Even the Demon King is worrying about another world today.

"How about this, you write an IOU first, and we can pay it back in installments, okay?"

Seeing the other party's extremely serious expression, Hedis found it difficult to refuse. Three hundred gold coins was a huge sum of money for ordinary people, so it was completely understandable that the other party was so serious.

"All right……"

And so, Hedis was forced to write her first IOU. She also wrote an IOU for the dark magic girl along with it.

-

A piece of paper with white background and black writing was handed to

The note was presented to Kuro, who caught it immediately. However, her attention wasn't on the note; instead, she complained to Mikaela.

"Honestly! You left without a word! I spent the whole afternoon yesterday waiting for you in the classroom! Teacher!!"

Mikayi smiled and ruffled Kuro's hair.

He completely forgot that Kuro was still waiting for him in the classroom—he absolutely mustn't tell anyone!

I never imagined that someone like me, who has become a demon king, could be blinded by money so easily! It must be a lingering problem from my past as a human being!

"Master?" A surprised voice came from inside.

As Mikael's roommate, Hedis sat down next to the two of them without any hesitation: "One is a wind mage, and the other is a dark mage. Their magical attributes are not the same. How can you call him master?"

“Ahem,” Mikayi explained first, “...there are all sorts of reasons.”

“Oh…” Hedis nodded as if he understood, and gave Mikayi a meaningful look.

This guy! He's completely misunderstood!

------

(Bonus chapter, thank you everyone for your votes~)

089 Nek

"Ah, this guy is!" Kuro pointed at Hedis's nose, "He's that wretched redhead who wouldn't keep me warm!"

With someone pointing fingers at him, Hedis could only shake his head and sigh, explaining, "There's no other way. If I showed favoritism to you two in that situation, my support would dissipate. Rather than giving special attention to the two of you, it's better to lead the whole team well."

Sacrificing the lesser for the greater good... From an objective standpoint, doing so in that situation is completely understandable. However, Hedis's indifference at the time was truly infuriating.

Whether it was Hedis's reaction on the snowy mountain or her reaction upon seeing Kuro at the academy, she showed absolutely no aversion to dark magic. This was quite surprising to Mikayi.

"By the way, how did you two escape? I woke up to find you were already gone."

Kuro clearly remembered what Mikayi had said. She shook her head and said, "I don't know. I fell asleep and when I woke up, I found myself back in the City of Eternal Winter."

Hedis then turned his gaze to Mikayi.

Mikayi had no choice but to offer an explanation. This wasn't the first time he'd made up lies.

"I have a magical artifact that grants immunity to area magic. After the Wolf King used <Sleeping Mist>, I pretended to fall asleep. After that, all the wolves in the cave disappeared, and I quietly escaped with Kuro."

Mikayi said, without blushing but feeling displeased.

To demonstrate how dangerous the situation was, Mikayi clenched his fists tightly, his expression tense and strained.

Hedis had no doubt whatsoever, judging from the way he listened with great interest, as if he were actually there himself.

"But you, it's quite a surprise that you managed to escape. When I fled, I could only take one person with me at most, so I thought you would all be wiped out." Mikayi's eyes showed sadness, as if recalling that day was still horrifying to him. "When I left, I even stood outside the cave and mourned for you for three minutes..."

Mikael stirred up Hedis's painful memories, plunging him into grief.

"The Wolf King disappeared somehow, and its sleeping spell lost its effect not long after. My magic is fire-based, which happens to counter ice, so I didn't freeze to death in the cave. The others weren't so lucky... they froze to death."

After listening, Mikayi sighed deeply, seemingly lamenting the passing of the adventurer.

Kuro patted Mikayi on the shoulder, and secretly gave him a thumbs-up under the table.

Master, you're amazing! No wonder you're a devil who talks nonsense all the time!

Mikayi remained unfazed, grasped the troublesome hand, and moved it away.

Hedis, of course, didn't notice the subtle movements between the two. As a member of the Christian family, he had seen his share of things. However, waking up to find hundreds of corpses around him would terrify anyone.

After a long while, Hedis emerged from her grief-stricken reverie. The classroom was now almost full; according to yesterday's schedule, a magic test was to be held today.

“If she has dark magic attributes, they will definitely be exposed during the test later,” Hedis said. “However, this young lady seems to have already prepared herself mentally.”

Kuro pursed his lips and nodded.

“It’s alright. Even if I’m ostracized by the entire academy, I still have my master.” Kuro smiled and hugged Mikayi’s arm, then said to Hedis, “Don’t call me Miss, my name is Kuro Nek.”

Hedis frowned: "Nek?"

As if recalling something, Hedis opened her eyes wide and stared blankly at Kuro's cat ears: "Dark magic? Nek? Black cat beastman?"

"Is he...is he a descendant of that dark sorcerer...?!"

Hedis's words shocked Mikaela and Kuro. A dark mage sharing the same surname as Kuro—it wasn't hard to imagine.

Furthermore, if the other party is from Lyon, then we can confirm who it is.

