1 - To the School Seaside Retreat

Akuto Sai didn’t know what to do.

Of course, this was a common state of affairs for him ever since he’d been given the prophecy that he would become the Demon King. His classmates at Constant Magical Academy were always afraid of him, and every day he ran into some new problem. Now he even had a giant dragon for a friend (not exactly a normal friend to have), and he felt like he was gradually getting closer and closer to becoming the Demon King.

Even now he was lying in bed in his dorm room, sighing to himself. His teacher, Mitsuko Torii, had summoned him after school and given him a message.

“Listen, we’re all going on a seaside retreat, but you’re staying behind. Sorry.”

The normally serene Miss Mitsuko seemed truly apologetic this time.

“Was that the decision they made?” Akuto asked.

“Hmm, I don’t know. There’s a lot of stuff going on. Hey, you know how when the Emperor dies, nobody has a field day for a while? It’s kind of like that. No, maybe it’s different?”

When he saw how Miss Mitsuko was mumbling, Akuto figured out what was really going on.

“In other words, if I leave the school grounds, it’s going to cause some problems for the school. So they’ve decided to have me stay here.”

Miss Mitsuko clapped her hands together.

“Yes, that’s right! That’s exactly it. Akuto, you’re so smart. I’m glad you understand. Yeah.”

“Thanks for the compliment, but it doesn’t make me feel any better.”

“Ahh, don’t let it bother you. It’s just the first years who are going. The other grades are staying here, so it won’t be lonely. You’ll be excused from classes for a while, so you can do whatever you want!”

Miss Mitsuko patted Akuto on the shoulder idly.

“Well, I guess it can’t be helped. Maybe it’s not that big of a deal.”

Akuto’s shoulders slumped.

Miss Mitsuko laughed with relief.

“I’m so glad you understand. I was worried that you’d be mad that you couldn’t see the girls in their swimsuits.”

“Do you really think I’m that kind of person?” asked Akuto, his eyebrows narrowed.

He had a handsome face, but a wicked glare. He looked exactly like a villain in a movie. Miss Mitsuko peered into his eyes.

“...True. You look like a guy who’s got half-naked girls hanging off him all day. You’d probably just be bored, seeing girls in swimsuits. If you’ve got that many girlfriends, I suppose this isn’t a big deal, is it?”

“I’m going just ignore that you said that. But yeah, it’s not a big deal. I understand,” Akuto said, and he left the classroom.

And yet...

—I guess I really don’t get to lead a normal school life, do I?

Akuto was really depressed. He rolled around on the bed and put his right hand over his eyes.

In his heart, he wasn’t at all like his appearance implied. Even so, he tended to show off in front of others. He certainly couldn’t tell her how much he’d been looking forward to the seaside retreat.

—It’s not the swimsuits. I just want a normal life. I could go swimming or something. Wait, what do you even do at a seaside retreat?

“The seaside retreat is your chance to interact very closely with girls,” a voice said, very close to him.

“Uwah!”

Akuto leapt out of bed. He hadn’t seen her come in, but Korone was staring down at him.

Even though this was the boy’s dorm, and his room was only for one person, she was always in here. Since she was Akuto’s observer, she needed to be around him at all times. At night she would sleep in the cabinet above his closet. So it was normal for Korone to be around, but something was different today.

He couldn’t put his finger on what it was, but Korone seemed different.

“Wh-What is it?”

“It’s an event where you can interact very closely with girls,” Korone repeated. And then for some reason she snuggled up next to him.

“Why are you lying next to me?”

“Because I want to. You don’t like it?”

Korone wrapped her arm around his chest, and pinned him down on the bed. And then she moved her face close to his.

Seeing a face that was near the human ideal up close was a nerve-wracking experience, even if you were used to it. Akuto felt his heart skip a beat. Liradans breathed too, to help with their pronunciation when they spoke. Her breath was tickling his nose. It had a strange scent, different from a human’s.

