The very next day after I resolved to learn about the Outer Gods through the Necronomicon…
“Hmm, I give up.”
I quickly abandoned it. The reason was…
“What are you giving up on?”
The issue was this Lily who was now cutely looking up at me.
“Lily, let’s try putting some distance between us…”
“I don’t want to.”
“…If we see each other too often, a lull might set in…”
“I don’t want to.”
“…”
Of course!!
Because of this cute Outsider who refuses to part from me, I can’t read the book!
I even thought about leaving Lily in the room for a while.
“Meow~ Om…”
Seeing Lily fidgeting with my school uniform brought me to hold her even tighter instead of abandoning her.
“Ah…I’m happy…I’m healed…”
What was I thinking, abandoning such a cute creature? I must’ve been crazy, crazy.
I’ll read the Necronomicon later.
—-
Lakeard Elgin suddenly realized that his hands were trembling.
Once he recognized the reason was tension, he let out a hollow laugh.
If the students saw him visibly expressing emotion, they would be shocked.
Even though Lakeard rarely showed emotion, today was different.
“Hmm…”
He took a deep breath and knocked on the door before him.
“Knock knock”
“It’s Lakeard Elgin.”
A moment later, a voice came from beyond the door.
“Come in.”
As the door opened on its own, he slowly stepped forward and bowed deeply.
“It’s been a while.”
Then came the young voice from across from him.
“Has it been?”
“Yes, it’s the first time since this year began.”
“I apologize. Lately, I’ve lost track of time… In any case, please sit.”
Only then did Lakeard lift his head for the first time since entering the room and sat down in the guest chair with composed movements.
Across from him sat a young man with blonde hair.
With his legs crossed, the young man gestured, and a cup of coffee appeared in front of Lakeard.
“If I remember correctly, you only drank strong ones?”
“Yes, I will drink it well.”
After a ceremonious sip, Lakeard returned the coffee cup to the table.
“So… What is the reason for your visit?”
“Are you aware of the commotion that happened at the Academy yesterday?”
“Aah… That huge roar? I thought a meteor had fallen!”
The young man with blonde hair clapped his hands in surprise.
“Aha! It seems there was another reagent explosion from the Alchemy Department.”
“…Unfortunately, no.”
“Oh, I see. Since Professor Lakeard is here, it must be a Magic Department issue, right? Some foolish professor must’ve cast a spell backward again?”
“It was a student.”
“…What?”
Lakeard placed the small file from his lap down onto the table.
As if drawn up on its own, the file came into the young man’s hands, and he began to slowly flip through it.
“…A familiar. Surprising.”
Contrary to his words, there was not a single flicker of emotion on the young man’s face.
As the young man slowly turned the pages, his hands hesitated.
“Radiant beam, curse, shield… Was the roar’s cause the beam?”
“Yes, the beam’s effect caused the outdoor training ground to split and the cross-sections to boil up.”
“Ah… If the place split like that, it must have been quite an attack.”
The young man stared silently at one page.
“Cat… What’s the name?”
“The student who contracted calls it ‘Lilim.'”
At that moment, the young man’s eyebrows twitched.
“…Lilim?”
For the first time, he showed an emotional reaction, and Lakeard barely restrained himself from jumping up.
‘He showed emotion?!’
The young man before him, despite his youthful appearance, had spent countless ages, far surpassing the level to even call oneself human.
He had heard the tale that the emotions had worn out over eons, yet he saw its exception just now.
“The reason why you’ve brought this to me, Professor Lakeard?”
“It’s the head’s instruction from the Magic Department.”
“What decision was made there?”
“They’re demanding immediate confiscation.”
“Hmm…”
The young man leisurely stroked his pale jaw before suddenly standing up.
“Let’s defer the answer for now. Tell the Magic Department… to wait for at least three days, or as much as a week.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Any other business?”
“No.”
As Lakeard rose from his seat, he bowed to the young man.
“Then, I shall take my leave. Chancellor.”
