Were you surprised? I’m a flesh mage. A little bit of transmutation is simple for someone like me. This form combined several animals and amplified both my physical and magical attributes significantly. I had only used it a few times in my existence because the magical and mental cost was taxing. Why didn’t I use such a thing when I was facing the hero? It was because it wouldn’t have made a difference. I would have rather used all of that energy escaping rather than fighting to the death. It was a good thing too because the transmutative magic I had used to survive the last second, I wouldn’t have been able to cast had I first wasted so much mana transforming.

There was a second reason I hadn’t transformed either. This form represented falling to their level. That visage of me was the one they used to rile up popular support. It was the image the hero had seen when he declared me a demon lord. It had haunted me my entire life, leaving people fearful of me and hateful toward everything I had. I didn’t like to use this form, because it even scared me. It made me think, if even for a second, that maybe they were right.

My body quickly shrank back down to normal size. Unfortunately, my clothing was still torn and ripped in numerous places. Magic couldn’t undo that. I felt a wave of weakness come over me, and my legs teetered on falling. I was shocked when I felt a body come up to me, keeping me from falling and supporting me.

“Tcht… only five seconds.”

That form took a lot of mana. Even in my world, I’d have to store up a lot of mana and prepare in advance to use it. In this world, its requirements were even worse. I had used all of the magic I had acquired in a single burst, and it had only gotten me five seconds in that form. Two weeks of work and half a dozen sleepless nights of mana extraction were turned to dust just like that. I still had a few potions and balms I had made, but everything else was used up and I was back to ground zero. It was a serious blow to my plans.

“Aiko… are you okay?” The woman who was holding me up was Ivy.

“I’ll be alright. I just need some rest.” I explained but then froze. “Ivy, what are you doing?”

Ivy noticed me watching her, and she blushed. “I’m just helping you out. We’re supposed to be dating, right?”

“That’s not what I meant…” I started.

“M-m-monster!” Daryl shouted, his hand pointing shakily at me.

That was the response I had expected. I didn’t even have a chance to open my mouth before he turned and ran away. He tripped over as he went, but quickly got up and continued to run away while letting out little pathetic cries. I didn’t bother to chase him. From what I knew about this world, no one would believe him anyway. The pair of us watched until he was out of sight, and then I turned back to her.

“Why are you not acting like that? You saw it, didn’t you?” I asked suspiciously.

“E-even if I saw something.” She looked away. “I can’t say for certain I saw what I thought I saw.”

“It was exactly what you thought you saw,” I responded.

“I don’t care!” She bit her lip, looking up at me. “You were just protecting us, right?”

“I wouldn’t have wasted it if I didn’t feel I had to,” I responded cautiously.

“Then… all I should say is thank you.”

“But-”

“I’ve met monsters in this world…” Ivy spoke quickly. “Many of them could be considered normal or even handsome. Appearances can be deceiving, and you’re no monster.”

“I see…” I responded, not sure what else to say.

She put a hand on my shoulder, her eyes a bit wet. “I mean it. I originally thought you were just like any other guy, but now I know you’re not. That’s not a bad thing.”

I accepted what she was saying, but for some reason, she wasn’t looking away. Rather, wasn’t she getting closer to me? Her face was inching toward mine and her eyes were clothing. She was also pursing her lips. She was even getting up on the tips of her toes as she leaned forward. Was she having some balancing issues?

“Aiko… no cheating.” A voice cut in, causing Ivy to jump.

I hadn’t moved at all, still trying to figure out why she was looking so strange. The pair of us did follow the voice down to Lana, but she wasn’t awake. Instead, it looked like she was sleeping. She rolled over on the floor, seemingly speaking in her sleep. Just what kind of dreams was she having to just happen to say that at that moment? Whatever weird expression Ivy had been making, she quickly wiped it off her face, blushing instead.

“You grab Lana, I’ll take Skylar.” I declared.

“Huh? Why?”

“Isn’t Lana your friend?”

“Yeah, b-b-but she is also your neighbor, who is Skylar to you?” She asked with a pout.

“She’s my coworker.”

“Is that all?” She asked her hands on her hips.

“Isn’t that enough?” I asked.

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She made a noncommittal noise, clearly unsatisfied. “Do what you want.”

I let out a breath of relief. Although I was able to recover my energy fairly quickly, I was still exhausted from the transformation. I was going to struggle to carry anyone. The real reason I picked Skylar over Lana was that Lana, despite losing a lot of weight, still was quite a bit heavier than Skylar. Her body was slim, but whether it was muscle or bone mass, she packed a lot of weight in that small form. Perhaps, my potion also had something to do with that.

Meanwhile, Skylar was very skinny and light, and far easier to carry. I was sure if Ivy knew my true reasoning, she likely would become upset, claiming that I was giving her more work or something. Even though I was the one who got rid of the ghost, women tended to forget such favors quickly when it came to the idea of equality. Every sacrifice and loss a man takes becomes meaningless as long as in that particular second, there is an imbalance that doesn’t favor her.

Since Ivy wasn’t putting up a fight as she hefted up Lana, I went over to Skylar and picked her up too. Ivy was half holding, half dragging Lana, but Skylar was so light I found the best way to carry her was in my arms with her front body on one arm and her legs swung over the other. Ivy glanced at us as I walked past her, a sour expression on her face. She looked like she wanted to complain, but she kept her lips closed, and I felt it was best to leave it at that.

As the pair of us left the forest, Skylar’s eyes started to flutter open. She looked up at me for a moment, and then her cheeks turned red.

“Ah! Ahh!” She cried out, suddenly moving her whole body.

