SRS 187

With a gentle sway, the beastman’s tail moved from side to side in front of Yohan’s face, then tapped it.

“Ugh.”

Yohan unintentionally held the white tail in his mouth and spat it out. He coughed and pulled the white fur out. As he frowned, the beastman laughed, climbed down from the tree, and stood directly in front of him. With spotted ears, wavy white hair, and golden eyes, it was a face he had never seen before. However, since the clothes he was wearing were the uniform of Fantasiademia, Yohan checked the color of the brooch. Red. It was the color of the third-year students.

“Why is an upperclassman here…”

As he looked at the beastman while wondering what a third-year student – not even a second-year – had come to the first-year area, the third-year tiger beastman giggled.

“I’m Fei! And I came to scout you!”

The remark was sudden, but Yohan wasn’t surprised. It wasn’t the first time he’d experienced such events while attending this school. Just today, the angel professor had already dropped a bombshell that had caught Yohan off guard.

Instead of being flustered, Yohan looked straight at the senior who had introduced himself as Fei.

“What do you mean by ‘scout’?”

“You guys are going on dimensional missions soon, right?”

“…Not soon, but yes. We are scheduled to go sometime this year.”

Yohan corrected Fei’s misunderstanding. Fei tilted his head while muttering something like, “Was that so?” and pointed at Yohan.

“Anyway, if you’re going within this year, the third dimensional mission will be coming up soon as well. From the third mission onwards, you can team up with upperclassmen. You! Choose our team then!”

“Is there a reason why I have to?”

“Huh? Of course you should join since our team is super strong! I heard you’re the strongest among the first-years?”

“…….”

Something seemed to have been misinterpreted. With Mikael having just recovered his strength, how could he possibly be the strongest?

And in terms of pure brute force, neither Kylus nor Suhyeok could be ruled out. If a situation arose where he couldn’t use his divine power, Yohan would be the weakest among them. As Yohan remained silent, Fei tilted his head.

“No? Did I come to the wrong place? Meikan definitely told me to recruit the first-year Yohan Herse…”

The beastman scratched his head in confusion.

Yohan realized that the senior before him was simple-minded, something he had suspected since his first appearance. From the looks of it, he had simply come to carry out orders from someone on his team.

Dumbfounded, Yohan first imprinted the information he had inadvertently obtained into his mind. The fact that they could team up with seniors starting from the third mission was significant. Knowing this in advance would certainly be helpful.

Then, the remaining problem was how to send that senior back.

Putting aside that he wasn’t exactly a trustworthy senior, he couldn’t just hastily choose a team when they hadn’t even gone on their first mission yet.

“Thank you for the offer. However, since we haven’t even gone on our first mission yet, I think it’s a bit too early to choose a team.”

“But Meikan told me to at least get a promise that you would consider it positively.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Hmph. This isn’t right.”

The beastman stamped his feet anxiously because things weren’t going his way. He muttered things like, “Meikan is going to scold me,” and “Ugh, I’m dead if I meet Meikan” several times. It seemed that this senior named Meikan was keeping discipline in check tightly.

“I’m sorry.”

As Yohan apologized once again and tried to walk past him, Fei blocked his path.

“No, this won’t do! If you do this, there’s no point in me breaking through the barrier and even the guardian to intrude into the first-year area!”

“…Guardian? Is there such a thing?”

“I heard outsiders broke into the commercial district recently. Because of that incident, security throughout the entire school has become very tight. While they were at it, they also decided to overhaul the barriers separating the grade levels, so the barriers separating the areas between grades have been reinforced, and guardians have been appointed to protect them. So, to meet a first-year student, I have no choice but to go to the library or break through the barrier, but silence is the default in the library, so we can’t have a conversation like this!”

Was there really such a thing?

This was also useful information. Yohan stared at the senior in front of him. He was like a bundle of information spouting useful details at the slightest provocation. It would be a shame to just let him go.

Judging by what he just said, it wouldn’t be easy to encounter upperclassmen in the future.

To make matters worse, the upperclassmen who frequented the library were already avoiding Yohan. Since security patrols for night duty were also divided by grade level, it was impossible to meet the upperclassmen unless it was the general assembly day. If he wanted to obtain information known only to upperclassmen, getting it from the person right in front of him was the fastest and easiest way.

After making his decision, Yohan stopped in his tracks and stared at Fei.

“…Then I will at least listen to what you have to say for now. However, there is one condition before that.”

“Condition? What condition? Tell me quickly! I have to get back to the third-year area before the next period!”

