Chapter 217: Catastrophically Bad Luck?

"It’s been a while, Lisa. I heard you were sick. Are you feeling any better now?"

"Um... y-yeah. I’m fine. Really."

Her voice slipped through the narrow gap in the door, hesitant and soft.

"But what about you?" she added quickly. "I heard you were seriously injured. Is it really okay for you to be walking around already?"

"The imperial healers are on a completely different level," I replied with a light shrug she couldn’t see. "I’m perfectly fine now."

We spoke like that for a moment, separated by the door.

She kept her eyes wide, alert, yet made no move to open it any further. The gap remained just large enough for a conversation—nothing more.

There had to be a reason.

Maybe she didn’t want me to see how sick she looked.

Or maybe... something else entirely.

"Well, I should get going then," I said after a brief pause. "We can talk again another time."

I’d already accomplished my purpose—confirming she was safe. Staying longer would only make things awkward.

She clearly didn’t want to show herself.

"Um—!"

Her voice rose in a small panic.

"You could... come in for a little while, if you want..."

The words came out carefully, as if she’d weighed each one before letting it slip.

I turned back, surprised.

She didn’t want me to leave?

Still, troubling someone who had just recovered felt wrong. I shook my head.

"No, it’s really okay. You should rest more. I’ll visit again later."

"R-really, it’s fine! We could have some tea in my room, and—ah!"

She reached out instinctively, trying to stop me.

And in that instant—

The door, which had been held shut with such care, swung wide open.

At the same time, the hat perched on her head slipped loose and fell to the floor with a soft thud.

Lisa froze.

Her face went pale as she hurriedly raised both hands to cover her head.

But it was too late.

I had already seen it.

Lisa, standing there in loose pajamas.

And rising from her hair—

"...Horns?"

Two small, curved horns protruded from her head, faintly glossy under the light.

The world seemed to stop.

We stared at each other in complete silence, neither of us moving, neither of us speaking.

Her hands trembled as they hovered uselessly over her head, eyes wide and glistening with panic.

*****

"Ugh... don’t stare at me like that, Louis..."

"Ah—! Sorry."

Lisa flushed and hurriedly raised both hands, trying (and failing) to cover the two horns jutting from her head. They were far too big for that now.

I hadn’t even realized I was staring. Her words snapped me back to my senses, and I quickly turned my head away, clearing my throat awkwardly.

After a brief moment of flustered back-and-forth—

I was practically dragged into her room by the hand.

Before I could protest, the door closed behind us with a soft click, and only then did Lisa finally let go. She took a deep breath, visibly calming herself, before sitting on the edge of her bed. I followed suit, taking a seat across from her.

That was when she finally explained everything in detail.

So basically...

"These suddenly grew on your head?" I asked, pointing carefully—very carefully—toward her horns.

"Yes..." she replied quietly.

The horns protruding from Lisa’s head.

They hadn’t been there before. According to her, they’d appeared one day without any warning at all.

"At first, they were tiny," Lisa said, touching one of them hesitantly. "Like little bumps. Smaller than my fingernails."

She gave a small, nervous laugh.

"I thought they were just swelling or something. I figured they’d disappear in a day or two."

But they didn’t.

"They kept growing," she continued. "Slowly at first. Then... all of a sudden."

She spread her hands apart to show the size.

"They just wouldn’t stop."

At the beginning, they’d been barely noticeable—easy to hide under her hair, easy to ignore.

But then, almost overnight, they’d started to grow rapidly.

Now, they were longer than the span of a hand.

Too large to conceal. Too solid to dismiss as a prank or illusion.

I finally looked again.

The horns curved slightly upward, smooth and glossy, their color a deep, dark crimson that contrasted sharply with Lisa’s pale skin. They looked... sturdy. Real. Not something that could be brushed off as a temporary magical side effect.

And that was the problem.

They looked familiar.

Uncomfortably so.

"These look similar to the horns that grew on Clarisse’s head, don’t they?"

The words slipped out before I could stop myself.

