A Weak Demon Lord Started Livestreaming in a Bottom-Tier Dungeon and Went Viral?! After Completely Crushing Rude S-Rank Explorers and Annoying Streamers, the Internet Erupted in Praise. Um, I'm Supposed to Be the Enemy of Humanity, You Know? - 20

Chapter 20: The Weak Demon Lord Goes to Explorer School

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One month after Rio-san began her training. Finally, the day had come when Rio-san would duel with the so-called “Golden Generation” of the Explorer School.

“Man, I’m so sorry!! I got stuck at every light!!”

Ryuugasaki-san arrived a few minutes late, pulling up in a van for our meeting. It seemed we’d be riding this van to the Explorer School. It was my first time in a car, so I climbed into the passenger seat in high spirits.

“Please, don’t worry about it. In the Demon Realm, I was often late for appointments myself.”

“Hearing that really puts me at ease. Well then, let’s get goin’. Oh, morning to you too, Rio-chan!”

“Ah, g-good morning, Sensei…”

“And this little lady must be Al-chan. I watched the archive of yesterday’s livestream. It was really funny. Nice to meet ya!”

“…Olden-sama. Please give me permission to kill this lowly creature.”

“Whoa, that bloodlust is intense. Scary~”

Ryuugasaki-san shrugged and laughed nonchalantly, showing absolutely no fear. I gently tried to dissuade Al-san.

“You might want to hold back, Al-san. He may seem shady, but he’s actually quite powerful.”

“…This human? I admit, his movements during that sneak attack on Olden-sama the other day were impressive, but I still believe I could defeat him. His magic capacity is insignificant.”

“I don’t think he was going all out. He was concealing his true magic output.”

At that, Ryuugasaki-san’s smile twitched slightly.

“…You noticed? I’m usually pretty confident in my magic concealment. Until now, only Akira-chan has ever seen through it.”

“Actually, I’m fairly decent at manipulating magic myself. I can’t do illusions as advanced as yours, though.”

From the moment I first saw him, I had thought Ryuugasaki-san’s abilities were just slightly below Akira-san’s. However, those around him seemed to hold him in much lower regard. I didn’t know why he pretended to be weak—but knowing how shady he was, I was sure he had a deeper reason behind it.

“U-Um, Principal… What are you, exactly?”

At that moment, Rio-san mumbled a quiet question from the back seat. Her voice was almost inaudible, but Ryuugasaki-san clearly heard it. He grinned.

“Is that a philosophical question? I’m just me, Rio-chan.”

“No, um, that’s not what I meant. I mean, why would you teach enhancement magic to someone useless like me—”

“Oh, Ol-san!! There it is, that’s the Explorer School!!”

“Wha—um, sen—”

“Oooh!! That’s a pretty majestic-looking building!!”

“It’s modeled after an actual fortified city in Europe. In an emergency, it serves as a shelter. It’s stocked with plenty of food and water too.”

I see. It’s definitely a fortress indeed.

“Alright, here we are! Erika-chan will show us to the gym where the duel’ll be—”

“Principal!!”

“Oh, speak of the devil. Erika-chan, can you show Ol-san the way?”

“Don’t just go around using other people’s cars without permission, you thread-eyed dumbass—!!”

The moment we got out of the van, Erika-san ran up and delivered a flying dropkick to Ryuugasaki-san’s face. It was a critical hit.

“I was supposed to go pick up Olden-san, and you were supposed to give the tour!!”

“Oww, oww… No need to open with a dropkick, is there? I’m your employer, you know?”

“Just because you pay me doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want!!”

Usually quite composed and polite to everyone, Erika-san was now bright red with rage. I’d heard that accidents with borrowed cars could be a huge hassle. This was definitely Ryuugasaki-san’s fault for using her car without asking. But if this kept up, it looked like we were in for a long scolding, so I called out to Erika-san.

“Good morning, Erika-san.”

“Ah, Olden-san!! …Pardon the scene.”

“Not at all. Would you mind showing us around?”

“…Of course. And as for the Principal—you’d better remember this.”

“Eeeek, scary~”

Ryuugasaki-san just shrugged and laughed again, seemingly unfazed by Erika-san’s intimidation. Hmm, I was starting to understand what kind of person Ryuugasaki-san was.

“Then, Olden-san, allow me to show you to the gym—oh, and Al-san is with us today, I see.”

“Yes. Because Rio is a useless fool who can’t even groom herself properly.”

