By Zephyria 
Friday morning, it was time for intermediate swordsmanship.
Today too, I had braced myself, expecting Bill to cause a noisy ruckus, but for some reason, the child remained quiet throughout the class, not opening his mouth once.
Seeing the usually noisy child become so calm made me uneasy, so I kept looking at him.
Upon closer inspection, his actions were the same as usual, but his mouth was shut tight as if someone had buttoned it up.
So curious, I called the child over and subtly asked him, and what he whispered into my ear was truly astonishing.
“You said Michael Brother likes quiet people. I heard you.”
“⋯Uh⋯. Right. That’s right⋯.”
So, speaking corrected things?
I thought of the Peng family brat, to whom I’d repeated ‘be quiet,’ ‘behave,’ ‘think,’ until my mouth was sore, and felt regret for treating the child unfairly.
With a pang of guilt, I gently stroked the child’s head. His short hair felt prickly like a chestnut burr.
As I was praising him for being lovely and good, Rubel, who had been watching blankly, approached and boasted that he had told Bill.
“Yes, yes, you’re good too,” I said, and stroked the soft boy’s head as well.
Benjamin, standing beside me, was watching intently, so I asked if he wanted me to stroke his head too, but the child recoiled in surprise and disgust.
It was torture to hold back my laughter. After enduring it for a long time, I suddenly burst out laughing during lunch, which was awkward.
Friday afternoon was our Introduction to Monsters class, with just Rubel and me.
When scheduling, Shayden was supposed to take the class with us, but Rubel had said he would be there, so Shayden had vehemently refused, saying he would take it next year.
I knew Shayden felt uncomfortable around Rubel, but I hadn’t thought it would be to the point where they couldn’t take a class together, so I was surprised for a moment.
However, upon reflection, it wasn’t an unwelcome development. Shayden, whenever he was in front of Rubel, would speak in a formal tone and act meekly, and I had often found myself unsure how to behave between the two of them.
It was better to consider it fortunate that Rubel and I would be taking the class alone.
After lunch, we walked to the classroom side-by-side.
The child suddenly asked me.
“Young Master Ernhardt. I have something I’m curious about.”
“What is it?”
“⋯Um, yesterday. In the morning⋯what did you talk about with Senior Orgen?”
I had forgotten about it yesterday afternoon due to Boulder, and this morning, I had forgotten while preoccupied with Bill.
How could the child have seen that? I had no intention of telling him about my encounter with Walter.
Come to think of it, Rubel had asked something similar before. Hadn’t he asked if I was into homosexuality?
A sudden curiosity arose.
“It came up by chance before, but…”
“Yes?”
“⋯I heard that whether men can marry is not legally defined.”
“Huh?”
Rubel looked extremely flustered and dropped what he was holding.
I quickly caught the book and pencil case before they hit the floor and returned them to his hand.
The dazed child couldn’t properly hold what I gave him, so I folded his fingers one by one to help him grasp the book again. The child hugged the book with both arms.
It was a cute pose for a boy approaching adulthood with his tall stature, but looking at him, it seemed to suit him.
“Is it that surprising?”
Rubel was destined to become the Emperor of this nation. It would be difficult to amend that law without the Emperor’s will.
I knew nothing about the law yet. I had asked without any particular thought, and the child hesitantly began to speak.
“No, no. I… I thought it was necessary too.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Um… Um… But how… did that topic come up by chance?”
Rubel trailed off several times, sounding anxious. I didn’t answer, not wanting to chatter about Walter.
I looked up at the child. I asked my own question again.
“Why?”
“Huh?”
“Why did you think it was necessary?”
The child’s face turned bright red again.
He had been so quick and endearing this morning, but I didn’t understand why he had suddenly become so obtuse and fumbled.
I wondered if he had a fever. I had never experienced it, but I heard that young children often get fevers and fall ill. Michael also often had fevers.
While martial artists rarely fall ill, this child was always so frail and pitiful, so it was possible.
I raised my hand and touched the child’s cheek and forehead.
The child sputtered a few times like a goldfish, then became quiet.
Still, my height must have grown a bit over the winter. When I touched his forehead before winter, my shoulder had felt more uncomfortable. I thought about that.
“You have a bit of a fever.”
“No, it’s… it happens sometimes.”
“I know. Please take care of your health.”
“Mhm… I’ll be careful.”
“Perhaps drink some honey water.”
“⋯Honey?”
“It will give you energy.”
“Ah, right. Of course. Eating something sweet… Yes…”
In the noble houses of the Central Plains, sick children were given rock honey. I heard they were sometimes given ginseng preserved in honey. Jegal Amugae had gifted me some, and I had tasted it once; it was sweet and delicious, imbued with a potent, spiritual energy.
I thought I should find something similar in the Sierran Empire.
