Zephyr is one of the most bizarre species among magical beasts, with a form that does not correspond to any creature in this world.
Although it did not inhabit swamps, it was always excavated alongside traces of moss, and despite having very little fur, its spiritual body often behaved as if it were grooming itself.
While its physical structure resembled that of a carnivore, its internal organs were not suited for carnivorous life, and although it hunted, it was not aggressive.
Thus, the magical beast known as Zephyr was a contradiction in itself, leading to quite a variety of hypotheses about its nature.
However, the beast scholar James was greatly impressed when he heard Luke’s hypothesis about the life of the “Zephyr.”
No one had ever thought of such an idea before.
In order to produce magical effects, it lived covered in moss, which is why it engaged in grooming behavior despite having no fur.
In the demon realm, plants could move on their own, so Zephyr also developed physical abilities necessary for hunting, but its teeth and digestive organs resembled those of herbivores, and its aggression was low.
The term “beast scholar” refers to those who study the influence of the demon realm’s environment on creatures and animals and excavate forgotten histories.
James was persuaded by those words and immediately organized a team to search for traces in the demon realm.
And now…
He found himself in an unprecedented crisis.
The reason began with just a single piece of paper.
“This, this is…”
His hand gripping the paper trembled with force.
For James, who had been mining and exploring day and night for several months, the weight of that thin paper was beyond imagination.
The teams that accompanied him could only wear expressions of shock before that paper.
– Order of withdrawal and seizure.
“This makes no sense.”
All the explorations that had been carried out over several months could not be terminated by a single piece of paper now.
Just when he had finally grasped a clue about the “self-moving trees” that the child had mentioned, what kind of thunderbolt was this?
“We have already received permission. So you cannot notify us like this!”
However, the men in front of him simply shook their heads without change.
“We have also received permission. This place is now private property, so naturally, your exploration activities must be limited.”
A few weeks earlier, all of this area had been bought by a company.
Since the land was sold, it meant that all its byproducts were now theirs as well.
However, that was a very strange thing.
“Who would buy this vast wasteland, and for what purpose?”
This area was a great exploration site for scholars, but not at all for entrepreneurs.
Due to the influence of the demon realm, they could not cultivate forests, and the environment was not particularly good for humans either—let alone that it wasn’t located in a convenient place for management.
Yet, for some reason, this area had been sold.
Of course, the superficial reasons stated were to build roads and research facilities, but then there was no reason to obstruct their exploration project.
Construction and excavation could certainly be carried out concurrently.
However, they did not yield a single step.
James looked back at his team, who had trusted him and come this far.
Everyone wore a look of disappointment.
Perhaps, he too was not very different from them.
“What about our time and effort poured into this place?”
“We will compensate you, so please bill the company. We have no choice.”
“…Huh.”
He handed over a business card stamped with the logo of the large corporation, “Ruchest.”
As James accidentally accepted the card, he took it as a sign of acceptance and nodded.
“Please vacate this place as soon as possible. If you do not, we will act according to the rules that have been granted to us.”
“…”
The permitted rules likely referred to forced eviction.
At this point, James naturally assumed that “Ruchest” was obstructing his research.
His team asked him.
“Doctor, what should we do now?”
“…Well, it’s too sudden…”
However, he did not see any immediate way to resolve the situation.
In such a case, it would be hard for anyone to think of a solution.
“I feel embarrassed… for my team, and for that child…”
He could only lower his head.
———
-Click.
“Have a good day at the Academy today.”
“Yeah…”
As the driver opened the car door, a girl with a gloomy expression answered in a slumped voice and stepped out.
The girl’s name was Helena Ruspind, the only daughter of the Ruspind family and the heir of the Ruseberry Group, who was living a life that many would envy.
However, that alone could not shake off her suffocating feelings at that moment.
The reason was none other than Shirud Trifind.
A few days ago, Shirud responded to Helena’s invitation to go to the pool like this:
“Oh, sorry. The truth is I don’t really like the pool. Anyway, Luke said he’s not going, so I think I’ll just pass.”
“Oh… really?”
“Yeah, we’re not that close, are we?”
“That… is true.”
For Helena, that statement of “not that close” struck her quite seriously.
During breaks, she often went over to talk (though it was a one-sided conversation), and they had slept under the same roof (even though the villa was so large that it hardly felt like they were under the same roof), and at Luke’s birthday party last time, she brought food (even though Luke asked her to)…
Given all these things, she thought they were somewhat close, but was it all just an illusion?
In fact, children of that young age can easily become friends with those of the same gender, but becoming friends with the opposite gender can be quite difficult.
Moreover, in the case of the introverted Shirud, this issue was even more serious.
Shirud was a child who could not consider someone a friend unless the girl made the first move to act friendly.
But suddenly, a pool invitation?
Well, it would only put Shirud in a difficult position if a girl he didn’t often play with said something like that.
In contrast, Luke was the type of person who approached deeply first, and Mary got along well with all the kids, so they had broken the ice to some extent, but Helena was different.
Like Shirud, Helena was introverted and added to that her inability to express her true feelings, leading her to live a life buried in studies since a young age as a perfectionist who could not tolerate flaws. As a result, she had little experience making friends.
This meant that although Helena often visited Shirud’s class, she ultimately struggled to show her interest, leading to sufficient misunderstandings during their everyday conversations.
For example, if she happened to see Shirud eating alone and sat next to him, she would get embarrassed and say, “D-Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m just sitting here because there’s an empty seat.”
Shirud, only ever having experienced straightforward and honest girls, would simply think, “Well, elves are a minority, so there can’t be many seats in the restaurant…” and accept it.
This pattern continued, and within Shirud, there was no room for positive feelings to build, while Helena could only feel a sense of wounded pride.
Thus, she found herself receiving Shirud’s remark of “we’re not close.”
But until now, Helena had buried that “not close” remark deep in her heart.
The reason was that, unlike Shirud, who had many other same-gender friends, Helena had no one close to her other than Shirud among her peers.
“Sigh…”
At times like this, Helena found herself hating her family.
Certainly, the Ruspind family accumulated immense wealth through various businesses, but at the same time, it was also a target for ill repute, making them a source of aversion among people.
This was similar to Shirud, who rarely fought with his peers due to unfortunate family circumstances and ended up with very few friends.
Well, they took different routes home, were in different classes, and did not have anything specific they could talk about together.
Yet, why was she fixated on a boy like that? Helena herself couldn’t quite understand.
Helena thought to herself, “I should have just replied that we’re not close then.” regretting her foolishness as she trudged toward the academy.
Blaming Luke, who had callously canceled their original plans because he was busy.
“…”
With a restless heart, Helena kicked a small stone lying on the ground.
All of this stemmed from what happened after the company “Ruchest” was acquired.
After bringing the company under his wing, her father faced numerous scandals, rarely came home, and stopped complimenting her even when she came first.
“I’m feeling gloomy. On days like this, if only I could touch Luke’s tail…”
On such days, although Helena didn’t want to think about it, the sensation of Luke’s tail came to her mind uncontrollably.
It felt incredibly soft, warm, and plush enough that she thought it would make a wonderful pillow, which was such a good feeling.
She longed for it so much that it seemed to flicker right before her eyes…
“Oh, Helena. Good morning.”
“What, isn’t that Luke?!”
…No, it really was Luke!
He had suddenly grown taller and had so much hair that she couldn’t recognize him after just a few weeks of not seeing him.
But Luke merely tilted his head in confusion at Helena’s reaction.
