Chapter 68: Beastkin and Divine Beasts

We returned to the Academy of Magic using teleportation magic.

There’s a teleportation marker inside our classroom, so we teleported directly there.

By the way, I’ve placed several markers around the school in case of emergencies, though I make sure to use them discreetly so as not to attract unwanted attention. It would be troublesome if others discovered I could use teleportation magic.

“Halt, you can teleport… Are you a Hero?”

Even for a Divine Beast like Shiro, teleportation is a rare skill.

“Ah, well, something like that.”

I responded vaguely, hurrying toward the training hall since class was almost over. I’ll explain the situation to Shiro later if there’s time.

──＊＊＊──

“We’re back—Uwah!? Is everyone okay?”

As soon as I stepped into the training hall, I saw my classmates sprawled out on the floor, looking like corpses.

Ryuushin and Luke, in particular, had passed out with their eyes rolled back in their heads.

“Welcome back, Halt-sama.”

“You’re back. Good timing. We’re just waiting for everyone to recover.”

Tina and Sage Luarno, who were exceptionally calm amidst the chaos, approached me.

“Um, Headmaster… Shouldn’t we give everyone recovery potions or something?”

My classmates had been training to expand their manaforges, which required them to use mana until they passed out.

“The manaforge won’t expand unless they use their own magical powers to recover. I can’t do anything about it. The most I can do is put them in a protective barrier to prevent further harm while they recover.”

Right now, all my classmates had used up nearly 90% of their mana. If they were hit by something, they could easily sustain real injuries.

“Halt-sama, what is that beast on your shoulder?”

“S-Somehow, I can sense divinity…”

It looked like Tina and Sage Luarno had noticed Shiro’s presence.

“I’m Shiro. Halt’s familiar.”

Shiro introduced himself from his perch on my shoulder.

“You can talk!?”

“Are you really Halt’s familiar?”

Tina and Sage Luarno were surprised. Talking familiars are rare, apparently.

Most magicians and sages have magical beasts, demons, fairies, or spirits as familiars. In my case, I have Youko the Demon, Fire Spirit Mai, Water Spirit Mei, and now Shiro, the Divine Beast Fenrir.

It’s funny to think about—out of all my familiars, none of them *can’t* talk.

“Well, a lot happened.”

I debated explaining that Shiro is a Divine Beast but hesitated. While I was thinking it over, Shiro leapt down from my shoulder and trotted toward my unconscious classmates.

“Hey, this one looks like he’s passed out. Shouldn’t we help him?”

“They’re training to speed up their mana recovery, so they can’t use recovery potions. Don’t bite him, though. He’ll die.”

“Hmm. Oh! This one looks like she’s waking up soon.”

Shiro walked over to Merdie and gently stroked her face with his tail.

“Mmm… Nnn… H-Huh, I…”

Merdie blinked her eyes open and brushed Shiro’s tail away.

“You’re a Beastkin.”

“Eh, Fenrir-sama?”

Merdie recognized Fenrir immediately.

Among Beastkin, it’s tradition to consider themselves as retainers of Divine Beasts. That probably explains it.

Even though Shiro’s current appearance looks very different from his true form, Merdie still saw him for what he was—a Divine Beast.

“What did you just say? Fenrir!? Isn’t that a Divine Beast?”

“Halt-sama, where on earth did you find him?”

“Yeah, apparently, he was sleeping on a mountain near our family mansion. I accidentally woke him up while I was training. He said he couldn’t go back to sleep, so I brought him with me.”

“…”

Tina, the Headmaster, and Merdie were all speechless.

Meanwhile, Shiro climbed back onto my shoulder, probably feeling a little self-conscious about the attention.

“Merdie, are you okay?”

“Eh? Ah, yes. My mana has started to recover, so I’m fine.”

I could feel Merdie’s mana flowing back steadily. It seemed like the manaforge enlargement training was working.

“Ah, um, Fenrir-sama…”

“The name’s Shiro now. Call me that.”

Shiro corrected her, apparently content with his new name.

You sure seemed to like the name, despite your initial grumbling. As your “naming parent,” I’m pretty happy.

“Yes, Shiro-sama. But… for what purpose did you awaken from your slumber? Is there something you desire from the Beastkin, meow?”

Maybe because Merdie wasn’t used to formal speech, her sentence ended with “meow.”

As expected, with cat-type Beastkin girls, the word “meow” has to make an appearance, right?

It warmed my heart a little.

“Hmm. I was just woken up by Halt. I didn’t have any particular purpose, so there’s nothing I want from you guys. I plan to have Halt take care of me for now.”

“Eh, is that so?”

“Eh?”

Shiro met my gaze.

“Isn’t it fine?”

“Hm, Tina, is that okay?”

“I don’t mind, but… what should I prepare for meals?”

“He seems to like curry. How about curry tonight?”

“Understood.”

“Eh? We’re having curry tonight!? Yahoo!!”

Shiro’s tail began wagging wildly on my shoulder.

Hey, your façade is slipping. Try to act a bit more dignified.

“Fenrir—I mean, Shiro-sama really loves curry, meow…”

Even Merdie, your self-proclaimed retainer, is stunned by your excitement.

“Curry! Curry!!”

Well, I won’t stop you if you’re that happy.

In the meantime, Luna, Leaffa, Mai, and Mei woke up. After a bit of rest, everyone noticed Shiro and started fussing over him, stroking and nudging him affectionately.

Merdie, knowing his true identity as a Divine Beast, watched anxiously from the side, but Shiro didn’t seem to mind. He let Leaffa pet him and allowed Mai and Mei to play with him.

I’ll leave explaining that he’s a Divine Beast for later.

With that in mind, I decided to sit next to Luke and Ryuushin, who were still out cold.