“If it weren’t for Murmur’s story, this scene would probably look a bit different.”
Citrine fiddled with her red hair with her index finger, resting her chin on her hand as she spoke.
“Lady Jepar’s ‘Piglet House’.”
The ‘dessert shop’, whose name alone conjures images of a plump, cute little pig, was bustling with a huge crowd of Academy students.
From adorable elementary school students to high school students who looked like they could dance gracefully at a social party without any issues.
Seeing them gathered regardless of age, Citrine felt a subtle unease as Murmur’s words kept coming to mind.
‘Thinking logically…’
Citrine naturally began to weigh the information, common sense, wisdom, and stories she held in her heart.
‘It’s hard to believe Lady Jepar is plotting something evil. But…’
As Murmur’s earnest eyes and confident voice came to mind, Citrine couldn’t stop the scales in her heart from tipping to one side.
There’s no basis, no evidence.
Murmur’s story is just ‘plausible’. If Lady Jepar were truly planning something so terrible and unforgivable, the higher-ups would have already been eager to gather information.
“…Sigh, I’m being foolish too. Since I’ve decided to become Murmur’s bride, I should honor every word she says.”
Citrine finally made up her mind, took two gold coins from her pocket, and handed them to the butler, Balkan, who was waiting nearby.
“Balkan? Could you make a deal with any of the kids coming out of Piglet House with packaged desserts… anyone with as many desserts as possible?”
“Should I be concerned about the types?”
“It’s needed as evidence, so don’t worry too much.”
Balkan nodded and stepped back, while Citrine exhaled, forming a flower-shaped bowl with her hands.
“Indeed, there’s nothing money can’t buy.”
The bustling students.
Even without calculating the exact number, it would take at least two hours of waiting in line to get free desserts.
* * *
『Murmur』
【Health 100 Mana 100 Hunger 0 Stress 79】
【Race: Demon】
『Stats』
【Strength 6 Agility 6 Health 6 Intelligence 10 Wisdom 10 Charm 10】
『Knowledge』
【Demon Language, Common Language, Ancient Demon Language New!!!】
『Possessions』
【Old Sword】
【Ancient Bracelet】
【Bloodberry Family Heirloom】
『Advantages』
[Saved Child, Path of ■■, Dual Casting]
『Disadvantages』
[Emotional, Genetic Defect, Frequent Hunger, Torn Pocket]
『Skills』
【Summoning Magic Lv. 1】
【Elemental Magic Lv. 1】
【Gentle Release】
【Black Magic Lv. 1 New!!!】
【Magic Theory Lv. 2 New!!!】
【Healing Magic Lv. 1 New!!!】
After days of hard work, it’s paying off! Well done, Murmur. I should pat your soft bottom.
From the Black Magic reward from Executioner Rowan to learning Healing Magic by roaming the library and leveling up Magic Theory!
With this, it seems like we’re ready to fight Lady Jepar. It was a good idea to ask Armonia to teach me Ancient Demon Language diligently.
“Oh? Isn’t this the famous Piglet House dessert?”
Esme, who appeared while I was checking my status, smiled brightly and sat down at the white table.
The ‘Piglet House dessert’ on the beautifully flower-painted plate was incredibly cute from its shape alone.
The ‘cream puff’, about the size of my palm, was so sweet-smelling that even I, who isn’t particularly interested in desserts, couldn’t help but salivate. It had a slightly deli-like smell.
Calling it a ‘cream puff’ makes it sound quite fancy, but to put it more intuitively, it’s like a very upscale version of a home run ball.
Of course, the soft choux pastry shell with its fluffy, light, and flavorful cream inside, topped with sweet, sparkling sugar powder, can’t be compared to mass-produced cookies. It’s just the general vibe.
“There were quite a few other desserts too.”
“I heard there are pies and cakes! But I also heard that once you try this cream puff, you can’t escape its sweetness.”
Esme swallowed hard but politely refrained from reaching for the dessert.
“Good job, Citrine. Thanks to you, we now have evidence to prove Murmur’s story.”
“Oh~ hohoho! This is something I, as Murmur’s future bride, can easily handle!”
“Well done, Citrine. Well done. Murmur will praise you.”
Praise makes even whales dance, so I gently patted Citrine’s head.
I didn’t expect to get this dessert in less than a day. In the game, you can’t even get it.
Piglet House is always crowded with students lining up for free desserts, so to get this ‘item’, you must complete a sub-quest.
