The Academy’s Weakest Became A Demon-Limited Hunter

Scratching her disheveled hair, she heard sparrows chirping outside, signaling the start of the day.

Sunlight streamed through the window, brightly illuminating the room. The walls were covered with pictures of Isaac in his uniform.

Eve Ropenheim let out a deep sigh. Her body felt refreshed, but her mind was troubled.

The semester has already started…

She hadn’t spoken to Isaac since the Ropenheim Barony incident.

The break was over before she knew it.

***“It’s been a while! Have you lost weight?”

“What did you do over the break?”

“Hello!”

Conversations about what happened over their breaks filled the air. The hottest topic, of course, was the Ropenheim Barony incident.

Given that this was a prestigious academy with a high percentage of nobles, the details of the Ropenheim Barony incident, which had spread widely in noble society, naturally reached everyone’s ears.

“Did you hear that Baron Ropenheim was trafficking children?”

“Yeah, I was so shocked when I heard it. But did you know that the one to stop it was Senior Issac?”

“Wow, uhh, Senior Isaac… I think I’m falling for him all over again…”

Naturally, the news of Isaac’s involvement in resolving the incident followed.

Isaac himself wasn’t fully aware, but he was very popular at the academy. The only thing keeping the girls from approaching him was Luce, who constantly loomed over Isaac and shot murderous glances at those who even dared to glance in his general vicinity.

Meanwhile, a third-year student was walking dejectedly, overhearing the conversations among the girls. It was Isaac’s sister, Eve Ropenheim.

“Eveeee!!”

“Eek!”

A short-haired third-year student, Alicia, ran up and hugged Eve from behind. Startled, Eve let out a strange scream.

“Long time no see, Eve!”

“Long time no see, Alicia…”

“Even though the semester has started, isn’t it too much to be so down already? Are you worried more demons will appear?”

“No, that’s not it…”

“It’s fine! The Ice Sovereign said there wouldn’t be any more incidents like that! We’ve safely gotten through all the big incidents so far, so don’t you think things will be quiet until we graduate?!”

The protests triggered by numerous incidents continued unabated, and the Imperial Knights’ protection had become even stronger.

Outsiders might wonder why Märchen Academy hadn’t shut down. It was because shutting down Märchen Academy would be an overreaction that would cause more harm than good. Besides, since it was under the protection of the Imperial Court, closing the academy wasn’t even an option.

The academy had no choice but to continue operating, and the students wanted it to remain open as well.

However, Eve’s low spirits were not due to what Alicia had mentioned.

That’s not it. It’s because I still haven’t been able to talk to Isaac…

Eve felt a strong sense of self-doubt for not having spoken to Isaac until the end of the break.

I want to join in the girls' discussion about my brother, I want to brag about how handsome, cool, and sexy he is…! And then, I want to proudly declare, “I am Isaac’s elder sister.”

The mere thought excited her. It brought her a sense of satisfaction.

But since she hadn’t spoken to Isaac since the Ropenheim Barony incident…

She felt like nothing had been resolved between them. Bragging about being Isaac’s sister felt like an inconsiderate and shameless act that didn’t take her brother’s feelings into account.

“Eve?”

“Yeah… Hopefully, nothing else happens until we graduate.”

Eve sighed, pretending to be worried.

***The class placement evaluation would be held in three days. Until then, the students would be in temporary classes.

Eve, who was holding a drink, reached the second-year floor of the Orphin Hall, discreetly peeking into one of the temporary classrooms.

Among the many students, one particularly radiant boy with glasses stood out. It was Isaac.

Eve’s face broke into a wide grin.

Even the way he organizes his books is so adorable…

Though siblings often quarreled, Eve, who had to love Isaac from a distance, had no such sibling pride.

She only adored her little brother’s cuteness.

Students passing by glanced nervously at Eve as she peeked into the second-year classroom like a stalker. Many had seen her doing the same last semester. Eve was a repeat offender.

