The Academy’s Weakest Became A Demon-Limited Hunter
Chapter 363: Side Story — Reunion (2)

“What about Tristan?” I asked Amy, the organizer of the reunion while drinking. I had been calculating the timing of when to ask.

Tristan Humphrey, the vain blond noble. Among my classmates, he was someone who particularly stood out and annoyed me, so I found myself curious about him.

He was the first classmate I fought after becoming Isaac and had boldly declared that he would catch up to me.

Before I knew it, Amy, swaying her head slightly from intoxication, reacted exaggeratedly, saying, “Oh, that guy!?”

Ian, who was beside her, had already collapsed face down on the table due to the alcohol.

“Humphrey? I don’t really know… Didn’t he say he was training or something…?”

“If you’re talking about Tristan, he said he was training and didn’t come. It seems he’s making a name for himself as a mercenary these days,” Mateo, who was less drunk, answered in his place.

“A mercenary?”

Well, that’s interesting.

In ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱, Tristan was nothing more than a third-rate villain who didn’t even show his face by the story’s conclusion.

I assumed he would be recognized as the next head of the Humphrey family and lead it, but I didn’t expect him to become a mercenary.

“He’s a graduate of Märchen Academy, and he’s skilled, you know. It seems he’s worth quite a lot.”

“How do you know that? You weren’t close to Tristan, right?”

“Just… I’m interested in that field.”

Mateo slightly lifted the corners of his mouth and looked down at his glass.

Well, this guy also became famous as a mercenary later. I remember seeing him at the ending of ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱.

“Living fiercely, huh…?”

“You’re no different, busy with state affairs.”

“That’s not exactly fierce work.”

In this world, I had no rival. It was simply a matter of objective power.

On the premise of discarding emotions, it was obvious that I would win even if I fought all of humanity.

Even the inevitable political games within the imperial palace held little significance in the face of my [Psychological Insight] and power.

Because of this, I was leading a life untouched by fierce effort or intensity.

If work got hard, I could just bury my face in Dorothy’s chest, as if the genre of my life had shifted to a soothing slice-of-life story.

“Hey, there’s something I want to ask,” Ciel, who had been sipping her drink, looked at me and asked.

She was sitting right next to me.

She placed her arms on the table, rested her chin on her hand, and stared at me with half-open eyes, like a frozen fish.

“What is it?”

“First, promise me you won’t get mad and say it’s rude.”

“I’m not such a bad person that I’d need to make a promise like that. Just relax and say it, you idiot.”

“W-what…?”

“Idiot.”

“…!”

I teased her with a wide smile.

At this point, I had nothing weighing me down. Unlike during the end-of-semester evaluation in my first semester, I no longer had to grovel to Ciel by composing a three-line poem using the word idiot.

Now that I was in this situation, I truly felt that I had made it.

Ciel’s head trembled slightly.

“You’re making me feel like I’m about to cause some bloodshed…”

She only spoke like that. In reality, Ciel had never actually caused a bloodbath.

It was just a habitual phrase of hers.

“So, what’s your question?”

Ciel exhaled softly with a hmm, then cupped her hand around her mouth and whispered quietly in my ear, “Your future wives.”

“Yeah.”

“Which one do you like the most?”

“…?”

Why are you even curious about that…?

It wasn’t even a joke. Her eyes were filled with genuine curiosity.

Whether he heard the whisper or not, Mateo subtly showed interest. He obviously knew who my five fiancées were.

“Is it hard to answer?”

“Pretty much.”

“Hmm.”

Ciel backed away, her expression showing disappointment.

“If it’s hard to answer, can’t you at least tell us who you liked the most when you were at the academy? Like, who your first love was?”

“That sounds interesting. Isaac’s first love… Who was it among the five?” Mateo chimed in.

For sure. Nothing beats relationship stories at a drinking party.

I had no intention of honestly revealing who I first liked among my fiancées, but maybe I could go along with the mood a bit.

