NOVPUBLeo hadn’t stepped in because he was worried about the girl in front of him.
If anything, it was closer to the opposite.
“How did you know?” 𝘯𝑜𝑣𝑝𝑢𝘣.𝑐𝑜𝑚
“You were practically leaking killing intent. How could I not notice? Not that those idiots just now had a clue that a blade was right at their throats.”
“I wasn’t planning to kill them. Just wanted to make an example.”
“Oh, is that so? So you were at least half thinking of killing them?”
“......So. What now?”
Leo frowned sharply at Iona’s wary question.
She didn’t seem to realize it herself, but her golden irises had slit vertically.
Like a beast’s.
“Hey. Don’t glare at me like that. You think I’m trying to threaten you or something?”
“...Aren’t you?”
“No.”
“Then why’d you stop me?”
“Sigh. Seriously, what’s the point of talking. I stopped you so you wouldn’t do that kind of crap in broad daylight where everyone can see. Why do you think?”
“......”
Iona’s eyes returned to their normal shape.
She stared at the small boy, who was still grumbling in front of her, with a puzzled look.
Leo snapped back at the look.
“What, why?”
“Aren’t you afraid of me?”
“Afraid of you?”
At first Leo wondered what the hell she was talking about—then immediately got it.
“You thought I’d discriminate against you for being beastkin or something?”
“Most people around here either hate me or are scared of me.”
“That’s just ‘cause they don’t know anything.”
As if asking and you’re different?, Iona looked at him in silence, but Leo, grumbling, still answered earnestly.
He wasn’t always like this, but ever since hanging out with that Aidan idiot, he’d started acting like this—at least that’s what he told himself to rationalize it.
“Fear comes from ignorance. But once you know something, there’s no reason to be afraid of it. You said your name’s Iona Obelli, right?”
“Yeah.”
“If a beastkin has a surname, that means you’re from a pretty prominent bloodline. Considering most beastkin are hostile toward humans, your being here probably doesn’t represent your whole tribe’s wishes.”
“That’s right.”
“And yet you still came to Seorn, which means...”
Iona quietly listened to Leo’s words.
She even started to feel a flicker of curiosity—just what was this tiny boy getting at?
“You came because you wanted to know. About humans. And about the wider world.”
“......”
Iona stayed silent.
Because everything he said wasn’t baseless nonsense—it was absolutely correct.
“You’re right. But how did you know?”
“Hmph. That’s easy. I’ve heard about how beastkin live.”
“That’s amazing. Most people just look down on us as savages.”
“That’s only because there’s not enough public information about other races yet. The anti-nonhuman discrimination law is about to be proposed, and guess who’s desperately trying to block it? The damn nobles.”
Just thinking about nobles made Leo click his tongue.
He hated them, so it was only natural that he’d take the side opposite to them when it came to race discrimination.
“So don’t get the wrong idea. I only helped you ‘cause I hate those bastards.”
“Péquena Solda. You’re a good person.”
“What?”
“You’re a good person—”
“No, not that. What you said before that. Pequ... what?”
“Péquena Solda. It’s from my tribe’s language. In your tongue, it means ‘small but brave warrior.’”
“What did you just say?”
A vein bulged on Leo’s forehead.
Iona had meant it purely as a compliment—but her words struck a nerve.
“Hey. I’m warning you now—don’t go calling me small or whatever.”
“Why?”
“What do you mean, why.”
Was she seriously asking that?
Leo nearly said, Look at me, but stopped himself. Explaining it out loud would just make it worse.
He’d always been smaller than kids his age.
Because he never got proper nutrition growing up.
He was naturally small and had a body that couldn’t eat much. It left him with a frail frame, and that had become a complex he couldn’t shake.
“You can look at me and still say something like that?”
“Oh.”
Apparently, Iona wasn’t entirely oblivious—she seemed to understand what he meant.
“I don’t get it. Why are you so hung up on something that minor?”
“Minor?”
Leo sneered, curling one side of his lip.
“That’s rich coming from a beastkin. Beastkin are naturally tall and physically strong. What would you know about what it’s like to be small?”
