CHAPTER 55: PANDORA HYBRID?

"What do you think of the Demon King?" I ask Pandora, honestly this possible student is someone who worries me, I’m not sure if allowing Pandora’s admission to my academy is really a good idea.

She is undoubtedly talented, but she doesn’t have an easy personality, she is cold, someone who doesn’t care about the feelings of others, although hearing that she is seeking revenge changes things a bit.

If she wants revenge against the demons, then keeping her in the academy becomes a good choice, because a powerful person without goals is more dangerous than a powerful person blinded by revenge.

"...I think...he is a miserable existence to pity, but he is also a calamity that, if not stopped, will plunge this world into despair," Pandora answers.

’...What a peculiar view of the Demon King,’ honestly I planned to fail Pandora on the psychological test if she showed herself to be someone without goals, objectives, or dreams to achieve, that kind of person is not at all trustworthy precisely because they don’t want anything, so they can choose anything.

That’s why Pandora wanting revenge against the demons means that she won’t ally with them, especially seeing how her eyes become gloomy when she mentions revenge or murder.

Although the fact that she wants to kill someone from the academy is problematic, as long as she doesn’t do it on the academy grounds, I don’t care, after all, murder among nobles is common. The Princess ended up passing this same test, although I find her goal repugnant, at least it’s manageable as a student.

"...Interesting, you are the first person I’ve heard define the Demon King as a miserable being who inspires pity...but you’re right, he is a calamity and must be stopped, thank you for the answer."

I can’t disagree that such a being must die, there is no way for us to coexist, it’s simply impossible for various reasons, even if by some miracle the Demon King didn’t do anything, humans would still be enemies of the demons.

"Director, and you, what do you think of the Demon King?" Pandora asks me, I see curiosity in her gaze.

"...Honestly...I don’t know, I think he is...unique, I think that’s the best definition for the being we call the Demon King, he is unique."

I use magic to prevent the bell from ringing and the scale from moving, I can’t let my view of the Demon King leak out there.

It would be terrible if they found out that I was once an apprentice of a Demon King in the past, I would be judged as a traitor of humanity, although in my defense I didn’t know my mentor was the Demon King, to me she was just a kind and somewhat stern mentor.

When I discovered who my mistress was, it was a complete shock, I had a great prejudice against demons, so discovering that she was the Demon King ended up shattering my worldview.

So I decided to adopt a new, more objective view, without putting feelings or prejudices on my decisions, so I can say that I neither hate nor like the current Demon King, I just think he must die to prevent deaths.

This view also applies to demons, I no longer see them as a target of hatred, just beings who are also trying to live their own lives and who will one day have them taken away by war.

"Now, shall we move on to your other tests, Pandora?"

I say to her as I start to get up from the chair, since I’ve decided to accept that she passed this little "psychological test" that is more like a way for me to fail problematic people, so she’s already passed, and is officially a student of the academy, after all I doubt she’ll have any trouble with any of the remaining tests.

"Cough Cough"

Completely out of the blue, she starts coughing up blood, there was no sign or warning, so I’m surprised by this.

I notice that her gaze is only as if it were an inconvenience, she doesn’t seem at all concerned, which indicates that this is common and she has already gotten used to coughing up blood.

I use magic to analyze her body, but it seems fine, if I can’t find anything with a magical scan, then I have some hypotheses.

Among them, I remember that there is a story spreading among the nobles that Pandora’s mother was a dragon, but if Pandora is really a hybrid, that would explain why I didn’t find anything when I used magic, even though she coughed up blood.

Hybrids are rare, most of them die during formation or shortly after being born, this happens because the combination of two completely different races causes problems, these problems range from malformation to severe illnesses or poor health.

And this problem has no cure or can be treated in any way, the human hybrids with the greatest chance of survival are hybrids between Human and Beast-man or Human and Elf, as they are the most biologically close.

And even these hybrids have an extremely low survival rate, so Pandora being a dragon hybrid will clearly have some problem, even if that problem is not visible.

