The Wolf Commotion (2)
It wasn't outside; a massive wolf had appeared inside the academy.
If this were reality, I would have been running for my life in a blind panic, but Dante, Angelica, and I continued our conversation as if it were nothing.
The reason we could remain so calm?
It was because the academy building was protected by a barrier.
And not just any barrier—it was one personally cast by the Headmistress. Even if a formidable magical beast appeared, it was impossible for it to breach the interior of the building.
And yet, a massive wolf in the academy? That’s suspicious.
Even a large wolf would only be about 1.6 meters tall—smaller than a human. While it’s possible for wolves larger than humans to exist in a fantasy world, it felt completely out of place for one to suddenly appear inside an academy. It’s not like there’s a zoo nearby.
Furthermore, the Headmistress’s barrier covered not just the buildings, but the entire outer perimeter of the academy, making external infiltration impossible. That meant the giant wolf that appeared in the academy was either strong enough to ignore the Headmistress’s barrier, or it had spawned directly inside.
It couldn't be the former.
We were still in the early stages of the main story; there was no way such a powerful enemy would appear yet. While this game did have its fair share of "defeat events" early on, the enemies that appeared in those events weren't giant wolves. And if it were a wolf that strong, the academy would already be in total chaos.
That left the latter.
Come to think of it...
Weren't the first enemies to appear inside the academy three massive beasts? And among them, there was a wolf...
Ah, right. There it was. A massive wolf.
In this academy, where all sorts of incidents and accidents were scheduled to occur, this creature was the very first step of the chaos.
As always, the academy was a hotspot for incidents. That’s because villains were constantly targeting it. Most of the settings for these incidents boiled down to the academy keeping some "important item" in storage.
There was no deeper reason. It was just, "The academy was keeping it," and that was the end of it. I have no idea why they would dump such an important item in an educational facility rather than the Imperial Vault, but regardless, that was the setting.
The problem was that the villains desperately wanted that important item. And so, they struggled and fought to break into the academy to steal it.
But would the villains just quietly take the item and leave? Of course not. Property damage was a given, and they’d cause all sorts of trouble, like committing murder to eliminate witnesses. And the protagonist, knowing nothing, would get swept up in that mess, starting a fight for no reason. Most of the time, the story flowed in a way where the villains would confirm the protagonist's existence through that very fight.
Naturally, Dawn Star Academia followed this trope, as it was an academy-themed story even before it was a romance fantasy.
However, incidents rarely happened without warning. There was always a precursor before the event triggered.
The villains were surprisingly "polite"—they didn't just launch a surprise attack immediately. They left a precursor that acted like a warning letter, saying, "We're going to raid the academy soon." That precursor was the giant wolf Dante had mentioned.
"Is it you two again?"
A handsome man glared at Angelica and me, his face twisted as if he had a splitting headache. He had long, platinum-blonde hair, emerald-green eyes, and pointed ears, suggesting he wasn't human—much like the Headmistress.
Professor Sylves Fraxinus.
In the game, he was a male lead character in a professor position, specifically in charge of Spiritology in the Magic Department. And since he was an elf, he looked to be in his 20s, but he was actually a 230-year-old elder.
If it had been any other professor, we might have been able to sneak away, but this guy was a Spiritist who commanded spirits. He was an elf who dumped his guard duty onto his own spirits, so he had them spread all over the academy. There was no escaping him.
"Well, sir, if one trains hard, isn't it natural to break a wooden sword or two?"
"Shut your mouth."
Professor Sylves sighed, pulled a medicine bottle from his pocket, and downed all the pills inside. The label read Antacid. It seemed his stomach was in a lot of pain.
"I already had guard duty dumped on me by that damn skeleton, and now some monster of a wolf has popped up. I’m not in the mood for your jokes."
Ah, so that’s why he was on guard duty twice in a row. Our professor dumped it on him. Our professor...
Damn it.
So, Angelica and I had caused trouble on the very night a professor, already furious from being dumped with work by our professor, was on duty?
Professor, why did you have to do this now?
"To think the troublemakers who keep breaking wooden swords are the disciples of that skeleton... my stomach hurts even more."
He even knew we were students of that guy. We aren't exactly "disciples," though. Please correct that to "students."
Damn it. There was no avoiding demerits this time.
Professor Sylves glared at us for a moment, then sighed.
"I won't give you demerits this time, so hurry up and get to your dorms."
He waved his hand as if he were sick of looking at us.
Wow. He was letting us off the hook again.
"Are you really letting us go?"
"I'd prefer it if you didn't test my patience."
"We'll be out of your hair immediately."
Of course, we had to leave quickly. Just as I bowed my head and was about to vanish from his sight—
"Wait."
Professor Sylves called us back.
"I thought we agreed that there would be no demerits."
"I'm not sure if that counts as an agreement, but that's not it."
He brought a hand to his forehead, grimacing as if his head were throbbing, and continued.
"That damn skeleton will make an announcement soon, but for the time being, don't wander around at night. Stay locked in your dorms."
"Is that because of the giant wolf?"
Professor Sylves sighed and nodded at my question. I don't know how many times he’s sighed; at this rate, the ground might just collapse.
"It's a cunning beast. I confirmed its existence, but my spirits lost track of it. It shouldn't be able to leave the academy because of the barrier..."
It couldn't leave. Because by now, the beast would be in the Dungeon. As long as it was in there, no one could catch it. And it seemed to have the protection of the gods of this romance fantasy; it could run rampant inside the academy before attacking the protagonist, yet it would never be caught.
The moment that wolf attacks the protagonist is the only chance to catch it. Until then, you can assume it’s impossible to capture.