The child remained silent for a long time, but just before we reached the classroom and opened the door, he suddenly grabbed my forearm. His voice, as if pouring out, was urgent.
“Can we talk about this again later?”
“Of course.”
He had a knack for making a trivial matter sound incredibly serious. I let out a soft laugh.
❖ ❖ ❖
Steven McCliffe, who taught Introduction to Monsters, had an ordinary appearance.
Brown hair, hazy eyes, a finely sculpted jawline… With glasses, he would have been exactly Marianne’s type, so handsome was he.
Then again, Marianne liked flashy things. I quickly dismissed the thought.
The work-study student sitting in the front row stood up abruptly and handed out a book to each student entering the class.
The book, bound thickly, had a substantial cover that felt pleasant to the touch. It was fascinating how a gold seal was pressed onto the animal hide cover, creating a pattern.
I wasn’t the only one who found it fascinating; all the children were abuzz, calling the binding cool and pretty.
Steven waited until all the books were distributed, then, with a wide smile gracing his handsome face, he began to speak.
“Hello, everyone. I am Steven McCliffe, and I will be teaching you about monsters this semester. The book you have just received is made from orc hide. How does it feel? Very smooth and soft, isn’t it?”
“Ack!”
Sounds of books being thrown echoed from various places.
I stared at Professor Steven, dumbfounded. He didn’t show the slightest change in expression as he watched the children’s surprised commotion. I felt a sense of dread.
“Even if you throw them now, you’ll have to catch them during the exam period anyway, so pick them up quickly. If you pick them up within three seconds, you can eat them… Ah, that was a joke. Anyway, it’s nice to meet you. For now, let’s start by opening the first page of the book you just received and writing your names. It’s quite expensive, so surprisingly, some people try to steal them.”
Though it was unsettling, I thought, well, hadn’t I grown accustomed to the grotesque face of the golem? The hide of a monster shouldn’t be much different.
I nodded appropriately and turned the cover of the book.
I glanced at Rubel, and to my surprise, he showed no sign of shock, which surprised me even more.
Is he really alright? Rubel looked up from the table of contents on the first page and saw my gaze, then quickly looked back at me.
Seeing the blush still lingering on his cheeks, I patted his back and whispered for him to look at his book, which he did.
Steven instructed us to turn two more pages. Skipping the table of contents, large letters appeared.
—What is a Monster?
“What do you think a monster is? A curse from God? A concentration of Mana? A terrible disaster?”
Professor Steven’s voice was consistently gentle, much like his appearance.
The children, having been startled by the book, were extremely focused, and the classroom was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The professor’s voice was exceptionally clear.
“Currently, the Monster Response Department of the Sierran Empire defines monsters as: Magic, Aberrant, Organism.”
Thanks to the distinct pronunciation of each syllable, the words were etched into my mind before I could fully grasp their meaning. I wrote them down exactly as they appeared in the book: Magic Aberrant Organism.
“As you all know, the Yuil Mountains are condensed with high-concentration Mana. That is the primary habitat of monsters. Monsters are creatures that have evolved to withstand the collision of chaos and order, and Mana. As you know, monsters give birth, raise their young, and die when they get old. They exhibit entirely different patterns from Magical Creatures or Spirits.”
“⋯.”
“Beings capable of reproduction are what we call organisms. However, as you know, monsters are extremely ferocious. What is the difference between a monster and a wild beast? Researchers claim that the Mana in the Magic territory has made them more ferocious than they originally were.”
Steven explained that most monsters, whether it be their hide, flesh, bones, muscles, tendons, or blood, contained dense Mana.
He explained that they had evolved from primordial life forms to survive in an environment of persistent and sticky Mana, too potent for humans to inhabit, leading to their current forms.
This was the first time I encountered the concept of evolution, and I was bewildered. Fortunately, there were a few children like me who received detailed explanations.
We had always heard about how a child of someone who diligently practiced swordsmanship could wield a sword a little better, or how a child of someone skilled in magic could use magic a little better.
However, that was passed down through blood. It was inheritance contained within lineage.
For me, who valued kinship, it was difficult to accept. It wasn’t that there were naturally bloodlines suited for swordsmanship, or bloodlines with innate intelligence.
A tiger gives birth to a tiger, and a cat gives birth to a cat. That’s how I had lived until now.
When I heard stories of a beast’s feathers or skin becoming whiter or tougher over generations due to the environment they faced, I could only marvel.
If a creature that became a dragon gave birth to offspring, would they be dragons or lesser dragons? It was a question that required deep thought.
The first class was spent listening to explanations about why monsters were classified as organisms. When the class ended, Rubel grabbed my wrist, saying he still had something to say.
I was worried the child might catch a cold due to the weather, so I suggested we go to my room, but Rubel stiffened in surprise.
I coaxed him several times, assuring him I wouldn’t eat him, and brought him to my room.