Chapter 54

The Director has long purple hair and heterochromia, with one eye being purple and the other golden. Her clothes resemble those of a witch you would see in an anime, with the colors being black, blue, and purple.

She has large breasts, but her skin has a strange coloration that fades into a very light purple, as if a drop of purple paint had been mixed into white paint, giving her a somewhat supernatural appearance.

From my research, I know a little about her. Her name is Akari Hoshizuki, which is of course a name worthy of the Director, as her name itself is the name of a conjuration spell that has been converted to Japanese.

Akari: "Light, clarity" Hoshizuki: "Star and moon" Complete meaning: A name that evokes the image of a mystical guide who illuminates under the starry sky.

And as the meaning itself says, the Director has great affinity with the elements of Light, Star, and Moon. I’ve heard that in a fight against Mikael, she summoned a meteor storm to the point where those who witnessed the battle thought the sky was collapsing.

’Terrifying’ Just the thought of hundreds or even thousands of meteors falling on you is chilling. And meteors can be reached with earth magic, meaning it wasn’t even an attack of her greatest affinity, and yet it was devastating. She could destroy the world with this kind of attack.

"Sit down, Pandora," the Director says while not taking her eyes off me. I see that her color is gray, and I have no idea what that means, so it’s difficult to deduce how she perceives me at the moment.

’Cyan and Gray’ Two colors I have no idea what they mean. I figured out the golden color thanks to the nobles I saw that the golden color appears a lot in them, so I deduce that golden is probably Pride or maybe Arrogance, something along those lines.

I walk to the chair and sit down.

"Good morning, Director Akari," I greet her with a smile.

"Good morning... Pandora, what tests will you be taking?"

’...I must think carefully’ The Director is not someone to be underestimated, and her questions may be more than they appear.

"They will be the practical tests, magic, physical abilities, strategy, and a simulated duel. As for the theoretical tests, there will be an exam on geography, history, general knowledge, and magical theory."

’I think those are the ones’ I’m not someone who forgets, and according to my research, those should be the only tests, the standard for entering this academy and scoring over 50% in all of them.

So many fail, with a very low acceptance rate, of course, the heroes have special admission, so they can get in even with lower grades.

"Correct... but you will have one more test that will be conducted now," she says while taking something from the drawer and placing it on the table, which appears to be a golden bell on a white wooden stand.

She also places a scale next to the bell, which looks like a copper scale with a jewel that has a lot of mana embedded in the center of the structure.

"May I know what that test would be?"

"Psychological test. If you fail it, I won’t allow your admission to this academy, and you’ll be expelled right now."

"!!!" The situation has just gotten much worse, and I didn’t prepare for this, but it doesn’t matter, I have an excellent mentality, there’s no way I can’t pass... at least, I hope so.

"Are you ready?" Her voice is somewhat mechanical the whole time, and her color never changes from gray. Now I’m curious about what that color means.

"Yes, I am. You can start, Director Akari."

"...First question: Will you kill any student in this school?"

"I won’t do that, Director..."

Ding

The bell rings, and the scale tilts to one side.

"Lie," the Director says calmly.

"!!!" ’Damn, this is a fucking lie detector. So the scale must judge my score... shit, I’m already at a disadvantage.’

"Will you kill any student in this school?" She repeats the question, even though she knows the answer.

"...Yes," she looks at the bell, and nothing happens.

’Damn it...’ I thought that by being honest, the scale would return, but it didn’t. It remained stagnant, which means I can’t keep lying, but there must be a way to trick this equipment. No magic is perfect, and if a magic is perfect, it’s only because no one has discovered its flaw yet.

"Question number 2: Will you kill any student in the school?"

"I won’t kill any student in the school." The scale remains balanced, and the bell doesn’t make a sound.

I don’t plan on killing any students here. I just need to kill them outside.

"Question number 3: Will you follow the school rules?"

"Yes, I will..."

Ding

’DAMN IT’

"Will you follow the school rules?"

"...I’ll follow most of them," nothing happens, because of these damn questions, I risk failing, and if I’m not accepted, even my father can’t do anything about it, after all, the entire academy belongs to the Director, and she’s not affiliated with anything.

"Question number 4: What rules do you not plan to follow?"

’This damn bitch is playing dirty.’

"I... don’t plan to limit myself in the duels." Nothing happens to the bell, while the scale returns to a balanced state.

’I’m going to break more than just this rule, but it was still true, I think I’m getting the hang of tricking this artifact.’

"Question number 5: Do you have anger issues?"

’I have no idea, I think I don’t have any, after all, I stay quite calm in situations of anger and stress.’

"No, I don’t." Nothing happens, the bell doesn’t ring, and the scale doesn’t rise.

