Episode 07: The Demon King’s Magic Class
When Kaiton reached out his hand to Muriel, a sword flew and pinned his robe to the wall.
It was August.
“Crawford, what are you doing?”
“Annoying…”
Only Muriel could hear Kaiton’s murmuring voice. Annoyance flickered in his black eyes, as if considering ‘should I kill him?’.
No! August had to stay alive, even if it meant just for the sake of the kingdom’s peace.
“Sir Crawford!”
At Muriel’s urgent call, Kaiton turned back, and once again, a sword flew at him. Perhaps he’d used magic this time, the sword floated in the air, threatening Kaiton’s neck. It seemed ready to slice him if he made even the slightest movement.
Damn it, she should have just let them fight it out. August’s constant provocation of the demon king without any sense of danger made Muriel nervous. As the second sword pressed against his flesh, Kaiton’s face grew cold. August calmly stood up, brushing off the dust on his arm, blissfully unaware of the kind of threat he was provoking.
“I got what I deserved.”
August put on his usual playful smile, but his eyes seemed serious, as if a switch had been flipped. The flickering gaze was unmistakably that of a determined swordsman, enough to make one flustered. Muriel had thought he was just a carefree jester, but it turned out he was also a competitive fighter.
“Indeed, you’re very impressive at magic, but I can also protect the young ladies myself… I won’t put up with your rudeness anymore.”
“August!”
“Muriel, don’t worry. I’ll save you.”
She was certain.
August was a bit tactless. Was Muriel’s expression looking for help? Did he misinterpret her when her expression clearly said she wanted to kill him out of frustration? She’d never expected him to be delusional enough to misunderstand such a thing.
Muriel realized the longer August’s foolishness continued, the stronger the dark, dreary energy emanating from Kaiton became.
“I’m fine, so put away your sword.”
“Are you worried? Don’t worry. I won’t go too far.”
“Who’s worried about whom! Stop creating more trouble and get out of here!”
“Muriel…?”
When Muriel shouted angrily, August looked dumbfounded. Only then did the intense pressure he had been exerting on Kaiton fade away.
“I’ll say it again, I don’t need protection. Put away your sword and get out. I’ll handle it myself.”
“Lady Muriel….”
“Right away!”
August lowered his sword, which had been threatening Kaiton, just like a timid dog that curled its tail and begrudgingly went away. It seemed like he was displeased, but more surprised by Muriel, who was glaring fiercely at him and her temper.
“It’s a misunderstanding.”
“Misunderstanding?”
Kaiton’s cold gaze scanned Muriel’s face thoroughly. He scoffed at her poor explanation and raised his chin, as if asking her to continue.
“It’s not some forbidden magic, but a protective spell that my father personally developed for me before he passed away.”
“A protective spell?”
“Yes, as you know, my Pacio isn’t in a good condition. It’s a special protective spell designed to protect my Pacio.”
“That’s a bad excuse, Miss Muriel.”
Muriel did not shy away from Kaiton’s gaze. She planned to be confident. If one was confident enough, they could sell any lie. She intended to push forward with determination. In fact, that was all she could do.
“Think about it. Who would put a forbidden spell on someone like me? I’m just an unimpressive person with terrible Pacio and no ability. This is my first time outside the Storm’s territory. If someone could do some great ancient forbidden magic, as Mr Crawford is saying, they wouldn’t have used it on me. The Storm’s territory is very close to the guardians, afterall.”
Kaiton’s expression grew even more menacing. Once again, he sneered at her, curling his lips, but this time his contemptuous expression was much stronger than before.
“Are you asking me to understand by stating how pathetic you are? There’s no way a useless lady like you would have a forbidden spell on you, is that it?”
“Yes, that’s it.”
“What a shame.”
“Completely useless.”
“…..”
Did he believe her? It didn’t seem like it. He stared at Muriel intently for a while. He had a wry smile on his lips, but his eyes were dark and unreadable. However, seeing as the silence dragged on, it seemed he didn’t know exactly what kind of magic was placed on her either.
“You’ve never left your territory before?”
Was that important? Muriel’s memories were so fragmented and filled with gaps that she couldn’t be sure, but apart from attending the academy, this was her first time leaving the territory. Well, the Muriel before the possession, that is.
Hey, you demon king. Do you know Seoul? Have you heard of South Korea?
“As far as I remember.”
“Can you be sure?”
“That’s….”
Was there anyone who can be 100% certain of their own memories? Time passes for everyone, and memories fade.
“The magic engraved on your body is ancient magic. It’s not magic that protects Pacio.”
“…”
“I can’t believe what the lady says.”
“From what I remember, my father…”
“If it’s not a lie.”
Kaiton’s voice was slightly roused. His gaze at Muriel was like that of a master looking at a disappointing disciple. Pitiful, frustrating, and judgmental eyes. Eyes filled with resentment, as if asking, ‘Don’t you even know this?’
“Well, even if it’s not a lie, I can’t trust your memories. Your memories might have been lost or altered due to the magic.”
But that was very unlikely. Muriel was just a character in a novel. The author wouldn’t have not explained or exploited such an important plot point.
The magic he discovered had a higher possibility of being the magic that possessed Muriel, the one who was in Seoul, and transferred her consciousness to the Muriel here. She couldn’t tell him this, though.
“It’s really pathetic.”
