Chapter 7: Explosive Entry

Demons and humans were completely different creatures, but the longer I saw the latter, the less that difference seemed to matter.

Dozens of students mingled with one another around us. Iruma stuck to me like gum, eyes taking in the rather large room.

"This is one of the school's many spacious classrooms, Iruma-Sama." that pretty boy, Alice explained. "I believe we'll be taught something simple like summoning here. I know you shouldn't have any problem with that!"

Iruma chuckled nervously and nodded.

"Y-Yeah..."

I didn't really care so much about all that crap. But Iruma? Iruma was actually listening to the guy.

Beside me, Shax rolled his eyes and pulled out his gaming console. I had to admit, that little portable thing did catch my eye. The only time I ever got a chance to play games like that was back when Iruma found some loose change.

It was about half an hour of fun at the arcade, but I did like it.

"What are you playing?" I asked while keeping Iruma in my sight.

"Huh? Oh! It's one of those games where you can gather villains and stuff. You can pay some money to make rolling easier."

…

What? What kind of game was that? The ones I remembered were simple fighting games or that other one where shooting monsters was a thing.

"Never heard of it?" he asked.

I shook my head and took a quick peek at his screen. There were all sorts of monsters. A few were clearly girls, but others had extra limbs and eyes. Demons, I realized.

"It's a bit of a gamble if you get something good, but that's what makes it fun," he said with a little laugh. "Honestly, sometimes it's more fun to see what I get than actually playing the missions."

I could confidently say that I did not understand what he meant by that.

"Here, I have enough for a tenner. Why don't you roll for good luck?"

"I have no idea what you're even talking about." Tenner? Rolling? It didn't look like any kind of dice game I'd ever seen.

"Eh, don't worry too much. Just tap this button here."

"…"

Alright. I reached out and gently pressed my finger against the big button. Dozens of flashing lights filled the screen. There were blue, purple, and gold lights.

When all was said and done, a bunch of different portraits were dumped on the screen.

"Oh, man! You've got some good luck!" he roared with a grin. "I'd let you roll for me more, but then that just takes the fun away, you know?"

No. I didn't know. Still, did he think I was lucky?

I guess it depended on how I looked at my life. To be honest, I would like to think I was lucky.

"I-"

The doors were flung open, shutting up just about everyone in the room. All eyes turned toward the entrance where a well-dressed man walked in.

His sharp, angled features and tall stature left quite an imposing impression. The man's violet hair was combed back into a very stiff, if somewhat stylish cut. Like just about everything else, his eyes were pointed and razor-sharp.

Though, was he wearing eyeliner? Was this one of those demon things I didn't get?

He took a good look at everyone and then scoffed. This was our teacher, I guessed. He folded his hands behind his back and slowly walked forward toward the from of the classroom.

"Naberius Kalego," he said coldly. "I'm in charge of you all for this event, so don't do anything stupid."

He pulled out a black book from seemingly thin air and quickly flipped through its pages.

"If anyone makes a joke about my face then I'll throw you out with the other trash that fails this simple task."

No fun allowed, huh? He looked like that kind of guy to me.

As he went on talking about random crap, his eyes eventually landed on Iruma.

"Don't expect that I'll go easy on any of you, especially useless brats that rely on their grandfather's position." He hissed and tried to get into Iruma's face.

Tried being the word. I held out a hand against his chest. It was less of a threat and more of a warning. I wasn't going to do anything, but if he did, then I'd make sure he regretted it.

Curiously enough, Alice also stepped up a bit. He wasn't so much worried as he was excited. What? Did he expect Iruma to knock this guy out?

…

Heh. That actually would have been great to see. Maybe I could start giving my little brother some basic lessons in punching? He was probably going to need it if we were going to stay here for a while.

Anyways, this teacher could probably kick my ass. If the teachers here were anything like Sullivan and his freaky cat butter, then I probably wouldn't stand a chance. That didn't mean I was just going to lie down, though. I'd punch him in the face, even if it was with my shattered bones.

He turned to me and scoffed.

"People that can't even get in without leeching off their family's reputation deserved to be expelled," he said and moved back toward the front of the class. "Remember this well- no amount of connections is going to save you in the middle of a fight."

He was an ass, but he did make a good point. Like the crooked cops back home, I could still punch them out so long as they didn't call for backup. All that mattered in a fight was what you as a person could bring to the table then and there.

"Now, let's start with your lesson."

He reached into that book of his and pulled out a slip of paper.

"You will all be summoning familiars today."

Hushed whispers spread through the room. A familiar? Weren't those the cute cats or crows witches had in cartoons? It didn't seem very demon-like, but maybe that was the point.

"Pay attention, because I'm only going to explain this once."

Yeah, yeah. I was getting tired of his raspy voice. Iruma was looking at him pretty intently, but he'd furrowed his brow. I knew what that mean. He was whipping up one of his weird plans.

