The Summoning World And The Dispatched Devil

“No way… I can’t believe there’s a humanoid devil in a place like this…”

The one groaning with despair in his voice was an intelligent-looking boy wearing glasses.

Of the three who had just arrived, he seemed the most technically skilled, and the mana he emitted was stable.

“A humanoid devil? So you’re saying this bastard is the reason the Trial Cave has been acting strangely?!”

Apparently deciding I was the villain, the red-haired boy flared his mana violently and directed open hostility toward me.

It hadn’t been especially remarkable at first, but once he decided I was an enemy, the mana he released became the strongest of the three.

He was probably the type whose power fluctuated with his emotions—low in technical skill, but high in raw output.

“Wait, Kent! Humanoid devils are far more intelligent and powerful than ordinary devils. Even as Academy students, there’s no way first-years like us can beat one!”

The one who stopped the red-haired boy just as he looked ready to charge was the final member of their trio, a pink-haired girl.

Compared with the other two, both her mana capacity and skill seemed fairly average, but the mana she emitted was slightly unusual and carried the attribute of light.

…Most likely, the magical essence composing her mana contained a particularly high proportion of light-aspected magical essence.

Still, two boys and one girl, with the girl having pink hair… It was the sort of party composition that made me pity the two boys, because they looked destined to be dragged around by her.

Of course, that was entirely my own prejudice.

Putting that aside, I was glad they considered me a threat, but it would be a little troublesome if they simply ran away like this.

“Hmph. If you’re scared, run home and tremble under your blankets. I’ve only just revived myself, so I’m not back to full strength yet. I suppose I could mercifully spare a puppy or two.”

So I deliberately emphasized that I wasn’t at full strength while giving them a mocking smile.

Naturally, I hadn’t been sealed away or destroyed, so I hadn’t actually just revived.

But that was the role I had been given this time.

Kent-kun, the red-haired boy, visibly bristled at my mockery, but his bespectacled companion—whose name I still didn’t know—suddenly looked as though he’d noticed something.

“The amount of mana I’m sensing really is lower than I expected… If that’s the case, maybe he’s not completely beyond our reach?”

The bespectacled boy murmured something along those lines.

Yeah, in reality, I was simply suppressing the power leaking from my body to make myself look weaker, but this was developing nicely.

“That’s right! We can’t give up without even fighting. Rin, you said first-years couldn’t win, but you’re wrong. We’re going to clear this cave and become second-years. There’s no way we’re losing to an opponent like this!”

At Kent’s shout, the pink-haired girl—whose name I had just learned was Rin—nodded as well.

Kent-kun’s far-too-optimistic declaration nearly made me smile wryly, but I tightened my mouth and somehow held it back.

Well, I supposed he was only being this aggressive because the bespectacled strategist had judged that they had a chance, and for now, I would believe that if Glasses-kun had decided it was impossible, Kent would probably have obediently withdrawn.

My current role wasn’t to lecture Kent-kun about recklessness.

“An opponent like this, huh? You’ve got some nerve. Fine. It looks like you’re desperate to die, so how about I grant your wish, just like a proper devil should?!”

Ah, playing the villain was fun.

Personally, I thought that line had been pretty good, but I wondered how it sounded to them.

The three scattered to avoid the Fire Magic I launched together with my words.

“Rin-san, a devil’s weakness is the light attribute. Your unicorn can deal the most damage! Kent-kun, devils are resistant to fire and ice, so our summoned beasts should engage it in close combat and protect the unicorn. Let’s go!”

At the bespectacled boy’s instructions, Kent and Rin nodded and raised their summoning stones.

My opinion of Glasses-kun skyrocketed for reminding me of the weakness-and-resistance settings I’d completely forgotten.

The only unfortunate part was that I still didn’t know his name.

Incidentally, I had no idea about other devils, but I wasn’t particularly weak to light, nor was I especially resistant to fire or ice.

Both affected me completely normally.

“”“Call!”““

At the words of power, the summoned beasts they had contracted emerged from the summoning stones in their hands and unleashed attacks toward me.

We fought for a while after that, but once I judged that they were nearing the limits of their stamina, I brought the battle to an end and withdrew.

My parting words to the three, who had fought bravely almost to their limits, were—

“Damn it! If I waste any more strength on trash like you, I won’t be able to kill the teachers coming later… Fine, I’ll withdraw. I’ll let you live for today. You’d better pray to your god that you never meet me again. Because if we do, I’ll rip out your guts and eat them!”

…That.

Maybe it had been a little too long.

What I really wanted to do was praise them for fighting so well, but unfortunately, that wasn’t part of my role either.

In any case, after demonstrating both their skill and courage, they would probably advance safely to their second year.

During their exam, they had overcome an unexpected incident in the examination site through their own efforts, and on top of that, even though I had supposedly only just revived and was weakened, they had fought a dangerous humanoid devil and survived, so the experience would surely give them confidence.

…Probably?

There were plenty of finer issues with the whole thing, but guiding them from there onward was the Academy teachers’ responsibility.

That’s right. The person who had summoned me this time—or, more precisely, had tried to summon one of Devil King Grazen’s followers and ended up contracting with me as his dispatched substitute—was a teacher at the Royal Summoning Academy.

“That was perfect, Lept-kun. I think those children gained some valuable experience too. …Say, would you be interested in signing an exclusive contract with me?”

The woman smiling as she said that was Michelle, the homeroom teacher of the trio from earlier.

Summoning Sorcery had developed extensively in this world, its summoning formulas had been simplified, and there was even an Academy that gathered children from across the country who possessed an aptitude for summoning and educated them.

What I had been doing this time was serving as the hidden boss for the first-year Academy students’ advancement exam.

The goal was to test whether they could remain calm and refuse to give up even when an irregular situation occurred during the examination, which was why I had been playing a villain according to the assigned scenario.

“Hmm… The summoning system in this world, what was it again? The simplified summoning method where you seal things inside summoning stones and call them out? It doesn’t really suit me. Still, the school looks fun, and they have good teachers too, so I suppose I’m a little jealous of them.”

That was genuinely how I felt.

After all, back when I had been human, I had stopped being able to attend school partway through.

“I see. That’s a shame. But you’re right, having you become a student might be interesting too. For now, I’ll give you the agreed payment, and I’ll throw in a pixie’s summoning stone as well. If you don’t like summoning stones, you can release her after summoning her, or make a proper contract with her yourself.”

I took Michelle’s outstretched hand and shook it.

As I did, I briefly gauged her strength, and… unsurprisingly for a teacher, she was on a completely different level from those three students.

If I were to fight the summoned beasts Michelle could call forth, I probably wouldn’t be able to win unless I summoned Bella the Cerberus.

In any case, I was relieved that I hadn’t made some ridiculous mistake and damaged Devil King Grazen’s reputation.

After all, for the time being, I was nothing more than an ordinary dispatched devil.