SRS 138

“Excuse the disturbance. I am Arun, the owner of this restaurant.”

The man who had tipped over a couple of tables while falling straightened the mess in the restaurant before speaking calmly. Even though he acted formally, it did not erase the clumsiness they had just witnessed. Yohan and his friends, with complicated expressions, cleared their memories for Arun’s and their own sake, before smiling.

“Nice to meet you, Arun. We are first-year students at Fantasiademia.”

“First-years?”

Arun looked surprised.

“Did you manage to obtain access passes even outside of the previous group visit? That is impressive.”

He looked genuinely impressed, and tuygrabbed the griffin that had been showing interest in Yohan’s pigeon divine beast since earlier.

“Pinpin, stop it. What are you doing? It’s rude.”

-Purr!

“Hmm? A divine beast?”

-Purr, purr!

“This little pigeon? Hmm… I don’t feel any divinity. Are you sure?”

-Pur-purr!

“My goodness! Divinity brighter than yours? Is this really true?”

Arun, who was said to be a griffin enthusiast, was indeed able to communicate exceptionally well with griffins. Yohan could also understand his divine to a certain degree, but not to that level. Caught off guard by his admiration for the bond between Arun and the griffin, Yohan realized something a beat late and reached out to his divine beast. The divine beast, which had been clinging tightly to Yohan’s neck to avoid the Griffin’s pestering, moved nimbly and climbed onto his palm. Yohan helped it avoid the griffin by placing it on his opposite shoulder.

Anyone knowledgeable about the divine will eventually find out. If the truth was revealed, there was no need to deceive him.

“Yes, though it looks like this, it is indeed a divine beast.”

“Oh my god! Does such a small and cute divine beast exist? Oh, [unauthorized copy]now that I look, it is certainly beautiful. The feathers are very glossy. It is noble. It is enough to make me marvel!”

“Um….”

“This divine beast’s eyes are also truly beautiful. They sparkle like starlight. It looks like a dove, but what is its species? I have never heard of such a divine beast….”

-Coo!

The divine beast probably found the human in front of it more annoying than the griffin that had been bothering it.

As Arun approached intrusively, thrusting his face and hands forward, Yohan, pushed by the momentum, pulled his body back.

The divine beast, with a bold leap, climbed proudly onto Yohan’s head and pushed Arun’s forehead. As the tiny foot touched his forehead, Arun froze. Yohan was started by the opponent’s silence, as if he were trapped in frozen time. He grabbed his own divine beast in surprise.

“Did you kill him?”

-coo….

Feeling the question as a scolding, the divine beast, with an aggrieved face, shook its head. The pigeon flapped its wings to convey its intention. Yohan realized what his divine beast meant.

“You only stopped his time for a moment”

Nod.

The divine beast moved its head. Yohan wiped his face, he turned pale. The friends sitting at the same table and the employee manning the hall were equally surprised.

The young divine beast’s terrifying miracle left them speechless. In particular, the employee who first guided Yohan’s group had lost all color, and he seemed so frightened that it wouldn’t be surprising if he died.

Although no one pointed it out, Yohan couldn’t help but realize that he had made a mistake. He suppressed the urge to cry and lowered his hand to look at the divine beast.

“…He won’t stay like that forever, right?”

-Coo-coo!

“Right, you said it was only for a moment… then can you tell me when it will be undone?”

-Coo-coo-coo.

The pigeon pointed to the clock with its wing. After a few questions and answers, Yohan, who had learned that Arun would wake from the miracle in five minutes, looked at his friends and the employee. The latter was now pressed against the door. Yohan, who had been watching him anxiously, spoke with a serious expression.

“Let’s keep this incident a secret.”

“Agreed.”

“Good idea.”

“…It’s definitely better if we don’t let anyone know.”

The students, aware that if this became known, they would be embroiled in another tiring affair, offered their support with a tone that was almost desperate. Their gaze, and that of Yohan, turned to the employee who still hadn’t responded. He trembled, his mouth agape as he received four pairs of stares, then pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the sweat from his forehead. The hand holding the handkerchief trembled.

“I… will also act as if I did not see this incident.”

Even without mentioning the headmaster, the small-minded employee who wanted to live peacefully was willing to pretend not to know what he had seen for the sake of his own and his workplace’s peace.

“I am glad we are of one mind.”

He was worried about how to persuade him if the employee insisted on informing the school. Yohan was relieved that the conversation went well. He let out a sigh of relief and turned toward Suhyeok.

“…Do you think Arun is aware this situation?”

