Chapter 2
A Test for this Devil
Part 1
The next morning, it was time for Komekko-chan to take the exam.
"Do you need me to come with you, Komekko-chan?"
I asked, while sipping the coffee the madame served us. It went well with the buttered toast, bacon and eggs.
Komekko-chan had four bacon strips hanging out of her mouth when she looked up from her plate.
"Humu… The devil doesn't necessarily need moral support, but it'll be fun if Revi comes along, I think!"
While we were talking, Hyoizaburo-san came down to join us on the table.
He looked at the plate of food and said,
"You know, honey, I like that we can afford all kinds of different food now, but I kind of miss your old style of cooking…"
"Oh my… Then I'll prepare something just for you."
The madam went back into the kitchen. A few minutes later, she came out with a plate.
"Here you go!"
She placed the plate down. There was only one soybean and a single grain of rice on it.
"...I said your old style, you didn't need to bring out the same quantity, too."
So this is how a married couple entertain themselves.
"Say Komekko-chan, when is the exam, actually?"
"They're doing it after school, so we still have a lot of time."
I kind of wished that I had stayed in bed and gotten a few more hours of sleep, then. Now we had to kill some time.
Then again, I was sleeping on the couch, so it probably would have been hard to get some sleep with everyone up and about.
And I'd give the madam the impression that I'm a lazy bum.
"So, what should we do before you have to take the exam, Komekko-chan?"
"I can show you around the village for a bit. I'm also thinking of getting a new outfit to show off at school…"
She struck a pose while imagining the outfit she wanted to wear.
As always, Komekko-chan wanted all the attention on her.
"Ah, You actually want to buy new clothes? How unusual."
The Madame said looking at Komekko.
"You usually just go through your older sisters cast offs and ruin my tailor's kit"
Komekko looks like she wants to retort, but-
"The devil wants to show how cool and awesome her adventurer self has become to those still in mere public education, fufufu. I also want to show you my old hunting grounds. I think that can be pretty fun!"
I wondered what she meant by hunting grounds, but I only just nodded.
The best way to interact with Komekko-chan sometimes is to just smile and nod.
That goes for most Crimson Demons, actually.
"I wonder if we'll be able to do all this before your exam starts. Actually, wouldn't you rather do some reviewing before the exam?"
"It's not like I need to review anything, anyway. I can cast all kinds of cool spells right?"
"Yeah, you're right, I guess."
After we finished our breakfast, Komekko-chan and I headed over to town with the goal of killing time until the exam.
Our first stop was a set of cool-looking statues in the town square.
"Ohh… These griffon statues look pretty realistic. I didn't know the Crimson Demons had such talented sculptors."
"That's because those aren't statues, they're real griffons that we froze with the Petrify spell."
"Eeeeek?!"
I backed away from the statues that looked like they could tear me to shreds if I got too close.
We moved over to the next place.
"The next place is this legendary sword that's stuck in the stone. If you pull it out it means you're a hero!"
Komekko-chan explained, while gesturing to the sword.
I got excited. This is a man's dream, after all.
I went over to the sword and pulled on the handle…
"...?!"
It came off?!
I raised the sword to the sky.
"I did it, Komekko-chan?! I'm a hero?! I knew there was something special about me! Let's go back to your mother and have her apologize for emasculating me!"
Before I could head over to Komekko-chan's house, I felt a hand on my shoulder.
I looked back and saw a scary looking, muscular man. He had a deep scowl on his face.
"...! After I pulled the sword, one of the Demon King's generals is already targeting me?!"
"While that does sound cool, and I'm very flattered that you think I'm a real demon, I'm actually the blacksmith who owns that sword attraction…"
"...Did you say 'attraction'?"
"That's right. The sword has an enchantment that will make it stuck to the stone, unless the 1,000th customer pulls on it. You are the 1,000th customer, congrats!"
"...Eh? What happened to the whole hero thing?"
I looked back at Komekko-chan. She was avoiding my gaze.
"...You always look like a hero to me!"
She gave me a thumbs up.
"So this is just a marketing ploy, huh?! I respect it, but I'm also pissed off!"
When I looked closer at the sword, I noticed that it wasn't even made out of real steel. It was basically a wooden, toy sword. There was also the word 'winner' written on the blade.
"So what do I get for winning this thing?"
"You get a refund for the fee I charge for pulling the sword. Since you didn't even pay me first, that means you don't have to pay me now! Also, please put the sword back in the stone."
"...Fine."
With a defeated voice, I put the sword back in the stone.
We cut the tour short after that disappointing moment.
Part 2
We went over to the clothing store next.
There was a man sorting through some clothes when we entered. He recognized Komekko-chan and gave her a smile.
"If it isn't Komekko. It's rare to see you in this store. Who's this guy? An outsider?!"
He gave me the usual Crimson Demon greeting.
"I'm gonna take an exam at the school, so I want to wear something that's really cool and will make everyone feel inferior in comparison to me!"
"How admirable! Let's see what we have here…"
As I wondered if what Komekko-chan said was truly admirable or not, the shop owner picked up some clothes for her. I noticed that he was also picking out clothes for me.
"Hm? Am I getting new clothes, too?"
"Why not? You can pair up with Komekko."
