Chapter 120

At the library, when Maria and I ended up alone, we started exchanging conversations that had piled up over the past 18 years. Originally, even if only for 20 minutes a day, communication through the rosary was possible, but since Maria was born into this world, not even that became possible.

Clap.

“Saintess, you remember this? It’s the thing you gave me back then.”

“You’ve managed to keep it all this time.”

Maria wore an expression of deep emotion rising within her. I proudly swung the cross.

“Should I give it back? This thing doesn’t mean anything anymore now. Though it could be useful for burning monsters.”

“No, in this life, I have another rosary. Consider this as the thread connecting our relationship from our previous lives, so please take it back.”

“Aww, it was fun communicating with you, Saintess.”

“I also feel the same way, but can’t we resolve this longing by meeting face-to-face?”

Maria rested her head on my shoulder. I moved my hand to encircle her waist, feeling her delicate frame fit snugly in one arm.

“Even though I’m technically a demon, are you really okay letting your side be exposed like this?”

“If enduring 500 years were easy, no man in this world would ever touch a woman.”

“Still, when I pinch you, there’s flesh. Back in Tartarus, you were skin and bones like a walking corpse.”

“Was I really that bad? I couldn’t see my own body back then.”

“Yeah, seriously, your ribs were sticking out. You looked absolutely terrible.”

As I teased her, Maria smiled faintly in response.

“Such ugly words coming from someone who wet the bed fantasizing about me don’t hold much credibility.”

“…”

There’s no way I can win against Maria verbally. Once again, I’m reminded of this painful truth.

“This rosary has been handled quite a lot, hasn’t it?”

Maria examined the rosary I handed her with curious fingers.

“How many times have you touched this?”

“I dunno, and I didn’t touch it that much. It’s just old, that’s all.”

“For something that old, it seems unusually polished, as if someone took great care of it recently.”

“Ugh, do you have to dig this deep?”

“You, Joker, have unexpectedly cute sides.”

“You’re the first person to call me cute. So, how do I look to you, Saintess?”

“Huh?”

“Just curious. How do I appear in your eyes?”

Maria carefully inspected my appearance before speaking.

“What does outward beauty matter when it will fade eventually? What truly matters is what’s inside—a person’s heart.”

“Normally, I’d scoff at that, but coming from you, Saintess, who was once blind, I can’t find fault with it. Still, tell me. I want to know how I look through your eyes.”

I could ask how I appear reflected in someone else’s eyes, but unfortunately, Maria’s white eyes show nothing.

“…Exactly as expected. Devious, cunning, and lecherous-looking, but upon closer inspection—innocent, playful, and kind-hearted.”

“Really? If people who knew the Joker from our past life heard that, they’d be shocked. Calling the Duke of the Demon King’s Northern Army ‘kind’?”

“Let’s leave the matters of our past life where they belong. Oh, I read somewhere that there’s a teacher at the academy called Beatrix, known as the Iron-blooded Teacher—is she the one I think she is?”

“Yeah, Beatrix? That’s right. She’s the Holy Knight I recruited 400 years ago.”

“And isn’t there someone named Aru, who’s the Ring King?”

“Yeah, I brought her in as my roommate.”

At this point, Maria’s complexion slightly darkened. Her white eyebrows twitched uneasily.

“So many national-level powers gathered in one academy.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you, Maria, but still, you never know…”

“All is well. Everything is fine…but why must she be your roommate? The Ring King?”

Jealousy sprouted in Maria’s compassionate eyes. I burst out laughing and playfully ruffled her hair.

“Haha! Gotcha! About the whole ‘sharing a room with the Ring King’ thing?”

“Umm… even if the Ring King is a seal, she’s still a woman. Is it proper for someone who promised love to me to share a bed with another woman?”

“You make it sound like I’m sleeping around. I’m here at the library visiting you, aren’t I?”

“Not every night, though, right? No matter how strong you are, Joker, as long as you’re alive, you’ll need sleep eventually…”

Maria doesn’t know that during the past 18 years, while evolving Meta into a Goblin God, I haven’t slept once. That’s why she says this.

It’s not that I particularly want to keep secrets from Maria, but creating gods is a grave act of impiety. Even if Maria loves me, serving the Supreme God, she wouldn’t be able to forgive me.

“Why do you assume I must sleep in the dormitory?”

