Pairing (1)
After I declared my ambitions as a male—no, as a man—Instructor Anju burst out with a bright laugh. "Alright! That's the spirit! If you're a male, no, if you've stepped foot in this academy, you damn well better have that much guts!!"
I had spoken from the heart, but Anju simply took it as typical male pride—what you'd crudely call "swagger"—and laughed heartily. The other students reacted the same way. They didn't seem offended so much as dumbfounded, disillusioned, or like they were thinking, What kind of lunatic is this? before turning their eyes away.
"Hmm."
"......."
The only ones who gave me glances with any real meaning behind them were Corvalt and Bleber, but I didn't pay their stares much mind.
Momentum. As a veterinarian treating animals, I had always tried to approach them with affection and genuine care. But occasionally—whether among pets or newly arrived zoo animals—there were those that tried to get the upper hand on humans. Just as a child tests an adult to see what they can get away with, animals size up the hierarchy based on the person they're dealing with. The beastmen of this world were the same. In fact, it was even more extreme, which was exactly why I couldn't afford to let them overwhelm me. Not as someone who had entered this academy with a clear purpose. And not as the only human here.
Ding-dong-dang-dong—
The alarm rang. From the trace of mana I sensed, the sound was flowing out through a mana stone mounted in the ceiling.
It was a central broadcast. If this were Earth, it would have been no different from the standard school PA system you'd find in any high school, except this one was implemented through magic. I didn't know the exact mechanics.
The beastmen had researched the magic once held by humans. Humans had primarily used magic engineering that allowed spells to be cast through mana stones. Cadelis Academy was probably running the cutting-edge version of that technology. From what Bastet had told me, they flattened mana stones thin like wires and connected the buildings through them.
The key point was that this wasn't a hundred-year-old human building—it had been constructed entirely from the ground up. In other words, the beastmen possessed the technological prowess to run centralized broadcast systems based on magic engineering. Even if the other beastmen in this class looked like muscle-brained types who solved everything with their fists, it meant that mages like Bastet or the more intellectual beastmen possessed intelligence that could rival most humans.
"Well then, bye!"
Even someone who looked as ditzy as Instructor Anju was clearly no ordinary person.
"That wraps it up for today! Classes begin in earnest tomorrow morning, so you're free to do whatever you want until then!"
"Huh?"
"Just be back here by nine o'clock tomorrow! Dismissed!"
She probably hadn't noticed that Bleber and I were hiding the details about the trial, but she must have sensed that something had happened during it.
So that's in the realm of instinct?
An intuition far surpassing that of humans. Intelligence comparable to humans. Either way, beastmen were not to be underestimated.
Slam!
After the door shut and Instructor Anju vanished, silence descended over the classroom. With the instructor who was supposed to lead them gone, the students were naturally a little flustered.
What should I do in this situation?
1. Suggest we do self-introductions.
2. Stay quiet, then introduce myself once someone else brings it up and go along with it.
If I had to pick one, the second option. But unfortunately this wasn't a game where I was forced to choose only one preset choice.
Scrape.
I stood up. The sound of the chair dragging drew every eye in the room to me. And then—without a single word, I walked straight out the classroom door.
"H-hey!!"
I ignored Annelis the jellyfish, who was urgently trying to call after me with that vague "hey." Because "hey" wasn't a proper way to address someone.
"Mr. Geumyang!"
"What is it?"
Before fully stepping out the door, I turned and asked.
"Sapiens Goat. You can call me Sapien. So what is it?"
"Um, well... may I ask where you're going?"
"......."
If it had been Corvalt or Bleber, I would have answered with something like I have no obligation to tell you or What are you going to do with that information? But starting off on bad terms with someone like Annelis—who seemed timid, or at least the class-rep type trying to guide the classroom atmosphere—would be troublesome.
"The dormitory."
"Pardon?"
"The entrance ceremony is over. And Instructor Anju told us to come back tomorrow, so class is done. I'm heading back to the dorm."
"Uh..."
Before she could continue, I stepped outside. After walking down the hallway at a brisk pace and leaving the building entirely—
Thud thud thud thud!
I stopped at the sound of rapid footsteps racing down the corridor.
"What is it, Bleber."
"...How did you know it was me?"
Whoosh. The inertia from her sprint made her academy uniform flutter slightly, but Bleber questioned me without a single drop of sweat on her.
"That's not what you really want to ask, is it?"
"I had to confirm it first. Are you perhaps extremely sensitive to smells?"
"When I bolt like that, if someone comes running after me, who else would it be but you?"
"......."
"Why did I leave? Isn't it obvious? Whether to stay and build friendships or do personal training—it's each person's freedom."
