The atmosphere was charged with tension.

It felt like they could pounce at any moment.

I backed away across the grassy field, dragging my feet.

“S-sorry…”

They must be upset that I couldn’t score despite their good pass.

I apologized right away, but the students’ aggression didn’t let up.

Maybe my fearful voice was too quiet for them to hear.

“Kill him!”

At someone’s shout, the students rushed towards me as one.

My heart raced at their raging bull-like appearance.

“Th-that, I…”

There was a playful glint in the students’ eyes.

From past experience, I recognized it as the look of those who enjoyed bullying others.

I’d seen it often back when I didn’t have mana.

This was leading up to fists flying.

I quickly dropped to my knees, then curled up to protect myself.

Thump thump-

The sound of approaching footsteps mixed with my heartbeat.

As I covered my head with both hands, my tail naturally tucked under my belly.

“Ugh…”

All I could do was let out a frightened groan.

I squeezed my eyes shut, sensing the students just steps away.

The pain would come soon.

But wait, wasn’t Saebyeok on my back?

I forced my trembling head up.

“…Why are you guys suddenly acting like this?”

“You came running at us like madmen.”

Students milled around me.

Behind me, Saebyeok, who I thought had been sleeping, was growling.

“S-Saebyeok…”

I almost used Saebyeok as a shield.

I stood up to take Saebyeok in my arms.

However, the male students’ menacing aura hadn’t disappeared.

“Sorry. We startled you by rushing over suddenly, didn’t we?”

One of the students approached and apologized to me.

It was a sincere apology.

Maybe I had misunderstood something.

“I’m sorry… I thought I was going to be punished for not scoring…”

“Come on, who’d punish someone for not scoring a goal?”

“Y-yeah…”

Actually, there were such people.

Quite a lot of them.

I knew this from firsthand experience.

However, the students before me didn’t seem to be that type.

They were giving me very kind smiles.

“Just now, what was it… Ah! The goalkeeper committed a foul.”

“Right. It was a foul, definitely a foul.”

“Who knew he’d commit such a bad foul?”

A foul?

The goalkeeper had just blocked the ball rolling towards his feet, hadn’t he?

It was strange, but not knowing this world’s sports, I kept quiet.

“We need to retake this.”

A tall male student returned with the ball.

He placed it right in front of the goalkeeper, similar to a free kick in soccer.

It really must have been a foul.

As I was looking at the ball with interest, someone pushed my back.

“Take this kick again.”

“M-me…?”

“Yeah. The one who suffered the foul should take it.”

So that was the rule.

I hesitated before setting down the bag I was carrying.

To gain even a little strength.

Since Saebyeok realized the students meant no harm and had gone back to sleep, I couldn’t put her down.

“Kick it as hard as you can into the goal.”

“O-okay…”

Aiming and hitting targets was my specialty.

Getting the ball into the goal would be easy, but power was the issue.

I wondered if I could kick it properly while holding Saebyeok.

I was worried, but this was just a light game anyway.

Let’s just kick it however I can.

As I approached the ball:

“Huh?”

A menacing aura emanated from behind.

Directed towards me and the goalkeeper.

Startled, I turned around.

All I saw were students with smiling eyes.

‘What was that…?’

I could have sworn they were glaring murderously.

Maybe my senses were on edge because of what happened earlier.

I glanced around before turning back to face forward.

Then, without hesitation, I kicked the ball – thwack!

With a light sound, the ball flew off.

From its trajectory, I could tell it would go into the top right corner of the goal.

Exactly where I had aimed.

The goalkeeper leaped towards the ball.

The tip of his middle finger barely grazed the ball, but it wasn’t enough.

Swoosh-!

The ball deflected off the goalkeeper’s finger and shook the net.

This time, victory was mine.

“Ahhhhh!”

“Woohoo!”

The male students let out cheers loud enough to hurt my ears.

I was startled, but it was a victory cheer.

It didn’t feel unpleasant.

“Well done.”

Saebyeok, who I thought had been sleeping, patted my head.

Her tail also coiled like a braided rope, showing affection.

“Gyeoul!”

Levinas, who was nearby, jumped into my arms.

I’d only scored one goal in a game, but the kids were this happy.

I felt glad I’d come to school.

—

—

After the ball game ended, the male students went back to their classroom.

We remained on the empty field, looking around before gazing up at the main building.

“Gyeoul, there are lots of people there.”

“Yeah. Shall we go in?”

“Yeah!”

Since we had permission to experience the school…

There shouldn’t be any problem wandering around inside the building.

I stepped inside, thinking of the ‘scholarship’ in my pocket.

It was a scholarship from the guild, not from me.

‘But who should I give this to?’

It was a document, not money, and I hadn’t bothered to check the amount.

It must be an enormous sum.

“Gyeoul, where are we going?”

“Well… Let’s just look around for now.”

Classes must have started, as the long main hallway was completely empty.

Puzzled by the deserted corridor, Levinas pressed herself against a nearby classroom window.

The high school windows were too high, so she had to stand on tiptoe to see inside.

“People!”

