Ch.50Chapter 50

After the lecture ended and everyone was busy moving around, the pitiful student who had caught my eye all along still seemed to be looking down at his phone.

He looked so completely absorbed that I wondered if he might be addicted.

The boy with dull silver hair remained alone while everyone else was leaving, staring at his screen before letting out a groan.

I had no ill intentions, just curiosity.

“I think I’ll go ask him.”

After checking that my name tag was in place, I left Iris who was organizing her things and trotted down to the student. I approached the male student sitting in the middle row and peeked over slightly.

I was curious about the phone screen placed under the desk and tried to sneak a glance, but the male student was startled and jerked back.

“What, what is it?”

“…Oh, hello.”

I was just curious because I heard he was dealing with AltCoin.

Since our eyes met before I could even look, it became too awkward to make any further attempt to see. Since it had come to this, I thought I might as well just ask directly, so I greeted him.

I wanted to clear the awkward air, but the uncomfortable atmosphere persisted.

“Um, I was just wondering about something…”

As I tried to add some rambling words with a forced smile, I heard someone clicking their tongue nearby.

There was no way I could have misheard it at this point when most people had already packed up and dispersed. Feeling a sudden realization, I looked at the male student’s chest with wavering eyes.

Ah, he wasn’t wearing a name tag.

Quite a lot of people had tried to befriend me, so I thought most people viewed me with an open mind. Besides, this was a lecture about Demon Gods, so I thought it might be okay.

But I realized too late that had been a naive thought.

It was because the Professor made efforts to ensure I could be comfortable. Because good friends played with me and had fun together, I had momentarily forgotten my situation, and that realization filled me with dismay.

Not knowing what to do, my lips stiffened, and my feet hesitantly stepped backward.

At the same time, the young man stood up abruptly, looked down at me with cold eyes, and then glanced toward where the Professor was. Seeing the Professor talking with other students, the male student gave me one final glare.

As if he didn’t even want to exchange words with me, he pushed past me and walked away.

Dumbfounded, I stared blankly at his retreating back.

Well, I suppose. Outside the normal society, I’m just an uncomfortable existence. I reminded myself that students were friendly to me because I was considered safe within The Academy and followed the Professor around as equipment.

I turned my head. When I glanced back at Iris who might have been watching, she approached me quietly without any reaction.

She gently placed her hand on my fluffy hair and quietly advised me.

“You shouldn’t bother people who are into that stuff because they’re sensitive.”

“…Is, is that so?”

She seemed to think he was sensitive because he was dealing with AltCoin.

I had momentarily thought it was hatred toward Demon Gods, but maybe it wasn’t. It was a day when I found people hard to understand in many ways.

As time passed, I sniffled. It was because I suddenly remembered what had happened during the morning lecture.

Come to think of it, that’s right. Every time people hear information about Demon Gods, they can’t help but fear them, so it’s quite strange that there are people who like me this much.

Is it because they haven’t been harmed by Demon Gods?

It seemed that way. If people died because of Demon Gods, they would want to hate all Demon Gods as a species, even those who had done nothing.

No matter how many Demon Gods die, lost family members won’t come back.

I felt I should be more careful from now on. Since he wasn’t wearing a name tag, I thought he might not even want me to know his name.

It would be fortunate if he was just sensitive from dealing with AltCoin as Iris said, but I promised myself not to overlook the possibility that it wasn’t the case.

“It’s good that the afternoon lecture ended early today.”

Sera groaned and stretched.

Looking at her blue hair and sparkling emerald eyes, the thoughts I had earlier about Iris came back to me. Reversing colors wouldn’t create the same atmosphere or feeling, but still.

Aria was still busy and couldn’t come, and Karen couldn’t make it because her lecture ran long.

The three of us only had overlapping schedules on Monday mornings and Friday afternoons. I thought everyone must have had the same idea.

Plus, everyone else probably tried to arrange their schedules the same way, so it was impressive that they managed to do it.

“Seeeeeera.”

I called Sera’s name with a dragging voice to match my drooping energy. Sitting next to me, Sera moved closer and gave me a light hug.

I was a bit surprised by the sudden embrace, but I’d gotten used to skinship with the girls lately, so I didn’t mind much.

Besides, being held like this felt cozy. The warmth and softness of another person wasn’t unpleasant, and I felt my eyes starting to close.

“What’s wrong, our Ourr?”

