Chapter 37

"Alright, let's start learning wind magic right away!!"

The day after successfully escorting the cargo.

I was enthusiastic from the morning.

By the way, school is off today, so I can be active from the morning.

"So, Master, where do we start?"

"Master, you mean me?"

"I heard that in the human world, one calls their master that way."

"Well, I guess it's fine... but..."

I think you can call me whatever you like, but being called "Master" feels a bit embarrassing.

"By the way, what are you wearing?"

The outfit in question was a maid uniform that Fokalor was wearing for some reason.

"I thought it would be good to start with the appearance, so I had it sent from the demon world. How do I look? Do you think it suits me?"

"Yeah, I think it suits you."

Actually, Fokalor looked quite good in the maid outfit.

Honestly, Fokalor is cute, so I think she would look good in anything.

"Hehehe... I'm flattered by your praise, Master. Oops, I didn't mean to smile like that. How unladylike."

Fokalor seemed delighted by the praise, grinning from ear to ear.

Fokalor usually gives the impression of having a stiff expression, making it hard to tell what she's thinking, but upon closer inspection, she actually has a very expressive face.

"By the way, I should summon Crossel."

Originally, I planned to summon Crossel after learning wind magic, but since I can summon up to three at once, I decided to summon Crossel now.

Next time, I might try to see how many I can summon at once.

"Crossel?"

Fokalor tilted her head.

"The demon who taught me water magic. I thought she might be lonely, so I want to summon her."

"Is that so?"

Fokalor seemed to understand and nodded.

So, I summoned Crossel.

"Uwaaaaaah, Master Norman, I was so lonelyyyyyy!!"

As soon as she was summoned, Crossel hugged me.

Instantly, her chest pressed against me.

Yeah, it's soft.

"C-Crossel, why are you materializing without permission...?"

"Because I was lonely."

Even so, it's a bit awkward to be hugged so casually.

"What, a fallen angel is sticking to Master?"

"Ow, ouch, who are you, stop pulling my hair!"

Fokalor was pulling Crossel's hair hard.

Since Fokalor can touch Crossel's hair, she must be materialized too.

"Hey, Fokalor! Why are you here!?"

"I serve Master, so it's natural for me to be here."

"Master... Norman, what happened with Fokalor?"

Crossel whispered in my ear so only I could hear.

"I don't really understand, but somehow it turned out this way..."

"Ugh, I don't like that person..."

I remember Crossel said the same thing when I was about to summon Fokalor.

"Why don't you like Fokalor?"

Fokalor is a bit strange, but I don't think she has a troublesome personality that would make someone dislike her.

"That person is weird, you know. She admires angels, so she looks at someone like me, a fallen angel, with disdain."

"Ah, I see."

From Fokalor's perspective, someone who was once an angel but fell must be uninteresting.

"Master, it's not good to be too close to a fallen angel. They are tainted."

"Hey, what do you mean by 'tainted'!? That's rude. And what are you trying to casually take Master Norman from me!?"

"Don't stick to Master so much."

"No way!"

Crossel and Fokalor started arguing over me.

Meanwhile, they were pulling me from both sides... it's really painful!

"Master, this fallen angel has a history of betraying her master. It's best not to trust her."

"Ah, I'm about to snap. I don't think I should be told this by a lowly demon like you."

Both of them stood up and glared at each other.

The atmosphere was tense, as if they were about to start fighting.

"Then, why don't we decide which demon is more suitable for Master?"

"Sounds good. How do we decide?"

"Hehehe, of course, a proper demon duel."

"Sounds good, I like it. I enjoy killing people I hate."

Fokalor, who usually doesn't change her expression, had a creepy smile on her face.

Crossel, who is always smiling, had dilated pupils as she glared at Fokalor.

Eh? This is really scary... Demons are really scary.

"Hey, both of you, calm down..."

I tried to calm them down, but they didn't seem to be listening to me at all.

Just then—

"Big brother, I came to play!"

My sister Nene opened the door and came in.

Why does she just barge in like that!? What about the lock? The lock?

Here's the problem:

Two girls were arguing in my room. How would it look to my sister?

"Love triangle!!"

"Why does it turn into that!?"

"Big brother is so dirtyyyyyy!!"

Nene screamed and ran down the hallway.

Meanwhile, Crossel and Fokalor seemed to come to their senses and looked awkwardly at the floor.

Since they seemed to be fine on their own, I chased after Nene.

"Nene!!"

"Ah!"

For some reason, Nene looked at me as if I were something disgusting.

"It's a misunderstanding..."

"I believed that Big brother was only interested in Crossel."

"Well, to begin with..."

Crossel and I aren't in that kind of relationship... How should I clear up this misunderstanding?

"To be involved with other women is the worst!"

I didn't even touch Fokalor.

"And to make that woman wear a maid uniform! You're a pervert!?"

Nene had even noticed Fokalor's outfit.

"It's a misunderstanding..."

"Then explain what's going on."

What can I say?

I can't tell her about the demons.

"They're teaching me magic. I've been able to use magic recently thanks to them."

It's not entirely a lie.

"Then why were they arguing?"

"It's not a love triangle or anything. They were just arguing about the theory of magic."

"But I've never seen Crossel or the other person at school."

She hit the nail on the head.

"They look older than me, right? They go to an academy, not a school."

If I say they go to an academy I'll attend after graduating, it might make sense.

"Which academy?"

"Xenox High Magic Academy."

I just said the first academy that came to mind.

"Xenox High Magic Academy? You have to be really excellent to go there! That's amazing!"

Nene's eyes lit up.

It seems I can get away with this.

Although it's a lie on top of a lie, they are indeed excellent, so it's not a problem.

"So, Big brother learned magic thanks to Crossel and the others. I want to learn magic too."

"Sure, I'll ask them if there's an opportunity."

I thought such an opportunity would never come, but I went along with the conversation.

By matching my conversation to Nene's, I managed to clear up the misunderstanding.