The Reincarnated Demon King Can’t Escape~ When I Reincarnated 1000 Years Later, My Yandere Heroines Were Waiting for Me~ - Chapter 12

Magic Class (Target Practice)

The next day. The classroom in the morning.

Even before I got to my seat, one particular sight caught my eye.

It was near the center of the room. A crowd of students was gathering around one male student.

The boy would speak, and the girls would crowd closer. Every time the boy at the center threw back a light joke, laughter would break out, making the whole mood in the room feel nice and light. There was nothing annoying about his attitude. He was completely natural, yet he kept a distance that never made anyone feel a wall between them.

Zekt.

I dug through Eldi’s memories. Magic aptitude A-rank. A top-class powerhouse in our school year, and from a famous family. Good-looking. Nice personality, too. He was also deeply trusted by the teachers.

—He was a guy living a school life that was the exact opposite of this body’s owner, Eldi.

There were almost no connection points between Eldi and Zekt. They were like light and shadow. An A-rank popular guy, and an F-rank half-wit. Even though they were in the same classroom, they lived in completely different worlds.

I sat down in my seat and looked out the window.

It was a peaceful morning. If the day could just pass quietly like this—

—

Break time.

While I was drinking some bottled water, a shadow moved at the edge of my vision.

A natural stride. A pace with no awkwardness. But the destination was clear—my seat.

Zekt sat down backward in the empty seat right in front of me.

He rested his arms on the backrest and looked my way.

“Hey, Eldi. You’ve really changed lately, haven’t you?”

This guy keeps a strangely close distance, too. Is it just a popular guy’s instinct?

“…I don’t think I’ve changed at all, really.”

“It’s just that before, you used to walk around looking down at the floor way more. Your whole vibe is totally different.”

“I just got out of the hospital, so my mindset changed a bit, that’s all.”

“Hmm.”

His eyes showed he did not quite believe me. But he did not press any further, either. This way of keeping his distance belonged to someone who knew what they were doing. Not stepping in too deep, but not pushing me away, either. He was great at measuring his distance with people.

“Gareth stopped coming near you, too, right? Did something happen?”

Before he could finish speaking, a silver shadow cut right in.

Lyco stood up suddenly and stepped right between me and Zekt.

Physically. Right in a spot that completely blocked his view.

“Whoa.”

Zekt backed off slightly.

“…Master, show me your textbook for the next class.”

Lyco spoke only to me. She was completely shutting Zekt out with her back.

“You have your own, don’t you?”

“I forgot it.”

She did not forget it. It was right inside her bag. I saw her putting things in and out of it just a moment ago.

In short—she was cutting in just to stop the conversation with Zekt.

Zekt gave a bitter smile and stood up.

“Well, see you later.”

He walked back to his own seat. He did not seem to mind it much.

Lyco’s silver ears kept twitching until Zekt’s back was far enough away.

Patrol mode.

She would not move an inch until the alert for a suspicious person getting close to her master was cleared.

Don’t call him a suspicious person. He’s a student in our same class.

“Lyco, don’t build a wall against our classmates.”

“This is my standard spot. It would be terrible if it got taken. A crisis of identity collapse.”

Does your identity depend entirely on being next to me? You should rethink what you depend on.

—

Between classes. I headed to the restroom.

As expected, Lyco would not follow me into the boys’ restroom.

This single point was the only sanctuary left to me.

I ended up walking side-by-side with Zekt in the hallway. We were going the same way.

“I heard we’re being forced to pair up for gym this afternoon. They’re using a lottery.”

“What a pain.”

“I’ll laugh if you end up drawing Gareth, though.”

“That would be way too exhausting.”

This guy is really striking up conversations with me a lot. In Eldi’s memories, I don’t remember ever talking to him properly like this.

If a popular guy suddenly starts talking to an outcast, you would usually suspect he has some hidden motive.

“But—I don’t feel any malice. No calculations, no pity, either. It just feels like he’s talking to me simply because he’s interested. That’s what it feels like.”

When I got back to the classroom, Lyco was standing right in front of my seat with her arms crossed and her legs spread wide.

“Master… you were slow.”

“I was in the restroom, you know.”

“From now on, I’m coming along. Right inside the stall.”

“Don’t do that.”

“Mumu… a Demon King needs to have a broad mind. I’m practically the only one who would follow a stingy Demon King. You should be careful.”

“I see, so if I stop being stingy, I’ll get more subordinates?”

“…!? That’s bad. That kind of thing is no good. Master should only pay attention to me.”

Her logic collapsed in three seconds. Where did the talk about a broad mind go?

—

Afternoon. Magic practice in the arena.

The teacher in charge was Asmeia—Asmeia.

Even wearing a school tracksuit as a teacher, the pitch-black wings on her back could not hide their massive presence.

While the students lined up, Asmeia announced with a bright smile:

“Today, we’re going to use a lottery to pair up and do some basic magic practice.”

The lottery started.

Lyco did not move an inch from my side. She fully intended to be in the same pair, of course.

Her silver tail was shaking restlessly.

But the lottery was cruel.

The piece of paper Lyco drew had another female student’s name on it.

Her silver ears flopped right down. Her tail drooped to the ground.

She was expressing her desire not to leave with her entire body.

“Lycolegis, over here~”

The girl in her pair waved her hand. Lyco shuffled over there incredibly slowly. She took three steps, then turned back to look. She took another three steps, then turned back to look again. It was the exact movement of a dog being left behind by its owner. Her amber eyes were begging, asking why she had to be separated from her master.

