Waku waku~

I can't believe I'm so easily swayed by the words "secret society", but apparently I am. With Kamii and Hestia in tow, I follow Sharkface out over the field and towards the dorms. Don't tell me he's going to ask us to enter the boys' dorms with him? Well, the rules do say that in such a case the boy is at fault, so I can just blame it on him if we're found out. Incidentally, if a boy enters the girls' dorms, he's still at fault, so it's a win-win situation for me no matter how I look at it.

But he leads us past the dorm buildings, to an area with several warehouses. I didn't even know this existed within the citadel, but obviously there has to be a place where all the food for the meals are stored, among other things. Still, this looks quite shady. I give Hestia a look and she seems to understand; she's on guard now. Well, I doubt this straightforward guy is going to lead us into some kind of ambush, but it's always better to be prepared.

We follow Sharkface between two warehouses, towards a mountain of barrels and crates that seem to have fallen into disuse. He knocks on one of them in a certain order, and it opens inwards, revealing another boy, around his age. This one looks human, although his eyes are shaped to have an eternally evil gaze in them.

"You brought all of them?" He asks as he notices Hestia and Kamii beside me. "You were only supposed to bring her." Obviously, he's referring to me.

"I don't think they'd let her come alone." Sharkface responds with a shrug. "Doesn't matter, they're basically demons, too." That's quite half-assed. For all you know, Hestia could, despite her corruption, still be of the faction that ardently pursues demons. Well, considering she's associating with me, I guess not. Kamii's case is self-evident from how she used to behave around me, and how she still follows me wherever I go.

"Alright, come in quick." The evil-eyed boy makes way and we enter through the crate. It's barely enough for Kamii to stand upright in, so both Hestia and I have to duck. Especially with her wings, she has some trouble entering, but when the other side is opened, we're led into a spacious room. Apparently many crates and barrels were hollowed out and nailed together, so that it's invisible from the outside. This is almost the size of our dorm room.

"Welcome to the Demon Mages Society." Sharkface states proudly. Within the room eight people are already gathered. Two girls, five boys and one familiar face: Basarab, the teacher. Wait, secret society, but a teacher is aware of it? I think ya dun goofed right there...

Well, I always thought this guy was a kind of demon, most likely a vampire, so maybe he's actually the one who created this gathering of demons. In either case, to me it feels more like he's here as an overseer, to make sure that they don't do some dangerous activities, such as dark rituals or plotting against the establishment.

"Welcome, Miss Marcott, Miss Hestia, Kamii." Basarab's voice is as shiver-inducing as ever. He doesn't address Kamii with a honorific, but I suppose they already know each other, since she greets him with a smile and he returns it. I didn't know he could show such an expression, I thought he was the prideful, "I'm better than you all" type. "Let me introduce you to the members."

He goes through each of them, but I can't really retain much of what he's saying. Either I'm really susceptible to such a thing, or his voice is filled with magic, but whenever he speaks, I'm like enchanted. But it would appear that the other girls are also affected to a certain degree, as they hang on his lips at every single one of his words. Only Hestia shows defiance and is looking at him with almost hateful eyes.

"And finally, I am Basarab Laiota, but you know me already." Yes, I do, but I want to know more about you~ No wait, that's just the effect of his voice! Don't let it control you, me!

"This is a society for the demons within the academy to speak about what sets them apart from humans." The evil-eyed boy says. I think his name was Elestair or something. Not important, he's Evil-Eyes from now on. "Urges we may feel, discrimination we may experience, or how to best keep our secrets." So basically a support group for demons. I seriously don't think you can call this a secret society at all... I look at Sharkface with an expression that shows how not amused I am with him misleading me like that, but he actually smiles an innocent smile in response.

Sigh...

"Um, it is nice to be able to talk to you." The two girls come up to me when we begin to mingle. The one who speaks first has translucent bluish skin and purple eyes. I think her name is Vitalis. Is she a slime? She has really a cute smile... no wait, I already have Kamii and Hestia. The fact that I'm considering both mine should bother people normally, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm going for the harem route! Oh, then I could include her, too~

"I really admire you!" The other says. I think her name is Lenoly. This one's so bubbly and cute, too. Wait, do I know you from somewhere? Ah, take away the goat eyes and horns, and I think I recognize her from the Basics of Fire Magic class last week. So she must be using some kind of magic to disguise herself normally. "We both do." As the two only girls in the society, it was to be expected that they're friends with each other.

