Miss Mitsuko dismissed the international students. Nonetheless, they were loudly astir over the situation. Left behind, Akuto realized the gravity of what had happened, and was hit by a strong wave of unease and anxiety.
—It’s obvious that this will lead to rumors about me being spread around the school. This is very, very bad. What is going on? This has to be just a bad joke. Yatagarasu was just confused, right? No, even then, the rumors will spread. I have to do something...
These worried thoughts spun around in Akuto’s head.
Miss Mitsuko looked towards Akuto with a stiff expression on her face.
“I’ve contacted the principal. Stay in my office until we hear back from him.”
○
For Akuto, he could only think that this was a nightmare. However, after some time passed with him sitting awkwardly in Miss Mitsuko’s office on the side of the infirmary, an unbelievable message arrived for him.
The mana screen on the desk opened suddenly. It displayed the figure of an old man, tucked away behind a white beard. His appearance made him look like a white ball of fur that sprouted up from a thousand-year old tree, and it was impossible to tell exactly how old he was. This old man spoke with a frank and candid voice.
“Somehow, it appears that you will become the Demon King.”
“Huh?” Akuto exclaimed rudely, forgetting that he was speaking with the school principal.
“I said, it appears that you will become the Demon King. The Demon King is the one that started that war a hundred years ago. We really had a rough time back then, didn’t we,” the principal cackled in an old, withered voice.
“If you know the circumstances, then please tell me. What is a ‘Demon King?’”
“He’s a man that revolts against the world and seeks to annihilate it,” the principal replied, casually.
“That’s... That’s not an occupation, right? Why do I have to be told to become that? If that’s the case, then there should be ways to prevent it, right?” Akuto desperately refused to accept what he was being told, but the principal let out another dry, withered laugh.
“That was the exact lesson we learned a hundred years ago. With the development of magic, when we gained the ability to ascertain a person’s destiny, there was a debate as to whether or not to take measures to prevent that destiny. At the time, we decided not to. Rather, we decided we would even spare the lives of those who would cause others harm. We would keep an eye on them and observe them, but anything more than that we would leave it up to their free will to decide. Until they committed a crime, of course. That’s why even though you might become a master criminal, cause wars, and slaughter and massacre those around you, until that happens you are still a student of this academy. I think that we should work hard to make sure no one ends up becoming like that, but no one truly understands what the end result will be.”
The principal’s verbosity did not match his appearance. Despite his cheerful tone of voice, the contents of his speech were serious. All he said was that Akuto would probably become someone who inflicts harm on other people, but until that actually happened, there was nothing they could do.
“That’s...”
Akuto could only sit there speechless, but he was able to understand the logic behind why it had to be this way. In fact, if the principal hadn’t been talking about Akuto, then he would have been satisfied with his explanation.
“Essentially, both your personality and your abilities are an ideal fit to become the Demon King. Nevertheless, I’m sure that in itself signifies your troubles from here on out, doesn’t it?” The way the principal seemed to enjoy saying the word “trouble” caught Akuto’s attention.
“By trouble, you mean...?”
“Many of our students can be quite hot-blooded and get worked up easily. Hm... I suppose you might even get attacked out of the blue, you know?”
“This isn’t a joke,” Akuto said as he shuddered in fear. If and when the students attacked him, they would naturally use their magic.
Looking at Akuto’s troubled expression, it seemed that the principal suddenly came up with an idea.
“That’s right. Hmm, if you’d like, we can send a request to the government to assign you a bodyguard for your time here at the Academy.”
“Bodyguard?”
“A bodyguard, but they would also be an observer. They would become a student, and stay by your side. Of course, that is only if you desire one.”
—I see, so they could do that, huh... But, that would mean I would be under surveillance twenty-four hours a day...
“And if I don’t like that idea?”
“The Academy will do anything it can to help you, but you won’t be able to lead a normal student life.”
“It feels a bit like I’m being threatened...”
“If that’s how you feel, then for the time being, I think it would be fine for you to do as you like. Just let us know if a bodyguard becomes necessary.”
“I will try that,” Akuto replied.
The screen disappeared. Miss Mitsuko stared hard at Akuto, put her hand on her waist, and let out a long sigh.
“We received the data from Yatagarasu on why he concluded that you were going to become the Demon King, but the amount of data was so massive that only an artificial spirit would be able to process it. Even then, that data might not be correct, either...” Suddenly, Miss Mitsuko grabbed Akuto’s hand.
Akuto was startled. Miss Mitsuko’s eyes behind her glasses had a serious look to them.
—Oh, she’s worried about me.
Akuto was touched, and in a solemn voice, Miss Mitsuko continued.