Chapter 5

“Phew, I completely lost track of time,” Meline said. Their class happened to be on the third floor, adding extra time to their walk home.

“Yeah… I’m surprised you can tell all those stories confidently.”

“Heh, you think I’m unaware of their disbelief? Humans are so amusing.” Meline cackled.

“Wait, you’re aware?”

“Of course I am. Believe me, it is intentional.”

She had always been like this, even in high school. She never said why, though. Kade had assumed she just liked telling stories.

“I tell you, humans tend to underestimate the things that they believe they know. If they believe they know about my life, and they think they know for a fact that I’m lying, then they won’t consider me a threat, which, considering the situation we are in, is better.”

Meline wasn’t here to make enemies. Doing so wouldn’t bring her any closer to the hero. If anything, it would just create trouble for both Kade and herself. If the humans think she’s crazy, they'll be less likely to bother with a crazy person. It’s sound logic, but the logic behind it made Kade feel sad.

“Isn’t it hard to make friends that way?”

“I don’t really need a lot of friends. You know what they say, it’s not the number that counts. Besides, I’m still technically your enemy.”

The Demon Lands never signed a peace treaty with the humans after its numerous invasions. Technically, the war was still underway, despite no one seeing it like that.

Despite no one seeing it as a war in the first place.

If people think of Meline as delusional, then they would think any claim of her as a demon lord was false, thus hiding her true identity.

As they were making their way down to the first floor, Meline's ears perked up.

“Oh, by the way, have you heard of those new kids?”

“We got an entire year joining us. Which new kids are you talking about?”

It was a conversation happening in the distance. Thanks to some passive magic she applied to herself, she could know when she became the object of someone’s conversation. It’s an important skill to have in the human world.

She signaled Kade to stop. They stood just a step away from the exit.

“Wait here.”

Using magic, Meline hid her presence. She's still visible from up close, but her magic made it difficult to see her from farther away. She began moving, masking her sounds as best as she could. Her destination was a park located in front of the main building. There were several benches surrounding a fountain, and on one of those benches sat a group of three boys.

“You know, the couple. The weird one,” one of them said. The other two stared at him, confused. They clearly didn’t get which couple this friend of theirs was talking about.

“Which weird one?”

“The commoner boy.”

“You do know there’s a lot of commoners here, right?” one of his friends whispered. Despite his whispers, his voice was clear in Meline’s ears. “Also, are you supposed to be saying this?”

“What can they do? Stupid commoners should know their place.”

The fountain area happened to be empty, maybe that's why he could speak like that. It was the complete opposite of the warm and welcoming demeanor he had on the stage.

I guess humans still have such customs…

Still, the president’s position in society had nothing to do with Meline and Kade. As long as he was not a threat, then she would do nothing about him. If he turned their way, though, then that might be trouble. Meline’s personal principle involved no killing, but that didn’t mean she had no way of making people fear her.

And no, this method doesn’t involve throwing around money.

“I mean the one with red eyes. Don’t you see her?”

“Oh.”

Instantly, his two friends knew who he was talking about. Red eyes weren’t rare by any means, but that was the case in their region. Out of the entire four hundred students entering university this year, Meline was the only girl with red eyes.

“So… what about her?”

“She annoys me.”

The two friends looked at him in confusion.

“She’s the only one to be asleep during my speech. How dare she, and I was talking for only a bit!”

Oh. I guess humans found speeches important. Well, at least it's nothing big.

If that's the extent of his hostility, then Meline would just ignore it. This wasn't the first time someone disliked her, and it wouldn't be the last.

“That's… not really a big deal, is it?”

“Normally no, but she made it look so obvious she didn't care.”

Fine, fine, I'll try to hide it better next time. No promises, though.

Figuring there was nothing else important in their conversation and that she would deal with any threat later, she returned to Kade.

“What's going on?” Kade asked upon seeing Meline approach.

“Eh, just someone that dislikes me.”

“Let me guess, because you were sleeping during the ceremony.”

“Your guesses are way too accurate, I tell you! Way too accurate!”

It wasn't the first time Meline got in trouble for sleeping when she wasn't supposed to, so Kade was able to figure it out.

“It isn't exactly a guess…”

“Forget it. Come on, we'll take the route through the cafeteria.” Meline took hold of him and dragged him through another building, away from the fountain.

The university’s cafeteria was massive, and various stalls occupied the space. A sweet smell spread through the air, accompanied by the sounds of groups talking with each other.

“You want to grab something while we're here?” Kade offered.

“Nope, no thanks. I can cook it myself.”

Despite her status as a demon lord, she always enjoyed cooking, so much so that she would often appear in the castle's kitchen to help her chefs with cooking meals for the castle.

