I Became a Demon Who Can Never Be Headpatted in the Academy?!

Bonus chapter for #15 Weekly Ranking on I Became a Demon Who Can Never Be Headpatted in the Academy?! – Novel Updates, lets reach the #5 this week!

Sitri was humming a short tune as she slid her legs into the bathtub.

“Hmm, hmm… Hmm~♬”

The bathtub, far too large for a fifth-grade elementary school girl, turned from a golden sheen to a blue hue the moment Sitri submerged her small body. The carvings of mermaids, fish, turtles, and jellyfish that adorned it danced cutely, like living creatures.

This extravagant young lady, who was splashing around with an expensive bath product that even Princess Nikea had only heard rumors of, stretched out her small, white foot and lightly turned off the faucet shaped like a giant dragon’s head.

“I think this is enough preparation for the collaborative assignment.”

In front of Sitri, a large ‘ledger’ was floating in the air by magic.

『Rowan ─ 3 gold, recently received help from the merchant guild due to his mother’s serious illness』

『Cornelia de Montmorency ─ 5 gold』

『Leon Crownkeeper ─ 10 gold, has no ability to repay the debt, must be collected through other means』

『Castilla Torres ─ 2 gold, invite to the party』

Sitri carefully examined each name and amount in the ledger, a satisfied expression on her face, and crossed her legs. Even at this moment, the bathtub, engraved with extravagant magic, was pouring water with a lot of white foam on the shoulders of the small girl.

“Professor Malea can’t possibly lie to me… Hmm, but just in case, I should probably get a new staff made for Cornelia.”

‘Malea von Mannstein’ of the martial arts class was definitely not the type of woman who would betray or lie to Sitri.

‘But it’s really strange. Professor Malea told me everything about what to do in the collaborative assignment in advance, but… how does Murmur know?’

Sitri tilted her head and pondered hard, but no answer came. Professor Malea was not one to gossip and reveal the details of the assignment to Sitri, so it was even more impossible to imagine or guess where Murmur got the information.

“Could it really be… because she’s a descendant of a demon god?”

“That is a wise judgment, Miss Sitri.”

Sitri smiled at the voice of her capable butler, ‘Balkan,’ who had been taking care of her for a long time.

“You think so too, Balkan?”

“All the information we can gather indicates that Miss Murmur is a descendant of a demon god.”

“The results of Colette Bloodberry’s investigation… Professor Aiaie’s testimony… what else was there?”

“‘New Helheim’ club’s position is there.”

The moment Sitri heard the name of the ‘New Helheim’ club, where the demons attending the academy gathered, her face visibly soured.

“I don’t really want to talk about those gloomy and dark people.”

“However, they are blatantly avoiding conversations with Miss Murmur. From a slightly different perspective, Miss Murmur is also not meeting with the New Helheim club.”

“… … Even though they are descendants of the same Nectar?”

The loyal butler, Balkan, nodded, and Sitri scoffed.

“They’re just fools who boast about crawling out of the darkness. As Balkan said, if those idiots think Murmur is a descendant of a demon god, they’d be in real trouble, so they might be deliberately ostracizing her.”

“That’s right, Miss. I believe it is as undeniable an evidence as the previous two. Also… though it is still just a rumor, there is a story that she has received the blessing of a demon god.”

Sitri’s eyes widened, and she rose from the tub.

“A, a demon god’s blessing?! H-how can she receive that? Lord Armonia was sealed a long time ago, and no one knows where she is sleeping now!”

“I also think it’s strange… but it seems that’s what they think in New Helheim.”

“Isn’t it possible that those idiots are mistaken?”

“We are currently investigating, Miss.”

Sitri barely suppressed her excited breathing and sank back into the tub.

“… The more I learn about Miss Murmur, the more I think she is the right person to become the Demon King.”

Sitri closed her eyes, swaying her legs back and forth as if splashing in the water.

“I, Sitri, have been living in hiding in this shadow to meet you.”

Sitri gently touched her collarbone, where some foam remained, with her small hands, then gently caressed her chest and ribs, muttering.

“There is a bride worthy of Miss Murmur here, so please, quickly show me your magnificent Demon King form.”

