Onesuko’s Dream

While putting the collected drop items into the pockets of my coat, I went back to Onesuko.

She was still playing with Tom and looked happier than ever.

Her eyes, usually sharply narrowed, seemed a little gentler now.

Then, as if murmuring to herself, she spoke.

“…My dream is to become a Holy Knight. My family is a knightly house, and for generations we’ve served important people. My parents always told me I was destined to become a knight someday… At first, I hated the idea of walking a path that had already been decided for me.”

“But,” she continued while flipping Tom over and smoothing the fur on his back,

“After I became Lady Monaka’s classmate in middle school, my feelings changed. I touched her kindness and her deep compassion… I started to feel strongly that I wanted to protect her.
But to truly protect a Saint, you have to become a Holy Knight…”

A Holy Knight was one of the advanced knight classes.

A regular knight could serve a Saint, but could not accompany her into holy sanctuaries or sacred domains.

Holy Knights, however, were knights recognized by the gods and were permitted to enter such sanctuaries.

A thought occurred to me.

“Was that uncut stone needed to become a Holy Knight?”

“Yes, exactly. There are several trials to become a Holy Knight, but… The very first one requires setting three gemstones—red, blue, and yellow—into the hilt of a knight’s starter sword.”

As she said that, Onesuko drew the sword at her waist, scabbard and all, and showed it to me.

Sure enough, the hilt had three small recesses meant to hold gemstones.

“Three gemstones in different colors, huh? That sounds rough.”

At an academy focused on frontier development, acquiring gemstones was extremely difficult.

“That’s right. First you have to find a mine, which is hard enough, and even then, gemstones rarely come out.”

I picked up her explanation.

“And even if you’re lucky enough to get one, it doesn’t count as a gemstone while it’s still uncut. You need processing—so you need a Jeweler.”

A Jeweler was an advanced profession above a Stonecrafter.

Advanced professions only appeared late in the development phase, and there was no guarantee that any student would become a Jeweler at all.

Having been thoroughly satisfied by the full-body petting, Tom slipped free of Onesuko’s hands and leapt onto a rock.

Onesuko spoke wistfully.

“And that’s not all. The trials for becoming a Holy Knight don’t end there. There are many students at this academy aiming for it, but it’s possible that not even one will succeed. Still, for Lady Monaka’s sake, I intend to keep trying without giving up.”

I barely heard her declaration of resolve.

Because my attention had been stolen by Tom on the rock.

Tom dug his claws into the stone, scraping it with a grating sound.

The rock crumbled apart as if it were a wafer.

Onesuko gasped in amazement.

“Wow… Tom-kun sharpens his claws on rocks?”

That part itself wasn’t surprising to me.

A Black Panther’s claws were too strong for wood, so they sharpened them on stone.

I had seen that several times back at the forest house, but…

Today, there was something new.

Tom wasn’t just using his claws—he occasionally licked the rock.

Countless spine-like protrusions extended from his tongue, scraping away the stone’s surface like a diamond file.

Suspicion crept in.

“When I tamed Tom during the Pet Battle, he jumped at me and licked my face… But back then, his tongue was smooth…”

With a hunch, I approached him.

“Tom, can you show me your tongue for a moment?”

At my call, Tom tilted his head in confusion.

When I called him during grooming, he often forgot to retract his tongue, and he wore the same expression now.

I examined the protrusions sliding in and out of his tongue and became certain.

“So that’s it. Tom’s tongue works just like his claws—he can freely extend and retract those spines… And they’re sharp enough to grind down even rock…!”

I turned my palm toward Onesuko.

“Onesuko, lend me that uncut stone for a moment!”

“Eh? What are you planning to do?”

“Just hurry!”

Startled, she handed it over, and I took it.

Pinching the stone between my thumb and forefinger, I brought it close to Tom’s mouth like a veterinarian performing an exam.

“Tom, can you extend the spines?”

After making a strange “hyua” sound, Tom snapped his tongue out—spines shooting forth with a sharp clang.

They were as long as caltrops, which surprised me a little.

“They extend that far? That’s impressive, but I don’t need them that long. Just enough so the tips are showing.”

Tom frowned thoughtfully but complied.

As his golden eyes went slightly cross-eyed, the spines retracted in sync.

When they looked about as coarse as a rough file, I stopped him.

“Good. That length. Can you hold it there?”

“Hyua.”

Just to be safe, I switched my job to Stonecrafter.

I pressed the uncut stone against Tom’s tongue and moved it as if rubbing it.

Zarish! The stone shaved away.

Seeing the smooth surface, my heart began to race.

“Oh…!? Gem processing is supposed to be impossible without high-level tools…!”

“H-Hey, Leopin-kun, what exactly are you doing?”

Ignoring Onesuko’s voice behind me, I focused entirely on polishing the gemstone.

All the while, Tom didn’t resist at all, holding his mouth open patiently like a patient receiving dental treatment.

“Alright, the rough shape is done. Next, can you make the spines finer?”

Tom narrowed his eyes into a sullen glare.

“No, no—not like that. I want you to retract the tongue spines a bit more.”

“Hyua.”

When Tom retracted them to the limit, the surface of his tongue became like sandpaper.

“Perfect,” I said, pressing the gemstone again and polishing its surface.

“Alright, done!”

“Huh? Done with what?”

At the voice behind me, I turned and tossed the gemstone back.

What had once been a cloudy uncut stone was now as clear as the surface of water.

Its geometrically cut facets scattered brilliant light as they caught the sun.

“E-Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee—!?”