearing the story and checking the ley lines, there is definitely something unnatural about it.”

“But the others in the New Helheim club… hah, that’s right. Even if they knew, they wouldn’t tell us.”

Nikea said, frowning.

“Of course, they wouldn’t. In front of Nikea, who appeared suspicious of the demon race, there’s no way they would say that they found a suspicious magic circle.”

“That’s right… They would think we’re making excuses, or at least, even if I didn’t think so, the story might go in a strange direction and cause trouble.”

That’s why the demons of New Helheim hardly attend classes at the Academy.

Solving that problem is also part of the fun of the Demon King route, but that’s not what we should be worrying about right now.

“Murmur, Esme. Could you explain a little more about this magic circle to me?”

“To explain, it has the function of indiscriminately absorbing the mana of people who have consumed Lunarine and sending it to a desired location.”

“Yeah, a lot of processes are omitted, but that’s how it works.”

“… Just a minute.”

Nikea rubbed her forehead with her right hand.

“To summarize, this magic circle, very coincidentally, has the function of absorbing the mana of people who have consumed ‘Lunarine’ and sending it somewhere?”

“That’s how it is.”

“But why? I mean, if the goal is to absorb mana, there’s no need to specify only people who have consumed Lunarine, right?”

“Princess Nikea, any magic that can do anything requires a price. That’s why humans can’t imitate magic that rivals the power of God.”

“As Esme said, the more you limit the target and the more you adjust the power, the more accurate the magic becomes and the less cost it requires.”

Nikea clicked her tongue.

“So, even if you limit the target, you don’t lose anything because the mana is amplified when you eat Lunarine, and it puts less strain on the magic circle?”

“Are you satisfied with that, Nikea?”

“… I told you, Sitri. I want to help Murmur too.”

Nikea looked at me with a very apologetic expression.

It’s okay. I know, Nikea. It’s just that Nikea deals with adults a lot, so she knows their standards well.

“Murmur… please don’t get angry and listen.”

“Yeah, you can speak comfortably, Nikea.”

I held Nikea’s hand tightly.

“I understand that there is an evil plot underway at the Academy right now, as Murmur said.”

“There are four magic circles engraved with the purpose of collecting mana to summon a demon.”

“But. There’s no evidence here to connect this magic circle to Mrs. Zepar.”

“Is that necessary?”

“I don’t need it. I believe Murmur’s words. But… adults will want it. A ledger with the details of the illegal import of Lunarine, or a letter with suspicious conspiracy conversations, or a picture of Lunarine being secretly hidden in another company’s goods…”

I took Nikea’s hand to the wall.

“How about this?”

There was a pretty picture drawn on the wall where our hands touched. This was also drawn with paint made from Lunarine, just like the magic circle, so it only appeared when mana was flowed into it.

“This is… the emblem of the Chronicle House Company, isn’t it?”

“Isn’t this enough?”

Nikea stroked her mouth with her left hand.

“But who… why? Why would they engrave this emblem so dangerously?”

As someone who knows all the answers, Nikea’s question feels so cute.

Esme stared at the emblem for a while, then reached out her hand.

“Oh? This emblem was even engraved before the magic circle.”

“Yeah, they had no choice but to engrave the emblem first, even though it was dangerous.”

“Why… is that?”

“It’s like a secret signal. We know that there’s a magic circle here, so it looks suspicious.”

Esme tilted her head at my words, then raised her hand cutely.

“Murmur, I don’t understand. Honestly… I agree with Princess Nikea’s opinion too. Why would they engrave the company’s emblem if they weren’t stupid?”

“Oh~ hohoho! Are you two really asking because you don’t know?”

Sitri, being a changeling, seems to get the feeling right away.

“I really don’t know. Please explain.”

“Do Nikea and Esme both know that Mrs. Zepar has a very good reputation?”

Nikea and Esme nodded.

“We can’t not know. She treats all the students at the Academy like her own children, doesn’t she? It’s not like the Piglet House has been giving out free desserts like this for just a day or two.”

“I was also patted on the head by Mrs. Zepar once. She’s a very nice person. Although… I said bad things back then.”

Mrs. Zepar is a demon, so considering Esme’s background, she would have been like that in the past.

“Mrs. Zepar’s good deeds have continued for 50 years, not just 1 or 5 years. And now, she suddenly decides to summon a demon.”

“I don’t understand why she would summon a demon.”

