Chapter 55 – It’s Alright. They Don’t Die Easily.

The three days passed, feeling like three months. And Deus once again became a hero.

The defeater of the second demon. A monstrous freshman, even surpassing Chavel in strength. Destined, without a doubt, to be the freshman representative.

“You know, the more I look, the less scary he seems, little by little, don’t you think?”

“Think so, huh? Hey, Deus! Maybe later we can….”

But the freshman, approaching with such bravado, promptly pivoted. “Never mind.”

No matter how heroic he was, this demon-vanquishing legend. Even if befriending him guaranteed some kind of advantage.

That face, the one that sent chills down your spine, simply defied acclimation.

And that was before you even considered the chilling aura emanating from that physique.

Because he was perpetually expressionless, even a flicker of emotion seemed like unbridled rage.

And lately, he’d been running the upperclassmen ragged, like some kind of sadistic cat torturing mice! How could anyone *not* be scared?

Eventually, even the instructors of the Cradle stepped in, trying to assist him.

“Deus! Look at me. Don’t just stare blankly. Smile! A smile! Like me, turn up the corners of your mouth… urgh.”

Tiamat, attempting to teach Deus how to smile, gave up the moment she saw his lips contort.

That wasn’t a human smile; it was the look a monster gave right before devouring its prey, something like that.

Better not to smile at all. He was scarier when he smiled. No exaggeration, truly.

“How about trying sunglasses, like me? Maybe it’s your intense eyes that are the problem.”

The Hunter teacher, sporting deer-like eyes incongruous with his hulking frame, always wore sunglasses.

Deus considered the suggestion reasonably sound, and tried on the glasses the teacher offered.

“…Deus, student.”

“Yes, teacher.”

“Um. Just, take them off. My apologies.”

Better to see his usual face. At least they were accustomed to that now.

If he walked around the Cradle like that, anyone would assume some operative had infiltrated the place.

And not just any operative, but an assassination specialist with a license to kill!

In the end, nothing worked. But Deus felt surprisingly good.

‘So the reason they keep their distance isn’t because I’m a black-haired foreigner!’

He’d thought black hair meant he carried some kind of barbarian stigma, that they were deliberately ignoring him.

Whether he was being hailed as a hero or not, or even if he was an Esper, he felt they regarded him with a jaundiced eye and it unsettled him.

But that wasn’t it at all. It was simple. He looked scary. His aura was… unsettling.

‘Fear is born of the unknown, after all. Right now, they say I look scary, that my physique is monstrous, but that will all fade within six months, max!’

Whatever the reason, so long as it wasn’t because he was a “foreigner with black hair.” That he couldn’t change.

He briefly considered dyeing it, but he had no intention of actually becoming some blonde, tanned caricature.

And so, as Deus began to enjoy his life at the Cradle, little by little…

“Hiiiieee!”

The student council president, Neferti, who had returned with him, was being thoroughly pulverized by the hero, the monster.

“S-Senior! This isn’t fair! You said you’d go easy on me!”

“This *is* going easy.”

“What part of this is ‘going easy’!!?”

The barrier erected in the training grounds was on the verge of collapse. Maybe a crack or two had already appeared.

As proof, Cradle staff and barrier-type Espers had already gathered, their attention riveted to Deus’s every move.

But they couldn’t say anything. To stop the training now, given Deus’s newfound standing, was impossible.

He was already a hero who’d slain a demon in the cradle. A laudable youth who’d already saved students from several cradles.

Furthermore, he’d gone so far as to incur debt upon the Duchy itself to face yet another demon.

At most, a Cradle freshman. His practical gate experience could still be counted on one hand.

Instead, his experience in combat against demons was unparalleled. Even that Saber hadn’t yet experienced it.

Therefore, Deus was a Cradle freshman, but simultaneously, a master of demon combat.

“Guarantee Cradle Freshman Deus the maximum autonomy in training, and cooperate to the fullest extent when teaching future students anti-demon tactics.”

A notice that descended to the Cradle from both the Authority of Otherness and Education.

Not even sent by a Minister. Above this order, at the very top, was none other than the Imperial Family.

Meaning, whether he shattered a barrier during training or not, they absolutely couldn’t say a word.

—KWAANG!!

“Hyaaagh!!”

Nefertiti, who barely dodged Deus’ fist, flailed and tumbled across the floor.

Had she been even a moment slower, some part of her body might have been cleanly erased.

“You can’t do this, Chairman. This isn’t what I asked for.”

