The Academy’s Weakest Became A Demon-Limited Hunter
Chapter 361: Side Story — The Answer

“It’s been a while.”

The petite wizard with flowing reddish brown hair, Aria Lilias, greeted with a blank expression as she used telekinesis to arrange books wedged in the bookshelf.

The books arranged on the shelf were obsessively tidy.

This was the top floor of the Hegel Tower, Aria’s laboratory. I sent White ahead and came to visit Aria for the first time in a while.

As usual, her tone was dry and emotionless, but I could sense that she was secretly pleased.

“Are you still spying on Professor Fernando these days?” I asked playfully as I took off my fedora.

“These days, it’s tough because that rascal of a disciple has gotten better at catching on.”

“So you’re still doing it.”

“Because I’m worried. If someone is my disciple, whoever they are. So, what’s your business?”

Aria perched on the desk in her laboratory and looked at me.

“We’re not the kind of people who need a reason to visit, are we? I just stopped by the academy and thought I’d come see you.”

“It’s too late to have a meal together… Just stay and relax before you leave.”

“Alright.”

Aria lowered her head and silently read a book.

No matter how petite and youthful she looked, there was an air of experience in the way she read. Calm and intellectual, I’d say.

I browsed the bookshelf, picked up a random book, and started reading. It was a Specialized text. In the middle of the pages, animated illustrations moved to explain the research process.

Suddenly, a curious thought struck me, I wondered if all the books on the shelf were magic-related texts.

“Teacher, are all the books here Specialized texts?”

“That’s correct.”

“…But there’s an erotic book here?”

“…”

As the saying went, If one wanted to hide a tree, hide it in a forest, the erotic book was inconspicuously placed among the Specialized texts.

No matter how vast the library was, it was hard to escape my eyes.

“…Someone must have left it here, and I just placed it randomly. Don’t misunderstand.”

“Is that so?”

Aria glanced at the book I was holding, then maintained her poker face while averting her gaze. I immediately knew she was lying. The next time I visited, the book would likely be gone.

Of course, I teased her just for fun. Not wanting to invade Aria’s privacy, I put the book back in its original spot.

To begin with, the title was Three Men, One Woman, so I didn’t have the courage to open it.

It was true I was curious, but there were things in this world better left unknown… So, I exercised self-control.

“By the way, it’s about time you told me something.”

“What is it?”

While I was browsing the bookshelf, Aria spoke to me. I stopped and looked at her.

Something I need to talk about?

“Did you forget? You said you’d tell me once everything was over. But you haven’t yet.”

“…What was it again?” I asked awkwardly with a smile, and Aria lifted her head to look at me.

“Why did you struggle so much when learning 7-star magic?”

“Ah.”

It came back to me.

I had promised to answer that question once everything was over. I had completely forgotten about it.

Being that it was all over, there was nothing left to hide.

I guess it was fine to reveal it as promised.

“That’s true… I haven’t told you yet.”

Unintentionally, a smile crept onto my face as I quietly walked along the bookshelf.

With each step I took, I faintly felt as though the troubled steps I had taken on the day I first faced the demons overlapped with my own.

My academy life wasn’t a story of romance or youth, but a survival tale stained with troubles and despair.

It was a precarious tightrope walk where a single misstep meant death.

Because I was…

“I was, in fact, the weakest.”

For a moment, Aria furrowed her eyebrows but quickly composed her expression.

“The weakest…? You? By what standard?”

“At Märchen Academy. I was genuinely weak. That’s why I worked hard to learn, study, and train, step by step.”

“I can’t understand that.”

“I suppose.”

As I spoke my story without pretense, I felt a weight lift off my chest.

The smile lingering on my lips was probably because of that.

“But I had a conditional ability to become strong.”

“Conditional? What kind?”

“The ability to grow stronger when I resolved to fight demons. I could only become strong when demons were the enemy. And everything I built up was useful when fighting demons.”

“That’s just… my story.”

My relentless journey to defeat the Evil God could perhaps be summarized in that one sentence, which might seem ridiculous to some.

Aria closed her eyes and lowered her head, seemingly organizing her thoughts.

“Your answer is full of inconsistencies and leaves many questions, but… thinking about it that way, it makes sense.”

Aria opened her eyes again and gave a faint smile.

“…You’ve worked hard, my student.”

And she said it so simply.

What’s this?

“…Why aren’t you speaking in that intellectual tone all of a sudden?”

“That’s not for you to know.”

Aria returned to her dry, emotionless expression and shifted her gaze back to the book she was reading.

She somehow seemed a little sulky.

“More importantly, are you staying the night?”

“That’s difficult. I have another place to stay.”

“Well, your fiancée is still at the academy, after all.”

“Yep.”

“Let me know how it went later.”

“Excuse me?”

“What feedback?”

White was staying in the Imperial Princess’ exclusive dormitory.

It was preferential treatment compared to the other students, but considering White was the princess of the nation, it was a reasonable arrangement.

When playing ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱, I never thought much about it, but from a graduate’s perspective, Märchen Academy’s policy of pursuing equality of status was a contradictory stance.

Complete equality of status in a hierarchical society was an impossibility.

The students just went along with the academy’s policies, as though it were the obvious thing to do—because if they didn’t, they’d be criticized.

Still, I could respect the academy’s will to at least educate everyone equally.

Surely, the person who founded Märchen Academy had such beliefs at its inception.

“Senior Isaac!”

“White!”

When I arrived at the princess’ dormitory, White greeted me enthusiastically.

Aside from her, Merlin and several Imperial knights stood neatly in position. They all saluted me.

“You’re still awake? Didn’t you say you usually go to bed early?”

