"Now then, Yuuto-san, let's begin your lessons desu."
"Y-yes, Reina-sensei."
After classes ended, I headed towards the Palace. After I made the contract and took the girls in as Cards, Lizel-senpai told me I'd begin my training so I could properly fight in the Devil King War.
Today was that first day of training, or actually, we'd be starting with a studying session.
Simply put, because I was educated like a normal human until now, there's a lot of things I still don't know. Having a good grasp of the basics will be vital later on, so, for the next month or so, I'd be working on catching up.
"Our objective is to have Yuuto-san learn the basics on various subjects, both so Yuuto-san can keep up in class and use that knowledge in different trainings desu. Does Yuuto-san have any questions before we begin?"
"Well… one, actually. How did you end up teaching me, Reina?"
Not to belittle her or anything, but Reina was a middle school student. I'd have thought Lizel-senpai would be the one to teach me if anything.
Then again, I can think of one reason why Reina is better for this than Lizel-senpai…
"Oh that. We had already thought of Yuuto-san's training, and Reina was going to teach you how to handle Devil Swords desu. But it's still much too early for Yuuto-san. So Reina asked to take care of Yuuto-san's education for now in senpai's place desu."
Ooh, so Lizel-senpai really was the one who was going to give me lessons originally.
I didn't doubt Lizel-senpai's capabilities, but I think it's for the best that she switched with Reina. Because…
"And, hum… Reina, is the cosplay really necessary?"
"Desu? Senpai said it'd get Yuuto-san in the mood desu."
Well, I suppose she wasn't wrong, but I think Reina misunderstood something.
What she was wearing right now was something I could only call "teacher cosplay" complete with glasses and everything. The clothes were very tight around Reina's body, really showing off the curves and giving her an air of maturity.
If it already looked like this with Reina, then there was no way I could have classes with Lizel-senpai wearing this. I wouldn't be able to concentrate!
"If there's no more questions, then Reina will start desu. We are first going to start with magic and magic circuits, comparing the differences between devils and humans desu. After that, we'll go a little into demon society desu."
It seemed like a good plan. I already used some magic, so it's not something I have no knowledge about.
By starting with something I was even remotely familiar with, it would be easier to keep my attention. After that, it would be easier to breach other subjects.
Reina started preparing her equipment and I grabbed a few pieces of paper and a pen. Since I was ready rather fast, I had some time to admire Reina's butt- I mean to watch as Reina-sensei struggled with the projector. Yup, that was it.
… But seriously, how tight is that skirt? I feel guilty just looking at Reina with such dirty eyes. Not that it stopped me…
Rather than using a magical board like Nagasawa-sensei did, Reina was using a projector to, well, project a presentation onto a wall. By the way, we were currently in an empty room in the Palace. Lizel-senpai said she had some plans to expand later on.
While I'm at it, I might as well explain, the current Lovers' Palace is divided into 4 rooms. The first is the main room, which I could only describe as the living room of a mansion or something. Second and third were the bedroom and shower room, which also didn't lose in terms of luxury. And lastly was this empty room that I'll be using as a study for a little while.
Really, rather than a room in a school, this felt like a high-class apartment. I could probably live here! That's a school for nobles! Anyway, it seems Reina-sensei finished setting up while I had my head in the clouds.
"Yuuto-san, what do you see here desu?"
"That's… an image showing a human's veins?"
It was the first thing that came to mind. I suppose it could also be nerves, but I just happened to guess veins. Biology isn't my strong suit so I just tried guessing.
"Almost desu. It is showing a person's veins, but it's actually a devil's."
Aah, well, I'd say it was a pretty good guess. I basically got it half right.
Reina then went to the next presentation. It still had that same image, but another one was also added beside it. Or was it actually the same image, just doubled?
"Yuuto-san, what you see now is a comparison between a devil's body and a human's. Does Yuuto-san notice anything desu?"
"They're… the same?"
"That's right desu! As far as human knowledge of biology is concerned, devils and humans are exactly the same."
Ooh, that's very interesting. So far, everyone I've seen in Ginsei Academy could have passed for a human. But to think there's no biological difference between a human and a devil…
No, wait. Reina said "as far as human knowledge is concerned" so there probably was a difference somewhere. Probably in a place humans don't have much knowledge about.
Like magic, for example.
While I was thinking that, Reina continued her presentation. The same image again…? No… there were few, but I think I could spot some differences. For one, this new image seems a lot… simpler I guess would be the right word.
"What Yuuto-san sees now is a showing of a human's magic circuits desu. Did Yuuto-san notice how similar to the other image it is?"
"Yeah. For a second, I thought it was the same image."
"Desu. Now, let's look at a devil's magic circuits."
