The Hall of Origins
Nelson gazed at Lur with the most harmless smile in the world. But Lur and I could never look at the principal with the same composure.
"T-Thanatos... did that...?"
"Yes. What was it like when Lur's summon first appeared?"
"Everyone... was scared of our Thanatos... I was terrified too..."
"And this recent incident is similar, isn't it?"
Lur couldn't bring herself to speak. She hadn't felt it herself. But the others had experienced extreme fear. And then there was that blue giant's foot crashing down on the Instant Area. Zeke had been crushed under it. But thankfully, he'd survived. He'd told us it was something that happened occasionally. But now, the culprit behind it all was her summon—Thanatos. In other words, me.
Oh crap. This is bad. If it comes out that I'm the one who caused all that chaos, our master will hate me... What do I do?
"So, you're saying Thanatos did it..."
"That's what I think. Putting together all the testimonies... Honestly, he's the most likely suspect."
Lur pondered for a moment, then hesitantly spoke up.
"Thanatos isn't like that. He's not the kind of kid who would carelessly try to kill someone."
"Well, no one actually died."
"Even if Thanatos was the culprit, I believe he wouldn't have done it with the intent to kill. On the contrary, he must have done it to save someone!"
"..."
A smile crept across Principal Nelson's lips.
"It's truly beautiful to see you trust your summon like that."
He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed at the corners of his eyes.
"So beautiful. This is the bond between summoner and summon."
"P-Principal...? Are you okay...?"
"Ah, yes. It was just so moving."
Y-yeah. At that age, emotions must run wild. And he thought well of our master, so... that's good? Right? I'm confused.
"There's no solid evidence this time. No deaths. And Zeke, who was hurt the worst, said it had nothing to do with you. So we'll let it slide—for now."
Damn, Zeke! I knew I could count on you!
"But as principal, I have a duty to protect the students, the professors, and above all, the Academy."
"...Yes."
"If another accident happens and Thanatos is the culprit... I won't let it go."
"...Understood."
"Well then, have a great day!"
"Yes."
Lur and I hurried out of the principal's office. Thank goodness we got out without any real trouble.
Meanwhile, in the now-empty principal's office...
"Haa..."
Principal Nelson reached for his liquor with trembling hands, only to drop it by mistake. Staring at the shattered bottle—his plans in ruins—he smiled.
"I was going to eat an Immeasurable-rank summon... But this is beyond that level."
"It was dangerous. Without the balance of my yin and yang... they would have sensed my presence."
"I'd be dead by now."
"Put off the predation. Focus on extending your lifespan and growing stronger."
"You're right."
Nelson sank back into his chair with a deep sigh of relief.
"Living this long, you run into all sorts of beings. Guess that's why long life brings all the fun."
The Hall of Origins. A massive museum housing all the ancient relics discovered so far. Human fossils from ages past. Ancient magic, weapons, everyday items—they're all on display.
But the most popular spot, as always...
"Whoa, dinosaurs!"
Was the dinosaur exhibit.
Dinosaurs—a word made from the characters for "fearful terror" and "dragon." They were distant ancestors of today's dragons, or at least shared their blood. True rulers of the world before ancient beings went extinct and humans rose.
And now, Class 1—fresh off midterms—had come to the Hall of Origins for a field trip.
"Alright, everyone line up in two neat rows."
But no one listened to Professor Ellie. Some bolted off yelling, "Who cares about human origins? Dinosaurs!" Others fled to a nearby café, claiming sore legs.
Left behind were our obedient good girl Lur... the class president... and Kim Eunhasu.
"Three... huh."
Professor Ellie scratched her head and sighed deeply. Zeke's advice suddenly popped into her mind.
"At least the obedient ones make it worthwhile."
And so we trailed behind Professor Ellie, progressing step by step.
"This document is about the first human use of Fireball. The inaugural one was apparently the size of a modern piece of chalk."
Lur stared at the yellowed, crumbling paper with sparkling puppy-dog eyes.
"Whoa, so cool."
"Don't get too close."
Lur respected the marked line and kept her distance, but Professor Ellie seemed extra sensitive toward her.
What a jerk. She's had it out for her since day one. Even when I first came to this world—though I never told Lur—she's always discriminated against lower ranks in favor of the elites.
"Lur's keeping the proper distance right now, though?"
"Hahaha, Professor. Yer kids ain't followin' ya, so yer gettin' a bit steamed, eh? Am I right?"
Thankfully, the class president shielded her, and Kim Eunhasu's dialect drew the ire elsewhere. Damn, I love you guys! Thanks to them, Lur and Liz could enjoy the exhibits in peace. Meanwhile, Eunhasu got dragged around by her earlobe.
Man, the ancient humans in this world are wild. Fireball size as a symbol of power? They only bred among those who could cast big ones, building early superpowers full of mana-rich powerhouses. History's pretty fascinating.
"Lur, check this out."
"Whoa..."
Lur and Liz moved to the ancient paintings. There, a beautiful yet cruel depiction of a person and monster burning at the stake.
"Why burn people...?"
"Explanation on the side. Back then, they saw summoners calling forth summons and thought it was devil magic... so they burned them...?"
"Eek..."
Lur stood there with a face screaming, Thank god I wasn't born in that era.
"If you'd been walking around with Thanatos back then, you'd have gotten the same treatment. Crazy world."
What's wrong with my looks? If I'd shown up then, they'd have called me handsome and started a religion.
"That girl in the painting... so sad. If she'd been born now... she could've lived happily..."
"Yeah."
"Let's see the next one. Might cry if we linger."
"Y-yeah."
We finished the human history section and finally reached the popular dinosaur hall. It was packed. Scattered among the crowd were Class 1 stragglers who'd ditched the professor.
"Oh, it's the prof."
"Sneak away..."
"Teren, Lifta. Over here. We're viewing together."
They tried ignoring her and running, but seeing Eunhasu yanked by the ear, they gave up and joined our group.
And so we arrived at the bones of the largest known carnivorous land dinosaur discovered so far: the Continentalisaurus.
Huge... T-Rex is nothing compared to this... Damn, if this thing existed in my world, it'd be the star dino.
"Continentalisaurus. Height 11 meters, body length 31 meters, weight around 60 tons."
"Whoaaa... massive..."
Girls love dinos too! Haha, who wouldn't love the king of dragons! Even I'm impressed!
"Short, thick legs to bear the weight. Too slow for hunting, they estimate."
"Aww, what?"
"That sense is totally wrecked!"
I yelled in unison with the students (inaudibly from the shadows). Damn, a dino that big doesn't hunt? No romance! Where's the romance?!
"Probably stole food from other carnivorous land dinos eating corpses. Most surrendered their meals out of fear of its size."
Hm? Sounds just like me back in the demon realm. Nah, coincidence.
We finished circling the dinos and headed to the ocean section next.
But then Lur suddenly stopped and looked back.
"What... it wasn't moving before...?"
"Huh?"
"Liz, that thing back there... it wasn't moving earlier...?"
"Nah."
"Just my imagination?"
"Hehe, is our Lur scared of dinos?"
"N-no...!"
They followed the professor casually, but I knew. Lur's hunch was spot on.
And I sensed my master's presence too.
Hmm... this feels ominous.