“Height doesn’t matter. What matters is the strength of your heart.”
Strength of heart? What is this, a fairy tale?
Leo stared at Iona with obvious doubt in his eyes, but her expression was more serious than before.
Her unwavering gaze told him she meant every word.
“Péquena Solda. You helped me just now. Even though it could’ve gotten you into a fight with other students.”
“If I’d left it alone, it could’ve gotten worse. And I just hated those guys, that’s all.”
“If you were really a bad person, you would’ve left me alone. You might’ve even egged me on to hurt those nobles.”
“......”
Every word from Iona pierced Leo right in the chest.
He felt a tingling on his skin. It was uncomfortable—yet oddly pleasant. A familiar sensation.
Yeah. It felt just like what he’d been experiencing ever since he became friends with that idiot Aidan. That annoyingly kind, nosy bastard.
“So you don’t need to stress so much about being small.”
“......Forget it. I don’t need that kind of empty advice.”
When he said that, Iona immediately shut her «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» mouth, which made Leo almost blow up—but he just sighed instead.
“Just call me Leo.”
“What?”
“My name. I’m not some ‘Péquena Solda’ or whatever. If you’re gonna call me something, use my actual name. That’s what it is.”
“From now on?”
“That’s your response? Whatever. Anyway, I’m done here, so I’m leaving.”
Leo waved his hand dismissively, trying to walk away from Iona. He had a feeling that if he stayed with her any longer, he’d start feeling even weirder.
It doesn’t matter if you’re short? What matters is the strength of your heart?
He’d scoffed at the idea—but ironically, it was the one thing that hit him hardest and gave him comfort.
The fact that he was consoled by a beastkin girl who’d come all the way to a foreign land on her own pricked at Leo’s pride, already battered by years of hurt.
So he ended up acting all prickly and cold.
Not that she seems to care about that sort of thing.
And anyway, he had no plans of getting too familiar with her, so he figured it’d be easier to just act like she didn’t exist.
That was the plan, at least—until his steps were stopped by a familiar shout from someone spotting him in the distance.
“Ah! Leo! There you are!”
Aidan came bounding toward him like some oversized puppy, grinning from ear to ear.
Next to him was Taishy, with her usual prim and proper expression.
“Aidan.”
“We just got back from receiving our framework. Well, not me—Taishy. But when I heard you’d already gone through it, I figured you’d still be nearby, so we came right away...”
In the middle of his ramble, Aidan noticed the girl standing behind Leo.
“Oh, right. Your name was... Iona, wasn’t it?”
“Iona Obelli.”
“Ah, right. Yeah. Nice to meet you, Iona.”
“Hey, hey, Aidan. What do you think you’re doing?”
“Huh? Oh, I mean, we’re in the same class, so we’re basically friends, right?”
At the word friend, Leo’s face twisted in disgust.
“Friends, my ass. We’re just students in the same classroom.”
“Isn’t that what friends are?”
“What the hell kind of logic is that...”
“Oh! Iona, if you’re okay with it, want to come with us? We were just about to grab lunch. It’d be more fun to eat together, right?”
Leo had always known Aidan was hopelessly nosy, but he didn’t think the guy would throw something like that out now of all times.
Leo quickly shot a worried glance at Iona.
“W-Wait, Aidan. You’re inviting her to lunch? Isn’t that a bit much?”
Even Taishy seemed to think this was pushing it, as she tried to stop him.
“Huh? Why?”
“Uh, well... It’s just kind of awkward, you know? Eating with someone you’re not close to. It’s... uncomfortable, sort of?”
As she looked at Aidan’s innocent face, Taishy swallowed back the words she’s a beastkin.
It wasn’t because she was afraid of beastkin or hated them. It just rubbed her the wrong way how naturally Aidan was inviting another girl to lunch.
Wait. Why is this bothering me so much?
Taishy was still fumbling with her thoughts, not quite understanding her irritation, while Aidan waited for Iona’s answer.
Iona nodded without hesitation.
“Sure.”
“Really? That’s great! Let’s go! It’ll definitely be more fun with more people!”
