Chapter 125
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 125
Chapter Title: A Premonition That Something Will Happen Again
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"Nyaang?"
"Uh, uh...?"
"Hu... Hu...?"
"Ian?"
"Uh, uueh?"
Everyone in that space was thrown into confusion.
Suddenly, with a puff-, a cat-eared girl appeared.
"Waaah!!"
I, who had been holding it, was the first to scream.
"Nyaaah!!"
And it screamed right along with me.
"Kyaa, kyaah! No nudity!!"
Hisenna shrieked and hurriedly pulled a blanket from her bag to cover the cat-eared girl's body.
"Uh, uueh... Hu... Suddenly a cat... Hu?"
Elrim babbled "Hu hu," her language functions completely lost.
In the midst of it all, at least Chayuri Floridel managed to speak coherently.
"What in the world is going on? Wasn't that clearly Chur in your arms?"
"M-My, my, my point! Chur suddenly turned into a person!"
"Nyaang?"
"And it can even talk!"
Elrim flapped around, circling us frantically.
Thank goodness, or whatever.
No one else was around to witness the situation.
From the circumstances, this cat-eared girl seemed to be Chur polymorphed.
I'd been told it would happen soon, but not that it'd pop out so abruptly.
As Furrylike had said, it still couldn't control it well.
"Nyaang, nyaang?"
Kim Chur's eyes frantically followed Elrim as she flitted about.
Just like a cat chasing a toy.
[Title: Kim Chur Polymorphed Right in the Middle of the Street, Furrylike What Do I Do?]
Posted by: Kim Muggle
Kim Chur goes puff in the street and turns human lol
Redhead and Top Student show up right on cue lol
Body's fully human but with cat ears like a beastkin lol
We're all stunned and meanwhile Big Boobs covers Kim Chur with a blanket lol
Total madhouse party lol
Shit lol
That fast already?! But honestly, I don't know how to handle Grandis's first polymorph either!!
What?! You knew something?
I told you I can't raise Grandis either?
Mages who raise Grandis? You're the first lol
Technically not raising but chosen lol
Technically breeding partner lol
Woooh! Cat-eared beastkin drop?!
This guy's for real lol
For now, treat her preciously! A beast's 'adolescence' isn't much different from a human's! Treat her like a puberty-stricken kid! Everything else is like handling a familiar!
Treat her like a puberty kid.
Of course, that didn't mean Kim Chur had a kid's body.
Judging by size alone, she was about Elrim's height.
Grandis had a much longer lifespan than humans to begin with.
Even from a beast's perspective, adolescence probably meant living way longer than 20 years.
Though from the beast's view, it was still kid age, apparently.
"F-First, shouldn't we go somewhere inside?"
"Yeah. Let's do that."
If she's a puberty kid, being naked outside must be embarrassing.
For now, we found an empty lecture hall and ducked inside.
"So. What the hell kind of screw-up is this?"
"Wasn't this definitely Chur?"
"No way, Ian. This girl is really..."
"Uh, yeah... Seems like it, Hisenna."
"Nyaang?"
Hisenna seemed to have caught on somewhat.
The fact that Grandis could polymorph wasn't widely known, apparently.
But no ordinary beast could polymorph either.
Hisenna was already convinced Kim Chur was Grandis.
I explained the situation to the other two as well.
"Chur's actually not a screw-up but an insanely amazing ruler-species beast!?!?"
"Does ruler-species mean they can polymorph like dragons?"
"Well... Something like that."
"Whoa?! I want a familiar like that too!"
"I did think she wasn't ordinary..."
Elrim and Chayuri were equally stunned.
Good thing it was just these three who found out.
"Then this is an enormous discovery, isn't it? I've never heard of a beast that can polymorph."
Yeah. In this world, it'd be revolutionary for beast studies.
A bunch of trainers might swarm Kim Chur for research if they found her.
"You're right. Researchers might come running."
Hisenna agreed.
She was more interested in beasts than anyone.
"But we can't just hand her over."
"R-Right. Chur's Ian's familiar. I didn't mean it like that..."
"No, not that."
Researchers would probably run all sorts of tests on Kim Chur.
Grandis research wasn't easy in this dimension, after all.
But this wasn't about not wanting to lose my familiar,
or worries they'd do inhumane experiments on Kim Chur.
"We couldn't research her anyway, right?"
We probably couldn't research her even if we tried.
Strictly speaking, Kim Chur wasn't even my 'familiar.'
You couldn't tame Grandis to begin with.
She just stuck around me. She didn't even fight alongside—just ate my food.
And from raising her, I knew her personality was downright nasty.
She wasn't easy to handle.
If anyone else tried to take her, she'd use force or bolt.
"Ah... I see."
"Still a screw-up, huh."
"Yeah. Following Ian really is weird then."
I told them all that.
She didn't follow humans normally, so her sticking with me was exceptional.
That wasn't what we needed to worry about now.
"More importantly, the issue is what to do with her now. She won't leave my side anyway, so I have to keep raising her..."
"Why not talk to her? She seemed to speak human earlier."
"M-Me too! I wanna talk to the kitty!"
"Nyaang?"
Right. Kim Chur had definitely said something like "husband nyaang" at first.
