Elysia looked down into the bag for a moment.
Inside, I had covered my face with my forepaws and curled myself into as tight a ball as I could.
‘Please. Please be quiet.’
But the lesser light spirit had no sense at all.
“Small and lofty!”
The spirit floated as if clinging to the mouth of the bag, sparkling brightly.
“Warm! Small! Lofty but small!”
The gazes of the nearby students began to gather little by little.
“Why is that light spirit acting like that?”
“Is there something in Lady Elysia’s bag?”
“Is it a familiar?”
I flattened my ears.
‘I’m doomed.’
Just then, Elysia quietly raised her hand and lightly covered the opening of the bag.
“I’m sorry, but.”
She spoke to the light spirit in a low, calm voice.
“This child is uncomfortable. Could you stop?”
The light spirit froze midair in a spin.
“Uncomfortable?”
“Yes. I think it’s frightened because it’s still in an unfamiliar place.”
“Frightened?”
The light spirit tried to peer into the bag again, but when Elysia’s hand blocked it, it tilted its head.
“Lofty but frightened?”
‘Stop calling me lofty.’
I screamed inwardly.
Elysia’s expression hardly changed.
“I’m not sure about lofty, but I’d like to let this child rest for now.”
At those words, the light spirit dimmed its glow for a moment.
Then, as if it understood, it curled its round body up and stretched out again.
“Rest! Small and lofty child, rest!”
“Thank you.”
Elysia bowed her head slightly.
The light spirit spun around once in satisfaction, then flew over to the shoulder of a nearby student.
However, quite a few gazes had already gathered around us.
Perhaps aware of those stares, Elysia pulled the bag close to her chest.
“Let’s go, Haku.”
Her voice was small.
From inside the bag, I let out a cautious whine.
“Kkiing……”
Elysia did not linger in the plaza any longer.
Instead of the crowded central road, she chose a relatively quiet path that ran along the side of the buildings.
As we moved away from the splendid fountain and the broad plaza, the murmuring gradually disappeared behind us.
I only raised my ears slightly inside the bag.
From outside came the steady sound of Elysia’s footsteps.
The swaying was not severe.
It seemed she was deliberately walking carefully so I would not be uncomfortable.
‘She’s more considerate than I expected.’
I had thought a duke’s young lady would be a little more self-centered.
But Elysia did not display me like some curious object.
Instead, she shielded me from gazes, noticed my discomfort, and quietly hid me.
I found that strangely pleasing.
A little while later, the scent of the surrounding air changed.
It was not the smell of sweat and dirt from the training grounds, nor the distinctive scent of mana from the Magic Department.
The smell of animal fur, medicinal herbs, clean disinfectant, and, somewhere within it all, damp earth and hay.
‘Is this the Special Familiar Studies Department?’
I poked my head out through the gap in the bag just a little.
Before my eyes stood a building with a slightly different atmosphere from the other department buildings.
A wide structure built from white stone and dark wood.
On either side of the entrance were carvings not of lions or wolves, but of various animals and spirits.
Behind the building, I could see what looked like a small greenhouse and outdoor enclosures.
Near the entrance, several students were with their familiars.
A rabbit with small horns.
A crystal-feathered bird perched on someone’s shoulder.
A large hound-type magic beast.
And a lesser water spirit floating about like a droplet.
Some of the familiars turned their heads as Elysia passed by.
No.
To be precise, they looked toward the bag.
I quickly pulled my head back in.
‘Don’t look. I’m not here.’
Fortunately, Elysia did not stop.
She went straight into the building and headed for the reception desk.
“Hello. I would like to see Professor Marcella Bain.”
Her voice was composed.
The assistant sitting at the desk lifted their head.
“Do you have an appointment?”
“You should have received a message last night under the name of House Valerion. It concerns a familiar appraisal.”
“Ah, I’ll check.”
The assistant flipped through some documents, then soon nodded.
“You are Lady Elysia von Valerion, correct?”
“Yes.”
“The professor is waiting for you. Please go to the second laboratory inside.”
“Thank you.”
After giving a brief, polite acknowledgment, Elysia headed down the inner corridor.
The corridor was quiet.
But it was not completely silent.
From somewhere came a small cry, and there was also the sound of something tapping against the inside of a glass bottle.
On the walls hung diagrams showing the skeletal structures of familiars, the connection methods between spirits and contractors, and magic beast rank charts.
Inside the bag, I grew subtly tense.
What if I was found out for no reason?
