* * *

“……So I explained as thoroughly as I could, but the conclusion was ‘we can’t send anyone to rescue Chris.’ The principal just doesn’t want to touch that boy who barged into the dungeon because he’s some huge deal~”

“But that doesn’t mean we can sneak out on our own to go get the professor.”

Dolce and Gabana’s gazes turned to Michael simultaneously. As sharp-witted twins, they knew exactly who held the decision-making power in this group.

“Michael, Michael. You’re planning to break out even if you have to smash through the wall, right? Defensive magic and the like is useless in front of your flames, isn’t it? You’re going to show us your new power?”

“Michael. The professor is strong, so she can come back on her own. It’s better to bet on those odds. The professor wouldn’t want us getting expelled for defying the principal’s orders.”

But Michael looked like someone who couldn’t hear the twins at all. In truth, his mind was occupied with entirely different thoughts.

– …Yes, Your Holiness. Chris may have turned to the Demon Lord’s army.

A conversation beyond the wall, audible thanks to his enhanced hearing from the Awakening.

Principal Lily Bedallua was communicating with the Holy Emperor through long-distance magic.

– Reports have consistently indicated that she hasn’t fully severed her ties with the Demon Lord’s army. The Demon Lord entering the dungeon this time may be connected as well…

– Yes. If we send a rescue team from our side, it might put us in an awkward position. We can’t rule out the possibility of a trap, either.

– At the very least, we should wait for her to return on her own feet… whether to investigate or interrogate…

“Hah.”

In other words, they didn’t trust Chris. They were seriously considering the possibility that she had returned to her role as the Demon Lord’s right hand.

‘If they had seen that sight, they could never have doubted her.’

Her back as she grabbed the Demon Lord without a moment’s hesitation and plunged into the endless void.

She had sacrificed herself for the peace of the Academy, for the safety of her students.

And yet her current state was clear proof of that…

‘There’s no reason to waste any more time listening to this nonsense.’

“M-Michael… Why are you standing up? Are you really, really going? He’s…”

Bell, who knew of the Demon Lord because she was a wolf-human, clung to him with a face on the verge of tears.

Then Michael smiled faintly and spoke.

“Don’t worry, Bell.”

There was a way. A way to bring Chris back and to prevent the students’ expulsion as well.

“Everyone will be safe. Why would the professor have given us outdoor camping lessons for nothing? She must have been preparing for times like this.”

Michael knew he was no longer weak.

“Let’s show those bastards. The results of her teachings.”

…Though he hadn’t realized that the thing he’d learned best from Chris was her way with words.

* * *

A damn morning. I was facing the worst mealtime in history.

“Chris, come. Everyone has been waiting for you.”

I’d been told we’d just have a simple meal together, so I assumed it would be me and the Demon Lord. I was planning to chat with Bead and completely trash the table manners.

I never expected to be dining at a long table with all the Demon Lord’s army executives.

‘And why is my seat so close to the head of the table, you crazy Demon Lord…’

It was the seat for the person of highest rank right after the Demon Lord himself. Thanks to that, I was drawing so much attention that everyone was staring at me.

The wolf-human guy who’d been pushed down to the third-ranked seat was glaring at me like he wanted me dead, and the way he was drooling made it seem like he wanted to eat me for breakfast.

‘I’m going to choke. I’m definitely going to choke. This is going to reflux from my esophagus.’

I was seriously considering refusing the meal in true ‘Chris’ fashion…

“Oh my, it seems the dishes on the table aren’t to your liking. I clearly communicated how particular your palate is… I’ll hold the newly hired chef properly accountable, so would you please calm down? Children, bring the chef here.”

At the Demon Lord’s casual remark, his subordinates sprang into action immediately. It took barely five seconds before a scream echoed from the kitchen.

And what was brought onto the table was…

‘Ah, fuck.’

“The most precious cut is naturally yours. Please overlook his past insolence and accept it. Then he can consider himself forgiven and pass on in peace. Won’t you take your seat now?”

I must never forget. This guy was the Demon Lord, capable of anything—

“……”

“Good, Chris. I offer my thanks for your generous heart.”

Even with ‘Chris’s’ persona, this bastard was impossible to beat.

