Chloix’s Troubles
Chloix couldn’t help but show a flicker of emotion in his eyes upon seeing Dekan’s sincere gaze.
However, he quickly steeled his resolve, gritting his teeth.
“Student Dekan, I am willing to offer you help, except for accompanying you all to the Shadow World. Please don’t consider this matter further.”
Chloix then firmly shut the door, leaving Dekan standing dumbfounded outside.
The last time someone had been rejected, well, that was the last time.
“Ah.”
Dekan sighed.
Though he greatly admired Chloix, he hadn’t expected such firm refusal to join their squad.
Still, a mage like Chloix should be in high demand, right?
Even if healing was painful, in terms of healing power, there was probably no healing-class job that could compare.
Dekan walked home alone with some regret.
When he reached his dormitory entrance, he hesitated with his hand on the doorknob.
Silently, he turned around and sharply stomped on his shadow.
“Meow!”
With a familiar cry, the Teacher Cat emerged from Dekan’s shadow, bouncing like a spring.
“You’re getting worse at that. Not even physical attacks are protected.”
Dekan smirked, full of mockery, as he looked down at the Teacher Cat on the ground.
The Teacher Cat looked up pitifully, saying to Dekan,
“……Give me a vial of that potion, meow.”
At the Teacher Cat’s innocent words, Dekan burst out laughing.
He squatted down and, without hesitation, grabbed the back of the Teacher Cat’s neck, bringing its gaze level with his own.
Looking into its eyes, he said,
“Isn’t it true you already owe me one? Once you’ve repaid your debt for me saving you, we can talk business.”
“……I’ll teach you a few spells, meow.”
“No, studying magic is too troublesome. And spells unsuited to one’s magic affinity are difficult to master. Using magic cards is far more convenient.”
“But the number of cards you can carry is limited, meow. Learning a few more spells is always beneficial.”
“My magic affinity is quite average. The effect of using most spells isn’t ideal for me. It’s better for me to polish my card-making skill rather than spending time researching magic.”
“So what do you want, meow?”
The Teacher Cat seemed ready to be taken advantage of by Dekan.
“Just tell me some things about Chloix.”
Dekan’s request surprised the Teacher Cat. The guy didn’t take the opportunity to press his advantage.
Still, it hesitated.
“Hmm……What do you plan to do to him, meow?”
“Relax. I just want him to be my companion. I won’t do anything to harm him or force him. You can trust me.”
“Alright, ask away, meow.”
“What I’m most curious about is why Chloix was held back. I’ve never encountered someone with such extraordinary magic power at school.”
If Dekan’s guess was correct, the reason Chloix lived on the fourth floor was that he’d been held back.
There was no way he could be a freshman.
Even through the air, he could feel the terrifying magic fluctuations emanating from Chloix, unrestrained.
It was more terrifying than that of elves and demons.
“……Chloix is actually an exemplary student, meow. But he has never successfully cleared the Shadow World, so he can’t graduate from the Mage Academy. Either he succeeds this year, or he’ll have to transfer to the Alchemy Academy, meow.”
“How is that possible? Even someone like him can’t clear it?”
Even if Chloix couldn’t deal much damage,
he could still carry some auxiliary spell cards and make an exceptional healer.
The divine blessings on Chloix’s body weren’t entirely benign but certainly not malevolent.
Yet these blessings weren’t the reason Chloix couldn’t succeed in the Shadow World either.
“……”
The Teacher Cat paused for a moment.
“Besides the divine blessings, Chloix also bears a divine curse; they are both beyond his control, meow.”
Dekan furrowed his brows.
“What kind of curse is it?”
The real reason Chloix can’t pass through the Shadow World must be this curse.
“He’s cursed to be forever accompanied by misfortune. Not only does he have terrible luck himself, but he also inadvertently causes the death of his teammates.”
“The Shadow World becomes much harder when he’s present.”
“One could say that even though he’s a sixth-tier, the Shadow World considers him as a seventh-tier when matching difficulties.”
“So, there are students… who call him the Team-Wipe Engine.”
The Teacher Cat explained.
This made Dekan ponder.
He now understood why Chloix seemed so dispirited.
Something must have gone wrong during Chloix’s previous attempts at clearing the Shadow World.
Probably dragging his teammates into a higher difficulty version of the Shadow World.
And because the difficulty was too high, it ended in failure.
He had to go all out and heal his teammates to save them.
Though his teammates might escape with their lives, they couldn’t avoid serious injuries.
“No wonder Chloix is so reluctant to team up with us…”
Dekan muttered.
Chloix wasn’t rejecting him because he seemed dark and ominous.
He was afraid of bringing death to him and Cornelia.
Even if he and Cornelia reached the fourth tier in the future, once they grouped with Chloix, they might be dragged into a Shadow World suitable for a sixth-tier adventurer.
“Really strong teammates always come with great risks. But he underestimated Cornelia and me too much.”
Dekan gave it a careful thought, increasingly finding Chloix to be a good teammate.
With Cornelia, advancing one level higher in the Shadow World would be easy mode, advancing two levels higher would be normal mode.
Even without Chloix, there’s always a chance they’d accidentally land in a difficult instance due to bad luck.
Might as well team up with such a powerfully unbeatable interrogator, no correction – healer.
As long as Chloix was in Devil Academy, everything would become much more interesting.
He could probably force Baron Bachel to explore the entire academy thoroughly.
Unfortunately, Baron Bachel missed encountering such an angel like Chloix, or he would’ve been consumed immediately.
“Since I understand why he rejected me, it’s all good now.”
They’d still need Cornelia’s approval, though.
Of course, she would definitely agree.
After all, who could possibly refuse such a benevolent person joining the Beautiful Soul Squad?
Dekan decided to persuade Chloix to join them after classes ended Monday with Cornelia.
As Dekan was thinking, the Teacher Cat had climbed onto his shoulder and shouted in his ear, “Give me that potion, meow!”
“We’re even now. If you want the potion, you’ll have to trade something of equal value.”
“……What do you want, meow.”
“Get Cornelia to give me a massage.”
“Is it that red-haired girl, meow?”
“Yep.”
“Impossible! Absolutely impossible, meow!”
“Then forget about it.”
“Meow!”
The Teacher Cat lay on the ground, wildly flailing its limbs, clearly very upset.
Even being extorted by Dekan was better than being given an impossible task.
Suddenly, it seemed to have come up with an idea. It flipped over and asked Dekan,
“How about I give you a Change Spell: Spirit Cat card, meow?”
