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“Hmm…”

An intense tension engulfed my entire body.

My heart raced, and my throat felt parched.

Yet, despite the situation, the Demon Race Boy stood his ground, still gripping the sword in his hand.

He knew.

He was well aware that he had no chance of winning in his current state.

The opponent before him had never been defeated in countless duels.

Moreover, she had a history of defeating him multiple times.

With a more mature appearance, the Black-eyed Girl with purple hair and black horns stood there, exuding an overwhelming aura of power, enough to instill primal fear in the boy.

However,

Despite that, the boy refused to give up and stared directly at the opponent’s face before him.

There was no other reason.

He simply didn’t want to acknowledge defeat before even facing the sword.

With that thought, the boy charged forward, pouring every ounce of his meager magic power into the sword before him.

“Haah!”

The boy sprinted with all his might.

As for her, she maintained her stance, seemingly as solid as a castle locked tight.

There were no openings whatsoever.

No matter how she swung her sword, the boy’s flimsy attacks would be firmly blocked, dealing no damage.

Even stalling for time would only worsen his odds of winning.

The difference in magic power was immense.

Even if they clashed swords a couple of times, he would end up getting pushed back and may even break his sword like a mere piece of kindling.

A situation where neither defense nor offense had any possibility of success.

But,

That didn’t mean the boy was charging in thoughtlessly.

As he swung the sword with a battle cry,

Suddenly…

“Eh?”

She wore a look of surprise for a fleeting moment.

Seeing the once-impenetrable castle wall waver, a smile began to form on the boy’s lips.

The boy’s strike, filled with all the magic he could muster.

Yet, at that moment, the boy no longer held the sword.

What he unleashed wasn’t a swing of a sword but a throw of the sword.

Though it was a meager throw, the strike contained considerable force and speed, creating a slight opening just in front of her.

Without missing the chance, the boy exploited the opening he created.

His fist, clad in a Steel Gauntlet, flew straight for her face.

But…

“Eh?”

“Not bad.”

In the next moment, the boy’s fist was unexpectedly caught in a way he could never have predicted.

The smile on his face instantly turned into a look of bewilderment.

Watching him, she performed a fluid motion, effortlessly flipping his body.

As a result.

*Crash!*

“Guh!”

The boy was slammed to the ground with a significant impact.

A sharp ache coursed through his back, and the confusion from the unexpected ambush enveloped him.

And then.

“Ugh…”

The sword was pointed at the nape of the boy’s neck.

The gesture announced that the duel had ended, and frustration filled the boy’s face.

At that moment…

“Alright, that’s enough. Both of you did well.”

A woman approached, her expression indicating she had enjoyed the show.

With black hair and red eyes, unlike the other two, she lacked horns, appearing almost human at first glance, and walked toward them with an intrigued smile.

“Well, the outcome was as expected, but it was surprisingly entertaining. Our uncle, I didn’t expect you to attack like that!”

“Ha… Magdalena, can you please stop calling me uncle? You’re three years older than me…”

The boy, feeling uncomfortable with the black-haired girl Magdalena’s words referring to him as uncle, expressed his displeasure.

In response, Magdalena smiled mischievously and said playfully.

“Isn’t it true? Pette is the son of Grandma Elias, and you are siblings with Mama Eliza, so it’s only natural that you are my uncle.”

“That’s true, but… even so, it feels a bit off.”

“It’s fine, this complicated family relationship is actually quite fun. Don’t you think so, Chairperson?”

“Well, to be honest, I do have quite a few younger siblings, but since I have no other relatives, it doesn’t really resonate with me.”

The woman spoke in a soft tone in response to Magdalena’s remark.

Then, she reached out a hand to the boy who was lying on the floor.

Feeling slightly embarrassed, he cautiously took her hand and stood back up.

Seeing that, Magdalena couldn’t help but smile warmly and cheered them on.

“Anyway, since the Chairperson won again this time, that means uncle will treat us to snacks today, right?”

“Ha… Yes… understood.”

Thus, Pette, the boy, found himself on the receiving end of a refreshingly new way to get some treats from the girls.

Afterward, the three began to clean up their weapons and made their way out of the training ground.

*

Solomon Academy, where the capital of the Demon Kingdom, Jerusalem, is located.

An institution for training young demons, it also serves as a place where talented individuals from foreign lands come to study, riding on the reputation of the continent’s strongest kingdom.

And.

Occupying the position of the student council president overseeing this Solomon Academy,

She was also the next heir of the Demon Kingdom, inheriting the blood of the Demon King and the Hero.

Chris Savior.

She was engrossed in work in the president’s office alongside her childhood friend, the vice president Magdalena Eclipse, who had always been by her side.

“Alright, that’s it for this month’s budget proposal. Good work, Chairperson.”

“Thank you. Thankfully, thanks to Magdalena, we could finish this well.”

“Haha, this was easy enough. Though it may not seem like it, I’ve been familiar with accounting and money management since the days of the Magic Kingdom…”

Clearing her throat lightly, Magdalena redirected the topic.

Watching her, Chris smiled calmly and began reviewing the remaining documents.

“By the way, when is that uncle of ours coming? It’s not like he’s making the snacks himself…”

“The secretarial work is done, so it’s not a big deal, but he does seem a bit late. I wonder if something’s happened?”

“Well, rather, I suspect he’s caught up with people. The dessert I asked him to get is pretty popular. If he’s unlucky, he might have to wait for about 30 minutes.”

“Wow… that’s a terrible personality. I can’t believe he asked him to get something like that as a penalty.”

“He keeps challenging the Chairperson without knowing his place. If there’s no penalty like this, that little guy will start acting up whenever he feels like it, so the Chairperson needs to keep that in mind.”

“I understand what you mean, but… it’s surprising how strict you are about this, even while calling him uncle normally.”

“Well, it’s because Grandma is really busy, so I’ve been raised with him since we were little… huh?”

At that moment, the sudden sound of the door opening drew both of their gazes.

However,

The person who entered next wasn’t the awaited Pette.

“Excuse me. I’m late.”

Another Demon Race girl appeared before their eyes.

The girl with gold hair and a mysterious aura entered, creating an atmosphere as she always did.

“You’re late, Shaul. Aren’t you going to have to pull an all-nighter today?”

“That cannot be. I have to prepare dinner for my younger sister tonight. In that sense, I really need the work quickly.”

“Here you go. Thankfully, I just finished the budget proposal, so you just need to go through it.”

“Thank you.”

Thus, Shaul began quickly sifting through the documents Chris handed over.

Given that it contained a month’s worth of budget proposals from all departments of the academy, the amount was substantial, but she handled it swiftly, like a machine.

Although sometimes things went so far that she couldn’t go home until sunset due to the massive workload.

“By the way, I heard something strange on my way here.”

“Something strange?”

“Yeah, I’ll let you know the details once I finish this.”

“What the… now I’m curious, and you just stop talking?”

“I cannot discuss it. I’ll keep it in mind and tell you later.”

“Hmm…”

Magdalena frowned slightly at Shaul’s attitude, which only piqued her curiosity.

At that moment, she finally picked up on a familiar presence.

“Damn… I never thought he’d make me wait like this…”

Pette entered, hands full of pudding and cake.

Seeing him, Chris smiled gently and said.

“Thank you for your hard work.”