Before lunch break had completely ended, Elysia returned to the classroom with me perched on top of her head.
Then she carefully informed the students who had already gathered in the classroom about touching me.
From now on, only before morning classes or during the morning break.
After lunch, for the sake of my rest and mental health, she asked them to stop touching me.
At first, the students looked disappointed, but they nodded more readily than expected.
“Haku needs to rest too.”
“It’s fine even if it’s only in the morning.”
“We’ll let the kids in the other classes know too.”
“We shouldn’t give him snacks carelessly either, right?”
Elysia thanked them, and I curled up slightly atop her head.
And so, on just the second day of my academy life, I had already acquired some strange rules.
Haku contact hours.
Haku rest time.
Haku snack management.
Haku mental health protection.
‘……Am I a familiar, or a class-wide subject of communal management?’
Still, it wasn’t bad.
The students didn’t treat me like a toy.
They found me cute, wanted to see me, wanted to touch me, but at the same time, they tried to be considerate so I wouldn’t get exhausted.
For that, I was a little grateful.
After that, the afternoon classes passed without incident.
Of course, there were still glances darting my way from time to time.
But the rule of not touching me after lunch was followed better than expected.
A few students twitched their hands, then restrained themselves,
and someone, upon meeting my eyes, quietly clenched their fist and exercised patience.
‘Do they really want to touch me that badly?’
I lay sprawled on the desk, half resigned.
The afternoon sunlight slowly slanted downward,
and by the time class ended, the classroom had settled into that loose, after-school atmosphere.
The students began packing up one by one.
Students heading to clubs.
Students heading to the library.
Students heading to the training grounds.
And students still looking at me with lingering regret.
“Haku, see you tomorrow.”
“I’ll definitely come in the morning.”
“Rest today.”
I cried softly.
“Kki.”
Take care.
I didn’t know whether that meaning got across, but the students seemed satisfied with just that sound and left the classroom smiling.
A short while later, there were hardly any people left in the classroom.
Elysia was organizing her bag as well when she suddenly looked down at me.
“Haku, can you wait here for just a moment?”
‘Hm?’
I lifted my head.
Elysia smiled, looking slightly troubled.
“I’ll be right back. It won’t take long.”
She probably intended to stop by the restroom.
Sitting on the desk, I lightly swayed my tail.
‘Go ahead.’
Elysia stroked my head very carefully.
“I’ll be back soon.”
Then she left the classroom.
I remained on the desk.
The classroom after school was different from lunchtime.
The space that had been filled with students’ voices all day was gradually emptying out.
From outside the window came the sound of footsteps and laughter from students heading toward the training grounds.
I curled my body into a ball.
‘I can take a short nap.’
It was just as I thought that.
“You’re all alone.”
A low, grating voice sounded.
I opened my eyes.
At the back of the classroom.
Someone who had yet to leave was slowly rising from his seat.
It was Richard.
He was looking at me without even having packed his bag.
Those unpleasant eyes.
That face, as if he had been waiting for this moment from the beginning.
I flattened my ears slightly.
‘You again.’
Richard slowly walked over.
Since most of the students had already left, there was almost no one in the classroom who could stop us.
The few students who remained were busy packing and only belatedly noticed the situation.
“Lord Richard?”
“What’s going on?”
Richard did not answer.
He stopped in front of my desk.
Then he looked down at me.
“You must have it easy.”
I looked up at him silently.
“Sitting on top of Lady Valerion’s head, basking in everyone’s adoration, with the entire class even taking care of your rest time.”
His voice was mixed with blatant mockery.
“When you’re nothing more than a mere familiar.”
I did not answer.
I couldn’t answer.
I still couldn’t speak human language properly, and if I reacted for no reason, it would only make things noisier.
Ignore him.
Elysia would be back soon.
I just had to endure until then.
But Richard did not back down.
“What, without your master around, you can’t do anything?”
He reached out his hand.
A shadow fell over the desk in front of me.
I lowered my body.
‘Don’t touch me.’
There was no way that meaning would get across.
The corners of Richard’s mouth rose.
“They said you were so special, but in the end, you’re just a little beast.”
At those words, something stirred inside me.
Hold it in.
I have to hold it in.
If I caused trouble here, Elysia would be put in a difficult position.
I closed my mouth as though gritting my teeth.
Of course, right now my mouth was that of a small fox, but that was how I felt.
Richard’s hand came even closer.
“While Valerion isn’t here, shall I torment this familiar a little?”
At that moment.
Snap.
Something inside me broke.
‘Stop.’
I had held back until now.
Because I didn’t want to make things difficult for Elysia.
Because I didn’t want the fact that I was a strange being to be revealed.
Because I didn’t want to cause trouble at the academy.
That was why I had endured.
But this was different.
Taking advantage of Elysia’s absence.
Looking down on me because I was alone.
Deliberately trying to touch something she cherished.
That, I could not endure.
“…….”
The air inside the classroom sank coldly.
Richard’s hand stopped right in front of my nose.
He frowned.
“What is this?”
I did not move.
I simply looked up at him.
With the eyes of a small fox cub.
