“She is a scholarship student from overseas. Please get along well with her.”

That troubled comment came from the cla.s.s’s homeroom teacher, Torii Mitsuko. She was tall, had unruly hair, wore gla.s.ses, and gave off a sociable impression. Her troubled expression came from the resigned feeling she felt due to Cla.s.s 1-A’s problem student and the strange new student joining it.

The problem student was named Sai Akuto. He was a boy with a mean look in his eyes who sat in a seat at the very back of the cla.s.sroom. He was perfectly attractive, but he had been born with the look of a clever villain. That look caused plenty of misunderstandings, but that was not the problem. According to a prediction that had never been wrong before, he would become the demon king in the future and he had actually become the demon king once before. Due to various circ.u.mstances, he had returned to only being a possible demon king, but those details meant little to his cla.s.smates. They saw themselves as sharing a cla.s.sroom with the one who would destroy the world, so an odd tension was always filling the cla.s.s.

However, Akuto himself had an introspective and diligent personality. It bothered him terribly that his cla.s.smates feared him so much.

—A transfer student? I hope it’s someone who won’t be too afraid of me…

That was Akuto’s earnest thought.

“Okay. Come in, Keena-chan.”

On Mitsuko-sensei’s instruction, a beautiful girl with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a cheerful, innocent, and cute smile entered the cla.s.sroom.

Akuto’s eyes were glued to her.

But not because of her looks. A hair decoration with a bird design glittered in her hair.

—Th-that’s the hair decoration I gave Keena when I left the orphanage.

Akuto stood up without thinking and the girl’s gaze stopped on him.

“I-it’s you!”

She ran past the lectern and all the way to Akuto’s desk in the very back. She then wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Do you remember your promise from the orphanage? My name is Keena! I’ve wanted to see you for so long!”

The blonde girl going by the name Keena spoke with a foreign accent.

—Eh? There are two Keenas?

Akuto looked over at the red-haired Keena. She was sitting in her seat and was looking up at Akuto and the blonde Keena with a look of surprise.

“Ahh, I will never let you go, my darling!” said the blonde Keena.

It is now necessary to look back into Akuto’s memories.

He grew up in an orphanage.

When he left that orphanage, he encountered a girl who he gave a hair decoration that he bought using all of the money he had. And he had promised to meet her again in the future.

The girl with the hair decoration was supposed to be the red-haired Soga Keena. She was his cla.s.smate. Those who liked her would describe her as gentle and those who did not would describe her as absentminded. Just looking at her face made one sleepy. She was a strange girl who loved rice and was only skilled at flying and turning invisible.

However, two identical hair decorations were now before Akuto’s eyes.

“Wh-why do you have the same hair decoration? And how do you remember what happened in the orphanage?”

Akuto looked back and forth between the two Keenas in confusion. Both of them wore that hair decoration. It had been expensive, but it had definitely been a premade product. For that reason, it was not too surprising for someone to have another one. However…

—Why does she remember the orphanage? Does that mean she’s my-…

“Ahh!”

The redheaded Keena suddenly stood up and pointed at the blonde Keena.

Akuto looked nervously over at her.

—Did she just remember something? Did she find something that contradicts what this new girl is saying?

“You have the same name as me!”

The redheaded Keena grinned.

The cla.s.smates who knew the circ.u.mstances surrounding Akuto and Keena fell from their seats and Akuto mentally held his head in his hands.

—Come to think of it, Keena always said she didn’t remember that time in the orphanage no matter how many times I asked.

“Hey, darling. Who is this girl? She is being too familiar,” complained the blonde Keena.

“Too familiar? She’s your cla.s.smate, isn’t she? And sorry, but what you are doing could be considered too familiar as well. We only just met,” said Akuto.

A sorrowful look appeared on her face.

“Oh! I can’t believe it! How sad! How can you say we only just met!? This hair decoration you gave me in the orphanage has been supporting my heart all this time!”

“You mean you were the one crying in the orphanage? I recall that girl having red hair.”

“Blonde hair can look red when you are young! Okay, our memories match! You must be my darling!”

The blonde Keena rubbed her face against Akuto’s chest.

“S-stop that. Cla.s.s is about to start.”

As Akuto spoke in a troubled voice, another voice spoke up.

“What do you think you are doing in the cla.s.sroom!? You may be a transfer student, but you are a cla.s.smate the instant you enter the cla.s.sroom. I will make sure you obey our rules!”

The girl who produced that angry shout and stood up was Hattori Junko, the cla.s.s representative. She had a cool and n.o.ble beauty, but the look in her eyes was a bit harsh and her personality was stubborn.

The blonde Keena glanced over at Junko with disagreeableness or even malice in her eyes.

“Darling, is that girl jealous because she is in love with you? Why else would she jeal-at-ous…I mean, yell at us!?”

“I do not want to hear terrible puns from a foreigner! And that is not what I was warning you about! I was saying you have not introduced yourself!”

Junko grew even angrier as she yelled.

“It’s definitely jealousy.”

The blonde Keena glanced over at Junko and wrapped her arms around Akuto’s neck so she could see.

“I-I said that is not it!” denied Junko as she blushed.

Akuto gently removed Keena’s arms and spoke decisively.

“That’s right. Hattori-san is not jealous.”

“Y-yes. B-but…no… You do not have to sound so sure of yourself when you say that…”

Junko grew fl.u.s.tered.

“Come on. Go up front and introduce yourself,” urged Akuto.

The blonde Keena nodded, jogged up to the front of the cla.s.sroom, and energetically raised her hands.

“h.e.l.lo, everyone from the empire! I am Keena Dorons from the United States! I had heard the empire was a strict hegemony, but it looks like you aren’t all bad people. I think I can get along with you just fine!”

The blonde Keena gave a ridiculous greeting.

“So do you know her?” asked Miwa Hiroshi.

