Who is the professor responsible for treating and caring for the students thrown into chaos the moment Lady Jepar’s scheme began?
While most professors, except Professor Aphrodite, are busy squabbling at the New-Helheim Clubhouse, who is the character left alone at the ‘Moonlight Choir Festival’?
It’s Professor Aiaie Hekati.
In other words, her original role is to take care of the students.
“From now on, Murmur will explain everything!”
I plan to arbitrarily change Professor Aiaie’s role.
To do that, I’ll need to make her ‘understand.’ If I suddenly ask her to go somewhere, would she go?
“In this situation?”
“Please, just listen for a moment, Professor Aiaie.”
Behind Nicasia, the three maids were busy checking the condition of a fainted student while moving them.
“Alright. Given the situation, explain quickly.”
“Murmur thinks Professor Aiaie must know Lady Jepar from Piglet House!”
“Are you talking about Lady Jepar from Chronicle House’s upper echelon? If it’s recent, I know about it.”
“That Lady Jepar is trying to summon the gatekeeper demon Gabriel right now!”
Professor Aiaie’s eyes widened, and she covered her mouth with her left hand.
“So that’s why the leyline is dangerously out of control, and the children who had their magic drained fainted.”
“Professor Aiaie! For Murmur! For our friends! Please calm the raging leyline!”
“The leyline?”
“Lady Jepar has been swayed by Fenex, a changeling disguised as her daughter! If she summons the gatekeeper demon Gabriel, who knows what she’ll do! And if the summoning fails, the leyline will go berserk, and the academy will explode!”
It’s impossible to go around the academy’s vast grounds erasing magic circles one by one.
The scale and required magical skill would be immense, but if we can calm the leyline itself, the academy won’t ‘explode.’
“I think differently. If Lady Jepar is truly trying to summon Gabriel, it’s crucial to subdue her. There’s even a changeling involved, right?”
“Murmur absolutely disagrees! Feel the flow of the leyline! It’s incredibly unstable!”
Professor Aiaie didn’t even hesitate. Of course, she must sense this unease, just like Esme and I do.
“Murmur, listen carefully. The leyline is unstable because the magic circle absorbed too much magical energy. What happens if you pour too much water into a small cup? It overflows, right?”
“That’s why Murmur is asking! Murmur will punish the bad person who filled the cup! Professor Aiaie, please bring a new cup before the water overflows!”
“So Murmur is going to stop Lady Jepar?”
“Don’t worry, Professor Aiaie! Murmur isn’t reckless. You know how skilled I am, right?”
Professor Aiaie shook her head.
“Even so…”
“Murmur knows. In dangerous situations like this, we all have to do our best!”
I tightly grabbed Professor Aiaie’s skirt.
“Only Professor Aiaie can stop the leyline from going berserk!”
Esme and Citrine can’t do it. Neither can the other students.
“I’ll even attend Professor Aiaie’s after-school classes!”
“No matter what you say…”
“Murmur wants to save everyone!”
Professor Aiaie’s eyes wavered.
“Only a genius mage who can control all six elements can do this, and Murmur thinks that’s you!!!”
“How… No, that’s not important right now.”
Professor Aiaie looked down at me and crouched.
“Huh…?”
I didn’t expect this. Professor Aiaie, true to her genius mage title, drew a rune on my cheek.
“It’s a spell to block black magic.”
“Are you agreeing to the request?”
At Nicasia’s shout, Professor Aiaie stood up with a cool smile.
“This always happens when the Cosmos Academy Headmaster is away on a business trip.”
“Wait, so the Headmaster really went on a business trip, just as Murmur said?”
“Oh, you knew? Well, I guess you had to. She went on a trip to the Magica Kingdom.”
Professor Aiaie patted my head and stepped away from us.
“The leyline’s rampage must be calmed from a distance. So remember, if it gets dangerous, you must run away, okay?”
“Murmur will definitely do it!”
Professor Aiaie exchanged a final glance with Nicasia, walked about twenty steps away, and began drawing a magic circle in the air with a summoned wand.
“Professor Aiaie really agreed to Murmur’s request!”
After-school hours might get a bit tougher, but it’s fine.
“Yeah, Professor Aiaie is truly a genius mage.”