However, Eve was too immersed in watching Isaac to care about others’ stares.

I need to talk to him soon…

Today, she was determined to talk to Isaac. She had even bought a drink for that purpose, to use as an excuse to start a conversation.

Once the class placement evaluation was over, Isaac would naturally join Class A, and then his admirers would likely flock around him.

Come on, be brave. Get it together.

Eve encouraged herself.

At that moment, Isaac stood up from his seat.

“Gasp…!”

Eve immediately leaned against the wall, hiding. It was an automatic, reflexive evasion, startled by the thought that Isaac had seen her.

No, this isn’t right. It’s good if he sees me.

Old memories kept resurfacing, causing Eve’s heart to drop reflexively whenever she saw Isaac. She let out a small groan.

Though she tried to muster up her courage again, in the end, Eve chose to run away, too scared to face him.

“…”

Isaac watched Eve’s departing figure from the doorway.

He knew that she had been watching him all along.

Why is she just leaving?

Isaac learned about his family situation when he defeated Baron Ropenheim.

But he still didn’t know the specifics of his relationship with Eve or how they had lived together. Moreover, he was too focused on his training to address the issue with Eve.

So he had been waiting patiently for Eve to approach him first, but it seemed he would have to take the initiative.

Isaac started walking.

***Eve sat on a bench behind Orphin Hall, clutching the drink she bought and sighing deeply.

“What should I say…?”

The human heart was like a reed. No matter how firm their resolve was, it would sway with the slightest breeze.

She hesitated to approach Isaac. Her indecision frustrated her.

Just talk to him. Just say, “Hello.” That one word would be enough to get it started. However… even that one word was difficult.

This won’t do. How long will you keep hesitating?

Determination shone in Eve’s eyes. She practiced talking to the empty air, holding out the bottle of drink.

“‘Hi, Isaac? Want a drink? Oh, and thanks for the other day…’ No, that’s too formal. ‘Here, I picked this up on my way. And about that day, how can I repay you…?’ That might sound rude. ‘Thanks for saving me that day. Here’s a little gift. Can I talk to you sometime…?’ Am I a teenage girl or something?”

“What are you doing, Sis?”

“…?”

Behind the bench where Eve was sitting.

The boy with silver-blue hair, Isaac, appeared and spoke.

“Hyaaaaa!!!”

Eve screamed as if she were about to faint. Isaac casually covered his ears.

***“Huff, huff…!”

For a while, Eve clutched her chest, taking deep breaths to calm her startled heart. It took some time for her to settle down.

I sat next to Eve, waiting for her to speak. There were about ten minutes left until the second-semester orientation started.

“S-Ssir Brother, w-w-what b-brings you here…?”

“Sir Brother?”

Eve slapped her hand over her mouth. She was incredibly nervous.

I glanced at the bottle of drink.

“Did you buy that for me?”

“Huh? Ah, yeah…”

“Thanks.”

Eve held out the bottle, and I took it and had a sip. The sweet taste lingered on my tongue.

There was an awkward silence. Eve stiffened like a wooden doll. She must be so confused.

Honestly, I didn’t know how to deal with her either. Strictly speaking, we were strangers.

Even so, as the only family this body had, I couldn’t help but feel a bond.

After all, I am Isaac now.

Moreover, Eve had a deep affection for me. It was psychologically difficult to reject someone like that.

“Tell me about it.”

“Huh?”

“The events at the Ropenheim Barony. From the past to what happened recently.”

The story I missed while I was out hunting Calgart the Necromancer.

Eve had apologized to me, and I decided to hear her out now.

Eve let out a small sigh and then turned to face me.

After a brief silence, she carefully began to speak, “Okay, when we were young…”

For about five minutes, Eve continued her story without pause. It was concise and coherent, hitting the core points, as if she had prepared and practiced many times.

She must have often thought about how to explain her situation to Isaac one day.

Due to our family’s poor financial state, Eve had decided to accept Baron Ropenheim’s suggestion so she could provide for Isaac.

