SRS 161

While the West Tower students were enjoying a break in the commercial district, the members of Room 304 (along with Melek and Isaac) had been dragged to a classroom despite being from the West Tower. Even Kitty and Melissa, who weren’t from the West Tower, found themselves hauled in on a golden weekend. However, it wasn’t all bad luck for them.

The students who had inadvertently ended up in the Basic Anti-Demonic Training lecture were granted one specific perk.

“Ahaha! That tickles!”

That perk was the chance to befriend unicorns.

As they practiced basic anti-demonic techniques following the theoretical lecture, a unicorn kept rubbing its cheek against Melissa, which made her burst into giggles.

Melissa wasn’t the only at the receiving end of that affection.

“Mmph.”

One unicorn approached Yohan and licked his cheek, while another nuzzled against Mikael, demanding to be petted.

Since a unicorn had also strolled over to Suhyeok and plopped down beside him, the lecture hours passed in a much less gloomy atmosphere than expected.

This only applied to the students the unicorns were interested in.

“……”

“…Hey, Isaac. Isn’t this discrimination?”

“Uh… one came to me, though.”

“Tch! I guess unicorns can’t recognize noble blood. For your information, I am the fifteenth son of the Blue Magic Tower Master…”

“Melek. I don’t think you need to say that.”

The unicorns were interested in most students but were cold to the point of heartlessness toward Melek, Kylus, and Kitty. As the unicorns acted as if they were invisible, Melek felt wronged while Kylus held in a groan. Kitty, still held by one arm by Melissa, was locked in a staring contest with a unicorn.

When Melek looked toward the angel professor asking why he had to be treated this way, Professor Joel – who had finished the theory and left the students to their own devices – noticed his gaze and responded.

“Unicorns possess divine insight. It is said their eyes can see how many living creatures a person has cared for. It seems the three of you haven’t cared for a single living thing in your lives.”

“W-What about the griffins?”

“Creatures cared for after falling into the Nameless Realm are an exception. Strictly speaking, this isn’t the world of the living.”

“Ah, then I guess I haven’t.”

“……”

At Melek’s blunt admission, even his friends and the angel professor looked at him with a hint of pity. Suhyeok nudged Kylus’s arm with a smirk.

“You haven’t cared for anything either?”

Kylus responded to the obvious teasing not with words, but by whacking his friend’s head with his scabbard. It was a wise move. While the two began bickering again, Yohan glanced over at Mikael.

Yohan, naturally, had cared for many creatures. He had to. While living at the temple, injured birds would somehow find their way inside and plead for treatment, and Yohan had a history of healing every single one of them.

Once healed, the birds would visit periodically as if the temple were their own home, showing affection and even bringing him insects.

So, it wasn’t surprising that the unicorns were interested in him.

And the unicorns were seeking affection from Mikael just as much…no, perhaps even more than they were from Yohan. It felt like he could see a glimpse of Mikael’s character and the life he had led, and as Yohan smiled, Mikael whispered something to a unicorn. At that, the unicorns rushed toward Yohan, swarming him with affection. Startled at first, Yohan soon realized his friend was playing a prank and burst into laughter. Spending a weekend surrounded by mystical animals wasn’t so bad.

“Now that everyone has trained a bit on their own, let’s have a simple test.”

…Except for the part where they actually had to take the class.

***

“Harpy?”

Shake, shake.

“…Dea?”

Shake, shake.

“Fantade?”

Shake, shake.

“Hmm…”

Sunday lunch. After seeing off Kylus and Suhyeok, who had left to visit the commercial district even if it was late, Yohan had stayed behind in the dormitory to rest. He was now engaged in a serious conversation with his divine beast. Mikael chuckled as he watched from the side.

“It seems like none of the names you give are to his liking.”

“…I know.”

Yohan gave a bitter smile and conceded.

Today was the day to decide on a name for the Fantasiademia divine unauthorized copy beast, a task that had been put off for far too long.

