Isolde smiled as well.
“Then that is a relief.”
Leopold looked at me for a moment, then spoke in a low voice.
“Haku.”
He called my name again.
I looked up at him.
“I will not ask what you are yet.”
The dining table fell silent.
“But as long as you are in this house, there is one thing you must uphold.”
I perked up my ears.
“Do not harm Elysia.”
They were heavy words.
They sounded like an order, but at the same time, like a father’s plea.
Leopold continued.
“If you help Elysia, Valerion will not forget that debt.
But if you put Elysia in danger, Valerion will hold you accountable.”
Elysia seemed tense as she opened her mouth.
“Father.”
But I nodded first.
It was fine.
That condition was only natural.
I had no intention of harming Elysia either.
If anything.
I wanted to protect this child.
Perhaps my thoughts had faintly reached her, because Elysia’s eyes wavered.
Leopold said nothing for a while after seeing my reaction.
Then he slowly nodded.
“Good.”
With that single word, at least the greatest confirmation at this table seemed to be over.
As if to soften the atmosphere a little, Isolde said,
“Then for the time being, Haku will remain by Elysia’s side as he has been.
However, you will also inform us of anything you hear from the Special Familiar Studies Department.”
“Yes, Mother.”
Elysia answered.
Lucius added as well.
“It would be best to share anything related to the Seonghwihoe too. Especially regarding Richard—tell us as soon as the investigation results come out.”
Camilla narrowed her eyes.
“That person named Richard used magic on Haku too, didn’t he?”
“Yes.”
Elysia’s expression stiffened slightly.
“During class, he fired a small spell at Haku.”
The playfulness disappeared from Camilla’s face.
“Even if it’s only a small spell, I believe it’s forbidden to use magic on another person’s registered familiar without permission.”
Lucius nodded.
“The Student Conduct Committee is looking into it. If it proves true, there is a high chance it will be passed on to the Disciplinary Committee.”
Leopold’s expression was calm, but that calm made it feel even heavier.
“I will allow the Academy to handle it internally. But there will not be a second time.”
It was a brief statement.
But the meaning contained within it was clear.
Valerion would respect the Academy’s procedures this time.
But if harm came to Elysia or Haku again, the house would move.
Elysia quietly lowered her head.
“Understood.”
I had wondered how they knew about Richard as well,
but since it was a matter involving the family, it seemed the Seonghwihoe or the Academy had informed them.
Amid that atmosphere, I quietly lapped up my soup.
Richard.
This really was getting bigger.
At first, I had thought he was just one annoying student, but now both the Seonghwihoe and House Valerion knew about him.
He had brought it on himself.
Gradeon said leisurely,
“Still, that is not the strangest story of the day, is it?”
Camilla reacted at once.
“The rules for petting Haku?”
I froze on the spot.
She was bringing that up again?
Isolde covered her mouth with her hand and laughed softly.
“I heard the Seonghwihoe really issued an official notice.”
Lucius said calmly,
“They said three times a week, up to twenty people per day, and no more than thirty seconds per person.”
Leopold’s expression briefly stopped.
“……They decided even that?”
“Yes.”
“The Seonghwihoe did?”
“Yes.”
Silence.
In the end, Gradeon chuckled in a low voice.
“This must be rare even in the history of House Valerion.
To think that familiar-petting time would be set as a student council regulation.”
Camilla could not hold back and laughed.
“Haku, you’re amazing.”
There was nothing amazing about it.
I flattened my ears and buried my nose in the soup bowl.
Looking at me, Isolde said gently,
“Still, it is fortunate that your rest time is guaranteed. Haku must get tired too.”
As expected, Isolde softly touched upon the heart of the matter.
Elysia nodded.
“Yes. Haku gets tired more easily than I expected. Especially when a lot of people crowd around him.”
“In that case, it would be best to let him rest quietly at home as much as possible.”
Everyone naturally agreed with Isolde’s words.
But then Camilla carefully raised her hand.
“Then when am I allowed to touch him?”
“Camilla.”
Lucius called her name immediately.
“What? We need rules inside the house too.”
“You really are……”
Camilla’s face was serious.
“If there are rules only at the Academy, and the family just touches him as they please, wouldn’t that be more of a problem?”
It was strangely correct, which made it even more troublesome.
I looked at Camilla.
Camilla looked at me too.
“Haku, if you don’t like it, I won’t.”
That was unexpected.
I had thought she would push in playfully, but she kept the line better than I had expected.
I pondered for a moment.
Camilla was a somewhat tiring type, but she did not seem to bear any malice.
And she was Elysia’s family.
Slowly, very slightly, I nodded.
Not now.
A little later.
That was what I meant.
Camilla’s eyes sparkled.
“That means you’re allowing it, right?”
Elysia interpreted at once.
“I think he means not now, but a little later is all right.”
“Good. Later, then.”
Camilla withdrew with a satisfied expression.
Lucius sighed.
“Do not burden Haku either.”
“I know.”
Leopold watched the scene, then said quietly,
“If we do not see Haku as merely a familiar, then we must respect his will as well.”
Those words were like the conclusion of the meal.
Haku was Elysia’s registered familiar.
However, he was neither a mere animal nor a mere tool.
In this house, at least, they would confirm and respect his wishes.
I quietly accepted that fact.
As the meal was coming to an end, Isolde spoke one last time.
“Haku.”
