14. BANG

14. BANG

The next morning, after sleeping soundly while smelling Priscilla’s scent.

It was morning.

“Priscilla?”

“Sniff sniff… Yes, Nyehet?!”

I called out to Priscilla, who was still hugging my tail tightly, even though I had woken up first. As if she didn’t know I was awake, Priscilla startled and bit her tongue.

Priscilla shed a few tears.

“Can you tell me when your lecture ends today?”

“L-lecture? Why is that…?”

“Can’t I ask?”

I asked, gently stroking Priscilla’s slightly disheveled bangs. As I gently stroked her hair, Priscilla replied in a barely audible voice.

“It’s not that I can’t…”

“Then will you tell me?”

Yesterday, Priscilla’s sister had warned her with gritted teeth to see her again tomorrow. Given such words, leaving Priscilla alone would be the worst possible strategy.

To protect Priscilla from domestic violence, I must be by her side. And to do that, I need to know when Priscilla’s lecture ends.

Priscilla hesitated for a moment, then quietly opened her mouth.

“It will probably end around 1 p.m. Since it’s the first week, it might end earlier than that…”

“I understand. I’ll pick you up then, so wait for me.”

“Yes, yes.”

Kiss.

Before getting up from my seat, I gave Priscilla one last kiss on her forehead and then stood up.

Priscilla still had her face buried in the pillow I was using, so it seemed she would need a little more time to wake up.

Alright, then shall I go to the next lecture quickly?

I grabbed my sword and left the dormitory.

——

‘Basic Physical Training’ was the name of a lecture open only to commoners.

To be more precise, it was more of a lecture that only commoners applied for, rather than an exclusive one. Although there was no rule in writing prohibiting nobles from attending, no one ever did.

Lectures for commoners and nobles were implicitly distinguished. While nobles filled their schedules with a few major subjects and general education for socializing to build connections, commoners aimed to learn practical and specialized skills to contribute to the empire-and to improve their social status.

While some commoners succeeded by aligning themselves with nobles, most often ended up disappearing without a trace after incurring the nobles’ displeasure.

The Empire didn’t particularly want valuable specialized personnel to be purged, and nobles had no reason to associate with commoners and spoil their mood. Therefore, this implicit distinction was a common sense rule of the Academy that everyone adhered to, unless there was a major upheaval.

And here was one person who didn’t adhere to common sense.

“Hmm.”

The school uniform with gold highlights, indicating the owner of the clothes was a noble.

In the vast training ground for physical conditioning, amidst the drab, unadorned uniforms, the solitary gold stood out so much that it drew immense attention.

Skadi, the owner of those clothes, stood in the center of the students, eyes closed in thought, while the commoner students next to her trembled and watched her, intimidated by her indifferent demeanor.

‘How can I make Priscilla and her sister get along?’

Although she was actually thinking about something completely different.

… A female student in the back almost sneezed from the wisps of tail fur swaying in front of her, but she miraculously held it in, thinking of her father and mother waiting at home.

The students, frozen with fear that even a slight movement might offend a noble, especially the sword at her waist, made them even more terrified.

For a while, the atmosphere was like sitting on a field of sharp thorns, and finally, the professor arrived. He wore a square red hat.

Then, a deep and stern voice echoed.

“Attendance call. Gale!”

“Yes!”

“Louder!!”

“Yes!!!”

“Are you not going to do it properly?! Doing it again, Gale!!”

“Yeeees!!!!!”

“Answer briefly!”

“Yes!!!!!!”

Students were called one by one. All of them answered at the top of their lungs, and those who couldn’t were called out and subjected to punishments like n push-ups in front of everyone. The students trembled with fear.

This was one of the professor’s peculiar habits.

Finding trivial faults with students and making them suffer. It was bullying stemming from the fact that commoners couldn’t defy him to avoid expulsion. There was also the difference in status.

Of course, there was the excuse that it was to faithfully carry out the lecture’s content of improving basic physical strength, but most of the reason was purely for the professor’s own amusement.

And Skadi, who was quietly observing the scene, felt a certain interest. It was because her past life came to mind after a long time.

‘I’m good at shouting too.’

I should show them.

Skadi eagerly awaited her name to be called.

Meanwhile, as more students’ names were called, and then-

“David!”

“Yes!!!!”

“Skadi von…! Huh?”

The professor, who was calling out names while looking at the attendance roster, doubted his own eyes.

The professor, who had taken off his black glasses-called sunglasses-that were blocking his vision, and was reading the letters while looking at the roster here and there, spoke in a different, dumbfounded voice than before.

At the surprising shift in demeanor, Skadi forgot about letting out a powerful shout and involuntarily asked back.

“S-Skadi von… Lyra…?”

“Yes?”

The professor, who then looked at the students, realized that there was a gold uniform among them and his eyes trembled.

“W-why is the Grand Duchess here…?”

The professor asked again in a foolish voice, and Skadi tilted her head and replied. Her ears perked up.

“Is it not allowed?”

It was a simple question, but it sounded different to the professor.

“I want to take this lecture, so why are you telling me what to do?”

The professor was at best a viscount. His opponent was the daughter of the Northern Grand Duke, and even if she hadn’t officially inherited the family title yet, the power difference was not negligible.

Furthermore, as someone who had been bullying commoners for amusement until just moments ago, he imagined that his opponent might also act tyrannically towards him. His skewed way of thinking led him to draw negative conclusions about everything about her.

Look at those perked ears and the tail swaying as if displeased. She clearly didn’t like what I was doing. And looking at that expressionless, indifferent face, she must be very displeased with me!

If I offend her now, I might be kicked out of the Academy with my clothes off!

The professor, sweating profusely, tried desperately to think of a way to appease this high-ranking noble.

Of course, at that very moment, Skadi-

‘Am I not supposed to take this lecture?’

was genuinely asking about the possibility and impossibility.

The professor bowed as low as possible, rubbing his hands together as if they were on fire, and flattered Skadi.

“Not allowed? How could that be, haha… Please, feel free to attend.”

… And so, the ‘Basic Physical Training’ lecture, known for its harshness, proceeded very leisurely, and the commoner freshmen, who coincidentally received special treatment, expressed their gratitude in their hearts to the nameless noble and rejoiced.

——

I think I chose the wrong lecture.

I signed up thinking it was physical training, but this is barely jogging. Was it really a lecture that only trained basic physical strength?

“My body feels even stiffer…”

If I hadn’t moved at all, it would have been one thing, but moving halfway and then stopping made me feel like it was worse than not doing it at all. I felt dissatisfied.

Maybe the North would have been better in this regard. At least there, I could run wildly.

My tail swayed rapidly. My legs writhed, wanting to run forward. My muscles complained, urging me to exert myself.

“Ugh…”

It felt like I was a dog that hadn’t been for a walk in months.

It wasn’t a good feeling.

I always thought it was hard to have my stamina pushed to the limit by my father, but it’s just as hard to exercise halfway. How can the world be so unfair?

With my body lukewarmly warmed up, I trudged towards Priscilla’s lecture hall. On the way, my body itched to run at full speed.

Should I ask that sex offender baldy for a duel later? I feel like I might feel a bit better after a fight.

As I pondered this in my mind with genuine concern, I soon arrived at Priscilla’s lecture hall. I could hear faint murmuring from inside, indicating people were still there.

I just need to go in, get Priscilla, and leave. I gently applied force and opened the door.

Kuaang!

“…”

The doorknob shattered. Silence descended upon the lecture hall.

“Priscilla.”

“Yes, yes?”

“Let’s go.”

“Yes!”

My choice was to flee.