Demon King – Chapter 37 – Memories

“Looking back now… I was way too sensitive then.” Yuki laughed bitterly. “If Eiru hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have made it here now.”

“Don’t make me sound so great. You figured it out yourself—I just chatted with you for a bit.” The little Demon Lord rolled her eyes at the person in the neighboring bed, though of course no one could see through her black sanctuary.

What troubled Yuki most back then was actually his grades. Because he got ostracized by both his teachers and classmates, he was looked down upon and unwilling to seek help.

Yuki knew he wasn’t stupid—actually, he was pretty smart. But he’d fallen too far behind, and it was really difficult to catch up by only self-studying.

“I’ll help you.”

“You?” Looking at the person munching chips with a carefree attitude, Yuki couldn’t help but laugh.

“Yeah, I’m pretty free anyway. I could tutor you, it’s not that hard.” Standing up, Eiru dusted herself off.

“I’m gonna head out—need to climb the wall and buy some stuff. I’m here most of the time. If you don’t feel like skipping class, I’ll stay here for half an hour afterschool.” Opening the rooftop stairwell door, Eiru was getting ready to leave.

“By the way, I think you look way better with silver hair than black. You don’t need to worry about what they think… the colour of your hair isn’t any of their business, is it?”

Right after dropping that line, Eiru ran out as the dismissal bell rang. Yuki stood dazed on the rooftop, lost in thought…

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After returning to class, Yuki inquired about Eiru’s reputation, but the answers made him frown.

A typical problem student with grades ranking near the bottom of their year. Skipped basically every class—you could never find him. Though his personality was lively enough, he always had this mysterious, overly mature air about him.

Many of the school’s serious incidents seemed to be connected to him, but there was never direct evidence. Due to all these issues, nobody really wanted to get close to him.

How could someone like that tutor him? Yuki couldn’t help but question it. All day, Yuki thought about Eiru’s situation, barely paying attention in class, which got him scolded again.

After school, thinking he had no other options and with a “nothing to lose” attitude, Yuki came to the school building’s rooftop…

“Yo, you came.” Eiru, holding a pile of snacks, greeted him upon seeing the figure at the stairs.

“Can you really help me? I asked around about you today, and the answers I got…” Setting down his backpack and speaking tentatively, Yuki felt completely uncertain.

“They also said your silver hair was dyed, didn’t they?” Not taking the doubt to heart at all, Eiru tore open a pack of spicy jerky before tossing them into his mouth.

“Though the part about skipping class is true.” Chewing the spicy strips and speaking unclearly. “Anyway, just tell me what you need to learn, and leave the rest to me.”

Half-believing, Yuki pulled out textbooks and problem sets, roughly explaining his situation to this person who seemed unreliable no matter how you looked at him…

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“Wow, you’ve fallen pretty far behind—what a headache.” Based on his explanation plus a few simple tests, Eiru finally understood why he couldn’t keep up.

He’d originally thought this person seemed pretty sharp and didn’t look like someone who’d fall behind. Even if he had fallen behind, theoretically a little catch-up should get him back on track. But because he missed a lot of the fundamental concepts, he had a lot of work to do.

“Anyway, let me help you with the basics first…” To Yuki’s surprise, Eiru’s tutoring was extremely professional—targeted and explained in very easy to understand terms.

“Pretty smart—see how fast you’re learning?” In less than two hours, Yuki had basically mastered two units worth of concepts, including the advanced topics.

“You… aren’t you just pretending to have bad grades?” Looking with horrified eyes at the master before him, Yuki felt like if this person tried teaching, all their teachers would be out of a job…

“Yep, remember to keep it secret.” Stuffing more crackers in his mouth, Eiru reminded him.

“Why?”

“Well, you wouldn’t understand. I just want to be free… I’m here every day after school. Come ask if you have questions. I gotta run! Bye!” Seeing that it was getting late, and before Yuki could react, Eiru grabbed his bag and vanished.

“What a weirdo…” Packing up his books while complaining, a smile appeared on his face…

After that, Yuki would come to the rooftop every day after school for Eiru’s special tutoring. As the two gradually became familiar, Yuki would often come find him to hang out during regular times too.

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This continued for over a year. Yuki’s grades improved dramatically, and he became one of the school’s top students.

“How can you be hanging around with Eiru!” Yuki’s mother flew into a rage. She couldn’t accept that Yuki, as a top student, would associate himself with a problem student.

“Mom, I…” Yuki tried to say something but was ruthlessly interrupted.

“I don’t care what you think. People have seen you two messing around on the rooftop after school. Do you know what kind of person he is? Is he someone you should be associating with?”

You’re the ones who don’t know what kind of person he is—no one understands him better than I do… Yuki roared internally but didn’t dare speak out. He could only keep his head down and accept his mother’s scolding.

“Your grades finally improved, and Mom is very happy. So you can’t stay around people like him, understand? Come straight home after school from now on—no more contact with him.”

The next day after school, Yuki sighed and came to the rooftop feeling down. Looking around, he didn’t see that familiar figure…

“Looks like he was warned too…” Just as he was about to leave, he noticed a figure sitting on the rooftop’s edge.

“Um… do you have something troubling you?” Thinking that it could’ve been someone who was suicidal, Yuki hurried forward, before seeing a unfamiliar girl in the distance.

A girl the height of an elementary schooler, but wearing their school’s uniform. Her silvery long hair was tied in a ponytail hanging behind her. The girl sat on the rooftop’s edge, gazing into the distance. In the sunset, she looked like a fairy from a fairy tale, and for a moment Yuki was mesmerized…

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“Hm? Looking for Eiru?” Turning to see Yuki, the girl froze before breaking out into a radiant smile.

“Ah yes, do you know where he went?” Remembering why he came here, Yuki quickly snapped back to reality.

“You can tell me—I can pass along the message…”

“That would be helpful. It’s like this…” Since Yuki didn’t know how to bring it up anyway, going through a third party made it easier.

After briefly explaining the situation and telling her he couldn’t come after school anymore, Yuki fled with a red face.

“What’s there to be afraid of? It’s not like I don’t understand…” Seeing him leave, the girl chuckled softly, though her tone seemed somewhat lonely. Then she spread the wings and tail behind her.

“Besides, with the way I look now, it’s probably better if we have less contact…”

Holding her hands behind her back, the girl leaped down. Dancing in the sunset, her figure gradually disappeared into the distance…