* * *

If Professor Aiaie Hecate’s magic class could be described as overwhelmingly burdensome due to her excessive interest and expectations of me, Murmur, then Malea von Mannstein’s martial arts class could be described as full of surprisingly cold reactions and disregard for me, Murmur.

Frankly speaking, neither class was properly increasing my skills and stats, and this was something I had experienced countless times while playing the game, so it wasn’t particularly surprising.

“Everyone, pay attention. I have something important to tell you today. Listen carefully.”

Malea von Mannstein was a rather tall and healthy woman with red hair. She was the commander of the ‘Dawnforged Knights’ and possessed various skills, proving that she wasn’t teaching ‘martial arts’ at Cosmos Academy for no reason.

She was also a fairly strong NPC that you had to fight in the Demon King route. If you thought you could just overpower her with your stats, you would be surprised by Malea’s fundamentally strong abilities and be amazed twice by her skillfully used skills.

She was not the commander of the ‘Dawnforged Knights’ for nothing, a group that was always ready to answer the call of the hero and wage war against the demon race.

“Ugh… it’s time for Professor Malea’s annoying, difficult, sweaty, and painful assignment time again.”

“I’ll help you as much as I can, Esme.”

There’s no way Nikea can help with that, right? She can’t exactly do archery, spear thrusting, or sword swinging for me, can she?

Esme seemed to have similar thoughts, her eyebrows wriggling like worms with a complex and subtle expression.

“Esme, have you seen Lachesis?”

It’s obvious what Professor Malea is going to talk about now. She’s going to talk about the collaborative assignment, and it’s better to find teammates in advance.

“Lachesis? Lachesis… Oh, you mean that girl with the blue hair?”

“Yeah, haven’t you seen her?”

Esme looked around and then nodded. So, it’s not just me who hasn’t seen her.

It’s strangely hard to meet her on this side too. I thought it was a bit inefficient, but I’ve been attending the martial arts class regularly since last time, thinking it can’t be helped.

When exactly will I be able to meet her? I should have talked to her when I fought with Aunt Colette last time instead of fainting.

“Quiet everyone. Okay. From now on, I will explain what you have to do in the upcoming ‘collaborative assignment’ and how you can get high scores.”

Professor Malea lightly swept her red hair back with her golden, shining ‘prosthetic hand.’

Because of that prosthetic hand, Professor Malea hates the demon race. Her anger and hatred were so natural that many veterans were telling newbies not to choose the demon race, saying that everything else was fine.

Think about it. In a game where you’re working hard to develop your character, if the ‘martial arts class,’ which is the most helpful for combat, is completely ruined, would the game be easy?

“This collaborative assignment will be done in groups of four. You will have to defeat the monsters prepared in the Star Shadow Forest and find the hidden treasure chests.”

“Professor Malea! Do we have to be in groups of four?”

“You must be in groups of four. This test is the most basic step of the various tests you will continue to experience until the high school division.”

That wasn’t wrong. There’s a reason why there’s a ‘Labyrinth Trial’ among the five trials you must pass to be recommended as a hero at the academy.

Working together with your comrades to defeat monsters and retrieve items is a ‘tutorial’ for the many promotion tests that academy students will have to go through in the future.

Since it’s the elementary school division, the monsters you’ll actually face will be very weak.

Anyway, the content of the test is exactly the same as the version I remember. As expected, if I can somehow gather four people, I can clear it easily.

“Five years in elementary school. This is an assignment to test the martial arts and magic you have cultivated so far, so work together with your teammates and find the treasures!”

After finishing the explanation, Malea waved her hand, meaning that the remaining time was for resting, and walked towards her desk. At that moment, the children who were sitting down got up and started asking questions to Professor Malea.

The content was obvious. What kind of monsters will appear? What does the treasure look like?

Since this is the ‘first’ collaborative assignment they have done since entering the academy, they are trying to get a better score.

When playing the game, there was an option to sneak into that group and find out more about the collaborative assignment, but I don’t need to do that. Rather, should I quickly gather the fourth party member?

