Scatter, You Furry Bastards
The dormitory assignments and department decisions were finally over. The day had come for real academy classes to begin.
The Bronze-rank classroom looked cleaner and nicer than before. Unlike the Iron-rank classroom, it seemed like they at least did the minimum amount of cleaning—the air itself felt different.
“Finally feels like a place where people actually live.”
“Right, Shinu.”
“Hmph. It still falls short of the Silver-rank classroom.”
“Hyeji, Jeong Ayeon says she wants to go back to the Silver-rank classroom.”
“Do not say that! This lady no longer has anyone to associate with!”
Jeong Ayeon delivered the line about having no friends with such tragic despair that she looked like an abandoned puppy on the verge of being ditched. I couldn’t help but let it slide with a mental ‘Just this once.’
Looking around, I spotted students who had clawed their way up from Iron rank, along with a few unfamiliar faces who had probably been Bronze rank from the start. Still, the overall number of people seemed slightly reduced. It looked like my little stunt with the elves had taken its toll on their population.
......I’m starting to worry I’ll get stabbed by elves later.
“You idiot, there aren’t even any gates left. How would they get here?”
True. They’ll probably end up living like nomads now.
“If they’re nomadic elves, tell them to learn how to grill over an open flame.”
And starting today, our little trio of three had gained a new member.
It was Elsia.
“This must be my seat!”
Before I could even answer, Elsia plopped down on my left without hesitation. Back when I was Iron rank, the tier gap between us had been too wide for us to share classes. But now Hyeji and I were dazzlingly Bronze rank. We existed on a completely different level from those pathetic scrubs.
......She’s way too smug after riding Hyeji’s bus.
“If they’re so jealous, tell them to grab their own leashes.”
It was a relief they didn’t actually bite. Well, I did get bitten a little, but compared to getting hooked on Elf Coin, it was nothing.
Anyway, the tier difference between us and Elsia was now only two ranks. Just like how Jeong Ayeon, who had been Silver rank, used to sit in class with us back when we were Iron, Elsia could now attend classes with us too.
So our current seating arrangement, seen from the front, looked like this:
Jeong Ayeon — Hyeji — Me — Elsia
It was the old arrangement with Elsia simply added in. And just like in the Iron-rank classroom, we were sitting in the very front row. I had zero intention of arriving early enough to snag a back seat anyway.
Right then, the professor started entering the classroom.
It was a face I’d never seen before, but the moment he spotted me, he grabbed my collar without warning, eyes bulging as he glared. The sound of grinding teeth and the drool dripping from his mouth made it pretty obvious—he’d taken a massive hit from the Kim Shinwoo Law and was furious.
Aha. So you’re one of those ‘professors,’ huh?
Time to execute.
The professor bastard soon opened his mouth.
“Because of you, I had to sign an employment contract!!!”
“Is that really so unfair? Kids, bite.”
“Grrrrrrrr.”
“Grrrrrrrrr.”
“Hiiik!!!”
The moment I loaded Hyeji and Elsia like live ammunition, the professor meekly released my collar. After composing himself with a couple of fake coughs, he put on a face that said nothing had happened and began the class.
But before starting the actual lesson, the professor suddenly delivered an announcement to the students.
“Everyone. There is a newly transferred student joining the second-year Bronze-rank class. Please give them a warm welcome.”
The students’ reaction was ice cold. In a Bronze-rank classroom full of mostly unfamiliar faces, everyone was a potential future competitor. Who the hell would bother showing interest?
“If you give a truly satisfying cheer, I will cancel today’s entire class.”
“““““““WAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!”””””””
But that was unavoidable. Both Elsia and I were screaming our lungs out like lunatics, while Hyeji and Jeong Ayeon watched us with the expressions of people staring at complete morons.
Along with our wild cheering, the classroom door began to open.
And what walked through the classroom door was—
“......Shinu, what the hell do you think that is?”
“A tin can?”
“That’s money! We could take it to a scrapyard and make a decent profit!”
“Everyone, think for once! Those are paladins!”
It completely exceeded our expectations. At Jeong Ayeon’s words, not only us but the other students finally realized what they were looking at and swallowed hard.
The paladins entering the classroom were wrapped head to toe in white armor that looked completely out of place in the modern era. Lion-head helmets that fully covered their faces. Golden cross decorations scattered all over their bodies. True to their name, they even carried the classic large shields and long spears.
In total, nine paladins filed in one after another.
Doesn’t it feel like fur is flying everywhere?
“Hmm. Suddenly smelling beast all of a sudden?”