He was one of Akuto’s few friends. He was a short boy with a mischievous look and he referred to Akuto as “aniki”.

“Maybe. To be honest, I don’t really know,” replied Akuto as they lined up in the dining hall to eat.

“What do you mean you don’t really know?”

“Well, even if she is the girl I remember, I only spoke with her that one time. Meeting her again at this age isn’t that much different from meeting her for the first time. I’m not sure how much it matters if she really is the girl or not.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

“Yes. And there’s something odd about her.”

“Something odd?”

“I’m not sure how to say it, but everything about her feels awkward.”

As soon as Akuto said that, he heard a voice from one end of the dining hall.

“Oh! So I have to line up here!? Wait, I have to pay? I thought everything in the academy was free!”

It was the blonde Keena’s voice.

Akuto could not ignore this, so he stood up. Keena began waving at him when she noticed.

“Darling! Help me! I don’t understand the dining hall system!”

“Are you having trouble?”

Akuto walked over to her.

As soon as he did, the dining hall grew noisy. Akuto’s face and name were known all across the school. And not in a good way.

The students who had been angry at Keena for cutting in front of them in line frantically split apart to create a path for him.

—Y’know, it bothers me when you’re that afraid of me.

He complained in his heart, but Akuto had a bad habit of wanting to look his best when in the public eye. He made sure to speak as politely as possible and waved his hands calmly.

“Excuse me. She is from overseas, so she has yet to learn how things work here. It seems she did not bring any money with her.”

The instant he said that, several students pulled money from their wallets and held it out toward Keena.

—Th-that isn’t what I meant…

However, Keena cheerfully took one of the bills held out to her.

“Thank you very much! You should have done this in the first place! Oh, I will have Meal A!”

“Ah…”

Akuto tried to stop her, but Keena had already ordered the meal.

—This isn’t right.

Akuto began to frown without realizing it. The crowd around him grew tense and no one dared move an inch. Those on the other side of the dining hall had already begun fleeing.

Akuto walked over to the student who had given Keena the money.

The poor student’s legs were trembling and his expression had stiffened.

“Y-yes!? What do you need!?”

“I was not asking for money, so I will pay you back. I was planning to give this money to her in the first place, so do not worry about it,” explained Akuto as he handed the boy a bill.

The student accepted it with a trembling hand.

“Everyone who tried to give her money is an idiot. The demon king is famous for being a lady killer. They got in the way when he was trying to show off.”

“Ahh, ahh. He’s glaring at that one guy. I think I know who he’s going to kill first.”

All of the surrounding students began whispering similar comments.

—That is not what I was trying to do…

As Akuto complained silently, Keena began tugging on his hand. She held the bowl for Meal A in one hand.

“Darling, let’s go eat over there! This country’s food uses so many different dishes! I couldn’t believe it! But the contents are much too poor for a member of high society like me!”

The students began whispering once more as they watched Akuto and Keena walk off together.

“Ugh. Why do all the cute girls give in to him?”

“Well, he’s the demon king. He’s amazing in a lot of different ways.”

“I kind of wish I was like him…”

“But I kind of don’t want to be like him…”

With his back turned to that envy, Akuto returned to his seat near Hiroshi. He found the redheaded Keena sitting there as well.

“A-chan, Keena-chan is…no, it’s weird calling her that. She’s Dorons, so…Doro-chan! Doro-chan is with you?”

The redheaded Keena was quickly eating her meal as she spoke. Her meal was Meal K which had been created especially for her after she continually requested it. It came with white rice, deep-fried rice (rice deep-fried in rice flour), rice salad, a spring roll in rice paper, and rice noodle soup. Basically, it was a special menu made entirely out of white rice. The K of Meal K was said to either stand for Keena or Kome[1]. The other students could order it, but no one else had ever finished that legendary meal.

“She’s only with me because she was causing a commotion over there.”

“I do not understand this academy’s dining hall system! They should explain that kind of thing!” said the blonde Keena as she sat down and began eating her meal.

She had chosen Meal A which was perfectly normal. But after biting into one of fried side dishes and bringing a forkful of white rice to her mouth, she shook her head in disgust.

“Ohh! What is this rice stuff!? How can you eat this!? It is not suitable for a member of high society like me!”

For once, the redheaded Keena actually stood up so quickly her chair clattered.

“That isn’t true! Rice is delicious!”

“It is merely your opinion that it is delicious. It is my opinion that it is disgusting. That is all there is to it!” readily denied the blonde Keena, but the redheaded Keena refused to back down.

“Regardless of what you think of the taste, it has plenty of nutrients. Rice is a whole food! You can survive by eating nothing but it!”

—No, you would get beriberi from a vitamin deficiency.

Akuto kept that comment to himself.

But the blonde Keena vigorously shook her head for an unrelated reason.

“Even if it has nutrients, you can’t just eat one thing all the time! And you have no right to say anything to me about this! I will eat bread instead!”

The blonde Keena stood up and bought a sandwich with what was left of the money she had been given. She placed it on the table and made a loud announcement.

“Man can live by bread alone!”

—What a terribly unspiritual announcement.

Akuto made another internal comment.

But the redheaded Keena vigorously shook her head for an unrelated reason.

“Rice takes 88 steps to prepare!”

The two continued to argue after that while also eating the Meal K and the sandwich.

“By the way, aniki, most of that Meal A is left.”

Hiroshi pointed at the bowl the blonde Keena had left. It had been abandoned with only one bite taken out of it.

“We can split it between ourselves.”

As the two Keenas argued, the boys ate both their own meals and the Meal A. By the time they put down their chopsticks, Akuto was dragged into the argument.

“I really, super, special, perfectly haven’t liked you from the moment I laid eyes on you! You are jealous of me and darling, aren’t you!?”

The blonde Keena grabbed onto Akuto’s arm.

“I’m not jealous! A-chan and I are sworn friends!”