“Ah!”
“Damn it.”
Leo and Taishy both groaned in unison, realizing they’d missed the window to stop him. But the damage was done.
And so, the usual trio just got a new addition.
* * *
Elisa Willow was buried in paperwork in the Headmaster’s Office, too busy to catch a break.
Stacks of documents floated around her in orbit, suspended by magic.
Her golden eyes darted quickly as she skimmed through each page at lightning speed.
Several pens hovered midair, guided by her telekinesis, signing documents one after another.
Normally, she’d take her time with this kind of work, but recently the amount of paperwork reaching her desk had tripled. She had no choice but to handle it like this.
Only when the floating papers were stacked neatly in a towering pile near the office ceiling did her morning work finally end.
“Whew!”
Elisa stretched her arms high above her head and let out a satisfied sigh.
Wilford, who had been waiting quietly nearby, stepped forward.
“Have you finished your tasks?”
“Not yet. I’ve only done half. I’m just taking a short break.”
“You’re working hard, Headmaster.”
“It comes with the job. I knew what I was signing up for. But I can’t deny that recent events have made it particularly exhausting.”
Grumbling, Elisa flicked her fingers and pulled out a few specially sorted sheets of paper, fluttering them lightly in one hand.
“Honestly. I don’t get why they’re sending us requests for help on matters they should be handling themselves.”
It was a direct request from the city of Rederbelk to Seorn Academy.
“That just shows how dire the situation is, doesn’t it?”
“Sure, the appearance of the Jevaudan beast is a major issue, but asking us for support? And not even the students—they want us to send graduates or faculty who happen to have ties to the place.”
Elisa let out a rare sigh, a deep crease forming on her forehead.
“That’s a bit much. The mayor must be pretty desperate.”
“Of course he is. Slacked off as always, and now that something’s blown up in his face, he’s scrambling to deal with it. But even so, trying to pull people from Seorn crosses the line.”
Since the Jevaudan beast appeared, Rederbelk had been in chaos.
Citizens were terrified the nightmare of blood might return at any moment, and naturally, the city's energy had taken a sharp downturn.
“Still, things have gotten better now, haven’t they?”
“They have. No one expected the Bretus Theocracy to step in.”
After the capital requested aid, a group had arrived in Rederbelk.
They were dressed in pure white robes—not from the Exilion Empire, but from a distant island nation.
The Holy Knights of the Bretus Theocracy.
They brought with them a warm, radiant aura and moved swiftly through the city, easing public anxiety and bringing back some vitality.
“Well, that’s a relief, isn’t it?”
“For now, maybe. But the real problem comes next. The Bretus Theocracy—those rigid zealots—have finally started moving after locking themselves away for so long. That alone is deeply unsettling.”
“That’s true.”
The popular image of Bretus might be one of serene holiness and beauty, but reality was very different.
A backward nation obsessed with doctrine, so steeped in fanaticism it made even other humans uneasy.
So when people heard that Bretus was stepping in, the first emotion wasn’t reassurance—it was anxiety.
“If the mood in the city goes sour, we’ll feel the ripple effects here, too. No matter how separate Seorn is administratively, we can’t completely sever ties with the surrounding cities.”
“Even among the students and staff, the atmosphere’s been tense. No wonder your paperwork’s piled up.”
“Exactly. Too many things needed to be handled all at once. But thankfully, we’re almost through it.”
“Hm. In that case, since you’re taking a break, would you care to look at this?”
“What’s that?”
When Elisa looked at the document Wilford handed her, her eyes sparkled with interest.
“Oh my. These are materials from Professor Ludger’s class today?”
“Yes.”
“Thanks for bringing this, Wilford.”
Elisa smiled softly as she took the class notes Wilford handed over.
Lately, she had developed a little hobby to help relieve stress and relax.
Going over Ludger Cherish’s class materials personally, like this.
It was one of the few perks of being Headmaster that she genuinely enjoyed.
“Wow. This kind of magic circle structure...”
Just moments ago, she’d been frowning at a mountain of documents, but now, like a child handed candy, she beamed as she delved into the material on magic arrays.
