The professor was busy all afternoon. The sound of keyboard typing never stopped. He said he was responding to emails he couldn't check during lunch, and there were so many that it seemed to be giving him a headache.
Among the rapid keyboard sounds, a clear knocking sound stood out. Since I was sitting with my back to the door, I could notice it.
Knock knock.
The knocking sound came again. The professor didn't seem to hear it, so I slightly raised my hand.
"Professor!"
When I called out loudly, the startled professor stretched his neck and stared at me blankly. His eyes were wide with surprise at my shout.
"Someone's knocking?"
"Ah, uh, who is it? Just open it for now."
"Yes."
Following the professor's instruction, I opened the door slightly. What I saw was a pure white uniform. The red accent indicated it was a second-year student.
The male student standing in front hesitated and glanced down at me. He uttered a questioning "Huh?" as if checking whether he had come to the wrong place.
After confirming he was in the right place, the student finally stepped inside when I took a step back.
"Hello. I'm Taylor, a second-year student at the Academy. I came to talk about increasing the number of Demon God-related lectures."
As soon as he entered, the student greeted us and briefly stated his business. The professor stared at the blue-haired student's face for a moment before letting out a small sigh.
"I've received quite a few emails about increasing classes. Did you send one too, Taylor?"
"Yes, I did."
He must be impatient since the professor was already busy answering emails. Well, the course adjustment period isn't that generous, so it's understandable that he's anxious.
But do they usually accommodate requests to add classes from students who suddenly want to take a course they weren't initially interested in? Or is that up to the Academy's discretion?
Since I wasn't the professor, I couldn't tell how he would take this. He might dislike having unnecessary additional lectures, or he might like it if more lectures meant more income.
The professor searched through his emails for a moment and then let out a small "hmm" sound.
"I'll reply to everyone by the end of today, so please check then. There are many inquiries from each year, so the Academy needs to decide whether to accept more students or increase the number of lectures."
"...I understand. Sorry for bothering you when you're busy."
The male student said that and turned to leave. On his way out, he glanced at me with sparkling eyes as if finding me interesting.
I stared at the door that closed with a thud. As soon as the student left, the professor let out a sigh.
"Now they're even coming to rush me. Sigh. I need to talk to the Dean first before deciding whether to increase lectures or not. Do I have time slots available...?"
The professor, who had been leaning back in his chair, sat up straight again. Then he looked at some documents placed on one side of the desk. He flipped through what seemed to be professor schedules by year for quite some time.
"Urr?"
"Yes?"
"There are 50 emails. What do you think?"
I didn't know much, but considering these were people who had free time in their schedules, it wasn't a small number. Or was it a lot?
Besides, their schedules were probably already well-organized, yet they were still sending emails to squeeze in another class. The students at the Academy seemed to have an impressive passion for learning.
Is it usually like this at schools?
This world was different from the one I knew, so I could only tilt my head in confusion, not knowing how the world viewed things or what the social atmosphere was like.
"It seems like a lot."
"But it's 50 emails across three years, which is quite troublesome. If we add more people to the department, we'd have at least fifteen more students, which is difficult. But if we create a new department, I'm not sure which year's progress to match."
"Do you talk to the Dean after considering it?"
"Yes."
The professor gripped the documents tightly and leaned back in his chair. The chair rotated slightly under the weight.
"At first, these kids weren't even interested in Demon Gods, but now they're all rushing in because Urr is here."
"...Is that good? Or bad?"
"Good if I think about money, bad if I think about time. Hmm, maybe I should just say no."
After glancing at the calendar, he tossed aside the documents he had been holding.
"I don't know."
Having seemingly given up on thinking about it, the professor, who had been staring blankly for a while, put on his coat.
"I'll go see the Dean. Will you be okay here, Urr?"
"...Yes."
"I'll write down some words for you to study before I go."
"Yes...!"
