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

Bonus chapter thanks to wAHo0i3y's review on NU! If you are reading this, do comment on the chapters where you had difficulties in reading.

"Esme and I will sterilize the pudding bottles and make the pudding mixture."

"Pearl showed me the recipe earlier, and it says that you have to keep stirring the pudding mixture for a long time."

"It would be hard for Murmur to keep straining and stirring the liquid with her small arms. Shall we ask for caramel and strawberry syrup?"

Murmur did not refuse Nikea and Esme's kind consideration.

"Then, I think we should make the caramel."

Sitri smiled brightly and pulled Murmur's small hand.

"Do you know how to make caramel, Murmur?"

"Yes, you make it with sugar and water. You put it on a pan and slowly simmer it."

"Hoh hoh, as expected of you, Murmur!"

Sitri clapped her hands and placed a pan on the stove, skillfully pouring in sugar and water.

"Oh, right... Murmur is short, so please use this footstool."

"Thank you, Sitri."

Only after Murmur climbed onto the wooden box did she feel similar in height to Sitri.

'I've always felt this, but Murmur really has a small and frail body.'

Fifth grade in elementary school.

Even considering her age, Murmur had a really small body.

'Hehe, I never thought I would become the bride of such a small Demon King, but I'm so happy it's Murmur~'

While Sitri was having pleasant fantasies, Murmur put her hand on the stove to light the fire and gently simmered the sugar and water with a spatula.

"Oh, oh my! Murmur! Making caramel is very dangerous, so you have to be careful."

"Murmur can do this much."

"Okay, but... I'll hold you from behind like this, so let's be careful together."

Sitri, who was bothered by Nikea's 'foul play,' stuck to Murmur's back for no reason.

"Okay, help me if Murmur makes a mistake, Sitri."

"Of course. I will try not to hurt Murmur's pale hands."

Sitri placed her hands on Murmur's small, soft hands and wrists.

She had the goal of snatching Murmur's hands at any time to prevent danger if she made a mistake, but for now, the desire to satisfy her personal desires was stronger.

'Murmur's hands are so soft. It's hard to believe that they belong to someone who can use magic that can only be learned in middle school...'

Sitri felt that her own hands, which had become a little rough from various studies and chores, were lacking. But she couldn't give up touching Murmur's hands.

Soft and gentle hands. Someday, wouldn't these hands reach out to her with the light of salvation?

Sitri, with a slightly daring thought, occasionally poured water into the pan to help Murmur with her cooking.

"Sitri, is Murmur doing well?"

"Of course. When I put the water in, you were so careful that not a single drop of hot sugar water splashed, so it was very safe."

"Murmur thinks it's thanks to Sitri. Thank you."

Sitri slightly raised the corners of her lips and pressed her chest and belly a little closer to Murmur's body.

'The caramel scent that has been rising subtly since earlier is also fragrant, but...'

Sitri slightly twitched her nose, and the corners of her lips twitched slightly.

'Murmur's body has a very nice scent. How can you smell so cute and wonderful?'

Sitri, who was immersed in a fantasy close to delusion, was in a good mood.

She was well aware that she had a noble plan to persuade Mrs. Zepar, but Sitri's only interest today was! Only!! Murmur.

To put it a little more coldly, Sitri wouldn't have cared even if the persuasion of Mrs. Zepar failed.

Rather, if it failed, she was planning to think about how to comfort Murmur if she got discouraged. Should she have played a more active role for Murmur's plan?

It would be good if it succeeded, and it would be okay if it failed.

What was most important to Sitri was Murmur, and because she was able to monopolize Murmur's scent while making caramel, she had already tasted more than the expected results today.

'This scent is... jasmine? But it has a sweet, fruity note... hmm, hmm... I must ask her what kind of perfume she uses later.'

"Sitri. I think it's done."

"Ah? Ah! Yes! Murmur! You did a great job!! Please leave the rest to me."

