Novice Reincarnator

“Cheers to our fellow Novices that are participating in the upcoming intermediate explorer’s exam!”

“Cheers!”

“Cheers!”

I raised my glass of Dr. Pep and joined in with the toast. My favorite, carbonated goodness helped me forget my failure.

I had tried killing monsters for an entire two weeks to reach [Ki III], but I never managed to reach it. It was like I was missing a fundamental component that was required to form a ki core and reach [Ki III].

My fellow club members of the Novice Club were all partying happily. Three of us planned to take the exam this month, which was more than usual. It was very risky for a level 10 to enter into a dungeon meant for level 20 explorers.

“What is the Hope of all Beastman doing sitting in a corner?”

The leader of the Novice Club, Nick Demondo, approached me with a smile on his face. I laughed helplessly at his use of my new nickname in the Novice Club. Novice Beastman, especially one’s without tails like me, had it rough.

Unlike a Demon’s [Contract] skill or an Angel’s [Light Magic] skill, a Beastman’s [Instinct] skill was not enough to overturn the difference in level by itself. Even if a Beastman’s instincts were good, it didn’t matter if your opponent was faster, stronger, and more durable.

[Ki] certainly helped, but [Ki] was also the type of skill that got stronger with a higher level. Because of these conditions, it was very difficult for a Novice Beastman to become intermediate explorers.

I was an Adept. I had more skill slots and a higher level cap, which granted me a much easier shot at passing the exam. Many of the other Novice Beastman had placed their hopes of seeing a Beastman of the Novice Club pass the exam on me.

“I could say the same to you, leader. Shouldn’t you be in the center of things?”

“No, this is where I step into the background and let our dear examiness take the spotlight.”

Nick Demondo, the Strongest Novice. At first, I thought of him as nothing more than a talented pervert, but he was more than that. He was always encouraging every member and helping them achieve their dreams.

The Novice Club had a big party to cheer on those that planned on taking the exam this month. The three of us taking the exam were showered in well wishes and last minute advice. I had a blast and Carl was proud of how far I had made it.

My admiration for Nick Demondo was not misplaced. He was a kind and thoughtful leader that looked out for his own. Additionally, he had the strength to protect the weaker members from the rest of the academy that might look down on their poor talent.

Nick and I watched the rest of the Novice Club chat happily about the bright futures ahead of them. After a while, Nick spoke up.

“Truly, thank you for joining our club. You have breathed new life into our Beastman members.”

“I should be the one thanking you for inviting me. I have learned alot from Carl and the others.”

For some reason, Nick chuckled at my words.

“An Adept like you would have quickly picked up everything on your own.”

“What!?”

I nearly jumped in fright. Nick continued, ignoring my reaction.

“Carl and I are probably the only ones that have noticed. You improved so rapidly in such a short period of time, going as far as surpassing almost all of our Beastman members.”

In hindsight, it was obvious that I would be caught. I hadn’t tried to hide my abilities at all. I was so focused on passing the intermediate exam and confronting Leah that I had lost track of my surroundings.

“You aren’t upset that I hid my class and joined your club?”

“Of course not. We all have our own secrets we want to hide.”

The leader of the Novice Club fell silent for a moment. When he spoke up next, his voice had lost all of its lightheartedness.

“Please make Princess Byleth happy.”

“...Huh?”

Why was Byleth being brought up? I was Fang, a beginner explorer that worked as a maid at Cecilia’s mansion. In Nick’s eyes, there shouldn’t be any connection between Byleth and Fang.

“The Demon race couldn’t do anything but cage her up for her own safety. It wasn’t until she met Cecilia that she was freed from her cage and allowed to stretch her wings. Otherwise, there was no way a Demon Princess, let alone a daughter of our great Demon King, could become an explorer.”

I followed Nick’s gaze to the Demons of the Novice Club. Now that he mentioned it, almost every Demon explorer I had met was male. The few female Demons present were all Hornless Demons.

Being an explorer was a risky business with death around every corner. With how desperate Demons were to increase the numbers of their race, would they really allow a precious Demon Princess like Byleth to be an explorer?

The answer was clear. No, they would not. I had taken it for granted that the daughter of the Demon King would be strong, but the truth was that Byleth had to fight tooth and nail to reach where she was today.

“Byleth never mentioned any of that to me.”

“Of course not. She doesn’t like to let people see her struggles. It nearly destroyed her relationship with the Demon King when he forced her to leave Cecilia and return to his residence.”

Nick’s words brought up another glaring issue. Why wasn’t Byleth married and with kids? Surely the pressure on a Demon Princess like her had to be enormous. Even so, Byleth had silently endured it in the hopes of getting together with Cecilia.

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Cecilia alone can not make Byleth happy. Byleth needs you.”

The lighthearted, perverted leader of the Novice Club was nowhere to be seen. Instead, I saw the man who carved his own path despite being considered the weakest. I was looking at the true form of the Demon known as the Strongest Novice.

It finally hit me. Nick was not talking to Fang, the beginner explorer. No, Nick’s words were directed at the only one who could allow Byleth to remain at the side of her loved ones. He was talking to the Demon Princess Ash.

“You figured out my previous reincarnation, huh?”

Surprisingly, I wasn’t worried. My time with the Novice Club had shown me that Nick Demondo could be trusted.

“People with Adept classes don’t appear from thin air.”

I smiled bitterly. It was true that a few members of the Novice Club had become Adepts and subsequently left the club, but I was the only current club member that was an Adept.

“I’m sorry, but I have no intention of going back to being a Demon.”

My ultimate goal was still to return to being Asta Ashford, a human male.

“Whether you are Ash or Fang doesn’t matter. Byleth needs you for who you are, rather than what your race is."

“...If I’m not a Demon, then I can’t give birth to Demon kids like Byleth wants.”

I didn’t get Nick’s point at all. How could I possibly be important to Byleth when I was only a tailless Beastman?

“You are underestimating the influence the Ash Demon Princess had on the Demon race, let alone on Princess Byleth. By defeating a Crystalline Colossus as a mere Novice Hornless Demon, you accomplished what Princess Byleth has been fighting with the Demon race over for years. The Demon race as a whole was forced to reevaluate the roles and duties we had forced on our women.”

Nick, in typical Nick fashion, went on to praise Ash to the heavens. I thought the stuff I heard at the academy about Ash was over exaggerated, but Nick’s words about how the Demon race treated her was on an entirely different level.

Ash, the symbol of a new movement to allow female Demons to become explorers and protect their homeland?

“You overestimate me.”

“No, listen to me! Ash is the most beautiful and noble Demon in the world, the only girl suitable to be Princess Byleth’s partner!”

Nick spent the rest of the party regaling me with stories of Byleth’s past or wild tales of how Ash’s presence had changed the Demon race. His tales about me were all nonsense, of course, but I did walk away with a new understanding of Byleth.

Perhaps it was okay for me to think that even if I wasn’t a Demon, Byleth still viewed me as someone special?