The Demon God. Understanding their existence required extensive research.
They are born outside the natural order from the beginning. Born without parents, as if the world suddenly spat out a person. Born without infancy, exposed to the world's threats from the start, they instinctively point their blades at everything except themselves for protection.
That was the life of a Demon God—living in a world with no family or friends, only enemies.
With no one around to educate them, common sense and ethics didn't apply to them. Since only they existed in their world, they defined themselves through self-acquired knowledge.
Calling them Demon Gods was entirely fitting.
They didn't just appear naturally. Regardless of race—human, Elf, or otherwise—some transcended their limits.
But that didn't mean there were Demon Gods friendly to humans. Whether created from hatred toward humans or contempt for the world, those who became Demon Gods harbored clear hostility toward everything else.
People say Demon Gods are beyond our understanding. That they're merely intelligent beasts whose violence will never cease. That peace won't come unless we fight and exterminate them.
That's why people fear Demon Gods.
Because Demon Gods friendly to humans simply didn't exist.
Of course, Urr was different. Officially recognized as Supplies by the Academy, Urr had proven harmless to people through Professor Yuria's continuous validation.
Professor Yuria wasn't entirely comfortable with it either. It saddened her that a child so human-like was treated as Supplies solely for being a Demon God. But as long as she held her professor position and appointed herself as Urr's guardian, she had to follow orders from above.
Hoping that Urr would become a Demon God no one feared.
"...You've made more friends lately."
Professor Yuria wore a proud expression, though she seemed to miss when Urr would only cling to her, embracing both satisfaction and a touch of bitterness.
Still, thinking of the future, having many friends would be better. With that thought, Yuria continued her research.
---
"Did you always wear it this big?"
On the way to the lecture hall, Sera asked cautiously. She might have asked before, but my flapping clothes probably bothered her as we hurried along. Maybe because I was holding my skirt together with my belt.
"I think so, maybe..."
Honestly, I couldn't quite remember the original size anymore. I didn't even know the clothes' size before this happened, so I just had to wear what seemed about right.
I followed behind Sera with an awkward posture. Sera was quite tall with a long stride.
Were they all planning to be models? They had short torsos and long legs—the kind of physique you'd see in magazines.
Because of this, I felt like a sparrow trying to keep up with a stork.
"We're here. Let's go in!"
"Oh, okay."
I nodded at Sera's gesture. I was so tense that my lips felt dry. After swallowing hard, I followed Sera into the lecture hall, where I felt everyone's eyes turn toward me.
Usually, they'd look once, confirm I wasn't the professor, and go back to their business, but my presence in clothes other than the Academy uniform must have seemed strange, as their gazes remained fixed.
I figured rumors about me must have spread during Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, so everyone probably knew who I was by now.
It wasn't exactly pleasant to be recognized across all grades at the Academy when I was neither a celebrity nor a professor.
As usual, Sera took a seat in the corner and patted the empty space beside her. I scurried over and sat down, then Sera asked:
"By the way, what are you going to do during the lecture, Urr? Will you listen?"
"I don't even know what lecture it is... I'm going to study letters first."
I answered with a determined voice. Sera gasped in surprise, then took out paper and a pen from her bag and handed them to me.
After receiving them and staring at them for a moment, Sera rested her chin on her hand and gave me a playful task.
"Then, can you try writing my name?"
"...Huh? Um..."
Click. The pen revealed its tip. It was obvious that drawing it across the paper would leave a black line. But the pen just hovered in the air.
Sera, Sera. I saw it yesterday when we were messaging, but what did it look like? I can't quite remember.
I seemed to have focused more on memorizing the ten numbers from 0 to 9 than on names. As I clutched my head and struggled, someone approached.
"Who is this?"
Looking up, I saw a woman with golden hair and golden eyes standing in front of my desk. What was unusual was that her ears were elongated on both sides.
I couldn't help but stare at this Elf I was seeing for the first time. Her gold color seemed even more yellow than the professor's, which fascinated me. Not all yellows are the same, I thought. While I was making this assessment, Sera gently placed her hand on my shoulder.
"You don't know? She's famous. This is Urr."
"I know that. She has a nameplate."