“I-I’m so sorry!! I’m sorry for being a useless fool who can’t even groom herself!!”

“…I’ve told you repeatedly—stop apologizing every time. It’s infuriating.”

“S-Sorry! Sorry for being so pathetic!!”

“A-Ahaha, um, the gym’s this way~”

Erika-san chuckled awkwardly at the exchange between Al-san and Rio-san as we headed toward the gym, the venue for the duel. As she gave us a brief tour of the campus, we finally reached the gymnasium.

It was enormous. Granted, the school grounds themselves were vast, but even so, the gym was too large. If I had to compare it to something above ground, I’d say it was about the size of Tokyo Dome. Although I’d never actually seen Tokyo Dome in person.

Still, what really caught my attention was…

“…There are a lot of people in the audience.”

“Ah, um, that’s… well…”

Looking over, I saw the audience seats packed with people. Judging by their uniforms, they were all students of the Explorer School. There were also people with cameras and groups in suits.

At my comment, Erika-san’s voice faltered and her eyes darted nervously. Then, Ryuugasaki-san spoke up casually.

“The students gathered here just wanna laugh as the ‘Golden Generation’ gang up on the ‘useless one’ and beat her down.”

“That’s quite distasteful. And those people with cameras and suits?”

“Media outlets—TV, newspapers, the works. They came because we advertised this as ‘Golden Generation vs. the Demon Lord’s Disciple.’ The suits are government officials.”

The media and the government, huh. I see.

“Wh-Wh-Wh-What?! I have to fight in front of this many people?! I-I can’t!! I can’t do this!! There’s no way I—”

“Al-san, this is Rio-san’s big moment. Make her look as cute as possible.”

“If that is your will, Olden-sama. Rio, to the preparation room. Now. Resistance is futile. Erika, assist me.”

“Ah, uh, r-right!!”

Tears in her eyes, Rio-san was dragged away by Al-san and Erika-san. Once they were gone, Ryuugasaki-san and I headed to the VIP seating. The VIP section was for just the two of us. It seemed to be soundproofed, so even if things got rowdy, it wouldn’t be a problem.

Since I had the opportunity, I started setting up for a livestream. Good thing I brought my streaming camera just in case.

“Oh, you’re streaming this?”

“Yes. Ah—should I have asked permission beforehand?”

“Nah, no problem. I’m the Principal, so I can approve stuff like that as much as I want.”

Being a principal certainly had its perks.

“…By the way, Ol-san. Have you figured out what I’m trying to do?”

“Nope. Not at all.”

I shook my head at Ryuugasaki-san’s question.

“Though, well—I have figured out your true nature. You’re like me, aren’t you? The type who runs on impulse and vibes.”

“…Not quite as bad as you, Ol-san.”

“Flattery won’t get you anything but my femur.”

“Wasn’t trying to flatter you. Also, I wouldn’t know what to do with a femur. …You know, I just can’t stand it.”

Ryuugasaki-san spoke quietly. Something like conviction glinted in his eyes.

“Rich folks who think they can demand special treatment for their daughters just because they put in money… Government cowards who force half-hearted training because they’re scared of complaints…. Students who don’t bother to better themselves and just look down on others to feel superior… And more than anything…”

“More than anything?”

Ryuugasaki-san looked toward the center of the gym, where the duel would take place. Just then, the audience erupted in shouts of surprise.

“Hey, isn’t that Mushigami?!”

“What?! No way—is that really her?”

“S-She’s…She’s cute…”

The students, who had only ever seen the gloomy, withdrawn Rio-san, must’ve been shocked. Ryuugasaki-san continued.

“I can’t stand seeing a kid with world-class potential get ostracized and looked down on just because their mentor couldn’t help them blossom.”

“I see.”

“So I’m gonna tear it all down. Starting today, the Explorer School will be reborn. I’ll squeeze massive funding from corrupt politicians, bring in battle-hardened explorers from across the globe as instructors, and turn this place into a school that produces real explorers who can compete on the world stage.”

“That’s why you brought in the media—to expose how useless the current Explorer School is… By the way, when did you come up with this plan?”

“Last month, when you said you wanted to take Rio-chan as your disciple. I’d been planning something like this for a while, but that’s when I knew the time had come.”

“You really are just like me, after all.”

After Erika-san, Konatsu-san, and Akira-san, it seemed I had made another new human friend 

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Afterword:

Olden has very relaxed criteria for making friends. He will consider everyone he has exchanged a single word with as his friend.