Chapter 15: Please die

I berated myself on the way back to the dorm.

Resorting to violence against girls…
Had I gone mad?

Ellie, you’re the worst.
The worst guy in the academy. Worse than trash.

No amount of self-loathing or head-slapping could quell the shame.

Perhaps this was the consequence of ignoring Sister’s warnings about the academy.

Yes, that must be it.
How dare I disobey my saintly sister?
I needed another one of her…lessons.

…Should I visit her this weekend?

It’s a small request from her cute younger sister.
She’ll spare a night for me.

The thought of our private “lesson” cheered me up.

I needed to eat dinner soon.
My stomach rumbled.

Alright, I had no choice earlier.
If I hadn’t fought back,
I’d be trapped in that deserted building,
at the mercy of those girls.

Sister was right; the academy was full of creepy perverts. Trying to… do things to me in a deserted place.
I needed to be more careful.

Lost in thought, I reached my room.

The door next to mine was slightly ajar.
Linne’s room.
Was she already back from her meeting?

I peeked through the gap and
saw a dark figure sitting on the bed.

“Mmm…haa… Linneaa…”

That wasn’t Linne.
Then who was in her room, and what were they doing?

Unable to resist my curiosity, I opened the door.
The wolf beastkin, face buried in a pillow, looked up, startled.

“What…are you doing?”

“Eek! Wh…what are you doing here?!”

Her surprised reaction confirmed my suspicions. She was up to no good.

Breaking into someone’s room was suspicious enough.

Whatever she was planning, it couldn’t be anything good.

“What are you doing in someone else’s room, you mutt?!”

“I…I wasn’t doing anything! And I’m not a mutt!”

Perhaps “mutt” was too harsh.

“I don’t believe a word that comes out of your furry mouth!”

I tried to snatch the pillow from her.
She clung to it stubbornly, as if it was her prized possession.

A little thief.
I should never trust furry creatures.

As we tugged at the pillow, a ripping sound echoed.

“Ugh… let go! If you’re caught stealing, just give it back…!”

“No way! I won’t let you have her!”

The pillow stretched visibly in our tug-of-war, and finally,

Rip!—

With a satisfying tear, feathers exploded everywhere.

…That was a good quality pillow.

I held the empty pillowcase, feathers raining down around us, and shouted,

“If it weren’t for you…!”

This wasn’t my fault.
It was the furry creature’s fault, covered in feathers.

“She’s mine! You can’t have Linea!”

As we glared at each other, the door burst open.

Linne stared in horror at the mountain of white feathers covering her room.

“I…I didn’t do it! It was her fault, the one covered in feathers…!”

I slipped out the open door while Linne was distracted.

The wolf glared at me with betrayal, but
I stuck to my principle: never trust furry creatures.

I slammed my door shut and leaned against it, catching my breath.

I was also covered in feathers.
This would take a while to clean.

****

After removing the feathers, I returned to Linne’s room, looking presentable.

She’d almost finished cleaning. She’d been scolded by the dorm supervisor and given a new pillow.

It wouldn’t affect her reputation; she didn’t exactly look like a model student anyway.

“Y…you… I won’t forget this…”

I thought I heard a feathered wolf growling, but
that’s impossible.

I was hungry, so I suggested we grab dinner and clean up later.

I was worried about Lena, who I’d left abruptly yesterday. I wanted to see her as soon as possible.

And maybe remove that pesky mask, revealing the reason behind her mysterious demeanor.

****

I ate until I was stuffed.
Or rather, I was fed until I was stuffed.

Linne hovered over me, shoving food onto my fork before I’d even swallowed the previous bite, as if trying to force-feed me into submission.

It was barbaric, but I wouldn’t waste good food. She wouldn’t break me that easily.

The relentless feeding finally stopped when Nina, seeing my state, pulled her owner away.

I would have won if the fight continued, but I decided to be merciful.

Walking back from dinner, I patted my full belly contentedly.
Linne kept staring at it with a strange glint in her eyes.

That look…the same look she had in the dining hall before…

Slap!—

I knew it.

I’d been watching her, so I easily swatted her hand away as she reached for my side.

She’d regret touching me now.
Whether it was me or her getting covered in…partially digested food.

Chastened, Linne left me alone.

I wanted to see Lena as soon as possible.

The walk to the forest felt longer than usual.

Clouds obscured the moon, shrouding everything in darkness.

When I reached the spot where I met Lena,
it was eerily quiet. Perhaps I was too early.

I waited a little longer, but it remained silent. Maybe she had something to do and would be late.

I leaned against a tree, fighting off sleepiness.

****

“Haaam…”

I forced my heavy eyelids open and headed to class. I could barely stay awake after waiting for Lena in the forest all night.

I was doomed to sleep through class today.
I wanted to pay attention, but…

Lena never showed up.

Was she upset that I left her the other night?

I shook my head, rejecting the thought.

She said she hunted every day, so she would be there tonight.

She must have been busy yesterday.
Even Lena could have unavoidable circumstances.

I convinced myself and continued walking when a shadow fell over me.

“You’re so cute! What’s your name? Do you want to come to our tea party after class?”

I looked up, bombarded with questions. Several students blocked my path.

Slap!—

“Don’t you dare touch me with your filthy hands!”

I swatted away the hand of the overly cheerful student who’d just spoken.

Thanks to my experience with Linne, it was easy.

They looked startled, caught off guard.

“Oh…s…sorry for touching you suddenly.”

“We just wanted to hang out with someone cute…”

Who would fall for such an obvious lie?
Those with sweet words were the most dangerous.

“Do you think I don’t know what you’re thinking? You’re probably plotting how to trick me and…”

“No! That’s not true…”

“I just wanted to pat you!”

“Yeah, we never thought about making you a pet and squeezing your cheeks, or hugging you tightly and smelling you while enjoying your flustered expression!”

“…You…”
“What did you just…?”

The other students stepped away from the girl who’d just spoken.

She must be the creepy one.

Even I didn’t expect that level of…creepiness.

But she said they didn’t think about those things, so maybe they were harmless?

I snapped out of my daze and shouted,

“You disgusting commoners! Get out of my sight! And you, just die!”

They dragged the creepy girl away and disappeared.

The hallway was silent again, as if a storm had passed.