“L-Listen, are you teasing me again?” Akuto asked, trying his best to pretend that he was still calm.

Korone had teased him like this several times in the past. Akuto had to be careful that she wasn’t doing it again.

“No, I’m not teasing you. If you’re embarrassed, then I will take your secrets to the grave. No matter what you do here, I will tell no one. I’ll even lie in my reports about anything exciting that goes on here.”

Korone’s voice was like a detective reading a suspect his rights. As she spoke, her hand slid along Akuto’s body. From his chest, to his stomach, and then further down...

“W-Wait!” Akuto grabbed her hand and made her stop.

“What’s wrong?”

“Don’t ‘what’s wrong’ me! Seriously, knock it off.”

Akuto squirmed out of her grasp and sat up on the bed. He looked directly at Korone with a serious expression on his face.

Korone sat up as well. But she was holding her arms wrapped around her knees. She was wearing a short skirt, which meant that she was showing Akuto her panties.

“...Is something wrong?” Korone asked after he was silent for a moment.

Akuto shook his head and looked away.

“A-Anyway... This isn’t what you wanted to talk about, right? You were saying something about the seaside retreat.”

“About that. You will now be able to go.”

Korone looked up at him, opening and closing her legs.

“Huh?”

For a moment he didn’t understand what she was saying, and looked back at her. But then he looked away again. Her eyes were boring into him. But then he realized what she’d said and shouted in surprise.

“Huh? I get to go on the seaside retreat?”

“Correct. You will now be able to go.”

“But the Academy said I had to stay here...”

“I will take responsibility.”

“No, I mean you don’t have to do that. There’s a lot of rumors about me on the outside, right? So I don’t want to do anything that’ll cause a problem. I mean, if it’s not a big deal...”

As Akuto mumbled, Korone whispered in a soft voice.

“Is this a burden for you?”

Her voice sounded sad for some reason, and Akuto found himself looking at her face once more.

Her green eyes were strangely filled with emotion, and looking straight at him. They seemed damp, he thought. No, even before he could think that thought, he was starting to panic.

“That’s not it. I’m just confused, because I don’t know why you’d do that for me. That’s right, why would you want...”

Korone lowered her face between her knees and glanced up at him.

“As I said, the seaside retreat is a chance to interact closely with girls. I thought that if you went, it might make you a little less shy...”

Korone pointed downwards. Akuto’s eyes had no choice but to follow. Since she was sitting with her knees pulled tight to her chest, it was obvious what he was going to see.

“S-Seriously, stop teasing me. Anyway, I’m a follower of Ko-Roh. If I do anything like that, it’ll make it much harder for me to become a priest.”

Akuto got off the bed and moved away from Korone.

Korone stretched out her legs and lay down on the bed.

“I’m sleeping here tonight.”

“No way.”

Akuto shook his head. Korone stared at him.

“If you’re not interested in girls, that may be a type of illness.”

“It... it’s not that.”

“Then sleep with me,” she said, still looking at him. But since there was no change in her tone or expression, Akuto wasn’t sure what to make of that. He was really starting to get confused.

—Korone’s not acting like her usual self...

She didn’t seem to be teasing him, and there was no reason for her to seduce him.

“I-I’ll pass.”

“Why?”

“Why? Y-You’re being weird, Korone.”

“By weird, do you mean that you find me unattractive as a woman?”

“No, that’s not quite what I meant...”

“Then what did you mean?”

“No... it... it is what I meant. The way you’re acting isn’t... really turning me on.”

Akuto had no idea how to deal with this conversation, so he just blurted it out. He was worried about how she might respond, but Korone simply gave up.

“I see,” she said, and then stood up and went back to her usual sleeping space in the cabinet.

—She’s not upset or anything, is she? No, she doesn’t seem like the type...

Akuto had no idea what had just happened, but since the bed was empty now he decided to go to sleep.

