Valter Public School (1)
For most lovers, it was only proper to help clean up after sex and then leave. But for a boy whose only experiences came from Labella’s one-sided “lessons” and his time with Erden, expecting such consideration was asking too much. Julia might have felt a little disappointed, yet she showed no sign of it. Instead, she kept her sex tightly clenched around him, savoring the thick load of Marei’s semen filling her womb as her body trembled with lingering pleasure.
“Mmmhhh…”
On the bed, Ilien was still spasming, helplessly expelling semen from her body. Seeing this, Julia quickly leaned in with a look of regret and pressed her tongue against the seed flowing out of her.
“It’s so much…”
A loud bell rang across the campus, and students began pouring out of the buildings. Normally Julia would have visited Ilien’s room around this time, but because she desperately wanted to see Marei, she had asked the class president to let her leave early. The sight of their homeroom teacher earlier—shaking her hips while holding up a skewer of meat as if begging for praise—meant Julia didn’t find it strange that class had just ended.
“Teacher said she had something urgent today. Do you think it’s because of her advisory role on the Northern Front?”
“I heard she has a lot of responsibilities… but didn’t she say it was a personal matter?”
The children chattered noisily as they quickly filed out of the classroom. Marei silently watched them with a blank expression. A few showed brief interest in his unfamiliar face, but that curiosity faded just as fast once they noticed his rare black hair.
Their passing glances barely qualified as attention, yet Marei calmly met every pair of eyes. He pursed his lips for a moment, then returned to an indifferent expression. It was a sight he had grown used to from frequent transfers, yet one he could never fully grow accustomed to.
“Let’s stop by the library. We still have plenty of time until dinner, and the white magic homework is driving me insane…”
“Isn’t she completely different from Professor Ilien? The seniors say her reputation is terrifying. How do you even manage to listen to her lectures?”
“Her classes are nice to look at because she’s pretty. But once they’re over, you’re left with nothing… well, except a mountain of assignments.”
At first he thought they were talking about Ilien and perked up his ears, but it turned out to be someone else. Once the last two students left the classroom, the room became completely empty. With no reason to stay, Marei began walking again.
“Where… is this place……”
—…! ……! …!
As he wandered while looking around, an unfamiliar sound reached his ears. It was too high and sharp to be ordinary speech. It sounded like something slicing through the wind.
“Ah…!”
“Who is that?”
In an open space that was neither wide enough to be called a plaza nor narrow enough to be called an alley, a woman was swinging a sword. Her long black hair was tied up in a high ponytail, and the sweat-stained training uniform clinging to her body gave off a sharp, dangerous impression.
“I-I got lost…”
“It’s been quite a while since the semester started. I didn’t expect there would still be students losing their way. Where are you trying to go?”
Her flat, emotionless voice felt strangely familiar. It didn’t take long for Marei to realize she was one of the teachers Ilien had introduced him to.
“Well… I just transferred… so I was looking around…”
“Ah, so you’re the one. From the Pawen family, right? My name is Asano Nagisa. You’ll probably be assigned to Professor Ilien’s class, so I’ll see you during one of my lectures. We can talk about class then.”
“Yes.”
At Marei’s reply, Professor Nagisa gave a small nod and sheathed her sword. As she approached with quick, light steps, a distinctive scent wafted from her. It was a soft, nameless fragrance mixed with the smell of sweat. For some reason, it made him want to get closer and breathe it in.
“Hmm… I should wash up first. I was going to introduce myself properly, but this won’t do. If you follow the path you can see over there all the way, you’ll reach the main road. Don’t wander off. At the beginning of the semester, teachers usually guide new students around to help them learn the layout. Looks like you’ll have a tough time for a while.”
“Y-yes…”
With nothing more to say, Nagisa turned and headed back into the building. Marei began walking in the direction she had pointed.
“Professor Lee Ha-eun…! G-give it back…!”
“Bee~ Come and get it~.”
A white object suddenly flew past Marei with a whoosh. A moment later, a golden-haired child chased after it, shouting something. The two of them spun around Marei in circles until they suddenly stopped with him standing between them.
“You can’t just feed wild animals whenever you want!”
“B-but they’re my children…”
Only then did Marei realize what the white object was. It was a beastkin woman roughly the same height as him, wearing a black tracksuit that revealed half her stomach and thighs. From the ears, she appeared to be a cat type. What caught his eye more were the firm abs and compact muscles visible beneath the tight-fitting clothes. Her golden eyes and sharp, animal-like pupils gave her the look of an exotic beauty. If not for the tail between her legs and the cat ears on her head, one might have mistaken her for a human.
After walking past more buildings and grounds than seemed reasonable for a school, Marei finally realized he was completely lost. He turned Julia’s pamphlet around in his hands, trying to figure out his location, but it wasn’t easy.
“Come and get it~ Come and get it~”
“Y-you’re making the person in the middle uncomfortable… Please give it back…”
A girl who looked like she was about to burst into tears was whining at Professor Lee Ha-eun. When she glanced at Marei and their eyes met, she quickly lowered her head to avoid his gaze. Golden wavy hair briefly hid her crimson eyes. The teary look in those eyes was impossible to forget.
“Hey, you! Male student over there!”
“Yes…?”