* * *

“I don’t know how long it’s been since we’ve eaten together like this. A few are missing due to work, but until yesterday, I couldn’t have even imagined this.”

The Demon Lord said this with a bright smile, visibly moved.

He kept bringing up old stories that only I didn’t know, making me inexplicably anxious. I wished he’d stop peddling nostalgia.

‘Come to think of it, was Chris’s backstory that she grew up in the Demon Lord’s army from a very young age? Well, considering her current age…’

The Demon Lord might have been treating Chris as something roughly resembling a child. Though considering how he treated his own flesh and blood, that was a chilling thought.

“Everyone was curious about how I met Chris. My power hasn’t fully returned yet, so I can only use Spatial Severing partially. I can only set coordinates to places where parts of my body scattered across the continent exist. But when I went to retrieve my right horn this time, there were some familiar faces.”

Thanks to him volunteering information I hadn’t even asked for, I was able to grasp the situation somewhat.

“As expected, you’re amazing! To think you brought Lady Chris by chance!”

“The Demon Lord’s Spatial Severing may be evolving in a different direction than before!”

The Demon Lord’s army executives eagerly chiming in beside him was almost tear-inducing. I supposed it was a blessing that ‘Chris’ wasn’t the type to do such things.

“Haha, don’t embarrass me. I wanted to greet the others too, but Chris pulled me out before that, which was a little disappointing.”

Suddenly, the Demon Lord’s hand patted my back lightly.

Ugh, damn it! His skin was so cold that goosebumps broke out all over. I wanted to push him off and demand to know what he thought he was doing—

‘But how could I push away the Demon Lord’s hand with my strength?’

Instead, I went with the persona of someone so exhausted by merely being present that I’d gone limp all over.

The Demon Lord chuckled softly at the sight of me slumped like a wilted bean sprout.

“There, there. I know your patience isn’t that long. Could you share a little before you leave? You’re the star of this gathering. How have you been living out there all this time?”

Here it came. The catch-up chat.

‘I need to be careful.’

The truth? I didn’t need that. I couldn’t know what the real Chris had been doing before drifting into the Academy, and telling it like it was wouldn’t work anyway.

‘What mattered was an effective answer that fit the persona.’

I exhaled silently once, then opened my mouth.

“Still hopeless, I see.”

“……?”

“Can’t you fix the habit of asking what you already know?”

“……”

That’s the Chris-brand deflection, you bastard.

Bandage wasn’t present here, but as a Demon Lord’s army executive, there was no way he hadn’t reported everything about his encounters with me.

In other words, that question was partly intended to test me.

‘And furthermore.’

“If you want to know the progress of ‘the mission,’ just say so. Don’t beat around the bush when it doesn’t suit you.”

He wanted to know whether I had truly defected during all this time.

According to the Demon Lord route’s explanation, Chris’s setting was that she acted as a spy at Bedallua Academy under the Demon Lord’s orders.

Which meant—

‘He was deliberately playing dumb from the start. He wanted to confirm that I hadn’t forgotten my mission.’

I’d suspected as much from the way he treated me like a runaway teenager. The Demon Lord’s test had begun from the very beginning.

“Haha, well. Chris…”

A hollow laugh burst from the Demon Lord. At the same time, the sound of executives finally releasing the breaths they’d been holding could be heard from all around.

What the hell. I was the one being questioned, so why were they the ones trembling? Did the Demon Lord radiate killing intent this whole time or something?

‘I was too weak to feel it…’

Thanks to that, maintaining the expression of ‘this sort of probing is laughable’ worked perfectly, so I supposed it was a blessing.

“Time must have passed, it seems. I’m getting old too. Worrying over nothing. She was always a child who did what needed to be done.”

She only looked young because she’d died and come back to life. She was about the same age as the Holy Emperor, for crying out loud.

“In that case, there’s nothing I need to hide from you. Take your time and come out when you finish your meal. I’ll show you a pleasant sight.”

The Demon Lord’s face turned mischievous, like someone who had prepared a surprise gift.

Of course, the ‘pleasant sight’ that I saw was…

‘Fuck, what do I do? If this is real, the world is screwed and it’s only a matter of time?!’

Something that chilled my blood.