Chapter 75
Chapter 75
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: Tigers' Fight #1
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"Commoner. Why don't you come back to the estate sometime? There's someone I want to introduce you to."
With those final words, Mirna Draco let out a chuckle and vanished somewhere.
She had burst in like a storm, throwing my control and calculations into chaos, so it was only after she disappeared that I could finally let out a sigh of relief.
"What the hell was that?"
Not content with exaggerating how I'd taken down Baran, she'd gone and spilled everything about the confession and proposal?
If word of this spread and reached Aira Elga's ears, I couldn't even begin to imagine the fallout.
But first, there was something I had to do.
I fetched Aira, who was asleep in her dorm, and headed to the afternoon lecture with her.
"Alright, today's lecture is on how to bond with your pet beasts. Everyone brought their beasts, right?"
Late Wednesday afternoon, Professor Stella Belhawk appeared in the wide training grounds.
As always, her slim hunter's frame was clad in leather armor, and her arm bore a thick armguard.
─Creeee!
Perched tamely atop it was the sharp-clawed blue eagle Tweety, tilting its head side to side as if savoring the breeze.
A professor bringing a bird to class.
Then again, today's lecture, 'Beast Taming for Tamers,' was exactly that kind of class.
Not just Professor Belhawk—every student gathered in the training grounds had brought leashed hunting dogs, falcons, boars, wolves, and the like, adding to the chaos.
─Grrrrr.
─Woof woof-!
─Creeeee! Kreееe!
The beasts' noisy cries and panting rang clearly in my half-elf ears, making it hard to stay calm.
─Garuru, settle down. Why are you so riled up?
─Grrrrrrrr.
That wolf over there was eyeing me like it was smacking its lips. What if it slipped its leash and lunged at me?
"Alright, alright. Anyway, show me your pet beasts."
Professor Belhawk slowly walked toward the students. She stroked their pets' heads or asked things like, "Nice hunting dog. A Hound Bringer? How old?"
The students showed off their pets' skills and talents, boasting of their excellence.
Fire-breathing lizards.
Wolves that walked on two legs.
There were all sorts of bizarre and monstrous beasts.
"Hmm, excellent. They're all in good shape. But you can't keep them in the dorms, so make sure to contact the management office and kennel them."
The closer Professor Belhawk got to me, the more tense I felt. Because I hadn't brought any pet.
It was like everyone else was getting their homework checked, and I was the only one who'd shown up empty-handed.
"Theo Gospel, you didn't bring a beast? Where's yours?"
"Well, I don't have one."
The professor let out a displeased hum.
"I definitely announced that we'd be bringing beasts today. Couldn't you at least catch a wild rock pigeon? This counts as failing to follow instructions—points deducted."
"......"
Ugh. I barely swallowed a groan. Had I ever heard about bringing a beast to this lecture?
My sharp memory held no such info. Clearly, some notice meant for me had gotten lost.
"Bring one next time. Got it?"
"I'll be careful."
"Alright, then Aira the Queen. Hm... Her Majesty didn't bring anything either?"
Belhawk's gaze shifted to Aira, who responded with a confident look as if to say, "What are you talking about?"
"Lady Belhawk, I'm a bit disappointed in your discernment. Can't you see that I already have the finest companion partner?"
"So where is it?"
Professor Stella Belhawk searched around Aira thoroughly. But like me, Aira had brought nothing. There was no way she had a pet beast.
"Your Majesty Aira, sorry, but you'll have to take the point deduction."
"What nonsense. I can confidently say my companion surpasses all the beasts here combined!"
Aira's bold declaration drew every eye.
She naturally attracted attention anyway, and with such an outrageous claim, it was no wonder curiosity spiked.
─Did she bring an invisible dragon or something? How amazing could her pet be?
─She's a queen of a nation. Must be something incredible.
But the more they buzzed, the chillier my spine grew. I had a hunch why Aira was so brazen.
Aira plopped her hand on my head.
"My Theo is far superior to any fire-breathing lizard or two-legged wolf."
"Ah-."
Professor Stella Belhawk let out a short sigh, as if she'd just pieced it all together. But her satisfied expression quickly twisted into embarrassment, then brightened again.
"So you're treating him like a grad student or TA?"
"You could say that."
"Then it counts. A fine slave... er, companion."
Belhawk chuckled contentedly and moved to the next student.
─Heard that? He's her pet!
─Figures. A queen's beasts are on another level.
And just like that, I was reminded of my place with Aira.
To her, I was little more than a convenient pet.
