How to Live the Life of a Demon Chapter 5 - Lucius Kendrick (5)

 

“I am saying hello as I am temporarily serving as the class representative. I am the class president, with Kian being vice class president.”

 

There was a strange anticipation in Rayel’s eyes as he introduced himself.

 

Lucius was soon able to figure out where his expectations were coming from. As a fairy, he might have felt glad to see himself as a dryad.

 

Since ancient times, fairies and dryads have been friendly and worked closely with each other.

 

“My name is Lucius Kendrick.”

 

The surnames of demons are determined according to their race.

 

Lucius, a dryad, was Kendrick, Rayel, a fairy, was Feo, and Kian, a Bearfolk, was Bohr.

 

Rayel’s eyes widened after hearing Lucius’ last name. Then he was happy to see Lucius, as if he had met a fellow countryman in a remote area.

 

“Oh, I had a feeling and it turned out to be true! I’m so excited to actually see a Dryad, who is said to be only born deep in the forest.”

 

Recently, with the increasing turmoil and powerful malevolent forces in the forest, the birth rate of Dryads has sharply declined.

 

For the past 100 years, no dryads have been born except for Lucius.

 

So he could understand Rayel’s unusual reaction.

 

“Can I call you Lucius?”

 

“Doesn’t matter much as I plan on calling you Rayel, too.”

 

Rayel’s wings fluttered happily, and a bright smile appeared on his face.

 

‘What you’re thinking is clearly visible on your face.’

 

A guy who is no different on the outside than the inside is good because it meant they were easy to understand.

 

Meanwhile, Kian, who was listening in on the two people’s conversation, silently held out a piece of paper.

 

Lucius took the paper and looked at Kian.

 

Beast-type demons were insensitive to other people’s demon energy, but their unique characteristic was that they often had a developed sixth sense.

 

Perhaps that’s why Kian has been unusually sharp to himself since the first time he saw him.

 

His eyes were sharp, as if searching.

 

‘Should I accept it or ignore it?’

 

Kian spoke in a blunt tone to him who was happily thinking.

 

“This is the first task.”

 

As soon as he said those words, the tension hovering around Kian disappeared like melting snow.

 

Lucius shrugged his shoulders and responded to the dull response, “What assignment is it?”

 

Rayel intervened instead of Kian as it appeared that he thought he shouldn’t leave it to Kian.

 

“Oh, let me explain. This is the first assignment given by the homeroom teacher. Get as many ‘friends’ signatures on this paper as possible.”

 

“Friend? Sign?”

 

“They want us to talk face to face and exchange seals, and that’s why the other kids are all here. We can sign with magic.”

 

“I see.”

 

Lucius felt like he knew what his homeroom teacher was thinking.

 

Although they wear the same school uniform and are assigned to the same class, students tend to group together from the moment they enter school.

 

‘What kind of lineage you are, what kind of family you belong to. It’s pointless.’

 

Once you advance outside the academy, all that remains is your own skills.

 

The skills of those who haven’t even reached their third stage of growth yet are there.

 

Just because parents are strong, there is no guarantee that their children will be strong. No one knows how they will grow.

 

That was the law of the demon world.

 

He took the paper and looked at it, fluttering it back and forth.

 

It didn’t seem to have done much magic.

 

“What else? How many more should I get?”

 

“There weren’t any specific instructions regarding that.”

 

“Is that so? Well then, let’s start with one.”

 

Lucius held out a piece of paper to Rayel.

 

“I need to get your autograph first.”

 

Rayel looked at him with a little surprise.

 

Kian and Rayel went around telling students about their assignments, but not a single student asked for Rayel’ autograph.

 

As a Bearfolk, Kian received his own autograph request.

 

However, no such request was received from Rayel, a race with relatively weak combat power.

 

Rayel smiled happily, pressed his index finger down on the paper, and concentrated his mind.

 

Then a sentence with a butterfly drawn appeared on the paper.

 

“Sure, could Lucius also sign on my paper? You would do that, right?” 

