The Cute Master Was Actually the Black Demon King

56 – Return

“Mmm.”

“Ah, are you awake?”

“…… Master?”

At the familiar golden eyes that appeared as soon as he opened his eyes, White muttered a little blurryly.

“Yes, Master~”

Ashera joked back.

“… ….”

And not paying attention to her answer, White cautiously stood up.

First of all, he looked around.

Dagdak, dagdak!

White narrowed her brow slightly at the loud sound of her horses’ hooves.

“Where are we, Master?”

“Somewhere, it’s inside the carriage. Don’t you know that, disciple?”

“…… You didn’t ask for that, did you?”

White let out a sigh, her eyes twitching.

After that, a moment of silence.

But soon, White opened her mouth in time.

“…… Afar, how was it? Are you sure you’re dead?”

“… ….”

At White’s careful question, Ashera’s expression also slightly turned serious.

Ashera frowned slightly as if she was contemplating what to answer.

Before long, she calmly opened her mouth.

“…… First of all, the gray demon king Afar is dead. In the hands of the disciple, surely.”

And that’s what she said, a word that convinced White.

“Is that so… ….”

As if very relieved, White took a deep breath.

Ashera’s expression became slightly strange.

“Are you sure you’re glad you killed it?”

“… ….”

At Ashera’s meaningful words, White also hardened her expression.

If you ask me if I feel lucky, well.

How should I explain this feeling?

A feeling of relief or fatigue.

Either he or she may simply be feeling dejected.

Wouldn’t that be enough?

Fortunately, it seemed that Afar was clearly dead, but it is unknown what form it will eventually come to White.

He probably didn’t even know.

So, White had no choice but to say a monotonous word.

“I don’t know. How I feel right now, how I feel.”

“… ….”

“…… To be honest, I was briefly relieved that I had definitely killed Afar. But.”

…… After that, he said that he would not be able to fully grasp the identity of the wave of emotions that came to him.

With that added, White ended his speech with a vague expression.

“… ….”

For a moment, silence fell between the two again.

It wasn’t uncomfortable, but White touched her forehead as she felt her head lightly dizzy.

‘…… Did I consume too much mana?’

That must be an obvious fact.

It wasn’t that simple to use the unique magic ‘Reflection Mirror’ to return the gray oath to Afar.

Things that cannot be done with just 7 circle mana.

But he himself wasn’t just an ordinary 7th circle.

That’s probably why he was able to succeed.

Inverting Afar’s unique magic, changing the formula, changing the direction, and ultimately bringing death to Afar.

‘I have to climb to the 8th circle soon.’

White bit his lip lightly.

The emotion that carefully floated on his face was clear nervousness.

Circle 8.

From noble mtl dot com

The minimum qualifications to reach the rank of Archmage, as it is often said.

To put it in perspective, White’s father, Teikan Qliphort, was like that, and at the same time, this is the stage Ashera revealed to Teikan.

The reason Teikan trusts Ashera also comes from that level.

“…… Master.”

White spoke cautiously.

“Yes, I am listening~”

Ashera responded with a gentle smile still on her lips, and White continued her words.

“…… That, it’s nothing else.”

Indeed, very carefully, and a little bit like watching her.

“If I get back, could you hang out with me for a while?”

“Hmm?”

At White’s words, Ashera slightly tilted her head.

Maybe I didn’t understand exactly what the word asking to fit in meant.

White hurriedly continued her words, feeling that her explanation was not enough.

“Well, it’s not easy to get into the 8th circle. Even though I’m excellent, it’s not that simple to overcome the archmage-level wall…….”

“Aha.”

White explained her gibberish, and then Ashera nodded her head.

“I understand. So, are you asking for help with training?”

“…… Well, so to speak.”

At the brief summary, White averted her gaze with a slightly shy expression.

Of course, it was a summary that completely matched White’s intentions.

‘What is this strangely embarrassing feeling?’

White sighed, furrowing her eyes.

“…… Huh?”

And Ashera was not oblivious to White’s strange attitude.

She sighed once and poked White’s side with her coy expression.

“What is it, disciple? Did you ever feel ashamed of being taught by me?”

“…… !”

White flinched at her body momentarily.

However, quickly hiding those signs, White calmly opened her mouth.

“It’s not like that.”

“Ah, I don’t think so.”

Ashera raised the corners of her mouth mischievously.

‘It’s cute~’

With that thought in mind, Ashera continued her speech.

“Well, it’s not like we’re trying to study together like when we were young, right? Didn’t you just need a clue to get to the 8th circle, disciple?”

“…… Yes, you are right.”

White responded, suppressing her shyness as she struggled to climb up, and Ashera’s smile widened.

“Aha.”

Ashera curled the corners of her eyes, letting out her characteristic alluring laugh once.

As if it was really interesting, or as if the situation itself wasn’t very interesting.

“Well, good. It’s the one and only request of a disciple, and there’s nothing I can’t do, right?”

“…… Ha.”

With the permission that finally fell, White let out a shallow sigh.

Because getting into the 8th circle was that important.

‘Of course, there’s nothing you can’t climb even if you want to climb alone… ….’

Actually, he already had a record of reaching a level higher than that once.

If you put in enough time, breaking the wall of Circle 8 won’t be too difficult.

‘But the important thing is time.’

White clicked her tongue lightly, lost in her thoughts.

Yes, climbing to the 8th circle itself was not a problem.

Blessed mana from birth, plus brilliant magical talent.

Those elements will surely succeed in placing himself in the 8th circle.

But, how much time will it take?

‘…… One o’clock is urgent.’

Actually, White couldn’t afford it.

By the time he half-impulsively smashed the golden mage tower, the path of revenge had already begun.

As long as the golden demon king is dead, the 12 demon kings will not stand still either.

As much as that, the important thing was the limited time.

Before the 12 demon kings gathered together under the name of Shasar and exploded, the number of demon kings had to be reduced as quickly as possible.

“… ….”

White’s eyes began to contain a little anxiety.

12 Reasons to kill the devil.

Though there were various causes and effects intertwined with it.

The most important thing, in fact, was not in the revenge itself.

…… White’s gaze moved cautiously to the dark-haired girl sitting next to her.

Yes.

Things to prioritize above all other values for him.

‘Ashera’s protection, and then.’

…… To keep her from going down the path of her depravity.

To keep her side as stable as possible and to deal with the 12 demon lords that will be the cause of the fall.

Revenge was like a bonus to him.

‘…… That is why.’

As quickly as possible, he himself—

“…… Master.”

“Yes?”

“… ….”

Ashera’s answer came right back.

With her eyes slightly sunken, White showed a gentle smile across her mouth.

“…… Disciple?”

…… That smile, somehow, seemed lonely.

I wonder if it was just Ashera’s illusion.

“…… It’s nothing.”

Seeing Ashera narrowing her eyes in a strange intuition, White shook her head lightly.

Then, without saying a word, White raises her hand and rasp through her wavy black hair.

“…… What is it? Disciple, what are you doing?!”

Naturally, Ashera blushed and gave out a panicked voice, but White did not intend to stop moving her hand.

“…… hahahaha.”

“Disciple? Disciple? Don’t just laugh, can you explain a bit about this rudeness?”

“… ….”

White just smiled comfortably and didn’t answer.

“Disciple, disciple? Are you doing this because you really want to be right? Uh, uh?”

Only her distraught voice echoed quietly inside the carriage.