It was during the midterms, back when chaos still lingered in the academy’s halls. The memory was vivid—too vivid. Clarisse, losing control. Demonic power overflowing. Those unmistakable horns emerging from her head as everything spiraled out of control.

And now—

"I thought the same thing," Lisa said quietly. "They look almost identical to the ones she had back then."

So it wasn’t just me.

The horns protruding faintly from her forehead—small, still incomplete, but unmistakable—were far too similar to dismiss as coincidence.

I swallowed.

"What about the others?" I asked. "Have you talked to the professors? Or gone to the infirmary?"

Lisa shook her head immediately.

"No one knows," she said, her voice trembling. "I haven’t told anyone yet. I was scared... What if they think I’m a demon? What if they lock me up—or worse?"

Her fingers clenched the hem of her sleeve as she looked at me, eyes filled with genuine fear.

For a moment, I couldn’t bring myself to answer.

Unlike Clarisse back then, Lisa wasn’t covered in that ominous black substance. Her mana felt stable—weak, if anything. There were no visible signs of corruption, no violent impulses, no loss of reason.

But still—

"...That could happen," I admitted quietly.

Lisa flinched.

I hated myself a little for saying it so bluntly, but lying to her would’ve been crueler.

The atmosphere lately was anything but forgiving.

The attempted terrorist attack on the imperial palace had shaken the entire Empire. Bombs planted at the very heart of imperial authority—something no one had thought possible.

And on top of that, there was the so-called revolutionary army. A self-proclaimed force determined to overthrow the Empire’s privileged class, stirring unrest wherever they could.

Fear was everywhere.

Suspicion came easily.

In times like these, anything even remotely connected to demons was enough to ruin a person’s life.

"I’m not saying that’s what will happen," I added quickly, lowering my voice. "But you’re right to be cautious."

Lisa looked down, biting her lip.

"I don’t even know why this is happening," she whispered. "I didn’t use any forbidden magic. I didn’t make a pact. I swear."

"I believe you," I said immediately.

That much, at least, I was certain of.

This didn’t feel like demonic possession.

It felt more like... something dormant. Something awakening.

Which, somehow, made it even more dangerous.

I exhaled slowly and met her gaze.

"For now," I said, "don’t tell anyone."

In a situation like this, what if a student showed up—someone who even vaguely resembled a person who’d caused trouble before?

They probably wouldn’t execute her on the spot.

But dragging her off "just in case," throwing her into some deep underground holding cell until things were sorted out? That was absolutely within the realm of possibility.

And for Lisa—someone who already carried scars from past experiences—that would be pure hell.

The worst nightmare imaginable.

...Yeah. I couldn’t let that happen.

Maybe I should ask Lumine for help.

She’s a dragon, after all. If anyone knew about hidden detention facilities, secret prisons, or how the authorities handled cases like this behind the scenes, it’d be her. Even a small clue would be better than nothing.

I was already turning over the words in my head, thinking about how to convince Lisa to come with me—carefully avoiding the part where I casually mention that Lumine is a dragon—

When—

BOOM.

A thunderous sound exploded from somewhere nearby, rattling the air itself.

"...What?"

I froze, a frown forming as I instinctively looked toward the source of the noise. Before I could even process it—

WEEEE-OOOOOO— WEEEE-OOOOOO—

Sirens.

Loud. Urgent. Echoing throughout the academy grounds.

"...You’ve got to be kidding me."

I stared blankly ahead as the alarm continued to howl.

I had just returned to the academy. Just. After everything.

And the timing was almost impressive in how cruel it was—the sirens blaring as if they’d been waiting specifically for my arrival.

At this point, I genuinely couldn’t tell anymore.

Was I some kind of walking calamity that naturally attracted incidents wherever I went?

Or did I simply have catastrophically bad luck?

Probably both.

I let out a slow breath, rolled my shoulders, and stretched my neck once, feeling the stiffness crack faintly beneath my fingers.

"Well," I muttered as I pushed myself up from my seat, eyes sharpening.

"Looks like resting will have to wait."

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Author Note

Thanks for reading the Chapter.

I hope you liked it.

H