He had always just called him “divine beast,” and the creature had been very displeased by it. When Yohan had returned from meeting the unicorns yesterday, the bird had spent a long time pecking at him, asking how he dared to play with other mystical beasts. He had even cooed loudly until dawn.

The sorrowful cries only stopped after Yohan promised to give him a name, and now he had to take responsibility for his impulsive words. He had suggested several names, but the divine beast rejected them all. He had no idea what kind of name the pigeon wanted.

“…Since you are the divine beast of Fantasiademia, I wanted to give you a name related to the school.”

“Maybe that’s why he hates it? He might want to escape the identity of being tied to Fantasiademia.”

“Hmm. Is that so?”

“That’s my guess.”

Mikael slowly approached and placed his chin on Yohan’s shoulder to observe the divine beast’s expression.

“What do you think?”

At Mikael’s question, the divine beast flapped his wings. He seemed to be agreeing with his opinion.

“Umm…”

A name not associated with the school.

“Ummm…”

As Yohan agonized over it, the divine beast, who had been waiting and stomping his feet, finally let out a long sigh of exhaustion. Soon after, the pigeon flew toward the bookshelf. As he began pecking at a specific book with his small beak, Mikael stepped forward to pull it out.

“Is this the one you’re looking for?”

The divine beast nodded and landed on the desk. Mikael observed the bird’s expression for a moment, and placed the book on the desk before turning the pages one by one.

Coo, coo.

The pure white pigeon stuck his foot in to stop Mikael from turning the page.

“Here?”

As Mikael held the page in place, Yohan walked over, looking at their exchange with a fascinated gaze. Curious about what his divine beast was planning, Yohan leaned in as the pigeon tapped a sentence in the book with his tiny foot. Yohan followed the bird’s gesture and read the sentence.

‘Save with light.’

“Ah, this line.”

It was a familiar phrase. It was from a book on divine philosophy that Yohan had borrowed after seeing Mikael reading ​Read on​it. That was the book the bird had picked out.

When Yohan read the phrase aloud, the bird flapped his wings happily. Realizing that his divine beast was very fond of that particular line, Yohan stared at the spelling in the book before reaching out to the pigeon.

“Shine.”

As the word left his lips, the bird scurried over and landed in Yohan’s palm.

“Shine.”

When called again, the bird cooed a happy song. Yohan smiled and patted the bird’s head.

“Alright, let’s go with Shine.”

The long-overdue naming was finally complete. As the happy divine beast began to sing a joyful song, something amazing happened.

“Yohan.”

Mikael grabbed Yohan’s shoulder and turned him around. Following the direction he was pointed, Yohan was startled to see the trees outside the window swaying as if they were dancing.

“What’s going on?”

“It must be a miracle caused by the divine beast.”

“Ah.”

A short exclamation escaped his lips. Flower petals scattered, and the greenery surged with vitality. It was a wondrous sight, and as Yohan stood stunned for a moment, Mikael whispered that staying in the dormitory had been a good choice. Yohan stroked the bird that had shown him such a miracle and decided he would never forget the sight.

“Whoa! What is this?”

“Crazy. The Fantasiademia grounds have finally lost it!”

“S-Someone call the professors…!”

“Oh.”

While the sight was wondrous to Yohan and Mikael, it definitely wasn’t to the other students wandering the first-year area. Then again, they were just seeing the ground and trees moving without knowing the context, it was only natural for them to be shocked.

Yohan sighed and asked Shine to stop. As he did, the dance of the trees and petals ceased, and nature returned to its original state. The magic professor, Hegel Gildestern, arrived late after hearing the news and began to scold the students when he saw nothing out of the ordinary.

“Do you think I have nothing better to do!”

The first-year students felt wronged at the professor’s furious shout. Eventually, as Yohan watched his friends flee from the professor, he turned his gaze awkwardly and his eyes met Mikael’s.

“……”

A brief silence followed.

“Pfft!”

Yohan and Mikael burst into laughter. Just as he was thinking it was a pleasant weekend…

“Give me a name as well.”

“…!”

…A sudden, deep voice came from behind him. Yohan was so startled he nearly dropped Shine.