Chapter 15: Studying Rabbits

I turned the page.

[Regulated World: The Empire]

Amid the stiff, academic terminology, an interesting passage caught my eye. It concerned the absolute law that formed the very foundation of the world known as the Empire.

A class-based society centered on the nobility, where magic is status.

According to the paper, wielding magic in the Empire wasn’t a matter of talent or effort. It was a right, a privilege, passed down solely through noble bloodlines.

Only nobles could be born with mana, and they were nobles from the moment of their birth. Those who couldn’t use magic were forever confined to the commoner class.

And at the very bottom of it all were the beast-humans.

They were completely unable to use magic. In its place, however, they possessed powerful physical abilities and animalistic senses that varied by species.

Life in the Empire was tailored to the convenience and centrality of the nobility. The nobles found the beast-humans’ savage strength useful, yet at the same time, they despised them as unclean.

Beast-humans were not citizens. They were merely useful tools.

The strong were used as cannon fodder on the battlefield or as gladiator slaves fighting for the amusement of nobles in arenas. The agile and sharp-sensed were used as assassins or as personal servants attending to their masters.

And beast-humans with beautiful appearances, like Luna or Elice…

…they even served as the nobles’ nightly entertainment.

A beast-human could never become a noble. The nobles scorned them, and the beast-humans hated the nobles in turn. They were thoroughly exploited.

However, the situation changed slightly after the Transfers began.

“That makes sense.”

I nodded to myself. The gap between nobles and beast-humans? I hadn’t felt it directly. Here on Earth, status and titles from the Empire meant nothing.

Of course, the superior magic inherent in the noble bloodlines was still a powerful asset. I’d heard that many hunters sought their counsel. But in the role of a hunter protecting humanity, the beast-humans’ transcendent physical abilities also came to be treated as a talent of no lesser value.

In the end, everything was reorganized based on skill.

The Empire’s cruel, centuries-old class system had collapsed so unceremoniously here on Earth… or so the paper claimed.

It was a clear, logical analysis based on evidence. A good paper.

But as I closed the final page, a question arose.

The paper stated explicitly: Beast-humans cannot use magic.

It was a biological limitation, not a lack of talent.

But Luna was clearly a beast-human. And she used magic, however shoddy it might be.

The pieces didn’t fit.

What is this?

I fell into thought, but for now, there was nothing more I could find out. I folded the paper.

To clear my head, I began to reorganize the documents scattered on my desk. Time to clean up and finally dive into the rabbit hole of the internet…

“…Huh?”

Among the stack of fresh white papers I’d received from the Association today, the smell of ink still lingering on them… among the pile that should have been nothing but pristine white sheets, a single, yellowed page had been cleverly slipped in.

“…”

It was the same material as that creepy counseling log from before.

Don’t tell me this is another one.

I swallowed dryly and, with a trembling hand, carefully pulled the paper out. A faded title, seemingly handwritten with a pen, came into view.

[Outsider Type: Beast-human. A Brief Study of Their Ecology.]

Thankfully, this title was a bit more normal. Judging by the handwriting and sentence structure, it seemed to be from the same person as last time.

[Before beginning, I must state that this entire process was written based on actual records….]

I thought the author of this paper was a counselor… but maybe not. The document’s overview read less like the record of a counselor and more like the analysis of a third-party observer studying an interesting case.

I turned the first page.

Contrary to my expectations, however, this document was also in the form of a counseling record.

[Case 1-A: In-depth Counseling Record of Hunter K, Experiencing Difficulties in Establishing a Relationship with a Different Species (Beast-human)]

[Patient K (C-class Hunter) was receiving ongoing counseling for chronic depression and intermittent panic disorder.]

So far, it was a normal case. I continued to read.

[Session 13]

[Patient K]: (In a bright, energetic voice) Doctor, I think I’m all better now! I’ve been so, so happy lately. I never knew such a blessing would come into my life. I don’t think I’ll need to see you anymore.

[Counselor]: I’m so glad to hear that, K. You look so much brighter than before. But my door is always open, so please don’t hesitate to come back anytime.