“Yohan, sometimes you treat me like I am a fool. If I don’t know something, I don’t know it. But, since he is the person who suffered it, wouldn’t he know?”

“I guess you are right.”

“Or, since you said it stopped time, he might not know.”

“That is also true.”

“In that case… there is only one way.”

Rummaging through his subspace pocket, Suhyeok pulled out a small perfume. It was a project he and Yohan had made together during their last Herbology class. Knowing its effectiveness, Yohan tapped his forehead and expressed his positive opinion about using it.

“What is that thibg?”

“It is the Wise Man’s potion. If you take it, it makes people calm and helps them make the wisest choice. However, it is a potion with severe side effects, and Suhyeok and I deliberated and changed the usage to sniffing the scent instead of drinking it directly, making it into a perfume form, and submitted it as an assignment. The effect fell far behind, becoming a sedative level, but since the side effects disappeared, it is harmless in many ways.”

“It is a potion I have not heard of.”

“Suhyeok and I developed it ourselves. To be exact, it’s a variation.”

“Does the Herbology class already teach you how to develop potions?”

“Since the school has become so dangerous, they said they would conduct the second-year curriculum a little early. That we should build our strength. It is not even a complete development in the first place. It is close to improving an existing potion.”

“That is a reasonable statement.”

…You accepted it so easily?

While the Herbology students had to constantly question the sanity of their professor when they heard the assignments he gave them, Kylus, a student from another major, accepted the fact with ease.

It was a strange thing, but Yohan did not speak his thoughts out loud.

Considering the personality of the Phantom Sword Master, he did not think it would be safe just because it was a swordsmanship class.

-Coo-coo-coo.

The divine beast called Yohan.

“Ah, he is going to wake up soon.”

“Good. Give me a signal. I will spray it in time.”

It was time for the stopped Arun to wake up. Yohan counted the seconds according to his divine beast’s coo and shouted ‘now.’ Kylus sprayed the perfume in Arun’s direction at the exact timing.

Blink, blink.

The man who had been frozen in a state of thrusting his body toward Yohan moved his eyelids.

“…Huh? What was I talking about? It is a strange feeling. It feels like time [unauthorized copy]flowed quickly, leaving only me behind.”

Yohan and his friends avoided Arun’s gaze when they heard him talk as if he had woken up from a long dream. It was because they all subconsciously realized that the one that met his eyes had to explain the reason for the feeling he was experiencing.

Amidst the students desperately avoiding troublesome things, the divine beast sighed and walked slowly toward Arun.

“Ah! We were talking about divine beasts. It is a divine beast beautiful and mysterious enough to be marveled at. As it seems, it looks like it is already bound; where did you form a pair with this divine beast?”

Thanks to the effect of the potion, Arun asked questions much more calmly than before he was attacked by the divine beast. He did not make a fuss, did not demand a burdensome distance, or initiate physical contact. Yohan felt more comfortable dealing with him, he pondered how much he should tell. He was just gauging whether it was alright to say that he brought that divine beast from the headmaster’s treasure vault.

Creak.

The shop door opened.

“…….”

At that moment, everyone inside the Griffin Lovers Club turned toward the entrance. Everyone here, starting with the employees, was a student of Fantasiademia or had been a student. There was no way they could not feel the unusual presence that filled the shop immediately after the door opened.

Squish, squish.

A new guest entered the shop. Every time he moved, a sticky sound was made as if bare feet were touching and falling off rubber. His build was small. He looked small enough to be a 10-year-old child, and long, tangled black hair, which had never been combed even once since birth, hung down to the child’s waist. His face could not be seen properly because it was covered by hair. Everyone was speechless at his appearance, which at first glance resembled a ghost.

“…A divine beast?”

Arun, who was holding someone else’s pigeon in his arms, muttered. He soon narrowed his eyes and tilted his head.

“No, it feels too vicious to be a divine being. But the source is indeed divine. How can this be? In this case, it’s definitely….”

Whether this was also the effect of the potion, Arun, who had been calmly thinking, sighed as he blocked the table to protect the young students..

“It is a corrupted divine beast.”

“…But he is a guest.”

Yohan muttered as he stared at the one dubbed “divine beast” by Arun. Although the child’s small hands were covered in mysterious black things, he was holding bronze coins. However, they were not coins used in Fantasiademia, or more accurately, in the Nameless Realm.

This, that can’t be….

Yohan let out a groan as he caught on to something. It was supposed to be the commercial district where they had come to rest, yet it felt as though things that shouldn’t have tangled had become tightly knotted.