The resonance incident surrounding me, which had been subdued before it could turn into a truly major uproar, quieted down faster than expected.
The students returned to talking about the exam.
The Crown exam was not over yet,
and for most of the students, their own Crown grade was a far more pressing issue than Haku’s resonance level.
“I completely ruined the aura manipulation assessment……”
“I have to make up for it on the written test.”
“My sparring opponent was way too strong.”
“I’d be happy just getting a Single.”
The classroom was once again filled with the tension of students facing an exam.
I sat on the cushion atop Elysia’s desk and watched them.
Has it finally gotten a bit quieter?
It was just as I thought that.
“Elysia von Valerion.”
A clear, composed voice came from the classroom doorway.
My ears perked up reflexively.
I already knew that voice.
When I turned my head, sure enough, Iris Asteria was standing there.
Silver-blue hair.
Turquoise eyes.
A cold face that rarely revealed emotion.
But the look in her eyes was much sharper than yesterday.
‘Of course she wouldn’t let this pass.’
Resonance level 101.
A power not classified as mana.
The spirits’ reverent reaction.
All of those clues had appeared at once.
There was no way Iris Asteria would simply overlook it.
Elysia calmly rose from her seat.
“Lady Iris.”
The students in the classroom glanced subtly in our direction.
Perhaps because the Stellar Radiance Society’s notice had just been posted, no one approached openly, but their ears were already turned this way.
Iris fell silent for a moment, as if conscious of the gazes around her.
Then she spoke quietly to Elysia.
“Do you have a moment? I would like to speak with you in the hallway.”
Elysia picked me up in her arms.
“Is this about Haku?”
“Yes.”
Iris did not try to hide it.
If anything, that was very much like her.
Elysia looked down at me for a moment.
I gave a small nod.
I knew this was not something that could be solved by avoiding it.
Elysia left the classroom and moved to one side of the hallway.
It was near a window where there were few people.
Sunlight streamed in at a long angle, making rectangles of light on the floor.
Iris stood facing us, then went straight to the point.
“I heard about yesterday’s resonance result.”
As expected, she was fast.
The Stellar Radiance Society had officially blocked speculation, but Iris was already in a position to know.
Lady Asteria of the Department of Elemental Magic.
The one who had requested observation in the spirit greenhouse.
And the student who had first noticed something strange about Haku.
“The Stellar Radiance Society’s notice only said ‘abnormal value,’ but the exact number was 101, wasn’t it?”
Inwardly, I wanted to cover my face with my paws.
‘She already knows the exact number.’
Elysia’s expression stiffened slightly.
“Where did you hear that information?”
“I did not see the official record. I pieced it together from what the students in the resonance chamber said.”
Iris was extremely calm.
“Of course, rumors can be exaggerated.
But considering the movements from the Department of Special Familiar Studies yesterday,
the speed of the Stellar Radiance Society’s notice today,
and Haku’s previous reactions, there is a high possibility that the number 101 is accurate.”
I looked at Iris.
This girl was truly troublesome.
No, smart.
Smart, and therefore troublesome.
As if sensing my gaze, Iris looked at me.
“Am I wrong?”
I tilted my head.
I don’t know what you’re talking about.
I am a small, fluffy fox.
That was the face I made.
Iris stared at me for a moment, then said in a low voice,
“So you are not denying it after all.”
‘No, you’re interpreting it like that?’
Elysia cautiously cut in.
“Lady Iris. As you must have seen in the Stellar Radiance Society’s notice,
private observation or speculation regarding Haku is restricted.”
“I know.”
Iris answered immediately.
“That is why I have come to make a formal request.”
She took a folded document from her breast pocket.
It was another request form.
My ears drooped at once.
‘This person writes request forms way too quickly.’
Iris held the document out to Elysia.
“I would like to request additional observation in the presence of the Department of Special Familiar Studies and the Stellar Radiance Society.
This time, I would like it to include not only the spirits’ reactions, but also a comparison with basic literature related to resonance levels.”
“A literature comparison?”
Elysia asked.
Iris nodded.
“There are no cases exceeding a resonance level of 100 in the current textbooks.
However, there may be similar expressions in old familiar contract records or spirit contract literature.”