Reina switched the image, and… I couldn't even begin to describe it.
If I were to compare magic circuits to… I don't know, electronic circuits, a human's would be a series of wires going from point A to point B while sometimes branching off. It was about as simple as it could get. Not to mention, a single image was used, meaning there was no difference between gender or anything like that.
Now, a devil's magic circuits… I could probably compare it to a computer's motherboard. A series of intricate wiring that alone might not do much, but all together was capable of unbelievable things. There were also two images being used, one for male and another for female, so the magic circuits did differ by gender with devils.
"Now I get why devils are so much better at magic."
"P-please don't get discouraged, Yuuto-san. R-Reina's sure it'll all work out fine desu. L-let's move on!"
"It's fine, Reina. I already knew devils are stronger than humans. Just this much won't make me give up."
Reina looking so flustered was pretty cute. I'm happy she considered this could be hard on me, but I don't have time to joke around if I'm going to catch up to the other Devil King Candidates. Just this much won't make me lose heart.
"Then, if Yuuto-san doesn't mind, Reina will mention a few key points desu. As Yuuto-san saw, a human's magic circuits are extremely simple, so much so they are all active whenever a human tries to use magic, no matter what kind. Meanwhile, a devil's is so complex normally only a few parts are active. Some schools of magic even work specifically with certain parts of the magic circuit desu."
"I didn't know that. Do you know any examples, Reina?"
"Y-yes desu. But Reina isn't sure how useful that knowledge would be to Yuuto-san. Reina supposes the one Yuuto-san may be able to make use of is, hum, Sex Magic desu…"
I didn't really mean to ask something I could use, just an example in general. But I kept my mouth shut because embarrassed Reina was so cute.
After I felt my heart had been healed, I asked a follow up question. Mostly to try and get Reina back on her feet.
"But why do you think I could use that kind of magic? Wouldn't I still need a devil's magic circuits?"
"Yuuto-san isn't wrong about that, desu. But, hum… that kind of magic doesn't use a single person's circuits, but rather 2 or more persons' desu. So even if Yuuto-san can't use it, Reina and the senpais could try to compensate for that."
Ah, I see. Still, I'm not about to go up to Lizel-senpai and say "let's do Sex Magic" so I'm not sure how useful that knowledge will be. My question's main objective was to help Reina out of her embarrassment, but it didn't really work out.
I told Reina I didn't have any more questions and asked her to continue. While she was still a bit embarrassed for a while, she got back to her "teacher-like" style soon enough.
For a good while after that, Reina explained to me how using magic affected a devil's magic circuits. How certain types of magic introduced certain weak points and how I could use those to my advantage.
For example, the magic Barricade. Even if the caster wasn't actually holding it, it acted similar to holding up a shield. It was a generally immobile magic, so it couldn't be moved after being cast. But a strong enough impact could move it.
A good chunk of our time was spent there, which made sense considering this was the basis for my training with Lizel-senpai and Miyabi. I made sure to pay attention and learn as much as I could. I even wrote down a few notes for me to review later.
"Reina thinks that's enough on that topic, desu. Now, to serve as a kind of bridge between subjects, Reina will talk about mixed-blood devils."
I'd never heard of them, those mixed-blood devils. As I wondered how they might look, Reina showed the next image of her presentation.
Or rather, the several next. They were photos of people who had animal-like features, like cat ears, tails, scales, and things like that. Though there were also some that looked… normal?
"These are mixed-blood devils, Yuuto-san. Generally speaking, the term mixed-blood refers to devils who are also descendants from other species. For example, a child between a human and a devil would be a mixed-blood devil."
"I can see some have things like scales and special ears. Is that because they're mixed-blood?"
"Desu! A child between human and devil is basically just a devil with weaker magical circuits. Devils who have inherited the blood of magical beasts that exist in the Devil World are the ones that tend to have animal-like characteristics."
I could imagine how a child between humans and devils could be conceived, but magical beasts and devils? I have no idea…
I mean, I have 1 idea. I am a teenage boy after all. It's not really my thing, but I suppose it could work?
Before I noticed, Reina had switched images. We were once again seeing magical circuits. I guessed it was a mixed-blood devil's, since it looked complex, but different from a normal devil's.
"As Yuuto-san can see, mixed-blood devils have different magical circuits from pure-blooded devils desu. This, in theory, allows them to use magic that pure-blooded devils can't, not to mention the different physical characteristics. Some can do things like flying or breathing underwater without using magic, so they are biologically different from humans and devils desu."
There aren't any in my class, but I think I've seen a few mixed-blood devils here and there in Ginsei Academy. At least, I've seen people that didn't look 100% "human" around.
"With that in mind, I want to ask Yuuto-san. Where do you think mixed blood devils are placed in devil society desu?"