“Ugh! Really! What am I supposed to do?!”

“I told you. Not attack or defend, but a buff. That is, another wind, or a current, that can strengthen your wind, Chairman.”

Easier said than done! My junior can speak so easily because he doesn’t have an Otherness of the wind!

But it’s not the same for the person doing it! Would it be alright if I suddenly told you to write with your foot and hold a fork and knife?!

…Nefertiti wanted to protest at the top of her lungs.

But she soon realized once more that Deus was trying to help her and tried to do something, anything, that resembled it.

‘Buff… self, buff. So, enhance technique.’

A word she was hearing for the first time. And a concept she was seeing for the first time. But it wasn’t entirely absurd.

Rather, it was plausible. If she could really do it, her potential for growth would increase enormously.

She vaguely knew it. That the wind she was currently creating was useless.

Using something other than the Seven Winds would yield the same result. Unable to harm the demon. At best, scratches and scrapes.

Not due to a lack of effort, or problems with her Otherness or stamina.

Fundamentally, she was just weak. In the first place, the power of wind itself had limitations.

Deus was simply suggesting, “Let’s make it stronger.”

‘Then, why couldn’t I think of that?’

The reason was simpler than expected. Up until now, there hadn’t been any need.

Like the saying that invention and discovery are born of necessity, there wasn’t a compelling reason.

When dealing with monsters, a versatile wind was more necessary than a powerful one.

Even creating confusion would naturally reveal a gap, and exploiting that weakness would be the end.

Almost every battle Nefertiti had experienced had proceeded in that manner.

But demons were different. They didn’t need to fall for her confusion.

They could ignore it. Knowing that even if they were hit, there wouldn’t be any significant damage.

So, versatile or not, they just had to take a few hits and it was over.

‘Make my wind stronger. Not just strengthening it when attacking and launching it, but applying that enhancement constantly, at every moment. Not just attacks, but also in evasion. Even in the slightest movement…’

Not easy. Of course. In the first place, the wind attribute never stays in one place.

Until now, she just had to launch it. Just had to unleash a whirlwind, but now she had to tightly grasp that wind and make it flow around herself.

This was a concept entirely new to me. A technology I had never even imagined.

If I could pull this off in a day or two, I wouldn’t be human, but something else entirely.

“Nothing’s changed, Chairman. If you continue, I’ll have no choice but to be a bit stricter.”

“Wait!!”

But… but!! This junior of mine… it seems they really are!

Even if it isn’t a day or two, they intend to push forward as quickly as possible! Even if it means forcibly shoving it in!

—_Kwa-jick!!_

Finally, Deus’s fist shattered the barrier and slammed into the practice hall wall behind it.

Neferti could only yelp, “Eek!” at the sight.

‘That’s a really tough wall, isn’t it?! How can it sink in like that, as if it were clay?!’

This junior is serious. Genuinely trying to help me.

But somehow, within that sincerity, I also sense a genuine capacity to kill me.

Suddenly, Neferti found herself thinking, I miss my dad.

But little did she know, Deus had already received tacit approval from the Duke.

*

—_Nyaaang!_

Extending a hand, I was promptly and utterly rejected with a _nyaa-nyaa_ punch from the cat.

Deus let out a sigh and scratched his cheek.

“Sorry, sorry, Jojo. I’ve been pretty busy lately.”

—_Nyaaang!!_

“But you haven’t gone hungry, right? Yurisiah’s been feeding you, hasn’t she?”

—_…Nyaang._

“As far as I know, she’s even buying you cat treats? If you’re still so dissatisfied, should I tell Yurisiah to stop giving you treats?”

—_Nyaaang!!_

This, this. It feels like you understand everything I’m saying. Jojo, you’re awfully suspicious?

It was just like any other day; I was playing with Jojo using both hands.

“Deus?”

Turning my head, I saw a familiar face standing before me.

“Kasarr, Vice Chairman?”

“I’m honored you remember me. Hurry to the dispatch team room. Senior Luciel is looking for you.”

“Luciel-sunbaenim.”

Luciel is looking for me. As I thought. It seems like the beginning of the next incident, right?

—_Nyaang._

Deus placed Jojo down from his arms and slowly stood up.

“…”

Kasarr flinched almost imperceptibly as the shadow fell over him.

“Th-, Deus-hoobae-nim.”

“Yes, sunbae-nim.”

“Sorry, but could you step aside a little?”

It’s not for any particular reason. It’s just that, standing so precisely in front of me like that, it feels like you’re about to kill me any second.

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