The Shapeshifter Academy Chapter 7

 

Chapter 7

It took less than a day for the student council room to be set up.

[Student Council President Bendy Reppy]

I fiddled with the nameplate that complicated my feelings and straightened my back.

The chair arranged for the president's seat was very soft, but now it felt like a cushion of thorns. That's probably because I've been left with Lennon Edent in the student council room.

"Deer students."

Making a mistake and getting teased, they'll never stop playing around. Really, it couldn't be anything other than the worst first impression.

Above all, the worst part was the fact that only two people are left in the council room.

The white tiger shapeshifter and I.

Just the two of us.

Rubbing my forehead, I searched through the law book with a serious expression.

A long time ago, before the shapeshifter territories were separated.

During the era when various clans lived mixed together, there were terrible accidents. The hunting of herbivorous shapeshifters by carnivorous shapeshifters.

Shapeshifters might have the intelligence of humans, but their instincts coexist as well.

Carnivorous shapeshifters instinctively chased herbivorous shapeshifters, and herbivorous shapeshifters instinctively avoided carnivorous shapeshifters.

And so, the law was established,

[Continental Law Article 563. Consumption between shapeshifters is prohibited.]

I nervously fiddled with the page containing the somewhat eerie law.

As conflicts continued, herbivorous and carnivorous shapeshifters were thoroughly separated. Over time, our generation came to view carnivorous shapeshifters as stories or myths.

"Mom, what's this painting?"

"It seems to be a carnivorous animal, but..."

"It's a tiger, a white tiger. But to a carnivore like this, do we look appetizing?"

"Maybe?"

"Then what about carnivorous shapeshifters?"

"Well, I'm not sure..."

"What do you know, Mom?"

"Hey."

"Come to think of it..."

 I found myself gazing at Lennon’s chest. This feeling was new and strange, being with the carnivorous beastmen I had only imagined before.

Befitting someone who became one with the sofa like a liquid, he threw away his school uniform tie. 

When my eyes slowly lifted from the loosely-worn gray knitted sweater, I flinched. Because my eyes met with Lennon’s.

Quickly averting my gaze, I buried myself in the law book.

"No matter how you look at it, even as an escort, do I really need to be with you in the student council room?"

Whatever the case, Lennon was a fearsome carnivorous shapeshifter.

His languid movements like those unique to beasts of prey, and his occasionally sharp gaze was piercing.

The most awkward thing was that, while she was posing as a fox, she couldn't show her fear, even if she was truly terrified.

As I was immersed in my own consciousness, Lennon's low voice scratched my ears.

"President."

Not yet accustomed to the unfamiliar title, I continued to keep my head buried in the law book.

"President Bendy."

"Yes?"

Startled, I belatedly raised my head, blinking.

"I'm allowing you to speak informally. I am your escort after all, aren’t I?"

Perhaps due to Lennon's arrogant tone, his words echoed in my ears as a command.

Even though he's being condescending, it's still a command to talk informally. If he's Milane's grandson, he's undoubtedly an esteemed young lord in the carnivorous shapeshifter neighborhood.

Baffled inwardly, I cast a sidelong glance at Lennon to gauge his thoughts.

"Informally... Is it the same word I know?"

"Is there another meaning to the word informal?”

Lennon scratched his chin and seemed to innocently smile, as if he had no bad intention.

I let out a sigh and quickly shook my head. If I think about it, this was a perfect opportunity to lead the carnivorous shapeshifters who persecuted herbivorous shapeshifters in the past like servants. 

You're being very arrogant and condescending...

"In that case, I'll make an effort to speak comfortably from now on."

Contrary to my intentions, a very formal speech pattern came out. It seemed that my tongue was unwilling to follow the commands of my brain.

"I have something I'd like to ask, or rather, something I want to know."

Blaming myself in secret, I broke the silence first this time.

"Why was I chosen as the student council president?"

Given the circumstances, I needed to unravel each clue, one by one.

"You still don't know?"

Lennon, who had been lazily rolling on the couch like a loafer, suddenly corrected his posture. Just like his firm expression, I furrowed my eyebrows and became serious.

"The reason why President Bendy was chosen..."

Finally, we're getting to the main point.

"How would I know something like that?"

"What?"

"My role is only to be your escort."

Why did I ask? Other than his innocent face, the tiger was rather useless.

Slightly startled, I ended up clamping my mouth shut.

Tick-tock, an awkward silence that was hard to endure continued.

In an enclosed space with a carnivorous shapeshifter. As time passed, the fear I had carefully buried began to rise again from the tips of my toes.

Even that innocent-looking tiger had been observing me subtly since yesterday without my knowledge.

‘Has he noticed something?’

I nervously checked my hair for no reason, but what I held in my hand wasn't my usual wheat colored hair but a vivid crimson strand.

Growing increasingly uneasy, I unconsciously lick my lips with my tongue.

"President."

