The Voice of the Arrogant One
Today's practical lesson was tending to the chickens in the coop. On the way to the coop with the kids... I spotted some donkeys grazing idly in the field.
"Dul-li?"
Among them was a familiar donkey. It had been a month since I'd last seen it... and the thing had grown a bit—no, quite a lot.
Donkeys grow fast, huh...
If not for that signature look of disdain, like it was looking down on everyone, I might not have recognized it. And there were fairies fluttering around it... Fairies often hovered around people or animals they took an interest in, playing pranks and such, so given the donkey's arrogant attitude, it wasn't all that surprising that it had caught their eye.
Serves it right.
Of course, the donkey itself had no idea, but it was still plenty annoying.
...?
Then, one fairy zipped past right near it and bumped into something. At that moment, I felt like a faint light glimmered from the donkey's forehead.
...N-no way, just my imagination?
I rubbed my eyes and looked again... but it wasn't clear enough to be sure.
Yeah, must've been seeing things...
I forced my gaze away from it and followed the kids to the chicken coop.
Following the handler's instructions, we first scattered feed in the yard... then released the chickens into the coop. They scurried around pecking at the food. Next, we went inside, collected eggs from the nests into baskets, cleaned up the droppings, washed the water troughs, and refilled them.
Once the coop was clean... we had a bit of trouble herding the chickens back in, but we finished without too much hassle. It hadn't taken as long as I'd expected, and unlike the donkey care from before, this wasn't all that tough.
Just as I thought we were done, the handler brought over a large tub and set it down in front of the kids. It was full of chicks.
"Chicks!"
"Oh, so cute!"
The kids cooed over how adorable they were and reached to pet them before the handler could say a word. He stopped them and began explaining.
"Don't touch them yet. What we're doing now is sexing the chicks."
He picked two chicks of different appearances from the tub.
"There are two ways to tell males from females. First, hens have uneven wing feathers of varying lengths, while roosters have them neatly aligned. If you're still not sure, check the chick's vent..."
He showed the chicks to the kids, explaining the sexing process step by step.
"If it's still hard to tell even then, just put it in the middle box. Got it?"
"Yes~!"
As soon as he finished, the kids rushed the tub like they'd been waiting. Even the ones who'd dragged their feet during the coop cleaning got right into it—nobody seemed to mind handling the chicks.
I joined in without a second thought.
A little later, I finished my quota and got checked by the handler.
"Good job."
But oddly, even after I was done and inspected, no one else came for theirs. Feeling a sense of unease, I looked around... Some kids were just playing with the chicks instead of working, others dragged it out on purpose, or finished but skipped inspection to fiddle with them more.
It wasn't a huge amount—anyone motivated could've knocked it out quick—but with their attitudes, this was gonna take forever.
Sigh, kids these days...
I let out a deep sigh and asked the handler,
"Can I head out first?"
"Do whatever you want."
With his permission, I left the chicken coop early rather than wait around for who-knows-how-long.
On the way, I passed the field where the donkeys had been grazing earlier, but they were already back in their pen—no one in sight.
I found my feet turning toward the donkey pen without thinking.
Can't help it, too curious. Gotta check...
The gate wasn't locked, and the handler seemed to be away. I slipped inside quietly.
"..."
Thankfully, Dul-li was fast asleep in its spot.
No sense of caution at all... Even if it's not wild, shouldn't it wake up if a suspicious person approaches?
Dul-li didn't stir even as I got close. But the fairies sleeping with it woke up first and shrieked.
"...Y-you're the white devil!"
"Why's the white devil here?!"
"Come to torment us again!?"
To be clear... I'd only chased them off a few times when they got annoying—I'd never gone out of my way to harass them.
Anyone hearing this would think I was the bully...
I ignored them and reached for the faint something protruding from Dul-li's forehead.
"Eek!"
"Run! The white devil's after the 'horn bud'!"
"Shouldn't we stop it!?"
"With what power?"
"Right, let's just flee!"
"Everyone, run!"
I felt a texture at my fingertips. Rough yet firm, cold and smooth surface... Yeah, this was a horn.
...Why the hell is this real?
Meanwhile, a few hours earlier—
Vanessa arrived at the scene with her fellow nuns and took in the sight: a lavish, massive building collapsing in flames, and crowds of people gathered outside.
A guard rushed up to them in a panic.
"You made it!"
"What happened?"
"Well... looks like the theater was attacked."
"The theater? Attacked by who?!"
"...An elf."
"Why would an elf attack a theater?"
"I don't know either..."
Just then, injured people were carried out on stretchers from inside. The nuns hurried past the guard to them.
"Are you okay?!"
"...Ugh... h-help... me..."
The man's face was twisted in agony; he could barely speak.
Vanessa and the nuns checked the wounded and grimaced. Arrows embedded in flesh, puncture wounds from arrows that had passed clean through, burns everywhere.
But these weren't from a simple fire or ordinary magic.
"...Spirit."
This was the distinctive scorching mark left by a fire spirit's attack.
"Tch."
There were already plenty of dead, and the injured were in bad shape. The nuns started treating them urgently.
Even as they worked, more people staggered out late, or were rescued by guards—nonstop.
Vanessa didn't stop, determined to save one more if she could.
Then, as she reached for the next patient, her eyes locked on something. A severely injured man's wrist bore shackles like handcuffs.
Most of the wounded were armed guards or finely dressed folk, but this man wore ragged rags.
A criminal?
But she shook her head. These weren't prisoner cuffs. They were punishment tools for slaves—meant to torment and discipline.
A quick glance around revealed more in similar garb.
...Why are there slaves in Dublin?
Vanessa felt a moment of confusion but refocused. Whatever the story, saving lives came first.
"You there!"
It was then.
"...?"
Just as Vanessa was about to start on the man, an arrogant-looking noble appeared out of nowhere and yelled at her.
"Heal me first! Right now!"
He'd clearly just escaped the building, panting hard, but had no major wounds—minor injuries at worst.
"Please wait. This man comes first."
The noble's face twisted further, his voice rising.
"What?! You expect me to wait because of some worthless life!?"
Vanessa's cheek twitched faintly. Her eyes flashed as she glared at him sharply.
"Who said anything about worthless?"
The arrogant man flinched, then bellowed back.
"You... you dare glare at me? Do you even know who I am!?"
"I don't care who you are. If you want treatment, wait your turn."
"A mere nun dares—?! Do you know how much my family donates to the monastery!?"
She was pondering how to explain her utter lack of interest when fellow nun Ena passed by.
"Sorry about that. I'll treat you instead."
"Finally, someone with sense."
His arrogance to the end made Vanessa's anger boil. But another sister whispered,
"(Vanessa, hold it. That guy's from the Howard family.)"
She didn't really care who he was, but with so many patients, she decided to let it go for now.