Kaiton, who’d been staring at Muriel, turned his head away abruptly, as if he no longer needed to deal with her since she wasn’t responding.
It was awkward, but if he’d lost interest in finding out what magic was on Muriel, it was fortunate.
August, who’d ‘gone’ per Muriel’s command but really just stood in the corner of the room, glared at Kaiton as he confidently approached her. Since Kaiton and Muriel had reached some sort of conclusion, it seemed like it was okay for him to intervene now. He suddenly grabbed Muriel’s hand.
“Why do you think Muriel is pathetic? Have you been thinking that all this time? That’s foolish.”
Muriel let out a bitter laugh. August looked like an insincere person who would play around with people’s hearts, but in actuality, he was a very kind-hearted man. He had a good sense of justice, and was as clueless as a bear – he had no way of knowing how to manipulate people. Only his appearance looked like a fox.
No wonder he was used by Muriel in the novel. When she realized that August was a good person, Muriel, being the villainess she was, was even harder on him. It would be nice for her to have a good friend, but him getting close to her would only be troublesome.
“From now on, please don’t act recklessly.”
Muriel pulled her hand away from August’s. It seemed like he was used to holding hands or shoulders without any hesitation, and considering how quickly he’d closed the distance between them, it seemed like he was used to dating around and making friends.
That’s why it was even more impressive. It was hard to not lose your sincerity even while constantly being engaged in so many connections.
“And don’t grab me without warning either.”
“…I’m sorry.”
August seemed frustrated, as if he wanted to say something, but he just apologized. Muriel was the one she thought should be sorry. She had recklessly wielded her power and ultimately caused his death in the original work.
“Mr. Crawford.”
Kaiton’s agitation had become eased in the meanwhile, and he turned to Muriel with a somber expression.
“Please don’t use magic recklessly on me again. Remember that Mr. Crawford’s only task is to find the saint. If you try to do anything else, I won’t tolerate it next time.”
It was also kind of a subtle warning against his plans to take away her Pacio with Ur’s sculpture. Kaiton smiled coldly, as if he understood it. His eyes flashed dangerously. She thought he’d say something mean like ‘So what if you don’t tolerate it?’ but he just kept quiet.
Afterwards, several lessons and magic power replenishments followed, but Muriel continued to avoid Kaiton’s gaze as much as possible and returned to her accommodations as soon as the schedule was over. She evaded August, who persistently clung to her, even hitting walls to escape.
The operation of evading the two of them was quite successful. Kaiton was too busy to follow Muriel to torment her, and August, though he seemed like some jobless wanderer, had many responsibilities as Eklum’s young master.
However, luck was not on her side today. August appeared next to Muriel, who was sitting alone in the residence’s dining hall.
“Can I sit next to you, Muriel?”
“There are plenty of empty seats around.”
She refused without hesitation, but August ignored her and sat across from Muriel. Even though she glared at him with mean eyes, wondering why he asked if he was going to do it anyway, August smiled with his characteristic friendliness and bit an apple.
There were clearly neatly cut and delicious-looking apples available, but when she saw him gulf down a whole apple, she couldn’t believe he was the richest heir, Eklum, in the kingdom.
He looked splendid and colorful, ate without reservation, and was good at adapting. After Kaiton conducted several lessons without August, he also entered the palace wizards’ quarters. It seemed like he’d adapted well even to the cramped rooms.
Rovelia quietly complained about how shabby the facilities were here and how uncomfortable and unpleasant her room was, but August didn’t seem to mind at all. On the contrary, he said after entering this place, his face had gotten smoother after getting good rest at night.
“It tastes better when we eat together. The food here is too salty, sweet, spicy, and greasy to eat alone.”
“…What the hell are you talking about?”
August had brought as many as five plates with him. Although he didn’t pile the food high on the plates, since he was a noble, afterall – it was still a lot for one meal.
“I thought you liked the food here.”
“Well, it’s not that I like it or dislike it. If you ask me, I dislike it, but not to the extent that I have to open a portal and return to the mansion for every meal.”
“I had no idea. You always eat well.”
“I have to eat this much to maintain my body. Don’t I do physical labor?”
Although his words lacked persuasiveness as he ate a big piece of meat. It was surprising that he could eat so well despite disliking it.
Muriel couldn’t. August said the food here was too salty, sweet, spicy, and greasy, but all Muriel could feel was that the food here was hot, cold, greasy, tough, soft – and that was about it.
“Muriel, will you be full with just that bowl of soup? You need to eat a hearty meal to have energy for the classes.”
The side effect Muriel experienced from being trapped in a novel was not just the inability to feel pain. She couldn’t taste anything. At first, she thought the food here was bland, but even after sprinkling salt on it like snow, she could only faintly taste the saltiness. It was then that she realized the problem was with herself.
Magical incompetence, being a villainess, or the kingdom’s laughing stock, she could humbly accept all that… but being unable to taste? She couldn’t stand that.
She became depressed again. How significant the joy of eating was in life, and now it was taken away from her.
Seeing August tearing into a crispy roasted chicken leg made her mouth water involuntarily. Her sense of smell was still alive, and she could vividly perceive the aroma. The sound of crunching the crispy, well-cooked skin was teasing her eardrums.
This time, for some reason, Muriel looked at the chicken leg in August’s hand and murmured longingly.
“Can I have a bite of that?”