Admire me, huh? Does that mean they knew that I'm a demon from a while ago? What's with everyone seeing through my disguise so easily?

"Now that we know you are a demon, we can talk to you much more freely." I spoke too soon.

"Do tell, what do you admire about me?" I give them a smile, but apparently it intimidated them a little, as they shrink under my gaze.

"You are really cool." Vitalis says while fidgeting a little. "I... thought you were a boy at first." Thank you for being so honest with me. What part of me looks boyish, though? Aside from my short hair, I guess. "But... I cannot shake this feeling..." Here it comes. I turn to look at Hestia, but she's not showing any signs of being ready to pounce on her, as I expected a yandere to be by this point. "... I may have fallen for you." Oh boy, high school all over again...

"Vitalis really worked up her courage to tell you that~" Apparently Lenoly doesn't harbor the same feelings for me. But she is clearly supportive of her friend. I really have to call into question the acceptance of such things in this world, but at this point I don't even really care anymore. "What do you think?"

"Thank you, I really appreciate your sentiment, but you should learn more about me before you can say that." After all, we never even talked before. I'm quite interested in what Vitalis really is. I can tell that Lenoly is a kind of goat demon, but nothing beyond that. By interacting more, I will eventually learn more about them, too. Now, the problem may be how Hestia takes the possible additions to my friends with bene-... I mean harem... no wait.

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I turn to look at her, but there are still no signs of the strong jealousy she displayed before. Don't tell me she completely lost that trait about her after becoming fully corrupted? Her personality did change quite a bit, after all. Maybe it's similar to how Kamii didn't mind Hestia as much after our special night together.

Speaking of Kamii, she seems pretty friendly with Lenoly. Maybe they have a class together, but seeing them like this brings a smile to my face. She's making friends at this school and can be relaxed around people I didn't personally introduce to her now. I think at this point I don't have to worry about her that much anymore. I pet her hair and she looks at me with a questioning expression. "Hn? Onee-sama?" I can't help myself to cuddle her when she acts like that!

"Ah, that reminds me. What does Oneh Sama mean?" Lenoly asks. It's a strange language to them, but the pronunciation is unexpectedly proper. "Kamii has been referring to you like that whenever she talks about you." So she talks about me, huh? I'd like to hear what she's saying.

"It means big sister in the language from my... hometown." I can't very well say country, since we're all from the Demon Continent here. "It is used to address someone you look up to like an older sister." And now I'm reminded of the first thing anyone in this world said to me. It was that maid with the lizard tail, when she entered the room in the morning. She addressed me with Chaos-sama. Don't tell me...

"Is it alright if I call you that, too? Onee-sama?" Vitalis says to me with upturned eyes. It was super effective! My mind is blown away at the sight. You, my room, now! I will make you call me that with a melting expression on your face~

No no no, I can't let these instincts control me! I need to stay strong...

"Everyone, let us begin." Basarab's voice brings me back, and immediately sends me flying off again.

It turns out that the Demon Mages Society really is just a support group for the demons studying at the academy. Everyone gets a turn for talking about their everyday problems and experiences from classes, presenting things they may see as problems. The others then respond to it with suggestions and encouragement.

Sharkface is basically just saying that it's hard to keep his urges under control. He feels like pulling humans underwater and rip them to shreds whenever he's at the pool with his class. This guy is actually a shark demon?

Evil-eyes is a chuunibyou and isn't ashamed about it at all. He speaks of the darkness in his heart telling him to prey on the weak and ignorant masses in the city. The lights at night entice him to swoop down and suck their blood, to create an empire of thralls at his beck and call. Wait, he's a vampire? He does look a little pale, but Basarab seems so much more like one.

When Vitalis expresses her wish to speak up, I have mixed feelings. Especially since she gave me sideways glances before making up her mind. Don't tell me you're going to tell everyone in class about your feelings and ask how she can make it so I reciprocate them or something...

"I... I think I am in love with Onee-sama." That was a critical hit! My heart can't take many of these! But obviously everyone other than those in the know are confused as to whom she's referring to. "I mean, Miss Marcott." Realizing her mistake, she corrects herself. She actually had the courage to come right out with it in front of so many people. Hey, you know I'm right here. If you want to begin a discussion about it, please do so when I'm not around.

