Human (2)

There was one thing I learned while living at the Academy: Cecily had a mischievous, playful personality. Until she began speaking to me informally, she had been the very image of a polite princess, but ever since then, she had constantly played pranks on me.

"You can be honest. I know I'm pretty, after all. That's why you were staring at my face earlier, right?"

"...I told you, that's not it."

"Then why did your face turn red?"

It was the same even after anthropology class ended. Cecily's teasing didn't stop as we headed toward the school cafeteria. She seemed determined to hear the answer from my own mouth and egged me on in her lilting voice.

I denied it as firmly as I could, even as I vividly felt my face growing redder with every word she said. If I admitted it, I had no idea what sort of prank she would play next.

When I continued denying it to the end, Cecily instead made an expression that suggested she couldn't understand me.

"You called me noona so easily last time, so why won't you answer me now? I don't understand."

"Things are different now. Besides, other people are watching us."

As I said, students whispering among themselves could occasionally be seen nearby. I wasn't being overly sensitive; even a quick glance around showed that many students' eyes were fixed directly on us.

Naturally, it was because Cecily was treating me so familiarly. Her appearance stood out, but she was also the princess of Helium. She had been a subject of interest since the entrance ceremony, so countless people were bound to pay attention to her.

And someone like that was acting friendly with some male student no one had ever heard of? It was only natural for all sorts of rumors to spread throughout the Academy. Nearly three weeks had passed since the entrance ceremony, and students in the humanities track were far fewer than those with no declared major, so the rumors had probably spread as far as they could by now.

'It hasn't caused any major problems yet...'

I had ears, so I could vaguely tell what my current reputation was. To the professors, I was a person of concern, while to my fellow students, I was the annoying redhead. I had happened to hear all of it in the cafeteria.

For now, it seemed they were keeping an eye on me because of Cecily and Rina, but something could erupt at any time. The students who entered Halo Academy were emotionally immature teenagers, and many of them were the children of proud noble families. I didn't even have to look far; a guy named Jackson already disliked me.

"...It's really true."

It seemed Cecily only realized the atmosphere after hearing what I said. Judging by her slightly furrowed brow, she didn't seem pleased. Still, once Cecily looked around, the whispering died down.

I gauged the situation, then cautiously made a suggestion to Cecily.

"If you're uncomfortable, I can sit somewhere else."

"No. This much isn't a problem. It happened all the time in Helium too."

"Aren't there no nobles in Helium besides the king?"

"Even if they aren't nobles, that doesn't mean there are no ways to keep the king in check."

Cecily answered vaguely with a gentle smile. Apparently, this was something I wasn't meant to know. Of course, it wasn't as though I couldn't understand.

When I nodded as if I understood, she gave me a faint smile. It was almost as if she was thanking me for not pressing the matter, but a moment later, her smile deepened and became filled with mischief. I realized my mistake when I saw it, but by then, it was already too late.

"So, what about your answer from earlier? When are you going to give it to me?"

"... ..."

"If you keep your mouth shut, I'm going to do something weird, you know?"

In the end, I had no choice but to surrender. I covered my face with one hand and opened my mouth, making it clear that I had given up.

"Yes. You're extremely pretty. Of everyone I've seen until now, you're the prettiest, Miss Cecily."

"You should call me Cecily noona, right?"

"...Cecily noona."

"Hehe. Thank you. It feels like I forced the compliment out of you, but hearing it from Isaac is refreshing."

"Phew..."

My face felt as though it might burst. I let out a deep sigh to somehow release the heat rising from within me. Even so, it showed no sign of cooling, which left me at a loss.

Regardless, Cecily giggled like a girl and tickled my ear. Could teasing me really be that much fun? I found it difficult to understand.

"Sorry. Your reactions are so entertaining that I can't stop."

"...You find my reactions entertaining?"

"Yeah."

"Then it wouldn't be fun if I didn't react at all, would it?"

"Try it."

"...I'm sorry."

As expected, I had no control over the situation whatsoever. When I meekly backed down, Cecily let out a faint laugh and spoke more gently than before.

"Isaac."

"Yes."

"Isaac, is there anything you're curious about regarding the demonkin?"

"Why do you ask?"

When I asked her in return, Cecily brought up what had happened during anthropology class.

"You asked earlier why the elves have such a small population. It made me wonder whether you weren't curious about the demonkin too."

"Of course I'm curious. There are countless things I want to know."

"Then why don't you ask?"

Cecily tilted her head and asked in a tone that suggested she couldn't understand. I stared quietly into her face before answering.

"Because I'm afraid I might make a mistake."

"You're afraid you'll make a mistake?"

"Yes."

