What crossed Frondier’s mind when he heard Carla say “demon”:
'Maybe demons have penetrated Agoris even deeper than I thought.'
Antero had brought a demon upon himself, but ordinarily it’s the demon who approaches the human. The tempter, the one who offers the contract—typically, that’s the demon.
Yet Bune, the demon who contracted with Antero, had said it: if both parties are in the human world rather than the demon realm, a gate isn’t necessary for a human and a demon to meet. No need for a medium as powerful as a Dragon Heart.
In other words, it’s become far easier for demons to approach humans.
'Lady Achaia’s suspicion that Carla is a demon means this country sees demons as that much of a threat—and as a matter of course.'
That stands in contrast to the continent of Falind, where demons were not easily encountered. Here, demons are an obvious menace, and Carla was branded a demon on circumstantial evidence alone.
It means humans here have been burned by demons often.
'When I first came here, demons already had a proper nation. And a rather large one at that. At the time I waved it off—well, they’re demons, so they can—but it clearly wasn’t a scale that could be self-sustaining.'
When in Rome, do as the Romans do; in this world, abide by this world’s rules.
Frondier didn’t know what the demon realm looked like, but the demon nation he had seen wasn’t so different from a human one.
Meaning the demons had the capital and materials to build structures and systems of that magnitude.
It wasn’t something they could have done among themselves alone.
'...Is this country truly treating demons as enemies?'
Or do the citizens simply not know that some kind of arrangement with demons has existed since long ago?
'Bael, that bastard.'
Demons were seeking a way back to the demon realm.
Naturally, they would have been doing everything they could to access this country’s information, then playing ignorant.
“Frondier, what’s wrong?”
Carla looked at him with concern.
Frondier stopped thinking and shook his head.
“No, I just drifted into thought for a moment. In any case, with Lady Achaia—no, Ms. Eriboia—around, we should be cautious for a while.”
“Do I need to pretend to be a demon?”
“No. Even if you don’t, they’ll assume as much anyway. Just go about things as you normally do.”
Frondier had spoken as if confessing it himself; that belief wouldn’t waver for the time being.
But now Carla no longer needed to approach nobles to gather knowledge about demons.
Not even about monsters. She could return to the quiet life she’d led before.
And the nobles wouldn’t be able to touch her carelessly; with Frondier as a new threat, even less so.
“For today, let’s forget it for a while and enjoy Makia. It’s a chance to see the students’ abilities.”
Pielot’s match would start soon. Frondier was looking forward to that as well.
“...When you say things like that, I get too anxious to enjoy it.”
“There’s no need to be anxious.”
Frondier answered calmly.
“You’re safe when you’re with me.”
***
Ias would never have imagined, just a few days ago, that he’d be stuck watching from the sidelines instead of shining out there himself.
The unforeseen appearance of a tough opponent named Pielot.
Even if he’d been careless, to be knocked out in a single counter and wake up in the infirmary—he’d been too stunned for embarrassment to come until much later.
'No, was I really careless?'
Before their fight, Pielot had said something odd.
Ias hadn’t understood most of it, but judging by the momentum and bearing, he’d known the guy wasn’t to be taken lightly.
Right. He’d known—and still got hit.
Before that, he hadn’t been able to do a thing against the new teacher, Frondier. He had never felt such a despairing difference in skill before.
'...Huh. Don’t tell me I’m weak.'
He had never once doubted himself, but now cracks were spreading through that belief.
'And then Mother told me not to draw attention to myself. What is she thinking.'
Seeing his mother lose her temper in the staff room had been both novel and mortifying.
He hadn’t expected her to storm into the staff room and rage just because he’d been knocked out. He’d never seen her like that.
And because Pielot had clubbed him on the head, she had vehemently opposed him entering Makia, saying there might be undetected damage left.
So he had agreed with the class plan to put Pielot up as their representative.
'Hmph. I’ll be the one to fell him someday.'
Even so, Ias hadn’t lost his will to compete.
Careless or not, he had blacked out from a single strike. He still hadn’t seen all of Pielot’s strength, nor had he shown all of his own.
If he trained harder and studied more, it made no sense that a raw talent like him would keep losing to Pielot.
Ias believed that.
Right up until today—just before Pielot began his representative match.
Bang!
Thud!
A dull impact, and the sound of something hitting the ground.
“Ugh...!”
And a pained groan.
It was Pielot. Sword in hand, he lay on the floor.
And the man who had struck him down—
“...Ah. Huh.”
With a somewhat boyish face, he blinked vacantly, standing awkwardly barehanded as if he didn’t know what he’d just done.
And at that sight—
“...What?”
Ias gaped without meaning to, every student who knew Pielot gasped in shock, and Frondier’s eyes widened.
“Wow, that was incredibly fast. I couldn’t see it.”
Carla beside him spoke in wonder.