The redheaded Keena slammed a hand down on the table.

The blonde Keena looked down at the redheaded Keena with a cynical look in her eyes.

“Heh heh. Friends, you say? Then you will sit idly by and watch us go on a date, right!?”

“A date?”

The redheaded Keena was shocked. The blonde Keena leaned up against Akuto as she glanced over at the other Keena.

“You don’t know what a date is? When a guy and a girl want to test if they will make a good boyfriend and girlfriend, they go to a high society, LOHAS, lovely, and refreshing café where you can eat sweets! They drink tea together there and become boyfriend and girlfriend if they like each other!”

—Is that really what a date is? Or is that how it works in the United States?

Akuto was skeptical.

“They become boyfriend and girlfriend if they like each other?”

“That’s right. How to make your intentions clear is up to the individual, but after the tea, the guy will make his advances on the girl. What happens after that decides it. It is the fork in the road of fate,” declared Keena confidently. “Let’s go on a date after cla.s.s the day after tomorrow! I want to go to a high society, LOHAS, lovely, and refreshing café where you can eat sweets, that is perfect for a date, and will accelerate romance!”

“Anyway, it seems I’ve gotten this forced onto me.”

After returning to his dorm room after the day’s cla.s.ses, Akuto sought advice from the beautiful girl lying in his bed.

She had soft green hair, her facial features had the perfect beauty of a doll, and she had the beautiful figure of a statue a sculptor made of the ideal girl. However, she was untidily lying on the bed, reading a magazine, and munching on ningyou-yaki from a bag next to her. She was acting more like a middle-aged housewife or an unemployed youth than a beautiful girl.

“Is that so?” said Korone.

She was an artificial human known as a L’Isle-Adam and she had been sent by the government to act as Akuto’s observer because he was predicted to become the demon king.

“Is that all you’re going to say?” asked Akuto.

“It is a personal issue, so it does not require my interference. Also, you never told me what you want advice on.”

“Oh, you’re right. Let’s see… It seems whether we become boyfriend and girlfriend is decided afterwards, so I think I will decisively turn her down,” declared Akuto.

“That seems too decisive,” commented Korone as she looked up from her magazine.

“I don’t know her very well. This is something we should talk about after we have known each other as friends for a certain period of time. We mustn’t rush it.”

Akuto’s reasoning was much too serious. This aspect of his personality was one of his virtues and one of his faults.

“Then why not go ahead and tell her so?”

“Dorons-san insisted that she would not hear my answer until after the date.”

“That is odd compared to normal human behavior. It is as if she wants to go through a series of steps,” a.n.a.lyzed Korone.

“That’s why it looks like I have to go through those steps with her. Anyway, I want you to tell me where I can find a high society, LOHAS, lovely, and refreshing café where you can eat sweets, that is perfect for a date, and will accelerate romance.”

Akuto had an excellent memory.

Korone sat up in the bed and faced Akuto.

“Can’t you search the internet yourself?”

“I already tried, but I can’t seem to get a feel for it.”

Akuto pulled out his student handbook and displayed the cafés he had chosen on its mana screen. They were all refined places marketed towards adults. There was one that became a bar at night, one that insisted on cold-brew coffee, one that served matcha in a tatami mat room and required a membership, and one that used only ornaments from the countries of foreign minorities.

“These are not places to go on a high school date. How did a search leave you with these?”

“I was asked to find a high society, LOHAS, lovely, and refreshing café where you can eat sweets, that is perfect for a date, and will accelerate romance. This is what happens when I tried to meet all of those requirements. No, I actually wasn’t able to fit in ‘will accelerate romance’ because it’s too abstract.”

Akuto’s expression was perfectly serious.

Korone stared back at him.

“This is not the first time I have seriously wondered if you are a complete idiot,” she said.

“I know. I have no knowledge or experience in this kind of thing.”

Akuto’s expression grew even more serious.

Korone stared back at him even more.

“I will give you some advice. The standard place for a date is a companion café.”

“A companion café?”

Akuto did not seem to understand, so Korone gave a thorough explanation.

“A companion café is a café in which only male and female couples may enter. The seats are divided into small booths where the couple must sit next to each other. They usually have a free self-service drink bar, so they have no waiters. The lights inside are dimmed to the limit so the others in the café cannot see what you are doing.”

“Why would-…?”

“It is none of the café’s concern if you choose to engage in s.e.xual intercourse there. For those who prefer exhibitionism, there are some cafés that keep the lights fully on and keep the drink bar and playroom separate. Those cafés are often used by married couples who enjoy swapping partners with other couples and showing off their s.e.xual relations to each other. The cafés that allow single men inside are known as happening bars. In some of them, naked women will suddenly appear and ask to have s.e.x. Whether you accept or not is entirely up to you.”

With that last comment, Korone pointed at Akuto.

Akuto sighed.

“I see. So you don’t want to give a serious answer.”

“Of course not. Who would help someone else down the path of love? Especially when it is the boy you love and another woman,” said Korone.

“Eh?”

Akuto looked back at her in surprise.

Korone’s closed lips formed a flat line. She slowly stuck her tongue out between them like a fax machine. She ended up with her tongue sticking out on an otherwise expressionless face.

“Just kidding.”

“I should be used to this after you keep teasing me, but those expressionless jokes are always a shock.”

Akuto hung his head down.

Korone raised her arms up high and placed her index fingers on the top of her head to perform the finishing blow. And she remained completely expressionless all the while.

“Just kidding.”

The following morning, Keena Dorons continued to follow Akuto around and he continued to rack his brain for a café to choose.

“Have you found a high society, LOHAS, lovely, and refreshing café where you can eat sweets, that is perfect for a date, and will accelerate romance yet?”

“Oh, well, no, not yet. But I’ll find something.”

“I can’t have you being good-for-nothing, darling. But I am sure you will find something! No, if you can’t find anything, then just order one the commoners around you to do it!”

