Infinite Mana (6): The Day Has Finally Come
The day had finally come. It was still the crack of dawn—not even eight in the morning yet, though that was entirely subjective.
Choi Ayoung had finished her duties as a mage and was heading back when she stopped by the cardboard house under the bridge. “Senior. Senior!”
The repairs on the cardboard house had been progressing steadily. It still looked a little shabby, but it no longer had the same glaringly broken sections. If anything, it now resembled an actual homeless person’s dwelling. Of course, if Ayoung ever voiced that particular observation, she would probably end up rolling on the floor after a solid knuckle to the head.
Ayoung knocked on the door of the cardboard house to wake Serpina. There was no lock, so she could have simply opened it and walked in, but manners were still manners.
- Mrrrow….
What emerged from the cardboard house a moment later was Heemang. It staggered out through the cat door that had been thoughtfully installed during the repairs.
Ayoung, still half-asleep and nodding off, stroked the little creature before knocking on the door with more force. “Senior! You said you were coming to school today!”
She continued knocking for a little while longer until the door finally opened and Serpina appeared.
She spoke in a voice dripping with utter reluctance. “Is it already that time? The sun isn’t even high in the sky yet.”
“Senior. Normal people start work before the sun gets high in the sky… Actually, the sun usually reaches its peak long after they’ve already been working.”
“Something’s clearly wrong here. People should know how to live more leisurely. I’m sure everyone secretly wants that.”
Serpina grumbled nonstop, yet her hands moved with surprising efficiency as she changed into the clothes she had bought last time. The transformation from ragged beggar to stylishly dressed was almost instantaneous.
“Wow… Senior, why don’t you dress properly like this all the time? You look incredibly beautiful right now. Even if it’s not exactly this outfit.”
“What a pain. Getting dressed is troublesome, and taking it off is just as bad.”
“There are plenty of comfortable options. What about a dress? You just slip it on and you’re done.”
“A dress? Uhh…”
Serpina imagined herself in a flowy dress and shuddered. She had lived far longer as a woman than she ever had as a man. The time when a mere skirt could make her question her identity was long gone. Even so, a dress was still a bit much. It simply didn’t suit her character, and she couldn’t bring herself to like the idea. At least fantasy-style gowns felt somewhat familiar.
“Forget it. More importantly, where’s Heemang?”
“Heemang? It was right here a second ago… Oh. There it is.”
Serpina picked up the carrier Han Heerin had brought yesterday and scanned the area. She spotted Heemang curled up asleep on the roof of the cardboard house, having climbed up there at some point.
She lifted the sleeping kitten and placed it inside the carrier.
- Mrrrow….
Heemang squirmed briefly before closing its eyes again. Once inside, it actually seemed to find comfort in the narrow confines of the carrier. It clearly had no idea it was heading straight into a den of hyperactive elementary school children.
“Hehe. Sleep well, little one.”
Ayoung gazed at the sleeping Heemang with an affectionate smile, completely unaware of the future awaiting it.
“Shouldn’t we bring some food just in case?”
“Hm? The observation class won’t last that long.”
Even as she said it, she still scooped up a generous handful of kibble. The carrier had a food pouch, so it wasn’t any trouble.
“Yaaawn… I’m heading back in. Have a good day.”
“Yeah. See you tonight.”
Ayoung yawned and waved goodbye. Today was one of her precious full rest days that came only every few days. The mere thought of crawling into bed at home already lifted her mood.
Serpina parted ways with Ayoung and headed toward Han Heerin’s elementary school. Walking the streets at an hour when dew still clung to every blade of grass felt strangely awkward.
As she drew closer to the school, she began encountering other parents and students. Among them were people openly criticizing the idea of bringing an animal.
“Oh my, what is that person holding? Did they really bring a pet for the observation class?”
“How utterly thoughtless. What if someone has allergies?”
Despite their aggressive tones, the actual complaints were reasonable enough. Serpina, however, didn’t even twitch an eyebrow. Minor issues like this were for the underlings to handle.
“Wow, she’s a really pretty lady…”
“Hey. Aren’t you staring a bit too much? What about me?”
“…Yeah.”
“What kind of reaction is that!? Just you wait!”
There were also moments where she inadvertently created the perfect little conflict between elementary school childhood friends, but none of it mattered to Serpina.
After gathering in one spot for a brief explanation about the observation class, they moved to the classroom when the time came.
That was when she noticed. There were far fewer parents than she had expected. Class sizes had shrunk compared to the past, and the participation rate for observation days seemed to have changed as well.
“At this rate, I didn’t even need to come.”
Even if Serpina hadn’t shown up in her role as Heerin’s guardian, everything would have been fine. The number of parents was only slightly more than half the number of students.
There probably wouldn’t be any teasing among friends for kids whose parents didn’t show up. Of course, Serpina had another reason for coming today.
- Scratch, scratch….
The faint sound of claws scraping against the inside of the carrier could be heard. Heemang, who had never been surrounded by this many people before, seemed slightly anxious. Magic beast or not, at its core it was still a cat. Serpina let out a small chuckle.
The parents entered the classroom while lessons were already in full swing. When the back door opened and they filed in one by one, every single elementary school child’s head whipped around in unison.