This guy… How shrewd. Even though I didn't come here intending to buy, he pretty much put the pressure on me to buy as well…
How admirable!
We took the owner's suggestion and went over to the changing rooms.
I looked at the clothes. They certainly looked cool, but if I wore this outside the village, I'd probably die of embarrassment.
The council members back in Elroad already didn't approve of me. They'd probably send an assassin to finish me off if I walked around the streets wearing these clothes.
While I was putting on the outfit, I heard Komekko-chan come out. The fact that a girl managed to get dressed faster than me was a bit embarrassing.
"Hey, Revi, can you check this out?"
I stuck my head out of the curtain and looked.
She was wearing a red dress that looked like it'd belong to royalty. All she was missing was the crown.
"...That looks beautiful and all, but do you really want to go to school wearing that?"
I said, while admiring how she looked in that dress.
"The whole point is to make everyone recognize how great this devil is! So of course, I should go in and look like I own the place!"
Her confidence was astronomical, as always.
"Alright, let me just put on my pants now."
"...Are you talking to me with your pants off?"
"You're the one who told me to come out and look?!"
I went back inside the changing room while Komekko-chan chuckled.
Once I was done putting the outfit back on, I came out.
"...?!"
For some reason, Komekko-chan pinched her nose. I thought I saw a trickle of blood coming out.
"...? Does it look weird or something?"
I looked down at my outfit. It was a leather jacket with a fur collar, with matching pants. I was wearing a red dress shirt underneath with the first top buttons left open and a black tie.
True to the dramatic fashion of the Crimson Demons, the outfit had some eccentric features. There were small, red belt straps tied around the sleeves of the jacket. But the weirdest part was the animated imp tail attached to the pants.
The outfit also came with cat ears, for some reason.
"I-It looks really good!"
Komekko-chan said, while giving an approving nod. The blood was becoming more apparent as it spilled out into the hand she was covering it with.
The shop owner noticed Komekko-chan's reactions. He had an amused smile on his face and said,
"Hey, boya, why don't you do a cat's pose and wink for the lady?"
I blushed, but Komekko-chan was giving me an expectant gaze. She really wanted me to do this.
Fine, I guess I'll give some service.
"N-Nyaa…"
I held my hands out like a cat and winked.
"Buhi?!"
Komekko-chan let out an uncharacteristic sound and stumbled backwards.
I didn't really realize why Komekko-chan was having such a reaction. I thought I looked like an embarrassing try hard.
You know, one of those frail guys who dressed up to impress girls.
They say things like 'Wouldn't it be funny if we went on a date? Haha… Just kidding… Unless?'
Those kinds of guys.
Wait, wasn't I that kind of guy back when I was sending all those love letters to Iris?
However, when I looked at the mirror that the shop owner brought out, I noticed that there was something different from the me now and the me now back then.
How do I say this without sounding like an arrogant prick…
I kinda look like a pretty boy?
I'd gotten taller over the years. I actually grew a few inches since our adventure started, and ever since I started working out with Komekko-chan, my body started filling out too.
If I took the cat ears and tail off, I could probably go to a host club in the capital and make a lot of money.
...That, or some scary guys who are into pretty boys will kidnap me.
Let's banish the thought!
Part 3
We purchased the outfits and left the store.
Komekko-chan insisted on wearing the outfits as we headed out.
Since we were in the Crimson Demon village, it wasn't as embarrassing to wear these outfits.
There were other people here who were wearing even more embarrassing outfits, and most of them were way too old to be wearing such clothes.
Komekko-chan pretty much made me go on a parade around town with her.
We were actually getting some looks of admiration and compliments about our outfits.
"Hmm… This isn't enough…"
Komekko-chan said, as we walked around.
"...What more do you want? Do you want me to organize a parade for you?"
"Maybe some other time. No, I meant that I need an expert to give us a proper opinion about our outfits."
Please note that this Komekko-sama said that I can organize a parade for her 'some other time', without a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
"I know someone in this village who used to work as a model back in a high class fashion store. We can ask her what she thinks about the outfit!"
To think that there was someone in this village full of weirdos who used to work in such an establishment.
Komekko-chan led me to what appeared to be a grocery store. When we went inside, I saw a girl with a petite build that had her hair tied in twintails.
"...Komekko-chan, are you sure we're at the right place?"
When she said 'model for a fashion store', perhaps this model worked at the kids section?
"No, this is her daughter, Funifura. Also, you said something rude, but I won't tell her about it. We'll both get in trouble…"
This Funifura noticed us when we stepped inside.
"Welcome… Oh, isn't that Komekko? W-Who is that hunk?!"
She blushed while pointing at me.
I looked behind me. I didn't see anyone there.
"Wah! His side angle is also cool! Are you showing off your side profile?!"
When I turned my head, she got the wrong idea that I was posing for her.
"Fufun… Is it such a surprise that the great devil has such handsome companions with her? You should expect this much from me…"
"This cheeky brat! How dare you have such an exciting life as a city girl while I'm stuck here helping my mother run a grocery store!"
"Eh? Wait… Ow?!"
Instead of getting praised, Komekko-chan got a chop on her head.
Funifura kept chopping her on the head, making Komekko-chan's head bob up and down.
