"If you truly have not given it considerable thought," Klaus said calmly without looking up from his meticulously organized notes, "then based on your demonstrated intelligence thus far, I would recommend pursuing the path of Rune Magic."
Kaizen stared at the back of the demon's head in complete silence.
Rune Magic was good, technically speaking. For people who enjoyed waiting. And waiting. And then waiting some more while their tea got cold.
It was the kind of branch specifically meant for scholars who were obsessed with uncovering the fundamental secrets of the universe, people who did not mind spending literal hours drawing perfect circles, etching intricate symbols with surgical precision, carefully imbuing each line with mana, and then repeating the entire exhausting process until their hands cramped so badly they couldn't hold a quill anymore.
It was a long game. A very, very long game that required the patience of a saint.
"Ha ha ha," Kaizen laughed awkwardly, scratching his cheek nervously. "Y-yeah, I will definitely think about it seriously."
That was a complete lie.
Kaizen was never going to choose Rune Magic, even if someone held a sword to his throat and demanded it. In fact, especially if his life depended on it, because he knew exactly what this walking calamity sitting across from him was going to choose.
Staying far, far away from the same department as Klaus was not a personal preference. It was a survival strategy based on solid logic and self-preservation instincts.
They exchanged a few more words after that, mostly harmless small talk about academy life, and then Klaus casually asked about Kaizen's sudden trip. Kaizen froze internally and spent a solid twenty seconds desperately assembling a lie in his head that would not immediately get him dissected for research purposes.
He was not even sure if this guy possessed the ability to detect lies through magic or demonic intuition, so it was definitely best to stay intentionally vague and make it sound culturally educational.
"Ha ha ha. It was a very personal matter," Kaizen said carefully. "And as you probably know, we "humans" cannot share such deeply personal things with each other unless one party is considered a true friend of the other."
He made absolutely sure to emphasize the word humans with extra vocal weight, hoping desperately that Klaus would take it as some kind of universal human cultural rule instead of the flimsy excuse it actually was.
Klaus stopped scribbling in his notebook.
Slowly, he lifted his head and turned to look at Kaizen with this thoughtful expression that made Kaizen's stomach drop.
"Is that so? We humans are truly like that, hmm?" Klaus said while tilting his head slightly. "So if I were to become a true friend of yours, then you and I would be able to share our deepest secrets with one another?"
Kaizen's soul nearly left his body right then and there.
He nodded anyway, very carefully and deliberately.
"Y-yes," he said with forced confidence that he absolutely did not feel. "That is exactly how it works in human culture."
'Just buy it.' Kaizen begged silently while maintaining eye contact. 'Please just buy it and go back to your research.'
Outwardly, he maintained the most innocent expression he could physically manage, because at this point in the conversation, any sudden movement or suspicious facial twitch felt like it might set off a nuclear explosion that would end with him being studied under a microscope.
Klaus remained silent for a few long seconds.
Then he nodded slowly.
"I see."
That was all he said.
He turned back to his book and resumed writing.
Kaizen relaxed slightly, only to notice with growing concern that Klaus's writing speed had suddenly increased dramatically, his quill moving faster across the page than before, as if he had just gained an entirely new and fascinating subject to scribble.
Kaizen swallowed hard.
"Phew."
Deciding that this was as good an ending to this conversation as he was going to get tonight, Kaizen quietly lay back down on his bed.
He desperately needed sleep, and even more desperately needed time to think about tomorrow's life-altering decision. If he did not sleep properly right now, there was absolutely no way he would wake up on time tomorrow morning.
And tomorrow was important.
Tomorrow was the day his entire future would be written in stone.
.
..
...
The next morning, Kaizen woke up to the unpleasant sensation of freezing cold hands shaking his body. He snapped his eyes open. And immediately locked eyes with a demon.
A demon wearing an academy uniform. Staring down at him with a cold, emotionless expression. Naturally, Kaizen's soul exited his body on the spot.
It packed its bags in record time, waved politely, and whispered a sincere goodbye message of "Good luck with this situation," before leaving to look for a better host somewhere else in the world.
Because really, if the very first thing you see in the morning is a demon's face hovering inches above yours with those crimson eyes staring into your soul, your soul is legally allowed to quit without giving two weeks notice.
Thankfully, after a few long, horrifying seconds of pure panic, Kaizen's soul paused mid-flight, squinted at the demon's face, and realized with massive relief that the demon was unfortunately familiar.
Ah. Roommate demon.
With a deep sigh of resignation, his soul decided to return to his body reluctantly, but only on the strict condition that it would immediately leave again the very next time something even remotely stressful happened. Given Kaizen's absolutely terrible luck, that would probably be within the hour.
"Human," Klaus said, his aristocratic tone echoing inside Kaizen's still-foggy brain like a morning alarm. "Are you currently in a state of sleep?"
Kaizen stared at him with his eyes wide open.
His eyes were open. Very open. Painfully open.
He desperately wanted to say something sarcastic like "Can't you see my eyes are open and staring directly at you?" but since this was the same being who could probably close them permanently with a single thought, he wisely chose survival over sass.
"I am awake now," Kaizen replied as politely as humanly possible, forcing a smile onto his face. "Thank you for checking."
"Human," Klaus continued calmly, "are you not going to prepare yourself for the branch selection ceremony?"
"…?"
That single word hit Kaizen harder than any demon attack he had experienced.
His brain rebooted itself.
Ceremony.
Today.
Kaizen shot upright in bed so fast he nearly gave himself whiplash.
He grabbed his phone from the bedside table and looked at the screen with mounting horror.
8:45 AM.
The ceremony started at 9:00 AM sharp.
Kaizen's soul screamed internally and attempted to leave his body again.
"They're going to expel me," he gasped, his face going pale. "I'm dead. I'm actually dead. I didn't even make it to my first official class."
He launched himself out of bed and sprinted toward the bathroom like his life depended on it, which considering the academy's strict attendance policies, it probably did. Halfway there, he skidded to a stop on the floor, turned around with his hair sticking up everywhere, and shouted at the now very confused Klaus.
"THANK YOU FOR WAKING ME UP!"
It was a sincere thank-you. A heartfelt one filled with genuine gratitude.
Klaus opened his mouth to respond with what was probably going to be something aristocratic.
Too late.
Kaizen was already gone, vanishing into the bathroom like a man being chased by fate itself and possibly several angry professors.
"Hmm," Klaus murmured to himself.
He felt mildly irritated.
Once again, the puny human had ignored him mid-conversation before he could finish speaking. This was becoming a pattern, and Klaus did not appreciate patterns he did not personally authorize.
Still, he decided to ponder this grave insult later when he had more time.
After all, he also needed to attend the ceremony.
Klaus left the room and headed toward the ceremony hall, where nearly two thousand students were already lined up in neat rows, waiting with anticipation, anxiety, and barely contained excitement.
Today was not just Kaizen's future being decided.
It was everyone's.
And somewhere in the bathroom, Kaizen was fighting for his life against a great poop that was refusing to cooperate at the absolute worst possible moment!