Chapter 98
“Ah, that was fun.”
Akion's date with the Saintess did not last very long.
It had started in the afternoon,
and they had planned to eat dinner with everyone from the research lab.
“Thank you for putting up with me.”
“Not at all, Saint.”
After watching the shield performance by the Faculty of Knight Studies, they decided to spend the remaining time enjoying the autumn breeze.
“I don't think I've ever laughed this much in my life before today.”
“Wow, am I truly worthy of such an honor?”
“Why wouldn't you be? Hehe. You made the Heavenly Lord's daughter happy, so you may brag about it for generations to come.”
The sun was slowly descending behind the castle walls.
As the two of them watched the lengthening evening glow, Akion chuckled at the Saintess's sly side.
“You've become quite a bit more easygoing, Saintess.”
“In what way?”
“When I see you joking around.”
When they'd first met, she had been the sort to say they mustn't curse the Heavenly Lord and must live devoutly and piously.
She had even put such remarks into practice.
Her madness over magical tools had not faded in the slightest—in fact, it seemed worse. Anyway.
“If I blaspheme here, will you take me straight to the Saint?”
“If you improve the Holy Light Sword, I might be willing to look the other way.”
“I'd rather stand trial for heresy.”
It seemed like only yesterday that jokes like this had been difficult,
but after the Saintess began accompanying Aysirel to guard Akion, spending time together seemed to have changed her as a person.
“Ah, is that why? I suppose being this warm and friendly has become so familiar that I look like a mother.”
“A mother?”
To think the word mother had come from the Saintess's lips.
Akion was a little curious about what had happened for her to be called that.
“I had to stop by the orphanage recently, so I was away for a day, remember? I was praying and playing with the children that day when, believe it or not, a little girl looked at me and called me ‘Mom.’”
“What did you do?”
In short, the Saintess was so kind and gentle that the words had slipped out of one child's mouth.
The child had been startled by what she herself said and burst into tears.
“It took some effort to soothe her and tell her she'd done nothing wrong. Hehe.”
It was a glimpse of just how kind the Saintess had been to the children.
Even if it was an orphanage in the capital, people did not have a particularly favorable view of orphans… so to the children, the Saintess must truly have felt like a mother.
“That's more or less what happened. Ah, it's a little embarrassing.”
“What's embarrassing about it? I'm sure the Heavenly Lord is proud of you.”
Akion had somehow ended up chatting about all sorts of things with the Heavenly Lord.
[Hehe.]
He could tell from the foolish laughter ringing through his mark.
“Hehe, you speak as if you know the Heavenly Lord quite well.”
“Isn't the Heavenly Lord the mother of us all? Those words feel especially meaningful to me.”
Did the Saintess know that Akion could chat with the Heavenly Lord whenever he felt like it?
If he revealed it, he might even get to see the Saintess become jealous.
“Ah, Saint… I'm sorry.”
“Huh? No. I didn't mean it that way!!”
He hadn't expected the conversation to turn to Akion having no biological mother, though.
Akion somehow managed to get the suddenly apologetic Saintess back on her feet.
“You don't need to apologize. I meant it in the biblical sense.”
“Even so….”
“If you think about it, wasn't it more wrong of me to make you work today, Saintess?”
“Even sooo….”
“If you keep this up, I'll take away your doll, okay?!”
“Ah! No, don't! I'm not sorry!”
A man threatening a woman while insisting she had no need to apologize,
and a woman shouting that she was sorry nonetheless.
“What's going on over there? It doesn't look like they're fighting.”
“What kind of lovers' quarrel is that?”
Even to the people around them, the scene looked awfully strange.
Embarrassed by the whispers around them, the two sat back down on the bench,
“Pfft.”
“Hehehe.”
Perhaps they found it ridiculous even after thinking it over, because they burst out laughing.
“Saint.”
The Saintess felt a ticklish joy fluttering in her chest… and, though embarrassed, she gave a small laugh.
“Thank you for spending time with me.”
It seemed Akion's kindness toward her… did not feel bad to the Saintess herself, either.
“Could you help me inspect things like this again next time?”
“Of course.”
Hiding that fact away in her heart, the Saintess gazed at Akion without end.
* * *
The following day, late in the morning.
They decided to bring in employees from Montblanche's side to run the ice cream shop, both to give them practice and let them get accustomed to the work.
Then what about Akion?
“Hehe! Today is Goldie's turn!”
“What? There was an order to this?”
He was forced to spend time with Goldie, the protagonist of day two.
Only then did Akion notice that the five of them had been competing under the pretext of inspecting the festival.
Akion somehow felt… his shoulders puffing up with pride.
“Ah, my popularity.”
“Pardon?”
“This is all because I'm so exceptional, isn't it? Goldie, this is Enersis.”
Was this the superiority complex of a man with a harem?
Wondering if this was how Big Brother Juan and his biological father, Delford, had felt, Akion couldn't help taking pride in the power of his bloodline.