“There are several ways to answer. But choosing the one that would make Maria happiest is part of being a lover.”

“Heh? You could always come here to sleep too, with Saintess. No one would ever know.”

“T-That…! Ugh…”

“Do you not like it? Am I not good enough?”

I grabbed Maria’s chin between my thumb and forefinger like some smooth-talking Casanova and leaned in slowly.

“Still, sharing a room with the Ring King…”

Maria muttered her complaints while averting her gaze. Guess she’s immune to my charm. Must be because her jealousy trumps it.

“It can’t be helped. Aru only obeys me.”

I sat back down after briefly standing.

“She grew up in the Demon Forest, so she lacks social skills. Come to think of it, in her past life, she wasn’t even an academy student but the strongest assassin; she wouldn’t have social skills anyway.”

“How lacking could her social skills possibly be…?”

“Today, during the class assignment exam, she almost left half the class permanently injured without divine healing. Like severing tendons or peeling off their skin like apple skins.”

“…”

“That happened while I was dueling with daytime-Maria and the teacher in another gymnasium. Because of that, Aru became the talk of the school overnight. Not to mention, she already holds the title of the academy’s first-ever beastkin student. Would it be right to leave her unsupervised?”

Though her jealousy has been building up, Maria is rational. When judged logically rather than emotionally, she makes decisions based on reason.

“Hmph… Since you put it that way, I can’t argue. Still, this noble chest feels uneasy.”

“Why? Upset?”

“I am a woman too. Women have instincts. Even if you have no ill intentions toward the Ring King, the bond formed over years of living together isn’t light.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Isn’t the Ring King the companion who spent the longest time with you, longer than me…for a full 500 years…?”

Pfft. Unable to hold back, I chuckled at the rare sight of Maria complaining.

Complaining about a dog-seal? Really? Anyone looking at the strictly ‘master-servant’ relationship between me and Aru wouldn’t even entertain such thoughts.

“Why, why are you laughing?! I’m being serious here!”

“Well, looks like…we need to address our inexperienced Saintess’s excessive worries somehow.”

“How exactly?”

“Like this.”

SPLAT.

I stealthily leaned in like a surprise water attack and planted a kiss on Maria’s cheek. A blush spread across her pale face, turning it crimson.

“I’ve never kissed any woman on the cheek except you. In both this life and the previous one.”

“Huff… It was nice, but it went by too fast. I barely got to feel it.”

“One more?”

“…One more.”

SPLAT.

The Saintess’s cheeks were sweet like sugar. How do I know? Because when I kissed her cheek, I slightly parted my lips and flicked my tongue—it’s my mischievous nature making me want to mark my territory.

“So this is what kissing feels like.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. What just happened wasn’t even close to a real kiss, just a simple peck.”

“To me, it was a lifetime-defining moment of intimacy. Did you know?”

“Kukuku, guess I’ll have to teach you properly then.”

Whispering suggestively into her ear, Maria blushed deeply with a smile. Thankfully, it seems I successfully diverted her attention from Aru.

“Um, let’s continue talking about the class assignment exams. Daytime-me locked the message saying I was assigned to Class A. Exactly how did it go?”

“Pretty straightforward. Even though you’re young, you’re still the Saintess. Already using the Sun Shield to block all of Beatrix’s attacks, huh? If you had counterattacked, you might’ve been placed in the S-Class?”

I exaggerated a bit. It seemed Maria liked being praised, as she subtly smiled.

“And you, Joker?”

“Me? Just used my magic staff. I was evaluated similarly in a duel with Beatrix. Since I don’t know the Demon King’s intentions, I made sure not to stand out unnecessarily, performing adequately.”

“I noticed a lot of praise and compliments for someone named ‘Evans.’ They sounded a lot like the Joker I know.”

“That’s me. Evans Grant. It’s my human identity arranged by Beatrix.”

“Figures. It’s a splendid name.”

“Evans being a splendid name? Hmm, it’s clean and gentlemanly, but not particularly impressive. Still, since Maria likes it, so do I.”

“What about the Hero? Was he also taking the exam with us?”

“The Hero? Frey? Don’t know, I don’t pay much attention to insignificant people. Though you, despite being betrayed by him in the past life, still refer to him with honorifics? Nothing’s changed from your past life.”

“…Matters of the past life should remain in the past. And everyone makes mistakes. If I can forgive you, Joker, how could I abandon him?”

