The Dragon's Rivalry and the Vermilion's Scheme
Late afternoon, just before classes began. Corvalt had turned down his classmates' invitation to eat lunch together and stepped away for a moment.
"U-um... is it uncomfortable for you to eat with us...?"
"What are you, the lone wolf type? Enjoying your solitude?"
"No. It's not that I mind sharing a meal with my fellow students."
"Then why? Never mind."
"I wish to observe the situation in Class 1 first."
"Class 1?"
"If I can figure out exactly what happened in Class 1, I believe I might gain at least some understanding of the current circumstances."
"Ah... alright! Then I'll leave it to you!"
He had made it perfectly clear that he wasn't trying to escape the group. His purpose was reconnaissance and information gathering. His destination was Class 1. Since Vermilion, the daughter of the Vermilion Bird, had caused an incident that wasn't quite an incident, he judged that Class 1 would be just as chaotic as Class 13.
But.
"Why are you following me?"
"I'm curious too, that's all."
The Rabbit Princess Bleber had tagged along.
"...Are you not going to use formal speech?"
"What, between us? Should I put on an act?"
"No. There's no need for that."
The passing students shot them looks full of shock that seemed to say, 'Those two are in the same group?' But the pair paid no attention and continued toward their destination.
"Why do you keep following me? I could handle Class 1 on my own just fine."
"I only came out to investigate because I'm curious too."
"...Anyone watching would think we're going together."
"My point exactly."
They were simply walking the same path at a similar pace. Their group assignments hadn't been shared yet, so the two were actually in different groups. But that was information only Class 13 students knew. If the information hadn't spread, it wasn't strange for others to misunderstand.
"Whoa, the oh-so-great successor of the Azure Dragon has paired up with the Rabbit Princess?"
Right then, a gray-haired dragon youth blocked their path.
"Kromhart."
"Wow, impressive! The successor of the Azure Dragon even remembers the name of a lowly dragon like me."
The dragon called Kromhart pointed at his own head. Like Corvalt, horns grew from his skull, but for some reason his right horn was only half there.
"Or is it that the guy whose horn you broke is so insignificant you only need to call his name and that's it? Huh?"
"Hey, what's with this guy?"
At Kromhart's mocking tone, Bleber stepped forward.
"What's with this guy picking a fight like this? Did you actually break his horn before?"
"No."
"Then why?"
"I didn't break it with my hands. During a spear duel, my spear just happened to graze an unfortunate spot."
"S-shut up!"
Kromhart's face flushed bright red in an instant as he roared.
"Tell me why you're here! What business do you have with me?!"
"I didn't come here specifically for you..."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Hey, Corvalt. Since you know him, why don't you ask this guy? Excuse me, dragon. I have a question. What exactly happened in Class 1?"
"...Hmph, you're curious? You want to know? Well, that's—"
"Hey."
From behind Kromhart, a black-haired man with a face full of irritation approached and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"If you're going to spout nonsense, go quietly practice your spear work in the training grounds."
"What? Ha, this bastard. You got rejected by the Vermilion Bird's daughter and now you're just radiating annoyance all over your body?"
"Shut your mouth."
"Shut up? Icaris, what's your problem?"
The red eyes of the youth called Icaris widened instantly. At the same time, membranous wings spread from his back, and his hair began to flutter wildly in the wind pouring from his body. Those wings resembled a bat's, but they were far larger and sturdier than a normal bat's.
"Are you ignoring me right now?"
"Ignoring? Ha, just because I'm in your group doesn't mean you can casually put your hand on my shoulder. If anything, that's you ignoring—"
"Enough."
Corvalt's low voice.
"!!"
"...!"
The two beastmen froze in place, and Bleber let out a sigh while shaking her head.
"Are you crazy? Why use Dragon Speech? What a waste of mana."
"There is no technique more wasteful than one not used when necessary."
"You—"
"Later. First, gathering information on the Sapien matter takes priority."
Bleber, who had been about to scold him, swallowed her words at the mention of Sapien. Corvalt pointed at the other beastmen who had taken a stiff step back.
"I understand that Sapien from Class 13 has been paired with Vermilion from Class 1. Do you know anything about this?"
"W-why should we tell you..."
"It's an information exchange, Kromhart. Among those in Class 1, I judged you to be the most reasonable person to talk with."
"What? H-hmph. Then I suppose it can't be helped. If the g-great successor of the Azure Dragon wishes to hear from me so badly!"
Kromhart puffed out his chest with smug pride.
"It's nothing special. This bastard went up to the Vermilion Bird's daughter and said, 'Pair with me.'"
"Shut up, Kromhart."
"You think you can make me? Anyway, this guy wasn't the only one. Other bird-type beastmen kept proposing to the Vermilion Bird's daughter too. The peacock beastman Argos spread his tail feathers completely in the classroom and went absolutely crazy begging her to pair with him."
"...So you're saying multiple males courted Vermilion?"
"That's... right. Um, since this is our first meeting, I should introduce—"
"The introduction is unnecessary."
"...As the Rabbit Princess surely knows, for winged beastmen, the Vermilion Bird's daughter is the ideal partner, isn't she? Just as you, Princess, are the ideal type for all herbivore beastmen."
"Flattery won't get you anywhere, so just keep talking. And you over there... could you fix your expression?"
"......."
Bleber glanced at the bat beastman Icaris, who was grinding his teeth beside them, and briefly clenched her fist. At that single gesture, Icaris slightly lowered his head and took a step back.
"Anyway, about four of them asked to pair with her, and then Vermilion just walked straight up to the board and wrote a name. What do you think she wrote?"
"Just her own name?"