“Will you stop struggling?” I complained as she kicked violently.

I eventually had to let her go, causing her to stumble out of my grip and back a few steps.

“What is going on? What happened?”

Ivy and I exchanged a glance and looked back at her. “You passed out.”

“Passed out…” Skylar frowned looking at me. “Wait… no, I saw…”

“A malicious spirit.” Ivy cut in. “Lana was possessed by an evil spirit! It attacked you.”

“An… evil spirit?” Skylar looked at the pair of us in confusion. “No… but there was something else… Aiko.. he-”

“Came and rescued you!” Ivy cut in. “He saved you from the spirit. How else would you end up in his arms princess carry?”

“P-princess…” She seemed to remember how I was holding her, and her face turned bright red. “Ah! That is… well, spirits don’t exist. If you don’t want to tell me what happened, you can just say that!”

“There was a malicious spirit though.” Ivy looked aggrieved.

“Ridiculous! Don’t you think I’d remember something like that?” Skylar turned her back on us.

Ivy and I exchanged another look. I didn’t need Ivy to speak to know what she was thinking. Denial! Skylar wasn’t able to process what she had seen, so her mind refused to accept that she saw it. I had seen things like this happen to the women who had been raped and tortured by Twenty. They convinced themselves of all kinds of crazy things to escape the brutal realities they face.

One girl, in particular, was especially crazy. Her capacity for delusion couldn’t be topped. Furthermore, unlike the other woman who had all eventually decided to commit suicide, this demoness had never asked for her end. I had heard that even the hero had some difficulty dealing with her. Well, that had nothing to do with me.

“It looks like Daryl ran off some other direction.” I spoke up, you might want to get your stuff from his car.”

“Daryl!” Skylar stiffened. “That was right… he had… he…”

“Did Daryl do something to you?” Ivy asked.

“I doubt he had the ability.” I sighed.

Ivy ran up and grabbed Skylar’s arm, but when I spoke, she turned back and glared at me. “If you think that the only way to hurt someone is with that, then you’re a fool!”

My eyes widened, but I didn’t respond. I realized what Ivy had noticed immediately. Skylar had broken out into tears and was sniffling. I waited nearby while the two girls went through Daryl’s car and fetched Skylar’s stuff. Lana was put into the back of Skylar’s car. Meanwhile, I was standing near the car on the lookout for Daryl. It was unlikely Daryl would approach me after having gone to such lengths to run away though, even abandoning his car. Skylar probably had plenty of time.

As I glanced around with my hands in my pockets. I didn’t feel bad for anything that had happened to Skylar. I had seen so much worse when it came to Twenty and other women. I had experienced worse myself, as Twenty was truly a malicious demon. Climax Peak was nearly empty now. There were only two other cars, but they were both dark and showed no signs of life. It was anyone’s guess what was going on in those.

“Aiko, is that you?” I heard a voice come from behind, and I looked back to see an unexpected girl in a prom dress.

“Kio?” I blinked.

“What are you doing in climax peak?” She asked.

She was holding her shoes in her hands as she came out of the forest. Her prom dress had some signs of having been hastily removed and then put back on. Otherwise, she looked the same as she had when she appeared at the prom.

“I could ask the same question. Why are you out here?”

Her face flushed. “Why else would I be out here?”

“Indeed… same to you,” I responded, causing her to look away in embarrassment. “Should we agree not to tell mom?”

I didn’t want to explain myself, so I was fine with any misunderstanding she came up with. It also seemed a quick way to keep her mouth sealed.

Kio’s eyes widened, and then she nodded. “Agreed!”

I nodded, but since the girls were taking their time, I added. “How did it go?”

She made a face. “Badly… I don’t think I’m going to see him anymore.”

I shrugged. It wasn’t like I was that invested. As I had told Rosita, these were her own mistakes to make. If I had to opportunity, I might do something about it, but whatever happened, she seemed to have come out of it okay. If I had the opportunity though, I might also steal that guy’s sex drive.

“What about you-” Kio stopped when she saw two other girls return.

Skylar was wearing a dress that was torn in a few places, while Ivy’s clothing was work clothing as a volunteer. Kio seemed to notice my partially ripped clothing at that moment as well.

“Two girls? I shouldn’t need to ask how your day went!” Kio pinched me on the arm angrily.

“If you have any more trouble, you can call this number.”

“Thank you, Ivy. I don’t know how to thank you. I know we’re not friends, but maybe we don’t have to be strangers who sit near Aiko anymore.”

“I’d really like that- huh? Kio?”

“Kio? Who’s Kio?”

“I’m Aiko’s sister!” Kio shoved herself passed me, greeting the two other girls with a smile that showed too many teeth.

“Mmmm… huh? Where am I?” A voice cut in, causing us all to turn to Lana who was just waking up.

“Three!” Kio cried out.

“Ah! It’s not what it looks like!” Ivy cut in. “Lana just… um… drank too much!”

“Hmm…” Kio answered, but she didn’t seem particularly impressed.

“It’s really late.” I cut in before they could start talking. “Let’s just get going. Ivy, can you bring us all home?”

“Ah! Y-yeah, it’ll be a tight squeeze, but with Aiko in the front, the rest of you can squeeze in the back.”

As the girls chatted freely, no one truly wanted to talk about what they had done that night, I mostly ignored it all. I had a strange feeling like I was missing something, but I couldn’t place my fingers on what it was.

As I got into the car, I failed to notice a set of eyes on me. They glimmered once with shadowy darkness, and then they were gone. We drove off, and that was the end of my first high school dance. It could have gone worse.