Is the Strongest in Another World a Hero A Demon Lord No! it’s a Fairy ~desu! – Chapter 132

“Alright, so there’s the shopping district, various educational institutions, a large-scale training ground, an educational dormitory, and a student dormitory…”
“And then there’s the magic tool research tower, the education conference hall, and the magic library. Feels like we’ve got the main course all set?”
“Yeah, pretty much. Alright, shall we move on, Fernora?”
“W-Wait… p-please… huff… haa… can’t you slow d—cough…!”

A beautiful woman was down on all fours, trembling like a newborn fawn. If her face weren’t in such a mess, it might’ve been a sight to get excited about, but right now… nope. Sorry.

Today, we had decided to spend the entire day thoroughly exploring this city. We had asked Fernora to be our guide, but judging by her current state, it might actually be faster if I just carried her.

She looked exhausted as she crunched away at some shaved ice. Arena had conjured the ice, and I had used wind magic to finely shave it, then placed it in a bowl and drizzled it with World Tree honey—a perfect treat.

When Arena had started chanting some fancy spell before making the ice, I was surprised at first, but I quickly caught on and played along. Phew, good teamwork.

“What is this incredibly delicious thing…?”
“A special dessert made with a secret sauce. Sorry for moving too fast. Think of it as an apology.”
“Haa… well, I suppose that’s acceptable.”

Even though we were only speed-walking, five hours of continuous movement would wear anyone out. Arena and I were just having too much fun to feel it.

“Dolly and Rina, you both have such robust bodies. When I heard you were coming at this time of year, I wondered what kind of clueless tourists you were…”
“Oh, so that’s how we came across? Well, you see, Fernora, there’s a deep reason for all this.”

“Would you like to hear it, Lady Fernora?”
“That tone is infuriating… Fine, I’ll ask. What have you two been doing in Galuania up until now?”
“Adventuring.”
“…Who gave you a letter of introduction?”

“Mondoll-san.”
“………And your reason for coming here?”
“Se-cre-t~♪”
“What happened to that deep reason? Do you want a slap?”

Fernora had initially suspected that these two might be spies sent by her father to monitor whether she was properly fulfilling her duties. After all, they had approached her so quickly, and it was unusual for students to transfer in as third-years.

However, as she watched them interact—

“Dolly, you’ve got honey on your lips. Here, let me wipe it off.”
“Mmm~ Thanks, Rina. But wow, it’s really warm in here, probably because of the barrier.”
“If the weather’s nice tomorrow, let’s sunbathe. Sleep with me~♪”
“Oh, that sounds good.”

—Seeing how incredibly close they were, such suspicions felt ridiculous. Also… their personal space? Nonexistent.

Right now, Arena was sitting on a chair, and Idle (Dolly) was sitting on top of her, cuddled up with her stomach while they shared their shaved ice.

Watching this, Fernora started to feel like it was pointless to be suspicious.

“…Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter what they really are.”

The Magic Tool Research Tower was so tall that it nearly reached the top of the city’s protective barrier. From the outside, it looked like a massive chimney, and I hadn’t even realized it was a tower.

To enter, everyone had to use a ring on their wrist for authentication, which felt super futuristic.

This ring was pretty advanced. If someone broke the school rules, an alarm would go off, and they’d be paralyzed on the spot. Apparently, some students in the magic tool department had tried to disable it in the past, but the moment they touched the spell structure, they screamed in terror and fainted.

I tested it a little, and yep, it was about as strict as the slave collars used in Hinomoto.
…Which meant I could totally disable it using my Fairy Magic. Not that I would, of course.

“No wonder the main streets are spotless, and the crime rate is so low.”
“Some students once tried to disable it, but they passed out screaming the moment they touched the magic formula.”
“Whew, that’s scary, huh, Dolly~♪”
“You sound way too amused, Rina…”

This girl… She had already deactivated it. She works fast.

“Whoa… so many rugged guys in here.”

Inside the tower, people were deep in conversation, mumbling over blueprints, or conducting experiments on magic tools.

The floor was stone, but the walls were made of some kind of metallic alloy. When I tapped on it, it gave a faint echo.

After climbing several floors, we encountered a man.

“Oh, Fernora! Didn’t you say you weren’t coming to the tower anymore?”

The man who greeted her had a thick brown beard and a sturdy build. Despite wearing a lab coat, he looked more like an adventurer than a researcher.

Fernora, keeping her usual composed demeanor, responded indifferently.

“I’m just guiding these two transfer students today.”
“Huh? …So you’re the third-years everyone’s been talking about? Whoa… you’re both gorgeous. Are you royalty or something?”

“Nah, just adventurers. I’m Dolly, and this is Rina. What’s your name, old man?”
“O-old man!? Look, I may have this beard, but I’m still in my twenties! …Name’s Bagot. Nice to meet ya.”
“It’s that beard, seriously…”

Wow, really, Bagot-san? My bad. Without the beard, he might actually look young.
I apologized, and Bagot just laughed it off before heading back to his magic tool research.
Maybe we should visit him again sometime.