And below that, as expected, was an addendum scrawled in red.

[The patient recently entered a romantic relationship with a beast-human colleague from the same guild. It is determined that this positive attachment acted as a beneficial variable for his underlying conditions (depression, panic disorder), leading to an improvement in his symptoms.]

It was a story you hear from time to time—curing an illness of the mind with another person. When possible, few treatments are as effective as a romantic relationship. Of course, the fallout when that relationship ends would be twice as severe.

But up to this point, it was a perfect happy ending. A model case termination, worthy of a textbook.

Sadly, if it had ended there, this paper would never have been written.

[Session 14]

[Counselor]: It’s been a while, K. But… you don’t look well. Did something happen?

[Patient K]: (After a long silence, he barely manages to speak) …Doctor.

[Counselor]: Yes, what is it?

[Patient K]: I… I still love her. That hasn’t changed. She’s the savior of my life, my everything. But… but, Doctor. I can’t… I can’t take it anymore.

[Counselor]: Can’t take what? Could you be more specific?

The next record… was quite shocking.

[Patient K]: When… when that time comes, she… she takes me for days and nights on end. And when it’s over… she gives me a kiss with a perfectly innocent face and asks me sweetly why I’m so tired. I… I’m now afraid to see that innocent face.

[Counselor]: (Long silence)

Beneath his desperate plea, the inevitable red-penned addendum was there.

[Observation Record: Patient K’s appearance was extremely haggard. Dark circles were deeply set under his eyes, and his legs trembled even in the brief moment it took him to open the door and enter, betraying a clear physical limit.]

[Conclusion: The greatest variable in a romantic relationship with a beast-human was neither cultural differences nor language barriers. It is the Instinct Manifestation Period that periodically occurs. During this time, contrary to their usual human-like demeanor, beast-humans are completely dominated by their species’ unique instincts. It was determined that the patient’s physical abilities as a C-class hunter were insufficient to handle the beast-human’s desires.]

“…”

I couldn’t close my gaping mouth.

What did I just read?

I had assumed it would be a conflict arising from cultural differences. But this was a rather primal problem.

In the end, the counselor advised the patient to gather his courage and have an honest conversation. The result was recorded in its entirety in the next session’s log.

[Excerpt from Session 15 Counseling Record]

[Counselor]: It’s been a while, K. Your complexion… is different again. Did… did the talk go well?

[Patient K]: (Long silence) …No. But… I’ve learned everything.

[Patient K]: The instincts that tormented me so… were actually her desperately holding back for my sake. It was… just the tip of the iceberg. (Hollow laugh) And she told me. She’s a cat beast-human. And that other beast-humans… especially rabbit beast-humans… have instincts that are incomparably… much, much stronger than hers.

[Patient K]: So I’ve decided to just… embrace it all with love…. After all, she was being considerate of me, too.

[Conclusion: After learning of his partner’s consideration, Patient K decided to overcome the biological gap between their species with love. However, this is a precarious conclusion. Especially considering his partner was a cat beast-human, a species with relatively weak instincts, this case clearly demonstrates the fundamental limitations of interspecies relationships.]

I stared blankly at the document before closing it. Then I flipped to the very last page.

I prayed that this, too, would be another piece of unproven research material left by the mysterious researcher.

But the red stamp of [Evidence Inconclusive] that I was hoping for wasn’t there. There was only a sheet of paper, aged by time.

In other words, this record hadn’t been dismissed as inconclusive.

Ting!

At that moment, a sharp notification sound shattered the silence. I turned my head to see a pop-up on my computer monitor.

Someone had just booked an online counseling session for tomorrow morning.

My mind still dazed, I moved the mouse mechanically. According to regulations, I was allowed to check the hunter’s personal information beforehand.

Click.

When I clicked the mouse, a familiar face appeared on the screen. The official profile picture from the Union Guild. The image of an S-class hunter, staring straight ahead with a cold expression.

There she was.

“…”

The white rabbit I had just been so intently studying.

Translated By: Meher (RaidenTL)

Please do consider subscribing to my Patreon or donate to my Ko-fi if you like this work or to get early access to chapters