—Come to think of it, I should have thanked her for letting me go on the seaside retreat. That whole conversation was bizarre, but I need to at least do that.

As he thought about this, his eyelids grew heavy.

But what Akuto didn’t notice was that after Korone was sure he was asleep, she looked down on him and whispered,

“If you realized I wasn’t teasing you, would it turn you on? No, for a real approach, this is the wrong way, like you said...”

And so Korone began to search her databanks of past stories to see what it was that men liked.

“It’s morning. Get up. If you don’t get up, I’ll hit you with an elbow drop.”

That morning, Akuto was awakened by a heavy impact.

“Uwah! What the heck?”

He opened his eyes to see Korone straddling him. She was looking down at him with her usual blank expression.

“...Wha... What’s going on?”

“It’s your fault for not getting up sooner, big brother. If I don’t wake you up like this, you’ll never get up. You’re a bad big brother.”

Her voice was completely monotone.

“........................”

Akuto always got up early. He was usually up by 5:00 AM to do some light exercise and take a shower. He looked at the clock on the desk and saw that it was 4:40 AM.

—Why am I being woken up early and complained at? Actually, this “big brother” stuff is the bigger question here.

Akuto thought to himself, his mind still blurry. But that wasn’t the only strange thing going on.

Korone was wearing a dress like a little girl might wear. He’d never seen her dressed like that before. The dress looked nice on her slender body, but the skirt portion was too short, and as she straddled him he could almost totally see her underwear.

“Wait a second... What’s going on there?”

“You’re really not going to get up, big brother? Then I’ll have to use my feet.”

Korone turned her body around, and put her sock-clad foot up against Akuto’s crotch.

“Uwah! Wait! I’m already awake!”

“This is your fault for not getting up... Rub rub.”

“Aah! Ah-ah-ah!”

Akuto struggled desperately until he managed to get out from under her.

“Wh-What are you doing? You’re being weird, Korone.”

Akuto panted as he curled himself up into a ball at the side of the bed.

“I’m not being weird, big brother.”

She let her head droop to one side. He didn’t know how she’d intended to look, but she seemed like a doll whose head was about to fall off.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying is weird!”

“Would you have preferred a shorter dress?”

“That’s not it!”

“Then perhaps a childhood friend character who lives next door?”

“That’s not any better!”

“Then what kind of girl would you pin to your bed when she came to wake you up?”

“Hell if I know!”

“How selfish. Teenage boys can be so difficult. But it doesn’t seem like you’re lying. I just checked with my feet, and despite it being morning your genitals are still soft.”

“Please don’t say that stuff aloud...”

Akuto was exasperated, but glad that Korone was speaking normally again.

—Good. Apparently she hasn’t broken somehow. But that means that Korone is actually trying to excite me. That’s really strange. What is she up to?

Korone took her bag from the desk and opened it, then removed a white apron from inside.

“Well then, I’ll just have to run through each option until I find the right one. Let’s start with me wearing nothing but an apron.”

“Let’s not! Why are you doing this, any...?”

Korone raised a hand to cut him off.

“Do you dislike this?”

“I certainly don’t like it!” Akuto yelled back.

But Korone didn’t answer immediately, and he started to worry.

—Huh? Did I go too far?

Finally, Korone spoke.

“That is a problem. When the person I like says that to me, I start to think that I might not be attractive,” she said slowly.

Her voice was still as monotone as usual. This only made Akuto feel more uneasy as she was saying such emotional words.

—She said that Liradans do have emotions, right? Does that mean that she’s really worried I might not like her? If that’s the case, then I don’t want to hurt her. But I can’t do anything rash either. I guess I’ll just have to say how I really feel.

Akuto was the type of person who would make what he felt was the socially correct choice, and then end up trying to act cooler than he really was. He put both hands on Korone’s shoulders, and looked straight into her eyes as he spoke.