"Even though you're younger than me, your body has advanced this much, huh?! And you don't have an ounce of shame, going around wearing such a slutty dress! Then you parade your pretty boy love slave around and make lonely girls like me jealous, huh?! Don't tell me you have a harem of cat-eared pretty boys back home already?!"
"Ow, ow, ow! Your jealous delusions are getting out of hand?! And it's rude to call Revi a cat eared love slave, or whatever you called him! Apologize, Funi-nee!"
"Just to clear up any misunderstandings, the ears are fake…"
I took off the cat ears, only to receive a glare from Funifura.
"Oi, boya… Who told you to take those off?"
"S-Sorry…"
I put them back on.
What a volatile woman.
After we got her to calm down, she put on a casual smile like nothing happened.
"So, what did you come here for, Komekko-chan?"
"I wanted to see Sakunori-san. Is she here?"
"She's upstairs, helping Somahiko with his homework."
"He's the same age as me, right? Shouldn't he be at school?"
"Ah, let me correct myself. She's doing yesterday's homework for him while he's at school."
"I-I see…"
Komekko-chan wisely chose not to delve too much into these complicated sounding family matters.
"I'll call my mom if you want to talk to her. Moooom!"
Funifura cupped her hands around her mouth and raised her voice.
"Yes, what is it?"
"...!"
Whatever kind of reaction Funifura had with me, I had the same kind when this Sakunori-san came out.
She had silky, long hair and a great style and figure.
My eyes kept wandering from her big chest to Funifura's chest.
"...Nature can be cruel."
"...I've heard worse. At least you didn't ask if I was adopted."
It seems that this is a recurring problem for Funifura.
"Oh, Komekko-chan! And who is this… Perhaps your boyfriend?"
There was a glint in Sakunori-san's eyes as she brought up the possibility of me being Komekko-chan's boyfriend.
"Ah, well… This is Revi! We're in the same party together. I came here to ask the fashion guru what she thinks about our outfits…"
Komekko-chan did a pose as she said this.
"I see… I like Komekko-chan's dress. It is nice and simple, but elegant as well. It contrasts her energetic personality well. In terms of Revi-kun… I feel that there's certainly a gap appeal there!"
"The expert herself approves!"
Komekko-chan jumped up in joy.
"But… There's something missing!"
Sakunori-san noticed something while Komekko-chan was jumping around.
She yanked the dress down at the chest area…!
"...?!"
I expected to see something dangerous pop out, but I only saw a sports bra.
"You can't be wearing that under a dress like that while wearing underwear like this!"
Sakunori then took Komekko by the hand into a different area of the store that was out of view.
When I tried to take a glance, Funifura-san grabbed my popped collar and shook her head.
A few minutes later they returned.
"!"
I don't know how to describe it, but really. Females are truly mysterious creatures!
"Mooom! You put her in one of your special ones!?"
"Ara, Funi-chan, don't be jealous"
Th-thats alot of cleavage.
As I pinched my nose, I noticed the similarity of their shapes. Sakunori-san smiled knowingly and winked.
"I see. With a dress like that, it only makes sense that the undergarments should match the style."
I said, while nodding approvingly.
"So, where are you two going after this? If you're dressed up like this, it must be somewhere fancy?"
"Komekko-chan is going to take an exam."
"...I know that I've already been a graduate for a few years now, but I refuse to believe that exams require a dress like this!"
"Time moves fast, old lady."
"Don't you dare say that, Komekko-chan!"
Funifura had tears coming out of her eyes as she yelled at Komekko.
"In the first place, how did the child who grew up eating stray crawfish that she caught by the river grow up to have a body like this?! My family owns a grocery and you're saying that I ended up with this malnourished body?!"
"You had always been reluctant to eat your greens, dear."
"You told me that eating my greens would make my bones strong. You think I'd care about my bones? You should have told me that they'd make my breasts big!"
"Sigh, why must I have such an ungrateful daughter…"
"Well, I have a selfish mother who hogged all the big boob genes to herself! Give me some!"
Komekko-chan and I left the store while mother and daughter caused a scene among themselves.
Part 4
Komekko-chan led me to her 'training grounds' next.
She claimed that this was the place where she honed her skills, and it also functioned as a hunting grounds where she stalked her prey and killed them for food.
I saw a punching bag hanging by a rope tied to a branch. I went up to it and punched the bag.
"Oww! What's in this?!"
"It's a rice bag I filled up with rocks."
"Oh, I thought it's a punching bag. My bad."
"It is."
"Are you telling me you were punching rocks?!"
I looked at her in disbelief, but she took my position, then lowered herself into a stance, fists raised.
She weaved side to side, then started letting out sharp, quick punches.
I noticed that there was a layer of shimmering, blue light on her fists as she punched the bag full of rocks.
"I see, you're empowering your fists with mana."
I watched her movements, my eyes gravitating to her chest as she swung her fists. I heard from somewhere that you should carefully watch the movements of a martial artist's body if you want to learn from them. Biomechanics-something-or-whatever. Damn, they're big.
Komekko-chan was grinning while giving me a knowing look. I coughed and glanced away, feeling my cheeks getting hot.