The demonkin had been persecuted by every race for hundreds of years. That was why I felt somewhat cautious about asking questions related to the demonkin, especially when speaking to Cecily. If I happened to touch upon a painful subject, it was obvious that things would become awkward for both of us.

One might call it a lack of courage, but by my standards, it was a form of consideration. At the very least, one shouldn't dig into another person's wounds if one wanted to maintain a good relationship. That was why, unlike Cecily, I didn't play mischievous pranks and simply put up with hers.

"...Right. You were always such a considerate boy, Isaac."

Perhaps Cecily understood how I felt, because she murmured with a pleased smile. Then she spoke to me as though she were doing me a favor.

"It's all right. You can ask me anything."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Because it's you, not someone else. You won't have any malicious intent, either."

"In that case..."

I trailed off and looked around. While we were talking, we had arrived at the cafeteria, but there were few students inside. Most of them went outside to eat.

I picked up an empty bowl and asked Cecily a question. It was something I had been curious about for a while, so I felt a little excited.

"What purpose do those horns serve?"

"Hm? My horns?"

"Yes."

After hearing my question, Cecily toyed with the horn that rose upward from her temple. The farther up it extended, the more strongly red it became.

Along with black mana, horns were one of the defining features of the demonkin. However, the demonkin's horns had never been properly researched, and all sorts of bizarre rumors about them abounded.

For example, some said that mana gathered inside demonkin horns, while others claimed they were simply symbols of demons, and so on. Because of this, I hadn't been able to write much about horns in The Chronicle of Xenon either.

"Hmm..."

Cecily began carefully filling an empty bowl with food, perhaps organizing her thoughts. I waited for her answer while adding food to my bowl piece by piece.

By the time we found empty seats and sat down, Cecily, who was seated across from me, finally answered.

"I suppose you could say they tell you when your menstrual cycle is approaching?"

"...Pardon?"

Clatter-

It was such a startling answer that I nearly dropped the fork I had been using to pick up my food. For a moment, I couldn't tell whether she was serious or joking. Unlike my feelings, however, Cecily's expression remained perfectly calm.

That told me she was being sincere rather than joking.

Even as I stared at her in a daze, Cecily continued speaking as though it were nothing important.

"As you know, the demonkin are descendants of demons. And demons are, quite literally, embodiments of 'desire.' Because of this, we demonkin have periods when it's difficult to control our desires. This phenomenon is called the 'demon cycle,' but men call it that while women usually just call it menstruation. Ironically, the timing overlaps with menstruation."

"... ..."

It was fair to call it a menstrual cycle. Thanks to that explanation, my frozen mind gradually calmed down enough for me to think again. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do about the heat rising into my face.

I cleared my throat to shake off all the thoughts in my head, then brought up another question.

"Then how do you endure it? I'm a human man, so I don't know, but I've heard women suffer terrible stomach pain whenever they menstruate."

"Usually, we calm ourselves through meditation. And medicine was invented recently, so it isn't a major problem anymore."

"What if someone bothers you during the demon cycle? Do you become a demon?"

"No. A mere demon cycle won't turn someone into a demon. Most demonkin become demons after experiencing a terrible tragedy. For example, losing a beloved partner right before their eyes or being betrayed by a trusted friend."

Cecily picked up a piece of finely chopped meat with her fork and put it in her mouth as she spoke.

"Well, as you said, we do become almost as violent as demons. Women in particular tend to be that way."

"It's the same for humans."

"Really? I heard earlier that humans menstruate once a month. That sounds exhausting. Demonkin only menstruate once every six months."

Did long-lived races tend to have longer menstrual cycles? Elves were like that, and so were demonkin; their cycles were extraordinarily long. Or perhaps humans and beastfolk were abnormally short.

My curiosity continued to grow, so I hurried on to my next question. Learning what kind of race the demonkin were seemed more important than eating.

"Then does the fact that your horns grow longer mean that your cycle is approaching?"

"No. The horns don't grow. This red color simply spreads over the entire horn."

Cecily tapped the upper part of her horn, which was stained red as though someone had painted it. At present, about a quarter of it was covered in red.

'If her horns ever turn completely red, I must never provoke her.'

I had no idea what sort of disaster might unfold if I needlessly provoked her. I chewed the food in my mouth and asked another question.

"What happens if a horn is cut off?"

"It returns to normal in no time. And even if it's cut off, I can't feel anything."

"The horn itself has no sensation?"

"No."

"Then, if you don't mind, may I touch it once?"

"...Huh? T-touch my horn?"

Cecily's reaction to my question was rather strange. Her eyes opened wide and she stammered, then a faint blush appeared on her cheeks. She was clearly embarrassed.

