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

“Do you like it, Princess?”

“The accessories suit you very well!”

“I did your makeup today with a bit of a charismatic feel!”

Nikea Hollimpia was sitting in front of her dressing table, being fully adorned with the help of her maids.

It was not unusual for nobles to try to meet the Empire’s princess under the guise of ‘official duties.’

“Isn’t my hair too flashy?”

“It’s a popular style in the capital these days. Elegant and graceful! It’s all carefully braided and styled.”

“This necklace doesn’t seem to suit me. I’ll wear the necklace that Mother gave me last time.”

“Yes, Your Highness, I understand!”

Nikea Hollimpia, reflected in the large mirror, looked so mature and elegant that it was hard to believe she was a fifth-grader in elementary school.

‘I really wanted to attend the art class today. It would have been better to skip the magic class instead…’

Contrary to her mature appearance, Nikea’s inner self was that of a soft, young child. She was just a normal kid who wanted to play more, chat with friends, and learn the subjects she was interested in.

But the world wouldn’t leave her alone.

“Isn’t this enough preparation?”

Nikea, after checking her magically attached earrings for the last time, rose from her seat and headed to her neatly organized desk. As a student of Cosmos Academy, it was natural for her to study. Thanks to this, she didn’t have to greet guests in the reception room decorated with lavish works of art.

Nikea adjusted her uniform here and there for the last time, then, with the help of a maid, carefully arranged her skirt as she sat down on the chair.

“Let them in.”

Nikea straightened her posture, tensing her waist and hips. She truly hated this moment, but she didn’t want to tarnish her parents’ reputation, and as someone with a bit of pride, she didn’t want to be looked down upon by others.

“Greetings, esteemed Princess Nikea Hollimpia. I am Colette Bloodberry.”

Colette, who entered through the door opened by the attendant, was wearing a splendid black dress. Her grimoire, the pride of her family, was hanging at her waist.

“Welcome, Countess Colette. You’ve come a long way from the Magic Kingdom to Cosmos Academy.”

“Heh, I wouldn’t be able to become a magic minister if I didn’t go through this much trouble, would I? It’s just part of my official duties.”

‘She’s still an annoying old hag.’

Nikea looked at Colette with a bright smile.

“I hope our conversation will be of great help to your busy official duties.”

“Of course. It’s a very important matter.”

Colette slightly raised the corners of her lips.

“Esteemed Princess, since you are a student who needs to attend classes at the academy, and I also have matters to attend to, let’s get straight to the point.”

“Yes, please speak freely. I am a student of Cosmos Academy before I am a princess. If there is anything I can help with, I won’t be bound by formalities.”

“As expected of the esteemed Princess! You have a heart as kind as the Crown Princess.”

Nikea’s expression remained bright, but her heart was not at ease. That way of speaking, naturally comparing her to her older sister, was a blatant attempt to scratch at Nikea’s emotions.

“Esteemed Princess, you are aware of the deep history of Cosmos Academy, aren’t you?”

“It’s common knowledge in the Empire. I am aware.”

“Are you aware of the ‘Curse of Knowledge’ club?”

The Curse of Knowledge.

It was the name of the club that was sealing the demon god, Armonia.

* * *

Esme Bloodberry had become a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at any moment.

I’m not an idiot, so I plan to handle this heated bomb cleanly. I know all the ways to avoid the dead event, so why would I get caught?

In fact, the method is incredibly simple. I just need to raise Esme’s affinity.

No matter how much you hate demons, no matter how much you dislike them, you can’t kill a ‘friend.’ If a friend gets a good grade on a test, you might be annoyed, but you wouldn’t want to kill them. And Esme actually knows this.

That not all demons are bad, that there are good demons.

She just can’t express it. Because the adults around her are shouting that all demons must be killed, she can’t speak the truth in her heart.

The adults are just rigid. Stupidly so.

“Everyone, today we will be drawing on canvas. The theme is simple.”

Anyway, I decided to take the ‘art class’ to get closer to Esme.

The art class taught by Professor William Ross provides an opportunity to create gifts that increase charm and raise affinity.

Murmur has to do the incredibly annoying work of diligently kneading clay, painting, mending clothes, and making art pieces, but in the game, it’s a sweet opportunity to make items that can drastically increase affinity, so it was a class you had to take a few times.

Anyway, if I raise Esme’s affinity enough, things will go smoothly. No matter how much the old hag Colette shouts, what can she do? Surely a grown adult wouldn’t come up to a fifth-grader and slap them? That would be a crime!