"That's what we thought at first. But then another name appeared on the board. Right next to Vermilion was the name Sapien. There's no one named Sapien in Class 1."
"And after that?"
"It turned into complete chaos. Who the hell is Sapien to get paired up? Then who am I supposed to pair with? The rabbit beastman over here even complained to the instructor, asking if they could just write any nonexistent person's name, but the magic pairing went through without any issues."
While Class 13 had quietly sorted things out, it seemed Class 1 had been thrown into absolute pandemonium.
"Instructor Dragonaut even used long-distance communication magic to confirm with the headmaster, and apparently received a reply that there were no problems."
"...I see. The headmaster."
"Yes. Ahem. So, about that..."
Kromhart continued cautiously.
"That beastman named Sapien who was chosen by the Vermilion Bird's daughter—what is he? There's a rumor he's a sheep beastman with golden fur. Is it true?"
"Let's go, Bleber."
"Yes, let's."
"Hey! Wait, Rabbit Princess! Hey, Azure Dragon successor! Are you running away?!"
"Let us meet again in the dueling grounds."
"...Ha! The only one worth crossing spears with is—"
Tap tap tap.
Corvalt and Bleber quickly left the area in front of Class 1's classroom.
"What was that guy?"
"The second strongest among the dragon-type beastmen who harbors a competitive spirit toward me. He seems quite proud of being placed in Class 1 now."
"...He looked like an idiot, but the way he kept checking your strength, it does seem like he's worthy of you remembering his name."
"What are you worrying about? Was it that Icaris fellow baring his fangs earlier?"
"No. That's not even worth worrying about."
Thud.
Bleber stopped in her tracks. Then, idly stroking her own tail with her hand, she continued in a curt tone.
"...I just can't figure out why the Vermilion Bird's daughter suddenly dragged Sapien into her group."
"I'm curious about that as well. But... we'll probably find out the reason soon enough."
Ding, ding, ding.
"Afternoon classes, the duels, will be starting soon."
Vrrr.
The two took out the student notebooks from their pockets.
"This is..."
"It seems the student notebooks are informing us of our duel opponents."
"...For now, let's join up with our respective partners."
To get straight to the point, she wanted me to act like her boyfriend.
"Compared to those persistent, horny males constantly saying 'let's make eggs,' you at least look at me like a normal person. That's why I suggested it."
"I see."
"Yes. You don't look at me with lust, and you don't seem like the type to make those disgusting confessions."
Vermilion giggled with a laugh.
"Above all, it's rare to find a beastman I can have intellectual conversations with in the library."
"Hmm."
"What?"
"So, to drive away the males swarming around you, you're borrowing another man to pretend to date. Is that it?"
"...Are you refusing?"
"As if."
The fact that she could come up with such a sophisticated plan was proof enough that this beastwoman had a good head on her shoulders.
"I was simply impressed. If it were me, I would've beaten them all one by one until they couldn't even think of such things."
"But your opponents would be women, right?"
"It doesn't matter if they're female. My fists don't discriminate between male and female."
"I-I see."
It was a bit disappointing that the concept of gender equality didn't exist here, but even though she looked sour, she seemed to understand.
Yeah. Whether male or female, if someone keeps pushing to reproduce even when you're clearly rejecting them romantically, punching them is true gender equality. If I wanted to teach these beastmen the concept of a world without sexual discrimination, it looked like it would take quite a long time.
"Ahem. Anyway, isn't this kind of interesting?"
"What is?"
"The student notebook. On this page, the magic shows the names of the people we'll be dueling against."
She changed the subject, but I decided to play along.
"...Though there are some opponents that make me wonder if someone's playing a prank."
"Who?"
"Two from Class 1. One is the second strongest dragon-type, and the other is... tsk."
She openly clicked her tongue.
Probably—
"One of the males who wanted to 'make eggs' with you?"
"...How did you know?"
"I have to have at least this much sense."
"...That's impressive."
As expected.
"But it's surprising. According to Instructor Anju, we were supposed to be matched against Class 5... Ah."
"What?"
"No. I'm not sure if I should understand this as a special situation, or if I should say that Instructor Anju is at it again."
Maybe Instructor Anju was just a walking bundle of crazy. Or perhaps the other three groups were facing Class 5 students while I alone had to face Class 1.
"Hmm, I don't know the details, but it's probably because of me that—"
"Vermilion's daughter."
From across the way, the half-horned dragon—not half-eared—and a batman who looked shady no matter how you saw him approached us.
"Through this duel, I will clearly prove that I am the one worthy of making eggs with you."
"......."
Vermilion didn't give the slightest response. Of course, the half-horned dragon on the other side remained completely silent as well. In his eyes, I didn't exist. There was only the ecstasy of battle at the thought of facing Vermilion.
"Hmm, is that so?"
Slither.
Vermilion pulled my arm and gently linked it with hers.
"Sorry, but I have no intention of making eggs with you."
Squeeze.
...Did she really need to hold this tightly?
"Right, partner?"
"...First of all, can a bat and a vermilion bird even make eggs together?"
Beyond my understanding of beastmen, the part of me that used to be a veterinarian and animal lover asked the question first.
"Bats give live birth."
"You...!"
"Ah, I see. If 'let's make eggs' was meant as an idiom, then I'll answer like this."
I pulled my arm free and then grabbed Vermilion by the shoulder, pulling her toward me.
"She says she wouldn't even want to lay an unfertilized egg with someone as pathetic as you. My partner, that is."
"......!!"
"On the other hand."
I looked at Vermilion. She was staring at me with an expression that said she couldn't believe what she was hearing, but she didn't push away the hand on her shoulder. Instead, she pressed even closer to me.
"I'm the kind of man who can turn even an unfertilized egg into a fertilized one."