The chefs were always happy to have her. The kitchen is where she showed her prowess as both the demon lord and a cook, as a leader, and as a skilled artist.

Kade heard this from one of the chefs themselves. As the demon lord's 'master', he often found himself in demon land. The Demon Lands are such peaceful lands that one would often forget about the prejudice humans hold against demons.

Although, to be fair, Meline pretty much ruined most of the prejudice the humans within this kingdom had. One couldn't deny the joy of receiving a lot of money, after all.

“But, if you really want to, then I don't mind stopping by, not that I care.”

Kade gazed at the stalls. One did catch his attention.

“Want some chicken skewers?”

“It won't do harm, I guess.”

The two made their way to the skewer stall and ordered it from the lady. Their food was ready within a minute.

“Here, enjoy.”

“Thank you.”

After paying, the pair walked toward the gate together while enjoying their food.

“What do you think?”

“The texture is slightly too rough, and it could use a few extra seconds on the grill, and it's slightly too salty as well… not too shabby, but not restaurant level either.”

“It's not priced like restaurant food, though.”

“That, you have a point.”

As they were walking, they noticed their homeroom professor, Miss Linda, standing near the university exit.

“Ah, Miss-” While Kade wanted to greet her, Meline walked right past.

At least, that would be what had happened had her collar not been held by her professor.

“Hey now, is that how you treat your professor?”

“Let me say it now, I'm older than you.”

“Oh, is that so, Madam? Then, would you kindly tell me your age?”

“It is not appropriate to ask a lady for her age.”

“Well, excuse my manners, then.”

“Miss Linda, I wasn't expecting you to be a professor here.”

“My assignments to those schools are temporary, remember? Before I joined the heroes party, I'm a professor here.”

“Aha! I see! You must be quite old- whack!” Meline received a chop straight on her forehead.

“Didn't you say not to talk about age?”

The two stared daggers at each other.

“Sigh… let's find a different place to talk.”

“Alright.”

Linda began walking back toward the school building. When they passed, they attracted the attention of the president and his friends. The president stared at them. John glanced their way, but they didn’t say anything. Maybe because a professor was among them.

Linda brought them to an empty classroom. “Take a seat.”

With a swing of her hand, Meline activated an invisible magic barrier that prevented all sound from leaking out.

“So, what is it, Miss Mage?”

Miss Linda was the same mage that served in the hero’s party. She's a brilliant young woman who once served as a professor at Nordeux City Magic University before being recruited. Ever since Meline got stuck with Kade, she was tasked with watching over the two.

“Have you finally come to properly challenge me? Although I must decline, I'm only willing to fight if the hero himself is involved.”

“Oh, him? He's probably dealing with a monster infestation somewhere.” She shrugged. “Being a hero is busy work.”

“And he's too busy to fight the demon lord!?” Meline was annoyed at the idea that the hero didn't have time for her.

“Anyway, I got a message from him.”

“What is it?” Kade asked.

“Nothing new, basically confirmation that he's not allowed to meet you.”

“What!? He's the hero! I'm the demon lord! Why are we not supposed to meet!?”

“So that's how it is. I know things haven't changed much since we last spoke, but I ask you to keep her on a leash, Kade. For now, at least.”

“O- okay?”

“I do not accept this! Not at all!”

“Whenever you're planning on leaving the city, please tell me. I'll make sure you won't meet with the hero.”

“Hey, don't ignore me.”

“That's all for now. Enjoy your university life.”

“Hey!”

With a wave, Linda left the class. Meline heaved a sigh and undid the barrier. She heaved a heavy sigh.

“What a waste of time, returning all the way here just to say that.”

The trip into this classroom took longer compared to the conversation itself.

“Is there a reason why you want to fight the hero so badly?” Kade asked.

“It's fate, Kade! Fate, I tell you!”

“Ye- yeah…” Kade could only smile dryly.

•••

“It had turned into quite an interesting day, I would say.”

The clock showed seven. It was time for dinner. Meline was wearing an apron as she brought over a pot filled with goat soup. Her soup smelled genuinely great. There had not been a single food Meline cooked that didn't taste good.

“Was it fun?”

“Fun?” Meline scoffed. “I do not need fun.”

“You're not denying it.”

“Well, maybe it was fun, a bit. Not that it mattered. I'm the demon lord. Remember that.”

“Yeah.”

The demon lord, cooking homemade dishes with an apron on. If she wished, she could call over her chefs to cook for her, but evidently, she preferred to do it herself.

“Come on, eat up.”

“Thanks for the food.”

The two then enjoyed dinner together.