“Yes, see you again.”
Once Lakeard left, the young man who was called Chancellor began walking around the room leisurely.
“Lilim… Lilim… Lilim…”
He stopped at the window.
The reflection in the window showed his eyes glowing in completely different colors.
One like a sapphire, blue, the other like a ruby, red.
Both eyes shone like jewels, creating an enigmatic atmosphere.
He faintly furrowed his eyes and mumbled.
“…Lily?”
—-
After what the students called the ‘Nya Nya d*ath Beam Incident,’ for a while, I was not involved in any other incidents.
The ones who used to torment me fled at the sight of Lily once the rumors spread.
Even Louis occasionally displayed hostility toward me but fled with his tail between his legs after receiving a bite from Lily.
Thanks to that, since entering the academy, I experienced the most peaceful days of my life.
And it was the third day after that incident.
The last day before the holiday dawned.
As usual, I had breakfast with Lily and went to school together.
Peaceful life was awkward at first, but after three days, it became familiar.
Now, I’ve reached the point of playing with Lily during class.
Gently stroking her glossy fur…
Quietly touching her soft cheek when sneakily placing her on my knee.
Lily accepted all my actions, and she seemed to be enjoying my touches too.
As I spend time twirling Lily’s tail, I couldn’t help but sigh because I lost focus once again during class.
“… How can anyone concentrate with such a cute lifeform right in front of me?”
It’s irresistible.
“I want to touch Lilim too…”
While Reti, sitting beside, grumbled, there was nothing to be done about it.
Not just Reti, many students had already visited me to touch Lily.
However, Lily rejected every touch, and any forced attempt was swiftly punished with a ‘nyan nyan punch’ (with claws extended).
“Asher, I hope you’ll control your strength a bit today.”
“Huh?”
Confused by Reti’s sudden words, Reti explained.
“The next session is practical.”
“Ah.”
The practical class we have twice a week returned.
Everyone’s attention was drawn to Lily who made a dazzling debut last time.
“Can we see it again today? The Nya Nya d*ath Beam!”
“I was absent last time and left early because of it, so it’s a relief…”
“Lilim is cute~!”
Thankfully, most reactions were positive.
‘Then, how cute must our Lily be!’
It’s only natural that she gains popularity…
‘…Why does it prick a corner of my heart?’
Certainly, it was a familiar feeling, but it disappeared so quickly I didn’t have time to recognize it.
Still pondering, Professor Lakeard entered the training ground.
“You all know next week is the practical assessment for this semester. Good results only come through effort. Everyone, start preparing seriously. Let’s start with execution first.”
Students began practicing their respective magics.
Those using attack spells called forth sand dummies to practice hitting, and those using support magic helped the trainees from the side.
It was the time for everyone to showcase their respective fields practically. That’s what this practical session was all about.
…Though it should be like that for sure…
“This cat has no other abilities?”
“Me, I see a familiar for the first time…”
“Me too!”
“Show us the Nya Nya d*ath Beam!”
…You guys, do your own tasks already…
Finally, with Professor Lakeard’s mediation, I secured my time.
“Lil…cough… Lilim. Let’s start practicing with curses?”
“Meow!”
After conjuring a sand dummy, I awkwardly pointed at it and cried out.
“Goo… Attack!”
“…. Meow?”
However, Lily just looked oddly at me.
“Why? Did you not understand… Ah!”
The one who didn’t understand was me.
‘Such a fool. Curses naturally only work on living beings, right?’
Initially, I was asking for something impossible.
“Then, how about shields first?”
I looked around and approached a boy who was practicing offensive magic.
“Excuse me…”
“What’s up? What’s the matter?”
“My familiar creates a shield, so I want to test it, and I wondered if you could help me?”
The boy glanced at me and Lily before nodding readily.
“Alright. How much power should I use?”
“Let’s start lightly and gradually increase, please.”
“Okay~”
Having found a partner easily, I moved to the position where the boy had been practicing with the sand dummy.