"Yeah, I cover my fists with mana. It takes some control and you need a dense quality of mana to manipulate it like this, though. I needed to learn how to do this before I began to learn how to cloak myself in Hoost's demonic energy. You can't play around with demonic energy without learning how to master your own mana first, you know?"
I nodded, then saw something on the ground. I picked up a wooden sword.
"I think you did mention that you practiced with swords, too, huh? Is there a reason why you chose to fight hand-to-hand instead of using a sword?"
"Yeah, it's much easier to cloak your hands and body with your mana than it is with a sword. Your body is your body, after all, while a sword is a foreign object. Masters swordsmen can do it because the sword has become an extension of their body."
"Do you think Iris can do it?"
"Maybe?"
She picked up a sword and started showing some cuts and thrusts against the bag of rocks.
I couldn't say that her technique was as refined as Iris's, but I remembered my sword tutor told me a long time ago, back when I was forced to take sword lessons back at the palace, that instead of wildly swinging your sword around, it's better to use efficient, quick cuts. I wasn't an expert, but I could tell that Komekko at least knew what she was doing.
Komekko picked up another wooden sword from the ground and tossed it at me.
"Do you wanna spar a bit?"
"Komekko, you do realize that you have an exam in like, thirty minutes, right?"
"It's fine, it's fine! It's better to get some exercise before an exam, right?"
"Only if you're exercising your brain. I don't think kicking my ass will help you remember magic equations."
"Oh, come on, it'll be fun!"
I sighed, but eventually accepted.
The swords were shaped like one-handed arming swords. I defaulted to the fencing style that I was taught back in Elroad.
Komekko-chan lunged at me. I let out a yelp. I raised my sword, all those drills I suffered through taking over my body.
All I could remember was my instructor yelling "Parry 5! Parry 5! Quinte!" at me.
I managed to raise my sword, deflect the thrust, and get a thrust in on Komekko-chan's chest.
The attack made her dress slip down, exposing the new lingerie bra that Sakunori-san gave her.
We both looked down at her exposed chest.
"I-I didn't do that on purpose."
"Well, it's fine, I guess."
She pulled her dress up.
After my accidental point, Komekko-chan proceeded to overwhelm me with cuts.
After our match, which ended up 10-1, my loss, or something like that, I noticed that my clothes had gotten a bit dirty. Also, there were scratch marks and mild discoloration on my skin where she hit me.
"Uh-oh. I was planning to come with you for your exam, but I don't think I can come in looking like this."
"No, it's fine! In fact, you look cooler like that! We'll say that we got attacked by a monster or something and you saved the both of us!"
"I don't think I deserve such a cool backstory, or rather, you'd worry them for no reason since they'll think that monsters are getting in through the forest and attacking people in the village."
"Well, that happens on a normal basis, anyway. It's actually lucky if that happens since whoever kills the monster first gets a free dinner that night."
Back in Elroad, if a monster appeared in the capital, the people would protest the lack of military defensive measures and the council of advisors would conduct a meeting and yell at me for my poor management of the kingdom. It'd be this big, scandalous event. However, in Komekko-chan's hometown, a monster showing up was seen as a good omen of sorts.
The culture gap is quite frightening, I must say.
"Hmm… We still have a bit more time. Wanna climb the tree?"
"Look, Komekko-chan, you're wearing a dress and, I don't know why I have to keep reminding you, but you have an exam soon."
"Oh, come on! This is the first time I have a friend here in my training grounds. Come and play a bit, please?"
Those eyes, I couldn't say no!
I warily nodded my head. She pumped her fist in joy, then leaped up, holding on to a branch, then swinging herself up, shimmying her way up the trunk, then sitting on one of the stronger looking branches.
I made my way up. I hadn't really climbed a tree before, so I must admit that I did have quite a bit of fun climbing up. I joined Komekko-chan on the branch, sitting next to her.
I remembered seeing some kids playing like this, climbing trees and stuff, back when I was a royal brat stuck inside my palace. I wondered what it was like, being free to run around and climb trees and swim in rivers, getting dirty and sweaty and yelling at the top of your voice.
I convinced myself that I wasn't missing much. I'd even chuckle to myself whenever I saw one of the kids falling down and getting injured, or getting sick from playing out in the river while the weather was cold.
I realized, when I got older, that I was just coping with the fact that those kids looked like they were having the time of their lives doing things that my advisors and caretakers told me were silly and unneeded for someone of my stature.
"Komekko-chan, even if you were poor back then, did you have fun in the training grounds? Like, did you wish that maybe your family was a bit more wealthy?"
"Well, I wanted lots of tasty food, so of course I wanted to be more wealthy."
"I-I guess that's the natural response."
"But I guess I did have fun. I'm having way more fun with you guys now, though. It's kind of like we're playing while being adults at the same time, you know? My onii-sama would say 'That's youth'."
"What part of you is 'adult', I wonder?"
"This of course!"
She didn't even hesitate to stick out her chest. Well, I couldn't argue there.
"Yeah, I guess we are at a pretty good spot in our lives. Somewhere in between a kid and an adult, huh?"
I smiled while remembering events like the sleepover party. Iris was telling me that she craved moments like those, moments where she felt like a normal teenager instead of the princess of a nation.