But at that moment, what Richard saw was probably not me.
Behind me, for just an instant.
A silvery light like moonlight wavered.
It could have seemed as though the evening light coming in through the window had rippled.
But that was not it.
It was clearly a shadow.
No, an illusion.
I also glanced back for a moment.
A human figure.
Silver hair.
Nine tails splitting apart.
And cold eyes, as if they had looked down upon the world for far too long.
Those eyes turned toward Richard.
They said nothing.
They did not howl.
They did not bare their claws.
They merely looked down.
As if to say,
How dare you.
‘Is that the form of Wolyeong, the original owner of this body?’
Even when I came to this world, I had only seen the memories of the nine-tailed fox, not the memories from when he had been a man.
But the illusion behind me now was showing it plainly.
‘Whether when he transformed into a woman or in his male form, why is he so good-looking either way?’
If he was a fox who had lived that long, he could probably freely disguise and transform his appearance, but this was too extreme.
After finishing that thought, I looked at Richard again.
The blood drained from Richard’s face in an instant.
“…….”
His lips trembled.
His fingertips trembled as well.
His shoulders, which had been arrogantly stiff until just moments ago, slowly sank.
“W-what is that…….”
He took a step back.
His foot caught on the leg of a desk, and his body staggered.
“Lord Richard?”
A student who had come back into the classroom to retrieve something he had forgotten called out to him in confusion.
But Richard could not answer.
His eyes were still fixed somewhere behind me.
No.
By now, he probably could no longer see it.
The illusion was already disappearing.
Leaving only a very faint afterimage like moonlight.
But for Richard, it was enough.
“……A m-monster…….”
The words slipped out very quietly.
I laid my ears back.
In that instant, another cold emotion surged up from deep inside me.
‘Who are you calling a monster?’
Richard’s body flinched violently.
And he could no longer hold out.
“Damn it……!”
Richard turned on his heel just like that.
He didn’t even take his bag.
Throwing away his pride, his dignity, and all the arrogance he had shown until moments ago, he roughly opened the classroom door and ran out.
Bang!
The sound of the door closing echoed through the classroom.
The students who remained stood frozen in place.
Sitting on the desk, I slowly blinked.
The cold sensation that had been spreading inside me until a moment ago had vanished before I knew it.
Instead, my heart was pounding rapidly.
I looked down at my tail.
One silver-pink tail.
Small forepaws.
A small body.
No matter how I looked at myself, I was the usual fox cub.
But what Richard had seen was not a fox cub.
“Haku……?”
One of the remaining students cautiously called my name.
I quickly lowered my body.
Then, as if nothing had happened, I lay down on the desk.
‘I don’t know.’
I don’t know.
I don’t know anything.
I’m just a small and cute familiar.
Richard had simply gotten scared on his own and run away just now.
I didn’t do anything.
Truly.
Just then, the classroom door opened again.
This time, the footsteps were quiet.
Elysia had returned.
“Haku?”
As soon as she entered, she noticed that the atmosphere in the classroom was strange.
And immediately looked toward me.
Me, lying on the desk.
The frozen students.
Richard’s bag lying on the floor.
Elysia’s gaze sank.
“Did something happen?”
I only lifted my head slightly.
Then I cried with as innocent a face as possible.
“Kkiing.”
‘Nothing happened.’
Truly.
Elysia stared at me quietly.
“……Haku.”
I swayed my tail slightly.
‘Really.’
Of course, she did not look convinced at all.
Even if I tried to hide it, there was no way I could hide it completely.
Elysia’s emotions faintly came through.
Worry.
Anxiety.
And anger pressed down very low.
“Did Lord Richard come here?”
I avoided her eyes.
“…….”
“Haku.”
‘I don’t know.’
I curled myself into a ball.
‘I’m sleepy.’
Elysia let out a very small sigh.
One of the remaining students cautiously opened their mouth.
“Lady Valerion…… Lord Richard did approach Haku, but.”
Another student added softly.
“Haku didn’t do anything.”
“It’s just…… Lord Richard suddenly got scared and left.”
“It’s true. Haku stayed still.”
I nodded inwardly.
‘That’s right. I stayed still.’
At least my body did.
Even after hearing the students’ words, Elysia did not readily soften her expression.
She slowly approached and sat down in front of me.
Then she placed her hand on my back.
A gentle touch.
Familiar warmth.
Only then did some of the tension leave me.
Elysia spoke in a low voice.
“You’re not hurt?”
I nodded.
‘Yeah.’
“Were you scared?”
‘No, not really.’
Elysia looked at me for a moment, then smiled very faintly.
“Okay. I understand.”
But her fingertips were trembling slightly.
Feeling that tremor, I closed my eyes.
The evening light after school was slanting into the classroom.
What had just happened was already growing faint, like a dream.
But deep inside me, there still remained a very faint afterimage like moonlight.
Unfamiliar.
Ancient.
Cold.
And somehow, as if it were smiling at me.
Because I disliked that feeling, I squeezed my eyes shut even tighter.
Without saying a word, Elysia slowly stroked my back.
And I, as if nothing had happened, curled up like a proper fox cub.