Indeed, to a non-warrior’s eye, the man had hit Pielot with a speed too fast to see. And with bare fists, no weapon at all.
But there [N O V E L I G H T] was one more thing that surprised Frondier.
'Pielot blocked properly with his sword just now. And yet—'
Pielot had raised the flat of his blade to parry the man’s blow. The speed had been monstrous, but Pielot had reacted in time.
Yet the man had blown Pielot away along with his sword.
Pielot was by no means weak. If anything, he possessed superior qualities in every physical attribute. Even on the continent of Falind, where the average level was higher than here, his talent shone.
On top of that, being a genius at aura control, it went without saying that he constantly maintained a defensive aura—and he could focus aura precisely at the point he needed to defend.
He had done all of that, clearly—and the man still lifted Pielot clean off his feet.
'What is this monster.'
Naturally, cold sweat ran down Pielot’s spine; he quickly reset his stance and looked at the man before him.
'What did they call him at the introductions? G—Glaukos? Said he was a first-year.'
A name he’d never heard. And a first-year.
Pielot wasn’t truly damaged. He had defended properly. His hand just still tingled from catching that blow on his blade.
“Well done, Glaukos!”
“Let’s go!”
Cheers and shouts of support rose from Glaukos’s class.
But Glaukos himself looked flustered. He hesitated, as if unsure what to do.
“What are you doing?”
“...Ah.”
Pielot asked at that sight,
“It’s not over yet.”
Makia’s rules were: surrender, knockout, or out-of-bounds.
Just knocking someone down didn’t end it.
“Y—yes!”
Conscientious as ever, Glaukos answered and reset his stance.
And—
Whoosh!
KRAAANG—!
This time, even stronger, more ferocious.
“Ghh...!”
His fist collided with Pielot’s sword.
Screech, skreee.
Pielot didn’t get launched this time, but as he slid backward, his feet scraped noisily.
From those two attacks, Pielot knew for certain.
Of all the people he’d met, in sheer physical power alone, this one was without question the strongest.
And to Frondier’s eyes, who had met those even stronger—
'...Renzo.'
Only one person came to mind as a match.
'He’s like Renzo.'
Savage speed and strength. A headlong rush that seemed to ignore the opponent’s defense entirely.
'Someone like that exists on this continent—and in the first-year class, no less.'
Frondier felt pure admiration.
Originally, this Makia was also meant to spur on Pielot, who was thirsty to grow.
Pielot was surely ready to be felled—and to get back up and grow again.
But Frondier had thought it would be enough if someone showed up who could fight Pielot to a decent standstill.
Because beating the current Pielot at a student level was extremely difficult.
And yet someone had appeared who shattered that expectation.
“Hah! Huff! Hyah!”
Thud! Swish! Boom!
Every time Glaukos swung a fist or leg, a terrifying sound rang out. On impact, like shells smashing through a wall; when he cut the air, as if all the air around them were being torn.
Pielot stood before that storm. Frondier knew that feeling all too well.
The way your heart, liver, and flesh all trembled whenever you faced Renzo.
'...But still.'
Even watching that fearsome momentum—
'He can’t beat the current Pielot.'
Tap.
“Huh.”
Pielot tapped Glaukos’s lead foot from behind. Glaukos reacted by bracing that foot and stepping back.
In the instant that gap opened, Pielot slid his sword to his hip.
Aura Activation
Ribanche Family Weapon Art
Pielot’s Unique Sword Form
Draw-Slash, Simultaneous Double Strike
At the moment Pielot’s blade flashed back out, Glaukos hurriedly raised both arms to cover his face.
Thwack!
And at the same instant he felt a blow to his face—
“Ghk!”
—he realized he had been struck in the abdomen by the blade at precisely the same moment.
Thud.
Glaukos collapsed from the pain in his gut. But mindful of Pielot, he rolled across the floor to open distance. That alone made him better than Antero.
Thump! Bang! Swish!
But Pielot didn’t let him; he pressed the attack until his blade touched the man’s throat.
“I—I yield.”
Glaukos declared it, and the match ended.
Waaah—cheers poured down. Pielot exhaled and sheathed his sword.
Glaukos staggered to his feet and said,
“...No mercy, senpai.”
“You should’ve been the same.”
At Glaukos’s first strike, when Pielot had fallen, he’d had plenty of opportunity to chase and finish him.
Glaukos nodded frankly.
“...True.”
Glaukos possessed overwhelming strength and speed, but he was overwhelmingly short on combat experience.
Pielot had read his lines. Though Glaukos had the edge in power, he lost.
And all of this—
“...What is this.”
Ias stared, eyes wide.
“What is this.”
He had thought beating Pielot would be enough. And then, beyond that, even Frondier.
But it wasn’t so.
The stage was already leaving without him.
Ias felt a very strange sensation.
Losing to someone and being humiliated can happen in life.
But he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something irrevocable he should have been part of there—that he had done something that couldn’t be taken back.