But there was only one wolf, and four protagonists. Was it going to be a 1-in-4 chance again?
Well, Iris would be protected by the male leads, and the other three were capable enough to handle themselves, so maybe I didn't need to worry.
"Then, um."
Suddenly, Angelica, who had been silent until now, opened her mouth.
"Then, what about sparring at night..."
"Do you think that's possible?"
Professor Sylves cut her off, his face twisting in annoyance. "If you get caught, there will be no mercy—you'll get demerits immediately, so keep that in mind."
At those words, a microscopic crack appeared on her usually expressionless face. To think something could actually change her expression.
"...Fine. I'll kill that wolf."
Angelica responded with a chilling reaction. Was not being able to spar with me really that serious of a problem? Please, control yourself. I’m the one who feels like I’m going to die here.
The next day. After afternoon classes ended.
I was tearing into a piece of bread in the hallway, reading the newspaper. I wanted to confirm if the wolf that had appeared was truly the one from the main story, and also because I had nothing to do until nightfall.
Still, it hurts like hell. Even if we couldn't spar at night, did she have to beat me to a pulp just because it was a sparring class? It’s genuinely heartbreaking. I leveled up thanks to it, though.
If I didn't have the Dragon Power trait, I’d be lying in the infirmary right now. I sighed and ignored the obnoxious, clickbait headline plastered across the front page, looking instead at the photo of the wolf in the corner.
The wolf in the photo had ash-colored fur and blue eyes, and it was massive—Dante’s words weren't an exaggeration. It was huge.
That’s it. This wolf.
Even though it was a photo and blurry because of the darkness, it looked exactly like the wolf from the CG I saw in the game. I have no idea how they managed to take a picture of it.
Suddenly, I felt incredibly annoyed. I had planned to just leave it to the protagonists and sleep soundly in my dorm.
Knightly Oath has been activated.
The Knightly Stars are watching you.
Thanks to this notification, I couldn't do that. Those crazy voyeurs seemed to really want to see me catch that wolf.
Today is the day. The wolf appears at night and targets one of the protagonists. One of the four will definitely be attacked, and since the Knightly Oath has been activated, the attack date is today.
My heart wants to gather the heroines in one place and gang up on the beast, but they wouldn't believe me if I told them, "The wolf is definitely going to attack you today, so let's stick together." Furthermore, those voyeuristic creeps would probably find fault with it, so I’d have to pass.
Angelica had gone to the dorms, probably sulking, and Isabella and Dolnesia had also gone to rest, leaving only Iris outside. But I had no idea where Iris was. The academy was huge, and since we weren't in the same club, I never saw her outside of class...
Besides, it would be awkward to suddenly insist on staying by her side, and it would be a headache if I ran into the male leads. I wasn't worried since the male leads would be there, but I still needed to know her location.
I couldn't just grab a random person on the street and ask where Iris was. If I tried to find her with this face, I’d be mistaken for a stalker. Damn this world of romance fantasy and its lookism.
Should I just put on a thick face and ask? Even if I asked Dolnesia for help, her Spiritology level was too low to send spirits very far. This is a headache.
My gaze returned to the newspaper. As the day grew darker, the students inside the building began heading to their dorms one by one.
"How about we try catching it ourselves?"
"Wouldn't we find something if we dissected it?"
Occasionally, there were hot-blooded students who wanted to try catching it themselves, but most of them headed to the dorms, likely worried about the demerits. As more time passed, all the students left, leaving me alone in the hallway, and the lights in the building were turned off.
They must have judged that the students were all in their dorms and shut off the lights. It wasn't pitch black, as some buildings still had their lights on, but it was getting dim.
"Well, shall I get moving?"
"Uh, Ian?"
A voice calling my name from behind. I thought everyone had left... there was someone still here? I turned around at the familiar voice.
Standing there was a woman with brown hair and emerald-green eyes.
"Lady Haede? What are you doing here?"
"That's what I should be asking you!"
It was Haede Mercedes, Iris's childhood friend. No, more than that, why was she here... And what was she holding? That wasn't a swordsmanship manual, but a book related to the Magic Department.
Haede looked at my face for a moment, scratched her cheek, and continued.
"Well, I was studying alone in the classroom next door and accidentally fell asleep."
"But that isn't a swordsmanship manual, is it?"
"Ah... I'm taking a separate major in the Magic Department. I'm taking it instead of an elective."
She was taking Magic Department courses too? I had never seen Haede taking another major in the game. Did something change as it became reality...?
Still, filling her entire schedule with major courses must be grueling. She was living hard.
"Is there a reason you're taking Magic Department courses? Just keeping up with the Swordsmanship major must be tough enough."
"Still."
Hm?
"I don't want to disappoint... If I want to bluff in front of Lis... I have to do at least this much."
In Haede's green eyes, something—determination, perhaps—flickered and then vanished. Was there something going on? In the setting book, she was just Iris's childhood friend and an unconditional supporter. And since there was only a basic profile, I didn't know what Haede did before the academy.
It seemed there were hidden circumstances that weren't even in the setting book.
"But what should I do...? You emphasized so much that I'd get demerits if I got caught."
Haede was fidgeting, unable to settle down. Seeing her like that, I couldn't help but let out a dry laugh. It felt like I had to wait a bit longer for the wolf to appear. Should I take her to the dorms and then go catch the wolf?
"Then..."
That was when it happened.
"KYAAAAAAAH—!!!"
Suddenly, a scream echoed from outside the building.
"...Lis?"
It was Iris's scream. It seemed the wolf had appeared even faster than I thought.