Keena pointed at their cla.s.smates.

Naturally, the students did not look pleased. However, none of them expressed any direct complaints or anger while Akuto was present.

“You shouldn’t say things like that,” chided Akuto, but Keena did not take him seriously.

“Oh, you are so kind to the commoners, darling.”

“That isn’t what I meant.”

—Is she selfish or just childish?

As he thought on that, he heard another voice.

“Today’s lesson is hands on.”

It was Junko.

“Oh, Hattori-san. I see. So it’s hands on. Dorons-san, what will you do?”

Junko pouted her lips when Akuto said that.

“Is this any time to be worrying about the new student? I am the only one who can handle being your partner, so I need you to focus on doing this well.”

This was an academy for learning magic, so the main part of the cla.s.ses was the hands on lessons. Some of them were dangerous such as lessons in controlling destructive magic. Akuto always seemed to cause some sort of chaos during these lessons because he simply had too much magic power.

“Understood. I will do my best to make sure you are not harmed.”

Akuto’s comment could have sounded conceited to some, but it was nothing more than Akuto’s bad habit. Nevertheless, Junko blushed.

“Y-you idiot. Do not say it like that.”

The blonde Keena had been listening and now she spoke up.

“Hah! Don’t make me laugh! There is no way you are fit to be my darling’s partner!”

“Why do you keep calling him your darling? I have been lenient with you because you are a foreigner, but I cannot allow that during a hands on magic lesson. Magic is the empire’s technology. If you underestimate it, you really will get hurt.”

Junko and Keena glared at each other.

“I am not underestimating magic. If my darling and I are together, everything will be fine!”

“That is what I mean by underestimating it. The empire’s technology is-…”

“I had heard this place was nationalistic and xenophobic and it looks like that was spot on!”

“What? Fine then. Just try being his partner and get blown away! You can regret your own foolishness afterwards.”

Junko angrily stalked off.

—What am I supposed to do?

Akuto was troubled, but the lesson began regardless.

The lesson involved performing precise work with telekinesis. They learned how to use magic to control small objects and move them on a millimeter scale.

“We only have so many micrometers and sets of objects, so form groups of two. Once you can do it on your own, try to do it while working together,” said Mitsuko-sensei. She then added, “Sai-kun, you work far away from everyone else. You don’t have to work with a partner either.”

The other students stood in front of some blocks of various sizes placed on the cla.s.sroom’s desks, but Mitsuko-sensei pointed toward a single desk in the middle of the schoolyard.

“Well, I knew this was going to happen.”

Akuto obediently made his way out into the schoolyard, but the blonde Keena followed him.

“Darling, let’s do our best!”

“Eh? But the teacher told me to do it on my own. You don’t have to force yourself to work with me. You don’t have to worry about what the cla.s.s rep said either.”

“Don’t worry. We can do it if we work together!”

Keena ran ahead and dragged Akuto to the center of the schoolyard.

“You shouldn’t take this so lightly. I’m especially bad at this kind of detailed work. I feel like an idiot saying it like this, but it’s like using a missile to open a can. C’mon, go back with everyone else.”

He looked back toward the cla.s.sroom window. Unsurprisingly, Mitsuko-sensei and their cla.s.smates were telling Keena to come back.

But Keena laughed it off.

“Ah ha ha. It won’t be a problem. We just have to show them the strength of our bonds!”

Keena took Akuto’s hand and guided it toward the blocks sitting on the desk.

“Again: you can’t do-…”

Akuto trailed off and fell silent when he felt warmth fill the arm Keena was holding.

—What? My power is…

“See, it’s completely fine!”

Keena smiled at Akuto.

Akuto had of course not intended to use any power. However, a narrow stream of mana appeared at the end of the hand Keena was holding.

Mana was scattered throughout the atmosphere. When it responded to the mana inside one’s body, it could act on objects. That was why mana was harder to control the greater the amount of mana in one’s body.

Also, it was exceedingly difficult to interfere with the mana in someone else’s body. One’s internal mana had inherent mana waves that only resonated with the brainwaves of that person.

—She’s resonating with my mana waves?

He could think of no other possibility. Keena was manipulating the mana within his body and controlling it perfectly.

Akuto’s surprise reached his cla.s.smates back in the cla.s.sroom.

Mitsuko-sensei had displayed footage of them on a mana screen in the cla.s.sroom. That footage showed the small blocks on the desk being controlled perfectly. The smallest blocks were inside a clear plastic box and were cubes almost as small as the particles making up a powder, but they systematically stacked them up to form a wall.

“What!? Impossible!” cried Junko.

“The new student from overseas?” asked Etou Fujiko.

On the surface, she was the academy’s greatest beauty, had grades at the top of the academy, worked as the girls’ dormitory leader, and was admired by both boys and girls alike. In secret, she was a black magic adherent who adored Akuto.

Sitting before her was Lily Shiraishi, the student council president and one of the few people who knew her true ident.i.ty. Lily had called Fujiko to the student council room.

“Yes. That is what she is officially being called, but her true ident.i.ty is not actually known,” explained Lily as she toyed with the brim of her stylish hat.

“Her ident.i.ty is not known? That sounds dangerous. For one thing, how can one’s ident.i.ty not be known in this empire? If you wish to discuss paranormal phenomena, can it wait until some other time?” replied Fujiko disinterestedly.

Noticing her disinterest, Lily called up a mana screen on her desk that showed the previous lesson.

“As you can see from this, she seems to have some connection to Sai Akuto.”

The screen showed the blonde Keena helping Akuto perform detailed mana operations.

“Wh-what!?”

Fujiko gulped.

“That’s right. I do not know how, but she is successfully controlling Sai Akuto’s mana. This means…”

Before Lily could continue her explanation, Fujiko cut her off.

