SRS 142

“Yohan, are you all right?”

Mikael firmly grabbed Yohan’s shoulders when he saw him starting blankly at the ceiling with dilated pupils. The stuffy sensation in his ears, like standing on a high mountain, suddenly cleared. Only then did Yohan feel his feet planted on the ground instead of floating in the air, and he stumbled, unable to overcome the sudden wave of dizziness.

“Yohan.”

Mikael supported Yohan’s body to steady him.

“What is it? Why are you suddenly so weak?”

“Are you all right?”

“You should take a seat.”

Following Suhyeok and Kylus, Arun also stepped forward, worried about Yohan, whose complexion had turned pale in such a short time. Yohan took a breath while sitting in the chair offered to help him recover from the aftereffects of the revelation.

Save them.

What exactly did it mean?

The people here? Or the people from the dimension I was in? Or perhaps, this place itself?

Yohan’s eyes turned toward the sky, wishing for a clear answer, but the gaze of the god had already been withdrawn. Seeing that the possibility of another revelation was slim, Yohan gave up, calmed his breathing, and looked at the corrupted divine beast. Solving the immediate tasks at hand was the priority.

“Arun.”

“Yes?”

“Do you have any intention of taking care of the divine beast?”

“Oh? Well… I do. As I mentioned earlier, I thought I might need to provide temporary protection if it were unavoidable. However, what bothers me is that this divine beast carries a demon’s fragment. I’m worried it might affect me or the other divine beasts.”

The fact that he carried a demon’s fragment meant his nature was different from just a corrupted divine beast. Arun’s concern about potential repercussions was reasonable. Yohan looked at Mikael. He needed the wisdom of an angel.

Mikael noticed the intention behind the gaze. He pondered for a moment before explaining.

“Even with the fragment, the divine beast has not lost his intelligence. That means he has enough ability, so it’s rare for the fragment to affect the outside unless his loses his sense of self. It would only be able to act externally after devouring its host.”

“Then that means it’s all right for now.”

“I suspect so. Since I can’t guarantee it, you don’t have to accept if you feel uncomfortable.”

Mikael shook his head at Arun, whose expression had softened. Faced with such a cautious attitude, Arun bit his lip and turned to the divine beast, who was staring at them. Arun’s looked at him with pity, as if he were something fragile.

“If I refuse, what will happen to the divine beast?”

At that, the others turned their eyes toward Yohan. Since everyone had chosen to get involved in this matter based on Yohan’s will, the atmosphere naturally made Yohan the final decision-maker in this situation. Yohan, feeling his shoulders grow heavy all of a sudden, let out a sigh.

“…Even if the divine beast maintains his sense of self, he is still an uninvited existence from an external dimension and carries a demon’s fragment. I can’t easily bring him into the school, so… he might have to live on the streets for the time being.”

“Hmm…”

A look of contemplation crossed Arun’s face. As someone who loved divine beasts, he didn’t want the divine beast, who looked like a young child, to wander outside. Soon, Arun made his decision.

“If I protect him by separating the space, I can ease my worries about the repercussions. I will protect the divine beast at our shop. It might be hard to take him home, but keeping him inside the shop is no problem. I’ll have to block other divine beasts from entering while this one is here. Our Pinpin… will have to stay home, too.”

-Purr.

As Arun bitterly stroked the griffin, the big griffin lowered its body with a sad expression. Yohan’s pigeon flew over and sat on the whimpering griffin’s head. Seeing how it went to comfort the griffin despite having been disgusted and running away earlier, its good nature was obvious to see. visit our siteYohan proudly looked at the divine beast of Fantasiademia and concluded the conversation.

“Then, I will entrust the protection of the divine beast to you for the time being, Arune.”

Yohan rose from his seat and approached the divine beast. The latter must have heard all the conversation even from a distance, as he no longer guarded against or feared Yohan. Yohan knelt to match the divine beast’s eye level and explained the situation.

“I understand your circumstances. I want to help you if possible, but I need permission from a superior. Could you stay with this person until that permission is granted?”

When Yohan pointed at Arun with his hand, the divine beast nodded. It was a huge relief that he was being cooperative.

“…I’ve made the decision for now, so I will take my leave. The child seems hungry, so could you give my food to the child?”

“Are you leaving?”

“Yes. Since the situation has turned out this way, I don’t think I can leisurely eat.”

Now that a demon’s fragment had been discovered in the divine beast’s body, the urgency of this matter had become critical. Who knew when the divine beast might become completely corrupted?

However, it wasn’t necessary for everyone to move. Yohan looked back at his friends.

“Do you want to stay here? I can go to the headmaster’s office alone. It’s a rare holiday, and we used our commercial district [visit our site]access permits, so I don’t want your time to go to waste because of me.”

They had already promised to help him, so he would be able to get their help for related tasks even if it wasn’t today. As he suggested that they take a break, Suhyeok reacted as if he was talking nonsense.