At that moment, Lennon's chin lifted, and his pupils shifted into crescents. Beautiful like a crescent moon, yet strangely and disproportionately dangerous.

"Please speak up, no, just say it." 

"You know, that thing."

"You know, what?"

"Among carnivorous shapeshifters, it's a seductive act."

Tap-tap he lightly tapped the area around his lips with his index finger.

"......?"

"The action of licking your lips with your tongue."

"Ah."

How am I supposed to understand your shapeshifter courtship culture?

After that, I never licked my lips with my tongue anywhere. Ever.

***

Deep dawn when even the birds have fallen asleep.

Secretly sneaking out of the dormitory, I arrived at the stables far away from the main building.

"Happy, where are you?"

As I extended my arm holding a lamp, the crimson light illuminated the stable.

I lost my words when I spotted the brown deer in the darkness.

"That's not a deer, that’s a monster."

Pushing away the horses that were the owners of the stable, take a look at that muscular deer occupying the best spot.

Moreover, he had put on a bit of weight since I first saw him, looking even more like a leader.

"Can you manage to live like this? I brought some snacks, ah!"

With a snort, Happy blew out a breath and snatched the nuts I had brought from the palm of my hand even before I handed them over.

To think a creature like that is my only herbivore companion in the academy.

Trembling with anger, I suddenly remembered a forgotten fact. The memory of the day I met Happy, when I used my magic to break my uncle’s confinement spell.

"How could I forget that?"

It was because I ran away from the deer territory and was in a hurry to adapt to life in the beast academy.

But still.

I’ve never actually implemented magic before.

Staring down at my hands, I repeatedly clench and open my fists.

I had thoroughly studied the theory, so perhaps implementing magic wasn't an impossible task. It was odd that I hadn't done it before.

Was it a coincidence that appeared at the crossroads of life and death or skill?

"Alright."

To determine, I reached out my hand, and Happy's body visibly tensed. As a beast, he seemed ready to react quickly to danger.

As I focused my magic at my fingertips, a gentle breeze began to blow.

Starting from the tips of my toes, the wind rose, swirling up my body like a whirlpool.

A sensation vastly different from before enveloped my entire body.

"Now."

Blinking my eyes, I released the explosive magic from my fingertips.

At the same time, a small vortex, just like a cloud, rose above my palm. It was smaller than a lamp flame.

Curse that vortex! As I grumbled in my thoughts, "Ow!"

I felt intense pain and fell onto the straw. It was due to Happy slamming into me head-on.

It seemed as if I was being punished for making him nervous even for a short moment.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

Rubbing my hand against my body, I suddenly stopped moving. The crimson hair bitten by Happy was gradually getting lighter from the tip.

"Ah."

It seemed that the magic's duration had ended, and I was returning to my original appearance.

'It disappeared.'

The sharp nails on my fingertips soon flattened.

Eventually, the red hair that didn't feel like mine turned completely wheat-colored. Perhaps the pupils had also returned to their original state, and the raised tail might have come back down.

I touched the bracelet I received from Principal Milane.

Even magic tools have limitations, so it was impossible to stay in the form of a fox 24/7.

Therefore, while the magical object was being filled with power, I had to stay in the dormitory. Roughly around six hours.

'I'll have to wear my hood when I return to the dormitory.'

Munch munch, the sound of Happy chewing on my hair echoed through the stable.

Lying face down on the straw, I gazed at the stable wall with a slightly dazed expression.

Most of the carnivorous shapeshifters I had observed for the past month had an arrogant demeanor.

As if it wasn't already difficult enough to have friendly relationships with any of the herbivore shapeshifters, since if they found out I'm not a fox...

Let alone the fact that I'm the student council president, in other words, I hold authority over them...

"Looks like it’s too late to die normally."

I've come this far, so what can I do? Tomorrow's Bendy Reppy will figure it out.

Thinking like that, I felt a bit calmer and counted the straw in the stable. Tears streaming down the side of my face had stained the straw more deeply.

Truthfully, I’m scared.

Just a little, or perhaps quite a lot.

***

It was an afternoon when pink petals began to flutter.

A discreet shadow followed behind Bendy as she trudged across the campus.

Due to Bendy becoming the student council president, the hyena shapeshifter, Yannick Pell, who was confidently running for candidacy and ended up losing, was there.

'That fox shapeshifter of unknown origin.'

Yannick's dark brown eyes, which had been observing the nonchalant back without any guard, turned fierce.

Apart from the smooth appearance of a fox shapeshifter, she was a rather unimpressive figure.

It had only been a few days since she became the student council president, so if for some reason she became unable to fulfill her role as president...

‘That’s it.’

'As long as I stay hidden...'

A quiet place with no one around to witness.

With a somber heart, Yannick raised his head and swallowed his dry saliva.

It was then. Suddenly, Bendy, who had turned around, walked briskly, and stood under the tree he was hidden behind...

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