The Squirrel Who Came Along
The train arrived at the Academy faster than I had expected.
But after the journey, fatigue must have caught up.
From the entrance ceremony until I received my dormitory card, I had been dozing off, and the moment I sat down, I passed out completely and slept through until the next morning.
What a relief.
It seemed like school would start tomorrow anyway.
***
Damn it.
No sleeping.
I should have gone for a walk.
Where exactly was the Thunder Hall?
I had just followed the map and slept like a baby—because I was stupid.
Especially on the first day with only one class.
“Shit. This isn’t it either?”
“This isn’t the Thunder Hall, it’s the Waterfall Hall…?”
“…”
“?”
The voices overlapped.
I scratched my head and turned toward the direction the sound came from.
A girl with a similar look was staring at the map.
“…Squirrel?”
“I’m a person!”
She was a white squirrel.
“It’s an artifact side effect! I had no idea it meant I’d become harmless like this!”
“Are you a student here?”
“Yes!”
The squirrel pulled out two certificates from her pouch.
Oh.
Uh.
But there was an unsettling feeling.
No, for me, a squirrel as big as a palm dragging a pouch around?
Then the squirrel pointed behind me.
“Hey, are you looking for the Thunder Hall? Yeah, I just came from there. My stride is so long I’m a little far, but I’m from the Boulder Hall.”
“Ah.”
Right.
I was about to be late.
“I came from the boys’ dorm. I passed the Earth Hall and the Flame Hall.”
“…Earth, Flame, Waterfall, Boulder—aren’t those all the buildings?”
“I know the Academy has six lecture buildings.”
“…Ah.”
Tsk. My luck was bad.
It seemed the squirrel and I had covered every place except the Thunder Hall.
“Then I’ll leave you here. Good luck.”
Still, thanks to her I found the way.
I could make it to class just in time.
As I turned around to walk away—
“Wait!”
“?”
“Take me with you too!”
“…Ah.”
Now that I looked again, that person was indeed a squirrel.
If I could climb trees like a trained squirrel, sure, but dragging a pouch all the way? No way.
“I thought I’d be able to go back to normal after waking up…”
“…”
I looked up at the clock tower.
It was already 8:50.
Ten minutes.
“Please! I don’t want to be marked on my first day! I only got lost because of you! If you help, I’ll buy you lunch later!”
The squirrel chittered while I was silent.
What could I do?
Helping really had saved me from getting lost.
And who says helping is a bad thing?
I reached out my hand to the squirrel.
“Cliiick?!”
I grabbed her and stuffed her into my crossbody bag.
And then.
“Kyaaahaaaaang!”
She kicked like hell.
It was a fair distance, but I couldn’t underestimate the skills of someone who sneaked under the covers at night.
“Ugh, shaking, wait!”
“Hold on! Don’t throw up!”
“…”
Shit, variables!
Legendary variables!
The crazy squirrel was about to vomit in my bag!
“Uuuugh…”
If I stopped, I’d definitely be late, so I had no choice but to trust the squirrel.
“Classroom! Where is it!”
“Room 302…”
The only good thing was that I was taking the same class as her.
I opened the door of the Thunder Hall and ran up the stairs three steps at a time.
“Ugh.”
Still on the second floor.
“Ugh…”
Halfway to the second floor.
Room 302 was right there!
Finally, the third floor!
I slammed into the open 302 room!
Bang!
“Student, your name?”
“J-Jeden.”
“You’re late.”
“…Yes.”
I had made a flashy entrance.
Ah.
I reached into my bag and pulled out the squishy, furry bundle.
“Professor, here.”
“…What? A squirrel?”
“I’m a student, but I don’t know my real name.”
“You’re the only ones who haven’t shown up yet—me and Cecil. Do you have any form of identification?”
“Ah, yes.”
I took the identification certificate from the pouch I came in with.
“…Cecil of the Magic Engineering Department. Got it. Well, it’s the first day, so consider the tardiness forgiven. Take a seat.”
“! Thank you, Professor!”
I held the unconscious squirrel in one hand and sat in an empty seat.
“Pfft—hic. Again, allow me to introduce myself. I am Cedric Hen. You may call me Professor Cedric. Since it’s the first day, I’ll keep it simple. From now on, don’t expect me to overlook tardiness either.”
After that, he gave a very concise introduction.
He was Cedric Hen, the eldest son of the Hen Viscount, and the younger brother of the current heir.
Magic Engineering was the study of analyzing and engineering magic in a practical, money-making way.
Ordinary magic would make it even easier to understand.
You don’t need to buy textbooks. The lecture slides are ready.
If you’re interested in graduate school, contact me anytime.
Even early morning is fine.
I felt a bit of sharpness in the last sentence, but I just let it go.
It was probably just the mood.
“Any questions?”
Of course that question meant the class was ending, so I just stayed silent.
“Well… yeah. See you next week at this time. Good work.”
“Thank you, Professor.”
It ended in about ten minutes.
The students’ faces were full of smiles.
They seemed to be chatting with each other, probably friends.
“…”
There was a scrawny squirrel next to me.
“Cecil, right? Wake up. Class is over.”
Even though it was urgent, I used rough words to shake her awake.
“Mm… I guess the answer is nuts?”
“Person…”
Ah. She woke up.
“Haah… I feel better now. You didn’t say much, did you? Want to go eat?”
“…”
Didn’t you almost throw up a minute ago? What did you eat then?
No. Why was I even carrying her around in the first place?
“Hehe… Animals can’t go into the student cafeteria. And I can’t pay at a convenience store either. I’ll pay you back, just buy me one meal!”
“You said you’d buy me lunch earlier.”
“That was… keep! I’ll buy you later. Sorry!”
