ZAP – Chapter 131: The Demon Lord and the Fire Demigod

◇Sumire’s POV◇

“Do you seriously love Eugy-kun, Eri-san?!” (Sumire)

I managed to say it in a loud voice despite my fear.

I’ve always had doubts about the relationship between Eugy-kun and the Demon Lord.

Eugy-kun always says it’s a dry, emotionless arrangement since he was asked by the Principal and that there’s no one else available.

But despite that, the Demon Lord frequently calls him over, and recently, it’s been every night.

Can you really meet someone every day if you don’t have feelings for them?

I didn’t think she’d give me a straightforward answer. I was sure she’d avoid the question somehow.

“……”

To my surprise, Eri-san stared at me blankly.

“H-How is it?!” (Sumire)

When I pressed further, the Demon Lord thought for a moment, then glanced at Eugy-kun.

“Eri?” (Eugy)

“Eugene, can you go over there for a bit? I want to talk to Sumire alone.” (Eri)

Eri-san waved him off with her hand.

Wait, if Eugy-kun leaves, it’ll be just me and the Demon Lord! Alone!

“I can’t leave the two of you alone.” (Eugene)

Eugy-kun voiced the same concern I had.

“I won’t do anything. Besides, you know I can’t hurt anyone while inside the Sealed Prison because of the Curse of the Seal, right?” (Eri)

“Oh, really?” (Sumire)

Eri-san’s words reassured me a little.

Maybe I don’t need to be scared.

“It’s not that you can’t attack, but that if you try, the curse would deal damage to you.” (Eugene)

“…Eh?” (Sumire)

That’s not what I was told.

“Details, details.” (Eri)

“I feel like that’s a pretty important detail…” (Sumire)

Not being able to attack at all and only being punished if you try are very different things!

“Fine. Eugene, you can stay there, but I’ll put up a barrier so you can’t hear us. Come on, Sumire.”

Eri-san snapped her fingers, and a black, translucent lace-like barrier appeared around her.

I could still see her, but her voice was completely muted.

Eri-san gestured for me to come closer.

I hesitated for a moment.

(Alright!) (Sumire)

It would be wrong to back out now after coming this far.

I steeled myself and slowly walked over to her, step by step.

“……Fuh.” (Eri)

Eri-san, sitting on the bed, crossed her legs and smirked at me.

(Wow, she really is stunning up close…) (Sumire)

I didn’t get a good look during the Deus Discipline on the 100th floor. I was too scared back then.

“Hey, stop standing there and sit.” (Eri)

“Um…” (Sumire)

But where am I supposed to sit? The only place available is… the bed where Eri-san’s sitting.

(I don’t know if I can bring myself to sit on that bed…) (Sumire)

That bed… it’s where Eugy-kun and Eri-san…

“Right, I don’t have a chair.” (Eri)

Eri-san must have noticed from my expression, she snapped her fingers again, and with a cute pop sound, a chair appeared beside me.

“Sit.” (Eri)

“E-Excuse me.” (Sumire)

I nervously sat down.

It won’t explode or something, right? I doubted for a moment, but it was in fact very soft and comfortable.

“So, Sumire, you wanted to talk to me?” (Eri)

Eri-san’s red eyes gleamed mysteriously, and her seductive lips twisted into a teasing grin.

“Y-Yes! What do you think of Eugy-kun?! …Eugy-kun can’t hear this conversation, right?” (Sumire)

I glanced back, and through the black lace barrier, I could see Eugy-kun watching us with a worried expression.

His mouth moved as if he were saying something, but no sound reached me.

—— A-r-e y-o-u o-k-a-y, S-u-m-i-r-e?

I could tell from his lips. Even though I knew he couldn’t hear me, I mouthed “I’m fine!” and waved at him.

“Eugene is such a worrywart.” (Eri)

Eri-san chuckled.

At least now I knew he couldn’t hear us.

“So…what is your answer?” (Sumire)

I was starting to feel more relaxed, so I asked again.

“Shouldn’t you be more worried about that childhood friend who chased him all the way from the Empire? She’s been sticking to Eugene like glue.” (Eri)

Dodging the question again.

It doesn’t seem like she is going to answer seriously.

“Airi-chan is… well…” (Sumire)

The girl who recently transferred to Lykeion Magic Academy.
Eugy-kun’s childhood friend, and his first love.