“I want to be serious in my relationships with women, so I can’t do things like that. But that doesn’t necessarily mean I’m not interested. Even without you tempting me like this, I’ve always liked you, and do feel that way about you. So I don’t know why you’re doing this, but if you’re worried that I’m upset with you, please don’t be. And I didn’t get a chance to say it yesterday, but I’m grateful that you gave me the chance to go to the seaside retreat. Thank you.”

Korone froze. It might have been that she was unsure how to respond, or maybe she was just being her usual expressionless self. But even so, after a brief pause, she answered.

“Don’t make this more complicated than it needs to be. I’m only interested in a physical relationship.”

“Wha...”

Akuto stood frozen in shock.

It was 5:00 AM exactly. The alarm on the desk started to go off.

In that instant, Korone slipped out of Akuto’s grasp, and began to put the apron away as if nothing had happened.

“Get moving. If you don’t shower and exercise as usual, you won’t make it in time for breakfast.”

“R-Right...”

Akuto nodded stiffly, turned off the alarm, and quickly left the room. When he was gone, Korone put both of her index fingers up to her cheeks and pushed inwards and upwards. It almost resembled a smile. It didn’t reach her eyes, though.

“If a purely physical relationship is too much to hope for, it must be because I’m a Liradan. Maybe if I can learn to smile. No, it’s impossible to analyze humans, so I don’t know for sure. So maybe if I tried to win his affections in a way that a human can’t...”

For once, Korone seemed actually worried.

○

Akuto’s worries about Korone’s changed attitude only grew. He was keenly aware of how she was following him on the way from the dorm to school. This was because Korone had at some point changed into a maid uniform, and was even wearing cat ears. She was still trying to seduce Akuto, it seemed.

“You’re looking cute today, Korone,” Hiroshi said as he came up to her.

“So that’s what you’re into?” asked Akuto.

“Come on, boss, I didn’t mean it that way. I just mean she’s cute.”

Hiroshi flashed a boyish grin and scratched his head in embarrassment.

Hiroshi Miwa. He was Akuto’s classmate, and the same age, but looked up to him like an older brother. He was one of the few people who Akuto could call a friend. Everyone else was afraid of him.

“I am cute every day,” Korone said.

“Haha, yeah. You are,” Hiroshi replied.

“Akuto ignores my charms, however,” Korone added.

The mood immediately became awkward. Akuto stole a quick glance at Hiroshi, and confirmed that he was confused by this change in Korone as well.

“Oh, right. So I guess I can go to the seaside retreat, by the way,” Akuto said to Hiroshi in a faltering voice.

Of course, he thought that Hiroshi would be happy to hear this, and it could hopefully change the mood. But instead, Hiroshi’s expression darkened for a moment. Not only that, he looked like he was forcing himself to smile.

“Uh, that’s great, boss!”

“Y-Yeah...”

Akuto’s expression stiffened as well. And so no one said anything until they reached the school building. When they got to home room, he figured out why.

“I have a message for everyone about our seaside trip,” Miss Mitsuko said. “Ahem. Akuto Sai will be participating.”

The whole class started to murmur. It was something he should be used to by now, but it still made Akuto uneasy. And then Miss Mitsuko said something that made it even worse.

“The retreat location is a special facility belonging to the Academy, so normally it shouldn’t matter who goes there. But the island where the facility is located is one with a legend about the Demon King. The legend is known to all the people on the island, and goes like this: Before the Demon King revives, a monster will appear from the lake in the center of the island. But then a hero will appear and defeat the monster. After that, the hero will defeat the Demon King.”

The class went silent. It seemed that they’d all been struck dumb. Everyone was looking towards Akuto’s seat, in the far back row.

He wasn’t sure how to respond, but he thought he’d look stupid if he didn’t say anything, so he spoke up.

“Only a fool would worry about the legends of some ignorant islanders. The Demon King’s war was a century ago, and we had the same government then that we do now. If something like that happened, there would be records of it, not some legend! And nobody can predict the future accurately anyway, so there’s no reason to believe the legend at all. It’s wrong to be scared over something so silly!”