“Sigh…”
If only you could speak.
***
A short while later.
We faced an unexpected problem.
“Hey, do you have money?”
“Yeah. My dad was gonna give me… whoa?”
…Nothing.
I clearly put the wallet in the bag.
Put it in the zippered pocket.
…The only thing in the bag was a squirrel.
…No way?
“Why?”
“…No.”
…No way.
I got robbed.
A world where pickpockets get pickpocketed. Terrifying, the capital.
“…You have no money?”
“Yeah. You?”
“I have mana money. That’s what I usually use. But in this form, I can’t even release mana… hehe.”
For a second.
Summarizing:
“We’re screwed?”
“Yeah…”
It was over.
Memories from ten years ago crept up.
“Do you remember when the next class is?”
“All new students in the Magic Engineering department have the same schedule. General Magic 1 at 4 p.m. for you and me.”
I checked the clock. 9:20 a.m.
“Then what do we do for seven hours?”
“…”
Exactly.
I was already looking forward to the capital’s meals.
What did you eat yesterday?
I was too tired to notice. Eri took my bento away.
“You don’t use mana money?”
“That’s the first time I’ve heard that name come out of your mouth.”
“Yeah? Did you live in a real backwater? It’s reached everywhere. Nowadays, restaurants without cash are the trend.”
“Imagine the uttermost backwoods.”
What now.
“No place to get money?”
“You want money from the squirrel?”
“I said you’re a person.”
Cecil pondered on her shoulder.
It looked like she knew exactly why I was keeping an animal.
“One. There’s really only one way.”
“Oh?”
There was?
“Then why didn’t you say it earlier?”
“Um, but. It’s… tricky…”
“Tell me quick.”
Cecil’s words came out garbled as she stared straight into my eyes.
…
This guy.
I never thought he was a squirrel.
His eyes were familiar. Armed with poison and malice.
Yeah.
Like.
“…It seems our thoughts are in sync, Jeden.”
“Exactly.”
The same eyes I used to see in the back alleys when I was an orphan.
***
Pickpocketing is a minor crime.
If it were aimed at nobles, it would be different.
Well, it wasn’t like we were planning to pickpocket.
Just, that being said.
“Did you get anything, squirrel?”
“Call me squirrel one more time and I’ll turn you into acorns. Human.”
“Hic, harvest is slim on this side.”
“…Then come over here?”
The squirrel’s target was the back of the Thunder Hall.
It had benches, a rest area, but accessibility made it abandoned.
And around that corner.
Three people including a girl with a roll-bread head and one sitting student.
“…So. Why are you causing a scene without knowing the situation?”
“I-I’m sorry…”
“You kid. Apologizing isn’t enough? Does sorry mean the Academy ends?”
“Ah, no…”
Ah. Familiar template.
That was what my dad always said when he was scolding me.
“So. You should drop out.”
“Ah, no! Please, just that!”
“Hah. You know, every time I see kids like you who are orphans, my blood boils. Do I really have to use my own power? Yeah?”
“…”
“Fufu. So, friends. Let’s be nice to each other. Yeah? You brought an artifact to the entrance exam. Just say that and everything will be fine. Why are you making it so complicated?”
“T-then I am…”
“That’s not my point.”
“Ugh…”
“Then that’s how it is. Going?”
The group with unpleasant smiles approached.
Ah.
But this was a dead end.
They kept coming closer, and there was no way out.
Tsk. Well, then I guess I have to do it. I was going to be gentler.
I followed the plan and set the squirrel on the ground.
Flap!
The squirrel immediately darted away.
“Kyaa! What? Squirrel…”
The girl was startled by the sudden appearance of the squirrel from the alley.
Then.
Bang!
“Kyaah!”
“Hey! Are you okay? My squirrel suddenly jumped out!”
Straight body check.
According to my dad, the girl was supposed to be doing toast, but.
Well, as long as the result was good, it didn’t matter.
“Damn it! Who the hell are you…”
“Wait a second. Rain! That’s a gorilla!”
What? Gorilla?
At that, even the girl with the roll-bread head and I jumped back in surprise, but all we saw was a big professor.
“You’ll get in trouble if you get caught, Rain!”
“Yeah! Even if it’s Rain, we’re definitely…”
“Damn it. Got it. And you. Remember this. You’re about to look just like that kid too. Got it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Tsk.”
The three of them said that and hurriedly left.
They timed it perfectly, but I guess it really was the responsible professor.
“So. Did it work?”
“Gotcha. Not quite. Of course. I’ve done this a few times with the orphan of the month.”
“Wow. You’re one too?”
Thankfully, the squirrel seemed to have done her job.
The plan was simple.
The squirrel distracted the eyes.
While she did that, I body-checked.
Then the squirrel slipped away again.
“That hit hard?”
“Feels good working with someone from the underworld after a long time.”
Lunch was sorted.
What about the captured?
Eh.
Even if a noble, being a new student, there was no way they could recognize my face through mana control.
They probably forgot already.
We gathered the money and turned to leave.
“Tomorrow you’re coming back, right?”
“Yeah. Real food tomorrow.”
Still, I couldn’t keep the squirrel out because it was risky, so I put her in the bag and headed for the convenience store… but I couldn’t.
“…”
“…Don’t look at me like that. Squirrel?”
“What did I do.”
Nothing.
You’re staring at the other side and giving me the side-eye.
“…Tsk. Okay.”
I didn’t say it out loud, but the meaning got through.
It would have been better if my sense was a little off.
Still, for now, we were partners.
I followed the squirrel’s suggestion and turned back.
To the kid still squatting and crying.
“Hey. Magic department, right? Want to go eat together?”
“Ah, no. I like being alone.”
*Dab.*
The crying, nameless kid.