I covered a yawn and turned my attention to something else. Maybe I could try and use my wings in some sort of flying drop kick? That sounded like something super fun and cool to try out. I really needed to practice my flying more. Also, magic was a thingl. If I was a demon, that meant I could do some of that, right?

…

Damn it. Was I going to have to ask that old bastard for help? My only other choice was Alice, but I didn't know who would be worse…

"And that's about it. Anyone that fails to summon a familiar will be expelled."

Oh. Right.

The teacher went around the room, handing out those weird slips of paper. I blinked and took it when it was my turn.

Ah shit. No, this was fine.

Shax was nowhere to be seen, so- no, wait. He was talking to some girl over there. Great.

That left only one other person.

"Hey, Alice, mind giving me a quick rundown of how we do this crap?" I asked reluctantly.

The regal demon turned away from Iruma and looked at me.

"Of course, Lee-Sama," he said with a small bow. "It's actually rather simple."

I shuddered. That… didn't feel right at all. Iruma probably wasn't saying anything to be nice, but I couldn't suffer that crap.

"I told you to just call me Lee," I grumbled. This guy was all kinds of fishy, but he was at least looking out for Iruma now. "And, actually, I have something else to ask you."

Something was bothering me since we left our new "home", but I only realized what it was just now.

He blinked and smiled.

"What is it?"

Ugh… I wasn't used to such genuine smiles. Was this guy for real? It was creepy as hell!

"You said you ran to our home, right? But, like, couldn't you just fly there?"

He blinked.

"Oh… I guess you're right," he said with a nervous smile. A blush crawled across his cheeks and he coughed. "I might have let my emotions get the better of me and… forgot."

Yep. Total basket case. Well, at least that made it less likely that he was actually dangerous. Still, Sullivan was a thing. I'd have to keep a very close eye on this guy.

"Right…"

Whatever. It was time to get this stupid summoning thing done and over with.

I wonder what Iruma's going to summon.

—————————————

Giant snakes, floating eyeballs, a big wolf. I was a bit surprised by the crazy creatures these guys pulled out of their asses. Heck, there was this one guy covered from head to toe in hair that summoned up some sort of flying bat with scissors for hands.

I couldn't make this shit up.

Was this some kind of universal prank? Sure, there were some cool-looking ones, but how was a mouse made of smoke going to help?

"You're up," Iruma whispered.

Right. I sucked in a breath and took my place in front of the class. The large, intricate glyph on the ground looked pretty cool. I had to admit that.

I held out my slip of paper and focused.

Honestly? I'd be fine with anything, but summoning nothing at all would be fine too. The less I had to take care of it, the better.

I wasn't very good with pets. The few I'd had before didn't last very long or always got into trouble because of me.

Yes. Something simple and sturdy would be best.

The paper shined a brilliant blue that reminded me of the sky back home. The light grew until it swallowed everything in sight.

And then-

"Dood…"

I stared, baffled by the creature standing in the middle of the glyph. It looked like some sort of… blue penguin? I guess most would call it "cute," but it was just plain weird. Wait, were those sticks that it had for legs? Honestly, it looked like the thing was a plushy, but that couldn't be true.

I reached out and punched the thing's cheek. That was definitely some sort of skin. Its flabby, stubby arms grabbed mine and it let out a whine.

"T-That hurts, dood!"

Ah. It could talk. Wait, it could talk? None of the other familiars I'd seen could actually talk.

Oh no. It could talk.

That meant it could talk shit.

"What are you?" I asked, glancing at our teacher for some sort of recognition. Nope. Like me, he was lost as to what this thing was.

"Wait, what is that?"

"Did it just talk?"

"Is it some sort of rare monster?"

"It has cute little wings!"

"I'm kind of jealous!"

The blue penguin tilted its head.

"Hmm. No idea, dood!" It exclaimed with a cheerful little spin. Huh. Maybe it could dance? "I'm me, dood! Not sure what I am or how I got here, but I know I'm supposed to serve you, dood!"

That wasn't suspicion. Not at all.

"Kindly move so the others can have a chance to summon their familiars," Kalego growled out. He was practically steaming as he glared at my penguin.

The monster blinked and then looked at Kalego and then back to me.

"What crawled up his ass, dood?"

I held back a laugh. Maybe this little guy wasn't so bad after all! Kalego didn't share my opinion, though. He basically ripped the book he'd been holding in half. If looks could kill then I'd have been smashed to a thick paste.

"Don't worry about it," I said with a laugh and picked the little guy up. The shit-eating grin on my face probably didn't make Kalego any happier.

It was weird, sure, but It also had a pretty good sense of humor. Hopefully, Iruma could-

"Ah…" I was so full of it that I missed a step. My new buddy slipped out of my hands and tumbled through the air, smashing into Kalego's face with a soft squeak.

And then it promptly exploded.

Shit...

This was why I couldn't have pets.