"You know my mother?!" Kuro asked urgently.

"You...your mother?!" Hedis exclaimed in utter surprise. "That lady is your mother?!"

Hedis took another look at the beast-eared girl in front of him and said, "Looking at you now, you do look very similar... but the aura you exude is far inferior to that lord's."

No matter how you look at it, this girl gave

He seemed like just an ordinary person. He didn't match up at all with that royal chief black magician.

"She...she's not dead..." Kuro's expression was complicated, filled with hatred, resentment, and a hint of relief at learning that his mother was alive and well.

"She should have died... She abandoned me and my father... She died long ago in our hearts!"

Kuro spoke loudly, attracting the attention of many in the classroom.

Her tears fell without warning. Mikayi raised her hand and placed it on Kuro's head, gently comforting him.

“Your mother, Elise Neker, is in the magic corps directly under Emperor Lyon…and she’s doing very well.” Hedis lowered his voice and slowly stated the facts, “Even I, as a member of the Christian family, have no right to see her.”

"And...moreover..." Hedis hesitated, unsure whether to tell the truth.

"Go on," Kuro said, clutching the hem of his clothes and keeping his head down.

Hedis took a breath and said slowly, "Lady Elise Neck remarried... Her current husband doesn't have a surname, so her surname hasn't been changed..."

Kuro slowly raised his head, his purple pupils shrinking to a small dot due to shock.

"What did you say..."

"Everyone, get ready to take the magic test."

During the lecture, physical education teacher Akman walked up with a cat-like gait. Her ample hips swayed as she walked, instantly capturing the attention of all the men.

Akman clapped her hands and urged, "Students who are chatting, please stop. Everyone, follow me out of the classroom to the testing hall."

Hedis glanced at Kuro, then at Mikaela. He sighed, patted Mikaela on the shoulder, and followed the rest of the group out of the classroom.

"Kuro, don't jump to conclusions before you know the whole story." For Mikayi, who has experienced so much in every sense of the word, this kind of thing is second nature.

No matter what, for a woman to abandon her family and come to a strange place alone, there must be some compelling reason for her to leave.

However, whatever the outcome, Kuro has to understand and accept her own situation. All Mikayi can do now is offer comfort.

"Hmm..." Surprisingly, Kuro didn't lose her temper. She nodded, wiped away her tears, and left the classroom with Mikayi.

090 Magic Test

The bustling hall was filled with people coming and going. This vast hall was supported by several white stone pillars. The ceiling was made of stained glass, which refracted colorful light under the sun.

The paving stones are divided into four sections by two intersecting lines, each section having a different color.

They are red, blue, yellow, and cyan.

They represent the four primordial elements.

Fire element, water element, earth element, wind element.

In the world of magic, there are not only a few elements. There are countless other branches of elements.

The ice magic element of the wolf king we encountered on the snowy mountain is just one of the many branches of the water element.

The elements of light and darkness are special entities born alongside the four elements; they have no branches. Yet, one is defined by humanity as hope and order, while the other is defined as chaos and evil.

Mikayi stood on one of the floor tiles and sighed inwardly.

Since they are both elements born of nature, why is one called righteous while the other is evil? Humans are such selfish creatures.

Mikayi and his companion arrived late; the queue had already stretched into a long line.

Mikayi was one of the taller people in the group; he could see the very front of the line by craning his neck.

At the very center of the hall was a crystal ball, which, in appearance alone, looked very similar to the Visionary that Mikaela possessed, which could see any scene.

After the magic ball flashed, the crowd reacted with mixed emotions. Some gasped in amazement at the result, while others scoffed with disdain.

In fact, the results of this magic test already determine the student's status in the academy.

I'd heard before that student levels were divided into S, A, B, C, something like that. I guess it's a ranking system based on test results.

In short, class discrimination within the human academy will begin after this test.

The college's uniform is a red and black checkered one. However, since there are no restrictions on the wearing of jewelry, the gap between rich and poor can be seen in the details.

It must be said that the students in the academy are all of excellent quality. Some of them are even more talented than the adventurers who participated in the snow mountain conquest.

It truly lives up to its reputation as a great empire. The elites selected from a powerful nation, even those still in school, are stronger than the armies of smaller countries.

While waiting in line, Mikayi made a point of observing. Generally speaking, the more noble-looking the young men and women were, the more dazzling the light emitted after they touched the magic crystal ball.

No one becomes a nobleman without reason; in situations where power is at its peak, nobles generally have higher magic power.

As the line grew shorter, Hedis, who was standing a few positions ahead of Mikayi, turned around and spotted him.

Hedis moved back a few places, deliberately lining up next to Mikael.

"Should I not have said those things just now?" Hedis glanced at Kuro behind Mikaela and whispered.

Mikayi shook his head: "It's the same whether you tell her or not, she'll find out sooner or later. It's better to tell her sooner rather than later."

It will be easier to accept later.

Mikayi raised his chin and said, "Wouldn't it be better if you lined up in front? Why did you move over here?"