Human (4)

Please read the afterword!

*****

Leona grabbed me by the collar and dragged me away, and I couldn't even put up any resistance. Whenever I tried to speak to her, she growled like a beast, and even when I tried to break free by force, I couldn't budge her. Instead, she gripped me even harder, restraining me so I wouldn't foolishly resist.

Eventually, fearing my clothes would be torn off, I half gave up and followed wherever she led. Whether by luck or not, there wasn't a single person passing through the hallway.

Halt-

At last, when we reached a secluded edge of the building, Leona stopped. At the same time, I felt the grip of the hand clutching my collar gradually loosen.

When she let go, I stepped back a couple of paces and straightened my clothes. Her grip had been so strong that the entire area around my neck had become wrinkled.

"...Hey."

Just as I was finishing straightening my clothes, Leona called out to me in a low voice. It wasn't the stiff tone I'd heard in every lecture; this one was brimming with menace. I couldn't help stopping mid-adjustment.

Then I forcibly raised my stiffened head and met her beastlike golden eyes head-on. They had been blue until just a moment ago, but now they were the same gold as mine.

As soon as Leona faced me directly, she spoke in a voice full of certainty.

"You saw, didn't you?"

"... ..."

"You wouldn't have done that otherwise. Be honest. You saw, didn't you?"

There was no reason to deny it. I'd done it specifically to confirm my suspicions in the first place. But the pressure radiating from Leona was no joke.

I barely calmed my trembling heart and managed to force out an answer. I couldn't stop my voice from trembling slightly, though.

"I-I saw it. Something sticking out of your head..."

"... ..."

"...Are those ears?"

I was curious, after all. At my cautious question, Leona raised one corner of her mouth and snorted. Then she answered not with words, but with an action.

Perk-

Triangular ears sprang up from Leona's dark-brown hair. Anyone could tell they were animal ears, not human ones.

Just as I had expected, Leona was not human but beastfolk.

'Then was she wearing trousers to hide her tail as well?'

Just as I was thinking over this fairly plausible hypothesis, Leona hid the ears that had sprung up atop her head again and spoke cynically.

"Satisfied your curiosity? What, want me to show you my tail too?"

"Uh... No, that's fine."

Her manner of speaking still didn't feel familiar. The Leona I knew had been a blunt student who showed almost no change in emotion, but now she was just... a delinquent. In other words, she looked like a school thug.

Her tone had gotten a little rougher, but the complete 180-degree change in her demeanor left me feeling a sense of dissonance.

"Phew..."

As though her thoughts were complicated, Leona roughly tousled her hair and let out a deep sigh. I waited quietly while she sorted out her thoughts.

She must have had her own reasons for hiding her identity, but now I had discovered her secret. Her situation must have become hopelessly tangled. If I'd known this would happen, I would have pretended not to notice and let it pass, but my curiosity had gotten the better of me and I'd acted.

"What should I do? Getting rid of her without anyone knowing is too dangerous... Should I threaten her? This is driving me crazy..."

"... ..."

Leona's muttering reached my ears one word after another. It was even more frightening because it all sounded sincere, not like empty threats.

I had a strong feeling something terrible would happen to me if this continued, so I cautiously called out to her.

"Um..."

"What? Got something to say?"

The moment I called her, Leona asked me with a cynical expression and tone. I flinched, then said what I wanted to say.

"I... won't tell anyone about your identity, so you don't have to worry too much."

"If you were me, would you believe that so easily?"

"Uh... Who knows? I don't know what circumstances you're in."

An honest, straightforward answer without a single lie.

As soon as Leona heard my answer, she let out a sharp breath and muttered through clenched teeth.

"Are you messing with me right now, you little bastard...?"

"... ..."

I shouldn't have said anything. Even a simple threat made my knees feel weak, and I swallowed hard.

Normally, I would have kept as calm as possible, but for some reason, I couldn't think straight. Was it because of the oppressive aura pouring off Leona?

"Phew... No, forget it. Anyway, never tell anyone I'm beastfolk. Got it?"

"...What if I do?"

"I'll tear your limbs off."

Leona growled as she had earlier. I was frightened because she really seemed capable of it, but one question remained.

Why was Leona attending the Academy while going so far as to conceal her identity? If I asked this too, she would probably get irritated again, but it was certainly worth asking.

After calming my violently pounding heart as much as possible, I mustered my courage and asked Leona.

"...There's something I want to ask. Can I?"

"You still have something you want to ask in this situation?"

"If I'm curious, I'm curious."

"Tsk. Why are you so curious? You're not even catfolk. Fine. I'll indulge you. Ask."

Leona folded her arms and nodded. As she did, her voluptuous figure showed clearly through her school uniform.

I opened my mouth while doing my best to keep my eyes from wandering somewhere inappropriate.

"Why did you enroll in the Academy while going so far as to hide your identity?"

"I don't think I have any obligation to answer that."

"Hmm... I see. So that stiff attitude of yours was all an act?"

"I had to act that way so no one would suspect I was beastfolk. You humans think we're an aggressive, barbaric race, don't you? I took advantage of that."

I nodded after hearing her answer.

As I mentioned before, humans treated beastfolk as savages or primitives. Worse, quite a few humans even considered beastfolk slaves.

In addition, beastfolk were widely believed to be ferocious because of their naturally aggressive temperaments. Thus, people assumed there could never be a beastfolk like Leona, with such a rational and stiff personality. She had used that assumption exactly as intended.

"Are you going to keep acting that way from now on?"

"Of course. It's something I have to endure if I want to graduate safely without letting anyone discover my identity."

"Is it worth that much?"