- Snap!
“Ow! Why did you hit me!”
“Because you were spouting bullshit.”
“Tsk.”
Of course, it was bullshit.
“Don't spout bullshit, and follow Goldie's lead today!”
“Yes, yes. Lady Goldie Heritage, daughter of Viscount Heritage.”
Akion felt awkward, wondering if he had imitated Juan a little too much.
He followed behind the casually dressed Goldie….
“Today, Goldie and I are going to have fun here all day!”
“Huh?”
They came to a stop in front of the Faculty of Administration.
This year, the Faculty of Administration was holding just one event as a joint faculty activity, and it was….
- Fluffy!
- Squishy!
“Come see our beastkin maids~!”
“If you enter now and order one drink, we'll give you another one for free!”
“Ugh.”
It was a furry… no, a beastkin maid café.
Looking closely, every beastkin wearing a badge identifying them as Academy students was dressed in a maid or butler uniform and promoting the café in front of the Faculty of Administration building.
The problem was that, among all the beastkin Akion had seen so far, the only kemonomimi beauty he knew was Goldie.
He knew there were some… furrier individuals, but….
- Fluffy-fluffy!
- Squishy~!
“Holy shit.”
But the beastkin maids and butlers promoting the café over there were furry—no, their beastkin aspect was a lot more pronounced.
“What do you think? This event is here to show everyone how lovable and adorable our beastkin are! What do you think?”
“Uh-huh, sure.”
Goldie was the same kind of beastkin as them?
Goldie—the kind furry fans would call “That's just a kemonomimi!”—was the same kind of beastkin as those furries?
“Umm….”
“Come on, over here!”
Akion's mind short-circuited at the realization that the category of beastkin was broader than he had thought.
By the time he came to his senses, Goldie had already taken him by the hand and dragged him all the way to the entrance of the beastkin maid café.
“Welco—oh my, goodness!! Lady Goldie!!”
“Are you working hard, Miss Angelina?”
And Angelina, the furry—no, beastkin—guarding the entrance seemed to be a furry… no, a beastkin who knew Goldie well.
“And the person beside you… could it be?!!”
“Yes! This is our young master Akion!”
“Oh my goodness!!”
It had paw pads on its hands and a somewhat elongated muzzle, and this was supposed to be the same kind of beastkin as Goldie?
As he struggled to keep his mind from fleeing again, Akion felt a hand seize his other hand.
- Squishy~!
“We are truly grateful that our benefactor, young master Akion, has come to visit!”
“Graaagh.”
It was absurdly soft.
Just like Goldie's cheeks.
“Oh, wait, this won't do! Just a moment, I'll go get the manager! Casey, escort these guests to the VIP section!!”
“Yes, ma'am!”
And so Akion entered the beastkin café without even knowing why they called him a benefactor of the beastkin.
And inside….
“Master! Your omurice is ready, meow!”
“If you pay an additional fee, I can chant a spell to make it taste even better, miss.”
“Oh my fucking God.”
It was a fur-shedding maid-and-butler café.
In other words, a café where everyone classified as beastkin wore maid or butler uniforms while providing serving and other services!
“I-I'll pay! How much? How much do you want?!”
“That depends on your sincerity, young lady.”
“Mmm, it depends on your devotion, meow!”
“Take it all!!!!”
And the beastkin attendants were manipulating their customers… no, their suckers into throwing money around,
leaving Akion wondering if this was really okay.
“Hehe, pretty amazing, right?”
“Yeah.”
Just as Goldie had said, it was amazing in many ways.
From the first impression alone, it was a suspiciously suspicious café.
“Goldie gave them lots of advice for this business—oops, I mean, this event!”
“Huh?”
Goldie had even advised them on this event?
Had she already envisioned turning it into an actual business??
Akion nearly lost his mind again.
“And why am I a benefactor of the beastkin?”
“Ah, well, you see~”
Just as Goldie was about to explain,
- Pop!
“Sorry to interrupt, but would you permit me to explain that?”
“Whoa!”
“Wha—?!”
A being suddenly popped up between Akion and Goldie.
- Twitch-twitch!
“Greetings. I am Raphi of House Twier!”
“Uhh.”
It was a very fluffy rabbit beastkin, its two ears twitching perkily.
“But before that!”
- Pout!
Then she came over beside Akion and stuck out her tongue at him….
“I wish to pay my respects to Professor Akion, who has led the way in promoting cleanliness among us beastkin!”
“…….”
“Now, please allow me to groom you!”
That was a posture of submission displayed by rabbits.
A rabbit lower in the hierarchy would groom another—meaning lick or stroke them with its tongue.
“Y-Young Master Akion! Goldie had heard about it, but she never knew you were this respected?!”
Even Goldie was flustered, so how could Akion be any different?
“Young Master Akion…? Young Master Akiooon?”
“Professor Akion? Oh my, it seems you've fainted with your eyes open.”
Akion's mind completely shut down.