"Love between two girls?" One of the boys, whose name I'm not the least interested in learning, says with an almost disgusted face. "That's unnatural!" I feel Hestia freezing up beside me. When I shoot her a glance, I notice that she's not shocked but rather angry. It doesn't really show in her expression, but she's clenching her fist. Calm down, it's just a stupid boy saying this. Now, if the teacher were to say that...

"That is a wonderful thing, Miss Vitalis." Basarab encourages her. "We are not here to judge each other's preferences, no matter how weird they may seem to us." Oi, you picking a fight? "But for those who grew up among humans, know that on the Demon Continent, it is very natural for those of the same gender to fall in love with each other." Are you for real? The Demon Continent would be a utopia for like-minded people from my previous world!

Hestia is listening intently. I didn't expect her to feel the need for any sort of confirmation that our relationship is accepted somewhere in the world. I put my hand on hers and she twitches at the sensation before turning around to me with a questioning look. I think my expression is a confident smile, and in response her eyes display a mental meltdown - all the while her face keeps up her usual facade. She's too far gone for me...

I turn to Kamii and see that she isn't even paying attention. As expected of her, I doubt she'd let anyone tell her that we shouldn't be having such a relationship. They'd get her crab claw in the face as a response.

"I doubt it's only between two girls." Another boy remarks and earns a snigger from his friend - the guy who disparaged Vitalis', and in extension Hestia's feelings earlier. Are you actually consciously trying to get on our bad side? That can be arranged. "The rumors say that indecent voices can be heard in their room at night." It was only once, though. Well, the other time wasn't in our room, so it doesn't count. In either way, that's how rumors are blown out of proportion over time, so I should have seen it coming...

"That is entirely up to those involved to decide and work out together." Are you a saint, Basarab? Even though you look like a vampire, your words are like music to my ears - and I don't mean your voice's effect on my mind. This guy is a role model for generations to come, please learn from him properly, kids. "As long as everyone is happy, who are we to criticize them?" I totally agree!

"So, what can I do to get Miss Marcott to like me back?" Vitalis asks shyly. Hey, I'm right here. You could ask me directly, if you really want to know. In any case, why is this session becoming about me? Everyone seems quite involved, in one way or another.

Although I do spot a boy who seems uneasy where he sits and he glances at me from time to time with fear in his eyes. He has blonde hair and green eyes, and is unexpectedly cute, but unfortunately, I'm not into boys. Noticing my gaze, he quickly looks down and stares at his own toes as if trying to avoid the eyes of a predator. Am I looking that depraved that I'm going to assault you for staring at me?

"I believe that question is best answered by Miss Marcott herself." Basarab throws me the figurative ball. Well shit, I did think she should ask me, but I never expected to actually answer. I find her plenty cute and I'd like to know more about her in various ways, but it's obviously a different feeling from what has been built up between Kamii and I over time, or what experience binds Hestia to me. There's no quick way to someone's heart, after all.

"I cannot really tell you, but just interacting with each other should provide more opportunities to get to know each other better. Such things develop naturally, if the circumstances allow it." My answer is unexpectedly mature. I didn't think I could think that way. Hey, this is about me, too. Why did I just reply as if I'm some bystander?

"That was a very well thought-out response, Miss Marcott." Basarab praises me. Ahhh, praise me more~ "Indeed, the best way is to first become friends with someone. If you wish to grow closer to someone, you will have to do so gradually, through natural interactions in everyday life." He's a teacher at heart after all. Using this specific example, he's making a general statement to serve as a life lesson. "Yes, Flann?"

Oh, the boy who seems scared of me has raised his hand and wants to speak. His name is Flann, huh? Don't tell me he's going to fire shots at me as well...

"C-can we p-please address the f-fact that M-Miss Marcott is..." He's actually terrified. Do I really look that dangerous to you? "... a Crawling Chaos?"

Everyone's eyes turn to look at me in shock, with some of the boys fumbling backwards to get away from me. Basarab's expression is also filled with astonishment at this revelation, and while he doesn't show his horror openly, it's clear that he's feeling it, too. Even Vitalis and Lenoly are scared, huddling together and shaking in terror. Sharkface' expression is filled with fearful hostility and even Evil-Eyes isn't in control of his emotions, as he tried to act like he was before. Hestia and Kamii look around in confusion, as they both clearly don't understand what just happened.

Really though,what's going on?