“Well…”

“Hehe. Isn’t Isaac’s first love actually me?”

“…What?”

Amy, swaying her head from intoxication, suddenly made the declaration, and a brief silence followed.

Before I knew it, Amy had her arms resting on the table and was gazing at me with a bright, sunny smile, like a sunflower.

Everyone at the table, including myself, turned to look at Amy.

“Isaac, remember when you asked me out in our first year? You said that hilarious line about kidnapping me…”

Wait, hold on a second.

She was talking about the time I was part of Mateo’s gang and we kidnapped her.

I guess she was trying to turn it into a fun conversation topic now that it was all in the past.

But the timing was bad.

“Is that true?”

“Interesting…” Mateo asked in surprise, while Ciel stroked her chin and reacted with interest.

“Amy, wait…!”

“Oh no, did you suffer heartbreak because of me?”

Damn it.

How could she say that here…?

I hastily adjusted my magic and activated [Clairvoyance], checking on Ella and Cheshire.

They had cast sensory-enhancing magic on their hearing and were listening intently in my direction.

So, they heard it, huh?

“Hey, you have a boyfriend. Maybe you shouldn’t say stuff like that…”

“Ian’s already passed out, and your wives aren’t here anyway. Why? Are you embarrassed?”

Amy waved her hands around and let out a silly giggle, chattering away without a clue. Suddenly, I broke out in a cold sweat.

Come to think of it, since Amy could technically be considered my first date, it was hard to firmly deny it.

“Let’s drop this topic. I mean, you can’t exactly call that a proper date request. It was kind of similar, but…!”

“Hey there, my friend! After all, we’re marrying other people, so it’s fine to be honest, right? I understand it all, okay? Yup, I totally get it! Wow, I must’ve been really gorgeous, huh?”

Please, just shut up…!

***

When the reunion began.

Ella, the white cat familiar, arrived at Märchen Academy on Dorothy’s orders. Thanks to flying with starlight-infused magic, she was able to reach the destination quickly.

[Trust is important in love… If you get anxious about sending Isaac alone, how are you going to live in the future…?]

On the rooftop of a building, Ella clicked her tongue and quietly observed Isaac.

She had been sent by her master, Dorothy, to keep an eye on Isaac. Dorothy had claimed that she drew too much attention and therefore sent Ella instead. It seemed a bit like over-consciousness, but there was truth to it in some ways.

In any case, Isaac would surely notice that Ella was there. Essentially, Ella’s presence served as Dorothy’s cute warning to him not to do anything foolish.

[Yaaawn… Why am I being made to do this…? At this rate, she’ll have me babysitting in the future…]

It was as Ella yawned and grumbled to herself.

[Meow~.]

[…!]

A dull meowing sound suddenly heightened the tension in Ella’s relaxed feline senses.

Ella quickly turned her head in the direction of the sound.

As expected.

The chubby cat wearing a small bowler hat, Cheshire, was approaching her.

[Meow, meow, meo~.]

Cheshire approached, swaying its hips in time with the “dum-chit dum-chit” rhythm.

Its steps were filled with confidence as if proudly announcing to the world how charming it believed itself to be.

It even hummed a sweet tune, clearly in a joyful mood.

All of this was an act of courtship directed at Ella.

[What’s with this voice…?]

Ella’s face was full of disgust.

Misinterpreting her words as admiration, Cheshire let out a bright laugh.

[Long time no see, Ella! Look who I found here!]

[Ugh…]

[Is this destiny!?]

[More like a curse.]

Cheshire stood beside Ella.

Ella glared at him with sharp eyes and responded curtly.

[Did Alice send you?]

[Of course! She gave me the important mission of keeping an eye on her husband! Can you imagine how trustworthy I must be for her to entrust me with that?]

[She probably sent you because you’re useless over there.]

[Ah, Ella, your cold tone is so charming!]