What if my identity as a nine-tailed fox was revealed immediately?
No, even if not as a nine-tailed fox, it would be extremely troublesome if they judged me to be some “unidentified high-ranking magic beast.”
Elysia stopped in front of the second laboratory.
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
A low, clear woman’s voice came from inside.
Elysia opened the door.
The laboratory was neater than I had expected.
The walls were filled with books and specimens, and in the center stood a broad appraisal table.
Small potted plants lined the windowsill, and in one corner, cushions and water bowls for familiars had been prepared.
And in front of the desk stood a woman.
Her dark brown hair was neatly tied back, and behind her glasses were sharp eyes.
Over a white lab coat, she wore an academy professor’s mantle.
On her chest was a nameplate indicating her identity.
Marcella Bain.
Professor of the Special Familiar Studies Department.
When she saw Elysia, she gave a light nod.
“You must be the young lady of Valerion.”
“Yes. Thank you for receiving me on such short notice, Professor.”
“Appraising familiars is part of my work. Is the child in the bag?”
Elysia carefully looked down at the bag holding me.
“Yes. I found him yesterday in an alley while it was raining. He still seems very wary…… Would it be all right if I take him out slowly?”
Professor Marcella looked at Elysia as if slightly surprised.
Then she nodded.
“Very well. Forcing him out may affect the examination results as well. Place the bag on the table.”
Elysia gently placed the bag on the appraisal table.
Inside, I held my breath.
Professor Marcella’s gaze turned to the bag.
“Now then, little one.”
She lowered her voice.
“You may come out. I won’t hurt you.”
I did not move.
She added,
“Of course, if you’re a dangerous specimen, that changes the matter slightly.”
‘Wasn’t that a threat just now?’
Inside the bag, I flattened my ears.
Elysia said very softly,
“Haku, it’s all right.”
Hearing her voice, I hesitated for a moment.
I could not stay hidden forever anyway.
Since I had come to be examined, I would have to come out sooner or later.
I carefully poked my head out of the bag.
Professor Marcella’s eyes widened slightly.
“……Silver-pink?”
She pushed her glasses up a little.
“How rare.”
I put one forepaw outside the bag.
Then I slowly climbed onto the table.
My silver-pink fur glowed softly beneath the appraisal light.
Professor Marcella looked at me in silence for a moment.
Her eyes changed into those of a researcher.
‘Ah.’
I felt it instinctively.
This person.
She was the troublesome type.
The professor murmured in a low voice.
“Outward appearance: fox-type. Physique: juvenile specimen. Fur color: far too unusual to be naturally occurring…… Mana reaction?”
She picked up an appraisal stone.
A transparent crystal orb on the table glowed faintly.
I sat quietly and tried my best to look like an ordinary baby fox.
‘I am ordinary.’
‘I am a little fox.’
‘I am just a cute ball of fluff.’
Professor Marcella brought the crystal orb in front of me.
The crystal orb reacted.
No.
It did not react.
Not a single light appeared.
The professor’s brow narrowed.
“No mana reaction?”
Elysia quietly asked,
“Is there a problem?”
“No. There are familiars without mana reactions. Rarely, but they do exist.”
Professor Marcella took out another tool.
“But this is strange. There is a clear vital response, yet the mana wavelength is almost empty.”
‘Good. Is this going to pass smoothly?’
The moment I thought that,
the small water spirit placed beside the table looked at me.
Its droplet-like body trembled.
Then it respectfully lowered itself.
Professor Marcella’s hand stopped.
Elysia saw it as well.
I closed my eyes inwardly.
‘Here we go again.’
The water spirit spoke in a very small voice.
“Ancient…… moon by the water.”
Professor Marcella’s eyes sharpened.
“What did you just say?”
The water spirit quietly swayed toward me again.
“Lofty one. Dwelling small.”
I wanted to cover my face with my forepaws.
But if I did that now, I felt I would look even more suspicious, so I simply sat there obediently.
Professor Marcella slowly looked at me.
“……Lady Valerion.”
“Yes.”
“Did you truly pick up this child on the street?”
Elysia answered without the slightest wavering.
“Yes. He was alone in an alley in the rain.”
Professor Marcella looked into my eyes.
I made my gaze as innocent as a baby fox’s could be.
“Kkiing?”
The professor’s eyebrow twitched faintly.
“……For now, let us continue the examination.”
‘I’m doomed.’
I curled my tail slightly.
It seemed it would be difficult to get through this quietly because of the spirits.