“She is touching my Akuto-sama’s hand so familiarly!”

Fujiko grew enraged, her hair bristled, and she banged on Lily’s desk.

Lily was of course taken aback.

“…Um, that isn’t the important part.”

“Ah! Ho ho… Oh ho ho ho! I was joking, of course! Yes, this is most interesting!”

Fujiko tried to laugh it off, but after a bit, she seemed to realize the importance of what she was seeing. She turned a serious look in Lily’s direction.

“You said her ident.i.ty is unknown?”

“Yes. It seems she just suddenly appeared. And she was found at the site of that battle.”

“That battle” referred to the war in which Akuto became the demon king and slew the G.o.d Suhara. However, Akuto’s presence had been eliminated from most people’s memories and they now thought the “previous” demon king had killed Suhara.

“In that case, she might be related to the existence that erased that from everyone’s memories,” said Fujiko as she folded her arms.

“Exactly. She might be related to the existence known as the Law of Ident.i.ty. That mysterious will that most likely appears through Soga Keena’s body.”

“Did you call me here to determine who this new student is?” asked Fujiko.

Lily shook her head.

“No. There are some things we cannot know even if we investigate. We have no clues whatsoever. I just wanted to make sure you were not behind this.”

Lily looked at Fujiko with defiant eyes.

Fujiko frowned in displeasure, but she understood what Lily truly meant.

“You may doubt me, but this has nothing at all to do with Akuto-sama’s cells I cultivated or with my mana wave research using them. I am embarra.s.sed to admit it, but that the jar was stolen from me just before that battle came to an end.”

“By that rubber man?”

Lily looked surprised.

Fujiko nodded.

Lily clicked her tongue.

“Then did they use that to…? No, the timing doesn’t fit,” muttered Lily before waving a hand. “Understood. Thanks. Sorry about calling you here.”

“Think nothing of it. I received valuable information about this new student.”

“Are you going to investigate her? Well, try to keep things from getting out of hand.”

“No, it has merely given me the desire to fight.”

Fujiko laughed with a cruel look on her face.

Junko was suddenly called out to after school.

“Hattori-san, there is something I want to ask you.”

“Something you want to ask me?” she repeated before realizing who had spoken to her.

It was Akuto.

Keena Dorons had been constantly following him around since the day before, but she was gone. She must have returned to the dorm after school.

“It is not often you wish to consult with me,” said Junko before clearing her throat.

She had grown tense once she realized what the situation was.

The two of them were alone in the evening hallway.

She recalled that she had announced she would stay with Akuto even if it meant disobeying her family during that war and she had told Akuto as such.

“S-so what is it?” asked Junko while facing the setting sun to hide her blushing face.

“I was wondering if you knew a good café for a date,” said Akuto casually.

“A-a date?”

Junko turned around in surprise.

“Yes. I don’t know what kind of café to choose. I asked Korone, but she only gave me strange answers.”

“I-I-I-I see.”

Junko was horribly fl.u.s.tered.

“Are you okay?”

“Y-yes, I am fine. N-now, then… There is place near the station that is… No, that is not a good place for a date. Leave the station, turn right, and continue for a while. Continue out of the shopping district and into the residential district and there is an open terrace café. It is owned by a pastry chef, so you can buy cakes at the neighboring store.”

As Junko explained, Akuto nodded in satisfaction.

“That sounds good.”

“It would be best to reserve a table the day before. B-by the way, when were you planning to have this date?”

“Tomorrow.”

“T-tomorrow. I see.”

—That is very sudden. What do I do? Should I buy some new clothes? No, it would seem odd if I went that far. I need to keep this casual. But he is the one inviting me on the date, so this has an almost 100% chance of being fine. I do not need to worry too much and there will be no problems. But he might think I would go on a date with just anyone if I accept too readily. I can’t let him remain completely in control. I know. I can pretend I have plans and act a bit reluctant. It wouldn’t be bad to look a bit troubled.

As Junko made up her jumbled mind, she turned away and spoke.

“I have some plans tomorrow…but I suppose it isn’t anything too important. I told my little sister I would go see her concert. But if you insist…I can give you priority. After all, my sister is doing things like that all the time. Ha ha… Ha ha…”

But she had spoken so quietly that Akuto had not heard her.

“Thanks so much. Dorons-san said she wanted to go to a high society, LOHAS, lovely, and refreshing café where you can eat sweets, that is perfect for a date, and will accelerate romance,” he said with an innocent smile.

Junko instantly froze as if she had been thrown into a world of eternal winter.

“W-wait a second. This date is with that new student?”

Akuto nodded innocently and said, “Yes. She asked, so I figured I could go drink some tea with her.”

“W-wait… Wait just a second… Are you telling me you are going on a date with that new student…and just because she asked?”

“Well, yes. It would be odd to refuse her, don’t you think? And it seems dates are treated a lot less seriously in the United States.”

“I-I see… So that’s it. Ha. Ha ha. Ha ha ha.”

“A-are you okay? You don’t look very good.”

Akuto was worried, but Junko was too busy staggering and going pale from shock.

—I-I see… Why did I never think of that? I just had to ask and he would have gone on a date… That’s right. He is that kind of guy, isn’t he?

“An observation target made a reservation at a café? What is the café’s name? Café Bakhtin? When is the reservation?”

A local knight leader carried out telepathic communications with a tense look. He immediately entered the information into a handbook.

A tense atmosphere quickly filled the knight station. Twenty skilled knights were on duty, but they all stood up and watched their leader’s expression.

“Understood. We will do our best to police the area.”

After ending the telepathic connection, the knight leader glanced across his men’s faces. Those faces held a mixture of expectation and fear. He spoke to them resolutely.

“We have word from the cabinet office. The boy who is a possible demon king will use Café Bakhtin in District 2 tomorrow at 3 PM. We must do our best to keep the people safe!”

“Ohhhh!” cheered his men.

