The Gloomy and Timid Princess Heads to the Academy

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“…Do you know you were in danger?”

Leaving the church and wandering around, I started complaining to Dokan.

Since he wouldn’t understand the attitude towards the divine or the sacred power anyway, I didn’t mention it, but I still had a mountain of things to say.

First and foremost, about the danger. It was lucky that Gloria had stepped in; if I had started questioning things and he got suspicious, there might have been a ton of air holes made right then and there.

At least in my eyes, she seemed sufficient enough for that. I even felt like she was the sister of someone who had killed a few people, so it was a reasonable suspicion.

“I didn’t just charge in thoughtlessly, you know. I had my reasons. The information on Stephanie was an offer she couldn’t refuse.”

“…Still. What if…”

He could get hurt, you know. That’s way too dangerous. I wanted to say it, but it didn’t feel like saying it would resonate.

After all, men are the type to want to take more risks when they hear ‘danger.’

…Unless it’s a completely safe place completely cut off from the outside world. I didn’t mean to confine Dokan.

Well…maybe not. I couldn’t be sure. If that truly was the only way to keep Dokan safe?

Hmm, it’s complicated.

“Eh, it’s okay. At least the two of us have the ability to buy enough time to escape.”

That’s what he said. I didn’t know how strong Dokan’s magic was, but it seemed at least weaker than that blade of divine power.

I worried if he might really get hurt badly.

“…Sigh. What’s the point in saying it? By the way, you mentioned you were raising a cat, right? It’s not here… did you abandon it?”

Even the day after the party, there were no traces of pet supplies in his room.

If he was going to throw it away that quickly, I couldn’t understand why he’d gone through the effort of getting one in the first place.

“Ah… well…”

Dokan didn’t respond easily like before; it seemed he realized he had done something wrong. At least it was better that he knew he was wrong.

But thinking about it, knowing it was wrong and still throwing it away made it even worse.

I hated people who were irresponsible even more than those who disliked cats.

Dokan had been good to me all this time; I never expected him to be that kind of person.

“I was trying to take care of it, but it ran away. It slipped out while I had the door open for a second.”

Hmm, no matter how I heard it, it just sounded like a rushed excuse.

It’d make more sense if he hadn’t tried to raise a cat at all.

But saying that wouldn’t fit since he had bought a house and litter as well, so that sounded weird too. There’s no way he’d buy something he wouldn’t use.

“…Are you serious?”

It seemed like a lie, but I also didn’t think he just abandoned a cat. It was hard to confirm many aspects, so I decided to test the waters.

“…Yeah. I’m serious. I didn’t think it would run away in that short moment. I was trying to raise it…”

Could he be acting with that expression and tone? Dokan looked genuinely upset.

If an animal I was planning to raise suddenly ran away, I’d be heartbroken; I wondered if I was poking in too deep.

“No, so… that happened, huh? Sorry…”

“Why are you apologizing? The cat’s the one at fault.”

I had more things to pry into, but… it seemed a bit hard to do that in this atmosphere.

I had been meaning to talk about how he often got chummy with other girls lately and his separate meetings with Anastasia, but I’ll let it go for today.

“…Should I catch that cat?”

Dokan seemed down as well. If that cat was the root of all this trouble, wouldn’t it be better to catch it and hand it over?

“What? No. It’s not that I don’t want you to; I’d be thankful if you did it. But… it seemed like it was really cautious of people. No matter how much you’re my friend, I feel like catching it would be tough…”

Even after being dumped by the cat, he was still worried.

Ah, don’t worry about it. Not a big sister… should I call myself a big sister in this situation? Whatever, there are ways to handle this.

“Just don’t worry. Just tell me where that cat shows up. I’ll catch it right away.”

When I was back home, I’d once had an eagle land on my arm. I regretted it immensely back then, though.

Despite having strong legs, its claws were sharp, and its body was heavy.

While I couldn’t understand animal language, I could impose my will on them. If an eagle listened to me, a cat would be easy.

“…I often saw it around the flower bed near our dorm.”

The flower bed. That’s not far away.

