I felt like I'd gained something only to have it taken away. It had definitely grown bigger, but then it shrank again, leaving me with a sense of emptiness and an "Huh?" feeling.
Of course, how complete could a magic circle be when it was hastily created just from listening to my words? I tried not to get my hopes up too high—the greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment.
But contrary to my thoughts, a surprisingly well-crafted spell greeted me. My body had grown larger, and my loose clothes fit me perfectly.
The problem was the disappointing duration. My enlarged body didn't even last a full minute before returning to its original form. To this small form.
If it had been a complete failure, I might have just accepted it. But since it worked so well except for the time issue, the disappointment lingered much longer.
Still, I had grown larger, even if briefly. Was there hope? Could the duration be extended, or was permanent enlargement impossible?
While I was lost in thought, Aria, who sat to my right today, leaned close and whispered in my ear.
"...By the way, Urr, are you not wearing a bra? The male students didn't know how to react earlier."
With those words, all my previous thoughts evaporated. I could only recall what my body had been like earlier.
As my body grew, my oversized clothes became the right size, and my chest swelled beneath my shirt without a bra...
"Ah."
When I thought about how I must have looked to others, my eyes widened in shock. I groaned and shook my head, and Aria gently placed her hand on my head.
"Actually, acting embarrassed makes it worse. If you don't want to leave an impression, you should act like nothing happened. When you show embarrassment, people remember that too."
"R-really?"
I folded my arms between my legs. This shifted my balance downward, making me curl up. After resting my chin on the desk, I buried my face completely.
Sera, who sat to my left, was rustling with her Magic Battery when she patted my back.
"At least you saw it was possible, right? Though I'm not sure how to extend the duration... everything seems to go wrong when we try to increase the time."
She sounded like she was seriously considering rewriting the magic circle.
While I had been feeling down about that until just now, I wished she would realize I was currently curled up from embarrassment.
Perhaps Sera was the type who couldn't hear anything around her when she was focused. If so, Aria's head-patting might have just looked like a scene of consolation.
As I stayed pressed against the desk, I could feel glances from the students in front of me. I kept avoiding their eyes and lowering my head repeatedly.
It seems I only act this way when I'm in front of third-year students. I wonder why.
Seriously wondering if I might be cursed, I fled to the laboratory as soon as the lecture ended, tightly holding Sera's hand.
I did get the magic circle from Sera, but unlike her, I lacked the specialized knowledge to read, deconstruct, or modify it.
"...You actually grew larger once?"
The Professor's eyes widened. She seemed surprised when I told her what happened with Sera and Aria. After contemplating for a while, she came over to check the magic circle.
The magic circle was drawn on regular paper, not a Magic Battery. When I handed it to the Professor, her eyes quickly began analyzing it. Then she handed it back to me.
"It's well-constructed, but... I don't think it can be maintained permanently like you want, Urr."
"Then how about extending the time? Professor, please teach me."
"...Teach you what?"
"How to read magic circles."
"For that, you'd need to learn the writing first... There are parts where small text is written in the magic circle. You need to understand what they mean."
I groaned at the Professor's pointing finger.
Is approaching magic really so difficult? I had been wondering whether it was possible or not, but it seems I need to climb the stairs one step at a time.
"Oh, and Urr."
"Yes?"
"Let's just go home today."
"Why? Don't you have a lecture for the Institute Students?"
"...Something came up."
The Professor put on her coat. Then she headed home with me.
**
After dropping Urr off at home, Yuria quickly moved to her next location.
"Haah..."
Yuria sighed. It was because of her additional duties as a "Demon God Slayer," beyond being a professor.
She would normally have spent this time reviewing research papers with the first-year Institute Students, but she had to clear her schedule and move to the designated area.
After quickly traveling through a Warp Point, Yuria found herself facing an enormous crater that dominated the landscape.
In the center of what looked like a meteorite impact site stood a man.
Yuria took a ring from her coat pocket. Inside the ring was a magic circle drawn using the ring itself as the circle. After slipping it onto her right index finger, she checked the sword at her waist and stepped into the crater.
She descended the deeply carved crater with crackling steps and approached the Demon God standing ahead.