《Stop Lady Jepar’s Plot》
《Time Remaining: 7 Days》
The annoying status window that popped up late showed that the remaining time was quite tight, but it’s a relief that evidence to convince everyone appeared quickly.
“Everyone, listen to Murmur.”
I clapped my small hands together and spoke.
“There’s ‘Lunarin’ hidden in this dessert.”
“Do you mean it’s hidden in the form of food ingredients? Lunarin is also a potion ingredient, right?”
“Correct. Lunarin is a potion ingredient that’s illegal to trade under imperial law.”
I remember its name being quite unique, but anyway, players could make it later, right?
Without the tools now, that’s a story for the distant future.
“The important thing is that Lunarin is contained in the dessert like a secret ingredient.”
“Then I’ll try it. As a royal, even if there’s a deadly poison hidden, I’ll be fine.”
Nicasia reached for the dessert, but I stopped her by pressing her hand.
“Nicasia, you can’t eat it.”
“Why not, Murmur?”
“Because if you eat it, you won’t be able to show us that your magic power has increased.”
I’m really sorry to say this, but Nicasia can’t use magic. It would be ambiguous for her to accurately feel that her magic power has improved.
“Indeed… it would be meaningless if I ate it. Then what about Citrine?”
“Esme should eat it rather than Citrine.”
I pointed at Esme with my finger.
“Esme is an excellent mage. Murmur believes she can immediately notice if her magic power increases and if she can use higher-level magic.”
It’s something I can’t say in front of everyone, but after seeing Lunarin’s effects, there will definitely be a penalty.
Realistically, it might cause fatigue, but I think the chance of that is 0%. Still, I don’t want to unnecessarily worsen Citrine’s condition.
If my transformation magic wears off in front of Nicasia… honestly, I don’t have the confidence to handle the aftermath. I’d desperately explain the situation, but Citrine would wonder how I knew about it.
“Hoho! Then I’ll try it right away!”
“Don’t eat it all, Esme.”
“I, I wasn’t planning to eat it all from the start!”
Esme, embarrassed, immediately grabbed the dessert with her thumb and index finger and popped it into her mouth.
“Yum yum… yum yum… hmm?”
Wiggling her mouth and cheeks cutely, Esme waved her right hand around.
─ Whoosh!
Esme lightly created a flame on her palm and immediately began using magic based on the elements of wind, water, and earth.
“…It’s clear that Lunarin is in it.”
“Are you sure, Esme?”
“Yes, Princess Nicasia. The taste was really soft, sweet, and fluffy, not like drinking a potion, but the effect is certain.”
“Couldn’t you get that effect from other foods?”
“Your Highness isn’t wrong. But the slight fatigue I feel after experiencing Lunarin’s effect makes me certain.”
Even though she’s only in the 5th grade of elementary school, she can tell immediately. That’s how good Esme’s sense as a mage is.
“And also… it feels slightly different from ordinary Lunarin.”
“What kind of feeling?”
“Well, it’s… I’m not well-versed in this area, so I can’t say my feeling is absolutely correct.”
Esme hesitated.
“…It feels like the magic power lingers in my body more. Hmm, this discomfort is hard to describe.”
I wasn’t wrong to think of fattening up a piglet.
Esme’s sensation perfectly matched the reason why Lady Jepar’s terrifying plan could be realized.
“As Murmur said, Lady Jepar was indeed putting Lunarin in the desserts.”
“Chronicle House engaging in such activities…”
Nicasia pondered deeply and then made eye contact with me.
“But how did Murmur know about this?”
“I heard it from friends.”
“…You heard it through rumors?”
“Yeah, there’s no way you could suddenly use magic better just by eating a delicious dessert.”
Nicasia nodded.
“Thank you for telling me, Murmur. But it’s hard to connect the fact that Piglet House is distributing Lunarin-containing desserts to Academy students with Chronicle House smuggling Lunarin into the Academy.”
Nicasia pointed at herself.
“Of course, I believe Murmur’s story. Despite Lady Jepar’s good reputation, someone of her caliber, ahem! descendant of Nectar, couldn’t possibly not know that Lunarin is contained in the desserts.”
“Can’t we search?”
Originally, it’s something you could do after defeating Lady Jepar.
“It would be difficult. The middle school vice-principal wants me to investigate other areas. I can’t act alone without the help of professors or staff. It’s not right.”
