Heat Season
The heat cycle. Sexual desire might be akin to an animal's basic instinct, but for beastmen it was an incredibly sensitive issue. Beasts mate whenever they feel like it. You could tell just from watching nature documentaries like National Geographic. Vast grasslands. A pride of lions defending their sprawling territory. It was perfectly natural for the dominant male to mount the lionesses and breed them one after another. So what about beastmen?
Beastmen did experience heat cycles, but they viewed sexual desire as a purely animalistic urge. As civilized beings, they believed they should be able to control their own desires. Giving in to base instincts and failing to act with intelligence was no different from being a mere beast. Therefore, the heat cycle was like an original sin for beastmen—a trial of temptation whispered by the demon of lust, a sweet invitation to corruption.
That was why asking about someone's heat cycle wasn't considered a major problem.
"Wha—!"
Or so I'd been taught. Apparently it varied by species.
"What the hell are you saying!!"
Bleber shrieked, puffing up with rage. Her already porcelain-pale skin flushed bright red, like she'd downed an entire bottle of liquor.
"You— you of all people...!"
"Just personal curiosity. I wanted to know if that really was your heat cycle, or if your tail was just standing up from survival instincts."
"Excuse me...?"
Bleber backed away, hiding her tail behind her hands. She bared her teeth in utter humiliation, as if I'd just seen her underwear.
"From what I know, rabbit beastmen get their tails standing straight up during heat. That's why I asked."
"It's not heat!"
"Really? That's a relief. I thought it was from the shock of nearly dying."
Whether human or beast, reproductive drive peaks right before death. It was a primal instinct to preserve the species. Biologically speaking, there was nothing shameful about it. But the fact that she'd faced a life-or-death crisis was the important part.
"Be careful. Even if it was just an illusion, if you keep your hackles raised because you almost died, everyone will get suspicious."
"......!!"
"Or rather, is your tail still up?"
"...You."
Bleber's expression softened slightly as she stepped closer. Her hands remained firmly wrapped around her hidden tail as she stuck close behind me while I walked ahead.
"There's no need to hide it that much..."
"There is. You never know who might be pricking up their ears to listen in."
"Are you saying someone's bugging us...?"
"It's just a figure of speech. If someone really is eavesdropping, it'd be a beastman with naturally sharp hearing."
Or perhaps a rival monitoring the Rabbit Princess's every move. Or someone watching over Bleber's growth.
"...Fine. Then I'll ask something else. How did you overcome that trial?"
"What do you mean?"
"You took it down in one hit. What kind of ability do you have?"
"It's not good manners to try digging up someone else's combat style, you know?"
"True, but we might end up fighting as comrades someday. Alright. Equivalent exchange. Let's trade information."
Bleber moved to my side. Whenever I turned my head, she kept her tail carefully shielded with her hands.
"How much do you know about the curriculum at the academy?"
"At the very least, I know that once we get to Class 13's classroom, Instructor Anju will explain everything in detail?"
"That instructor?"
"...Even if not in full detail, at least enough to give us the basics?"
While I'd received help from Bastet and others to enroll in Cadelis Academy, there were still pieces of information I hadn't managed to obtain through them.
"I know the curriculum. What subjects they'll teach, and what kind of abilities will be required."
"What? How?"
"Because I'm the queen's daughter. I didn't get to hear the exact subjects, but based on the warnings my mother gave me before I came, I can make an educated guess. Well? Aren't you curious?"
"Hmm..."
I wasn't sure if I needed to be curious, but I couldn't just drop this line of questioning.
"Looks like you've calmed down a bit."
"Ah."
"Alright. I'll take the deal."
Bleber. The Rabbit Princess. If she wasn't just the princess of some random brown-furred rabbit tribe but the daughter of a queen who held one of the King's Symbols, getting closer to her wouldn't be a bad thing at all.
"As you can see, I'm a mage."
It wasn't a lie.
"With that body?"
"Just because you use magic doesn't mean you can skip physical training. If you ever find yourself unable to use magic, you'll have to rely on your body to survive."
My physique had been honed back on the island. While I wasn't as bulky as I had been during my warrior days, a year of training as a mage hadn't caused my muscles to atrophy too badly.
"If it really bothers you, just think of me as something like a magic warrior."
"That's like saying hot ice cream..."
"I don't think it's that strange."
If I'd been able to commune with spirits, I might have become an axe-wielding shaman instead.
"So what about you?"
"Oh, me? As you know, I use a rapier—"
"No, I already know about your fighting style. Not interested. Tell me about the academy curriculum instead."
"...Hah."
Bleber let out a hollow laugh, then shook her head and walked ahead of me.
"Fine."
She turned around and walked backward, gesturing with both hands to either side. Her tail remained carefully hidden from my view.