“You’ve got me there. The Hero…all I know is hearsay, but apparently, he aced it again like last time. Didn’t expect him to beat Aru either, but apparently, Aru forfeited on purpose. Of course, that pathetic girl wouldn’t be able to beat the Ring King.”

Casually spouting off, but Maria’s expression turned serious. I shrugged and continued.

“But honestly, I don’t know the full details. Our examiner was my person, Beatrix, but his was someone I’ve never met. Some mysterious teacher who was strangely suppressing their presence.”

“If you describe their appearance, I might cautiously guess who they are.”

“Ho, good idea? Let me think…slender build, usually kept their hands behind their back. Ah, and they had squinty eyes. Does that help? Need more details?”

“…?”

Maria’s face turned suspicious. What’s going on?

“When I attended the academy…there was no teacher with squinty eyes, right?”

“Huh?”

“As far as I recall, there was definitely no teacher with squinty eyes.”

“No, I’m sure that teacher had squinty eyes. That’s why we called them ‘Squinty-Eyes Teacher.'”

“Could it be a variable created by the butterfly effect?”

“Shit, maybe one of the Demon King’s underlings…tch, gotta investigate. Their background, history, everything.”

I trust Maria’s wisdom, unmatched across the continent, even if I can’t trust others’ memories.

If it’s truly caused by the butterfly effect, it’s fine, but better safe than sorry investigating.

*****

In the dormitories of Eden Academy.

Frey Dr. Siegfried, securing a private room with her ‘Hero’ privileges, was diligently scribbling in a notebook, listing things she needed to remember or watch out for.

“Variables list…the appearance of the beastkin named Aru…”

Recalling the various events of the day.

“And the person named Evans mentioned by Aru…I need to immediately send out an inquiry to find out who they are…and…Beatrix, the teacher who suddenly appeared 18 years ago and ranked among the strongest in the academy…”

Her finger paused mid-list when she thought of a certain man.

“And…that squinty-eyed teacher. Why are so many people from the previous life appearing? Maybe they’re all in cahoots…”

So many thoughts ran through the mind of the reincarnated one.

*****

Deep into the night at Eden Academy, a time when some lovers meet secretly in the library, a reincarnated soul ponders alone in their private room, and ordinary students dream with racing hearts.

A man sat on the window ledge of the teachers’ dormitory, bathed in moonlight.

Hiss.

Outside the window, black energy gathered in the academy’s sky. A phenomenon that would shock any witness, yet the sole observer, the squinty-eyed man, remained unperturbed.

Gulping sounds came from the squinty-eyed man as he swallowed whiskey from the half-empty bottle in his hand.

“Here already? I was waiting for you.”

The gathered energy transformed into a humanoid shape and replied.

“Using honorifics that don’t suit you? Unusual of you.”

“In my role as a teacher for several years now, I must act appropriately towards all students. Nowadays, respecting students is the trend since teaching authority has declined?”

“Imagine the archangels trembling at the thought of you showing respect to mere humans. They’d mourn endlessly if they found out.”

Two black wings protruded from the figure’s back. Additionally, the red horns atop its head and the inverted cross in its hand indicated it was not human.

“Hmph, Lucipher, are you mocking me too? Four hundred years ago, you disguised yourself as a Holy Knight for amusement.”

“Kick, that was for the toy I wanted back then. You know, the same workplace colleague. Talking about Beatrix Constantinople.”

“Only if I had the chance to converse with that quiet one.”

The squinty-eyed man showed no fear at the sight of this non-human figure. Instead, he grinned as if it weren’t surprising at all.

“How was the demon you mentioned? I tipped you off that they’d have the Ring King by their side, making them easily recognizable.”

“They conceal their power, but sheer strength radiates from them even standing nearby. You said they were your descendant, right? If we were to fight, they seem comparable to me. Never expected such a monster to emerge from your lineage.”

“I’m surprised too. Who would’ve thought Uriel…but that’s beside the point. Imagine this—your old plaything, a descendant, the Saintess, the Hero, the Great Sage, the Ring King, even Belphegor and one of the top-ranking demons sitting together in one academy. Such an entertaining setup doesn’t come around often, does it?”

The crimson pupils hidden in the squinty eyes glimmered faintly in the night’s darkness. The Great Demon Lucifer swept his arrogant gaze over the demon perched on the windowsill.

“Satan.”

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