Chapter 130

“Muhuhuhu! This is now the home of the Hekheki!”

“……”

I don’t like it.

I’m so upset I’m about to d*e.

Completely unaware of my feelings, the foxes were happily going in and out of the tiny doghouse.

“When did you prepare that doghouse, Master?”

“This morning.”

“Don’t lie.”

“……I made it myself last night.”

After relentless questioning, the Duke revealed the truth.

Last night was before I gave permission to raise those furry balls.

From this morning, the Duke called me over and persistently persuaded me, so I eventually relented reluctantly…

I was boiling inside.

He pretended to give me a choice, but in reality, everything was preordained.

“Haha. But we’re family now, so don’t think too poorly of it.”

“What family? They are just beasts.”

One of the foxes that was playing with Tia came running over to me, but I shoved it away with my foot.

Companion animal?

I don’t really like that term.

What do you mean companion animal?

How can things that live for only a dozen years and then d*e be my companions in life?

Pet.

I like that term much more.

I prefer a relationship where affection is given in a balanced hierarchy.

So, there is no way I will come to like these creatures.

“It seems Miss Julia is fond of you. It keeps approaching.”

“What are you talking about……”

Maybe.

Maybe that’s true.

But it’s still a bit cute.

*

“Tiamat. This little creature is the key I’ve been looking for all this time.”

In a classroom at St. Sophia.

Nikolai slammed down his fist with “Tiamat” written on the blackboard.

The attendant, Kal, who was watching from the back, merely yawned sneakily.

Nikolai was deeply engrossed in a briefing with no audience, looking quite serious.

“Everyone knows that Tiamat is unusual. She’s the daughter of a dragon, smart, strong, and under the protection of Dragania. Moreover, Tia can sh**t an unidentified ray that burns magical circuits.”

“That’s… something I’ve never heard before.”

“Of course, it’s classified information. I learned it only by witnessing it on the spot.”

Tia was already a well-known individual who was receiving plenty of attention.

But the point Nikolai was focusing on was slightly different.

“Kal. You didn’t see it, but I saw it clearly. I saw how the monsters hit by Tia’s ray turned into normal animals in an instant.”

“Yes……”

“Aren’t you amazed after hearing that? This is a groundbreaking discovery! That monsters were originally ordinary animals! It’s possible to revert them! There have been countless attempts to separate magic from monsters, but they all failed because the monsters died!”

Nikolai shouted excitedly.

For Nikolai, who dreams of researching monsters, this was indeed a rare discovery.

Monsters lack reason, do not sleep or faint, and continuously exhibit aggression.

It’s impossible to study them while they are alive.

But what if the animals are separated from the monsters?

Then it would be possible to research them alive using anesthetics or training.

A new horizon for monster research was opening.

“The problem is that those animals ended up in Dragania’s hands. I proposed to buy them from her on the spot, but Tia firmly refused, saying family is not something to buy or sell. Even when I raised the amount gradually, she remained unfazed. How cunning… She clearly recognized the research value of those animals.”

He proposed a sum that would shock anyone.

Yet Tia remained unfaltering and resolutely declined.

She clearly understood just how valuable those animals were for monster research.

She looks innocent, yet she’s so shrewd…

Nikolai gritted his teeth in frustration.

“In conclusion, I must persuade Tia to sell me those animals as soon as possible. I need to confirm whether they really have research value. To do this…”

“Are you going to visit Miss Tiamat’s house?”

“Yes. No, that’s not it! It’s not a visit! It’s just an inspection!”

Nikolai yelled out in anger.

Kal, having momentarily forgotten, recalled his memory due to Nikolai’s nonsensical words.

Though there were quite a few parts he couldn’t remember, he grasped the main point.

In short, our prince wants to visit a girl’s house.

I must devise the optimal plan for that.

Kal clasped his hands to his mouth and began to think seriously.

…

“Three days of bathroom cleaning?!”

The St. Sophia Discipline Committee.

Tia, who was attending the meeting, was in shock with her mouth agape.

Three days of bathroom cleaning as punishment for this incident?

What on earth did I do wrong?

It was utterly unjust.

“Miss Tiamat is prohibited from shooting anti-magic rays on school premises without the school’s permission. You signed such a contract, didn’t you?”

“Muh… But at that time, a big brother was trying to sh**t magic at Tia…!”

“After analyzing the magic spectrum, it was confirmed that the magic Isaac was trying to cast at that time was a simple flash spell. It was harmless.”

“I didn’t know. Tia didn’t know those things at that time.”

“It wasn’t intentional. Also, it’s difficult to anticipate that there would be monsters in the school storehouse. The fact that monsters were kept in the storehouse is also the school’s mistake. So the punishment was reduced to three days of bathroom cleaning. Initially, it was supposed to be a week.”

“……!”

Seven days?

How could someone even think of such a terrible thing?

Suddenly, Tia began to perceive three days of bathroom cleaning as a very lenient measure.

“Next is regarding the award that will be given to Miss Tiamat.”

“Muh…?”

“This is for aiding the evacuation of students by killing the monsters released in the school, and therefore, we award Miss Tiamat three star points.”

Three days of bathroom cleaning is merely a punishment to complete the necessary formality.

The real deal is this award.

However, if we only give her an award, the other students might object, arguing that Tia also bears responsibility for the incident, so we decided to clearly separate the award and punishment.

Although Tia also holds some responsibility, it’s merely negligible compared to the school’s lapses.

From the perspective of the principal and vice-principal, they were simply grateful that Tia saved the school.

“Thank you. I will express my gratitude once again in the name of the Discipline Committee.”

As soon as the principal and vice-principal stood up to clap, everyone spontaneously applauded Tia.

Even the chairperson, who was trapped in a cage, decided to express pure gratitude to Tia this time.

Amid all this, Tia appeared to be in disbelief about the situation and only wore a dazed expression.

At that moment, Tia was having the following thought.

“Three star points? Is that all…?”

Just three?

Last time, I received fifteen.

And to make a wish again, I need to gather twelve more star points.

Tia was somewhat disappointed since she thought she could make another wish just because they said they’d give her star points.

Tia had already forgotten that a student collecting all fifteen star points would only happen once in a decade.

The fact that this is the first instance of awarding three star points at once doesn’t concern Tia.

“Muuuuu……!”

With that, Tia, having received all the committee’s decisions, began to stomp her feet in irritation.

Three days of bathroom cleaning.

It’s the thing Tia hates most in the world.

Yesterday, she hated monster bl**d the most, and the day before, it was cucumbers, but now it’s been changed to bathroom cleaning.

‘Should I make Turi do it?’

Turi willingly does everything I ask of her.

She even ate the leftover cucumbers from lunch without a word.

She seems to really like cucumbers.

I wonder if she doesn’t dislike cleaning the bathroom.

Tia suddenly thought about that.

“Tia! Stop right there!”

“Muh?”

At that moment, Tia was startled by a voice calling her from behind and halted.

Turning around, she saw Nikolai panting and glaring at her.

Is he here to pick a fight again?

Tia crossed her arms and decided to watch how creatively he picks a fight this time.

“I have something to say.”

“Muh? What is it?”

At that moment, the eyes of those around turned to Tia and Nikolai.

Today, too, Nikolai would only make clicking sounds and wouldn’t express his feelings honestly.

While not having high expectations, those who were quietly eavesdropping on their conversation…

“Today. May I come to your house to see the dog?”

“Kyaak!”

“What?! Did I just hear that correctly?”

“……?”

The moment Nikolai made that statement, people began to shriek.

Some even collapsed in shock.

The two parties involved, Tia and Nikolai, were simply perplexed, not understanding how this had come about.

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