We're not high schoolers who have to stay stuck in the building.
"What are you planning to do once you get back to the dormitory?"
"Personal training. And I need to recharge the magic scrolls I used."
"Ah. That..."
"It's not your concern. Replenishing consumables is just a habit of mine."
It was one of those habits I'd had since my veterinarian days. Getting complacent just because you had a stockpile of medicine was a good way to end up in trouble when an emergency hit.
"Then I'll be off. It'd probably be better if you didn't get too involved with me, either. When you go back, tell them this: I suggested staying to chat and get to know each other, but he didn't listen and just left."
"......."
"You're not planning to follow me to the dormitory, are you?"
"...Are you really just going back? Or is there some special reason like at the banquet hall?"
"I'm really going back. To my room."
"...Understood."
Bleber turned around.
"I'll make up a suitable excuse for our Class 13 friends. Hmm, I can say you went off to pump iron, right?"
"Not bad."
I hadn't planned to lean that hard into the concept, but it was a better excuse than I'd expected. I had zero intention of working out next to elephant or hippo types who could casually bench two thousand pounds in the gym, but training didn't necessarily require a facility anyway.
"Sapien. Just one thing before I go."
Before leaving, Bleber lightly kicked at the ground with her foot.
"Thank you. Well then."
Bam!
She kicked off the ground so hard it looked like she might vanish in an instant.
"Hmm."
She really is kind-hearted. Seeing her like that, it felt less like beastmen were animals pretending to be people and more like the natural differences between Easterners, Westerners, or Middle Easterners. Of course, there were still plenty who walked around with their heads held high and teeth bared.
"...Right, then."
As I headed toward my room, I gripped my neck with one hand.
Whirring.
Though it blended with my skin tone, the special magic tool on my finger reacted and began channeling mana from my neck.
"Aa. Testing."
Crackle.
Along with a faint electric tingle—
Reception good~
So, how is it? Do they all look stronger than you?
The owner of that relaxed yet bright voice—Bastet—spoke in a way that felt like her words were tickling across my entire body through the necklace against my skin.
"Some of them do look strong, but at least there don't seem to be that many whose heads work as well."
I might fall short in raw physical power. But the odds of losing out in wisdom, intelligence, or overall intellect were extremely low.
"Good. Then I'll share some information with you. About the students assigned to Class 13. First, the most objectively powerful one—the successor of the Blue Dragon, Corvalt. In his case..."
Scrape.
When Bleber opened the door and stepped back into the classroom—
"H-how did it go?!"
"From the look of it... it seems he just left."
Annelis and Hane hurried over with questions. Bleber gave a quiet nod and returned to her seat.
"He said he's returning to do personal training. That the ordeal from the welcoming cave wasn't enough."
"Not enough...? Did he get a weak opponent or something?"
"Weak, huh."
Bleber recalled the scene. It had been magic—he had called it a Magic Missile—but it was no ordinary Magic Missile. A single devastating strike that had pierced straight through the demonic beast's brow. Could she have dodged that trajectory of light? From the front, perhaps. But if it had come from a blind spot she hadn't noticed—
Thump!
Once again, someone rose from their seat.
"Miss Orca...?"
"I'm going too."
"What? Uh, that is..."
"What? Got a problem with that?"
"Well... if you have some free time later, maybe we could grab a cup of tea and..."
"I've got stuff to do."
The killer whale, Orca, answered curtly and strode out of the classroom.
"Uh... that is..."
"Then I'll go train—oww!?"
"Where do you think you're going? Sorry, everyone. Sebius is just a bit dense."
Lily forced the departing Sebius back into his seat, then stood and scanned the remaining students.
"We could head to the banquet hall, or tour the academy while looking for the cafeteria. Would that be acceptable, Princess Bleber? And Sir Corvalt..."
"I regret to say I must move separately as well."
Corvalt bowed his head with perfect posture.
"I have a prior engagement. I am scheduled to meet with Dragoonot, the instructor in charge of Class 1."
"Ah! Then it can't be helped."
"However, should my prior engagement conclude early, I will join you. Around evening... that should be feasible."
"Hmm? How unexpected. For a dragonian to willingly mingle with the lesser races."
"J-Jefi!"
"Speaking of which, you don't appear to have any intention of leaving either."
"...True enough. Well, rather than returning to my room alone, sharing information together would be better, wouldn't it? Hehehe."
"......."
First day of the academy, after classes.
With Corvalt absent due to his prior engagement and the two who had already left, the remaining six beastmen decided to hold an exchange in the form of an academy exploration tour.
And then, the next day.
"Before we begin our first lesson, shall we start with pairing?"