After that, she'd just gone "Nyaang? Nyaang?" and turned her head away.
"Chur, hi? You're a ruler-species, right? I dunno what to say, hehe..."
"Nyaang?"
"Chur, wanna be my familiar instead of this screw-up?"
"Nyaang?"
"Hey, Kim Chur. Quit mooching off me."
"Husband nyaang!"
"Huh?"
But no real conversation with Kim Chur.
She just nyaang-nyaanged at the others' questions.
When I spoke, just "husband nyaang."
Nothing more.
"Does she recognize Ian?"
"More than that, what's 'husband nyaang' mean?"
"She thinks screw-up's her husband right now?!"
Did polymorphing not fully restore language right away?
I asked the gallery, and thankfully Furrylike replied quick.
She probably can't speak well at first! But she's rapidly gathering info with her polymorphed body! Adolescence brings rapid growth, so she'll improve fast!
I see. Not just the body growing fast—intelligence too.
Her head kept whipping around, scanning the world—like she was learning.
"Seems she can't speak properly yet. Probably needs time to learn."
"It's weird she only calls screw-up 'husband nyaang'..."
"Chur's starting to seem suspicious."
"Nyaang!"
Puff-
In the midst of it, Chur went puff- and turned back to beast form.
Definitely not a perfect polymorph yet.
"Hu... Let's head back for now. She'll talk more as she grows. Gotta prep for exams too."
For now, I stashed Kim Chur in my dorm room.
Exhausted maybe—she hopped into bed and crashed as soon as we got there.
After that, the four of us prepped for finals.
"Ugh... It's over..."
"Theory was harder than expected."
"But no problems we couldn't solve, right?"
Finally, finals week was done.
Practical—I gave it my all and got top scores, I think.
Written test too—used Thought Acceleration and hammered it out.
"Please don't demote me from Class... Kim Chur's eating me out of house and home lately..."
I just prayed not to drop to B-Class.
After that day, Kim Chur kept polymorphing on her own whim.
Sometimes she'd polymorph alone and wander outside the dorm,
which led to rumors lately of a naked girl roaming the academy.
Good thing she bolted at the sight of others—no captures.
And her vocabulary was growing bit by bit.
She seemed to understand better too.
Real talk might be possible soon.
"What're you all doing for break?"
Chayuri asked as we packed up.
Right. Finals over meant vacation.
"I'll probably stay at the academy."
I had nowhere to go.
Dorms ran during break.
Lots of cadets stayed for various reasons.
Some study programs or events even during break.
For a mage academy, break was prime secluded training time.
"I'll swing by the family for a few days then come back."
"Me too!"
"I'm just staying here."
Hisenna and Elrim would visit family briefly.
Chayuri found going to the Floridel Archmage Duke's estate burdensome, so dorms all break.
"Wasn't there a magic tower tour during break?"
"If we can sign up..."
The three chattered about break plans.
How to train magic.
Excursions during break.
Where to hang out.
The academy's first semester ended, everyone buzzing with excitement.
Looking back, so much had happened.
Just one semester, and already.
When I first fell into this world, I was at a loss.
Now, I'd reached 5th Circle—no one in first-years could touch me.
The first magic I learned was 5th Circle, yeah.
Of course, it was super optimized, easy-made stuff.
But now, after one semester, I was truly at 5th Circle.
What came next? Who knew.
Maybe next semester I'd only gain one Circle.
Or none.
No blocks in calculations yet. But time per spell was increasing.
Average grad reached somewhere between 5th Circle entry and peak.
5th Circle peak meant 'most 5th Circle spells handled masterfully.'
Entry: 'just tried a couple 5th Circles.'
No strict definitions, but mages used the slang.
So I was right on the cusp of 5th peak.
Entry to peak usually took forever.
Months grinding one 5th spell might work it.
But comfy calc on all 5th? Way longer.
And higher Circles got brutally harder.
Hard work could master 5th.
6th onward? Real grind required.
Some never hit 6th peak post-grad.
7th entry alone? Extremely tough.
Higher? Century-scale time.
Most died trying.
Time ballooned exponentially per Circle.
5th doable at decent pace.
Beyond? True mage path.
6th might be the divide.
5 structures? Human brain doable.
6? Near impossible usually.
How'd I do it? No clue.
Just: I'm awesome.
Harisha and Karindol seemed 6th already.
Maybe higher.
They'd outgrown cadet level.
I'd hit top cadet tier too.
But no complacency.
Started with taboo mage foes.
Always chatting with Gallery archmages beyond normal mages.
5th not enough—wanted way stronger.
Gallery gaslighting? Maybe.
Academy life ahead wouldn't be smooth either.
Especially Harisha's 'Archmage Duke thing.'
Nothing yet,
but Archmage Dukes might approach anytime—staying vigilant.
Good habit.
Early threat killed my safety complacency.
Something else nagging too.
Definitely soon...
"Ian? Senior Yuuna's here for you."
Hisenna's voice snapped me out—and it hit me.
Right. Imperial stuff.
Crown Prince Arthur Sunrise's Founding Festival invite.
Thought I could finally breathe.
But premonition something'd happen again.