Whether it was because of my dragging voice or my expression revealing my current emotions, Sera smiled as if telling me to open up to her.

“…Well, earlier.”

I quietly shared what had happened in the second-year lecture with the red-trimmed uniform.

Half of it might have sounded like grumbling, and half might have sounded like whining, but right now I just wanted to confide in someone and be comforted.

Had I, as “me,” lived by killing people? If so, there must be people somewhere who hate me. That was the cause of my fear.

Although it wasn’t something I had done, I was afraid because I didn’t have the confidence to take the arrows of anger that had nowhere else to go but me.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. You can just stay with people who don’t dislike Ourr. Besides, there are many people like that besides Ourr.”

Sera patted my back as she told me this.

It was something difficult to say to the Professor, but I felt a bit more comfortable knowing I had friends to confide in elsewhere.

“Yeah.”

After nodding, I leaned against Sera and completely relaxed my body.

I closed my eyes and felt the gentle breeze.

So this is what the weather is like in March when the cold has passed. The air felt warm, soft, and somehow fluffy as it wrapped around my body. I thought it would be nice to hang out with friends somewhere other than The Academy later.

After all, when the Professor was with my friends, they couldn’t help but be conscious of her presence, so I strongly wanted to avoid such situations when hanging out.

Could such a wish come true?

It was a small hope I held, but since I didn’t know whether it could be fulfilled or not, I just buried it as a distant dream.

“I want to sleep. Right?”

“I… can sleep next to you if you sleep, Sera.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Sera heard my answer and chuckled.

“Still, it would be fun if Ourr slept next to me. Oh, should we get matching pajamas?”

“Huh?”

Sera voiced some wishful thinking, then her eyes sparkled as if she’d had a good idea.

At the sudden suggestion, I just blinked. As a moment of silence fell, Sera grabbed my shoulders and created a slight distance between us.

My body felt empty after losing its support. Sera looked me up and down from head to toe. Her gaze, which had been looking at me with interest, soon changed to a suggestion.

“I think a cat would suit Ourr.”

I tilted my head. I wondered if it was because of what Aria had said before, so I furrowed my brow.

But wasn’t that a dog, not a cat? Unless she meant a cute and friendly cat.

While I was thinking “hmm,” Sera immediately started tapping on her phone. I just watched her hands moving quickly, wondering what she was doing.

In less than a minute, Sera smiled and gave a thumbs up.

“Done.”

“What…?”

Not knowing what had been “done,” I looked at Sera with a confused expression. Only then did she show me her screen to explain what she had done.

It wasn’t a matter of reading text or not. I could clearly tell it was a purchase completion screen from some shopping mall.

I fixed my gaze on it. Seeing my expression, Sera added an explanation.

“Ourr is a cat, I’m a mouse.”

“…Huh?”

“It’s a perfect match, right?”

Sera waved the screen gently.

Before I could ask what that meant, Aria quietly approached us from the side.

“Hello!”

“Oh, you’re here now.”

When Sera and I greeted Aria, she let out a deep sigh.

“Sigh, even if you went ahead, you should have waited for me.”

“How could I when Ourr said she wanted to see me?”

I wondered if it was the kind of lecture where they let you leave early if you finished something.

As Sera shrugged her shoulders, I waved my hand.

“Oh, I wanted to see Aria too! But Sera came first…”

“I know that, but hmm, I heard you bought animal pajamas.”

Aria moved past that topic with a “more importantly” tone.

It was true that she arrived just as we were talking about animal pajamas, but I was surprised she had heard the conversation. I wondered if Aria had good hearing.

“That’s right, it’s a set for Ourr and me.”

“I want one too.”

“Aria should just wear that sexy lingerie.”

“…Get me a set too. I want to be a mouse too.”

Despite Sera’s playful voice, Aria made her request without any change in expression or tone.

“I’ll pay you.”

“Oh, I should pay too…”

At Aria’s words, I also had a realization and fumbled through my pockets.

Sera shook her head with a bitter smile.

“No, no, no, I bought it on my own, so that would be like forcing you to buy it…!”

I had just taken out some crumpled money, but when Sera refused, my hand with nowhere to go just stayed fixed on my chest.

I stared blankly at the money before looking at both of them and putting it back.

The two of them looked at me and snickered.

“…Is, is this okay?”

“Of course it is!”

“You can completely drain Sera’s money.”