Sitri skillfully finished the caramel and brought a new pan, strawberries, and sugar.

"Making strawberry syrup is similar to making caramel."

"Okay, then Murmur will cut the strawberries."

"Ah! Murmur, using a knife is..."

Sitri wanted to say it was dangerous, but Murmur was a small but strong child.

Murmur diligently placed the strawberries on the cutting board and carefully sliced them with a knife.

"You did a great job! Murmur! I feel like my worries were foolish."

"Murmur can do this much."

Sitri's eyes sparkled as she nodded her head and began to make the strawberry syrup.

Again, Sitri shamelessly hugged Murmur halfway and filled her personal desires by sniffing her body here and there.

On the other hand, Murmur was just stirring the syrup diligently with a spatula, her eyes sparkling.

"I think it's done, Sitri."

"Please wait a moment, Murmur? I'll do a taste test."

Sitri used magic to create a wind on a spoonful of strawberry syrup, quickly cooling it down.

"Sitri, you have some on your cheek."

"Oh my! Please wait a moment..."

Before Sitri could take out her handkerchief, Murmur wiped the strawberry syrup on Sitri's cheek with her index finger.

"Huh? Huh huh..."

"Yum... hmm, yeah. It's sweet. It came out as sweet as Murmur thought it would."

Murmur licked the strawberry syrup that she had wiped off her finger without any hesitation.

'D, did Murmur just now use her finger to wipe the syrup off my cheek...?!'

Sitri's face turned red, but Murmur was completely nonchalant.

Rather, she was looking at the pudding ingredients that Nikea and Esme were bringing, imagining the finished pudding and growing her anticipation.

"Sitri, Sitri."

"Yes, yess! Murmur!"

"The final part of making the pudding has arrived."

"... Hmph, I don't know why the fun times end so quickly."

"?"

In front of Murmur, who was tilting her head, Sitri received the pudding bottles from Nikea and held them up.

"Now then, Murmur. I think the last part can be done together."

"Okay, I'll follow what Sitri tells me."

"Think of it like building blocks! First, you put the caramel that I've already broken up inside like this..."

Murmur followed Sitri's actions.

"Do we just put the pudding mixture in?"

"That's right! The strawberry syrup should be put on after the pudding is taken out of the oven and cooled down enough before eating!"

Sitri and Murmur happily put the ingredients into the pudding bottles, and Nikea put the pudding into the oven that had been set to the right temperature.

"Tada! The pudding that has been baked in the oven for about 20 minutes should be cooled down for about 2 hours!"

"Hmm, so we can't taste it now? I hope it tastes the way Murmur imagined."

"Oh ho ho, we can shorten the time as much as we want with magic, so don't worry."

Sitri winked and used small magic to cool the pudding, then properly put the strawberry syrup on top of the pudding as Murmur had wished.

"Murmur, please try it."

Murmur nodded and used a spoon that seemed a little hard to hold with her small hand to poke the pudding and scoop it up.

'Hehehe, the cute Murmur is eating the pudding that I made with her...'

Sitri was starting to think that it wouldn't matter if today's event failed after this.

"It's delicious...! I think it's because Sitri helped me. It's just as I imagined."

"Murmur is satisfied... Oh my?"

Murmur held out her spoon to Sitri. On it was a bite-sized piece of the strawberry caramel pudding that they had worked so hard to make together.

"Sitri, ah-."

Gulp, Sitri covered her mouth with her right hand and ate the pudding that Murmur had offered.

"U, um...! Ahh! It's the most delicious pudding I've ever had in my life!"

Sitri smiled brightly and hugged Murmur tightly.

"... It's not that good, is it?"

Esme shook her head, looking at the pile of pudding that had been made.

* * *

"Murmur, are you really okay?"

"Yeah, Murmur can't always do easy things. I want to try making dough too."

Nikea nodded her head at Murmur, who was clenching her small fist.

"Then Esme and I will do other miscellaneous preparations this time."

