Side Story - Surpass Marti (2)

“Is it really okay for me to pet you?”

“Yes. I won’t understand unless I experience it myself.”

(Hurry up! Pet me, pet me!!! And then I’ll make that technique mine!)

The atmosphere in the princess’s room turned bizarre with a single remark from her. The only person Rudel knew who had ever asked him to pet her of her own accord was his younger sister Lena. Remembering his sister, Rudel happily reached out to pet Fina… only to be stopped. Naturally, the one who stopped him was Sophina, the Senior Knight.

“N-No! You can’t! Something that indecent… Fina-sama, please stop this nonsense already!”

“Is it absolutely forbidden, Sophina?”

“It is!”

“I suppose it can’t be helped… Then I’ll give up on experiencing it myself. Sophina, you can be petted in my place.”

“How did you arrive at that conclusion?!”

“That’s an order.”

(Hurry up already. I’m getting that technique no matter what!)

While Fina and Sophina continued their pointless argument over whether anyone would be petted, Rudel disliked leaving the hand he’d already extended with nothing to do… so he started petting Mii, who happened to be nearby. At first, he gently stroked the top of her head… and even Mii, caught completely by surprise, made the mistake of thinking that much would be harmless.

She regretted that assumption immediately.

“Eh?! W-Wait… ah, there… n-no, ah!”

When Rudel’s hand reached her ears, his fingers began gently stroking them… and Mii’s legs gave out, leaving her to collapse onto the floor with a thump. Hearing the sound, Fina stopped arguing and turned around.

“I missed it… Sophina, hurry up.”

(You kept running your mouth, so I missed Mii getting petted! Take responsibility and get petted yourself!)

“Don’t be ridicu—Eek!”

Sophina had been about to refuse the order as well when Rudel slipped behind her and began stroking her ears. For a Senior Knight to allow a student to get behind her was already a failure in itself. But because Rudel had shown no murderous intent whatsoever and had merely approached to pet her, Sophina had failed to notice him—and now she entered her own personal hell.

“My, this is remarkable.”

(Is he generating magic at his fingertips? Using magic at this level would be difficult for me… Six years—no! If I really worked at it, perhaps three…)

“N-No! Don’t pet me so much!”

Fina stared intently as Sophina blushed and twisted her body. To be perfectly clear, Fina had no interest in Sophina because she wasn’t fluffy. That allowed her to observe the scene purely as an experiment.

At that point, Rudel himself became curious about the limits of his technique. Until now, he had merely used what he had already learned, but now he wanted to test something he was still practicing. That technique was…

“You have beautiful hair… Such a lovely deep shade of purple. You clearly take good care of it, Sophina-san, and…”

It was “verbal teasing.” According to Marti Wolfgan, it was important to express love through words as well. Even if one struggled to put those feelings into words, one must never neglect the effort. Considering that Marty had written this advice about dragons, the man was every bit as eccentric as Rudel himself.

But Rudel’s current partner was human—and Sophina was completely unused to this sort of thing. She could no longer tell whether she wanted to resist or surrender to it… and just like Mii, her legs gave out and she sank to the floor.

“Haa… haa… I-It’s not like I’m enjoying this…”

Sitting on the floor and occasionally trembling, Sophina continued resisting with words alone. Rudel took that reaction at face value and said,

“I’ve still got a long way to go…”

He sounded disappointed. Fina, however, saw things differently.

“Well, practice makes perfect, Rudel-sama.”

(To think he’s already this good… Just how far beyond even Master was Marti Wolfgan?)

After that, Rudel continued visiting the girls’ dormitory to practice. As far as Rudel himself was concerned, however, he was only going there because the princess had told him to. If it was merely for practice, there was no particular need to do it in the girls’ dormitory.

But if a boy visited the girls’ dormitory every day, naturally the other girls would begin noticing. Worse still, the news eventually reached someone who absolutely should not have learned about it: Nees, a young lady of the Black Cat Tribe, the counterpart and rival of the White Cat Tribe.