Cheshire winked playfully.

[Haa…]

There’s no way I can communicate with this bastard.

Ella let out a deep sigh and turned her gaze back toward Isaac.

Cheshire sat on the roof next to Ella. Rather than focusing on the mission Alice had given it, it was engrossed in admiring Ella’s beautiful profile. However, Ella didn’t spare it even a glance.

[Ella, you’re still as beautiful as ever.]

[And you’re still as ugly.]

[No star in the night sky is as beautiful as you. I’m so happy I can gaze at you with my eyes!]

[If you don’t want to confirm the existence of the afterlife with those eyes, you’d better shut your mouth.]

[That arrogance! It’s the perfect trait for becoming the wife of the charming Cheshire!]

[I’d rather you just tell me to die.]

As the two cats continued their back-and-forth exchange.

[…Wait a second.]

Ella sensed a strange conversation coming from Isaac’s direction and enhanced her hearing with magic to focus on it.

[…]

Cheshire did the same.

[Did you hear that just now?]

[I heard it, Ella.]

Some random woman was claiming that she was Isaac’s first love.

It seemed like nonsense at first, but the following remarks surprised the two cats.

[Isaac asked someone on a date…?]

[Heartbreak… Isaac experienced heartbreak…?]

Both cats’ eyes widened in shock.

[That was during his first year, when things were going great with Dorothy, wasn’t it?]

[Alice never knew about this, did she…?]

The woman with short white hair and a black rabbit-ear ribbon.

While her boyfriend laid unconscious, she was drunkenly flirting with Isaac, slyly wagging her metaphorical tail like a fox.

Is this not a sign of an impending scandal…?

Whether she did it consciously or unconsciously didn’t matter. This was a serious situation.

Flash!

Ella and Cheshire exchanged glances and swiftly split up.

Ella activated her communication magic.

[Dorothy, fly to Märchen Academy immediately! At full speed! It’s urgent!]

Meanwhile, Cheshire arrived near the otherworldly gate formed in Josena Forest—a gate leading to Wonderland.

It immediately used communication magic.

[Alice, this isn’t the time to work! A woman claiming to be Isaac’s first love has shown up! She says they even had a date! And Isaac didn’t deny it!]

Elsewhere, inside the Düpendorf Empire.

“Huh…? First love…?”

Dorothy, having received Ella’s message, couldn’t hide her confusion.

The same was true for Isaac’s other lover in another room.

[Shock! The dreaded situation has occurred! Isaac’s unknown past, what even master didn’t know!?]

Inside the laboratory.

Bello, the small killer whale familiar, floated in the air, making a fuss. It was because of the information passed on by a spy Luce had secretly attached to Isaac.

“…”

Luce, standing beside Bello, couldn’t say a word.

She had stopped what she was doing and stood still, a cold shadow cast across her face.

Crack!

Outside the window, purple lightning surged as a thunderbird was summoned.

[Master, launch! Contain the enemy!]

Bello shouted with bold excitement.

Meanwhile, elsewhere.

Several hours earlier, at the Astrea Duchy.

Kaya packed lightly, dressed herself in a suitably elegant outfit, and left the mansion.

“Lady Kaya, please have an enjoyable vacation, you’ve earned it.”

“Yes, I’ll be back!”

Isaac had sent a letter before, asking if she could attend the reunion.

She sent a reply saying she probably wouldn’t be able to go because of training but somehow managed to make time.

She had worked relentlessly in training and achieved her goal ahead of schedule.

Isaac, I’m coming…!

Just thinking about Isaac made her face flush. Kaya covered her heated cheeks with both hands and smiled happily.

She enveloped herself in wind magic and soared through the sky.

None of Isaac’s other fiancées would have been at the reunion at that moment. In other words, now was her chance to have Isaac all to herself.

The thought of spending time alone with Isaac, ahead of the other fiancées, thrilled her.

Kaya decided to fly there as quickly as possible.