“How can you make a girl cry?! You take responsibility and comfort her. And take this too!”
The cat beastkin shoved a lunchbox into Marei’s hands and quickly disappeared from sight. Left staring blankly at the sudden encounter and even stranger departure, Marei eventually approached the golden-haired girl who had been left behind. Something about her made him feel that if he didn’t do something, she really would start crying.
“Um… excuse me…”
“I’m not crying…”
The golden-haired girl let out a small sigh. She was so short she barely reached Marei’s chest. Not knowing what else to do, he gripped the lunchbox tightly with both hands. The girl, who looked more like a child, accepted the lunchbox with eyes still glistening with tears.
“I’m sorry. Professor Lee Ha-eun can be quite mischievous.”
“…Isn’t she the combat instructor?”
“Yes, that’s right. She comes to see me whenever I’m alone and talks with me. Sometimes she plays pranks like this… She’s not a bad person, though…”
Lee Ha-eun. Marei was certain he had seen the name on the memo Ilien had shown him. He had been thinking what a strange teacher she was, but the girl’s continued defense of her made him reconsider.
“I-I am called Muerangde… In the Empire’s language it’s hard to pronounce, so everyone calls me Melan. I’m sorry if it was uncomfortable. I-I’ll be going now…”
“Wait… Melan? I got lost. Could you help me?”
“Yes! Of course!”
Marei had only asked for directions, but the way Melan’s face lit up like a puppy wagging its tail let him roughly guess Professor Lee Ha-eun’s intentions.
Judging by appearance, she looked like she had just entered middle school. The girl who had asked to be called Melan walked slowly while holding the lunchbox carefully with both hands. She kept stealing glances at him, clearly wanting to start a conversation, so Marei decided to speak first.
“Now that I think about it… how old are you, Melan?”
“I’m seventeen…”
“I’m fifteen, so please speak comfortably.”
Muerangde smiled happily. Between her slightly parted lips, sharp fangs could be seen. The golden side-tail tied to one side of her head hung down all the way to Marei’s side. The sun was beginning to set, signaling that evening was approaching.
“…Nn.”
Muerangde let out a small, pained sound. When he glanced over, she had been looking at him too. Their eyes met and she immediately looked down. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, then pressed together again. She kept sneaking glances at him, clearly wanting to speak, but it seemed very difficult for her.
“When did you start attending this school, Melan?”
“M-me? I… came two years ago… What about you, Marei?”
Startled by the sudden question, Muerangde’s whole body trembled. She continued the conversation while stuttering. She really was like a small animal. Her red eyes and delicate white skin reminded him of a rabbit.
“I started this year.”
“That’s a relief.”
Muerangde nodded as if she understood. The conversation wasn’t flowing well. At first he wondered if she didn’t want to talk, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
“What do you mean by relief…? What does that…”
“Ah, um… well… Valter School is quite unique, but normally middle and high school are separated by grade levels… So new students usually enter as first-years in either middle or high school. If you transfer in the middle, it’s hard to get close to people…”
Her last words grew so quiet they were almost inaudible. It might have been rude to think so, but it sounded like she was saying she had no friends. He now understood why Lee Ha-eun had forced the lunchbox on him. And why she had pushed this girl toward him as well.
Muerangde smiled as if happy. Between her slightly parted lips, sharp fangs could be seen. The golden side-tail tied to one side of her head hung down all the way to Marei’s side. The sun was beginning to set, signaling that evening was approaching.
“…Nn.”
Muerangde let out a small, pained sound. When he glanced over, she had been looking at him too. Their eyes met and she immediately looked down. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, then pressed together again. She kept sneaking glances at him, clearly wanting to speak, but it seemed very difficult for her.
“Melan… if it was two years ago, that means you came as a third-year?”
“Yeah. I wanted to come as a first-year like my sister, but Father said I didn’t meet the standards and wouldn’t let me. I worked hard to get into Valter, but… I ended up coming in my third year without really understanding how things worked.”
The way Muerangde sighed looked so pitiful and adorable that Marei felt the urge to pull her into his arms. Although her appearance was no different from a young child, the mismatch between her age and looks was probably due to those long, sharp fangs he had glimpsed earlier.
“Are you a vampire, Muerangde?”
“Ah, yes… How did you know…? S-sorry, I should cover them…!”
He could now guess why Professor Lee Ha-eun had shoved the lunchbox at him and pushed them to talk. Perhaps she was Muerangde’s homeroom teacher. But from a student’s perspective, she seemed lacking in consideration. Forcing someone to make friends like this—it wasn’t elementary school. Marei let out a small sigh and took another careful look at the girl before him.
Her skin was so pale it was almost translucent, and her red lips looked strangely seductive. Her eyes were ruby-red, yet instead of sparkling they were dark and viscous, making them seem like pools of blood. The golden hair that reached her shoulders swayed gently with every step.
“No, it’s fine. I think they’re pretty.”
Muerangde, who had been hiding her face behind the lunchbox, cautiously looked at Marei. Her red eyes seemed to ask if he really meant it. When he nodded, she finally broke into a bright smile.
“There are many people in the Empire who dislike people from the Principality… They say we’re scary… Empire people are difficult…”
All Marei could offer was a short “I’m sorry.” Muerangde shook her head as if to say it was nothing.