Recently, she’s been spending a lot of time with him under the pretense of him being her guide around the academy.
Normally, I should be worried as his girlfriend, but…

“If you’re not careful, your childhood friend will steal Eugene right out from under you.” (Eri)

“But Airi-chan is really shy. I don’t think there’s anything going on.” (Sumire)

“Huh? Really?” (Eri)

“Yeah, really.” (Sumire)

Eri-san seemed surprised, but I nodded.

I had thought she would be more assertive, considering she transferred all the way to this academy.

But so far, Airi-chan hasn’t made any moves on Eugy-kun.

“Maybe they’re doing it in secret?” (Eri)

“If they were, we would know, right?” (Sumire)

“Oh, right.” (Eri)

Since Eri-san and I both have a Body Contract with Eugy-kun, we would know if he was secretly cheating.

Besides…

“Eugy-kun would never cheat in the first place.” (Sumire)

“That guy is way too serious.” (Eri)

Eri-san and I both glanced at Eugy-kun at the same time.

Eugy-kun noticed us staring and looked confused. 

“Anyway! You’ve been hogging Eugy-kun every night lately! Until morning!” (Sumire)

I stood up and exclaimed.

“Sorry about that. I guess I have been monopolizing him.” (Eri)

Eri-san surprisingly admitted it without resistance.

“So, you admit that you do like Eugy-kun!” (Sumire)

“……..”

When I asked, Eri-san just murmured “Hmm” as if thinking.

(Is she really trying that hard not to admit it…?) (Sumire)

Then suddenly…

“By the way, sorry about injuring you during the Trial of the Gods.” (Eri)

Eri-san abruptly changed the subject.

I knew this was going to happen.

“Um, well, I was careless too…” (Sumire)

“I was jealous, you know. Eugene was always taking care of you, the girl from another world.” (Eri)

“……What?” (Sumire)

What did she just say?

Jealous?

Does that mean…

“Wait, you were jealous of me because of Eugy-kun? So you really do like him!!” (Sumire)

“You don’t have to say it out loud.” (Eri)

Eri-san turned away in a huff, but now she didn’t seem scary at all.

If anything…

“Eri-san, you’re unexpectedly a tsundere and a cutie.” (Sumire)

“Ha?! The Demon Lord who once ruled over the South continent is cute, you say? I’ll make you cry, Sumire!” (Eri)

Her words were harsh.

But being up close, I could tell she wasn’t actually angry.

She was just hiding her embarrassment.

“Wow, I’m so scared.” (Sumire)

“Kuh… You’re really underestimating me, aren’t you?” (Eri)

I pretended to be scared, but it only seemed to egg her on.

*Grab!*

“Huh?” (Sumire)

Eri-san grabbed my head.

“Hey, Eri!” (Eugene)

Eugy-kun hurried over when he saw what was happening.

“Eugene, I’m borrowing this little girl for a while. She can’t control her demigod mana at all. I’ll train her.” (Eri)

I panicked.

“I’m taking magic classes, and Eugy-kun’s been teaching me magic control too!” (Sumire)

“It is not showing at all. You’re leaking mana everywhere. Plus, your mana is totally different from that of mortals, so there’s a limit to what Eugene or any of the academy’s teachers can teach. From now on, you’re coming here to train with me.” (Eri)

“Can you even teach her? It is not like you were close to the Ifrits, right?” (Eugene) 

“Y-Yeah, exactly! You don’t have any experience…!” (Sumire)

“I used to be a mentor to Goddess Candidates in the Divine Realm.” (Eri)

“”……””

Eri-san’s words left both Eugene and me speechless.

Goddess Candidates are essentially young gods, destined to become deities like the Destiny Goddess, Ilia.

High-ranking angels are said to train young Goddesses, according to the mythology class at the academy.

That’s right, mythology.

Eri-san just casually mentioned something unbelievable.

{Hey, Eugy-kun, was Eri-san-san a really important angel back in the day?} (Sumire)

{Apparently, but she never told me the details. All I know is that she was a favorite of Freya-sama, the Forest Goddess…} (Eugene)

{Freya, the Forest Goddess?! She’s said to be even more powerful than the Destiny Goddess, Ilia!} (Sumire)

I learned that in mythology class too.

“Don’t bring up that tree goddess! It pisses me off.” (Eri)

“Eep!” (Sumire)

Eri-san had heard me.