And I should also think about the fifth. Nikea in the elementary school days is a ‘cheat key who can clear any assignment if you are with her,’ but as a penalty, she sometimes leaves the party to deal with the adults of the academy, at a certain probability.

This collaborative assignment will be the same. In fact, she wants to listen to the magic class as much as possible with Esme and me, but there are times when she can’t come.

“Who would be good… Lachesis isn’t here… It would be convenient if Monica was here…”

“…Murmur? What are you thinking so hard about? Aren’t you going to ask Professor Malea any questions?”

“Yeah, Professor Malea will ignore Murmur anyway.”

“That’s… well, um…”

Nikea had a very troubled expression, but it was a truth that didn’t need much explanation.

“Murmur was thinking about who to team up with.”

“Hehe, you were naturally thinking of teaming up with me, right?”

“Yeah, I was thinking of Nikea and Esme… I’ve got three. I was thinking about who would be good for the last one.”

“If we set our minds to it, we can find one more easily, but… I’ll respect Murmur’s opinion.”

Nikea kindly and gently gave me the right to choose. Surely, our ‘Princess’ would be an attractive choice, enough to bear the penalty of having a demon kid in the party.

“Miss Murmur, what are you worried about?”

“Ugh…”

It was Sitri’s appearance, who, like me, didn’t really need to ask Professor Malea any ‘questions.’

“Murmur is wondering who to team up with.”

“Oh my, there’s no need to worry about that? You can just join my, Sitri’s team.”

Sitri reached out her hand to me. I had no intention of taking her hand, but suddenly, Nikea grabbed my shoulder and half-hugged me so that my back touched her lower abdomen.

“Miss Sitri. I’m sorry. Murmur is going to team up with us.”

“Oh? Princess. I’m giving Miss Murmur the right to choose?”

“There’s no need to give her that choice. Murmur is already teaming up with Esme and me. We’re a team of three.”

Sitri smiled brightly. It seemed like she was glaring at Nikea, but maybe I was just imagining things?

“Ah… is that so? Miss Murmur?”

“Yeah, Murmur already has a team. I don’t want to team up with Sitri.”

“I wondered why you kept refusing since last time… Was it because of Princess Nikea?”

No, no, it’s because your favorability will force me into the Demon King route if it goes up, so I don’t want to team up with you.

“Since last time? Murmur? Did Sitri bother you?”

“She didn’t bother me. We ate cookies and pies together last time.”

“I’ll make sure you eat lots of delicious cakes next time, Murmur. I’ll prepare a cake that is one of a kind in the world that money can’t buy.”

“Oh? Okay. Murmur will look forward to it.”

If it’s free, there’s no need to refuse, right?

“Oh my, are you already planning to hide Miss Murmur in your skirt?”

“That sounds a little strange, Miss Sitri.”

“…Nikea? Sitri?”

“Miss Murmur! Listen carefully! If you team up with Princess Nikea, you’re bound to get a terrible score!”

“Me? That’s not possible? I don’t want to brag, but who is the best student at defeating monsters in this classroom?”

“Yes, Princess is a ‘Royal,’ so she can defeat an ogre that eats people with one punch. But Professor Malea’s evaluation is not that simple?”

“It sounds like Sitri is boasting that she can get a better score.”

“Oh~hohoho! Of course! I am the only one with the outstanding ability to defeat monsters effectively and find hidden treasures!”

Sitri suddenly grabbed my right hand and pulled me. What is this? What’s going on? There wasn’t an event like this?

“So… come this way! Miss Murmur!”

Nikea chuckled, then gently grabbed my shoulders with both hands and pulled me back.

“Murmur, you don’t need to team up with a girl who is so full of herself. Think about it! The adopted daughter of Crimson brand is trying to show off to Professor Malea, trying to take you as a trophy to show that she got a perfect score even with a demon in her party!”

“That’s…! That’s just the Princess’s dirty delusion!”

“You’re saying that, when you suddenly want to be on the same team even though you’re not even close to Murmur?!”

What is this?! Why are you guys fighting?!

“Stop…! Stop! Murmur doesn’t like this! Everyone, get along!”

Only after I shouted desperately did Nikea and Sitri let go of me.

Why are they suddenly like this?! Am I a teddy bear?