Chapter 40: 39

Vacation is just around the corner.

 

“Melissa, it’s almost vacation!”

 

I exclaimed, excited at the prospect of seeing my grandmother and Dioleta unnie for the first time in a long time.

 

“Yeah, it’s almost exam time.”

 

“…….”

 

However, I was soon hit with reality.

 

As Melissa had said, the academy holds exams once a semester before vacation, which meant that exams were just around the corner, as was vacation.

 

“Are you studying for your exams?”

 

Melissa asked, followed by a mild reprimand.

 

“I, I’ve been working hard in class…….”

 

“I’m not going to make you cram for something you’re already late for, so at least review, and I’ll help you if you don’t know something.”

 

“Uh, yeah…….”

 

With that, Melissa went into the next classroom without delay because she was going to be late for class.

 

Let’s go back to the dorm and study for the exam…….

 

At least I wanted to do better than I did on the entrance exam.

 

I made an ambitious promise to myself and turned to the window. At the same time, a familiar head of bangs caught her eye through the window.

 

It was Senior Duen.

 

His thick bangs were still covering his eyes today. His head was turned in my direction, so it was as if our eyes met.

 

I ducked my head slightly to say hello, just in case.

 

Luckily, Senior Duen was looking at me, too, and he waved back.

 

After a semester of frequent visits to the library, I’d gotten to know him well enough to say hello outside.

 

Of course, the reason he memorized my face was a little embarrassing by my standards.

 

* * *

 

“My loan, I need an extension…….”

 

This is the second time.

 

This is why he memorized my face.

 

I usually extended a book three or four times when I borrowed it. The first book I borrowed, The Demons of Humanity, I extended almost four times.

 

Eventually, I just couldn’t get into it and moved on to something else.

 

That doesn’t mean the other books were interesting.

 

Maybe I’m just not cut out for this.

 

I think the only reason he didn’t end up hating me like he did with Professor Bendick was because I often extend in advance of the due date.

 

“All these books are boring, aren’t they?”

 

Senior Duen asked without even opening the loan book.

 

“What can I say, they’re not interesting……. Or should I say, I don’t read well…….”

 

All the demon books I’ve ever read have been like that.

 

“It’s because the author is trying to force his point of view on you.”

 

He says this as if he knows what the book is about. Is he even interested in this field?!

 

“Did you read this book too?”

 

I was going to ask him to recommend an easy-to-read book for someone interested in demons.

 

“I tried …… I’ve read all the books on demons in the library.”

 

I can usually tell what a person is thinking and saying by looking at their eyes.

 

But Senior Duen never showed his eyes, so it was hard to tell what he was thinking.

 

“Wait.”

 

Just as I was wondering why the mood seemed to have cooled, he stood up and disappeared between the bookshelves.

 

I stood still and waited for him to reappear.

 

When he reappeared, he held a thin book in his hand.

 

“This is a collection of stories based on true stories, so it should be easier to read than other books.”

 

I gave him a respectful glance, as if to ask how he knew, and then the corners of his mouth turned up.

 

“I’ve been meaning to tell you for a while now, that you shouldn’t talk about or ask other people about demons, or you might be mistaken for a devil worshiper or a heretic.”

 

That was something I was fully aware of. I nodded in understanding, and he finally opened my checkout book and wrote down the title of the book and my name.

 

“Still, it’s good to see that you’re being careful, since you always hide your borrowed books under your major books.”

 

As I listened to him, I realized why he had always given the book I was about to borrow a strange look.

 

It was something he was interested in, and he wanted to tell me to be careful.

 

As soon as I realized his intentions, I started to worry about him.

 

“Uh……. Senior, don’t tell me…….”

 

It’s not just that he’s stuck in the library all the time, it’s also that he’s interested in demons.

 

Isn’t he being bullied by the seniors in his grade because he’s mistaken for a devil worshiper or a heretic?!

 

If so, that would explain a lot of his behavior.

 

A person could just be interested in all sorts of different things, but bullying a friend with a narrow mindset?!

 

It’s unthinkable, even by my standards.

 

“……I know what you’re thinking, but it’s not like that.”