Akuto slammed his fists against the desk.

His voice was a little too forceful and overly dignified, and actually ended up being less persuasive than he’d hoped. But since he made a good point, his classmates all calmed down.

But then he received an entirely different kind of response, one that he wasn’t expecting at all.

“I’m sorry, boss. That island is my home,” Hiroshi said.

—So that’s why he was acting that way on the way to school!

Akuto immediately became flustered.

“No, um, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insult your family...”

“No, it’s okay. It’s true that my family are a bunch of ignorant islanders,” Hiroshi spat bitterly.

It didn’t seem like he was being sarcastic or humble. He seemed to truly dislike his family.

Akuto was curious about why, but Miss Mitsuko started speaking again before he could ask. When he finally had a chance to talk to Hiroshi at lunch, truly seemed like a complicated situation.

“It really is in the middle of nowhere. Just like you said, you couldn’t have a legend that’s just a century old. There are still people alive from that time, and they’d know what the truth is. And the Demon King was never defeated by a ‘hero’ anyway, so the only reason that legend exists is to give the islanders a reason to feel good about themselves. There’s nothing out there, so at least they want to believe they’ve got a hero who can defeat the Demon King.”

Hiroshi looked resentful. It seemed more like he was dwelling his own past than having a conversation.

Akuto didn’t understand why he would talk that way.

“But you’ve got family there, right? I don’t know if you should be talking about them that way.”

“Maybe not, but that’s my problem, not yours,” said Hiroshi with a frown. Akuto couldn’t help but feel irritated at this response.

“I really don’t like it when people say things like that.”

“Sure, but this isn’t something you’d understand, boss. You’re strong, you know?”

“That’s got nothing to do with it.”

“That’s not what I mean. That’s not what I mean at all!”

Hiroshi closed his mouth like he didn’t want to talk about it anymore. Before Akuto could say another word, he’d gathered up his tray and utensils and stood up.

—What was that about? What does being strong have to do with hating your family?

Akuto wasn’t happy with the way they’d left things, but he decided not to worry about it. He would speak to Hiroshi again tomorrow.

○

The first thing Akuto did when he got back to the dorm was open the desk drawer. He climbed up on his chair, and then carefully stuck his foot into the opened drawer. It might’ve looked like he was trying to flip the desk, or maybe just destroy the drawer, but there was actually a teleportation circle inside. Peterhausen, the black dragon, had put it there for him, saying that it would be too much trouble for him to walk down all the way down to the labyrinth each time. Thanks to that, he could use the desk drawer to go to the Demon King’s palace underneath the school.

Peterhausen was a black dragon, the steed of the former Demon King during the last great war. He’d been sealed away after the war ended, and only recently revived. Now he was Akuto’s steed, but since Akuto didn’t have the slightest intention of riding him, it made things awkward for the both of them.

“Start a war or something already,” Peterhausen said tranquilly. His body was curled up in a ball like a cat or dog. “It will be good practice.” But despite his peaceful demeanor, his body was 15 meters long, and his whole body was covered in shining black scales. He looked like nothing less than a demon hoping to destroy the world for his own amusement.

Peterhausen’s bed was at the center of the underground palace. The palace was huge, with a terrifyingly high ceiling, so there was plenty of space for him to move around. This was, in fact, where Akuto had fought him. But Peterhausen sat on his pile of cushions and didn’t move much. He seemed quite content.

Akuto stood in front of Peterhausen and chuckled.

“I’m sorry I have to keep giving you the same answer, but I’m not the Demon King, and I have no intention of becoming one.”

“Someday the day will come when you’ll realize that it’s the best decision,” Peterhausen snorted. “Now then, I can’t imagine that you’d come to me without a reason?”

Akuto nodded.

