In the Cooking Classroom.
"Reporting in! I've shouted it a hundred times!"
Baron Batchelor shouted energetically.
"Good. Now tell me everything you know about this school."
Dekan stood by the window, looking out at the scenery.
He had been pacing around the Cooking Classroom, inspecting the place.
He discovered that there was a bottomless abyss outside the window.
The entire school seemed to be a small island floating above Purgatory.
Apparently, there was no way to escape beyond the map.
"What would you like to know?"
Baron Batchelor asked, trembling slightly.
He was afraid that a load of useless chatter would anger Dekan.
Dekan thought for a moment, then walked over to Cornelia, who was standing on Baron Batchelor.
He pulled the red Demon Ticket from Cornelia's pocket and waved it in front of Baron Batchelor.
"What does this do?"
Dekan asked.
"This is a Demon Pass, given by teachers to outstanding students. If you have one, you can hand it to the Dean if you run into him in the corridor during class time. It'll protect you from one attack, and the Dean won't attack you again for half an hour."
Baron Batchelor replied.
"Do you have one?"
"I have one."
"Where?"
"In my coat pocket."
"Okay, got it."
Dekan had no intention of letting go of Baron Batchelor so he could retrieve the pass.
Though he had subdued Baron Batchelor, this demon was still a scumbag who preyed on the weak and feared the strong. He couldn't be trusted.
Dekan was physically frail. If he gave Baron Batchelor even one chance, he could kill him.
Although Dekan had already put on the Crown of Thorns, he was still afraid of pain.
Dekan said, "Next, tell me where every facility in the school is, and what the teachers are like."
Baron Batchelor hesitated before answering, "...I don't know everything about the other teachers. The staff at this school change often."
It seemed the teachers at this school had a high casualty rate, too.
"Then do you know who the strongest teacher is?"
Dekan asked.
"Without a doubt, it's the principal. But the principal isn't always at school. He only appears at random times, so a teacher might get desperate and take a chance by breaking the rules. Besides, the principal only hunts down teachers who break the rules."
Baron Batchelor replied.
Dekan nodded.
That meant they could use the rules against the teachers, but it would be difficult to use them to force a teacher to their death.
If they were going to die either way, they would surely choose to fight to the bitter end.
Still, Dekan found something strange.
The principal hunted teachers and didn't threaten students, so he probably wasn't the Boss.
If the principal wasn't the Boss, could there be another dangerous teacher?
"Besides the principal and the Dean, are there any especially dangerous or out-of-the-ordinary members of staff?"
Even though he had completed Objective 2, Dekan still cared a lot about information on the Boss.
If he was confident he could do it, he would try to clear the Boss room.
The rewards for clearing a Shadow World were tied to the final rating one earned.
They also depended on the enemies one defeated, the accomplishments one achieved, and the spoils one claimed in the Shadow World.
If one didn't clear the Boss room, even completing the trial would earn a lower-tier reward.
If this were a Shadow World with another theme, Dekan would never be greedy for extra rewards.
But this was a demon-themed Shadow World.
If he earned an SSS rating and cleared the Boss room, there was a good chance he could get extremely precious demon-related materials or items.
They might even be useful for repairing Master.
Master was the only reason Dekan might risk it.
Of course, Master definitely wouldn't want Dekan to put his life on the line.
If it was too dangerous, Dekan would sensibly give up on the Boss room.
Baron Batchelor thought for a while, then said, "I've heard of... Miss Olive from the Demon Laboratory. She's always conducting terrifying experiments. There are even rumors that she often ignores the school rules, yet the principal has never managed to catch her in the act."
A laboratory?
Terrifying experiments?
That had to be it.
This demon named Olive was most likely the one mentioned in the mission—the demon who tortured humans!
The human they had to rescue was probably in her laboratory, too.
This was almost certainly the Boss room.
"Go on."
"That's all. The Demon Laboratory is far from the Cooking Classroom, so we hardly ever cross paths."
"...Then describe the school map, the classrooms, and whatever you know about the teachers."
Baron Batchelor spent nearly half an hour telling Dekan everything he knew.
Throughout that time, Dekan sat at the long table, recording and organizing the information based on Baron Batchelor's account.
He drew up a rough map and covered it with annotations.
"This is ridiculous. It's the first time I've seen a school where you have to interrogate the teachers just to learn anything. I'm exhausted."
Once he was sure Baron Batchelor had no more useful information, Dekan set down his pen and leaned back in his chair, stretching.
Hearing Dekan's complaint, Cornelia hesitated, wanting to say something.
Even at the Demon Academy, students usually didn't learn by interrogating their teachers.
Dekan looked at Cornelia and smiled faintly. "Cornelia, thanks for the effort."
She had been restraining Baron Batchelor ever since they captured him, keeping him pinned down for nearly an hour.
"It was a piece of cake."
Cornelia replied.
She didn't feel tired at all.
As long as she didn't have to use her brain, it all felt like leisure.
"Lastly, sorry for the trouble, but I need you to help make him forget everything."
Dekan said to Cornelia.
"How do you make a demon lose his memory?"
Cornelia asked, puzzled.
She had never learned anything about mental or soul magic.
Dekan smiled without answering. As Baron Batchelor stared at him in utter terror, he summoned the Ruined Poet.
Cornelia furrowed her brow, deep in thought.
She blinked.
Then, all at once, she seemed to understand.
Cornelia gripped the hammer handle with both hands and swung it without hesitation, smashing it down onto Baron Batchelor's head.
"Boom!!!"
The entire classroom rang with a crash as if the floor were about to collapse.
Baron Batchelor's head was driven into the floor. Spiderweb-like cracks spread out from the point of impact.
The blow didn't smash Baron Batchelor's head, but it did break the warhammer.
The handle bent out of shape, and it reverted to a card that could no longer be used.
Cornelia pressed her toe against Baron Batchelor, who lay face down, and gently lifted her foot to roll him over.
His eyes were rolled back, and he was completely unconscious.
"Is he still breathing?"
Dekan asked.
"Yes. He's just passed out."
Cornelia could still sense that Baron Batchelor was alive.
This demon was at least Tier Five. His body was sturdy, and his vitality was formidable.
But after taking Cornelia's full-force blow to the head, multiplied by twentyfold pain, he'd probably be an idiot even if he hadn't lost his memory.
"Good. Buddha is merciful."
Dekan raised one hand, palm upright, and sighed.
Baron Batchelor still had his uses. They couldn't just write him off.
"Where to next?"
Cornelia asked, no longer paying any attention to Baron Batchelor on the floor.
Dekan checked the time. About two hours and four minutes had passed since the dungeon began.
The next bell, signaling the end of class, would ring in twenty-six minutes.
"Let's rest for half an hour first. You should eat something, too."
Dekan said to Cornelia.
There was no need for them to venture out right now.
Besides, they really did need a break.
After all, if they were here to experience school life, they had to balance work and rest.
Before you continue