“Drawing is another window to view the world. The tools are not important. Whether you draw with your hand or with magic is not important either.”

Professor William Ross with his curly hair, had a very soft voice that could make you fall asleep if you listened to him quietly.

“What’s important is what you draw. How you express what’s in your heart.”

“Professor! Can we really draw with magic?”

“Of course. What you draw is the most important thing. Draw whatever comes to your mind freely.”

Professor William smiled and raised his brush.

“Today’s theme is friends. Pair up with a friend and draw each other. You’ll have a lot of fun learning how your friend sees you.”

No sooner had the professor’s gentle ASMR voice, which was about to send me to dreamland, ended than the children got up from their seats and started looking for partners.

“Kate! Let’s draw together!”

“Someone! Someone to pair up with!”

“Hey! Why are you pairing up with her?!”

Professor William had been telling a rather serious story, but the little ones had a different perspective. ‘I hope someone draws me beautifully!’ That desire was stronger.

Naturally, the children started to gather with those who could draw a little better or with their closest friends.

“Ah… I’m sorry, Esme. I’ve already agreed to draw with someone.”

“Ugh! I don’t like Esme! You’re bad at drawing!”

“Sorry, Esme… You, you! The picture you drew last time was so weird!”

As I expected, Esme was left alone. No child would want to have Esme, who was bad at drawing and had a subtly bad personality, draw them.

“Esme, let’s draw together.”

[ 『A new event has been confirmed!』]

[ 《Drawing a portrait of Esme Bloodberry》]

[ 《Time: Class time》]

Seeing the status window pop up properly, it’s confirmed that my affinity will increase.

As expected, knowing the future and all the event conditions makes academy life easy, right?

“Ugh… with Murmur?”

“Yeah, Esme is alone now. Murmur is also alone.”

“That’s obvious! You’re a demon! Where did Princess Nikea go?”

“She said she was busy today. She has to meet with an adult.”

Esme grumbled and looked around.

See? She’s alone.

“Ugh… I shouldn’t be friendly with you, I really shouldn’t.”

“Can’t we even draw portraits of each other? Then Esme will get a zero.”

I took Esme’s trembling hand without permission and sat down in a spot.

“I don’t want to be friends with you! I hate demons!”

“I know. But you have to get points, right?”

Esme pouted with a sulky expression.

“Hmph! Murmur is bad at drawing anyway, right? Just stay still.”

Even while grumbling, Esme sat next to me and started fiddling with my hair and uniform.

“Esme looks pretty even now.”

“…I’m, I’m not doing this for you to see!”

When will she ever be honest? Anyway, I grabbed a pencil with my right hand.

It doesn’t make sense to use paints from the start. There’s no way they’d expect anything amazing in an elementary school art class, so let’s just sketch it out and submit it.

“Esme, you can draw properly, right?”

“Of course. What do you think of Esme Bloodberry?”

Esme grumbled and gently clasped her hands together. Without even looking closely, I could tell she was about to draw with ‘magic.’

If the drawing tools are prepared, you can naturally draw with magic. The principle isn’t complicated; it’s just that the action of waving a brush with your hands is changed to waving it with magic.

As Professor William said, it shows the world in your heart as it is, so in the world of Legend of Academy, it’s sometimes treated as more precious than a drawing made by hand.

“Murmur is…”

Esme muttered softly while emitting a pure white light from her clasped hands. She was struggling to express the scenery in her heart on the canvas, which was kind of cute.

But, Esme’s drawing skills were terrible. She was probably drawing Murmur weirdly again this time, right?

“Huh…?”

Scribble, scribble.

Swish, swish.

The pencils and brushes floating in the air by Esme’s magic moved without stopping, and a surprisingly decent picture was being drawn on the canvas.

No, no, what is this? She’s drawing with such precision, it’s like she’s creating a photograph? Isn’t Esme actually more talented in this area?

“Murmur is… a demon… a terrifying… demon… my parents’…”

Every time Esme let out a painful groan, the number of drawing tools floating in the air increased.

Pencils, brushes, paints, palettes, water containers…

As the number of tools emitting a restless white light increased, the speed at which the picture was being drawn slowed down, but I was sure of one thing.

“Is this how Esme sees Murmur?”

The Murmur in the picture that Esme Bloodberry was drawing with such pain was a ‘monster’ with terrifying wings.