Her gaze deepened slightly.
“For example, a contract closer to mutual recognition rather than a master-servant relationship.
Or a case where a being of equal standing, rather than a familiar, was temporarily registered.”
For an instant, the tip of my tail twitched.
A being of equal standing.
Those words were dangerous.
Elysia did not miss them either.
“Are you saying Haku is not a familiar?”
“I do not know yet.”
Iris spoke honestly.
“But I am almost certain that Haku is not an ordinary fox-type familiar.”
I did my best to maintain an ordinary expression.
I am a fox.
Just a fox.
Probably.
At least for now.
Iris looked at me and continued.
“The power I sense from Haku is not mana.
Nor is it aura.
It does not completely match spirit power either.
And yet his resonance level with Student Elysia exceeded the existing limit.”
She paused briefly to catch her breath.
“This is not simply a matter of a rare familiar. It is a phenomenon that does not exist within the current classification system.”
A brief silence settled over the hallway.
From farther away came the sound of students’ footsteps and preparations for class.
Listening to Iris, I felt strangely calm.
Rather than fear, it felt as though I had heard something I could not avoid.
A phenomenon that does not exist within the current classification system.
That was probably true.
I was an existence difficult to explain by this world’s common sense.
“Lady Iris.”
Her voice was quiet but firm.
“If Haku finds it burdensome, I will refuse.”
Iris looked at me for a moment.
Then she nodded.
“I believe that right belongs to Haku.”
She acknowledged it surprisingly easily.
No, in truth, Iris had been like that from the beginning.
She did not force anything.
She did not touch me without permission.
She did not measure me.
But she kept approaching.
That made things more difficult.
Elysia looked down at me.
“Haku, what do you want to do?”
I did not answer for a while.
The sunlight by the hallway window was warm.
Near that light, a small light spirit was floating.
A very small and faint spirit.
As soon as the spirit saw me, it lowered itself slightly.
As if greeting me.
Iris’s gaze moved very briefly in that direction.
She saw it, as expected.
I sighed inwardly.
I could not hide it.
At least in front of Iris, hiding it completely would be difficult.
In that case, it would be better to set conditions.
‘I might as well accept.’
Elysia confirmed again.
“Are you sure?”
I nodded.
But I stared hard at Iris, meaning that she should not dig too deeply.
I did not know whether my intention got through.
But Iris looked at me for a moment, then bowed her head with utmost seriousness.
“Thank you, Haku.”
She did not take my response lightly.
That much, at least, I liked.
Elysia accepted the request form and said,
“Then I will attach conditions.”
“Please state them.”
“No measurement magic. No contact. If Haku feels uncomfortable, the observation stops immediately.
Records may only be made in the presence of the Stellar Radiance Society and the Department of Special Familiar Studies.
And when sharing the results externally, you must receive both my and Haku’s consent.”
Iris answered at once.
“I agree.”
Too fast.
She had the face of someone who had expected conditions of that level from the beginning.
I realized once again.
Iris Asteria was truly the type to prepare thoroughly.
Perhaps Elysia sensed that as well, because her expression turned slightly subtle.
“Did you perhaps anticipate this before coming here?”
“To some extent.”
Iris answered calmly.
“I had already confirmed that Haku trusts Student Elysia,
and that Student Elysia prioritizes Haku’s wishes.”
At those words, Elysia briefly lost the ability to speak.
I looked up at Elysia.
The tips of her ears seemed to have turned a little red.
No, why are you the one getting embarrassed?
After quietly observing even that reaction, Iris looked at me again.
“And there is one more thing I would like to ask.”
I raised my ears warily.
What now?
Iris spoke in a slightly lower voice.
“Did Haku expect, to some extent, that a resonance level of 101 would appear yesterday?”
I froze where I was.
Elysia also looked down at me.
Silence settled over the hallway once more.
Iris’s question was sharp.
It was a more dangerous question than the number itself.
If I had known in advance, it meant that number had appeared before.
And it also meant that I had been hiding it.
Very slowly, I turned my head.
I pretended to look out the window.
The weather is nice.
The sunlight is warm.
A fox who knows nothing would know nothing about such things.