Since it wouldn’t do any good to postpone this, I grabbed Dokan’s hand to prepare to lure the cat.

But this time, Dokan didn’t follow me as easily as before.

“…Not going?”

He who used to limply follow like a piece of straw was now standing still. I asked out of curiosity.

“Sorry. I promised Anya. It’s an important conversation… I can’t go with you. It won’t take long, but I can’t postpone it either.”

I see, he had made a promise with Anya. He didn’t mention it to me.

So me being here isn’t important? That thought almost slipped out, but I didn’t say it. I felt like I’d been holding onto Dokan too much lately.

He probably deserved to have some private life as well…

It’d be nice if that didn’t mean he was just trying to flirt with girls. I guess it must be an unavoidable fate for the harem protagonists.

Even just standing around, girls seemed to flock to him. What can I do? If I had that life, I’d probably want to try it too.

“…I see. Well… have a good talk! I’ll be waiting…”

Go enjoy some lovey-dovey time without me. I’ll catch the cat for you…

“…I’m sorry. I’ll take you to that place you want later.”

There’s no need to go that far. Just being by my side is enough. Instead of dragging things out with farewells right now, it’s better to hurry up.

I headed towards the dumps. Why the dumps? Because I needed a box.

Despite being a dump, it was fairly clean, probably because it was an academy. Thanks to that, I was able to find a cardboard box in decent condition without any issues.

My task was done, so I should leave right away. But when I saw a box that was just right for me to fit in, I couldn’t help but hesitate.

…There were no eyes watching anyway. Wouldn’t it be okay if I went in?

When I was young, I nearly got caught by the royal guards for getting into a box like this, so I was scared of being inside something, but now there was no fear of getting locked in, and if needed, I could tear my way out.

So, I thought it’d be fine just this once.

I cautiously stepped inside the box, glancing around.

“…Huh.”

It was narrow and dark, and I momentarily found it hard to breathe, but soon this cramped space felt cozier than anywhere.

It was warm and safe, maybe staying a bit longer wouldn’t be a problem. It felt similar to shouting for just five more minutes on a bed.

Even comparing it to a bed, this felt so much cozier, even if it was messier.

So I enjoyed my secret time, shouting for just five more minutes. Boxes might be better than I thought.

But the happy moments didn’t last long.

Even though it felt far away, I sensed the clash of immense mana and divine power.

Startled, I sprang out of the box in a panic, but I had never felt such a massive shockwave before.

I hurriedably grabbed the box I intended to put the cat in and stepped outside, but everything seemed normal.

…What is this? It felt like a bomb went off. The outside was as calm as could be.

Was it just this place that was intact? I stood alert, but all I could hear was the squeals of girls having fun and boys sharing lewd jokes.

Was I the only one who felt delusional?

Confused, I nonetheless had to get things done. The cat was supposed to appear by the flower bed, and when I made my way to the dorm, there it really was.

The words that it was cautious of people seemed true; the moment I appeared, it slowly backed away, trying to escape. If I were to make a move, it seemed it would indeed bolt in the briefest moment.

But it should have approached carefully. I glared at the cat, conveying my intention to it.

-If you don’t get into this box right now, I’ll kill you.

The cat didn’t want to die, so it carefully walked into the box I had placed on the ground.

“…Good, that’s right.”

It was a bit dirty, but it would be fine once it got washed.

Since it was a cat given to Dokan, he would surely raise it with utmost care.

Hmm… what should I name it? I thought about it, but it seemed it wasn’t my decision to make. The one who would be the owner’s name would be Dokan, not me.

So, he should decide its name.

Carrying the squished cat in the box, I headed to Dokan’s room.

-From now on, the person who’ll take care of you will be the owner of this room. If you run away, you’ll die at my hands.

You know what will happen if you try to escape, right? Mind your manners. The cat trembled quietly without a sound, understanding my intention.

Now, I just have to wait. He said it wouldn’t take long, so I decided to pass the time setting up the cat supplies.

I poured sand into the litter box, set up the cage, and placed the food in a visible spot.

…

…Dokan is late…