MagicalExplorer
Reborn as a Side Character in a Fantasy Dating Sim
—Katorina’s Perspective—
After we escaped from the dungeon, we found Ms. Sakura waiting there to meet us. I then succeeded in suppressing my demon powers, albeit while borrowing the strength of Ms. Sakura and Nanami to do it.
Thanks to that, I was able to return to my regular human form. And on top of gaining the ability to wield dark magic, I also became able to transform into a demon at will.
Apparently my demon form was still unstable, however, so if I did end up using it, I would need to be extra careful and make sure someone who knew my circumstances was with me, too.
Since now it was okay for me to practice with darkness magic, I thought I’d start with that.
For the demon transformation, well…I needed to think on it a little more. At this point, I definitely couldn’t use it in front of regular people. It was powerful, sure, but I needed practice with it.
As for why things had progressed so smoothly, apparently that was because Kousuke had done a bunch of stuff for me. He’d acted almost as if he knew how everything would end from the start.
After that, Ms. Sakura gave me all sorts of advice before I finally returned to my own room in the dorms.
Collapsing into bed, I was assailed by a gnawing uneasiness and sadness.
Back in the dungeon, my urge to escape as fast as possible had been so strong, I didn’t have any head space left to think about myself. But now that I could reflect on the events of the day and the blood flowing in my veins…
I felt the urge to cry.
The fact that my father was a demon. The fact that my mother knew. What was I supposed to do the next time I saw her? I thought over everything again and again. Eventually, I grew unsure about how I should proceed from here.
Just then, however, a single person’s face floated into my mind.
I had gotten in touch with him the day after we’d returned from the dungeon. I couldn’t tell if it was because I had messaged him so suddenly, or because I said I wanted to meet during the day, while class was still in session, but he seemed pretty surprised.
Principal Marino Hanamura’s house, were he lived, was pretty close to the campus. Still, since classes had already started, I reached his house without running into any other students.
Kousuke Takioto and I weren’t really close enough to meet one-on-one like this very often. We had gotten together a lot with the whole group, though.
He showed me into the living room, and an elf maid wearing a sword immediately served us some tea. I took the cup, and before she left the room, the elf told Kousuke to call for her if he needed anything.
Nanami came next, bringing us some snacks and placing them on the table. The hospitality left nothing to be desired.
“Go ahead and eat as much as you like, okay? So what’s up?” Kousuke asked me as he sipped on his tea.
“I wanted a little bit of advice.”
He looked a bit surprised.
“From me? Not Iori?”
Though I wondered why Iori’s name was the one to come up, I continued.
“I thought about asking Iori, but I sorta felt you’d be better. Though if I’m bothering you, I ca—”
Kousuke interrupted me before I could finish my sentence.
“Whoa, whoa, hold on. I wasn’t asking ’cause I didn’t want to hear you out. I was just wondering if talking to a guy like me was the right call, is all. If you’re coming to me for advice, ’course I’ll hear you out.”
He was right that Iori and Ludie would’ve worked, too. It was all related to the Morals Committee to begin with, so I could’ve just talked to one of the people there instead. Everyone, except the Saint anyway.
Except Kousuke Takioto had been the first person to pop into my mind.
“I’m not really sure, honestly. Just thought it’d be better to talk to you about this… What am I even trying to say here?”
“That right? Well, everyone’s got their own stuff to deal with. Anyway, hit me,” Kousuke said and turned to Nanami, who knocked lightly on the wall. Then Ivy showed up out of nowhere, and the two of them departed the room together.
Ivy, huh? I glanced at Kousuke, and he gave a sheepish grin.
“She said she wants to serve me, whatever that means. Don’t worry about it.”
I took his advice and decided not to think about it too hard. I needed to focus on myself first. I had to resolve the situation I was in.
“See, I was thinking, I don’t really know what I’m supposed to do from here.”
When I said this, Kousuke closed his eyes and heaved a big sigh.
“Well, what’s wrong with doing what you’ve been doing already?”
“That’s not gonna fly. I’m not a half elf, dwarf, or beastfolk. I’m a half demon, okay? You know what that means.”
“Sure, I do. It’s just that, to me, it doesn’t really change anything.”
“It doesn’t?”
“What did I say back in the dungeon? To me, it doesn’t matter whether you’re a human or a demon. There’s plenty of humans who do good things, and plenty who do bad things, too. So what’s so strange about a demon who does good deeds? Simple as that.”
“You might feel that way, sure. But there’s a whole buncha stuff I’m still worried about.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Look, you and Iori are a couple of idiots, so you might accept me, sure. And I bet Ludie and the others would, too. But your average person, on the other hand…”
They might not accept me for who I was.
“…If you’re not going to tell anyone, your only choice is gonna be keeping it a secret forever,” Kousuke said after a short silence.
“And then there’s the Saint. She’s got her status to think about, right?”
In the worst case, she might just kill me. Leggenze defined demons as a mighty and powerful evil. The entire country might try to attack me if word got out about my bloodline.
“Y’know, Katorina, you and everyone else are assuming a lot. It’s always the Saint this and the Saint that when people talk about Stef, but you’re all wrong. Er, well. You’re not wrong, I guess.”
“Can you get to the point?”
“President Monica and Minister Benito know. I think Yukine probably knows, too?”
This was so annoying. Why couldn’t he just come out and say it? Kousuke really loved the sound of his own voice sometimes.
“Stefania Scaglione is the Saint, sure, but she’s also just a regular girl. She’s rude, she never tries to hide what she’s feeling, and she hates anything that brings her extra work. But she’s also a really kind person.”
He took a pause to breathe before continuing.
“And that’s why I doubt Saint Stef is thinking about doing anything to you at all.”
So he said, but it really didn’t seem that way to me.
“Okay, so if Leggenze tells her to kill me, then what?”
“Hmm, that’s definitely a possibility, but it’ll work out all right.”
“How the hell would it be all right?”
“’Cause the Saint won’t harm you. If she gets targeted instead, I’ll be there to protect her. I’ve already started preparing for when that ends up happening to you or the Saint, so rest easy and enjoy school.”
What do you mean, “already started”?
“Hey, this has always bugged me, but what’s with all this info you have? Like, seriously. Something’s not right.”
“I guess I’d say I know a lot about stuff? Anyway, don’t sweat the small stuff. I’ll figure out a way to help you and the Saint. Oh, right! Sorry about this, but I was planning on borrowing that power of yours when push comes to shove between the Saint and Leggenze.”
“Okay, hold up just one damn second—is your head screwed on straight? You’re talking about going up against an entire country?”
He grinned.
“What about it? We’re the Hanamuras, y’know. Besides.”
“Besides what?”
“I know about a whole buncha stuff.”
Y’know, this had always bugged me. He chalked it all up to being a Hanamura or whatever, but even when you took that into account, it was clear he knew way too much.
This dude was hiding something from everyone, no question about it.
“Then hurry up and spill it.”
“Whoa, whoa, why? Things would get real hairy if you knew, okay? This stuff’s even more dangerous than that secret the Three Committees are hiding.”