Ah, so that's how we're going to bridge the topic. Alright, let's try to answer.
It's important to remember Reina asked about devil society. The Devil King is at the top, and humans are at the bottom.
Taking that into consideration, mixed-blood devils are surely higher than humans. I guess, as a whole, they would be in the middle?
"They're… together with the rest of the devils? I mean, the normal ones, not the nobles and whatnots."
"Unfortunately, that's wrong, Yuuto-san."
Hmm, maybe they're higher? Reina did say they might be able to use magic other devils can't, and devil society seems to value strength.
As I was thinking that, Reina switched to the next image. It was one of those pyramid diagrams showing how a society is organized. This was referred to devil society.
"They're… under Honorary Devils?"
Honorary Devils were the highest rank a human could obtain if they proved especially valuable to some important devil. But, at the end of the day, an Honorary Devil was still a human. I didn't expect to see mixed-bloods below them.
Otherwise, there's not much for me to comment about the pyramid. The Devil King was at the top, followed by the noble devils and then the high-class devils. Commoner devils were shown to be above honorary devils in the pyramid, but Reina told me it really depended on the person. For example, if there was this Honorary Devil that was especially important to the noble who controlled a certain region, they would probably be more valued than the commoners that lived under the noble.
On the bottom of the pyramid were the mixed-blood devils and humans. It still struck me as odd, but I suppose it's not my place to comment how a society is structured.
"It's very hard for a family to climb upwards in devil society desu. Only the 22 Candidates have the chance to become Devil King. The nobles and high-class devils are often the descendants of Cards and even Devil Kings from previous generations. Commoner devils and Honorary Devils aren't much different from human society as Yuuto-san knows desu."
Oh, so it wasn't that different? That's a bit of a relief. I was a bit afraid that I'd feel like an alien in devil society. I'd like to meet some commoner devils if I could.
"As Yuuto-san knows, Ginsei Academy is generally an academy only for noble and high-class devils, as well as the Devil King Candidates desu. Eventually, an exceptional commoner devil might be allowed a scholarship. Yuuto-san was the first human to even enroll."
"Oh, so there are commoner devils in Ginsei Academy? Do they have like a special class or something? Since they're scholarship students."
"Reina isn't sure there are any commoner devils studying here right now, but no, they go to the same classes as everyone else. But Yuuto-san has already met such a person."
"Eh? I have? Who?"
"Yuuto-san's teacher, Nagasawa-sensei. She was a commoner devil who completed her studies here and came back as a teacher. She once taught Reina's class when our teacher was sick. Reina really enjoyed her class desu."
I had no idea about that. So Nagasawa-sensei was a commoner devil, was that why she seemed so distraught when that forgot-his-name guy shouted at her? Even though she's a teacher and he is a student, I guess there's still the matter of social standing.
"To finish for today, Yuuto-san, we should talk about humans' importance to devil society."
Oh yeah, come to think of it, it was kind of strange that humans were present in that pyramid at all, wasn't it? I mean, if you imagine something like Egyptian society, they didn't just put the other societies at the bottom just to show it.
"Yuuto-san, see, humans are integral to devil society. A very very long time ago, devils found out how to use emotions as an energy source. However, a devil's heart isn't ideal for that desu. A human's heart can feel a much bigger number of emotions, with a lot more intensity and much easier. That's why having a big territory in the Human World and using it to generate lots of energy is a sign of wealth in devil society desu."
"So it's like a farmer owning a big plot of land."
"Reina supposes Yuuto-san could see it that way desu…"
I remember how Geld called me a pig. I myself just compared it to farming, so now I can see what Geld meant.
"S-senpai asked Reina to tell Yuuto-san that not all devils are bad desu! There are those that try to make humans feel hatred and other bad emotions, but there are also those that believe that purer and happier emotions are better desu."
"I see."
Reina was once again being considerate of me. But again, I wasn't going to go down with just that.
If nothing else, I believed Lizel-senpai, Miyabi and Reina were good people. I would believe that until I had reason to doubt it, not that I ever expected it to happen. And that was all I needed for now.
I'll leave things like how humans are treated and such for after the Devil King War. I just started learning, so it's too early to draw any conclusions.
After a few more comments, we decided it was enough for the first day.
"Reina thinks it should be fine for today desu. Yuuto-san, thank you for your attention."
"Thank you for teaching me, Reina-sensei. I hope you'll take care of me from now on."
"O-ooh! If Yuuto-san has any questions, just come to Reina-sensei desu!"
We both laughed as we finished classes for the day. It was about as good of a first class as there could be.
I won't mention that Reina tripped on her own feet and stumbled to the ground. Nor will I mention how her legs were open and I could see her panties. I won't mention any of that.