“This is probably a stupid question, but hear me out anyway.”

Akuto asked him about the legend of the island he’d just heard. He thought that Peterhausen would laugh, but instead he was listening intently.

“Yes, that is strange. Perhaps Hiroshi is correct that it’s simply wishful thinking on the part of the islanders, but there are parts of it that are of great interest to me.”

“Great interest?”

“To us, prophecies are nothing but predictions. In other words, the future can only be predicted based off of past data. The fact that you are the Demon King is another prediction based on past data. But there were no heroes in the past.”

“Then maybe you’re mistaken about me, too.”

“That’s a different matter. I can definitively say that I’ve never fought a hero in my life.”

Peterhausen’s eyes were mocking.

“I see. Then maybe it is just a superstition.”

Akuto crossed his arms.

The modern empire had been systematized for 1000 years. Gods were nothing but artificial record storage mechanisms. Perform the good deeds that they were programmed to prefer, and they would offer you social services in return. That system had never fallen apart. But most people weren’t aware of this system, and so gods were literal objects of worship, allowing the system and superstitions to exist side-by-side.

“No, what I found interesting was that despite its simplistic nature, it does seem like a true prophecy. Not a prediction. There would be no reason for the Demon King to go to that place, Miwa Island, was it? The last one didn’t. It’s an isolated island in the southern seas, after all.”

“Don’t say such spooky things,” Akuto said. “Enough about that. Why won’t you tell me more about the last Demon King?”

Peterhausen opened a single eye, and made an expression that was hard to read. He seemed to be attempting to raise an eyebrow.

“Because you refuse to become the Demon King.”

“I told you, it’s never happening.” Akuto sighed and put his hands on his hips.

“I dislike conflict, so I’m staying here for now. But if there’s any problem, I’m more than willing to go out and start destroying things. And once that happens, there’ll be no going back for you. You will officially become my master.”

Peterhausen laughed. His breath caused little whirlwinds to appear around him. Akuto covered his face with his hand and frowned.

“I wouldn’t like that at all. And anyway, I’m leaving for a while.”

“A seaside retreat, is that what they call it? If you’re concerned about the prophecy, shouldn’t you stay here?”

“I know it’s just superstition, so I’m not worried.”

“Are you sure? If it gets dangerous, summon me and I will come. And then there’ll be a war. I can’t wait,” Peterhausen laughed with a vicious look on his face.

Akuto sighed.

“Let’s keep things peaceful,” he said.

“Deny it all you like. You’re a warrior.”

“Says the dragon with someone napping on its belly.”

Akuto jerked his head in the direction of the small creature sleeping on the dragon’s stomach. He could see tufts of red hair amidst the shining black scales. They were waving at regular intervals. It was the rhythm of someone breathing as they slept.

Keena Soga was taking a nap, and using Peterhausen’s body as a pillow. Her face showed that she was in a state of total relaxation. Just looking at Keena when she was awake was enough to make you sleepy. When she was asleep, it was like she was putting you under hypnosis.

“This girl is the first one to never truly fear me. Even you, Master, seem to keep your distance,” said Peterhausen, sounding impressed.

“She’s got a really special personality,” Akuto said with a shrug.

Looking at Keena’s face always made him feel strange. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d met her when he was younger, but Keena herself seemed to have forgotten. Maybe he was just mistaken.

That strange feeling meant that Keena was always on Akuto’s mind. There was something special about her that made her different from his other friends.

—Just who is Keena, anyway?

He’d tried to ask her before, but whenever you talked to Keena, you always found yourself talking about something different than you intended to.

As Akuto stood there in thought, he was suddenly struck from behind.

“Oww!”

“You were looking at her with lust in your eyes. You’re not allowed to look at girls like that, okay?”

The speaker’s words were in a flat monotone. He turned around and saw Korone. For some reason, she was wearing the uniform of another school. She was posing with her hand on her hips, but because she was expressionless, it was hard to tell exactly what she was doing.