Being raised as royalty, we were raised and expected to behave like adults since we were young. Ever since Iris dragged me out on an adventure, we had been steadily reclaiming the pieces of our childhood, all while struggling to be recognized as adults by the world as a whole.
I scratched my head and sighed.
"Komekko-chan, it really is fun, huh? Being in a party together."
"It sure is!"
She gave me a thumbs up while the sunlight shone through the leaves all around her.
Part 5
When it was finally time for the exam, Komekko-chan led us to the school.
It was my first time entering a public school before, and it was kind of an alien concept to me. The only form of schooling I knew were the one-on-one sessions with my many tutors. Sometimes I had a group lesson with the other noble children, but those were infrequent occasions, and most of them were efforts from noble families to gain my favor through their children.
That was probably why those very same group sessions mostly had cute girls my age in them who bore striking similarities to Iris.
Actually, I did end up developing a crush on one of them and confessed.
However, it turned out that it was a boy in the end named Cyrus.
They had been sending girls at me the whole time, so when I kept rejecting them in some misguided show of loyalty to the real Iris, they snuck a boy in on one of the sessions, thinking that I swung that way.
The fact that I actually confessed to him didn't help the misunderstanding.
I-I mean, he was pretty cute.
I thought the short hair was just a fashion statement!
"Remember what I told you, Revi. Make sure to pose and look cool!"
As we entered a school and walked down the halls, Komekko-chan made sure to remind me of this.
"Komekko-chan, I'm not sure how to think about you parading me around like some kind of status symbol…"
"Why do you think I've been working out with you? You better put that six-pack to good use!"
"What do you mean by that? If you seriously expect me to strip in your school, you'll be disappointed."
"Listen, it's very important that I leave a good impression on my peers. They will grow up and remember how awesome I am. If I ever decide that I want to become village chief, this is the first step to improving my public image."
"So you're parading me around like some male model, huh?"
"Precisely!"
I didn't understand how she could be this honest with her wicked intentions.
I felt like she was born to rule a country instead of me. She already had the whole shameless self-confidence aspect down.
We took our time heading over to the principal's office because Komekko-chan would make us pose every ten seconds.
If she wanted to make an impression on the students, she was definitely achieving it. Komekko-chan was the most developed out of all these girls, and they were staring at her in awe and admiration.
"Kyaa! Komekko-senpai! You're so lovely!"
"Is that your boyfriend, Komekko-senpai? As expected, he's a stud!"
"Please teach me your ways, Komekko-senpai!"
Komekko-chan was drinking in all the admiration. I tried not to blush as a bunch of cute girls crowded us, their big red eyes and smiles closing in on us.
Eventually, the parade came to an end as we reached the principal's office.
"The time has come."
Komekko-chan said, posing in front of the door, putting a hand over her eyes.
She reached for the door knob and opened the door.
Inside the room, waiting for us, was a woman sitting behind a desk that didn't look older than thirty years old. I thought that she looked familiar, and that was when I noticed that she bore a striking resemblance to the madam, Yuiyui-san.
She stood up, showing that she was wearing a modest dress with long sleeves, long skirt and showing absolutely no skin. Even her neck was covered up by the dress. If it wasn't for the pendant accessory at the collar of the dress, you could describe her outfit as colorless with the dark tones–at least, compared to colorful attire of the other villagers.
I experienced a bit of a mood whiplash as the other villagers had been very hyper in terms of personality, mannerisms and fashion sense, while this lady looked like she belonged in my royal court as a strict matron of a prominent noble house.
I looked at Komekko-chan and whispered,
"Um, is she your aunt, or something? Why does she look like Yuiyui-san?"
"I think they're cousins, but she's not my aunt."
Since it was a closed-off village, it wasn't really too surprising that even cousins can look like sisters.
"Welcome back to the village, Komekko. And your companion?"
She looked at me, politely waiting for me to introduce myself.
"My name is Revi. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"The pleasure is mine. I'm the principal of this school, you may call me Haru-sensei."
"Eh? But your full name is Haruharu, right, principal?"
For some reason, the principal's eyebrow twitched at the mention of her full name. Like Yuiyui-san, she even shared the repetition in her name. Perhaps she was embarrassed by it?
She coughed into her hand and tried to change the subject.
"Arue-sensei will come here with the exam papers. In the meantime, please prepare yourself."
She gestured to a desk and chair that had been prepared in advance. There were some writing materials on it.
"Can I stay in the room while Komekko-chan takes the exam?"
"Certainly. With a genius like her, the exam shouldn't take more than ten minutes to finish. I don't see any problems with you staying in the room. This is merely a formality after all."
It seemed that Komekko-chan's claims weren't her showing-off like usual. She really was considered as a once-in-a-generation genius. I was a bit worried since I had never seen her open a textbook prior to the exam, but the principal herself even said that this exam was a formality.
While Komekko-chan took her seat, the door opened and another woman came in.
Another beauty entered the room, a big breasted girl that looked mature but couldn't have been older than 18.
She had an eye patch covering her eye, had her hair tied into long, curly ringlets, a ribbon tying it back. She wore a red cardigan over a blouse that hugged her figure well. Her skirt was much shorter than Haru-sensei's. In her arms, she carried a folder.
"You're just in time, Komekko-chan. Oh, who's this? Your boyfriend?"
