SRS 105

“…Are you serious?”

Yohan scrutinized Mikael. His eyes were thoroughly observant, checking if his dear friend had fallen victim to some vicious curse from the upperclassmen during his escape back to the dorm.

Noticing his friend’s distrust and discomfort, Mikael ran his fingers through his hair.

“If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t have made this suggestion. But because it’s Yohan,…”

“Mikael. Even if it’s me, the headmaster isn’t exactly someone I’m comfortable with.”

“I know. What I meant was, you have the right to ask the headmaster for something.”

“Me?”

“You are, after all, the master of the divine beast.”

“Divine beast?”

Suhyeok, who had been listening to their conversation with interest, reacted. Yohan hesitated, then approached a drawer. Unlocking it, he saw the divine beast, nestled in a bed resembling a bird’s nest he and Mikael had made together inside the drawer, sleeping peacefully. Worried he might wake the divine beast, Yohan lifted the entire nest into his hands and carried it out.

“…The egg I took out of the vault hatched.”

“What? When?”

“Early yesterday morning.”

“Why are you telling us now…!”

“Im Suhyeok.”

Kylus covered the student’s mouth before he could raise his voice. He signaled for quiet since the divine beast was sleeping. Understanding the signal, Suhyeok shut his mouth and nodded. The three huddled around Yohan, observing the divine beast.

“This is the divine beast? It’s so tiny. About the size of our fingers.”

“…We fed it. It’ll grow once it finishes digesting.”

“Feed it? What does it eat?”

“…High-purity abilities?”

“Uh.”

Caught off guard, Suhyeok gasped, then reached out toward the divine beast, which was exhaling colorful breaths.

“Can I touch it?”

“…It’s sleeping, so it’s probably best not to disturb it unless you have to.”

“Oh? Then later.”

Without insisting, Suhyeok surprisingly calmly withdrew his hand and suggested putting the divine beast back so it could rest comfortably. Yohan looked at his friend acting so composed with renewed surprise. He’d expected Suhyeok to be the one making the biggest fuss and causing the most commotion once he learned divine beast’s identity, but in reality, he acted completely different from Yohan’s imagination.

It seemed as if he understood better than anyone that the divine beast was a living being, Yohan felt a bit unfamiliar with his friend’s serious demeanor but put the divine beast back in the drawer for now. He even covered it with a small handkerchief blanket to prevent disturbance, and as he closed the drawer, they all sighed in unison. It seemed they had been holding their breath while the divine beast was out.

“Moments like this show why we became friends.”

Suhyeok chuckled softly, watching them act as one. Yohan nodded and sat back down on the bed.

“Anyway… I heard that the divine beast that awoke belongs to Fantasiademia, and it’s supposed to strengthen the barrier’s power. Since the divine beast imprinted me as its master, I’ve decided to take full responsibility for raising it for the time being.”

“Really? Surprisingly, the divine beast’s abilities are quite good. …If what you say is true, I can see why Mikael made that proposal. Anyway, since you’re working hard for the school, you deserve compensation.”

“Well…”

Yohan felt his face flush slightly as he tried to voice it, averting his gaze from his friends.

“…The headmaster said he’d give me shop points, so I agreed to raise it. Asking for more compensation feels a bit much.”

“……”

Unlike Mikael, who already knew the truth, Suhyeok and Kylus were slightly shaken. Yohan covered his face with his palm.

“…I’m sorrt.”

“No, you don’t need to apologize.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong.”

The two tried to comfort him, but his guilt didn’t completely vanish. Yohan felt like he’d become a shameless person who exploited the divine beast for his own gain, unable to lift his head for a while. It was Mikael’s words that finally snapped Yohan out of it.

“Yohan, I think you misunderstood. I didn’t mean you should ask the headmaster for protection as compensation for raising the divine beast.”

“Huh?”

Then why?

When Yohan asked with his eyes, Mikael added calmly.

“The upperclassmen approaching you is dangerous while you’re raising the divine beast, so I meant you should ask to have those risk factors separated from you as a guardian’s right.”

“Ah…!”

That made sense. Yohan immediately grabbed both of Mikael’s hands.

“That’s a great idea, Mikael! Why didn’t I think of that?”

Mikael, who had flinched momentarily, soon laughed weakly.

“…It wasn’t really a method you would have thought of.”

“Right, Yohan. If you’d fallen this far, Kylus would have been deeply hurt.”

“Not that much.”

Yohan scrutinized the view beyond the window. Since break time hadn’t ended yet, students wearing different colored gems could be seen everywhere. It seemed the upperclassmen had come all the way to the first-year dormitory area.

“I want to request it immediately, but going out now would cause a commotion. …I’ll head to the headmaster’s office after the Spirit Studies lecture ends.”

“But will the headmaster even be there? He’s been busy lately with the barrier issue.”

“If he’s not, I’ll request it next time.”