“Eyes on the board, everyone. Break time is coming up soon, so focus, focus!”
At the teacher’s words the children faced forward again, but their necks kept twitching every chance they got, making it obvious they wanted to turn back.
After all that restrained curiosity, break time finally arrived.
“Wah! Big sister!”
Heerin ran over and threw herself into a tight hug. She must have been secretly worried that Serpina wouldn’t come. After all, the only version of her she usually saw was the one perpetually sprawled out and sleeping, so the concern was understandable.
“You brought Heemang too! Thank you!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Heerin immediately latched onto the carrier. The faint scratching sounds from inside stopped at once.
“Is this the famous Heemang?”
“The cat that does backflips!”
The little kids swarmed over in an instant. All of them stared at the carrier with sparkling eyes.
One impatient child arbitrarily unlocked the carrier.
Bang!
With a loud noise the door flew open and Heemang shot out.
“Ah!”
The kitten didn’t even glance around. It dashed straight across the room and… dove right into Heerin’s arms.
“Hehe. Were you nervous?”
Heerin smiled softly and stroked the kitten’s back as it burrowed into her embrace. Every time her small hand gently smoothed the black fur, the tension in Heemang’s body eased a little more.
“It’s so cute! Can I pet it?”
“Make it do a backflip! A backflip!”
“Just lightly touch between the ears. Don’t grab the tail. And about the backflip…”
Heerin glanced at the homeroom teacher. The teacher shook her head.
“We can’t let it out. It might wander around and get hurt.”
She had actually intended to say they couldn’t even take it out of the carrier. But a student had already opened it before she could speak up, so the moment was lost.
The children looked greatly disappointed by the teacher’s ruling, but they soon focused all their energy on petting Heemang.
“Wow, its fur is incredibly soft! Do you bathe it often? Our cat at home hates baths so much!”
“Hehe…”
Heerin simply smiled awkwardly. Now that she thought about it, why was Heemang always so clean? She had no memory of ever washing the kitten herself. She had told Serpina she would take care of it and only asked her to look after the little one, but somewhere along the way she had forgotten everything except bringing food and playing with it.
It was a typical mistake for an elementary schooler. Yet Heemang was always perfectly clean, without any odor and with the softest fur. It didn’t seem like the lazy Serpina would bother with the troublesome task of washing it every day, but the result was truly magical.
Or rather, it was magic itself.
While the children were busy fawning over Heemang and the other kids were happily spending time with their visiting parents—
- Kyaaak!
- Where did that come from?!
- Wow! It’s a pigeon!
The hallway suddenly erupted into chaos. Short screams mixed with frantic flapping. A pigeon that had somehow gotten inside was dashing down the corridor.
“We need to catch it and release it outside… Whoops!”
Several parents stepped forward to try catching the bird, but without any proper tools they only succeeded in making it panic even more.
“Kids, step aside! It’s dangerous!”
The teachers quickly gathered the students while parents pulled their own children close. But all those efforts proved futile as the pigeon, which had been flying around erratically, suddenly changed direction.
Right in its path was Heerin, who was holding Heemang.
“Heerin!”
The homeroom teacher reached out to protect her, but she was far too late. The pigeon was already flying straight at Heerin.
The teacher could only pray the girl wouldn’t get hurt. And then—
- Flap!
The pigeon landed gracefully on Heerin’s shoulder with a flutter of wings.
- Coo?
It tilted its head and made a soft sound. The frantic, cornered behavior from moments earlier had completely vanished, replaced by an almost annoyingly calm demeanor.
“He-Heerin. Are you alright?”
The homeroom teacher asked carefully.
Heerin turned her head and met the pigeon’s eyes. For a brief moment, an unreadable look passed between them.
“Yes. I’m fine!”
Heerin held out her hand. The pigeon naturally stepped onto her finger as if that was exactly where it belonged.
“Whoaaa! That’s amazing!”
Cheers erupted from the surrounding students. Teachers and parents barely managed to hold back those who tried to rush forward to touch it.
Heerin walked over to the window, opened it, and extended her hand outside.
“Off you go!”
- Coo.
The pigeon gave one last call, flapped its wings, and flew away. It circled once in the air before disappearing into the distance. It almost looked like it was saying thank you.
“Kiddo. You okay?”
“Yeah! I’m fine!”
“Come here. …Fine? It’s all red here.”
The spot where the pigeon’s claws had touched was slightly inflamed. An elementary schooler’s delicate skin couldn’t escape without at least some reaction.
Serpina took Heerin to the infirmary, disinfected the area, and applied some ointment.
- Mrrrow….
While they were gone, Heemang had been left in the carrier in the classroom. She had asked the homeroom teacher to make sure none of the students opened it arbitrarily, but it seemed the kitten had still been quite overwhelmed. Its cry lacked its usual energy.
After that, the rest of the observation class proceeded without any further incidents. Just before it was about to end—
- Creak.
The back door of the classroom opened carefully as one more parent slipped inside. They were clearly trying their best not to disturb the lesson, but there was no way the students wouldn’t notice.
“Daddy!”
A voice burst out from among the children. Serpina’s eyes widened when she saw who had entered.
The student who had shouted “Daddy” was Heerin.
And the parent being called daddy was someone Serpina recognized.