Rayel smiled brightly and held out a piece of paper.

 

Lucius was trying to sign without thinking, like he usually does on payment documents, but he had no choice but to stop.

 

‘Is it okay? Even if I put my seal here and now?’

 

It was impossible to change the form of the magic seal. This was because it served as the fingerprint of each individual demon.

 

The problem is that Lucius is not an ordinary student but a current elder.

 

All documents requiring elder approval bore Lucius’ seal.

 

Students may not know this, but if they see this document approved by their homeroom teacher as an elder, it will be difficult to deny that they are not an elder.

 

After thinking, he withdrew his hand.

 

It’s better not to do anything stupid.

 

“…”

 

“Oh, no. If you’re having a hard time, you don’t have to sign it.”

 

Lucius extended his finger but then hesitated, closing his mouth without saying a word.

 

Rayel hurriedly waved his hand and looked at him very pitifully, as if he had accepted his silence.

 

“I just need to get it from other kids. You don’t have to worry too much. Your magic power hasn’t stabilized yet, right? It took me a long time to stabilize too. It was only recently that I was able to get a seal.”

 

Occasionally, there are demons whose magic power is slow to stabilize, resulting in their growth being sluggish and their combat abilities being low. Some of them may even be unable to imprint their signatures at all.

 

Rayel’s eyes looking at Lucius were full of anxiety and concern.

 

Although his misunderstanding was absurd, Lucius decided to leave Rayel’s misunderstanding alone.

 

Since he knows how to put a seal, he will definitely be disappointed if you don’t put one on him.

 

Rayel spoke in a kind voice.

 

“Call me anytime you need my help, Lucius.”

 

Rayel was very humble and friendly.

 

Although he couldn’t beat Kian and didn’t stand out, he did get good grades in the practical exam.

 

Rayel was busy informing other students of the message.

 

The corners of Lucius’s mouth lifted slightly as he looked at the boy who was moving around busily.

 

‘If you raise him well, it might become a talent to join the Demon King’s army.’

 

A commander must not simply be strong.

 

You must be trusted by your subordinates and be able to judge situations quickly. Only then can the units move efficiently and organically.

 

The brief glimpse of Rayel’s appearance seemed very suitable for that of a commander.

 

Of course, there may be a need to watch more to make an accurate judgment.

 

‘What kind of training should we try?’

 

Lucius, who was pondering over all the training he had experienced in his head, soon found a small space marked separately at the bottom of the paper.

 

‘What is this?’

 

Just as he was starting to question it, Rayel came rushing in from afar and pointed to the bottom of the paper, saying he had almost forgotten.

 

“I’m sorry, there was something I forgot to explain. You see this little compartment here? I don’t know if you know, but Cyrus operates under a partner system.”

 

“I know. I heard it before you came.”

 

“Thank god. Then, just find your partner and get his autograph here.”

 

Partner system.

 

This was the biggest feature of Cyrus Academy.

 

Cyrus students participate in various events at the academy with their favorite partners.

 

In the case of freshmen, there are some cases where friends form partners, but most students meet temporary partners chosen by their homeroom teacher.

 

Once a partner is established, they remain for one academic year, after which they can either break up or remain in partnership at their own discretion.

 

In some cases, the compatibility was so good that a temporary partner stayed together until graduation.

 

“The submission deadline is until the completion of paper signing. If you don’t have a partner, you can submit it to Mr. Arnold, the assigned teacher. However, he may be somewhere in the building, so you’ll have to find him. If you can’t find him in time, you can leave it on the teacher’s desk.”

 

“It’ll be fun. Rayel, do you have a partner of your own?”

 

Hearing that there was a partner system, he also looked for several partner candidates.

 

If there was a capable student like Rayel in the same class, it would definitely be worthwhile to form a partnership.

 

Additionally, if you are a class leader, you can collect information about the academy faster than anyone else, so becoming a partner eliminates the hassle of having to collect information separately.