“It feels like we’ve crossed a big mountain.”
Nicasia looked around with a face full of anxiety.
The three maids and Citrine’s upper echelon were busy trying to sort out the situation.
We couldn’t leave the fainted children on the dangerous, bubbling ground due to the unstable leyline.
Some children had fainted from high places, their heads bleeding.
“Citrine, can you do what Murmur asked?”
“Honestly, I want to go to Piglet House with Nicasia too.”
Citrine gently stroked my hand once.
“But Murmur said…”
“Yeah, someone has to stay and handle the situation. Only Citrine can accurately explain the situation to the maids, the upper echelon, and the adults and convey what needs to be done.”
Citrine has a cool head.
In any situation, this kid can sniff out money, analyze information, and make value judgments.
Citrine is the only one who can shamelessly make requests to adults without backing down.
“Ohohoho! I’ll handle it perfectly so Murmur doesn’t have to worry!”
“I wish I could go too…”
Esme, who had been quietly listening, sighed.
“You can’t. There might be a changeling. And Murmur asked you for a favor.”
“I remember. I just felt a bit disappointed.”
“But it’s really important.”
I tightly held Esme’s hand.
“Because the overflowing magical energy in the air might cause spirits to turn into monsters, right?”
That’s why I asked Esme for help.
“Esme’s elemental magic is incredibly strong. She can defeat all those little monsters.”
“It’d be best if those monsters don’t appear! But I’ll definitely handle it!”
At first, I was a bit worried, but Citrine and Esme’s courage was overflowing.
See? We shouldn’t give up, right?”
“But Murmur… There’s one thing bothering me.”
“What is it, Nicasia?”
“Why are we going to Piglet House?”
“Because Lady Jepar is there.”
“But she’s imprisoned, right? And…”
Nicasia forced a bitter smile. Talking about magic like this probably makes her hate herself for not paying attention in class.
“Murmur said it, right? She’s trying to summon the gatekeeper demon Gabriel in one of eight places.”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t matter now. The changeling is recklessly pouring magical energy to summon Gabriel without any regard for safety.”
Nicasia swallowed nervously with a tense expression.
“Hahaha, I guess we can’t expect this to end with a laugh.”
* * *
“You can put me down now, Nicasia!”
Running from the sports field to Piglet House on my short legs would have been suicidal, so I had been carried by Nicasia until now.
I even had to go back to my room to grab the ‘old sword,’ so if I had moved on my own, I would have definitely run out of time.
“Mu, Murmur! Look over there!”
After putting me down, Nicasia urgently pointed to the adults guarding the entrance of Piglet House.
“…It’s okay, Nicasia. They just fainted after having all their magical energy drained.”
“Phew… At least that’s a small mercy. Though it’s suspicious.”
“Maybe they didn’t even have time to kill them.”
Nicasia nervously approached the tightly closed door.
“I’ll go in first. Murmur, you’re weaker than me, so be careful.”
“Okay, I’ll be careful.”
Nodding, I quickly summoned water and earth spirits.
─ Creak!
“Lady Jepar! Stop the summoning and surrender now!”
Nicasia opened the door with both hands and shouted as she entered.
“We’ve been waiting for you, Murmur.”
Piglet House had an eerie atmosphere, different from usual.
The tables where children happily ate desserts were all cleared, and the floor was covered with a blood-drawn magic circle emitting a faint glow.
Lady Jepar standing on that magic circle looked terrifying.
“To the descendant of the Demon God who has come all this way, I apologize for not having anything to offer to such a precious person who will soon become the Demon King.”
“Grandma Jepar! Murmur doesn’t want to fight!”
“This old woman also has something she cannot give up.”
Lady Jepar’s hands began to emit a purple glow.
“I won’t just stand by!”
Nicasia grabbed the sword she brought from the training ground and charged at Lady Jepar in an instant.
“Fool~ You can’t just do that.”
─ Crunch! Squelch!
With a horrifying sound of the ground splitting, crimson tentacles shot out and knocked Nicasia back.
“Ugh…! I knew it! Fenex!!”
Nicasia, who had retreated, glared at the ‘young demon’ slowly walking out of the darkness behind Lady Jepar, grinding her teeth.