“Um... what?”

Korone’s neck dropped to the side once again.

“Can’t you tell? I’m trying to be a classmate who’s jealous of other girls even though she’s not your girlfriend. Doesn’t it turn you on?”

“...No. Not really.”

“Unfortunate. Regardless, stop looking at Keena with lust in your eyes.”

“I am not!” Akuto denied.

“Good. I can’t have the two of you getting two close.”

Korone stood between Akuto and Keena. Peterhausen spoke up, sounding confused.

“What are you doing? This doesn’t seem like what I’d expect from a conversation between a Liradan observer and the Demon King.”

Korone’s answer was immediate.

“Leave us alone. This is our problem, not yours. It’s a problem between a man and a woman.”

“Would you just stop...?” Akuto said. But Peterhausen only laughed.

“The Demon King is always popular with the ladies. I’m quite jealous.”

“You may have Keena then, Peterhausen.” Korone said. She was serious.

Peterhausen nodded. He was serious too.

“A splendid idea. I’ve taken a liking to her. She’s the one who made this bed for me, after all. Surely that means she intends to make a family for me.”

“What is wrong with you two?! Stop that!” Akuto interjected.

Both Peterhausen and Korone instantly turned towards him. Korone was expressionless, but Peterhausen seemed slightly surprised. Akuto wondered if maybe he’d shouted a little too loud.

“...N-No, I mean you can’t do that without taking Keena’s feelings into account.”

Akuto began to fidget and wave his hands in denial.

“It was a joke, obviously,” Peterhausen said, a little bothered.

Akuto laughed awkwardly.

“Y-Yeah. I’m sure it was. I’m just saying it’s inappropriate. Hahaha...”

“May I interpret your actions to mean you’re in love with Keena?” Korone leaned in towards Akuto questioningly. Akuto flinched.

“Wh-What kind of question is that?”

“Just what I said. Perhaps you wish to begin a sexual relationship followed by marriage, or simply live a life of debauchery with her.”

“L-Listen, don’t be stupid...”

“No, I’m quite serious. I’m not asking whether you actually intend to do it. I’m asking if, in your heart, you would like to.”

Korone’s face got closer.

“Wh-Why do I have to tell you what’s in my heart?”

“I wish to know your sexual proclivities, so that I can provide those services myself.”

“Wha...” Akuto was speechless.

—I need to do something...

He could feel the sweat pouring out from every pore on his body. But then the goddess of salvation appeared.

“What...? It’s kind of noisy...” Keena had woken up. “Oh, Ackie, Korone, you’re here. Stop making so much noise, okay? Petey’s sleeping too.”

Keena smiled and patted Peterhausen on the head. Evidently she was now calling him Petey. It wasn’t the best name for a terrifying dragon, but Peterhausen seemed to like it. Not only was he letting her pat him on the head, his eyes had narrowed like a contented cat’s.

Even if it was possible to speak with him, he was still a 15-meter-long beast. No, in Peterhausen’s case, the fact that you could speak with him only made it worse. He was prideful and violent, so he would probably be less terrifying if you couldn’t understand him. Akuto was forced to realize that whether he liked it or not, Keena seemed to live on a different planet than everyone else.

“Sorry for waking you up,” Akuto said. “Oh, right. I’m going to the seaside retreat with you.”

Keena’s expression brightened.

“Really? Great. If you weren’t going, I wasn’t going to go either. But if you are, I can go with you! I can’t wait!” Keena said, grinning.

“Y-Yeah...”

Akuto nodded. Normally he would’ve been just as happy as she was, but after what Korone had said, it was hard to look directly into Keena’s smile.

“What are you grinning at?”

Korone poked him in the back with her elbow.

“H-Hey, hold on. You’ve been weird ever since yesterday, Korone.”

But Korone just shook her head.

“I am, as always, carrying out my mission. There is no problem at all.”