Her long fingers gently pinched my cheek.

“Sumire, listen well. You’ll come here starting tomorrow. That way, I won’t have to monopolize Eugene. Two birds with one stone, right?” (Eri)

“No, no! I don’t want to!” (Sumire)

I protested as hard as I could.

“Then I’ll keep monopolizing Eugene☆” (Eri)

“I don’t want that either!” (Sumire)

Forget two birds. I am stuck between a rock and a hard place.

In the end, I ended up being trained by the Demon Lord Eri-san in mana control.

“Fufufu, the blood from when I was an instructor of Goddess Candidates is boiling.” (Eri)

“Nevermind, this Demon Lord really is scary!” (Sumire)

I came here to ask about her relationship with Eugy-kun, but I somehow ended up with her as my tutor.

…By the way, Eri-san turned out to be an incredibly skilled and clear teacher.

◇Eugene’s POV◇

Recently, Sumire has been visiting the 7th Sealed Prison frequently.

She’s learning mana control and magic from Eri-san.

Thanks to that, Sumire’s magic skills have been improving rapidly.

That’s great, of course, but…

(Eri-san and Sumire are becoming really close these days…) (Eugene)

It’s not a bad thing, but both of them are big talkers, and they seem to chat nonstop, even during training.

“Hey, Eugy-kun, Eri-san-san told me about something from her past.” (Sumire)

“Eugene, Sumire told me something interesting about you.” (Eri)

The two of them were always talking about me, and it made me feel really self-conscious. 

(I never expected those two to become friends…) (Eugene)

Considering what happened in the Trial of the Gods, I thought they’d end up being more hostile to each other.

You never know how things will turn out.

As I was lost in thought…

“Hey, Eugy! Are you listening?” 

My childhood friend Airi tapped my shoulder.

Oh right, I was supposed to be with Airi right now.

“Of course, I’m listening.” (Eugene)

I wasn’t.

“Then that’s an okay from you, right? Let’s head off for some dungeon exploration!” (Airi)

Airi strode ahead with long steps.

Wait, what did she just say?

“Dungeon exploration already?!” (Eugene)

It hasn’t even been 15 days since Airi transferred.

Normally, students spend at least two or three months learning about dungeons before attempting one.

Half a month is way too early.

“The Dungeon Alliance gave me permission, so we’re good to go. Look, here’s my exploration permit.” (Airi)

Airi smugly showed off her permit card.

(The dungeon staff must’ve been intimidated by the next Empress and handed it over…) (Eugene)

I kept the thought to myself.

The dungeon staff are from either the Empire, the Holy Union, or the Blue Waters Federation.

It’s not unlikely that an imperial staff member would bend the rules for Airi.

Not that it’s a good thing.

“If you have permission, then it can’t be helped.” (Eugene)

I muttered as I accepted the situation.

And so, Airi and I headed for the dungeon elevator.

“Wait, you two! I’m coming with you!” 

A familiar voice called out to us.

It was…Sara.

“Sara, aren’t you busy with student council work?” (Eugene)

“How could I stay at work when someone’s trying to kidnap Eugene!” (Sara)

“I’m not kidnapping him!” (Airi)

“Calm down. Sara, I’m glad you’re joining us.” (Eugene)

“I’d prefer if it were just you, Eugy…” (Airi)

“Airi, dungeon exploration is different from military training. The more experienced people we have, the better.” (Sara)

“…Fine.” (Airi)

Airi reluctantly agreed.

She’s still a dungeon beginner.

Beginners can easily make fatal mistakes.

At times like that, one person providing support might not be enough.

Having two or more supporters is basic protocol for beginner care.

“Alright, let’s head out, Eugy!” (Airi)

“Let’s get this over with, Eugene.” (Sara)

The next Empress and the next Holy Maiden.

What a strange party.

…An unlikely combination in all of history.

“Let’s be careful.” (Eugene)

I tried to sound as calm as possible as I addressed the two of them.

■Comment Response: 

>It looks fun to write about the 7th Sealed Prison (looking away from my SAN points).

>Oh, I didn’t hear that there was that action too, lmao.

-There’s no detailed depiction of that. 

It is dangerous after all -in a lot of meanings. 

>Eugene is always coming to such a dangerous place…?

>Sounds like an asylum on steroids, lol.

-The place of Eri is the only one that’s clean…

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