Levinas shouted, peering into the classroom.

At her loud voice, the students inside turned to look at us.

“Oh my?”

“Ooh…”

Some girls blushed, while other students looked confused.

Hi, hi.

Levinas waved at them.

A few lively students waved back.

Among them was the teacher conducting the class.

“Looks like class is in session.”

“Yeah! We shouldn’t disturb class!”

Levinas bounced along the long corridor.

She seemed to be examining each classroom, then opened the door to one.

“Gyeoul! Here!”

“This is…”

An empty classroom.

There was a sign above saying ‘Art Room’.

It must not be in use at this time.

A quick look around should be fine.

“Gyeoul, sit over there.”

“Okay.”

I pulled out a chair and sat at the desk.

I briefly set Saebyeok down on the desk.

“Today, Levinas is the teacher!”

Levinas, standing in front of the blackboard, picked up a nearby piece of chalk.

It seemed she wanted to play teacher.

“What lesson are you teaching?”

“Today is…! Umm…!”

Levinas’s ears perked up as she pondered, arms crossed.

She scrawled ‘Carrot’ on the blackboard in wobbly letters.

“How to eat carrots deliciously!”

“Wow.”

A cooking lesson in the art room?

Clap clap clap-

Just as I started applauding, over a dozen people began walking towards the art room.

I wasn’t sure if they intended to use the room or were just passing by.

‘I hope they just pass by…’

Contrary to my wishes, they headed into the art room.

Screech-

My eyes met those of a female student who opened the door and entered.

She blinked, looking around at us.

Annoyed by the girl blocking the entrance, another student behind her pushed her back.

“Why are you blocking the door?”

“There, there…”

“Huh?”

Another girl peeked out from behind the one blocking the entrance.

Her eyes widened as she belatedly noticed us.

“Oh! It’s Gyeoul!”

“Gyeoul? You mean Gyeoul from the Yeomyeong Guild?”

“Yeah. Levinas and Saebyeok are here too.”

“What are you talking about? Why are the kids here?”

Students crowded around the narrow art room door.

There were too many people to slip out now.

“Oh? It really is!”

Someone pushed through the crowd and rushed towards us.

The nametag read Kim Ayeong.

She sat down next to me and grinned.

She seemed as lively as Levinas.

“Gyeoul, what are you doing here?”

“We were just looking around the school…”

“I see.”

Kim Ayeong gently poked Saebyeok’s tail, curled up on the desk.

Then she called out to the students at the entrance.

“First come, first serve?”

“Huh?”

What did she mean by first come, first serve?

As I tilted my head in confusion, several students hurriedly sat down around us.

Bang! Clatter! Pushing desks and chairs aside.

“I call the front seat!”

“Ah, no fair!”

I knew why they were trying to sit near us.

Opportunities to see beast-kin up close were rare.

It was natural for curious kids their age to want the closest seats.

“So you were playing school in an empty classroom?”

Kim Ayeong said, looking at Levinas.

Levinas puffed out her chest with an “Ahem.”

“Yeah! Levinas is the teacher!”

“Ah! What lesson are you teaching today, teacher?”

“Today! How to eat carrots deliciously!”

Tap tap-

Levinas knocked on the blackboard with the base of her fist.

The students’ gazes naturally shifted to the board.

‘Wow.’

The scale of the game had suddenly expanded.

I was amazed that Levinas wasn’t intimidated in front of so many people.

“Teacher, I don’t like carrots though?”

Kim Ayeong raised her hand high.

She seemed to be a woman who played well with children.

“Wha! You don’t like carrots?!”

“No! Carrots are hard to eat!”

“Then Levinas will teach you how to eat them deliciously!”

“Really?!”

“Yeah! The first way to eat carrots deliciously is…!”

Levinas, who had shouted loudly, paused for a moment.

With everyone focused on her, Levinas might have an unexpected talent for teaching.

“The first method is! Have the person next to you feed you! If you eat well, they’ll give you a hug too!”

Saying this, Levinas pulled out a carrot from her pocket.

It wasn’t a theory lesson, but a practical one.

“Huh?”

But the person next to me is…

I naturally looked at Kim Ayeong.

Kim Ayeong was blushing, covering her mouth.

The other students were glaring at Kim Ayeong with fiery eyes.

‘What’s going on?’

They were looks of jealousy.

I didn’t think they’d be jealous of someone like me feeding them.

I couldn’t understand why they were acting like this.

Their gazes were quite fierce, so I deliberately turned my attention to Levinas.

“Gyeoul! You take a bite first!”

“Me?”

“Yeah! You have to show them how to eat it deliciously! Very deliciously!”

“Ah…”

That’s a reasonable approach.

I took the carrot Levinas handed me and crunched into it.

The girl sitting in front of me gritted her teeth.

“Ayeong, if you eat that, I’m really calling the police.”

“W-why?”

“…I’m seriously going to report you.”

The atmosphere somehow felt off.

I just kept nibbling the carrot while eyeing the surrounding students.

It was all very frightening.

—

4/6 Enjoy the chappy!

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep