I Became a Murderer in the Academy.

Chapter 26

Although quite some time had passed since Iria was possessed into a novel, she still hadn’t found a clue to return to her original world.

She had to find and kill the protagonist, whose whereabouts were unknown, but she couldn’t even find a trace of where this protagonist was.

She had to do something else first.

“......”

Iria was afraid of becoming a monster.

That’s why she was trying to return to where she originally was.

But if it was difficult to find the protagonist, she thought she should at least delay the inevitable.

To do that, she judged it necessary to understand monsters and what kind of being she was.

Iria still hadn’t figured out what kind of being she was.

If this world was a novel and a place where the protagonist existed, what kind of character was Iria in the original story?

The Iria before she possessed it, that is.

She decided to find that out, too.

Perhaps that might also be a clue to finding the protagonist.

“Walk faster. It’s too late to try to escape.”

“Ugh......”

His name was Leonard.

He was being dragged somewhere, caught by Iria.@@@@

When he first followed her, the atmosphere didn’t seem this scary, but once people disappeared, she pulled out a knife.

She didn’t have any ill feelings toward him, but she did so because she thought he might run away with her money.

It was a dagger from who knows where.

It was an old, worn-out thing, but its killing intent was as sharp as new.

Unlike the bravado he showed earlier, Leonard, whose actual strength was miserable, had to follow obediently.

“So, where are we going now?”

“Your workshop. It’s this way, right?”

“How did you......”

“You don’t need to know.”

The boasting at the bar was indeed an exaggeration. Still, Leonard was a scholar who had researched monsters for a long time.

Iria knew this, so she hired him by giving him a large sum of money.

Regardless of his pathetic personality, he seemed to know a lot.

It was when they entered Leonard’s workshop.

“It’s a humble place.”

“Hey, you... Can’t you do something about that way of speaking?”

“......?”

“No, never mind.”

Iria thought he was talking too much for someone who was being paid.

She sat in an empty seat and stared at Leonard across from her.

There was an awkward silence for a moment, but since she was the one with business, Iria opened her mouth first.

“I heard you know a lot about monsters.”

“Well... I’ve studied in that field. Despite how I look, I’m a biologist.”

Leonard seemed a bit wary of Iria, who had suddenly pointed a knife at him, but he soon sighed and answered.

If she had intended to kill him, she would have done so already.

She was just a slightly violent guest.

Since he received her money, he decided to give her her money’s worth.

Leonard brewed coffee in his humble workshop and handed it to his guest.

“So, what business do you have with me?”

“If you know a lot about monsters, do you know what I am?”

“Huh? How would I know that?”

“I’m a monster.”

“......What?”

Leonard was about to drink coffee from his cup but spilled a little.

It wasn’t something that could be easily dismissed.

“... You’re what?”

“I’m a monster.”

“Are you sick somewhere...? Mentally, perhaps?”

Then, do I know what kind of being my body was before I possessed it?

“......”

I don’t know.

If I am a Seed of the Demon King, as he says, eating the fragment must have happened before she was possessed.

Thinking like that wasn’t entirely nonsensical.

I knew I was a bit different from the monsters I met during the external practicum.

Perhaps Iria’s ability to show hallucinations might also be a power originating from the Demon King.

At that point, Iria took out the Seed of the Demon King from her bosom.

She became curious if he might know about this too, since he mentioned the seed.

“Can you recognize it?”

“......How in the world did you get that?”

“You don’t need to know.”

“...Wait a moment.”

Leonard carefully lifted the golden fragment and examined it from various angles.

Then he called Iria.

“You said you can handle magical energy, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then can you try flowing some magical energy into this? If it’s genuine, there will be a change.”

Iria did so.

After stretching out her hand, she slowly emitted the magical energy from her body.

It was also difficult to control that, as Leonard would die if she extended too strong an amount of magical energy.

And it was when the extended magical energy touched the fragment.

“......!”

Touched by the magical energy, it reacted violently, emitting a golden light.

Standing next to it, Iria was a bit surprised by this unprecedented phenomenon.

It wasn’t long because the amount of magical energy that flowed in wasn’t much, but it was bright enough to bathe the small room.

“It’s undoubtedly genuine. The Seed of the Demon King reacts when touched by magical energy. That’s the same principle by which monsters evolve when they eat it.”

“Hmm......”

There would be magical energy inside a monster’s body.

Maybe it would cause a reaction inside the body if eaten.

Iria became curious.

So she asked.

“Is the investigation over?”

“I don’t think there’s anything more we can know at this point.”

“What do you think would happen if I ate it?”

“......?”

Leonard doubted his ears for a moment.

Wondering if he had heard wrong, he asked again.

“So, what did you just say?”

“What do you think would happen if I ate it?”

It seemed he hadn’t heard wrong.

Iria confirmed her words with a serious expression.

“Hmm... Are you in your right mind? You’re saying you’ll eat it yourself after seeing that just now?”

“Aren’t you curious?”

“No, that... I am curious, but do you know what kind of side effects there might be?”

“If I was fine after eating one, I don’t think I’d die from eating two.”

Actually, dying wouldn’t be bad either.

Haven’t I already realized to the point of being sick of it that it’s impossible to kill myself with this possessed body?

I used to think I could return to where I originally was if I died.

But I didn’t die.

So probably, I won’t die this time either.

Thinking like that, I put the golden fragment into my mouth.

So this is what the Demon King tastes like.

It wasn’t delicious.