When I worked hard for her, she'd pat my head or scratch my chin in return.
In the old days, I might've been furious.
But now that Aira knew about Demon King Angmar's survivor, even this dismissive dynamic didn't seem so bad.
She'd never suspect the head she's petting belongs to Theo Angmar.
I almost looked forward to the shock on her face when I bared my fangs and bit down while she was so off-guard.
Clap clap.
Belhawk clapped to gather attention.
"Alright, today we're understanding animal minds by acting like animals. I'll pass out leashes—put them on yourselves and act like your pet beasts. Got it?"
Belhawk looped a leash around her own neck and had blue eagle Tweety grip the handle in its beak. Then she dropped to all fours and crawled.
The students buzzed at the sight.
─Do we really have to go that far?
─Can I drop the class? I think I signed up...
─Belhawk's lectures are infamous for being weird....
As the murmurs grew, Belhawk announced like it was a drastic measure.
"This is all graded. Fail to follow, and I'll randomly pick one of you to shove into Ark grad school."
Professors held immense power. Grumbling, the students donned their leashes.
To understand their partners, they crawled like beasts themselves.
Was this really necessary?
I sensed a kind of madness in the setup. Aira, leash in hand, sparkled her dark eyes like glass, clearly amused.
"Quite shabby for a collar on my neck."
"How could I dare leash Her Majesty like a beast? Better put it on this lowly Theo."
"No. To understand your feelings, I'll gladly soil my knees and palms."
Rustle, rustle.
Aira fastened the leather belt-like leash around her neck and handed me the handle. I hesitated—should I really grab it?
"Come on, Theo."
I still couldn't resist Queen Aira's urging.
So I held her leash and led her crawling around the training grounds on all fours.
Rustle. Rustle.
Aira padded across the soft grass on hands and knees.
Her bare knees brushed the dirt, but her body was soft and supple yet tough.
No way it'd scratch her.
"Now I feel like I understand your heart a bit more."
How does crawling on all fours help you understand my heart? I was more curious about Aira's thought process.
"Theo, do you understand my heart a little now?"
"How could I, a mere speck, fathom the ocean that is Lady Aira's heart?"
That's what I said, but the view wasn't half bad.
Aira, beauty unrivaled in the realm, crawling slowly with my hand on her leash.
Each movement made her waist and hips sway, accentuating her perfect curves and stealing my gaze.
Never seen her from this angle before.
Even without that, treating Aira like an animal stirred a strange heat in me.
─Look, Angmar's queen crawling like a beast...
─Unbelievable.
The thrill of handling the Aira who'd tormented me—like a slave or beast—crept into my chest.
Reversed master-slave roles.
This was the goal I had to reach someday.
I imagined myself leashing not just Aira, but all the noble ladies, parading them. Fit for Demon King Angmar—majestic and grand.
Rustle.
Then Aira stopped.
"Done already?"
"......"
Ignoring my anxious question, she suddenly rubbed her face between my legs and knees.
Like a cat marking a long-lost friend with its scent. I panicked.
The usual Aira—the queen I knew—would never.
Frozen, I barely moved my lips.
"Your Majesty, what are you doing?"
"Acting like a beast. But it's not as fun as I thought."
I see. Still, you scared me.
* * *
"Next lecture, we'll cover interpreting pet beast cries. Don't be late."
The pet class ended. Aira brushed dirt from her knees.
"Fun lecture. Theo, I think I get how you feel a bit now."
Did crawling really teach her about me? Still, seeing her unexpected side wasn't bad.
「Whip and carrot. Leash and chains!
Occupation: Tamer level up.
Lustful Lv. 5 → Lv. 6
Before you, even fierce tigers are like cats!」
Tamer leveled up. Confidence in controlling Aira surged within me.
Rustle, rustle.
Aira removed her leash.
But soon bored, she dropped it and called me.
"Theo, undo this for me."
I reached for the leash around her neck. It clashed with her porcelain-white, slender throat.
Seeing it reminded me: Around now, Aira should've clashed fiercely with the villain hunters and ended up at the execution grounds.
A rough noose around this white neck, the nation's swollen rage overturning everything...
Depressing.
"Theo."
Aira called, snapping me out.
"What is it?"
"I heard an amusing rumor."
Amusing rumor?
Tension spiked. What bombshell would she drop to torment me? My mind raced.
But I played dumb.
"What rumor?"
"That you proposed to Mirna Draco, Theo."
"......"
I'd hoped she hadn't heard. But it had come.
A chill far worse than facing the evil spell Gamigin ran down my back.