Chapter 15
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Rabbit Study
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I flipped the page.
[Designated World: Empire]
Amid the stiff academic jargon, an intriguing passage caught my eye.
It was a discussion of the absolute laws forming the foundation of a world called the Empire.
‘A class society centered on nobles, where magic equates to status.’
According to the paper, in the Empire, wielding magic had nothing to do with talent or effort.
It was a right and privilege passed down solely through noble bloodlines.
Only nobles were born with mana, and they were nobles from the moment of birth.
Those who weren’t stayed commoners forever.
And at the very bottom were the beastkin.
They couldn’t wield magic at all. Instead, depending on their race, they possessed tremendous physical prowess and animalistic senses.
Every aspect of life in the Empire revolved around the convenience and centrality of the nobles.
The Empire’s nobles exploited the beastkin’s savage strength for its utility while scorning them as filthy.
Beastkin weren’t citizens.
They were just useful tools.
The sturdy ones served as cannon fodder on battlefields or gladiator slaves fighting for noble amusement in arenas.
The agile ones with keen senses became assassins or personal servants attending at close quarters.
And those without such traits—like Luna or Elise, with their striking beauty...
...even warmed nobles’ beds at night.
Beastkin could never become nobles.
Nobles despised them, and beastkin hated those nobles in return.
They were exploited thoroughly as mere instruments.
However, once dimensional transfers began, the situation shifted somewhat.
“Yeah, that checks out.”
I nodded.
The gulf between nobles and beastkin?
I hadn’t felt it firsthand.
Here on Earth, Imperial titles and ranks held no meaning whatsoever.
Of course, the superior magic ingrained in noble bloodlines remained potent.
I’d heard plenty of hunters sought their advice.
But humanity’s defenders—hunters—began treating beastkin’s transcendent physical abilities as talents on par with magic.
In the end, everything realigned based on raw ability.
The Empire’s brutal class system, entrenched for centuries, crumbled so anticlimactically here on Earth... or so the paper claimed.
Clear, evidence-based, logical analysis.
A solid paper.
But the moment I closed the final page, a question nagged at me.
The paper stated explicitly:
‘Beastkin cannot use magic.’
Not a matter of talent—a biological impossibility.
Yet Luna was unmistakably a beastkin.
She used magic, feeble as it might be.
It flat-out didn’t add up.
What gives?
I mulled it over.
But there was nothing more to glean right now.
I folded the paper away.
To shake off the thoughts, I began tidying the scattered documents on my desk.
Now to clear this mess and plunge into the internet’s real rabbit hole...
“...Huh?”
The fresh white sheets from the association today, ink scent still lingering.
Tucked slyly amid that pristine stack—impossibly white otherwise—a single yellowed, discolored page.
“......”
Same texture as that spine-chilling counseling log from before.
No way—this too?
I swallowed hard, gingerly extracting it with trembling fingers.
A faded, handwritten title swam into view, penned as if by fountain pen.
[Otherworlder Type: Beastkin. A Brief Study on Their Ecology.]
Thankfully, this title felt a touch more normal.
Handwriting and phrasing matched the previous author.
[Prior to this paper, all accounts are based on actual records...]
I’d pegged the author as a counselor... maybe not.
The document read less like a therapist’s notes and more like a detached observer dissecting fascinating cases.
I turned to the first page.
But against expectations, it took the form of counseling records.
[Case 1-A: In-Depth Counseling Record of Hunter K Struggling with Relationship Dynamics Involving a (Beastkin)]
[Client K (C-rank Hunter) was undergoing continuous counseling for chronic depression and intermittent panic disorder.]
Standard case up to here. My eyes drifted lower.
(bright and lively voice) Teacher, I think I’m okay now! Lately, I’m really—so happy. I never dreamed such a blessing would enter my life. I probably won’t need to see you anymore.
That’s wonderful, K. Your face is brighter than ever by comparison. But my door’s always open—come anytime, no pressure.
And below, as expected, a red-inked annotation scrawled in hasty script.
[Client recently progressed to a romantic relationship with a beastkin guildmate. The positive attachment has acted as a beneficial factor on underlying conditions (depression, panic disorder), leading to symptom remission.]
A tale I heard now and then. Healing the heart with another person.
If it works, few remedies rival romance in efficacy.
Of course, the blowback when it crashes and burns hits twice as hard.
Perfect happy ending to this point.
A model closure worthy of any textbook.
But if it’d ended there, no paper would’ve been penned.
Long time no see, K. But... your expression’s dark. Something happen?
(long silence, finally speaking) ...Teacher.
Yes? What’s wrong?
I... I still love her. That hasn’t changed. She’s my lifesaver, my everything. But... but, Teacher. I can’t... take it anymore.
Can’t take it? Care to elaborate?
And the next entry... was downright shocking.
When... that time hits, she ravages me for days on end... Then, when it’s over... she kisses me with that innocent face, asks sweetly why I look so exhausted. I... I’m terrified of that pure expression now.
(long silence)
Beneath his desperate plea, the inevitable red-pen annotation.
[Observation: Client K appeared severely emaciated. Heavy dark circles under eyes; legs trembled upon brief entry, betraying clear physical exhaustion.]
[Conclusion: The paramount variable in interspecies romance with beastkin isn’t cultural disparity or language barriers. It’s their periodic instinct surges. Far beyond mere animalistic parallels, beastkin succumb wholly to race-specific drives. C-rank Hunter client’s physique reached its limit satisfying beastkin desires.]
“......”
I couldn’t shut my slack jaw.
What the hell did I just read?
I’d assumed cultural friction. But this was primal.
The counselor ultimately urged an honest conversation.
And the outcome filled the next session’s record.
Long time, K. Your complexion... it’s different again. Did... the talk go okay?
(long silence) ...No. But... I know everything now.
That instinct tormenting me so badly... turns out she was desperately holding it back for my sake. So... it was just the tip of the iceberg. (hollow laugh) And she explained: she’s a cat beastkin. The others... especially rabbit beastkin... their instincts dwarf hers. Incomparably... far stronger.
So I’ll just... embrace her with love. She was being considerate of me, after all.
[Conclusion: Upon learning of his partner’s consideration, Client K resolved to bridge the biological interspecies gap with love. A shaky resolution at best. Especially given the partner’s relatively mild instincts as a feline () beastkin, interspecies relations underscore inherent limits.]
I blankly closed the document.
Then flipped to the very end.
Praying for that mysterious researcher’s [evidence unobtainable] red stamp.
But.
No such mark.
Just paper bearing the patina of time.
In other words—not redacted.
- Ding!
That instant, a shrill alarm shattered the silence, snapping me from my reverie.
I turned. A notification blinked on the monitor.
Someone— at this hour—had booked an online counseling slot for tomorrow morning.
Still dazed, I mechanically clicked the mouse.
Regulations allowed pre-checking client profiles.
- Click.
A familiar face materialized onscreen.
Union Guild official profile photo.
S-rank hunter staring coldly ahead.
And there.
“......”
A single white rabbit—the very one I’d just pored over.