Everyone had started murmuring at the sudden appearance of the paladins when the last two slowly entered the classroom. At that moment, the chatter died down and everyone’s attention focused on the pair.
One looked like the leader of the paladins. He wore the same gear, but his frame was noticeably larger than the others, and he had an additional white cloak draped over his shoulders.
The other was a woman who looked nothing like the burly paladins. She wasn’t quite as flat as Hyeji, but she had a slender build compared to most women and a matching cat-like face. Her hair was messy silver, almost wild. The purple pupils shining through it created a strange harmony with her hair. She wore a white nun’s habit decorated with crosses, with a high side slit that exposed her thighs. A cat garter hugged one of those thighs. She gave off a subtle mix of sacred and feminine charm.
But there was something even more fascinating.
What caught everyone’s eyes at the very end was—
“Shinu, look over there. She has ears and a tail?”
“Husband! Won’t all that fur clog up our respiratory systems?”
“It’s a fucking cat. Anyone with a fur allergy should leave now.”
“All of you will be arrested under the Racial Discrimination Act!”
White cat ears proudly displayed on top of the beastwoman’s head and a soft, swaying white cat tail.
While we were all distracted by the sight of the cat beastwoman, the leader paladin removed his helmet and gave her a slight bow. Unlike the saintess who had a human appearance with cat ears and tail, the face revealed beneath the leader’s helmet belonged to a black panther with golden eyes.
“This way, please.”
“Thank you, nya.”
With all the paladins radiating heavy pressure, the entire class was slightly tense. The cat beastwoman followed the leader’s guidance and moved forward. She stood in the center of the platform with her hands behind her back, while the paladins surrounded her like bodyguards.
The leader paladin, standing slightly off to the side, stamped his spear once against the floor. The beastwoman smiled brightly and began her greeting.
“Nice to meet you, nya! I am the Saintess of the Beastman Kingdom! My name is Caersi, nya!”
At Caersi’s greeting, her cat ears and tail perked up and twitched.
Once Caersi finished her introduction, the students gradually relaxed and began talking among themselves, raising their voices.
“I heard about her! They said the saintess from a kingdom in another dimension came to Korea!”
“I’m thinking of converting. She’s so pretty...”
“I told you! Cats are better than dogs!”
“But if she’s a saintess, shouldn’t she be at a church? Why did she come to the academy?”
“I heard she received some kind of revelation.”
Of course, with Choco around, I wasn’t exactly thrilled about cats.
Her name is Caersi... The ‘Caer’ part is making me nervous as hell.
This novel is ruined! From now on, Kyaru rules everything!
“Shortening it makes it Celsi. What do you think?”
I refuse to give you the answer you want.
“Her name is Kelsey, you bastard.”
Whether I liked it or not, my eyes were glued to Caersi. More precisely, to the number floating above her head.
1
It was a number I had never once seen above anyone’s head in my entire life.
When I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Caersi, Hyeji narrowed her eyes into axe blades and spoke to me.
“What are you staring at? Did you fall for her?”
“No. It’s just interesting for a second. Aren’t you curious?”
“What’s there to be curious about? It’s just a person with cat ears and a tail, right?”
“Is that really how you see it?”
Caersi, who had been listening to our conversation, walked over and burst into laughter.
“Listening to you two talk, you’re just like my comrades, nya!”
“She says so. Hyeji, what do you think?”
“Are you insane?”
“Ahahahahaha!!! Good, nya! I shall give you all an opportunity, nya!”
Caersi placed her hands on her hips and grinned.
“This saintess will give you the chance to ask me anything! Just one question, nya!”
“Do any of you have questions?”
“I’m good. You go ahead, Shinu.”
“I’m fine too!”
“This lady is also fine.”
Since everyone yielded the chance to me, I looked straight at Caersi and spoke with grave seriousness.
“Am I really allowed to ask anything?”
“...Y-yes, nya! However, I will not answer anything difficult to reply to, nya!”
“Understood.”
Caersi looked slightly scared for a moment, but her face quickly returned to normal as if nothing had happened.
Have you decided what to ask?
“Of course I have.”
Since the other party was a saintess, it had to be an extremely important question. I looked straight at Caersi and asked carefully.
“By any chance, Saintess, are you a man?”
“.......What did you just say?”
“Ah, sorry. The question was a bit ambiguous.”
I cleared my throat with a small cough and asked Caersi again with grave determination.
“By any chance, Saintess, have you ever been a man before?”
Caersi’s smile froze with an audible crack.