Sitri said, pinching Esme's side as she was trying to sneak a bite of pudding.

"Please do."

Nikea said, placing the ingredients needed to make the dough one by one on the table in front of Murmur.

"Murmur, can you see the butter, sugar, and eggs here?"

"Yeah, do we put these in and mix them?"

"Yes, you mix them slowly step by step like this?"

Nikea thought Murmur was cute for saying she would try hard things, but she didn't want her to suffer.

So, she naturally took care of the most annoying task of mixing the butter and sugar herself, demonstrating it lightly in front of Murmur.

"Would Murmur like to put the eggs in and mix them next?"

"Yeah, Murmur will try."

Murmur poured the egg mixture that Esme had made earlier into the mixing bowl.

"Like this..."

Murmur's small hands struggled to hold the spatula, but she surprisingly managed to combine the dough and the egg mixture into one.

—Whisk, whisk

"You're not overdoing it, are you? Murmur?"

"No, I'm... okay... I think..."

Murmur didn't give up and kept moving her hands. Nikea smiled prettily at her admirable appearance.

"Murmur, if it's too hard, shall we make it together?"

"It's okay. Murmur can do it alone."

"When Esme and I were making the pudding mixture earlier, we took turns."

"... Hmm, then I'll help Murmur a little."

Nikea smiled and gently held Murmur's small hand.

'Murmur is really a commendable and kind child. She could just throw it away and ask for help, but she doesn't.'

—Whisk, whisk... squish.

The height difference between Nikea and Murmur was huge. Thanks to that, Nikea was almost bent in half as she hugged Murmur from behind.

Naturally, her chest touched the back of Murmur's head, but the two of them didn't show any particular reaction and continued to stir the dough.

—Whisk... squish, squish, squish, squish

"Nikea, is this okay? There's a lot of water sound."

"The measurements were accurate, so there shouldn't be a problem. The egg mixture will gradually soak into the dough, so it'll be fine."

"I see. I feel like it's a little easier to move my hands."

"I think it's because the dough is wet."

—Squish, squish, squish, squish, squish!

The sound of water coming from the mixing bowl became strangely louder every time Murmur and Nikea's hands moved.

'... ... Am I the only one who thinks this sound is embarrassing?'

Nikea moved her body slightly away from Murmur for no reason. The fluttering of her heart wasn't a bad thing, but she had the feeling that she was doing something bad.

'Ah, really. What am I thinking... Murmur is just a cute, diligent, and pretty child, I shouldn't be thinking like this on my own.'

Nikea coughed and took her hand off Murmur's.

"The dough seems to be enough, so shall we add more flour to finish the dough?"

"Okay, please, Nikea."

Murmur smiled and continued to stir the dough, and Nikea calmly pushed the prepared ingredients into the mixing bowl.

"You've worked hard until the end! Murmur, are your arms sore?"

"A little? But it's okay."

Murmur said, rubbing her small arms herself. Nikea gently massaged Murmur's arms as well.

"You've worked hard. Next, like this... we'll use a rolling pin to roll out the dough that we've worked so hard to make."

Nikea was planning to do this herself, but Murmur's hands were faster.

"You just grab it and roll it, right?"

"Yes, you roll it out... Ah! You did a good job! Roll it out a little more..."

Nikea approached Murmur from behind and gently grabbed her arms and shoulders, half-hugging her.

The problem was what happened next. Murmur really did her best and used her whole body to roll out the dough. Thanks to that, her upper body went forward, and her lower body went back.

'Murmur's body is really small and petite... If I wanted to, I could easily pick her up and hold her in both arms. And then... after that...'

Nikea, who was hugging Murmur, made an awkward, embarrassed expression, fidgeting with her fingers.

"Nikea, is this how you do it?"

"Yes, the thickness seems to be enough. Shall we make shapes with cookie cutters next?"

Nikea bit her lip slightly.

"I'll use this one."

"Murmur seems to like that shape?"