 

He must have read my ever-changing expression, because he replied in a gruff voice. Just then, I heard the sound of a window opening behind me and a boy’s voice.

 

“Duen, let’s go eat!”

 

Apparently, his friend had come to pick him up. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect.

 

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“……I, I’m sorry.”

 

I quickly apologized to my senior.

 

“……No problem. Thanks for the concern.”

 

As much as I was genuinely worried, I was just as embarrassed.

 

* * *

 

Back in my room, I opened the book he had recommended.

 

The table of contents had the year written on each page. It seemed to list the events in chronological order.

 

“…….”

 

The first table of contents told the story of a woman who, long before I was born, mistook a young demon for a human and raised him.

 

The human genuinely thought of the young demon as family, caring for it as if she were its actual parent.

 

A neighbor noticed and told her the truth.

 

“That child is not human! You are being deceived!”

 

The woman said.

 

“The child is not human, as you say, but he didn’t deceive me.”

 

As if she had known all along, the woman conceded.

 

The villagers groaned at the woman’s unexpected words. How could she have known the child’s true identity and kept him with her?

 

The people surrounding her and the child thought.

 

The woman had already fallen under the devil’s spell.

 

To save her, the villagers locked her in a dungeon.

 

They visited her every day, forcing her to open her eyes. But she didn’t even pretend to listen to them.

 

Time passed in the book.

 

She grew thin, and at some point the villagers stopped visiting.

 

Just as she was about to starve to death, the long-unlocked prison door opened and a man walked in.

 

“All the people are dead.”

 

“…….”

 

“Because you, because you harbored that demon……! It’s because of you, it’s all because of you!”

 

The man, paralyzed with fear, used an ax to break the lock on the cell holding the woman, then stepped inside and shouted.

 

Turns out, the demon had been searching for her while she was gone, killing villagers, and the man was the only survivor.

 

The woman looked up at the man, who was staring down at her with blurry eyes.

 

The last thing she saw was the blade of the ax he held high above her head.

 

“…….”

 

That was the end of the story.

 

I was left speechless by the unexpectedly depressing content.

 

So, are demons……?

 

Yes, it was about a demon, but in the end, the story was mainly about a woman who was possessed by a demon.

 

With a grimace, I moved on to the next page with the next subheading.

 

It was all depressing, but as Senior Duen said, it was the easiest book I’ve ever borrowed.

 

Then came the final one.

 

It was the story of the year before I was born, the year Liel was born.

 

A war between demons and humans.

 

Or, more accurately, a war between the king of demons and humans.

 

The king, who had never been seen, appeared one day without warning and began killing humans in large numbers using demons.

 

To stop this sudden slaughter, priests and knights united to wage war against the demon king.

 

The war lasted nearly a year before the demon king was finally slain by a human.

 

It further explained that the man who defeated the king and won the war was Edwin, the current high priest of the temple.

 

“Hmm…….”

 

I finished reading the book he recommended, but honestly, I’m not sure it helped.

 

At best, I learned that there was a war the year Liel was born, and that the king died?

 

I don’t feel like I’ve gotten much out of it so I feel a little deflated thinking about it.

 

Leaning back against the back of the chair, I pressed the back of my hand against my eyes, which were tired from reading nonstop.

 

“What about the exam…….”

 

Whether it was helpful or not, the book was worth reading because it was a series of short stories.

 

As a result, I’ll be cramming for my exam the day after tomorrow.

 

* * *

 

After taking my final exam, I mingled with the crowd and left the lecture hall, and the first thing I did was look up at the ceiling of the hallway.

 

“I finished writing the answers…….”

 

For some reason, I remembered the entrance exam.

 

I think I felt this way back then, too.

 

I waited for the door to the next classroom to open, my confidence drained. Finally, the door opened and Melissa poked her head out with a cheerful expression.

 

“Did you do well on your test?”

 

Her voice was deadly serious, as if something was going to happen if I didn’t.

 

I nodded in a way that told her not to worry.

 

“I’ve got all the answers.”

 

It didn’t take long for Melissa’s expression to change from proud to, “But where is that?”

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