“..........”

There was nothing he could say to that, but Akuto was starting to get worried that Korone might have really gone off the deep end.

—This is getting a little too weird. I hope it’s not a sign of something bad to come...

Akuto was already getting worried about the school trip, but then Keena pointed out one more headache.

“Hey, but if we go, then Petey’s gonna be all by himself for a while.”

“Ahh, that’s right...”

Akuto hadn’t really thought about it, but the only ones who could spend time with Peterhausen were Akuto and Keena. Given how he’d behaved so far, he was unlikely to go out and do anything that would cause trouble for Akuto. However, if someone were to approach his lair, he would probably kill them and destroy anything else in the vicinity without hesitation.

“We need to make it so nobody else can get in here, at least,” Akuto said.

The palace was deep under the Academy, but it was also connected to the dorms. It would be difficult, but not impossible, for someone to come through the underground labyrinth and make it here.

“Don’t worry! I’ve got a great idea!” Keena said in a voice full of confidence.

“Really?”

“Yup. It’ll be fine! Leave it to me!” She thumped her hands against her chest.

Akuto saw her confidence and decided to leave Peterhausen in her care. If anything, Keena could probably do a better job taking care of him than he would.

But he found out later that Keena’s “idea” was an extremely simple one.

She simply asked Fujiko Eto to watch the place while they were gone. Fujiko was in an upper class, so she wasn’t going on the trip. And after what had just happened, she’d fallen in love with Akuto so much that she swore undying loyalty to him and kept going out of her way to find ways to help him.

That wasn’t a problem on its own, but in the same incident, she’d also almost been killed by Peterhausen.

“Hyaaaaah!” Fujiko collapsed to the ground in terror in front of Peterhausen. She’d received a letter from Keena saying simply, “Akuto needs your help. Please come see me.” When she’d stepped inside the enclosed magical circle, she’d suddenly found herself face to face with the black dragon.

“I heard someone would be sent to attend to my needs. Is that you, girl?”

Peterhausen sounded upset. He liked Keena, and it seemed that a raven-haired beauty like Fujiko wasn’t his type.

For her part, Fujiko was too terrified to move. It wasn’t often that she encountered a situation where she genuinely would’ve preferred to be stuck in a cage with a wild animal.

“Kyaaah! Nooo!”

She was flailing around uselessly on the ground like an overturned beetle. But a single sentence from Peterhausen stopped her.

“...Annoying girl. Any more fuss and I’ll kill you.”

“I... I understand...” Fujiko began to back away, still unable to stand up. “I-I’ll be leaving then...”

“Wait. Who told you that you could leave?” Peterhausen said. “You were sent by Akuto and Keena to provide me some minimum of amusement, right?”

A frozen smile formed on Fujiko’s face as she began to stammer.

“U-Um... Nobody told me anything about this... What, exactly, would you like me to do?”

“An excellent question. Keena would take naps with me, and tell me stories. You can do that too, right?”

“What?!”

This was a completely unexpected request for Fujiko. Peterhausen continued, oblivious to her stunned expression.

“But I don’t particularly want to take a nap with you. Tell me a funny story.”

“A-Alright...” In other words, he just wanted someone to talk to. But for a proud girl like Fujiko, this was a serious insult.

—Someday I’ll get you for this...

Fujiko secretly wrote something in her “Notebook of Malice,” being careful not to let Peterhausen see.

“Hey. Where’s my story?”

“R-Right! Um... The phrase ‘If winter comes, can spring be far behind?’ is a Japanese saying, but actually finds its origin in a phrase from the English poet Shelley...”

“You’re boring me already.”

“R-Right! That was just a digression, the real story is about a hedgehog who went to a psychiatrist to talk about his marital difficulties...”

—I’ll kill you. Someday I will kill you for this!

Fujiko hid the bloody tears streaming down her face. With no regard to her plight, Akuto and company left for the seaside retreat the next day.