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Chapter 68

With a sensation of floating and wind rushing past her face, Ber opened her eyes.

Reflected in her small black eyes was a face that made the words why him escape involuntarily.

Kaien Noirel.

He held her small body in both hands, staring intently at her tiny face.

From atop a tree.

The vast blue sky. The autumn wind stinging her face. The boar, looking smaller through the gaps in the leaves.

And her own body, floating in the air—or rather, in the sky.

Hah...!

Startled, Ber flailed her limbs toward Kaien.

"Ah... careful now."

Kaien held her close and whispered. Trembling, Ber managed to raise her head at the gentle hand stroking her back.

Peeking up at Kaien, he smiled softly and whispered again:

"Sorry. I have something I need to confirm—so cooperate with me for a moment."

Before she could understand his words, Kaien lifted her into the air again.

The sun, emerging between the clouds, lingered over the pair in the tree.

As the dazzling sunlight fell upon them, Lorenzo below witnessed a sight he'd never imagined.

Lorenzo was chasing the white shadow that had vanished in an instant.

—Where did she go!

He frantically scanned his surroundings, sniffing and irritably searching for the small form.

Though it was only a fleeting glimpse, he'd definitely seen it—she was far smaller than he'd imagined.

"Even if I'm not a bear—what if I were the legendary yeti? What would you have done then?"

Recalling her words, Lorenzo snorted. So small—what could she be? A yeti? Ridiculous.

Collapsing and falling asleep that time was just bad timing—his body must have been off. It just happened when she touched him; there was no way she had some mysterious power.

Lorenzo's breathing grew rougher with excitement. He'd catch her and show the other fools—how this pathetic creature had been bluffing and mocking them all along.

As he rummaged through bushes and under trees, Lorenzo suddenly looked up. The area had darkened.

...?

Lorenzo blinked in confusion. The reason was a shadow suddenly cast over his head—far too large to be a tree's shade.

Driven by curiosity, he looked higher, up toward the sky—and froze.

It was an enormous, truly enormous shadow.

Blinded by the sunlight, he could only see the outline—but he could guess its shape.

A bulk far larger than any tree. Broad shoulders and huge arms raised into the air. And pointed ears like horns atop its head.

Wh-what is that.

The moment he muttered, mouth agape, Lorenzo remembered.

"Do you really think the head of the Grizzly family would adopt a useless beast-person?"

It made perfect sense.

The Grizzly March Count—he'd raised even ordinary dogs into the Empire's strongest military force, the Sled Dog Knights. A beast-person he'd gone so far as to adopt must be far stronger than a mere sled dog.

Yes. That blood-soaked slaughterer could surely subdue even the legendary yeti—said to rule the snowy highlands of the North.

Faced with undeniable reality, Lorenzo had no choice but to admit it.

The girl's boasting wasn't a lie.

The moment he was convinced, the shadow moved.

It turned its head to look down, then slowly raised its arm. The shadow's finger pointed at the boar beneath the tree—at him.

Kkyaaeeek!

Lorenzo screamed and fled frantically.

Holding the rabbit, Kaien had been staring intently at her small face. He nodded quietly.

"...As I thought."

The autumn wind battering her face and ears, Ber didn't hear his murmur. Kaien whispered near her ear:

"Anyway, playing tag with a boar inside the Academy is dangerous. Why were you being chased?"

"......"

Ber hesitated, then shook her head.

No matter how skilled she was at rabbit body language, she couldn't explain the whole story.

If she used her power, she could project her voice directly into Kaien's mind—but that would announce I'm the incarnation.

And more importantly—

The fact that he was speaking so familiarly meant—

He definitely knows I was that Arctic hare!

Well, there were likely no other Arctic hare beast-people at the Academy. Finding a rabbit in animal form in the bushes would be memorable, and if it was an Arctic hare, even more so.

Anyway, it's fine.

Even if he knew she was that Arctic hare beast-person, there was no evidence or reason for him to realize she was the one who'd cured his lung disease.

Kaien hummed, then slowly turned his head to point at Lorenzo below.

"It was that beast-person over there, right? I can't stay here forever, so I'll—"

Kkyaaeeek!

Kaien's voice was drowned by the pig's screech.

The moment his finger pointed precisely at Lorenzo, the boar, terrified, fled like a shot—a full-on retreat.

The sudden turn of events left Kaien momentarily speechless. Ber felt the same.

...What just happened?

Following Kaien's gaze, she saw no approaching faculty or students.

"Oh, look at that."

Kaien suddenly pointed downward, and there lay a massive shadow.

"Maybe that shadow scared him off."

Oh...

The combined silhouette of herself and Kaien perfectly resembled a horned giant.

She'd bluffed to him about being a yeti—and he'd actually believed it.

"Hm... not intentional, but I seem to have helped you a lot. What do you think?"

Unsure what he meant by what do you think, Ber tilted her head. Kaien smiled gently and added:

"If I've been helpful, will you listen to what I have to say?"

Since it was true that he'd helped, Ber nodded, bewildered. Watching her head bob up and down, Kaien slowly descended from the tree.

In a few steps, he was on the ground, gently setting Ber on a rock beside the tree. He searched the nearby bushes and quickly found her uniform, neatly folding it beside the rock.

"There. The boar ran off, so it should be quiet for a while."

Saying that, he carefully sat beside the rock where Ber was perched.

"There's something I've wanted to tell you for a while. But first, let me ask how you're doing—how's your health since that day? You didn't animalize because you're unwell again today, did you?"

Kaien asked with worried eyes. Ber shook her head vigorously. As expected, he remembered she was that day's rabbit.

"What a relief."

At her response, Kaien seemed greatly relieved. Bewildered, the rabbit widened her black eyes.

His expression was like someone who'd finally found something precious he'd been searching for.

Why would he look at her like that? She had no time to dwell on it.

"Imperial Academy General Studies first-year—Verdiana Grizzly."

At his precise identification, Ber's shoulders stiffened.

"That day, I visited the nurse late at night and confirmed it—your name."

"......"

"Sorry. I knew it was rude, but I couldn't stop. Because—I'd realized it."

Kaien's gray eyes, serious and earnest, held the tiny rabbit within them.

"Verdiana. You're the one who cured my lung disease two years ago."

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