I Became A Third-Rate Villain In The Hero Academy
chapter-268

Inside a cafe near the Knight Department.

It was a popular place because it had study rooms isolated from the outside, but it was quiet since it was the end of the semester.

Creak─

Theo entered a study room after ordering from the menu.

Irene was sitting inside.

Her usual neat and healthy appearance was nowhere to be found.

Her hair was dry, her lips were bitten both above and below, and there was blood where her nails and flesh met.

Irene, silent, bowed her head, but Theo's heightened senses noticed she was trying hard to suppress her trembling.

As Theo sat down, he said,

"Would you tell me what happened, Rin?"

"······Don't call me that."

Irene murmured, looking at Theo.

She opened her mouth with a face about to cry.

"······I thought I could wait until you told me. ······It was arrogant of me."

All of it was for Theo, but Irene no longer wanted to hide the truth.

"······."

Theo didn't say anything. He had his usual indifferent expression.

But that face, to Irene now, brought up many emotions.

She remembered how he looked like a demon before enrollment.

─······Are you also looking down on me! How dare you look at me like that! I only drink cold water!

Starting with a young servant who brought him lukewarm water, he beat most of the household members of the Waldeurk family indiscriminately.

Since the head of the family was absent, no one was there to stop him.

That wasn't the end.

─Let go. Do you all want to die! How dare these lowly creatures touch me? I feel like I'll get sick right now!

Theo beat up everyone trying to stop him and tore up the clothes Irene had given him for his birthday.

─Irene, you really thought these kinds of clothes would suit me. Looks like something that would come from a stupid old-fashioned family. Ptui.

Irene shed endless tears.

It was painful.

The man she really liked had crossed a river of no return.

After biting her lower lip hard, Irene continued,

"The interpretation of the letters you taught me arrived from my family. It's highly likely that you've contracted with a low-level demon. ······I'll ask you directly.

Did you make a contract with a demon, Theo?"

Irene was afraid to meet his eyes after saying that.

Her body trembled as if an earthquake had occurred.

'······I still have to look.'

Irene, biting her lip hard, looked up at him.

It was said that a demon reveals its true form when its identity is exposed for the first time.

'I can't kill a demon.'

This might be the last time she sees Theo.

Silence filled the study room.

More than 10 seconds passed, but Theo's expression remained unchanged.

He simply looked at Irene with a surprised expression.

Theo burst into laughter, as if he found the situation absurd.

"······Hahaha, hahahaha. That's funny."

Irene, unable to come up with a rebuttal, just stared at Theo with wide eyes.

It was because she had gone through a whirlwind of intense emotions just moments before, and it was also the first time she had seen Theo laughing so carelessly.

'What the······.'

She suddenly became angry.

If he had even the slightest understanding of her feelings, he shouldn't laugh like that.

If he was a demon, she was determined to tear him apart, even if he looked like Theo.

Perhaps sensing Irene's thoughts, Theo stopped laughing and said,

"Hahahaha······ Sorry, Rin. I faced a similar suspicion from Piel not long ago. I even had to do some embarrassingly shameful things in front of Lord Maximin to prove I wasn't a demon."

"Eh······?"

Theo spoke to Irene, who looked at him as if her soul had left her body.

"You asked if I had made a contract with a demon."

"······Yes. Yes."

"Probably not."

Irene glared at Theo.

"Probably not······? What does that mean?"

"······It's the first time I'm talking about this. Keep it to yourself, Rin."

Theo paused for a moment before saying,

"Since the start of the second semester, I've lost some of my past memories."

"That's······"

"I remember most things, but there's also a lot that I completely don't recall. You've probably read novels. It feels like some of the pages of the story have been ripped out.

Feeling like a completely different person might be part of this too."

"Is that so."

"Also, The [Demon Sword] is a divine item that burns all evil beings. There are famous stories of the Chalon family using the [Demon Sword] to drive out demons. If I had made a contract with a demon, it would never have chosen me."

"······."

Irene was as if frozen by ice magic, not moving an inch.

She just blankly stared at Theo with her eyes filled with mixed emotions.

However, her condition had improved significantly compared to when they first met.

Theo, looking at Irene, smiled faintly.

"Sorry, Rin. It seems I've caused you a lot of worries unintentionally."

"······."

"But I'm not running away. I'm trying to correct past wrongs. If it's okay with you, would you come with me to the Waldeurk family now? I want to face a past I don't even remember now."

Instead of answering, Irene looked at Theo.

Her lips moved as if she had something important to say.

Theo nodded.

"If you have something to say, feel free to speak. I don't want to create any more bad memories with you, Rin."

He was sincere.

'I don't know when I will leave this body, but Irene was the first one to help me after my possession.'

Irene's eyes, which have always looked at me, always shone brightly.

I want to find that light again, which is now hidden.

Irene, who had been silent, finally made up her mind and slightly moved her lips.

"I feel in my heart that Theo is not a demon. But my mind still doesn't know."

"I'll try to make it understandable even to your mind."

Time heals most pains.

The same goes for mental anguish.

Humans are beings blessed with forgetfulness.

No matter how difficult and humiliating the memory, if the end is good, it tends to change for the better over time.

The brain manipulates memories to protect the psyche.

That was Theo's intention.

To end the conversation on a good note, to change it into a good memory.

However, Irene still had something to say.

In a way, it was the biggest reason she met Theo today.

"······It's said that making a contract with a demon leaves a mark on the body."

Being too perceptive can make life tiring.

Theo's body stiffened immediately, catching the true meaning behind her words.

Even when he was about to duel Oswald to the death, his body did not tense up like this.

Theo avoided Irene's gaze and said,

"······I know that as well."

"Show me the truth. Right now."

"······This isn't the place, Rin. Someone might come in."

Right after he finished speaking, Irene locked the doorknob tightly with her sword.

Then she kicked the door hard—! The door didn't budge at all.

"It doesn't budge even when kicked with all my might. Moreover, it's a completely enclosed space, so it should be fine."

Theo rapidly thought of another excuse with lightning speed.

"······Rin. I can't do something so obscene."

"Theo. I pride myself on knowing you as well as you do. You're a person who moves efficiently."

"······That's right."

"You don't need to try to convince me. Just show me evidence and I will understand everything."

Theo hurriedly tried to think of another excuse.

'Come on······!'

But nothing came to mind.

Meanwhile, Irene continued,

"If you can't do it, I'll check myself. Since someone missed their practical exam, I have plenty of strength left."

Irene approached Theo with large strides.

Theo, still seated, edged back cautiously.

"······Hahaha."

To Theo, her approaching figure was like that of a demon.

Aisha was waiting for Theo in front of the Knight Department stop.

'Aish, when is he coming? They even made a campus-wide announcement.'

About 10 minutes ago, an announcement had been broadcast through the magical speakers installed all over the academy.

The announcement specifically mentioned Aisha, asking her to wait in front of the Knight Department stop.

About a minute later, Theo's figure appeared from a distance.

For some reason, he looked haggard.

Aisha puffed her cheeks and exclaimed,

"Aish! Why did it take you so long? Even after making an announcement, you made me wait!"

Her mouth gradually opened wider as she shouted.

It was because there was a familiar woman next to Theo.

The woman's identity was none other than his fiancée.

Feeling dizzy, Aisha murmured,

"You said it was embarrassing to show the others... you said it would be just the two of us..."