Korone was not slacking on her duties as observer. She was providing detailed reports to the government on Akuto’s actions. And when he made any kind of major action, the report would immediately be sent to this knight station in the same city as Constant Magic Academy.

But as an orphan with no home to return to, Akuto rarely entered that city. For that reason, this was their first large scale operation.

“Contact Café Bakhtin! Have our female members slip in as waitresses! Ask to have them trained in waiting tables by noon tomorrow! We will go with defense plan 1B! Keep your armor at a level low enough to not concern the people! Don’t forget to request cooperation from the neighboring knight stations! And most importantly, do not allow the people to be hurt!” roared the knight leader.

The knights called up maps onto the mana screens in the station and began to add red pointers on them.

He did not know it yet, but the following day would contain the longest afternoon that knight leader had ever experienced.

“Um, senpai, you don’t have to go this far.”

Akuto felt bad for everything Fujiko was doing for him.

The mirror in front of him showed him in a casual outfit. Unlike when he chose clothes for himself, they were coordinated and he was even wearing accessories. The outfit had been selected by Fujiko. He did not own very many clothes, but Fujiko had changed his appearance quite a bit with the combination she had selected.

“No, the demon king I adore must always look magnificent. Ho ho ho.”

Fujiko laughed and fixed Akuto’s collar. She then styled his hair with wax.

Fujiko had borrowed the home economics room to help Akuto change into his casual outfit. The two of them were quite tall, so they looked like models. A large number of female students and a few male students had gathered outside the window to watch them.

“Ahh, Fujiko-sama is so beautiful…”

“But why is she so attached to the demon king?”

“I hate to admit it, but he is good looking. If only he wasn’t the demon king.”

“No, this would be unforgivable even if he wasn’t the demon king!”

“That’s right! He’s stolen our Fujiko-sama!”

“But there’s no way we can beat him in a fight.”

The students continued to give similar comments.

While watching those students out of the corner of her eye, Fujiko saw Akuto off in his new perfect outfit.

“Finished. Have a good time.”

Fujiko smiled kindly and Akuto bowed to her and left the home economics room. He was secretly suspicious of her out-of-the-ordinary att.i.tude. He could not imagine she would let him get even remotely close to another girl.

Akuto’s fears were of course warranted. After watching him turn the corner of the hallway, Fujiko quickly cleaned up the home economics room and began pursuing Akuto.

“Yes. I am not about to just let you go on your date. If the girl was not that new student with such a strange mystery surrounding her, I would have immediately sent her to h.e.l.l.”

An evil grin appeared on Fujiko’s lips as soon as she was out of view of the surrounding students.

“Yes, I want to confirm some things about this mysterious new student as well,” said a sudden voice.

Korone had appeared behind Fujiko at some point.

“Wh-when did you get behind me?”

“Is your back that valuable? And it is completely normal for an observer to follow her observation target.”

Korone seemed intent to enter the city. She was wearing casual clothes for once.

“It is a bother, but I suppose I have no choice,” complained Fujiko.

She began tailing Akuto along with Korone.

And as Akuto left through the school’s main gate, Fujiko chanced upon another pursuer.

“S-senpai! Why are you here?” asked a fl.u.s.tered Junko when she saw Fujiko.

“That is what I would like to ask you. However, I get the feeling our reasons are the same.”

Junko was of course in casual clothes as well.

This made three pursuers.

Akuto met Keena Dorons in front of the school’s main gate. Keena was wearing a lively outfit in the style of the United States.

“I see. If she is that sporty, maybe I should have held back on the luxurious side of things.”

Fujiko regretted her own coordination. Seeing that, Junko grew suspicious.

“Senpai, why are you so calm? This is not how you would normally react.”

“Ho ho ho. I would never freely let Akuto-sama have a date. The necklace I lent him has magic built in. When those around it consume caffeine, they lose all self-restraint as if they have been drinking alcohol. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say it has the same effects as a truth serum. This will allow us to know who this new student really is! Heh heh heh,” laughed Fujiko.

Junko could not help but take a step back from Fujiko.

“Y-you scare me… So at the worst, she will act like a drunk and make Akuto hate her. And if it works, we will know her ident.i.ty.”

“Exactly. Also, Akuto-sama’s bracelet has magic built in that defends against those effects. He will not be affected by the necklace at all!” announced Fujiko in satisfaction.

“This is obviously the pattern where your scheme fails and causes great confusion,” muttered Korone. “That always happens when one relies on secret tools. Isn’t that common knowledge?”

“That is not common knowledge at all!” shouted Fujiko angrily.

Junko held her head in her hands.

“Ahh, why did I come here? If I had known this would happen, I would have gone to Yuuko’s concert.”

Junko’s younger sister Yuuko was announcing a new song at a department store as the idol Hoshino Yuri, but that had no bearing on what would soon occur.

A man in a suit with an expectant look saw Akuto and Keena Dorons pa.s.s the station. He was a knight in disguise, so he immediately contacted the other knights.

Other knights dressed as a housewife, a delivery boy, and someone walking their dog also informed the others where Akuto was.

However, the knights were not the only ones on edge.

“I-is that-…?”

“He’s that rumored academy student…”

The people of the city knew what Akuto looked like thanks to the other students at Constant Magic Academy. The knights had not warned of Akuto’s arrival, so in the eyes of the townspeople, the demon king had suddenly appeared.

Shutters began to close over shops and mothers tugged their children’s hands as they ran away. Only the disguised knights were left on the streets.

The knights’ communications line was very noisy.

Akuto had of course noticed something was odd.

—Oh, no. Does everyone in the city know me, too? I need to avoid coming here much.

The closing shutters hurt Akuto.

“Why are the shops closing? There was so much I wanted you to buy me!” complained Keena.

“Well, they have their reasons. But I don’t have very much money, so I couldn’t buy you anything expensive even if the shops were open.”