"The academy teaches a wide variety of subjects, but the most fundamentally important ability to develop is combat strength."
"Makes sense."
"Yes. If you're a mage, you need the kind of power that can take down any enemy in a single strike. Or the skill and mana to defeat every challenger with nothing but a rapier like this."
Combat strength. In other words, raw power. Since the Bremen Revolution itself had been a beastmen uprising built on sheer force, strength was the most basic law among beastmen. Even if they studied human culture and knowledge, stole humanity's place, and tried to live like humans, they couldn't deny their beastman roots. Especially since the twelve King's Symbols were directly tied to combat ability.
"But individual strength alone won't solve everything. Cooperation within the same class is also crucial."
"Same class?"
"Yes. My mother told me that when we arrive in Cadelis, we shouldn't just cooperate among ourselves. We need to befriend the other beastmen who will be in our class."
"...You say that like it's obvious that one of the rabbits will receive the King's Symbol for the rabbit race."
"Huh?"
Bleber stopped walking at my pointed remark, looking as if she'd heard something completely absurd.
"Isn't that obvious? It's the rabbit race's King's Symbol. Why would it go to anyone else?"
"What about me?"
"...Pfft!"
For the first time, Bleber laughed.
"Wow, you're something else. You always look so serious and picky, but you can crack jokes like that?"
"You think it's a joke?"
"...You're serious?"
"A sheep could take the rabbit's symbol. If they were only going to pick from the twelve races, why would there be orcas, spiders, butterflies, jellyfish, and foxes in Class 13?"
"......."
"Even if there are subjects in that curriculum of yours that require the class to cooperate and earn points together, this academy is fundamentally built on competition. That doesn't change even within the same class."
"...How did you know?"
"Know what?"
"That there are subjects where you have to cooperate to earn points."
"It's obvious."
I was a guy who'd graduated from college in my previous life. Hell, I'd even studied for several more years after that because of my job.
"Alright. Then, to promote smooth cooperation within the class, how about we do a little acting?"
"Acting?"
"Yeah. I was originally planning to wait for you to raise your hand when I asked a question, but you're surprisingly calm and polite, so I guess we'll have to come to an agreement."
"An agreement...?"
"It's simple."
We'd already reached the entrance to Class 13's classroom. I leaned toward Bleber and offered her my cheek.
"Slap me."
"......Excuse me?"
"I was going to get you to slap me by talking about your heat cycle."
"......Why?"
"There are several reasons, but I don't have time to explain them all."
Honestly, I just couldn't be bothered to explain.
"Or should I bring up something else instead of heat? Hmm, okay. This is actually pretty hard for me to say out loud, but..."
I had to get hit. That was the only way to hide it.
"By any chance, are you on your period?"
"...Hey. Mr. Sapien."
Bleber clenched and unclenched the hands that had been hiding her tail, smiling faintly.
"Are you crazy?"
SLAAAAAP—!
***
After all the students had completed their trials.
Corvalt, who had passed first, began waiting for the rest. The seven beastmen of Class 13 headed toward their classroom together with Instructor Anju.
Seven out of nine.
"Hey, um. Hane."
"Yeah? Just ask, Anellis."
Had they grown closer while overcoming the trials together? The ones who'd emerged from the illusion cave started speaking to each other casually.
"I'm talking about those two who passed the trial first and left."
"The princess and... that golden sheep?"
"Y-yeah. What do you think their relationship is?"
It seemed that gossiping behind someone's back was universal, no matter where you went.
"They were also the first ones to receive their class assignments. Isn't that right, Sir Corvalt?"
"You can drop the 'sir.' Hmm, that part is true. Before I was assigned to Class 13, those two were already sitting in the classroom."
"From what I've heard from the others... they entered the banquet hall before the announcement even called everyone to gather there?"
"Hmm... Do those two know each other?"
The beastmen turned the two who had disappeared together into the topic of conversation.
"M-maybe he's like a knight? Escorting the princess."
"O-oh! Anellis! I agree with that theory! He must be the guardian knight the Rabbit Queen sent to protect her daughter!"
"Isn't that... kind of cheating?"
"Who knows. But why would sheep beastmen go so far as to waste one of their recommendation letters just to help the rabbit race...?"
"Aaaand that's enough."
Instructor Anju cut them off just as the speculation was growing thicker.
"That's far enough. Let's head inside. I'll explain everything properly once we're in. Those two should be inside too... Hm?"
Creak.
When they opened the door and stepped inside, Instructor Anju and the seven beastmen saw it.
Bleber, the Rabbit Princess, sitting at the very front of the classroom.
And the golden sheep sitting at the far end by the window, in the outermost seat.
A vivid red handprint stood out clearly on the golden sheep's face, and the entire classroom atmosphere was ice-cold.
"...So he's not her guardian knight after all?"