"Yeah, this shape is important."

Nikea chuckled prettily and took out the cookie cutter that Murmur had been holding onto for a while and handed it to her.

"Then let's stamp them out nicely one by one."

"Yeah, Murmur will work hard too."

Murmur held up the cookie cutter in the shape of a snowman with her small hands.

Her expression was filled with the happiness of a child who had found a treasure.

'We were going to put various things on top of these, right? Chocolate, raspberry, peanut butter, cinnamon... she picked them out so cutely.'

Nikea also worked hard to stamp out the cookie shapes, just like Murmur.

—Thump, thump, thump!

"Ah, Murmur. The dough that's left after stamping out the shapes..."

Thump, Nikea's hand, which she had stretched out as she spoke, touched Murmur's small hand, who had been thinking the same thing.

"If we make it into dough again, we can make more cookies, right?"

Nikea nodded and grabbed the dough, but Murmur's hand caressed the back of Nikea's hand.

Nikea naturally gave in to the touch that was filled with tenderness and kindness.

"Murmur? Is there something wrong with my hand?"

"Yeah, Nikea's hand is hot. I'm worried."

"N-no? Oh? Is my hand hot?"

"Yeah, your hand is warm and hot."

Murmur looked at her friend with pure eyes, worried about her. That purity, on the contrary, was an action that lit the dry firewood in Nikea.

"Ah... why is that? I don't know why my hand is hot."

"You're not sick, are you?"

Murmur said, grabbing Nikea's sleeve and pulling it. Nikea ended up kneeling halfway in front of Murmur.

"I'm not sick."

"But Nikea would hide it if she was sick."

That was correct.

Nikea had actually done something she didn't want to do today.

She just wanted to enjoy making desserts with her friends and Murmur, but she had to do the face-to-face work again.

She hides it when there's something painful, sad, or something she doesn't want to do. It was also a habit for Nikea to naturally hide it when she wasn't feeling well.

"That's..."

"Stay still."

Murmur's small and cute face gently rubbed against Nikea's face.

'Ah... it's cool and cold...'

Murmur's forehead, which felt slightly cold, befitting her pale skin, rubbed hard against Nikea's flushed forehead.

Their prominent and pretty noses also rubbed against each other lovingly, and Nikea's warm breath was felt on Murmur's lips.

"It's hot, Nikea."

"Murmur is cold. It feels good because it's cool..."

"That's not it. Nikea, you don't have a cold, do you? You shouldn't overdo it."

Murmur's eyes, which were holding her friend's cheek with hands covered in white flour, were full of worry.

"Ah, that's... uh, ugh!!"

Nikea's face turned even redder.

The heat rising from her forehead, cheeks, and nose became stronger, and her hand, which had hurriedly grabbed Murmur's wrist, was trembling.

Her heart felt like it was going to explode at any moment.

"I, I don't have a cold! Murmur!! I'm really okay, so you don''t have to worry!"

"Really? Can you promise Murmur?"

"Y-yes! Yes! Yes! I promise, I will! P-please stop putting your forehead on mine! I'm sure you can feel my breath, and it would be a nuisance to Murmur!"

Nikea, who had squeezed her eyes shut and shouted while trembling, hurriedly got up from her seat.

"Okay, I understand. Murmur trusts Nikea."

"I... I trust myself too. I'm still holding up well right now."

"?"

Nikea, who had hurriedly fanned herself with her hands, regardless of the cookie cutters, bit her lip subtly once more.

"... You know, Sitri. Is Murmur really acting like that because she doesn't know?"

"She was also acting very cute when she was making pudding with me~ She's originally a cute person, so it can't be helped!"

"Logically, there's no way that would be the reason, right?!"

Esme, who had made a lot of chips to put on the cookies, shook her head and thought.

'Come to think of it, someone who acts like that for such a purpose only appears in novels. Murmur wouldn't do that.' [T/N: Esme casually almost breaking 4th wall here..?]