On the other hand, Asmeia was smiling brightly.

I had a bad feeling about this. This smile was the exact one she used when she was plotting something.

I had seen it way too much during our long years together.

The lottery went on. One by one, the pairs were decided.

And at the very end—I was left over. We had an odd number of people today.

“Oh dear, Eldi was left out, wasn’t he?”

Asmeia put a hand to her mouth and made a face as if she was truly troubled. It was a total act.

“Well then, why don’t you pair up with teacher? ♪”

She made it look like an accident, but Asmeia was probably the one who made the lottery tickets. There was no way it was an accident. The odd number of people, and Lyco ending up in a different pair, were probably all part of her calculations. There was no way the strategist of the Demon King’s army couldn’t manipulate a simple lottery drawing.

Envious voices broke out from the boys around us.

“Man, must be nice to pair up with Asmeia…”

“That’s so unfair, especially for an F-rank…”

Asmeia did not listen to those voices at all and just smiled softly.

But—in total contrast, a beast-like murderous intent was flying over from the edge of the arena.

It was Lyco.

The girl paired up with her was shaking in fear. Please stop showering a completely unrelated student with enough murderous intent to make their skin crawl just by standing next to them.

Asmeia looked over at Lyco and threw her a single wink.

A triumphant look.

Don’t egg her on.

Lyco’s murderous intent went up by thirty percent. The girl in her pair took a step backward. That’s why I’m telling you not to drag other people into this.

—

First was the stretching.

Asmeia moved behind my back and pressed down on my shoulders to help me with the forward bend—but the distance was close. Blatantly close. Plus, something soft was pressing right against my back.

She was absolutely doing it on purpose.

“Asmeia, you’re close,” I muttered in a small voice.

“I’m just guiding you to the correct form, you know?” she said as her hands took hold of my arms and guided them to the right stance—and along with that, the strength of her hug from behind tightened. This was way past the scope of just guiding me.

“Look, your core is shaking. Why don’t you lean your weight on your big sister a bit more?”

The thing that’s shaking isn’t my core, it’s your teaching policy.

But frustratingly enough, I’m still weak against this kind of thing even after a thousand years. My ears turned hot. My face was forced to turn red against my will. It was the peak of embarrassment.

Asmeia looked completely satisfied, showing a huge smile.

The murderous intent from Lyco went up even more. A low growl echoed through the arena. The girl in her pair finally spoke up in a crying voice, saying, “Te-Teacher, could I please switch pairs…?”

Please, just don’t involve the ordinary students.

—

Next was the actual magic practice. It was a basic exercise where we shot magic at practice targets.

For me, there was nothing new to learn at this point.

But I did need to check the magic control in this body.

I have plenty of fire spells that I’m good at, but let’s try out the fireball-type spells that I used to use a lot.

The standard lineup of fireball variants goes from the lowest rank: [Forga], [Valgrea], [Volcarion], and [Ragna-Vesta]. If I shot anything above [Valgrea] with the power from my Demon King days, the entire arena would probably blow away.

Of course, I don’t think Eldi’s body can put out that much power, but just to be absolutely sure, let’s start carefully from the lowest rank, [Forga].

I took my stance toward the target placed in the arena.

Asmeia stuck herself right against me from behind, guiding me step-by-step by holding up my arms from the back.

No, this wasn’t guidance, it was a straight-up embrace. I was completely wrapped up. The wings on her back draped over me from both sides, filling the edges of my vision with black wings.

“Alright, raise your elbow just a little more—yes, yes, you’re doing great! ♪”

Great or not, I’m the guy who kept using this spell for a thousand years.

I squeezed down my magic, preparing to fire [Forga]—

Right before the release.

Something soft touched my cheek.

It was Asmeia’s lips.

A momentary touch. But from those lips, a massive amount of magic was poured into me.

The out-of-this-world magic held by the Dragon Princess of the Black Wings was added right on top of my fire.

The fireball was released.

Originally, [Forga] is a beginner’s fireball.

It was only meant to scorch a practice target a little bit.

But—the moment it hit, it exploded with a roaring sound.

The target was blown to pieces.

The shockwave slammed into the protective wall behind it, and a hot blast of wind swept through the entire arena.

The students’ hair all blew back at once, and screams and cheers mixed together.

Everyone was looking over here.

“Wow, that’s amazing, Eldi! You really do have talent after all~ ♪”

Asmeia praised me heavily while clapping her hands.

No, you totally set this up. It’s only because you pumped your magic into it.

But the people around us couldn’t see that. The only image left was that the F-rank Eldi had fired a mind-blowing fireball thanks to the homeroom teacher’s guidance. She had a proud look on her face as if she wanted to say, “Look how amazing my little brother is.” It was the exact same face she made a thousand years ago when she was bragging about my military achievements to the other generals.

“Are you serious? That kind of power from an F-rank?”

“Asmeia’s teaching ability is insane…”

Wrong. It wasn’t teaching. It was doping.

From Lyco’s direction, something that went way beyond mere murderous intent was being released.

Grrrrrrrrr. A heavy, low sound that felt like it echoed from the depths of the earth. The girl in her pair completely lost her footing. It looked like her legs went stiff and she couldn’t stand up.

Seriously, please stop.

Asmeia glanced over at Lyco and stuck her tongue out a little bit.

Don’t egg her on. Please, don’t egg her on.

Don’t fight. Don’t stand out. Stay quiet.

That core rule of mine had crumbled yet again.

How many times was this now? I wasn’t even counting anymore.