That evening, the story reached the Valerion ducal residence as well.
When Elysia cautiously brought it up at dinner,
Isolde set down her teacup and smiled gently.
“The academy’s mascot, you say. That suits Haku quite well.”
No, it does not. Not at all.
I quietly folded my ears back on the cushion beside the dining table.
Leopold looked at me for a moment with his arms crossed, then spoke seriously.
“If it can raise the students’ morale, it isn’t a bad thing. Symbols are important even on the battlefield.”
Why did the conversation suddenly head in a military direction?
Lucius rested his chin on his hand, looking intrigued.
“If Haku’s popularity is at that level, it’s only a matter of time before he becomes an official emblem.
Though we’ll need to be careful that no one tries to exploit him commercially.”
Commercially exploit?
My tail twitched at the ominous phrase.
Camilla already looked half-excited.
“Then can we make Haku-shaped ribbons or badges? I think they’d be cute if they were small.”
Don’t.
Please don’t.
Mina clasped her hands together and smiled brightly.
“If the mark has Lord Haku’s image on it, I’m sure it will be absolutely lovely.”
I never knew the word “lovely” could sound so terrifying.
I looked toward Elysia.
Please stop them.
Perhaps sensing my desperate gaze, Elysia smiled with a slightly troubled expression.
“Haku seems embarrassed, so I’ll try to make sure it doesn’t go too far.”
As expected of Elysia.
I let out a sigh of relief.
But immediately afterward, Isolde quietly added,
“Still, a small emblem might be nice to keep as a memento.”
……I had no allies.
I flopped down on the cushion.
My otherworldly life, which had begun in front of a bakery on a rainy day, was rolling in a strange direction after just one month.
I became a familiar.
I became the students’ source of healing.
I became the academy’s mascot.
And now I was a candidate for a mark.
‘……Is this for real?’
I muttered inwardly once again.
But when Elysia gently stroked my back, my heart strangely softened a little.
At the very least, none of this was happening because they disliked me.
It was the opposite.
It was happening because everyone liked me, because they smiled when they saw me, because they regarded my existence as something a little special.
That fact was embarrassing and bewildering, but.
I didn’t completely hate it.
……Of course, that didn’t mean I would ever agree to people walking around with badges of my face pinned to their chests.
One day after arriving at school, I happened to go with Elysia to a place where students had gathered.
The murmuring had been unusually loud since morning, so I poked my head out, wondering what was going on.
In the center of the crowd stood a large bulletin board.
It was the place where the Star Radiance Council usually posted announcements.
I straightened up a little in Elysia’s arms and looked toward the bulletin board.
And at that moment, I froze at the words that entered my vision.
[Star Radiance Council Notice] Announcement of the Haku Badge and Portrait Contest in Celebration of Exelia Academy’s Official Mascot Designation
“…….”
Hold on.
What did I just see?
I blinked once.
Even when I looked again, the contents didn’t change.
My name was clearly written there, and the deeply suspicious phrase “badge and portrait contest” was posted in plain sight.
‘Hey, Star Radiance Council. Are you really allowed to post announcements for something like this?’
No, no matter how I thought about it, this was strange.
Weren’t announcements supposed to be for things like class schedule changes,
exam notices, or training ground usage rules?
So why was there a notice proudly hanging there about collecting badge and portrait designs with my face on them?
The more I thought about it, the more free-spirited this academy seemed.
No, “free-spirited” didn’t quite feel like enough.
At this point, it was closer to just being strange overall.
While I stared blankly at the bulletin board, several nearby students noticed me.
“Ah, it’s Haku.”
“He really came.”
“Oh my goodness, the person in the notice himself……”
Starting with that remark, the eyes of the students there all turned toward me at once.
For a moment, I felt a chill run down my spine.
This gaze was familiar.
Usually after this, everyone would say things like “Can I touch him for just a moment?” or start going on about how “he’s so cute today.”
But this time, it was a little different.
“Now’s our chance.”
“Hurry, get the pose.”
“Is front-facing better? Or a side profile?”
……Huh?