She tilted her head while looking at me. I could feel as if she was appraising me.
"Ah, well… I suppose? Yeah, let's say that! Long time no see, Arue-nee!"
"Ara, you know you have to call me Arue-sensei while we're at school."
"Oh, that's right!"
Sticking with her plan to leave an impression, Komekko-chan brazenly claimed me as her boyfriend.
If she's going to call me her boyfriend, she should at least give me a few favors that a girl might give to her boyfriend…
While I was having those naughty thoughts, I noticed that Arue-sensei was still looking at me. I realized that I haven't introduced myself yet.
"I'm Revi, Komekko-chan's companion."
"What a weird way to say it. If you're dating, then just say so."
Well, we weren't dating and I didn't want to lie to an authority figure, so I kept it vague.
"Ahem. You can all chat later, but how about we start the exam now?"
Haru-sensei said, cutting the small talk short.
Nodding along with her superior's orders, Arue-sensei spread the sheets down on Komekko-chan's desk.
After Komekko-chan picked up her pen, Haru-sensei gave her a nod.
"You may begin."
Komekko-chan turned the papers over. I watched from behind her, seeing only her back profile as she worked on the exam.
We waited for ten minutes to pass. I mostly zoned out and tried to sneak glances at Arue-sensei's chest, who was standing beside me.
Haru-sensei looked up from some paperwork she was taking care of.
"Alright, I believe Komekko should be done now?"
"Sorry, not yet."
"Oh, pardon me. Please, take your time."
Haru-sensei predicted that Komekko-chan would finish the test in ten minutes, but it wasn't like she had a time limit. Komekko-chan went back to doing her exam while we waited for her to finish up.
Another ten minutes passed.
Haru-sensei looked like she wanted to ask if Komekko-chan was finished again, but as the exam proctor, she couldn't just keep interrupting the exam taker's concentration by asking every ten minutes. Haru-sensei in particular looked like the type to be strict with policies and rules. She waited patiently.
Then, another ten minutes passed.
The test that Haru-sensei predicted the once-in-a-generation genius Komekko-chan to finish in ten minutes stretched on for half-an-hour.
Since I thought that this was a mere formality, I volunteered myself to wait in the room, standing behind Komekko-chan, waiting for her to finish.
I didn't expect that I'd be stuck in a situation where I'd have to stand around in a room of people who were just as confused as me, silently exchanging awkward glances with Arue-sensei and Haru-sensei. We had the same questions in our gazes, 'what's taking her so long'?
In normal circumstances, a student would have around 2 to 3 hours to finish an exam by themselves, especially if it's a final exam.
Back when I was receiving tutoring, I made sure to use all of that time checking over my answers to make sure that I had the highest grade possible.
It's the exam taker's right to take as much time as they need.
That was exactly why we got stuck in this awkward position.
Arue-sensei and I came in and stayed around, waiting for Komekko-chan to finish, with the firm idea in our heads that she would finish in approximately ten minutes, maybe even less.
However, since we chose to stick around, we couldn't exactly excuse ourselves and slip out of the room without putting Komekko-chan in a tough spot.
That's saying 'you took too long to finish the exam, so we went ahead and ditched you'.
However, it was just as awkward to stand behind her, trying to be as quiet as possible, all while staring intensely at her back, trying to stretch our necks to take a peek and check on the progress of her exam paper.
The only source of information we had to go on was the principal's reactions.
However, as she was the strict, no nonsense type, she made sure to maintain an expression of complete neutrality on her face. Even if she was the only one who could see Komekko-chan directly and could check up on her progress, she couldn't make any indication of it as the exam proctor.
Meanwhile, the room was taken hostage by an air of stillness and awkward silence. Only the sound of Komekko-chan's worryingly erratic penmanship filled the room.
The way the pen sounded while writing on the paper gave the impression that she was shading something instead of writing sentences. Why on earth would she need to shade something on an exam paper? Is she making an illustration?
I had a big ball of saliva accumulating in my throat that I really wanted to swallow, but I didn't dare break this silence. I felt like I was sweating away all my water intake for the day.
An hour passed.
Then another.
When the final seconds ticked down to the final, third hour, my clothes were damp with sweat.
That was the most excruciatingly, painfully awkward moment of my life.
In a life filled to the brim with excruciatingly, painfully awkward moments.
Arue-sensei looked like a husk of the self-assured, professional persona she displayed earlier. Her eyes were glowing and she looked like she wanted to hit Komekko-chan on the head. She was gritting her teeth.
I saw her body do a half-turn on at least five occasions during that whole time, but stubborn pride kept her from doing so. There came a time, around the one hour mark, when she could have turned around and said that she had important business to do as a teacher, but she never took that opportunity. Around the two hour mark, it was already too late for her to leave. If you really had something more important to do, why didn't you leave two hours ago? That lingering question kept her prisoner in this room.
As Komekko-chan's unfortunate tagalong, I didn't have the same method of escape that Arue-sensei had. I didn't have any other business, and I was the one who insisted on staying in the room, waiting for Komekko-chan to finish.
To her credit, when Komekko-chan stood up and handed the exam over to Haru-sensei, the principal who maintained a neutral expression the entire time actually smiled and took the papers from Komekko-chan.
"W-Well, then, let's go now, Revi."