“There’s a bank over there! Banks have money, right?”

“They do, but not for me.”

Akuto shrugged.

“C’mon, you can just go get a little!”

“You shouldn’t make it sound like I would rob a bank. You need to have more cla.s.s.”

Akuto shook his head.

“Then how do you get money?” asked Keena in confusion.

—It’s like she has no knowledge about the world at all.

Akuto was surprised. He decided to give her a thorough explanation.

“Normally, you work. If you are not going to work, you need some capital to begin with. Then you can buy and trade stocks. In other words, you obtain the right to manage a company. If you manage it well and it grows, you can sell the company. That’s more or less it.”

“Oh! I don’t really get it! It sounds hard!”

Keena held her head in her hands.

“It is, but I want to partic.i.p.ate in society to the point that I can tell companies what to do.”

While spreading unexpected confusion behind them, Akuto and Keena arrived at Café Bakhtin.

“Welcome,” said the café owner with a bow.

The owner was real, but all of the waitresses and customers behind him were disguised knights.

“Oh, good. This place is still open.”

Akuto saw Keena to her seat and glanced around the café. An odd tension hung over it.

—I get the feeling we’re being monitored.

Akuto silently swore to remain on his best behavior.

Meanwhile, the three pursuing Akuto hid on the road opposite the café.

They sipped at drink cans while watching Akuto and Keena.

“We really are pathetic to be spying on someone else’s date.”

“We are only stopping for a drink. But keep watching. This will eventually transform into a disastrous scene. Heh heh heh.”

Junko and Fujiko were whispering to each other.

While the two of them were enveloped by a grim atmosphere, Korone looked carefree.

“Oh, things appear to be going well.”

Despite being expressionless, Korone’s voice held an odd sense of excitement. She ate ningyou-yaki from a bag she had brought with her. She was in full spectator mode.

“You certainly sound carefree. Do you enjoy spying on people’s dates that much?” complained Fujiko.

“A bit,” said Korone with a nod.

Korone had said things were going well and the two of them did indeed look like a nice couple.

Akuto had sworn not to cause any trouble and he was showing almost oddly perfect consideration for both Keena and those around them.

As an orphan, Akuto had worked to earn the money needed to transfer to the academy, so he was well-versed in the ways of the world. They made their orders while Akuto steered the conversation such that Keena would not do anything too odd due to her lack of knowledge. He had worked in restaurants before, so he understood exactly what items would be a bother to quickly make. He made sure to avoid such things when making his order. He of course made sure Keena did not realize he had changed her initial ridiculous order.

Akuto could be this considerate if he put his mind to it. The reason he did not normally do so was his complete obliviousness to how girls’ hearts worked. And his ability to act this way when needed caused misunderstandings when he did not. His att.i.tude was currently causing Keena to grow a bit flushed.

He selected sweets to perfectly match the current mood and selected a black tea based on the description of which one would match the flavor. He handled the menus and plates carefully and was polite to the waitress. As was the custom in the empire, he smiled and spoke of educational matters after ordering. It would have been hard to find someone who would not misunderstand his intentions.

“H-he has never treated me th-that kindly!”

Fujiko bit her handkerchief.

“N-no, senpai! If you make a misunderstanding here, it is all over! This is just how he is! I have made the same mistake countless times!”

Junko was oddly used to being deceived.

“At any rate, this should get interesting once the coffee arrives. Heh heh heh heh heh.”

A laugh escaped Korone’s expressionless mouth.

A waitress who was feigning calm but was clearly nervous carried the black tea and cakes to them on a tray.

The female knight playing the role of a waitress secretly sent a telepathic communication. However, the knight leader immediately denied the possibility.

“And here is your small blueberry pie.”

The waitress placed the cakes and tea in front of Akuto and Keena.

“I would expect nothing less of you, darling. You found a high society, luxurious, economical café that is perfect for me and you chose the perfect sweets to match!”

Keena was in an excellent mood.

“Yes, but I didn’t actually choose the café.”

“Don’t worry! It doesn’t change the fact that you are the best, darling!”

Keena’s mood improved further as she took a bite of the cake.

“This uses excellent wheat!”

“I’m glad. I can’t comment on the wheat, but it does taste good.”

Akuto nodded and took a sip of the tea.

His necklace and bracelet gave off a dull light.

Keena then brought her own teacup to her mouth.

“Here it comes!”

“This is it!”

“She drank it.”

Fujiko, Junko, and Korone all spoke at once.

If the magic took effect, Keena would be in a state similar to having taken a truth serum. And the three of them saw that exact change come over her.

“Hey, darling. There is something I didn’t tell you.”

Keena placed her cup down and spoke in a gloomy tone that was the exact opposite of her previous cheerful one.

She cast her eyes down and placed her hands on her lap. Akuto did not know what to make of her unusual behavior.

“Wh-what is it?”

“The truth is…I have no memories.”

Akuto was confused by the sudden confession.

“Eh?”

“I don’t know when I was born or how I got here.”

Keena covered her face and started to cry.

“Wait a second. What are you saying?”

“I’m sorry about crying all of a sudden. But it’s true. It has to be true…and it makes me so sad…”

“When you say you have no memories, do you mean you have amnesia?” asked Akuto.

Keena shook her head.

“No, not that. I think I was suddenly born. I can tell.”

“Eh? Then your memories of me in the orphanage…”

Keena violently shook her head.

“No! That’s real. That’s a real memory! But that’s all I have. I have no other memories!”

Even someone as dense as Akuto suspected this was related to his magic power or to the existence known as the Law of Ident.i.ty.

But what mattered more was that a girl was crying in front of him.

“I was so worried before I met you. I knew nothing about this world and I was wandering alone… People from the government took me in and I finally made it to you.”

Keena continued her tear-filled confession.

Her words rang heavily and directly in Akuto’s heart.