“Busy because of the New Helheim Club, right?”
“Huh? Uh…? How did you… No, sigh. Sorry, that was a bit dumb.”
Nicasia sighed with a look full of self-reproach.
The ‘New Helheim Club’, where many demons attending Cosmos Academy live.
The New Helheim Club’s clubhouse is practically a small village in size, but conversely, it’s incredibly closed off. So much so that even I, Murmur, can’t enter now. Even though I’m a demon too.
It’s a place filled with lazy, decadent, rebellious demons who skip all Academy classes, so ordinary students openly think, ‘Please stay holed up there and don’t come out.’
Anyway, because of such a place, whenever an incident shakes the Academy, the ‘New Helheim’ Club is the first to be investigated.
The middle school vice-principal’s intense dislike for demons is such obvious information to me that it’s no surprise.
“Murmur is fine.”
“Thank you for understanding, Murmur. I’d like to investigate Piglet House immediately, but… they won’t allow it. Not until there’s convincing evidence.”
“Um, but isn’t Lady Jepar also a demon?”
At Citrine’s words, Nicasia nodded.
“That’s right. After losing her daughter 50 years ago, she has been running the Chronicle House business at Cosmos Academy, dedicating all her profits to the Academy’s students as a descendant of Nectar.”
Lady Jepar’s story provides several important clues to understanding the world itself.
First, even in this situation where the ‘Alliance’ of the Empire, Kingdom, and Holy Nation is in endless conflict with the Demon King’s ‘Demon Army’, demons can surprisingly live as part of the Alliance’s society.
Second, while they can live as part of society, the general view of demons is so bad that someone like Lady Jepar, who has contributed greatly to society for ’50 years’ with the temperament of an ‘angel from heaven’, is needed to gain a ‘good reputation’.
These are roughly the two important settings of the world that players can know now, but even this changes the perspective on the world.
Why did the ‘Failed Hero’ save Murmur?
Why can Murmur become a hero?
How can Murmur attend Cosmos Academy, which selects heroes?
It’s quite a convoluted story, but without understanding Lady Jepar’s story, it’s hard to understand the secrets of this world.
“To bring the story back… I want to believe, as Murmur said, that Lady Jepar is actively smuggling Lunarin into the Academy and that the Lunarin found in other businesses is also part of her plot.”
“But there’s no evidence, right?”
“Exactly. I’m really sorry. Adults love evidence. Unlike my belief… I can’t convince them.”
I expected this part.
Originally, players can’t know at this point that Lady Jepar is plotting something.
You must complete a sub-quest to get evidence that Lady Jepar has a secret.
The problem is the NPC who gives that quest.
The changeling disguised as a ‘worker’ at the business had a floating name tag in the game, boasting ‘It’s me! Me!! Quest NPC!’, but his appearance was exactly like a worker.
Finding such a being among the hundreds of workers coming and going from the Academy and starting the quest now? Is it possible?
It’s impossible. It’s crazy. Absolutely can’t be done in a week.
“If only we had evidence that Lady Jepar is spreading Lunarin… or that she’s deliberately putting Lunarin in desserts…”
“If we had such evidence, wouldn’t Murmur have shown it?”
“Citrine… I’m worrying like this because I want to help Murmur too. Adults won’t understand Murmur’s sincerity like we do.”
“Hmph! If other businesses are truly innocent, fabricating testimony would be simple.”
“We can’t make evidence like that, Citrine!”
“The answer is already decided!”
Neither Nicasia’s heart nor Citrine’s heart is wrong.
Everyone is doing their best to help me.
For the past three weeks, they’ve been desperately helping me.
“Everyone, listen. Murmur has no evidence.”
Let’s be honest.
For the past three weeks, I’ve been keeping my mouth shut, fearing the main story might get tangled like Colette Bloodberry’s incident, but I finally had to ask Nicasia, Citrine, and Esme for help.
The status window already shows that I’ve entered the event, so there’s no need to hide the future anymore.
“But, I know another terrifying story.”
“A terrifying… story?”
“Yes, Murmur knows the evidence of that story.”
Nicasia pondered for a moment and then nodded.
“That story is the reason Lady Jepar put Lunarin in the desserts, right?”
“Yes, that’s what it means.”
“Then will you tell us?”
I took a deep breath. Everyone will be shocked.
“Lady Jepar plans to summon a demon.”