“Well… I can’t fall asleep first. You’re… my… future husband, so I thought we could sleep together… Ah, no, that’s not what I meant…!”

She used to easily throw herself into my arms, but now that we were engaged, she seemed to have become more self-conscious.

White seemed flustered, so I let out a small laugh.

“Let’s head to the room for now.”

“Yes, yes…! Shall we?”

White nodded her head quickly.

White, Merlin, and I walked down the hallway.

I glanced at White. She kept fidgeting with her fingers.

It was extremely easy to tell that she was secretly looking forward to spending the night alone with me.

“Where’s my room?”

“There’s an empty room available…”

“But?”

“I’m a little worried. It might be too small for you, Senior Isaac. The amenities might not be to your liking… I’d even say it’s a room I’d worry about you sleeping well in. Or, for your comfort and a good night’s sleep, you could just stay in my room, which might, uh, be perfectly fine too…?”

Her roundabout way of hinting was adorable. She also seemed unaware of exactly what she was saying.

I felt the urge to tease her again, but since it seemed unfair to do so about something like that, I answered calmly, “Then should I sleep in your room?”

“Yes, an excellent choice…! What?”

White’s face brightened for a moment, then suddenly she panicked.

“W-what? Can you say that so casually…!? Of course, I don’t mind, but Senior Isaac, can you really say something like that so easily!?”

“What’s the problem? We’re getting married anyway.”

“The academy rules, morality… even the truths of this world…! Don’t we have so many things we need to figure out first!?”

White, her face flushed red, trembled as she spoke. She was radiating a highly nervous energy.

Weren’t you the one who wanted to sleep with me first…?’

What exactly do you want…?

At that moment, Merlin interjected, “Don’t worry. There won’t be any problems. Earlier today, we reinforced the soundproofing design thoroughly, and His Highness has also expressed his wishes and enthusiastic support for the two of you sharing a room….”

“Why are you saying something like that, Merlin!?” White shouted, startled.

Before long, tears welled up in her eyes.

“My apologies. But there’s nothing to hide, is there? You’re an engaged couple, after all.”

That was true.

These two had grown quite close over their three years at the academy.

“I-I wasn’t thinking anything like that at all…!”

“…I see. That was thoughtless of me,” Merlin responded as if she had given up.

Before long, we arrived at White’s room.

A small light faintly illuminated the spacious room.

As White and I entered the room, Merlin saluted from the hallway.

“Then, you two, have a good night. Tomorrow is a holiday, and no sound will come from outside, so it’ll feel as quiet as the grave. I hope you won’t worry about anything at all…”

“Please don’t say unnecessary things, Merlin…!”

White pleaded tearfully, and Merlin chuckled lightly and said, “Yes,” before closing the door.

“…”

On the surface, it seemed like a fresh and innocent atmosphere…

Hiding the mana radiating from me, I activated [Clairvoyance] to check outside the door and saw Merlin leaning against the wall with her head lowered.

From earlier, she had been pretending to be composed but was clearly feeling discomfort. She just wasn’t showing it.

She was Kaya’s older sister.

It seemed she wasn’t entirely comfortable with the idea of me, Kaya’s fiancé, sharing a bed with another fiancée.

However, given my status, it was entirely normal for me to have multiple women, and all five women, including Kaya, had accepted marriage with me.

Merlin seemed to be trying her best to set aside her discomfort.

For me, it was something to be grateful for, proof of how much she cherished me, Kaya, and White.

Ah.

I belatedly realized that an awkward silence had fallen while I was briefly lost in thoughts about Merlin.

White, unsure of what to do, was nervously twirling the ends of her hair with her fingers.

“White,” I spoke first.

“Y-yes?”

“It’s late. Let’s get some rest. It’s well past your usual bedtime.”

“Y-yes, let’s do that!” White responded with exaggerated enthusiasm.

“I’ll shower first.”

“O-okay… Then, um, I’ll… wait on the bed…! Senior Isaac…”

White was sweating nervously, exuding tension. Her movements had become incredibly stiff.

At this moment, rational thought wasn’t functioning properly in White’s mind. It felt as though I could hear the gears grinding in her head.

The fact that she deliberately mentioned the “bed” was blatantly obvious. It was easy to tell exactly what she was expecting.

White headed to the spacious bed, while I made my way to the shower room.

Showerrrrrr.

After washing my body clean and putting on a shower gown, I came out.

“Hmm?”

Toward the bed.

For some reason… White was peacefully asleep, letting out soft breaths.

“…Are you sleeping?”

I tried using [Psychological Insight] just in case, but it didn’t work. It was clear that she was completely asleep.

It seemed she couldn’t resist the drowsiness that came over her while I was showering.

It was quite late.

It would be better if White washed up before sleeping, but I didn’t want to wake someone who was already deeply asleep.

I tucked the blanket around her properly and laid down next to her. The bed was wide, so there was plenty of space.

I turned my body and quietly looked at White’s sleeping face. It still felt unbelievable that such a lovely person was my woman.

For a moment, I stroked White’s white hair and kissed her forehead.

Soon after closing my eyes, I drifted off to sleep.

The chirping of birds signaled the morning.

White, having woken from sleep, sat up and stared blankly ahead. The bright sunlight pierced through the curtains, illuminating the room.

When she turned her head to the side, her peacefully sleeping fiancé came into view.

For a while, there was silence.

“Kyaaah…”

White covered her face and let out a low, pitiful scream.

She had only closed her eyes for a moment because her body felt so languid…

Why is it morning alreadyyy…!?

White whimpered.

She resented this pointless sense of relief.