That was beyond what Yohan or the other students could control. Everyone agreed, and the topic shifted back to the divine beast. Yohan chatted with the students in Room 304 for a while, then rose solemnly from his seat ten minutes before break ended.

Behind Yohan’s back as he opened the window stood three armed students. Not only Mikael, who attended the same lecture, but also Kylus and Suhyeok had agreed to escort Yohan to the Spirit Studies lecture hall.

“…I’m leaving!”

“Yohan, wait a moment.”

Mikael took off his own coat and placed it over Yohan’s head.

“Wear this. It’ll be harder to recognize you if your hair color is covered.”

“…But won’t it be more conspicuous if only I’m covered?”

“Ah.”

Mikael then took Yohan’s coat and put it over his own head.

“I’ll borrow your coat. This should be fine, right?”

“Oh…! Kylus, let’s do it too!”

Suhyeok seemed to find it funny and also swapped coats with Kylus, draping each other’s garments over their heads. And so, the members of Room 304, each sporting hair of every color imaginable, concealed their vibrant hues and headed toward the lecture hall.

“Huh? Why are they doing that?”

“Yes, right? Hey, Im Su…”

“Shh.”

Suhyeok raised his hand to silence his friends who were about to call out to him. His friends rolled their eyes, then nodded as they grasped the situation.

After that, the first-year students they encountered seemed to have heard about Yohan and cooperated without question.

“Huh? Aren’t they acting kinda weird?”

But even in Fantasiademia, where strange and absurd things happen frequently, four students wrapped in their coats like hoods and moving in a huddled group stood out as odd enough to catch the attention of the upperclassmen.

One of them approached closer.

“Why are you guys doing this?”

It was Suhyeok who stepped forward to answer.

“…We were experimenting with potions and accidentally ended up bald. We’re too embarrassed to show our faces, so we decided to move around like this.”

“What? What were you trying to make?”

“We were trying to make a Kasa Intermediate Potion, but ended up making a Smooth Potion instead.”

“Ah…”

It was the kind of mistake that could happen to anyone if they weren’t careful, so the upperclassman gave them a sympathetic look.

“Smooth Potion effects tend to last a while. That’s unfortunate. Go.”

“Thank you.”

Yohan, impressed by Suhyeok’s smooth cover-up without batting an eye, lowered his head and blended in with his friends as they reached the building. It was just as they were about to enter.

“Wait a moment. Just in case, I need to check your faces…”

“Run!”

The lecture hall was close. Suhyeok ordered them to sprint, likely deciding full speed was more effective than further concealment.

Simultaneously, Mikael grabbed Yohan’s hand and raced up the stairs. Kylus and Suhyeok shed their outer garments, drew swords, and blocked the entrance.

“Block the door! Don’t let the upperclassmen in!”

“Huh? Whoa!”

“We’ll help too!”

Other first-years, who had been watching Yohan’s group’s escape with bated breath, seized the opportunity to join in. Then, several upperclassmen flew through the air.

“The upperclassmen are targeting the windows!”

At the shout, students inside the building sprang into action.

“Yohan! Come this way!”

Some guarded the windows while others safely guided Yohan and Mikael to the lecture hall.

“Harden up!”

The mage friend cast a spell toward the lecture hall window. Yohan watched his friends moving with such precision, feeling both gratitude and a sense of unease.

He wondered if it really had to come to this.

Not long after the standoff with the upperclassmen began, the bell rang. The fourth-years, who had been eyeing Yohan greedily, regretfully returned to their territory.

“Ah, I told you we should’ve just broken the window!”

“If we break it, we have to pay gold coins to the Witch of Space. Are you going to earn that?”

“……”

The sound of the upperclassmen bickering as they walked away reached Yohan’s ears.

They were going to damage the building too…!

They were more reckless than he’d thought. As Yohan was worrying that the frustrated upperclassmen might actually break into the building during the next break, his friends from Spirit Studies class glanced at his expression and clenched their fists.

“Don’t worry, Yohan! Next break, we’ll all wear our coats inside out and hide our hair!”

“Yes! If everyone does that, it’ll be hard to pinpoint who Yohan is!”

“I, I’ll make myself look even more suspicious…! I’ll find a black cloak and wrap it around me…!”

“…Guys….”

Yohan called out to them, his heart heavy at the sight of his friends acting just as desperately as the upperclassmen.

He couldn’t tell if he should be grateful or just baffled, but his loyal classmates truly did draw the upperclassmen’s attention away from him during the next break. They wore their coats over their heads, even running barefoot.

Impressed by their actions, other first-years also did their best to hide Yohan, acting suspiciously. One of them was mistaken for Yohan, had his coat pulled off, dangled upside down in midair, and was subjected to an exorcism-like interrogation by the upperclassmen: “Tell us your name!” He shouted back, “Me-Melek!” It was truly a scene that made you want to wipe away tears.

“Thank you all…”

Feeling both bitterness and shame, Yohan quickly slipped away. Thanks to Mikael’s aerial magic, Yohan easily reached the headmaster’s office.