Conquering The Novel

I left my dorm after waking up and changing into my academy outfit, joined by Irethiel, who seemed frustrated with me because of my teasing, but I ignored her and went toward the academy building.

I first planned to go to Ivica because I needed to chat with her about the demon lord issue, and I could also check on her condition.

As I soon arrived in front of her office, I was stopped by Ivica's maid.

"What are you doing here, Student Ares?" She asked me a question with her brows furrowed.

"I need to speak with Ivica about something,-" "Huh?" After hearing me call Ivica by name, the maid exclaimed and her face contorted as she merely stared at me.

"Ahem, I mean I have something I want to discuss with the Dean; please notify her of my visit," I corrected myself, as she didn't seem to appreciate me calling Ivica by her first name.

'Fair enough, I suppose.' I thought to myself.

When the maid knocked on Ivica's office door, we heard her voice.

"Come in."

The maid instructed me to wait outside before entering the office.

After a few seconds, she returned and spoke.

"Y-you may enter," she said, confused.

I nodded and walked in as she opened the door for me, ignoring her confused expression.

As I walked in, I was greeted by Ivica, whose face was still shrouded in white mist.

While she was making tea, she gestured for me to take a seat on the sofa across from her.

I sat on the sofa she had indicated, but before I could say anything, the entire atmosphere in the office altered as a tremendous murderous intent was directed towards Ivica.

Ivica, who was preparing tea, came to a halt and looked toward the person emanating this killing intent.

And her gaze was drawn to Irethiel, who was now in her crow form.

"...."

Yes, it was Irethiel who was releasing that tremendous murderous intent against Ivica; at first, I didn't understand why she was acting this way, but I quickly remembered that Irethiel mentioned something about dragons while I was intending to save her.

"A demon?" Ivica stated calmly and she seemed unconcerned about the murderous intent directed at her.

She then shifted her gaze to me, waiting for me to explain.

"...."

'How many times did I tell the same story again?' I thought to myself before explaining to Ivica about Irethiel.

"Interesting, you say the demon's name is Irethiel?" Ivica spoke after hearing my explanation and then stared at Irethiel with interest.

"How about you take on your actual form, Irethiel?" Ivica stated.

"Huh, why should I? I don't wanna," Irethiel spoke and turned her face away.

"...."

I don't need to think twice because it's obvious that Irethiel dislikes Ivica; is it because Ivica is a half-dragon?

'She sounds like a whiny drama queen,' I thought to myself.

Ivica removed the white mist that had been concealing her face after hearing Irethiel's remark.

"Why don't you do the same now that I've shown you my appearance? I'm quite interested in you because I seem to recall reading about you somewhere before" Ivica stated.

For a few moments, Irethiel examined Ivica from head to toe,

"A dying Half Dragon?" Irethiel remarked.

As Ivica appears to be running out of time based on her pale complexion.

"...."

But even after hearing Irethiel's scathing remark, Ivica maintained a bright smile on her face.

I was taken away by her stunning smile.

'How can Helena be afraid of a person like her?' I thought to myself as even in the novel I didn't read about her scary side, but then I shook my head and came out of my thoughts, knowing full well that a book cannot be judged by its cover.

But, after a few moments of seeing their talk was going nowhere, I sighed and telepathically reached out to Irethiel.

"Irethiel."

She knew what I was going to say simply by hearing her name,

"Tsk," she clicked her tongue before reshaping into her actual form.

Ivica's eyes widened as she saw Irethiel's true form before returning to normal.

"No, she's not the one; I think I mistook her for another demon," Ivica explained.

"Who was that other demon whose name you mistook for her?" I inquired.

"Hm, I don't think she is that same demon because the Irethiel I read about was a demon that every dragon hated and feared at the same time," Ivica replied.

"Oh, I'm curious how a demon made mighty dragons fear her." I wondered aloud, amused.

"Hm, Yeah, even though she was a demon, I was curious about her, so I read many history books to find out what she had done to make dragons both detest and fear her," Ivica stated, pausing briefly to sip her tea before proceeding.

"I investigated many things about her past, and one of the most notable incidents she caused was... waging war against the entire dragon race," Ivica revealed.

"Huh? Is that true? Waging war on the entire dragon race? Even demon lords must think carefully before attacking dragons," In a shocked tone, I exclaimed.

"I know, right? And she wasn't even a demon lord, to begin with," Ivica remarked.

"She is the insane one, that demon named Irethiel," I said, casting a sidelong glance at Irethiel, who turned her head sideways and began secreting as she felt my stare.

"Yeah, she was insane, but the most amazing thing about her was that... she fought independently and emerged victorious against the dragons, even without the assistance of any demon lords," Ivica stated.

"Did she triumph over the dragons despite fighting alone?" I inquired, surprised.

"Yeah, it was a brutal bloodbath, several dragons perished in the face of her fury, and they eventually retreated," Ivica paused for a moment and then continued.

"...After that, she became well known as, Irethiel 'The Dragon Slayer'."

Gulp*

I gulped aloud as I heard Ivica's statements and questioned.

"What made her so angry that she not only waged war against dragons but also proceeded to fight them alone without any assistance?"

"I'm not sure about that either, but I heard one of the dragons killed her most trusted subordinate or something," Ivica expressed uncertainty.

"Wow, I never knew a demon would go to such lengths for their subordinates," I remarked.

"I'm not sure how much of it is true, because I heard it was all a plot against her, since for the subordinate she waged war against the dragons, didn't actually die, and instead conspired against her.

After her victory, when she was at her most vulnerable, that same said subordinate stabbed her in the back, ...and nobody had seen or heard from her again. Ivica concluded.

"...."

I knew Ivica was talking about the same Irethiel who was standing next to me; I'm not sure why she didn't recognize her, but the story matches Irethiel's story of betrayal.

I slowly glanced at Irethiel to see her reaction, even though she was facing the other side and hiding her face,...but I could tell that she was upset.

I admire her for going to such lengths for her subordinates, despite the fact that she is a demon.

But she was too blind to notice the betrayal.

And the pain of betrayal is something that only those who have experienced it can understand.

"But the demon in front of me cannot be her, because Irethiel was a powerful being who even dragons feared as much as demon lords." Ivica paused and glanced at Irethiel before continuing.

"She doesn't appear to be that powerful to me, and the real Irethiel would never have received orders from a human," Ivica explained.

"...."

'You're just rubbing salt in her wounds, Ivica,' I exclaimed inwardly.

I'm not sure why, but I can sense some of Irethiel's emotions, and she doesn't seem to be happy hearing that; is this because she is bound to me by a slave contract?

"Did you compel her to sign a slave contract?" Ivica inquired.

"...Yes," I replied.

"I'm not sure why you agreed to a contract with some weak demon, but I believe you know what you're doing, right?" Ivica inquired.

"Yeah, I've got my reasons," I explained.

"All right, let's get to the point: so what did you want to discuss with me?" Ivica inquired, setting down her teacup.

***