While my eyes went round,
several students who seemed fairly confident in drawing quickly pulled out notebooks and pencils.
And in the blink of an eye, they began sketching me.
“Wait, the angle of his ears is good.”
“The way his tail is curled is cute too……”
“Lady Elysia, I’m sorry, but could you please stay like that for just a moment?”
Though flustered, Elysia stopped in place with a strangely accustomed expression.
“Ah, okay……?”
I stared at the students while frozen in her arms.
What is this?
Isn’t this situation moving way too fast?
What about my opinion?
What about my portrait rights?
What about my human rights?
……Ah, should I call them fox rights right now?
The students’ hands were incredibly fast.
After glancing up at me a few times, they swept lines across the paper.
A front-facing face, a pose with my head tilted slightly, a silhouette of me sitting with my tail wrapped around me.
One student was even capturing the curve at the tips of my ears with unusual seriousness.
‘They’re all serious about this…….’
I suddenly realized.
At this rate, something would really come out on the day of the Star Radiance Festival.
Badges, postcards, portraits.
If things went wrong, it could even go as far as dolls or ribbons.
When that dangerous thought crossed my mind, my ears drooped.
‘It’s over. They’re really going to make merchandise now…….’
After sketching for quite a while, the students seemed to have each obtained a satisfactory result, and they soon gathered their papers and scattered in a rush.
It was as if they had completed the task they’d needed to do.
They would no doubt use those sketches to create their own badge designs or portrait submissions.
My ominous premonition seemed highly likely to come true.
I let out a small sigh.
Only after coming to this world did I learn that when a fox body sighs, it sounds less like “hoo” and more like “poong.”
It was then.
A question suddenly came to mind.
‘Come to think of it…… I’ve heard the words Star Radiance Festival often.’
But I didn’t know exactly what it was.
Just from the name, it sounded like some kind of festival.
But this academy didn’t seem like it would let even a festival end on an ordinary scale.
I looked up at Elysia and tapped her sleeve with my forepaw.
“Kyaung?”
Elysia seemed to understand my meaning right away and tilted her head.
“You’re curious about the Star Radiance Festival?”
I nodded slightly.
Honestly, until now, I had only thought of it as “some big event that’ll be held later.”
But if they were holding a badge contest with my face on it, I clearly needed to know exactly what it was.
Just as Elysia opened her mouth as if to explain,
“Shall I explain?”
A soft, unfamiliar voice cut in.
I reflexively turned my head.
Someone stepped forward from among the students.
A neatly arranged uniform, an air of composure, and a smile that looked accustomed to standing before people.
At a glance, she was no ordinary student.
Elysia seemed to recognize her as well and blinked.
“Ah…… Student Council President Cecilia.”
I froze in place.
‘Why is this person here?’
No, wasn’t the president of the Star Radiance Council supposed to be quite busy?
Wasn’t it a little strange for her to personally explain things in front of a bulletin board like this?
Surely she hadn’t come to check on the progress of my contest in person, right?
That would be too frightening.
As if completely unconcerned by my wariness, the student council president smiled gently and continued.
“The Star Radiance Festival is Exelia Academy’s largest event. Calling it a simple festival would be a little insufficient.”
Standing beside the bulletin board, she explained naturally, as if giving a familiar introduction.
“It’s an occasion where students show outsiders the achievements they’ve built up over a semester, or over the course of a year.
It includes class and research results, practical achievements, exhibitions and demonstrations from each department, mock duels,
magical engineering presentations, even familiar exchange events.”
“Show…… outsiders?”
When Elysia asked again, the student council president nodded.
“Yes. Nobles of the kingdom, merchant guilds, representatives from the knight orders, figures from the magical engineering world, and even envoys from other regions come to visit.
For students, it’s an opportunity to show their abilities, and for the academy, it’s a stage to display its prestige.”
Hearing that, I raised my ears slightly.
It was a much bigger event than I had expected.
It wasn’t just some school festival.
It felt like a fair, a presentation, a social gathering, and a promotional event all rolled into one.
If anything, that was very much like this academy.
The student council president continued.
“During the day, presentations and exhibitions from each department are the main focus, and in the evening, social gatherings and exchange meetings are held as well.