Fenex, wearing a small academy uniform similar to mine, covered her mouth with her right hand and laughed.
“Mom, mom. Murmur really came, just like I said.”
“I see. She really came for us.”
“Mom! Mom! Soon, Fenex and I can meet again! We can have pudding again─”
“Shut your filthy mouth!! Stop teasing!”
Nicasia shouted and swung her sword at the tentacles. But, as if expecting the attack, Nicasia’s strike was deflected uselessly, like cutting water with a sword.
─ Crunch! Squelch!
Mockingly, another tentacle burst through the ground between Lady Jepar and us.
“Great and noble Demon God, Armonia.”
“Yes, yes, you’re doing great, mom!”
“The sacrificial piglet is ready for you, gatekeeper demon Gabriel, please open the gate.”
Lady Jepar knelt, clasped her hands, and began to pray.
Meanwhile, Nicasia sharply tore one of the tentacles in half with her sword. The spirits I summoned were also headbutting the tentacles, but…
This situation is weird.
Why are they waiting for me? If they had summoned dozens of tentacles to welcome us, they would have used a lot of magical energy, but something’s off!
“Lady Jepar, stop…!”
Nicasia reached out to Lady Jepar, but the wind pressure from the magic circle was faster.
“Ugh…?!”
“Hmm~ It seems we’re a bit short on chubby piglets, mom!”
“It’s okay, my daughter.”
“Yes! Yes! Good! You want to meet me soon too, right? You want us to be happy with Murmur’s power, right?”
Fenex smiled brightly and emitted purple magical energy from her right hand.
“St, stop!!”
“Naiara! Talorin! Attack!!”
Nicasia and I tried to stop Fenex.
We wanted to stop her.
But we realized too late.
“Hahaha! Mom! Thank you!”
Fenex, who had created a purple ‘magic sword,’ stabbed it into Lady Jepar’s back.
Bright red blood spurted out, staining the floor, and Lady Jepar collapsed, blood pouring from her mouth.
“Wh, what… wh, what did you do?”
“Huh? What do you mean? You must have skipped magic class, Princess Nicasia.”
“Don’t mock me and answer!!”
“I filled in the missing magical energy? Can’t you see?”
Nicasia couldn’t even answer and took a step back.
“Ahh… Fenex… my beloved daughter… I can see you… Demon God…”
Lady Jepar was murmuring as she died.
This can’t be happening.
If there’s a crime, there must be punishment, but not like this.
“How, how could you! How could you do this! Disguised as Fenex…!”
“Fool~ What are you talking about? Lady Jepar and I had a deal from the start… No problem…”
I threw a fireball at Fenex, who was chirping in a disgusting voice.
“Huh? Huh? Huh? Why? What? Murmur, why are you so angry?”
“…Murmur knows who you are.”
Honestly, I thought this couldn’t happen.
I didn’t expect to meet an enemy like this at this timing.
This enemy doesn’t appear in the elementary section, and she only shows up after the Demon King route has progressed enough.
But seeing her stab her mother’s back in her daughter’s form, I realized.
Instinctively, I knew who this being in front of me was.
A changeling, currently disguised as Fenex, but I knew who this being was.
“Amazing! As expected of Murmur~! But can you guess the correct answer?”
“You’re Leviathan of Kindness, right?”
Leviathan of Kindness.
One of the seven annoying sisters you have to kill or make an ally in the Demon King route.
A treasure chest for evil-aligned players.
I really hate them.
“Huh… What.”
Hearing the name that slipped from my mouth, Leviathan started making an eerily happy expression.
“As expected of Murmur! You immediately knew who I am? Cool! Amazing! I’m so jealous!”
“You…”
“Murmur! Murmur!! Let’s go back to Maleficium together?”
“Murmur has no intention of returning to the Demon King’s castle.”
“Murmur, you’re so tsundere! I even prepared this magic circle for you today!”
So Leviathan wasn’t just urging Lady Jepar to summon Gabriel to grant her wish.
She was inviting me to the Demon King’s castle, Maleficium.
To take me, the Demon God’s descendant, there.
“Come on! Let’s go! Murmur!! Let’s be happy with Leviathan!”
“No. Murmur has no intention of playing with a monster who doesn’t understand human hearts.”