Why was it so dangerous for Nees to find out…? Because Nees was in love with Mii. Not “like”—love. Seeking to cross not only the barrier between two opposing tribes but also the barrier of gender, Nees appeared to be a refined young lady with long, silky black hair. She had a supple figure, stood tall for a girl, and was well endowed in all the right places.

Her popularity among boys, however, was very uneven. She was extraordinarily cold toward men. Nees, who was already interested exclusively in other girls, could not tolerate the fact that Rudel kept visiting the princess’s room while Mii was there.

One day, unable to contain her curiosity, Nees passed near the princess’s room… and by terrible luck, Mii came fleeing out at that exact moment. Upon spotting Nees, Mii immediately hid behind her.

Then Princess Fina rushed out of the room shortly afterward, followed even later by Rudel, who simply walked out. …Sophina apparently could no longer stand, because she never emerged.

“Don’t run away, Mii.”

(Running away right when things were getting good? What a tease! My little kitten really is mischievous!!!)

Already thoroughly excited, Fina stared expressionlessly at Mii as she hid behind Nees. But Mii—the girl Nees adored—was hiding behind her back and asking for help. Of course she had to save her! The fact that Nees reached that conclusion with ulterior motives proved to be her downfall.

“That’s enough, Princess! Look how frightened my Mi—… Mii is!”

“And who might you be?”

(Well, I already know. I’ve investigated everything related to fluffy girls, including next year’s prospective students… More importantly, you were about to say “my Mii,” weren’t you? …Why does this feel like someone stole my girl from me?! This is getting exciting!)

Fina was already far beyond saving. She glanced toward Rudel and the Senior Knights waiting behind her. …Rudel had no idea what that look meant. More accurately, he didn’t want to know. Ever since he began interacting with the princess, he had started developing a certain fear of her.

“My name is Nees, a fourth-year student. Today, I will escort Mii back to her room, so… Wait! Why are you surrounding me?! N-No, let go!”

While quietly apologizing under their breath, the Senior Knights carried Nees and Mii into the princess’s room—the den of demons.

Having obtained a fresh sacrifice, Princess Fina personally restrained Mii while Nees was tied up with rope. Rudel, meanwhile, still couldn’t keep up with the situation. Not knowing what he was supposed to do, he flustered helplessly.

“Let me go!”

“No. As punishment for trying to steal my Mii away… I’ll give you a reward instead. Master, you’re up!”

(I’ve got both white and black fluff now… Isn’t this the best? This is so perfect it’s insane!!!)

“…? You want me to untie her?”

“…What are you talking about? You’re supposed to pet her.”

(How do you still not understand after all this? Hurry up and make her nice and fluffy!)

At that, Rudel looked at Nees… who glared back at him with hatred in her eyes.

“Don’t come near me, male!”

At that point, status and authority no longer mattered. Nees simply despised him.

“She doesn’t seem to want me touching her.”

“Haah, Master… If you could tame… I mean, become friends with a girl who hates you that much, wouldn’t that take you to an even higher level?”

“I see!”

Talked into it by Fina, Rudel used every technique he currently possessed in an attempt to become friends with Nees. The result was…

“S-Stop! Ah! M-My ears feel good… Not the tail!!!”

“Your fur is beautiful… and your tail is really beautiful too.”

In the end, while Nees never overcame her dislike of men in general, a new Nees of the Black Cat Tribe was born—one who would affectionately rub herself against Rudel. As the sweet, coaxing voice beastfolk used toward people they liked echoed through Fina’s room… Rudel muttered,

“I feel like something about this is wrong…”

Rudel’s doubts meant nothing whatsoever to Fina. The sight before her was justice itself! Two catfolk girls lay sprawled on the floor of her room with flushed faces, while Sophina, a mere human, lay collapsed nearby almost like an afterthought.

(My time has come! My era has finally begun!!!)