“I have to go back too. Besides, I need to gather materials for the end-of-month evaluation exam. Could you help me find those materials? If so, I could verify your capabilities and consider joining the team more positively…”

“If that’s the case, you should have told me sooner! What is it? What do you need? I’ll get it right away!”

Before he could even finish speaking, the third-year student grabbed Yohan’s shoulder and shook him, then raised his tail and asked.

To think he agreed so easily.

He really was an easy senior. If a strict senior had come, he would have told him to find the exam materials on his own. Yohan was technically on the stricter side when it came to following rules, but this time, he had no choice. If he didn’t finish this research quickly, he might end up failing after spending the rest of the semester stuck on this experiment; it was better to get a high-risk assignment out of the way early.

“Lilycia.”

“Lilycia? That fairy flower? That’s strange. Do first-years already learn about fairy flowers?”

“No. I didn’t learn it; I looked it up in a book.”

“Ah. Well, I get it. So, I just need to find that flower, right? How many?”

“I’d need at least five to be safe…”

“Receipt complete! I’m off!”

“Wait…!”

Whoosh.

“…….”

Perhaps bored of the time spent talking, Fei ran like an arrow. Yohan irritably fiddled with his bag as his senior vanished from sight before he knew it.

“…I was going to tell him to take some healing potions with him in case it’s dangerous.”

No matter how desperate Yohan was to use a shortcut in the moment, he wasn’t the type to push a complete stranger into a dangerous situation and then feign ignorance. So he had intended to pack plenty of healing potions, but the senior left before he could even take them; he really was hot-tempered.

Yohan, who had been slightly worrying about what to do if he returned injured, soon recalled the wind energy he had felt around Fei and shook his head from side to side.

No, he didn’t seem weak enough to get hurt in the first-year forest.

The wind he felt was also the energy of a spirit. And it looked like at least a mid level. To confirm if his judgment was correct, Yohan summoned Undine.

Pop.

Undine popped out from a water droplet formed in the air.

“I felt the energy of a wind spirit from the senior who just disappeared. Is that correct?”

The spirit nodded in response to the question.

“Mid?”

Nod, nod.

As expected.

In that case, there was no need to worry. The spirit’s energy seemed to be only a secondary factor, and as evidenced by his quick movements, Fei was someone whose body itself was a weapon.

Once he cast aside his worries, Yohan looked around and sat down on a nearby rock.

“A team…”

Yohan took out the water he had packed in his bag and drank it, while picturing the future. Judging by the fact that they had come to recruit him, first-years had priority in choosing a team.

And the fact that a senior had broken through the barrier to find him meant he would likely encounter similar seniors in the future.

“They’re all going to come scouting.”

After predicting the future based on his past experiences, Yohan seriously considered whether he should go into hiding for the time being.

Just by listening to the senior, it seemed like rumors about him were already widespread.

Should I just live in the library? The seniors there are busy avoiding me anyway…

‎

‎

A while had passed since he had been lost in these thoughts. It felt like less than an hour had gone by when he sensed a vibration coming stolen contentfrom over the mountain, and the tiger beastman senior arrived in front of Yohan in the blink of an eye.

“Hahaha! I brought it! I really brought it! With this, you’re officially joining our team, right?”

At the senior’s words, who held out a small pouch, Yohan checked the contents first. It was indeed five lilycia stems. They were in top condition, barely even scratched.

“Thank you.”

Yohan sincerely smiled as he took three bottles of healing potions from his bag and offered them to Fei.

“This is a small token of my gratitude. I originally wanted to give them to you before you left, but you were so fast that I am only getting to give them to you now.”

“Huh? Healing potions? I don’t need things like that.”

Fei said that wounds heal quickly. His eyes were sparkling. It meant that he didn’t need the potions and just wanted the promised answer. Yohan smiled and nodded.

“I have fully grasped your prowess, Senior. I will consider joining your team positively.”

“Really?”

“Yes. However, it’s not confirmed yet…”

“Then that’s enough! Meikan said it’s fine to come back after hearing you say positively. Hahaha! Cake! It’s cake! I’m off! Goodbye!”

“…….”

What a mess.

The surroundings became quiet as Fei vanished with the same speed he had appeared. Thinking of him as a senior who was like the wind, Yohan scratched his cheek and checked his watch.

Oh no.

There were only five minutes left until the next lecture. Since the end-of-month evaluations for each major took about two to three days, Yohan, who was taking three majors, would be busy taking two exams a day.

He wrapped the lilycias in divine power to keep them from wilting, then hurriedly headed to the Spirit Studies classroom.