’So this story of Pandora being a dragon and human hybrid is real...’ This would explain her personality and talent, but it also implies that she is possibly dying.

After all, so far only 3 human hybrids with another race have managed to have long lives, and that’s because they had abilities that allowed them to overcome their problems, but Pandora doesn’t indicate having any ability that helps.

The biggest problem for the few hybrids who manage to stay alive for a while is that they don’t have magic that can cure them, their problems can only be solved if they have a unique ability that helps with that.

But Pandora, as a human noble, could hardly awaken this type of ability, precisely because this type of ability requires specific conditions.

"Shall we go, Director?" Pandora says after cleaning the blood with magic.

"Pandora, tell me...do you have any ability that can directly fix biological flaws?"

"No, although I have one that serves to slightly alter, but it doesn’t fix any problems."

’As I imagined, she will probably die within a few years at most.’ And it’s sad, but that’s the life of a hybrid, in the end she was lucky to live until adolescence, I think. I start walking, leading her to take the theoretical tests.

"Pandora, do you cough up blood regularly?"

"...?" She is slightly doubtful with the sudden question as we walk.

"Yes, normally 2 to 3 times during a 3-day period and 8 to 14 times in a week."

’Seems pretty bad, it reminds me of my mistress’s servant, he was a hybrid with a similar problem, although the frequency with which he coughed up blood was lower, I was really sad when he died for being a hybrid.’ Life is not very fair with hybrids.

If they manage to live, they’re either constantly ill or have sequelae that slowly kill them.

’That reminds me of that abomination, the Abyss’s first daughter, I’ve heard she could generate perfect hybrids...I’m sure they would be monsters with incredible talents.’

"Pandora, has the Saint tried to heal you while you cough up blood?"

"...Yes, but it didn’t work, obviously."

’Of course not, I imagine.’ Regardless of the level of healing, it’s not possible to cure something natural to the body with that kind of magic. Magics that can fix this type of problem could only be used by the Goddesses or the Demon Kings.

And not all of them, just a small portion of them.

"Pandora, what do you think of your life?"

"...I’ve decided to enjoy the little moments in life, these brief moments of the present, you know?"

’So she has already accepted that she will die...’ Strong in every way, she reminds me of my late daughter, she also said she wanted to enjoy the brief moments of life because she wouldn’t have a future.

This kind of makes me sad, it’s a shame that young people don’t have time to enjoy a normal life.

We soon arrive at the classroom and I apply the practical tests as I ponder a bit about her. From what I heard, I expected someone worse, Pandora is undoubtedly a cold person who doesn’t care much for others.

But it’s not necessarily bad, if it’s about the fact that she has already killed, many nobles do that, in the end they have power, so they use it, murder is common and not surprising at all. In a way, killing doesn’t define whether someone is good or bad, in war many kill even though they are good people.

That’s why I can’t say much, I don’t think Pandora is a good person, but she’s not bad either, which in a way gives me a sense of relief.

After 5 hours, she finished all the theoretical tests, I start reviewing the answers there were 400 questions. I see that on the theoretical tests of geography, history, general knowledge, and magic theory, she got everything right.

In the magic theory, she wrote an interesting view, particularly very good for a novice, it’s at the level of last-year students at the academy, as expected of her, who is the Grand Duchess and must have had an impressive education.

"Grand Duchess, you seem to have had an excellent magic teacher, could you tell me who it was?" I know it wasn’t any of the teachers at this academy, this isn’t the type of magic theory they teach.

"I can’t say, Director Akari, I hope you understand." She responds.

"Yes, I understand, well your teacher must have been incredible."

"Yes, they taught very well...so did I pass the practical tests?" Although it’s a question, it has a confident tone, as if it were a statement rather than a question.

"Yes, full score, now let’s go to the training area for your practical tests." I get up from the chair, taking the tests with me as I guide her to the training area, as a precaution I’m going to a reinforced training area, I don’t want her to break more than necessary.