“We can’t know the exact reason right now. We can only assume that ‘someone’ made her do such an extreme thing. If we guess who that someone is, the story will unfold easily.”

Nikea rolled her eyes.

“A person who has lived kindly for 50 years wouldn’t suddenly wake up in bed one day and decide to live badly. Also, there’s no way that someone running a company would suddenly decide to smuggle Lunarine.”

“Logically, it’s more likely that someone intervened from the outside than that she changed her mind on her own.”

“Yes, and there are some who love to tempt and incite people in this world.”

Nikea closed her eyes and sighed.

“I know! You’re talking about Primeordial Rex!!”

It seems Esme is starting to catch on now.

“Those are the guys that Aunt Colette curses at every dinner, right? I’ve heard of their bad reputation too. They tempt people by saying they’ll grant them an irresistible wish, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. They approach many people in that way and get them involved in their schemes. It’s obvious to us, as third parties, that it’s a trick, but they say they offer a wish that the person can’t refuse.”

Nikea had said this much, but she still looked unconvinced.

“I understand that Primeordial Rex tempted Mrs. Zepar. But if that’s the case, then there’s even less reason for the company’s emblem to be drawn first, right?”

“Nikea, you have to change your way of thinking. Primeordial Rex doesn’t have the power to secretly bring Lunarine into the Academy. They can’t draw this emblem first because they don’t have Lunarine.”

“Wait a minute, then it’s even weirder, isn’t it? If they can’t draw this emblem and magic circle with paint containing Lunarine, then how did they tempt Mrs. Zepar?”

“Do you really think so?”

Nikea nodded.

“Logically, it doesn’t make sense. They just say they’ll grant a wish, and Mrs. Zepar, who has shown a completely different side of herself for her whole life, suddenly acts differently. That’s impossible. Besides, Lunarine isn’t a cheap mineral, is it?”

“Nikea. In this world, people are already willingly giving away dozens of gold chests for a single word.”

“What do you mean…”

“‘Investment,’ Nikea, you already know what that means.”

“Investment… The wish that Primeordial Rex promised to grant has that much… that much power?”

Sitri nodded and touched the emblem.

“Primeordial Rex made an offer to Mrs. Zepar that she couldn’t refuse. Mrs. Zepar prepared the paint containing Lunarine as they wanted, and she drew the company’s emblem to show that she had prepared the item here.”

“… … Primeordial Rex are all changelings, and they never reveal their identities or act directly, so Mrs. Zepar sent them a secret signal as well.”

“Yeah, that’s right. Nikea, you know a lot about Primeordial Rex, don’t you?”

“Yes, I know that they operate by leaving letters and various secret signals.”

Nikea sighed.

“But I still don’t understand. What kind of wish did they promise to grant… …”

Nikea clenched her fist tightly.

“Nikea, you already know.”

“Me, I do? I don’t know. I really can’t imagine it.”

“No, Nikea, you said it yourself earlier.”

Sitri cleared her throat and turned her head away. This story must be uncomfortable for Sitri.

“Did I say the answer without realizing it?”

“Yeah, you said that Mrs. Zepar treats the students at the Academy like her own children, right?”

“Yes, I said that. But that’s… … that’s… …”

Nikea’s face turned white, and then her eyebrows quickly furrowed.

“No way… Goodness! That’s too much!”

“Princess Nikea? Murmur? Am I the only one who doesn’t understand? Can’t you explain it to me?”

Looking at Esme, who was speaking pitifully, I opened my mouth.

Now, everyone should be ready to accept the truth.

“They tempted her by saying they would revive Mrs. Zepar’s daughter.”

“That’s why she’s summoning a demon!! It’s not just any demon. I wondered why she needed so much mana…!”

Nikea clenched her fist tightly and shouted, trembling.

“She’s planning to summon Gabriel, the demon who guards the sealed demon god!!!”

“… A demon god would have the power to grant a wish. There’s no way Mrs. Zepar, a demon, wouldn’t know that.”

“That’s why Mrs. Zepar was cooperating with Primeordial Rex, risking everything. She was told that her daughter, who died 50 years ago, could be revived, so what wouldn’t she do? She wanted to help draw the magic circle quickly by drawing the company’s emblem in large strokes! Getting caught wasn’t even a consideration from the start!”

Why did Mrs. Zepar feed sweet desserts to the little piggies?

Only I, Murmur, knew that the demon god hated sacrifices.