"Not so fast."
While still smiling, Haru-sensei called out to Komekko-chan before she could turn around and dash for the door.
"Since we're already all here, how about I grade the exam and give you your final grade? This will save the trouble of relaying the message for you."
"Ah, no… Revi and I have something important to attend to…"
"If it was truly that important, you would have finished the exam three hours ago."
Komekko-chan sat back down.
Haru-sensei looked down at the exam paper. She frowned, then that frown turned to a darker expression.
"Komekko, is this some kind of cruel prank?"
"I-I don't know what you're talking about?"
"Question 1: Explain the mechanics of a fireball. Answer: To answer this question, we must first ponder, what is a ball? Unless we can answer this question first, then we can never truly know what a fireball is, after all, it could be argued that a fireball is a ball of fire."
Komekko-chan looked like she was on the verge of tears.
I only stared at her in shock. I truly couldn't wrap my head around what was going on.
"Question 2: Write a step-by-step instruction of how a beginner mage might learn how to cast the elementary spell, Freeze. Answer: This question assumes that the beginner mage learns by reading. What if they are a visual learner? I will provide an illustration instead."
Haru-sensei showed us the 'illustration'. It was two stick figures and one seemed to be trapped in an ice cube. The other stick figure was yelling 'freeze!' in a speech bubble. The stick figure that was trapped in the ice cube responded with, 'help, onii-chan, I'm stuck'.
Haru-sensei placed the papers down.
"Komekko-chan, if you apologize for pulling this prank and wasting all of our time, I will let you redo the test."
"...T-The devil never apologizes."
"You even wrote your name wrong, 'Komek'."
"I sincerely and truly apologize for my grave mistake!"
Komekko-chan fell down on her hands and knees and bowed her head on the ground.
"...Please explain why this happened. I wasn't exaggerating when I claimed that you are a genius, even among our talented students. You can already use Advanced magic… How is it that you can't even explain simple concepts in an exam?"
"Maybe it's test anxiety?"
Arue-sensei offered this logical explanation.
"No, um… I didn't even know that there's steps to casting a Fireball. I thought this exam would involve me showing off my cool magic. I really don't know how to explain how I cast my magic."
"You mean to tell me that you've been throwing around spheres of fiery destruction all over the place, and you don't even know how it works?"
"Well… Yeah, I guess."
"You do realize that this mandatory exam is the reason why the kingdom asked us to do this?"
With the amount of Crimson Demons integrating into the kingdom of Belzerg, they wanted to make sure that Crimson Demons could control their power.
It was seen as an unnecessary bureaucratic decision, but they finally found the poster child for everything that could possibly go wrong.
A superpowered dummy of a girl throwing around Advanced level magic without any idea what she was actually doing.
Haru-sensei took out a sheet of paper, wrote in it, then slipped it in an envelope.
"Please give this to your mother when you get home."
"...?! No, please, anything but that?!"
"Just be grateful that I'm not taking care of your discipline myself…"
Komekko-chan lowered her head in defeat and accepted the letter.
With that, we were finally able to escape from this hell.
Part 6
It was already dark when we came back.
Komekko-chan and I didn't speak or look at each other on the way back. I decided to have mercy on her and not mention the exam.
When we entered the house, we saw the whole family waiting in the dining room. There was a big spread of food on the table.
"Um… We made a celebratory feast, but I think the food's already cold. What took so long? Did you make any detours on the way back?"
Yuiyui-san said, looking at me accusingly for some reason.
"Now, now, dear, they are both young. Give them some privacy with their personal affairs…"
"...Husband, I don't understand why you were so reluctant to give away Megumin, but you are surprisingly lenient with Komekko. What do you see in Revi-kun?"
"He understands me as a man! You will never understand!"
Komekko-chan didn't look up even once. While shuffling her feet, eyes fixed on them, she silently handed the envelope to the madam.
Yuiyui-san looked at it, wondering what it was, then opened up the envelope.
Her eyes glanced across the contents of the letter. Just like with Haru-sensei, her brows curled into a frown, then a dark expression took over her face.
Komekko-chan slowly backed away, hands covering her butt, for some reason.
"You got a zero on the exam? A zero? How is it even possible to score a zero? Don't you get a mark just for writing your name down?"
"...I misspelled my name."
"Komekko-chan, if we apologize for your stupid prank, I'm sure the principal will let you retake the exam."
"...No matter how many times I take this test, I don't think I'll pass it. In fact, it took all I had to not get negative points."
"How do you even get negative points?!"
Absolutely seething, Yuiyui-san stomped over to Komekko-chan, then grabbed her wrist.
"You're gonna get the worst spanking of your life, young lady!"
"Nooo?!"
I watched Yuiyui-san drag Komekko-chan over to the living room, dragging her to the couch.
"Um… You should probably step out, Revi-kun."
Hyoizaburo-san said, giving me an apologetic look.
I nodded, took a jacket, and stepped out into the chilly night.
I could still see inside, from the window. I saw Komekko-chan struggling with all she had, and succeeding in doing so with that strength of hers, but Yuiyui-san said something to her, perhaps some kind of threat. Komekko-chan obediently bent over Yuiyui-san's lap.