From all the things we saw, we learned a few things. First, there are floors in this building that regular students cannot access. The tower is divided into lower, middle, upper, and special levels, with each level separated by school years: first-years at the bottom, then second-years, and third-years at the top.

The special level is reserved for exceptional students and teachers—those who have the potential to create artifacts comparable to divine-era magic tools. Only they are granted access to that area.

From what we heard, first and second-year students focus on classes, while third-years engage in research. Most of the students here are commoners receiving financial support from the kingdom, with the expectation that they will create magical tools for their home country after graduation.

If they get hired, they receive high salaries, so their dedication is on another level.

“The special level, huh? Does that include the storage section too?”
“Yes. I’ve heard that divine-era magic tools are stored there as well. Once a year, a different country lends out artifacts for research, and those in the special level get to study them. But the research period only lasts until the end of the year.”

“Hmm… so they don’t have much time to work on them?”
“I can’t say for sure. Anyway, that concludes the tour. Let’s leave… The smell in here is unbearable.”

The smell? Oh yeah, they’re burning and boiling all kinds of stuff in here. What exactly are they trying to do? And what’s with that weird laughter in the background? Well, whatever. We’re done here.

“Dolly, did you ‘scan’ the area?”
“No issues. Let’s move on!”
“Yeah!”
“…?”

“Chairman Marton. Why did you place them in the same room as the princess of Galuania?”

Inside the director’s office within the educational dormitory. The room, slightly larger than those of other teachers, housed an elderly teacher sitting across from the chairman, Marton.

“Oh my, is there a problem, Bujis? That was the only available room, and more importantly, both of them had letters of recommendation from her father, King Mondore. The royal seal was genuine, and it specifically requested that we give them the utmost consideration.”

“But… if we do that, who knows what the heroes might do again…”
“Have you ever heard a single request from them being granted? What’s wrong, Bujis? Are you being threatened or something?”
“Ugh… N-no.”
“Hah…”

Marton let out a sigh, offering a piece of advice to the visibly shaken Bujis.

“You fear the word ‘hero’ too much, Bujis. Try to relax a little. They are currently ‘students’ enrolled in this academy. Even though they have the holy sword and holy armor, they cannot easily harm others… You wouldn’t happen to have removed their rings, would you?”

“N-never! I would never commit such a suicidal act!!”

At least he wasn’t that much of an idiot, Marton thought with relief. If those troublemakers were left unchecked, who knew how many students would become victims?

“In any case, the king himself has vouched for those girls as exemplary students. If you don’t like it, then watch over them yourself with your own eyes.”
“……”

Bujis bowed his head in silence and left the room. Watching his retreating figure, Marton downed his tea in one gulp before flopping onto his bed. Hardly the behavior of an elderly man, but then again, he had originally been a researcher—someone who lived for himself.

“Ahhh, I hate this. I wanna kick those idiots out. I really wanna kick them out. Honestly, I just wish they’d leave the holy sword and holy armor behind as research materials and disappear… Well, for now, I guess it’s fine.”

And so, he said such things without hesitation. That was just the kind of playful director he was.

“Okay, lie down on this.”
“Uh, wait, isn’t this a slime?”
“It’s fine, it’s a familiar. Now, once you’re on it, we’ll start rubbing the slime’s mucus into your body~”
“Let’s do it~♪”
“W-wait, ahh! No, stop, ngh… w-why does this feel so good~~~?!”

And so, Fernora was left completely limp after having Morris’s stored magical energy rubbed all over her body…

“I… I can’t… walk anymore…”
“Thanks for everything, Fernora. I’ll give you a full-body massage later—pure bliss, I promise.”
“I’ll help too!”

Fernora’s legs had completely given out from exhaustion. She had given us a full tour of the academy, and now the sun had set. There were only five minutes left until curfew.

Arena offered to carry Fernora on her back, but even then, she resisted with what little strength she had left.

“T-this is humiliating… Absolutely humiliating…”
“Eh, it can’t be helped. Everyone was looking at you with such warm smiles!”
“That’s exactly why it’s embarrassing!!!”

She weakly hit Arena, but Arena’s smile never wavered. Now that we’ve arrived at the dorms, let’s head to our room. The key we were given should tell us our room number…

“Arena, we’re in room 301. Let’s drop off our bags after we escort Fernora.”
“Got it! Fernora, which room is yours?”
“…………”

Fernora didn’t answer, just lowered her head and pulled a key from her uniform pocket. I took out my own key to compare.

Fernora’s key → “301”
Our key → “301”

“…”
“…”
“…”

We were assigned the same room. Oh, her face is turning as red as a tomato. Okay, before she says anything, let’s make a run for it and shut her up.

“Arena, dash!”
“On it!”
“WHAT EVEN ARE YOU TWO AAAAAHHHHHHHHH?!?!?!”