The professor, feeling sorry for leaving me alone, wrote down a few words for me to study so I wouldn't be bored. I appreciated how he gave me various tasks to keep me from getting bored.
Doing nothing made the day feel slow and tedious. Since I disliked that feeling, I could gladly accept this kind gesture.
After the professor left the research lab, I was left alone and started scribbling letters with a pen.
**
Yuria headed to where the Dean was. The Dean, who was also the head of the Demon God Research Association, gestured for Yuria to sit down when he saw her.
"Oh, Professor Yuria. I saw your email. Please sit."
"...Yes."
With a build that was hard to believe belonged to someone in his early 60s, the Dean sat Yuria on the sofa and put water in the coffee pot.
"Would you prefer tea? Or coffee?"
"...I'll have coffee."
The sweet aroma of coffee filled the office. With two cups of coffee placed in front of them, the conversation began.
"You said students from all years in the general program want to take Demon God-related lectures?"
"Yes. But since they can't take duplicate lectures, we're in a situation where we can't do one thing or the other."
The Dean nodded at her words.
They couldn't give credit for taking the same lecture twice. How many people would waste their entire semester with nothing to show for it in the end?
He wanted to let everyone take the classes if possible, but increasing the number of students was a problem, and adding more classes was also an issue. There was too much to consider.
Opening an intensive course to accommodate both those who had taken the class and those who hadn't seemed unfair in terms of equity, making the situation difficult.
"For now, many people will be interested in using a Demon God's existence as Supplies. And many will also question the fact that Demon Gods, which were only known to cause harm, have mixed in among people."
The Dean, describing the current situation, picked up his cup and made a sipping sound.
"What do you think, Professor? If you want to let people know that there are Demon Gods that don't cause harm, I think it would be good to set conditions and either increase enrollment or add more classes."
"..."
"If you don't think it's necessary to go that far to inform them, or if you think they already know enough, you can keep things as they are."
During the course adjustment period, students can drop classes they don't like. Although it's the professor's responsibility if they can't retain students, taking students through increased enrollment or additional classes wouldn't be viewed favorably.
Realizing this wasn't an easy issue, Yuria decided to reject all requests. As she was organizing her thoughts, the Dean spoke in a low voice.
"By the way, Professor Yuria. How is that Demon God you called Supplies?"
"There's no problem at all. Honestly, I think she's like a child."
"No, I mean about growth."
Just because he was in a high position didn't mean he wasn't interested. After all, as the head of the Demon God Research Association, he couldn't help but be interested in Demon Gods.
"As the vessel grows larger, it will try to accept more Mana. Right now, it's manageable because of the measures you've taken, Professor Yuria, but as time passes, it will emit harmful Aura like ordinary Demon Gods."
"...If I see signs of that happening, I'll handle it then and report afterward."
The Dean nodded at Yuria's words.
"Haven't there been any similar types of Demon Gods? If there are Demon Gods like this one, it seems right to classify them as Demon Gods that aren't harmful to humans."
"You mean... setting conditions?"
"Yes. After all, in the case of that Demon God you designated as Supplies, there's no other way for it to live eternally."
Not all Demon Gods are the same. There are various ways to live an eternal life, but beings like Urr are truly one of a kind.
It was common for them to either be immortal from the beginning, sustain themselves by stealing life force, or reincarnate multiple times while retaining their memories. But the method of becoming younger each time they die was something he had never seen before, making it difficult to know how to handle it.
"...But, does that Demon God really never die?"
"Yes."
Yuria recalled.
"If it goes below a certain age..."
But she couldn't finish her sentence. Yuria's body trembled slightly.
"For now, it seems best to maintain the current situation."
"Then I'll follow your judgment, Professor Yuria. Everyone knows that a professor with the title of 'Demon God Slayer' works to ensure people's safety."
"Yes, please leave it to me."
Yuria hesitated for a moment, then thought of the current Urr and smiled.
"Right now, she's just a cute child."