’The scale didn’t rise? ... Lie... FUCKING BITCH’ I finally understood how this scale works. If I lie, the scale goes down, if I tell the truth in the next question, the scale goes up, but if it’s balanced, it won’t go up anymore. In other words, she’ll keep asking questions, and when they’re done, if the scale isn’t balanced, I’ll fail.

Plus, with these answers, she can decide to fail me on her own will, so there are two chances for me to fail. It’s a true paradox if I lie, I’ll fail, but if I tell the truth, I risk failing.

I bite my lips, tasting the blood.

"Question number 6: Do you plan to cause chaos in this academy?"

"...I don’t plan to cause chaos in the ’Academy,’ Director Akari." Nothing happens.

I take a deep breath mentally. I managed to "lie" in a way. It’s true that "I" don’t plan to cause chaos in the "academy," after all, my servants can do that for me.

"Question number 7: What are you seeking by coming to this academy?"

"Revenge, I want to kill the ’Demons’ who caused me many problems in the past, making my life a living hell."

Again, nothing happens, and again I managed to conceal the truth. Those damn people can’t be considered human, they’re complete sons of bitches who made my past life a living hell, and of course I’ll make theirs even worse.

"So you want revenge against the demons, that’s quite a surprise."

’That’s it, I got it.’ Now the Director thinks I was talking about demons in a literal sense, rather than a figurative one.

’I found the weakness.’ As long as the original meaning is maintained, the way I speak doesn’t matter, even if it’s not an absolute truth, and as long as I can put a mask of truth on the lie.

So as long as I’m careful, I can let the Director draw her own conclusions.

"Does this revenge have to do with your mother?" This is not a test question, so I don’t need to answer, but if I do, I can keep the lie more natural.

’How can I connect the two things?’ I think carefully, my thoughts accelerating to generate the best response.

"Yes... my revenge is closely linked to my mother..."

Nothing happens, I suppress the urge to let out a sigh. In a way, yes, my revenge is related to both of my mothers, both my past mother and my current mother, since it’s thanks to the Goddess of the Abyss that I have this second chance.

"I see..."

"Question number 8, do you plan to join the attack army against the demons?"

"Yes, I have to be there no matter what happens." Nothing happens, and again it’s not 100% a lie because yes, I will be there and join that army, I just never said I would be loyal or help them.

Now I understand why this is a psychological test and how she’s peeling me layer by layer. With just a few questions, she discovered my revenge, but she made a mistake in underestimating me. I’m much deeper than she can imagine.

"Question number 9, do you plan to strengthen yourself in the academy to achieve your goals?"

"Yes." Nothing happens, it’s true that in this academy I want to get stronger and achieve my goals.

"Final question... will you betray humanity?" The atmosphere becomes tense.

"No, I will never betray humanity." She now looks closely at the bell and the scale, but nothing happens.

"...You passed this test, congratulations, Pandora," she says with a small smile.

I feel like I’m about to give a huge smile. Of course I won’t betray humanity, after all, I’ve never been on their side. The question the Director asked was a mistake she considers me human, so she asked that question, but I’m not human, so the right question should have been whether I’m an enemy of humanity.

"Pandora, I’ll ask you a question, and it has nothing to do with your approval. You can decide not to answer if you want."

I nod and wait for her to ask.

"What do you think of the Demon King?"

"...I think... he is a miserable existence to be pitied, but he is also a calamity that, if not stopped, will plunge this world into despair."

"...Interesting, you’re the first person I’ve heard define the Demon King as a miserable being that deserves pity... but you’re right, he is a calamity that must be stopped. Thank you for the answer."

Yes... I am a miserable existence, but that misery is limited to my past self. My current self is a calamity that will not be stopped by mere humans. One day, I will be the one at the top of everything.

My answer is a combination of my past self and my current self, but my past self is dead. That person no longer exists, and now all that remains is me, Pandora, the Demon King, and that’s all that matters.

"Director, what do you think of the Demon King?"

"...Honestly... I don’t know. I think he is... unique. I think that’s the best definition for the being we call the Demon King he is unique." I feel a slight magical fluctuation.

’She... blocked the artifact?’ The artifact trembled slightly, which means she lied and just concealed her lie.

"Now, shall we move on to your other tests, Pandora?" She says as she starts to get up.

"Cough Cough" I start coughing and put my hand in front of my mouth, blood stains my fingers and drips to the floor, the Director seems surprised.

The same problem as before, in the end, it doesn’t cause pain or damage, it’s just annoying. Elena has to find something else soon.

I use magic to clean myself up.

"Shall we, Director?" I say, ignoring the fact that I just coughed up blood, after all, that’s normal.