With my stomach somewhat full, I looked up at her.
“When your name was first decided, Elysia was holding you very carefully.”
Elysia looked at her mother with a slightly startled expression.
“Mother.”
Isolde smiled.
“I thought it then too.
That child has not simply brought home a baby fox drenched in rain.
For the first time, she has brought something she wants to protect with her own hands, held in her arms.”
Elysia could not say anything.
I also remained still for a moment.
Looking at me, Isolde continued softly,
“So, Haku.
Whatever kind of being you are, right now, you are a child Elysia cherishes.
For that fact alone, we will not treat you carelessly.”
Her words were warm.
At the same time, they were heavy.
The lady of House Valerion had acknowledged me that way in front of the family.
After hesitating for a moment, I slowly lowered my head.
It was an expression of gratitude.
This time, no one laughed.
Leopold quietly looked at me, and Lucius nodded with a serious face.
Camilla gazed at me with eyes that had softened a little.
Gradeon closed his eyes in satisfaction.
Elysia stroked my back very carefully.
Her touch was trembling a little more than usual.
But it was warm.
After the meal ended, Elysia held me in her arms and returned to her room.
As we walked down the corridor, she said nothing.
I did not send her any thoughts either.
I merely curled up quietly in her arms.
At today’s meal, the Valerion family had looked at me anew.
Differently from when I had first been brought in as a baby fox soaked in rain.
Now, I was a being who had changed Elysia’s sword, shaken the Academy’s rules, and expressed my own will.
But at the same time.
They did not drive me out.
Nor did they try to bind me.
Nor did they try to dig into me recklessly.
For now, they had acknowledged me as Elysia’s companion.
That fact remained in my heart more deeply than I had expected.
‘……This house is better than I thought.’
Perhaps Elysia heard my thoughts, because she laughed very softly.
“I’m glad.”
For no reason, I looked away.
I had not told them everything yet.
The Wolyeongdo.
The nine-tailed fox.
The fact that I was male.
But maybe, just a little, it would be all right.
If it was in this house.
At least for the time being.
And so time began to flow again.
At the Academy, thanks to the rules established by the Seonghwihoe,
at least after lunchtime, the number of students who came rushing over to touch me without warning decreased.
Of course, that did not mean the rumors disappeared.
If anything, because rules had been created, it somehow felt like I had become an even more official existence.
“Is today a day when contact with Haku is allowed?”
“No, apparently not today.”
“Then we’ll have to look from far away.”
……Really, my Academy life was flowing in some strange direction.
Still, it was much better than having students swarm over every break like before.
In the meantime, there were also changes at the Valerion estate.
Elysia’s grandfather, former Duke Gradeon, her younger sister Camilla, and her older brother Lucius were said to have no plans to leave the estate for the time being.
Lucius had to handle documents related to family affairs and the knight order,
and Camilla was planning to stay at the estate for a while between social engagements.
Gradeon had always spent a great deal of time at the estate, but lately, he could strangely often be seen near the drawing room or the garden.
……It seemed he was observing me.
At first, it was a little burdensome.
Whenever Lucius looked at me, his gaze seemed to be assessing something,
Camilla tried to speak to me whenever she saw an opportunity,
and Gradeon was someone who made me feel oddly tense even when he was merely watching from a distance.
But after a few days passed, they began to adjust their distance in their own way.
No, to be precise, Elysia was the one who set the conditions first.
“You may touch Haku only when Haku allows it.”
Elysia spoke firmly even in front of her family.
“And you must not touch him too often. Haku gets tired easily.”
Camilla looked a little aggrieved after hearing that.
“I haven’t even really gotten to touch him yet.”
“Camilla.”
“All right, all right. With permission, and only a little. Fine?”
In Elysia’s arms, I quietly looked at Camilla.
Camilla extended her hand, then immediately stopped.
“……Is it all right now?”
Her attitude was more cautious than I had expected.
I thought about it for a moment.
Camilla’s way of speaking was a little sharp, and she was quite playful.
But her concern for Elysia seemed sincere.
And above all, she was waiting for my permission.
I slowly nodded.
“Really?”
I nodded once more.
Only then did Camilla’s face brighten.
With the tips of her fingers, she stroked the top of my head very carefully.
At first, it was truly light.
Her touch was cautious, as if she were handling an expensive glass ornament.
“……Wow.”
Camilla murmured softly.
“He really is soft.”
‘Is that the only thing everyone can say?’
I grumbled only inwardly.
But Camilla’s touch was not as bad as I had expected.
She was a little clumsy, but she did not pull on my ears, nor did she try to forcefully search for my tail.
After stroking my head a couple of times, she withdrew her hand on her own.
“That’s enough.”
That was unexpected.
I blinked.
Seeing my reaction, Camilla smiled slightly.
“What? Did you think I’d keep touching you?”
Honestly, yes.
But I did not answer.
Camilla cleared her throat for no reason and turned her head away.
“I know how to keep the line too.”
Lucius, standing beside her, said calmly,
“The problem is that you have to say that yourself.”
“Brother.”
Camilla glared at him, but Lucius did not waver.
Lucius’s way of treating me was completely different from Camilla’s.
He did not reach out carelessly.
For the first few days, he merely observed me.
He quietly watched when I reacted, what words made my ears move, and to what extent I resonated with Elysia.
His gaze was a little burdensome, but at least it was not rude.