“Do you think we can have fun without you? I guarantee I’d get indigestion even if I were eating. I’d be too worried about you. Besides, look at Mikael, Yohan. Do you think he has the look of someone who can eat comfortably while you are sent off to the headmaster’s office?”

Suhyeok, who clicked his tongue saying Yohan still didn’t know them that well, pushed Mikael to the front for emphasis. As if to prove his words, Mikael walked toward Yohan with a rigid expression. His determined aura made him look not like a boy, but a young man.

“I know why you are particularly concerned about this. And now that I know that, I can’t send you alone. Let’s go together.”

He was the only person among them who knew Yohan’s past and Cheplen. Yohan hesitated, feeling that his thoughts had been read, but when he showed a bitter smile, Suhyeok and Kylus followed behind Mikael and placed a hand on each of the white-haired boy’s shoulders.

“We’ll go too. We don’t have any intention of eating comfortably after sending you two off.”

“It’s a matter from the dimension I was in. Actually, this is closer to my business than yours, Yohan, so don’t worry.”

“Oh, right. In that case, I’ll change it to say that I have no intention of eating comfortably after sending the three of you off.”

Suhyeok winked and acted sly. Yohan burst into laughter and turned to look at Arun.

“…My friends seem to have made their decision.”

“The shop will become deserted with all these good-hearted first-year students leaving at once. Just in case, I’ll close the shop for the time being and look after the divine beast. I’ll be waiting eagerly, so please contact me via letter even after you meet the Lord.”

“Is there a way to deliver a letter?”

“Ah, you can use a pigeon. These are birds that can only travel between the commercial district and the school, but there will be no problem sending and receiving messages. I recommend you visit ‘Sunli Shop’ before you leave. The pigeons there are smart.”

“Thank you.”

The first impression had been rowdy in many ways, but Arun was helpful until the end. Yohan expressed his sincere gratitude, left the shop, and followed Arun’s advice. Since Sunli Shop was near the entrance of the commercial district, it wasn’t hard to find as he had seen the sign several times.

“Excuse me. I would like to take a homing pigeon…”

Since they were in a hurry, he brought up his business as soon as he entered, and an old man with a hunched back came out with a cane. A white cat was draped over the shoulder he had a blanket on. Before Yohan could show his amazement at the cat that seemed to be the old man’s self-proclaimed scarf, the gaze of the old man wearing small glasses turned toward the pigeon in Yohan’s arms.

“Ho-ho… You are already holding a very good homing pigeon, so why are you looking for a new one?”

A gentle voice asked for the reason.

A homing pigeon… Could it be?

Yohan looked at the pigeon in his arms in surprise. Feeling Yohan’s gaze, the bird raised its head, cooing beautifully, and stretched its body to peck at the corner of Yohan’s mouth. It looked pure, giggling and flapping its wings in happiness.

“…Are you saying this divine… no, this bird is a homing pigeon?”

Yohan changed the name when he asked, as the old man didn’t seem to recognize the pigeon’s identity as a divine beast. The old man’s face wrinkled as he laughed while stroking his cat.

“Yes. I can tell at a glance. That bird is superior to any homing pigeon we handle. Unlike the homing pigeons here, which have restrictions from birth, that bird will be able to go anywhere within the Nameless Realm.”

“Oh…”

It was unexpected. It was such an unexpected story that he briefly wondered if the old man was playing a prank, but when he thought about it, there was no reason for the old man’s words to be false.

After all, wasn’t Yohan’s pigeon a divine beast of Fantasiademia by status?

Naturally, it would be able to travel anywhere in Fantasiademia, and it had even restored the dimensional barrier not long ago. Since it was a bird with such ability, Yohan decided to believe the old man and whispered while looking down at the divine beast.

“Then, can you go visit the headmaster?”

The divine beast cooed as if the whispering tickled before nodding. Yohan’s complexion brightened. He had been worried that he wouldn’t be able to meet the headmaster since the headmaster had predicted three months later, but thanks to the divine beast, one of his worries was lifted.

“Thank you. I really didn’t think this bird could act as a homing pigeon. I’ve received a great favor.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Please visit again sometime.”

The old man waved his hand at Yohan’s with a still-kind voice and saw the guests off. Yohan left the shop without spending anything thanks to the clever divine beast, and went straight to the headmaster’s office. Even though the divine beast could act as a homing pigeon, there was nothing like talking face-to-face, so he had to visit the headmaster’s office at least once.

***

Knock, knock.

Yohan stood in front of the white door with his friends and knocked, but no answer came back.

“Is he not there?”

“It seems so.”

“Let’s wait a little longer.”

At Kylus’s suggestion, Yohan knocked on the door again and waited for a long time. However, no matter how long he waited, there was no sign of life, ​visit our site​and the door didn’t open automatically like before, so he looked embarrassed.

“What is going on?”

They heard a familiar voice. Yohan and the boys turned their heads to the side. The angel professor was walking over.