 

‘But his partner is…’

 

Lucius’ eyes glanced at Kian.

 

As soon as he asked Rayel about his partner, Kian sent an intense gaze from afar, filled with enthusiasm.

 

‘You’re such a worried friend. I heard that the bond between animal-type demons is a bit special.’

 

It is said that Rayel lived with his father near Kian’s village and hung out with Kian all the time. So there was a high possibility that they had promised to become partners in advance.

 

As expected, Rayel shook his head and spoke firmly.

 

“I decided to partner with Kian. So, from now on, I plan to look for Mr. Arnold.”

 

Well then.

 

Lucius expected it, but it’s a shame that the convenient option is gone.

 

When Rayel refused firmly, the feeling of Kian’s hidden gaze disappeared.

 

Lucius chuckled and shrugged his shoulders.

 

“Then I guess I should go out and find a partner.”

 

“Oh, and the teacher said that if you don’t find your way in time, there’s a penalty.”

 

“Penalty? Hmm… I’ll keep that in mind.”

 

Lucius fell silent for a moment and nodded in understanding.

 

Even before conducting a separate investigation, there had been some information heard about Mr. Arnold, who would be taking on the role of the homeroom teacher.

 

‘Number 101 in the rankings, doppelganger Arnold.’

 

After a lot of hard work, when he got to the bottom of the named list, Lucius became the Fifth Elder and was an unfortunate demon who was pushed down in rank.

 

He had a mischievous personality that often drew complaints from students, but he was so passionate about education that he volunteered to be a teacher at the academy, which was rare among demons.

 

Last semester, the classes he taught were so detailed and well-connected that even Lucius had nothing to point out.

 

Perhaps the assignment given this time was also part of the class.

 

Other students might think it’s just the homeroom teacher’s eccentricity.

 

“Then cheer up. I’ll go find the teacher,” Rayel replied with determination.

 

As Rayel left with Kian to look for Mr. Arnold, Lucius slowly left the class and was deep in thought.

 

“Find it on your own, this is it.”

 

Doppelgangers are a race that is excellent at hiding.

 

That means that Arnold can never be found at the level of students at Epsilon if he decides.

 

However, he did instruct them to find him and submit the papers. It seemed like he was being somewhat accommodating.

 

Finding someone in hiding depends on the abilities and characteristics of each demon, so there was no simpler or more efficient way to assess the students’ capabilities.

 

To put it another way.

 

This means that judgment on individual students is over.

 

‘He prepared quite thoroughly from the first assignment.’

 

The corners of Lucius’ mouth curled up.

 

He was looking forward to seeing how much capabilities Mr. Arnold would show.

 

“I guess I’ll have to go find my partner first.”

 

Lucius took a step forward while remembering the list Hamel gave him.

 

If you go through the right hallway and go up the stairs, you will find Gamma class, which is a class higher than Epsilon.

 

“Did he say it was the Siren’s Lugain?”

 

Sirens are demons that have the ability to charm prey by singing or playing musical instruments, luring them to a nest, and then eating them.

 

Since they are a race that is mainly active in the sea, they are very useful as partners.

 

Moreover, the demon, who were partners last year, graduated, and each of their friends has a partner, so they may not have decided on a partner yet.

 

Looking around, he could see students still struggling to find partners.

 

‘I understand why most new students are just assigned temporary partners.’

 

Since they are new students, their actions are bound to be slower than current students.

 

Even if you want to ask for a partner, it’s difficult to make a hasty move since you don’t know the person.

 

Although Lucius collected enough information beforehand, it was natural that ordinary students could not do such a thing.

 

As soon as he entered the Gamma class area, unlike the Epsilon class, he felt the excitement of the first day of school.

 

They busily wandered around, either unraveling the tension from the previous semester or actively searching for a new partner, Lucius couldn’t help but sigh at the sight of their energetic and vibrant movements.

 

“It feels like searching for a somewhat useful chick among a brood of chicks…” Lucius thought to himself, feeling a sense of exasperation.