Reincarnated as a Dragon and Raised by a Demon

I was waiting in the classroom for the lesson.

As expected, I heard voices coming from the hallway through the hole.

“What are you doing?”

“I made a hole to observe the lesson.”

“Why not just come in? Why use a hole?”

“Why would I share space with a demon?”

Her expression was bright with a smile, but her words carried extreme disgust.

“Just don’t cause any trouble.”

“Hey, commoner. Not all teachers are the same.”

Solche entered the classroom without responding.

“Alright, today follows up from yesterday’s magic class.”

Solche placed her palm on the hole in the wall.

Suddenly, the hole was filled in an instant.

“Don’t respond, just listen.”

Solche’s voice echoed in my head.

“Since there’s someone outside, I’ll keep the lesson ordinary. Don’t try too hard.”

In the midst of the short conversation, another hole appeared in the classroom wall.

“We can’t disrupt the observation.”

“I just taught you a magic that fixes the wall; it was a good opportunity.”

“Oh, then I was helpful for the lesson?”

We acted as normally as possible during the lesson.

Jema made a fireball only half the size of what she usually created.

From the outside, it must have looked like I was straining to use magic.

That was the truth.

I could handle mana, but I rarely managed to use magic.

Creating a small flame like Jema did was nearly impossible.

Though Solche said it wasn’t necessary, I raised my hand and asked a question.

“What should I do if the fire doesn’t come out?”

Den, who heard my question from outside, burst into loud laughter.

“Hahaha! A demon can’t use magic. That’s really funny.”

“Please be quiet.”

Solche approached the hole in the wall and spoke to me.

“You can handle mana, and you successfully cast a spell yesterday. It’s similar.”

The tracking magic I succeeded with the previous day.

The techniques Jema taught me for using magic.

Imagining it clearly.

Locating things was a skill that, in my previous life, seemed so obvious.

With just one device, you could immediately find out its location anywhere, anytime.

So how to start a fire…

Snap!

When I flicked my fingers, a small spark appeared.

“Oh, I understand the feeling now.”

“Good. Keep it up.”

After that, Solche told me inside my head to fail at magic.

But the thrill I felt when I visualized the image I had in mind was hard to resist.

I was sure that if I tried a little more, I could produce fire, but I didn’t.

Den remained in his place until the lesson was over.

“Wow, today’s class was really fun. Especially you. Someday, I’ll definitely kill you.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

It didn’t seem normal for someone to say such things with a friendly face.

I felt like I would develop misanthropy if I continued facing Den, so I quickly left.

Back in the dormitory, I yelled out in frustration.

“What’s wrong?”

“That guy is so irritating!”

“I know. I understand how you feel.”

“How did Jema endure all this time?”

Jema, who had surely lived with this kind of hatred much longer than I had.

“You.”

For a moment, my pent-up anger felt like it was subsiding a bit.

“That guy said he would kill me, right?”

“Yeah.”

I had figured out the headmaster’s intentions, but I couldn’t quite grasp Den’s motives.

What was certain was that Den was definitely not from the Kingdom of Tholis.

Given my current skills, I knew I couldn’t defeat Den.

Knowing that, I suppressed the rising anger in front of him.

“Jema. Teach me swordsmanship.”

“Now?”

“Let’s go.”

Ever since I started training with Solche, there had been a sword standing in one corner of the room.

Holding the sword, I climbed to the rooftop of the dormitory, and we faced each other under the moonlight.

“You won’t know if you get hurt?”

“I’m fine.”

The people I would be facing were all skilled swordsmen at quite a high level.

To stand against them, I needed at least some real combat experience with a sword-wielding opponent.

Currently, there was no one I could think of other than Jema.

As Jema swung her sword, flames ignited and began to blaze.

“W-what’s that?”

“Magic swordsman.”

Before I could even think about whether the sword would break, a thrust attack came at me.

I barely managed to evade, but I felt the heat coming from the flaming sword.

Instantly, a flurry of slashing attacks followed the thrust.

Screech!

I hastily wrapped mana around my hand to block Jema’s sword.

“That’s dangerous, so let go quickly.”

“If I hold the sword, it’ll be advantageous for me!”

I unleashed strands of mana to restrain Jema’s arms and legs.

“Not bad, but you’re still far from it.”

The mana that had been binding Jema was absorbed and began to melt away.

“Huh?”

Jema had already grasped her sword once again.

“You should use magic. You can nullify mana like this.”

“I can’t do that.”

“If you learn it, you can.”

If I had known that, I could have had a much better advantage when facing Juan.

Jema pointed out several things.

“Your movements are too slow. When I say to use magic, don’t stick so close.”

“What’s so complicated about fighting?”

“The magic swordsman is half about mind games. You need to react and counter when your opponent uses magic.”

Being a magic swordsman seems more troublesome than I thought.

The next day, during the training session, Den followed us.

“How long will you be supervising?”

“That’s not your authority.”

Both Jema and I found Den’s presence in the training ground quite uncomfortable.

Alium couldn’t show up while Den was observing.