He was an orphan, so he felt he understood the sadness of not knowing your own past.

“It’s okay. Even if you know nothing but me, I will teach you all sorts of things from now on,” said Akuto.

“I-is she the type that starts crying when she drinks? And didn’t the atmosphere there grow a bit odd?”

Junko panicked.

“Ahh! Akuto-sama is being so kind to her! I am the only one he is allowed to be kind to!”

Fujiko ripped her handkerchief apart.

“More importantly, I think Keena Dorons just casually made an important statement about her ident.i.ty,” said Korone, but the other two were not listening.

“Akuto, do you love me?”

Keena raised her head and looked at Akuto with teary eyes.

“Eh?”

Akuto froze in place.

He knew he had to take this question seriously.

From Keena’s past actions, he could tell she was like a pure child.

“I think you feel this way about me because I am the only person in your memories.”

“That is not what I want to hear! Give me a proper answer!”

Keena began crying again.

At the same time, the mana surrounding Akuto stirred.

Akuto’s hand moved against his wishes.

—Eh?

Akuto was shocked. He had not tried to, but his hand slowly moved forward.

—My hand is moving on its own?

Akuto’s hand gently placed itself on top of Keena’s head. She looked up in surprise.

—So is Dorons-san not controlling it?

Akuto was surprised by Keena’s surprise, but his hand was clearly moving in a convenient manner for Keena. His hand moved down and brushed her cheek to wipe away her tears.

In that instant, they looked like lovers who had promised their futures to each other.

“Th-this is going too far! I-I-I will cut him down! I will kill him and then myself!”

In her confusion, Junko tried to draw the short sword she had hidden on her.

Korone tilted her head and stopped Junko with the toy reacher she had pulled out from somewhere.

“An odd mana flow is coming from Keena Dorons… Those two are not listening at all.”

Fujiko was bristling with her face transformed into something like a hannya mask.

“Kiiiii! This is not going as planned! But just in case, I added a device to the necklace that alters its output! If I max its output, Dorons will be completely drunk! She will make a complete fool of herself! And she will truly shame herself if she wets herself! Heh heh heh… Hah hah hah hah!”

“I have no idea what is even happening anymore,” said Korone calmly, but she made no attempt to stop Fujiko.

“Take this!” said Fujiko as she maximized the volume on the control device she had pulled out.

The effects immediately showed themselves.

As the knights discussed the situation, the ones located in the café suddenly began to act oddly.

The knights playing customers all complained of feeling unwell. They all began carelessly leaning back in their seats as if they could not withstand it anymore. Some even lay down on their table.

Over the long time the ones playing customers had been there, they had drunk a few cups of coffee each. The effects of Fujiko’s magic hit them hard.

“I’m sorry… There’s something I have to tell you.” One of the knights began speaking out loud rather than over the telepathic communications. “I’ve been sleeping with your wife!”

It was a shocking confession and he had shouted it loud enough to be heard all across the café.

This was of course due to the magic in Akuto’s necklace.

The knight being spoken to was completely drunk, but his mouth still fell open at that tremendous shock. Nevertheless, when he actually spoke, it was something unrelated and equally as shocking.

“I’ve been embezzling equipment costs from our knight station for five years! I’ve taken a total of 10 million! And I’ve used it to buy gifts for Takayanagi, the receptionist!”

“Now you’ve done it,” said Korone oddly calmly.

“N-not good! The device should not have had this much output…. They must have consumed a lot of caffeine.”

Fujiko frantically fiddled with her device to lower the output.

However…

The k.n.o.b broke off.

“Ah.”

“And there is the expected turn of events. All is right with the world,” said Korone as if she were not involved.

Fujiko stared blankly forward with the broken device in hand.

“Senpai, we can only see what happens now. If this reveals corruption within the knights, it is not all bad.”

Junko seemed to have come to a realization because she began speaking positively.

“Th-that is right. At any rate, Dorons has almost pa.s.sed out.”

Fujiko accepted the situation as if to abandon all responsibility.

“And in exchange, you have invited in chaos.”

An expressionless laugh escaped the corner of Korone’s mouth.

The open terrace café was fallen into chaos.

“You son of a b.i.t.c.h! She’s my wife!”

“So!? You have no room to talk with how useless you are! Katsuko-san was crying!”

“Don’t you dare talk about my family problems! I’ll blow you away! Special Knight Attack – Volcano Eruption!”

“Shut up! You’ll be the one crying when I’m done with you! Sword Tornado!”

One end of the terrace was blown away. The two knights’ magic had collided.

The knight leader naturally gave frantic orders as he listened in via telepathic communication.

“Are you saying we should overlook embezzlement!?”

One knight was red in the face and unable to hold back his sense of justice. He approached the knight who had confessed to the embezzlement.

“It’s that greedy woman’s fault! Money, money, money! It’s always about money with her!”

“That’s because someone’s willing to pay!”

The two knights drew the electromagnetic swords they used in cities and clashed. The tables around them were blown away in every direction.

“Wah!”

Akuto placed his body over Keena to protect her.

A chair struck his back, but that was no problem for him.

—But…

Akuto could not decide how to resolve the situation. He was willing to bet this was being caused by something Fujiko had set up, but he could not put together a countermeasure without knowing the details.

—I could run…but then the knights would chase after me.

That meant he could not move from where he was.

He glanced around. The drunk knights were violently fighting each other, so the other knights would surely arrive soon.

But they did not.

—Why aren’t they trying to stop this?

The knight leader held his head in his hands as he received more and more reports from the scene.

The revelations continued to come from Café Bakhtin. As long as one followed the rules of one’s religion, one’s magic power would not be reduced. And to protect people’s human rights, it was forbidden to view another’s life log without proof of a crime. Even so, the knight leader hung his head down in shock at all the crimes and near-crimes being committed. Even one of his secrets had been exposed.

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