“Lilim, shield!”
-Oom
As I shouted, a thin barrier appeared in front.
“Oh! So it can create a shield?”
“Another ability after d*ath Beam. Isn’t she practically a tank?”
Hmm… Imagining a tank and the Lilim in her current cat form…
‘Such, only cute scenes come to mind.’
A Lilim using Nya Nya Punch on the tank.
Just imagining it made me want to laugh.
“Then, here I go!”
Flames began flicker in the boy’s hands.
Judging by the size, it seemed his power was controlled.
“Alright!”
With a shout from the boy, a fireball flew toward us.
Though it was dangerous imagining I would take it directly, in front of me stood an Outsider’s shield.
As soon as the boy’s fireball touched Lily’s shield, it shattered into pieces.
“Wow! That’s quite a sturdy shield!”
The boy prepared another fireball, this one looking hotter and more solid.
“Here I go! Yargh!”
The fireball coming towards us, heating the air, was certainly menacing. But once again…
“It got blocked!”
“The attack isn’t strong alone?”
The boy smiled brightly.
“With this, I think my maximum output will be blocked as well. Want to try?”
There was no need to think.
“Sure. Hit it with your full strength.”
“Gotcha. Hmm…!”
The boy squeezed out his power so much that I could see his face turn red even from a distance.
The ensuing fireball was visibly larger and hotter than the previous one.
“I’m coming!”
The intense heat from the fireball’s trajectory reached me.
‘Wow, this does look incredibly powerful-‘
The shield was engulfed in flames so that I couldn’t see anything.
Murmurs from the students behind could be heard.
“Is that okay?”
“It’s too strong, isn’t it?”
“Cat! No~!”
But soon enough, the murmurs began to carry a different meaning.
“Eh? I can see the shield!”
“To think it blocked that? Incredible…”
“Just now, that fireball was quite powerful. It seems fine though?”
Though the heat reached me a bit, Lily just gave a little laugh, and the heat could no longer penetrate the shield.
Thanks to that, I stayed unscathed and had to sheepishly laugh.
“So, this works?”
This shield undeniably made me invincible even against academy-level attacks.
‘An Outsider’s shield… It’s pretty reliable.’
I stroked Lily who peeked up at me with a smile.
“As expected, Lilim is the best.”
“Meow~”
Just as I was about to release the shield…
“Should I test it too?”
“Me too! Me too!”
“I’m from the neutral-element class, so it’ll help!”
Suddenly, many students raised their hands to test the shield.
A glance at Lily confirmed her relaxed gaze.
“…Then, let’s give it a go?”
—-
By the time the practice session ended, a total of six students had attacked me, and as expected, Lily’s shield remained unwavering, without a single scratch or shake.
“The practice is over. Now, we’ll do sparring. Decide your partners yourselves.”
Following the professor’s instruction, close friends grouped together to choose pairs.
Reti quickly came running toward me.
“Arthur! Me and-”
Right then…
“Sorry, but I already claimed the troll first?”
Louis suddenly popped up, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. Then, in a quiet voice so only I could hear, he said,
“Just because you’ve gotten a cat, you’ve gotten cocky. I’ll make you realize your place.”
…Why is he like this..?
Lilim’s Nya Nya Punch beckons.
—-
Thus, until the execution session ended, I endured six attacks, and unsurprisingly, Lilim’s shield showed not a scratch, nor a single tremor.
“We’re done with execution. Now, we’ll do dueling. Make pairs yourselves.”
Following Professor’s instructions, close friends grouped up.
Reti rushed to me, too.
“Arthur! Let me and-”
But right then…
“Sorry, but I already staked a claim on the troll?”
Louis suddenly appeared, wrapping an arm around my shoulder then, in a voice too low for others to hear:
“Just because you’ve got a cat, don’t get cocky. I’ll teach you your place.”
…Why is he like this..?
Time to introduce him to Lilim’s Nya Nya Punch.