In many ways, it was inconvenient, so the lesson shifted to merely hitting a stand-in scarecrow.

After watching our training for a while, Den yawned, seemingly bored.

“It’s an ordinary class.”

“Well, classes are all like that.”

“I’m bored, so I’d like to hit a scarecrow after a long time.”

Den stood up and drew the sword at his waist.

Jema and I stopped hitting the scarecrow and looked at Den.

Feeling our gaze, Den gave a faint smile and swung his sword.

It wasn’t fast, but it was a very delicate and smooth motion.

Clang!

As Den sheathed his sword, the scarecrow vanished without a trace.

I couldn’t even begin to guess what had happened.

“Seems like everyone is watching, so I was a bit tense.”

Everyone stood there, speechless.

When I met Solche’s gaze, I felt as if I could hear his thoughts.

The danger level of someone named Den had risen to the top, surpassing anyone else.

This guy might be even stronger than the headmaster.

“Oh, I remember I have something to attend to, so I’ll be going. Train hard.”

Den’s swordsmanship left a strong impression in my mind.

It felt pointless to wield my sword any longer.

During the short break, Jema and I approached Solche to ask for his thoughts on what just happened.

“The headmaster has hired quite an extraordinary guy.”

“What will we do if someone like that is keeping an eye on us?”

“Formal lessons won’t help improve our skills….”

Solche seemed to be genuinely pondering over the issue.

“Didn’t you say you spoke with the headmaster last time?”

“The headmaster doesn’t seem to care about what I have to say.”

I relayed what I had deciphered about the headmaster’s intentions through the tracking magic I had observed.

“I didn’t have the chance to convey this yesterday.”

“The headmaster won’t have any plans to turn you into spies.”

“Why not?”

“There’s a mid-term tournament coming up soon.”

Not a test, but a tournament.

“What is that about?”

“It’s a tournament where students compete against each other.”

“Can’t it just be a simple competition?”

“That tournament will have an audience.”

The mid-term tournament is one of the grand events at the Academy of the Kingdom of Tholis.

It showcases the skills the students have developed in front of various dignitaries and spectators.

“Although it will likely be just a show.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because Juan is one of the participants.”

The second son of the mercenaries, Juan Quivero.

He was surprisingly quite famous within the Kingdom of Tholis.

He entered the Academy possessing talents superior to those of his older brother, the first son.

“What is Juan’s older brother doing?”

“Well, he graduated from a regular school and left home.”

He was almost disowned by the Quivero family.

“So that’s why there’s the assassination of Juan….”

“Exactly. He’s a lot easier target compared to the current head of the mercenaries.”

If Juan were to die, the one who would benefit is the king.

“Could the one who commissioned Juan’s assassination be….”

“Only the upper management knows who the requester is. Even if you know, you can’t disclose it.”

Solche emphasized confidentiality as he spoke.

A while after Den had left, Alium finally appeared.

“Alium. I think we need to send a message today. We need support.”

“Hmm. If I call him, the mission will go awry, though.”

“And the medical team. In the worst-case scenario, we’ll have to take what’s in Jema’s body out.”

“Wait! What are you discussing?”

I interrupted the conversation of the two, causing Alium to take a quick step back.

“Ririan. That guy named Den is a paladin.”

“What does that matter?”

“The paladin is the central power of the Latnia Empire. That means the headmaster has the Empire behind him.”

“Isn’t that treason?”

If this fact were to come to light, the headmaster would be a traitor from that day onward.

In response to my question, Solche replied with a serious expression.

“With the Empire behind him, do you think the headmaster would care about the King of Tholis?”

“So, is that why you requested support?”

“The problem is that if she comes, such covert operations will no longer be possible.”

“She?”

I had no idea who it was, but seeing Solche tremble all over made it seem like a terrifying person.

“I’ve completed the support request.”

“Jema, starting today, let’s go stay at our base.”

“What? Can’t we go to the dorm?”

“Den has likely caught onto our identities.”

Unexpectedly, Alium brought up the subject.

“He figured out I was hiding in Solche’s shadow. Then it’s over.”

“Will he tell the headmaster?”

“Track him.”

All eyes turned to me.

“I can’t hear sounds, so I’ll need Jema’s help.”

“I’ll help. Come here.”

I settled in and used the tracking magic.

My field of vision widened, and I started moving at high speed.

Den, who had appeared small from a distance, grew larger as I got closer.

He was walking through the center of the crowded city.

The place he was headed was toward an alley with decreasing foot traffic.

He knocked on the door of an old building, and the tracking magic was abruptly interrupted.

“What? Did it cut off?”

“No, I didn’t do it.”

“It seems like it’s a location with a magic barrier that blocks tracking magic.”

A spell that didn’t even work in a building frequented by nobles.

“Can you break through it?”

“It is possible, but if I do, the opponent will be alerted.”

I turned to Jema.

“I can’t either. Last time I simply adjusted your magic a bit, but this is different.”

It was disappointing to have lost Den, but I had no choice but to stop the tracking here.

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