Club booths are prepared too. So every year, the Star Radiance Council also prepares elements that allow the students to participate a little more enjoyably.”
Then, with an extremely calm expression, she added,
“This time, one of those elements happens to be Haku.”
‘I’m not happy about that at all.’
I retorted inwardly, but outwardly, I could only stare blankly at the student council president.
The student council president looked at me and smiled faintly.
“Many students already regard Haku as something like a symbol of the academy.
There are many stories of exhausted students gaining strength by looking at Haku,
and he is also a being everyone thinks of fondly, regardless of department.”
That…… I couldn’t deny.
In reality, whenever exam season came around, students with hollow shadows under their eyes would come by and stroke my head once before leaving.
The problem was why that led to making me an official mascot.
Elysia asked with a slightly troubled expression,
“Still, isn’t holding a contest like this…… a little hasty?”
The student council president answered without the slightest hesitation.
“Originally, it was a light suggestion. But there were more voices in favor than expected.
Not only within the Star Radiance Council, but the faculty also received it with interest.”
‘The faculty again…….’
At this point, weren’t the adults the ones more excited?
The student council president pointed at the bulletin board again.
“The badge category will focus on simple and symbolic designs, while the portrait category will be a little freer in expressing Haku’s charm.
Outstanding works will be displayed during the Star Radiance Festival, and depending on the case, they may be used in the production of commemorative items.”
Commemorative items.
There it was.
In the end, it was merchandise.
I quietly covered my face with my forepaws.
If things had come this far, denying it was useless.
Something with my face on it was truly about to be released into the world.
‘I should start realizing this already.’
The fact that my common sense was not very useful in this world.
No, more precisely, it was even less useful inside this academy.
According to my common sense, a badge contest for a specific fox would not be proudly posted on the student council bulletin board.
The student council president would not personally explain a festival to that fox.
And the surrounding students would not accept that scene as completely natural.
But here, all of that was flowing along as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
I slowly lifted my head and looked at the student council president.
She still wore a kind smile.
If anything, she seemed a little expectant.
Surely she wasn’t going to ask me to be a judge, was she?
If so, I was confident I would truly run away.
Just then, as if she had read my gaze, the student council president smiled.
“Don’t worry, Haku. We plan to respect the person in question’s wishes as much as possible.”
……Really?
I found that a little hard to believe.
“However.”
Of course there was a however.
“If you could simply show your face for a short while on the day of the Star Radiance Festival, the students would be very delighted.”
That sounded almost like a confirmed matter.
I looked up at Elysia.
Save me.
But even under my gaze, Elysia seemed unable to hold back and let out a small laugh.
“Sorry, Haku. Still…… it seems everyone really likes you.”
I knew that.
I knew it, which made it even more complicated.
Since I knew they weren’t doing this because they disliked me, but because they liked me, it was hard to get angry without restraint.
In the end, I gave a small, weak cry of “kyaung……”
Seeing that, the student council president nodded as if satisfied.
“Yes, this reaction is good too. I’ll make note of it.”
Wait.
What are you making note of?
Surely my drooping expression just now isn’t going to become a candidate badge design too, right?
A chill ran down my spine.
There was still some time left until the Star Radiance Festival, but it seemed my ordeal would continue until then.
And strangely enough, that premonition seemed likely to be quite accurate.
Cecilia, the president of the Star Radiance Council, gave one last look over the students in front of the bulletin board, then quietly organized the documents in her hand.
“Then I’ll return to the Star Radiance Council room now. Further details regarding the contest will be announced later.”
She bowed politely to Elysia.
“Lady Valerion, and Haku. That will be all for today’s explanation.”
I gave a small nod in Elysia’s arms.
At that, Cecilia’s eyes softened ever so faintly.
“……He really is so clever that I want to leave a record of him.”
Stop.
Please don’t think things like that.
I reflexively folded my ears back slightly.
Cecilia seemed to have noticed even that reaction, but she said nothing more.
Instead, she left behind a brief smile and walked beyond the corridor with several members of the Star Radiance Council.