She revealed that she planned to leave Baron Ropenheim once she got her diploma from Märchen Academy.

She also recounted the events of the Baron Ropenheim incident. How she was bound by dark mana, and how the baron had intended to use her as a sacrifice in some ritual.

“I’m sorry… I was so foolish… I’m sorry for leaving after saying such harsh words.”

I took a sip and spoke softly, “We were just kids back then. We were helpless before Baron Ropenheim’s schemes. Don’t cry. I understand how you must have felt.”

“Why are you acting more mature than me…”

Eve sniffled a bit, then wiped her tears and regained her composure.

“You’re still not like you used to be… When did you start hiding your true self?”

My true self. It was obvious what she meant.

Isaac, who had no talent for magic, was now recognized as an archwizard. She was asking why I had hidden such power from my family.

“It seems I had some latent potential. It awakened one day after Mom passed away. It’s hard to explain. I don’t fully understand it myself.”

“...So, you weren’t hiding it?”

“No, I wasn’t. By the way, what was I like back then?”

“Huh? Don’t tell me you can’t remember your childhood?”

I nodded.

“It seems like a side effect of my potential awakening. I’ve lost parts of my memory, especially the older ones.”

Of course, this was a lie. I just didn’t know how I had interacted with Eve in the past.

I decided that it was best to tell it like this.

If I said I lost my memory due to a mental shock, Eve would feel even more guilty.

If I truthfully said I didn’t know because I had possessed the body of her brother, Eve would be deeply shocked or react with disbelief.

That would only add to my guilt.

“How could such a thing happen…?”

“Who knows.”

“…”

While I sipped my drink, Eve collected her thoughts, cleared her throat, and then averted her gaze from me.

Then she started to speak, “Every morning and night, we kissed.”

Good morning kisses, good night kisses, like what I’ve seen in foreign movies.

“And?”

“We often bathed together too…”

We were young then, so it made sense. We wouldn’t have had any knowledge of sexual matters at the time.

But… it’s starting to sound strange.

“Whenever anything happened, you always tried to hug me, act cute, and hold my hand. And you always said you would grow up to be like me, marry me, and that you didn’t need anything else… You were always saying, ‘I love you, Sis.’ Before going to sleep, you insisted on staring at my face for ten minutes, and I was always reflected in your eyes.”

“…”

Did Isaac have a sister complex? It’s possible… But I detected lies in Eve’s story.

Using [Psychological Insight], I noticed Eve was mixing in a few lies.

But every time she lied, what she said was becoming more and more like the truth and she would believe her own lies, deceiving herself. As a result, it seemed like she wasn’t lying.

Eve continued speaking while staring into space. Her face grew calmer, and a small smile crept up her lips.

I stood still, listening silently to Eve’s words. Her story gradually became more poetic, like something out of a novel.

“As you grew older, you still only had eyes for me. Most nights we slept in each others’ arms. I remember the warmth of your breath, your cute breathing still resonates in my ears. Whenever I patted your head, you would always smile brightly and say you liked it. Even when we went to the flower garden holding hands. You probably don’t remember, but you put a crown of flowers on my head. Just like I protected you, you said you would protect me forever when you grew up. You were as gentle as a spring breeze and as bright as a midday sun.”

“Sis.”

“And also…”

“Sis.”

“Huh… yeah?”

I brought Eve back to reality as she was getting immersed in her own world.

“The bell rang. Let’s talk again later.”

“Ah.”

The class bell was ringing. It was time to head back.

“Right… Yeah, let’s go back.”

We walked into Orphin Hall.

“Hey, Isaac.”

“Yeah.”

“Can’t we go back to the way things were?”

“...That might be difficult.”

“Yeah… I guess so. Take care.”

Eve waved at me and headed towards the third-year floor.

At some point, I couldn’t tell.

Just now, I didn’t know which part of Eve’s memories were true and which ones were lies.