Lucy

"Hey, Aarick! Let's go out this weekend!"

"No."

"It's going to be great! They are holding an event downtown tomorrow and it's free entrance for any students that attend Augustus!"

"No.

"I already invited the others, and even Peter seemed a bit excited. There will be lots of beautiful older students there."

"I'll see you next week, Astor."

Jumping away from the yellow-haired man who wouldn't let me be as we were walking out of the academy, I soared up to the roof of a nearby building using zero gravity.

Looking down, I did feel a bit bad about just ditching someone just trying to be friendly like that, but at the same time, I knew it was better to just leave.

If there was anything I didn't want right now, with my body being unstable and me being unable to control my urges, it was to find myself surrounded by other people.

The academy was one thing, as it was at least to some extent necessary for me to grow, but to risk losing control in some club just for the sake of it? Not a chance.

Also, I had other things I needed to do anyway.

Even though the week had passed without much happening, with even Mr. Ainsworth leaving me alone during the monster elimination class, I kind of had a feeling that it was the calm before the storm.

Not only would we get our rankings next week, but it would also be the start of the events that would continually affect them. Events like excursions, tournaments, races, and everything in between.

The worst part was that Ms. Zito also wouldn't tell me what was actually planned for us. Turning my eyes to the sun that had begun to slowly take its leave for the day, it was hard to comprehend just what my teacher was thinking.

I did understand that she wanted me to live a 'normal' life, however normal a life at Augustus could be at least, but at this point, it almost started to feel like some sort of obsession. Would I have allowed someone who just became a demon to attend the academy while not knowing if they could deal with their newly acquired demonic urges?

Probably not.

Hopeful ignorance, that was the best way I could put it. That she wanted to believe in the coexistence between humans and demons to the extent that she consciously ignored the slim chances of things going out of control.

Granted, my specific situation was obviously something out of the norm, even for a demon, but her inherent values still shone through to the point where I knew I had to start thinking for myself a lot more.

Did this mean I thought of her intentions to be in any way nefarious or that she wanted to make things more difficult for me? No, if anything, I trusted her intentions of wanting the best for me completely.

'-You're thinking too deeply about it.'

'Maybe. But does it hurt to be a lot more conscious about it? In the end, I'm also aware that I don't know enough about the world to make educated conclusions, nor do I know enough about demons to be aware of what I am, but that doesn't mean I can allow her to just make all my decisions for me.'

At some point, I would have no choice but to distance myself from Dona, as otherwise, she would ultimately become a victim of the future that Lucifer envisioned. This was one of the reasons why the deal I made with Celina was so significant, and why I had to continue trying my best to find opportunities on my own.

And a large part of that was to secure an income.

It would probably not be too hard to ask Dona for funds if needed, but that would just make me even more dependent on her. So this weekend, I was determined to look for other methods of making money.

========

Currently sitting in one of the many beautiful parks in Rellea, it couldn't be helped that I was feeling a bit down.

I had spent most of the evening researching while walking around the city hoping for an opportunity to show itself to me.

It turns out, however, that life just wasn't that kind.

In the end, I found absolutely nothing, and from the research, I had ended up concluding that there were really only three viable ways of making a lot of money.

The first way was to become a strong hunter, going out to the wastelands to hunt and gather materials from monsters. For obvious reasons, this wasn't exactly a viable plan right now.

The second way was to try and land a high-paying job, which naturally meant trying to find a job affiliated with a large guild or corporation. Also, something quite difficult for me, as I hadn't even graduated from high school, much less having a university degree which was pretty much mandatory for this plan.

The third option was... dubious, at best. Let's just say that it involved getting close to some very shady people, and doing some questionable things.

In the end, I had severely underestimated how hard it was to make money even when having a blessing on my own.

"Hey, whatcha looking all sad for?"

Leaning my head back to see whoever was suddenly standing behind me, I was surprised to see a pair of nostrils framed by black hair with a single red stripe. Though it didn't take long until a very soft hand covered my eyes.

"What are you doing?"

"What are you doing, looking up at my face from that angle?"

"Fair enough. So, what do you want, Ms...?"

"Shouldn't you know the names of the other freshmen by now? Anyway, I'm Lucy from the freshmen's B-class. A pleasure to meetcha, Aarick."

It was a very strange kind of meeting, with her still standing behind the bench while covering my eyes with her hand. Not that I particularly minded feeling her soft skin against my face, but it was strange nonetheless.

"I had been thinking of talking to ya for quite some time now, but I just never got the chance. That's when I saw you here looking all sad and lonely. So I thought I I would cheer you up a bit."

"Cheer me up? How?"

"Hmm? Do you swing the other way? Who wouldn't be cheered up when a gorgeous woman like me suddenly appears?"

"Ah. Well, no, your hand does feel kind of nice, and I don't think I'm into men, but at the same time, I'm quite aware that a lot of people aren't too happy with me. So please excuse me for being a bit on the fence about your sudden appearance, as it wouldn't make much sense for someone to approach me while knowing that it might put them in a tight spot."

Finally withdrawing her hand, she made her way around the bench, sitting down while keeping her eyes on me.

"I'm aware of watcha did to Levi, but haven't the other people in your class already started to ignore that? I saw you just the other day sitting in the cafeteria having a jolly good time, after all."

Taking a closer look at Lucy, it was a very contrasting sight to what one would traditionally call a beauty. Though she was undeniably a very beautiful girl, the contrast between that and her piercings, along with her colored hair, would be better described as sexy.

Despite her curves being more moderate than say Levi's, she was absolutely not lacking in that department either. Trailing her womanly form with my eyes, I...

'-Hey!'

'Sorry, sorry.'

Forcing myself back to the conversation at hand, I knew that I should at least try and get to know what she wanted. Because there was no way this meeting was a coincidence.

"They are just trying to be nice. However, you aren't even in the same class as me, so what kind of reasoning could you possibly have for approaching me?"

Putting a finger on her cheek, she jokingly looked a bit offended by me calling her out.

"What do you mean reasoning? Didn't I tell you, I just wanted to cheer ya up a bit!"

"Well, you succeeded. I'm super happy right now, so I'll guess I'll take my leave then."

"Ah, wait!"

Taking hold of my arm as I was about to get up, I was surprised to feel just how strong her grip was. Now, I wasn't tall by any means, so although she was taller than me, her form was still that of a delicate young woman. So it was hard not to feel a bit emasculated when I realized that if she wanted, she could literally just hold me down and force me to stay.

"I just... want to talk for a bit? Also, as it seems like my cousin also..."

"Oh, Lucy? What are you doing here? Hey, is that Aarick? What's up, man?! I thought you said you weren't going out tonight!"

Seeing the yellow-haired student that I had ditched earlier today half-jogging toward us, I could feel a headache slowly taking hold of my brain.

"Say, Lucy... Is your last name by any chance Loxley...?"

"Yup!"