The golden Elf pointed toward my chest. It was the ID card and nameplate the professor had given me. She said it had my face and name on it, and I could see it was effective.
Gripping the pen tightly, I looked at her, and she glanced back at me.
"She's a Demon God, a Demon God."
"...A Demon God?"
"Aria, you didn't take any Demon God courses because you weren't interested, right? I just took one to fill credits, and now in my third year, I've even met a Demon God. Talk about success!"
Sera put her arm around my shoulders, showing off our friendship to the Elf she called Aria. I ended up being pulled into her embrace, which made it a bit hard to breathe.
"..."
Aria's gaze turned toward me. That careful yet scrutinizing look felt like it was examining every inch of my body, giving me chills.
When I shrank my shoulders and shuddered, Aria stepped back slightly in surprise.
"...Sorry, I didn't expect to encounter a Demon God like this."
"You could add the course during the registration adjustment period. You could even become friends with Urr like this."
Sera's smile stretched to her cheekbones. I wondered if by third year, everyone had close friends regardless of their major or courses.
Or was Sera just especially sociable?
"I'll consider it. I'm curious. I've only heard they're violent, but looking at her now, she's just like a small animal... reminds me of the cats I raised in the garden."
"...Cats?"
"The garden cats enjoy being touched, unlike the cats in the human world, it seems."
When I cautiously asked, Aria told me with a slightly nostalgic look, as if remembering her homeland.
I wondered if people would really change their courses just to see me. The thought made me a bit scared. Still, since there were enrollment limits for each lecture, I could be somewhat reassured that there wouldn't be too many.
"Ah, the lecture's about to start."
As the professor opened the door and entered, Sera immediately took out her textbook. Aria looked around frantically before noticing the empty seat next to me and slipping into it.
"...May I sit here?"
"I don't mind."
The professor had arrived, and since Aria was already seated to my left, I couldn't ask her to leave, so I nodded. Well, I wouldn't have asked her to leave even if the professor hadn't arrived.
"Um, I'll call attendance."
The professor climbed onto the platform and took out the attendance sheet. I used that as my cue to move my pen. The scratching pen soon completed one character.
"...Urr."
Perhaps seeing what I was writing, Aria softly read it aloud. When I slightly turned my head, Aria continued with an expressionless face.
"Can I call you Urr?"
"Yes, then can I call you Aria?"
"Yes."
Aria nodded. Thinking we had finished our introductions, I went back to writing. As I was writing letters, thinking I should at least know how to write my own name, Aria suddenly took out her own pen from her pencil case.
Then she quickly wrote something on the paper where I was writing my name.
"...Aria."
She used her pen tip to read what she had written.
"Aria."
I looked at those characters for a moment, then wrote "Aria" below my name. At that, the corners of Aria's expressionless face lifted slightly.
Sera, who had been watching quietly, flinched and pressed herself against me.
"She's, she's my friend...!"
"I just became friends with her too."
Despite Sera's outcry, Aria counterattacked without concern.
And amid that commotion, an urgent call for Sera was heard.
"Sera, Sera? Is she not here?"
At the professor's call, I poked Sera in the waist. Startled, Sera looked at me once, then realizing the professor was calling her, raised her hand high.
"Yes, yes! I'm here!"
"Please focus during attendance check."
"...I'm sorry."
Sera sighed, dropping her shoulders.
Despite apologizing, now that her name had been called, she seemed to think it didn't matter anymore and scribbled something on my paper.
"Se-ra. Got it?"
After writing the characters and reading them clearly, Sera gave me a slight smile. Watching from my left, Aria shook her head.
"That means 'darling.' Forget it."
"Hey...! That's too much! It's really my name...?"
Since their words contradicted each other so much, I carefully took out my phone from my inner pocket. Checking Sera's contact in my phone book, I could confirm that what Sera had written was indeed her name.
Aria seemed to have little change in her expression, making her appear blunt, but she seemed to have a mischievous side.
"Wow, she's checking."
"...You have a phone? I'll give you my number too."
Caught between Sera and Aria, I turned off my phone, sweating profusely.
"...Let's listen to the class."
It was just a brief conversation, but somehow I felt completely drained.