Beastfolk were a race whose 'instincts' were especially strong compared to other races. Unlike the demonkin, who fought fiercely against the evil within them, beastfolk had no intention of suppressing their instincts. More precisely, it would be apt to say they couldn't.

In any case, instinct was inseparable from beastfolk. No matter how strong Leona's self-control was, she couldn't suppress her innate instincts. I only had to look at how her ears had popped out the moment I provoked her.

Leona seemed mindful of that as well, because she gave a bitter smile. It was an entirely different expression from the one she'd worn earlier.

"...I endure it because it's worth it. If it weren't, I wouldn't have enrolled here in the first place."

"It must be really hard."

"Of course it's hard... No, hey. Could you stop prying into every little thing? How long am I supposed to keep answering your questions?"

What a shame. I was so close.

My disappointment must have shown clearly on my face, because Leona knit her brows sharply.

"Why do you look so disappointed? Do you want to die?"

"Sorry."

"Phew... Anyway. Don't tell anyone I'm beastfolk. Got it?"

"Got it. Ah, and one more thing."

"What else do you want to ask?"

She was now snapping at me with an expression that clearly said she was fed up. But I didn't back down and said what I wanted to say.

"Did you hear everything I said in the cafeteria earlier?"

"Yeah. I heard it all. What about it?"

"I wanted to know what you thought."

"Huh?"

Leona stared at me with an incredulous expression. Her face plainly said, What the hell is wrong with this guy?

"You're beastfolk. Of course you wouldn't think highly of humans. So I got curious. I wondered what beastfolk would think after hearing what I said."

"You really are... Hah. You're worse than a catfolk, you know that? Are all humans like this?"

"I'm just very curious. Especially about other races."

"Good grief..."

In the end, Leona shook her head as though she had been defeated by my endless curiosity. She looked like she'd given up. I secretly cheered, but kept my expression under control.

Eventually, Leona stared straight at me with her arms folded. I waited quietly for her to open her mouth as well. Perhaps she'd calmed herself in the meantime, because the golden glow in her eyes faded back to blue.

How much time passed like that? Leona's tightly closed lips parted, and her characteristic cynical voice came out.

"I'm not going to tell you."

"Pardon?"

"I said I'm not going to tell you. Did you seriously think I'd answer?"

While I was flustered, Leona grinned and strode toward me. I hadn't realized it until then, but now that she was close, I could tell she was quite tall. I had to look slightly up at her, so she must have been over 175 centimeters.

In any case, Leona stood proudly in front of me, then slowly raised her hand. She squeezed my cheeks, making my lips pucker.

"Mmph? Wha're you doin'..."

"By the way, why is our little red cat so curious about everything?"

Was she calling me a red cat because of my red hair? But for now, pushing away Leona's hand, which was holding my lips, took priority.

Of course, no matter how much I struggled, she didn't budge an inch. Beastfolk had some of the finest physical abilities among all races, and there was no way I could overpower Leona's strength. It wasn't merely difficult—it was impossible.

While I resisted, Leona kept her smug grin and warned me again.

"I'm warning you again: the moment you mention that I'm beastfolk, I'll rip out your tongue. Tearing your limbs off would be a hassle, so I'll let you off with just that. Got it?"

"Yesh..."

It's all the same either way. But I was too scared not to agree.

When I nodded, Leona gave a satisfied nod and released my cheek. She'd only held it for a moment, but my cheek was stinging.

"I hope you can keep your mouth shut. Before that..."

Swoosh-

While I rubbed my stinging cheek, Leona stretched her head forward until it was close to the nape of my neck. I was startled and tried to step back, but she grabbed my wrist and stopped me.

"Sniff. Sniff-sniff. Sniff."

After that, Leona pressed her nose to the back of my neck and began sniffing me. I felt my face redden at the peculiar sensation and hurriedly tried to get away, but it was pointless. All I could do was push her head away.

But she didn't move even an inch, so I had no choice but to shout. I was so flustered that I even stammered.

"W-What are you doing?"

"What do you think? I'm memorizing your scent. But wow, the musty smell of books is overwhelming."

Leona sniffed me for a long while, as if memorizing my scent, then pulled her face away. A moment later, she also released my wrist. As soon as she let go, I hurriedly examined it.

When I looked at my wrist, I saw a deep, bright-red bruise stamped into it. Grimacing in pain, I rubbed my wrist and asked in a tone of bewilderment.

"What are you going to do with my scent memorized?"

"Check on you from time to time to see if you're doing anything pointless. How am I supposed to trust you?"

"... ..."

"We're done here, right? I'm leaving now."

Tap- Tap- Leona gave my head a couple of light taps, then strode away. I watched her retreating back while rubbing my wrist, then called her name.

"Leona!"

"Oh, come on... What now?"

The instant I called her, she raked both hands through her hair, then turned around and looked at me. From her face, it was clear she wouldn't let me off if I started talking nonsense.

I regretted calling her for no reason, but brought up the last question I wanted to ask.

"Do you read The Chronicle of Xenon too?"

"What? The Chronicle of Xenon?"

"Yeah."

"Hah."

After hearing my question, Leona let out a derisive snort. She waved a hand and answered in an annoyed voice.

"I don't know. Whatever. I don't find that Xenon or whatever entertaining at all, so don't bother me with it."

"...All right."

"Then I'm leaving. From now on, don't ask me anything, because I'll ignore every question you ask. Got it?"

With those words, Leona left, gradually disappearing from my field of vision.

Clutching my bruised wrist, I stared blankly after her, then suddenly remembered something strange.

"...She said it wasn't entertaining? Does that mean she actually reads it?"

Just as I muttered that,

Perk-

Whether she had heard my muttering or not, a pair of ears sprang up above Leona's head.