After handing Yuiyui-san a hairbrush, Hyoizaburo-san stepped aside, shaking his head in disappointment. Komekko-chan screamed, then I saw a flash of bare bum, before the hairbrush smacked down to hit it.
Komekko-chan let out a shrill cry that could be heard clearly even from outside. The sound was loud enough to alert the neighbors. They stepped outside, wondering what the noise was. When they saw the silhouette of Yuiyui-san's arm smacking down repeatedly, they chuckled to themselves and nodded in understanding, before heading back to their homes.
It felt like a long time as I waited for them to finish. When I heard the last two smacks, and the final yelps of pain, I waited a few minutes, before feeling that it was safe to step inside.
However, as soon as I opened the door, I saw Komekko-chan hopping towards the door, clutching her bottom, crying and yelling.
She shoved past me and ran into the night, barefoot.
Hyoizaburo-san went to the door, looking at Komekko-chan running into the night.
"Can you look after her? The wife and I need to discuss some things."
"S-Sure…"
Feeling overwhelmed by the situation, as I had never seen anything like that before in the palace, I chased after Komekko-chan, using Farsight to spot where she was running to in the night.
I followed her into a familiar river, the same one we bathed in the first time we visited the village.
I found Komekko-chan taking her dress off, which was dirty from all the running she did.
I was about to cover my eyes, but she was still wearing her underwear, at least.
I sighed then stepped in, taking my shirt off as I moved closer.
She noticed me coming out of the dark and let out a frightened scream, before recognizing me.
"O-Oh… The devil got nervous for a second…"
"Huh? Am I really that scary?"
"All I saw was a man taking his shirt off as he approached me! Of course I'd be scared?!"
I tossed my shirt to her. I kept the blazer to myself. It wasn't exactly cold, but it was still pretty chilly.
She put on my collared shirt, buttoning up. The shirt was big enough that she could wear it like a dress, going up mid-thigh.
After she was dressed, we sat on the grass, looking at the currents of the river in the darkness.
Komekko-chan hugged her knees and she rested her chin against her knees, nibbling softly on the fabric of my shirt. She was scowling at the river, sniffling as her body occasionally jolted from dry sobs.
"Um… Did it hurt a lot?"
"Of course it did!"
"Yeah, sorry, stupid question. It's just that I've never seen that kinda thing before."
"You were never spanked as a kid? The devil is jealous."
I scratched my cheek, wracking my brain for something to say.
"Well, this may seem weird, but I kind of think that getting punished like that means that your parents cared enough about you to discipline you. They don't want to hurt you, since they're your parents and all, but they feel like they need to teach you a lesson the hard way."
"...I guess that's true, but I still hate it."
"When I was a kid, I actually kind of wanted to be punished like that."
"That's weird."
"I know it's weird! But I never really had a mom, or sisters, and my father didn't really talk to me. My only caretakers were my maids, but they never really showed me any affection or even punished me, since they were my servants, not my guardians. I could technically send them to the dungeon or the chopping block, so they never dared to discipline me. I got away with a lot of things as a kid, I guess that's why I was kind of a spoiled brat for a while."
Kazuma-san had to set me straight that one time. I was kind of grateful to him for doing that. I always saw him as an older brother I never had.
"That's… Pretty sad."
"Yeah. I was actually intentionally getting into trouble, pulling pranks on my maids and stuff, because I wanted them to show me any kind of parental attention. Even if it resulted in them spanking me or hitting me, I didn't mind. Well, it never actually worked."
I felt a bit embarrassed saying this, but I wanted to make Komekko-chan feel better somehow.
Thankfully, it worked. I got Komekko-chan to giggle. Her posture relaxed. She glanced at me, turning her head.
"Well, once you've been punished, you're not gonna want it anymore."
"I-I'm not saying that I want it now! I was talking about back when I was a kid!"
"I saw you watching from the window the whole time, no need to hide it."
I groaned, burying my face in my hands. I earned another giggle, at least.
I felt her shoulder against mine, then she laid her head against my shoulder.
"Thanks, Revi. I feel better now."
"Heh, no problem. Before I was an international ladies man, I was Mr. Shoulder to cry on. All my years of being trapped in the friend zone gives me unparalleled experience in comforting crying girls…"
"Huh? Who said that you were in the friend zone?"
"...Huh?"
I looked at her, only to see a pair of adoring red eyes glowing in the darkness, a playful smirk underneath them.
I gulped, my whole body freezing.
I felt like I probably could have done anything I wanted at that moment, and she would have been fine with it.
"Um… Well… Y-You should know that Iris and I have a thing and…"
"I know about that. So?"
"So?! What do you mean by 'so'?!"
"As in, 'so what'? Do you think the devil gives up on anything she wants?"
"C-Certainly that would be out of character."
She suddenly stood up. Then, she pulling my shirt and her bra up, over her head. I turned away just in time. When I looked back again, I saw a glimpse of her naked form before she dived into the river.
I let out a sigh of relief, before I felt cold water splash against me.
She was giggling as she emerged from the water, splashing me with water.
I smiled back, then got up to dive into the river myself.
The good thing about being a teenager is that you can go back to playing around without a care in the world, like a kid, whenever pretending to be an adult got too tiring and bothersome.
We splashed around in the river under the starlight.