I tilted my head at her unexpected reaction, then belatedly realized that this was a sensitive subject. If she was embarrassed to that extent, it clearly carried an unusual meaning. And my guess turned out to be exactly right.

"Um... Sorry. Among the demonkin, touching someone's horn is an act of affection between lovers. It means that even if you became a demon, I could still love you."

"Oh... That's romantic."

"I-is that so? Romantic... That's the first time I've heard that from a human who isn't demonkin."

Cecily scratched her cheek shyly. It was completely different from the way she usually teased me, which made it feel new to me.

'Thanks to this, I can add one more thing.'

It was information that could add flesh and bone to the story of Jin and Lily, who had an emotionally charged romance in The Chronicle of Xenon.

Jin was a knight devoted solely to Lily, so whenever he knelt on one knee and showed her respect, Lily could stroke his horn. Then Jin would be startled and look up at Lily. There couldn't be a sadder story in this world than the love between a demonkin and a priest.

Of course, toward the very end, I planned to make Jin appear as the final boss. I felt sorry for Mother, but there were too many hints and pieces of foreshadowing already laid out to change the ending. If it proved too difficult, I planned to release a side story.

Just before the atmosphere could become awkward, I swallowed all the food in my mouth and spoke to Cecily.

"Noona Cecily, is there anything you're curious about regarding humans?"

"Uh, huh? Something I'm curious about regarding humans?"

"Yes. It feels a little unfair for me to be the only one asking questions. If there's anything you're curious about, ask me too."

"Humans..."

Fortunately, the awkward atmosphere seemed to recede somehow. I quietly put food in my mouth while waiting for Cecily to speak. Cecily also continued eating, apparently organizing her thoughts.

Step- Step- Step-

Just then, a familiar face entered my field of vision. As I shifted my gaze while chewing, I saw the stern-looking beauty Leona walking some distance away.

I hadn't paid enough attention to notice before, but unlike the other female students, Leona wore trousers. Her pretty face was offset by such a stern, sharp expression that she looked like a male student from a distance.

'Does she have no friends? Why is she sitting so far away?'

Despite there being few students in the cafeteria, Leona sat unusually far away from everyone else. Since no one was around her, she stood out even more.

As I rested my chin on my hand and chewed, Leona, who had sat down, let out a deep sigh, as though she had something troubling her. And then...

Perk-

Something suddenly sprang upright from the top of her head. Not one thing, but two.

Unfortunately, my eyesight wasn't very good, so I couldn't identify them precisely. But I could tell that something had risen above her head.

"...!"

Leona must have realized that something had sprung up from her head as well, because she hurriedly placed a hand on top of it. The stern look had vanished without a trace, leaving behind an expression of bewilderment that was strangely entertaining.

I blinked, then rubbed my eyes, wondering whether I had seen it incorrectly. When I looked toward Leona again, she was eating with her usual blank expression, as if she had never been flustered.

I was still staring intently at Leona when Cecily, apparently having finished organizing her thoughts, called my name.

"Isaac?"

"...Ah. Yes, yes. Noona."

"You must have been spacing out for a moment. I thought of a question. Is it all right if I ask?"

"Yes. Go ahead."

After I gave her permission, Cecily asked in a tone that made it clear she was genuinely curious.

"Why do you think humans were able to become the center of the world?"

"The reason we were able to become the center?"

"Yeah. I heard it in the lecture too, but I'm curious about your opinion."

"Hmm..."

It was a fairly complicated question to answer. Even on Earth, where only humans existed, humanity was not a species one could judge hastily. After all, humans were the ones judging humanity. Ironically, however, that was precisely why an objective explanation was possible.

Even so, one thing was certain. Humans were beings capable of becoming unimaginably kind, but also unimaginably cruel. One only had to think of how fiercely the theories of innate human goodness and innate human evil had clashed.

However, that was only by the standards of Earth, and this world had to be viewed from a slightly different perspective.

As was my habit, I rubbed my pen callus with my thumb and glanced at Cecily. She was staring at me as though she intended to wait until I had given my answer.

I abruptly stopped rubbing the callus with my thumb, then spoke quietly.

"I'll say this first: this is only my personal opinion, so you don't need to take it too seriously. There are many professors here with more experience of the world than I have."

"That's all right. Go ahead."

"Yes. Well..."

I stopped speaking and looked behind Cecily. Leona, who had been eating alone, was staring directly at me.

I wondered whether she had somehow heard our conversation even from this distance, but I quickly concluded that she hadn't. Our voices weren't loud, and the distance was considerable. So I paid it no mind and continued what I had been saying.

"...The reason humans were able to become the center of this world is simple. It's because humans are too stupid, reckless, and foolish."

Perk-

The moment I said those words, strange things sprang out from Leona's head once again.