Even standing still, the flow of Mana around him bristled toward Yuria. It felt like killing intent, warning her not to come closer.
"...How many did you kill?"
Yuria ignored the warning and moved forward.
The man in the center, intoxicated by his own power, widened his eyes at Yuria's appearance. He slicked back his snow-white hair and raised the corner of his mouth.
"Oh, I didn't expect anyone to approach this far."
"I asked how many you killed."
At her cold question, he shrugged.
"Well, unfortunate ones they were. But if I calculate the lifespan I've absorbed... hmm, I don't know. I could live another thousand years."
As soon as Yuria heard those words, she understood how this Demon God maintained his life.
Confirming he was a harmful being who stole others' remaining lifespans to make them his own, she abandoned hope and moved forward.
"But you're the first person to come this far. Are you quite strong?"
"Yes, quite strong."
In response to the man's playful words, Yuria answered emotionlessly and extended her hand. Her hand, which had been at her waist, instantly drew her sword.
With a swift strike too fast to follow with the naked eye, Yuria swung her sword at the Demon God. Caught off guard by the merciless slash, the Demon God lost an arm.
"Guh...!"
Surprised by the unexpected speed and power, the Demon God realized he could have lost his head in that moment.
She was clearly different from the mediocre lifespan puppets he had killed and stolen from.
Yuria approached with an aura surrounding her entire body.
An aura powered by her Mana, using the ring as a medium. The Demon God felt the pressure as if death itself was approaching. Having already lost an arm, he questioned whether he could properly fight this monster.
He darted his eyes around to find an escape route. But as if the only way out was to the afterlife, the sword came flying in.
The Demon God barely managed to step back, but couldn't completely avoid having his eye slashed from top to bottom.
Having lost his right hand and left field of vision, the Demon God gritted his teeth, realizing this was an opponent he couldn't test or escape from.
"Uaaaah!"
Show no mercy to Demon Gods. Though they appeared as intelligent humanoids, whether naturally occurring or transcended from their original form, they were equally threatening.
The moment word spread that a Demon God had harmed people, its existence became known to "Demon God Slayers" like Yuria, and its fate was sealed.
Unless it was a Demon God who had reached the level of a sword master through infinite lifespan, they could usually be killed.
"You were young."
Yuria poured all her strength into beheading the approaching Demon God. After wiping her blade, she looked at the corpse whose expression still showed a desperate struggle to the end.
"..."
The only Demon Gods that didn't harm humans were those that stayed away from humans.
Mature Demon Gods instinctively emitted an aura that consumed human life, making nothing more dangerous than a Demon God roaming the city.
When they chose to enter populated areas, there was no choice but to kill them mercilessly—that was the current reality.
Unless they were an exceptional case like Urr, coexistence with humans was impossible. Since no others like Urr had been discovered, no other Demon Gods capable of coexistence had been found.
Though regrettable, Yuria accepted this as unavoidable and turned to leave.
She returned home. As she was taking off her shoes in the entryway, Urr came running.
"You're back?"
"...Yeah, just finished and came back."
Yuria smiled at Urr and checked her condition. There were still no signs of her emitting an aura like the Demon God she had just met.
Still, she feared that as time passed and Urr aged, an aura might naturally develop in her body.
She stroked Urr's head. After confirming this, she looked over Urr's body. It was important to monitor her growth to be prepared for future responses.
It would be better if she didn't grow. It would be fine if she just kept wearing loose clothes and even fell over sometimes—it would be better if she stayed as she was. Thinking this, Yuria stared at Urr, who tilted her head in confusion at Yuria's gaze.
"What do you want to eat?"
"...What do we have?"
If somehow her research was completed and Urr could grow without emitting an aura, then she truly wanted Urr to be able to enter society without causing fear.
As long as there was no aura, it would be difficult for anyone but an expert to distinguish between human and Demon God. And if she only knew how to live like a human, Yuria judged that no one would think Urr was a Demon God.
That's why she had to teach her. That's why she had to ingrain habits in Urr.
Eat meals at mealtime even if not hungry. Sleep at night even if not sleepy. All training to appear human.
Because if not instructed, Urr would neither eat nor sleep.
"Well, should we order takeout today?"