The Gloomy and Timid Princess Heads to the Academy

---

While spending time with Ho-yeon without any reservations, I suddenly realized a few things. One of which was that she hadn’t experienced her heat cycle at all.

According to the setting, beastfolk should go into heat every month, but for some reason, she showed no signs of it.

Typically, beastfolk would become foolish or lose their reason, clinging to anyone around when in heat, but she was nothing like that.

Even that Black Wolf would visit a brothel to relieve himself, and even the proud beastfolk heroines in the story would roll around with the protagonist every month.

She reacted normally to catnip, so why hadn’t she gone into heat? Was it because divine blood ran through her veins?

I was curious in many ways.

“Uh… this might be a sensitive subject, but Ho-yeon, do you not have a heat cycle?”

I was about 90% sure she didn’t, but I wanted to confirm it directly.

It would probably be a response along the lines of “I don’t have that” anyway.

“……..”

There was no particular meaning behind it, but I wondered if even among us, this question was a bit awkward to answer.

I hadn’t thought much about it when I asked, but upon reflection, it felt akin to asking your girlfriend about her menstrual cycle.

No matter how close or special the relationship, wasn’t this crossing a line? Just as I thought of saying she didn’t have to answer if she didn’t want to—

“……….No.”

She answered, saying she did have a heat cycle.

Uh, wait a minute. I had asked a pretty trashy question, so what should I do when my girlfriend responded to it?

“I see. So you do have a heat cycle.”

Internally begging that she would let it slide, I tried my best to ignore her response, making it seem like it was nothing at all.

Please, can we just pretend this never happened?

“…It’s coming…!”

But Ho-yeon seemed completely oblivious to my inner thoughts and insisted that it was coming.

“…Oh, I see. It’s coming.”

Flushed and about to die of embarrassment, she still looked straight at me without covering her face.

“…Why is your reaction like that…! It’s my heat cycle right now!”

I had no idea how I was supposed to react after asking the question. How was I supposed to take this?

Did she honestly answer because I asked? Or was there some underlying meaning to it? Seeing Ho-yeon boldly declare she was in heat left me speechless.

Ah, so it’s her heat cycle now.

So… what can I do? I was still afraid of the presence lurking behind her.

And above all, I sensed something irreversible could happen if I crossed the line any further.

“…So, next round…”

“Hey.”

Despite my efforts to diffuse the situation, it seemed Ho-yeon had no intention of letting it go.

With dangerous glint in her eyes that I hadn’t seen in a while, her voice dropped lower. If I pushed too far here, I felt like there would be issues for my own safety.

Specifically, I’d be overpowered and kidnapped on the spot.

“…Don’t ask that and then act like it’s nothing. At least be surprised…!”

I shut my eyes tight, thinking she might come at me to punch me, but the pain I expected didn’t come.

With her fist raised, she stood still as if she didn’t know what to do.

“…Ugh. Just pat me… or, anyway, show some action. Just, not right now!”

I had no way of knowing what she wanted, but at least I was glad that my head was safe. Even if there’s some sort of substitute magic, it could still make my head spin.

Returning to her seat with a graceless walk, Ho-yeon seemed a bit off. Well, considering it was her heat cycle, it made sense that she’d be acting strangely.

For some reason, it felt like there hadn’t been any touch at all today. Normally, she would poke my cheek with her tail when waking me up or tickle my nose, and she’d hold my hand most days, but today she seemed to be avoiding contact.

Was something wrong? Or could it be related to her heat cycle? Regardless, after what had just happened, I had no courage left to test the waters.

…Wait. I could just win another round of rock-paper-scissors and ask if I could touch her then.

I couldn’t resist my curiosity. I had no idea what the price for this choice would be, but I wanted to find out.

“…Um, sorry. I’ll be more careful in the future. Shall we start?”

“Hey, you…! sigh. Alright… if you say so.”

Despite feeling a bit guilty about Ho-yeon’s state, I had no plans to back down. I always do my best, even when gambling with my kindergarten cousin.

Having already won once with the same trick by having Ho-yeon observe my movements, I figured I could have some fun with the same tactic again.

“Rock-paper-scissors.”

But it seemed the same tactic wouldn’t work twice; while pretending to throw scissors, I threw a fist, and she revealed rock.

“I… I won!”

Hmm. Guess two times in a row was wishful thinking. Since I had asked a pretty big question, I resolved to answer whatever she asked with full sincerity from here on out.

“I lost. So, feel free to ask me anything, Ho-yeon.”

“Then… um, what about… dating other girls? Is it because I’m not enough…?”

The moment I heard her question, my resolve wavered intensely. I could have answered anything, but anything related to the original story or my future was off-limits.

Yet, she had pushed right into that exception. I couldn’t wrap my head around this unexpected attack.

“That’s… not it.”

First, I made it clear that meeting other girls was absolutely not because she was lacking or that I disliked her. After all, I needed to eliminate any room for misunderstanding.

But, unexpectedly, that only seemed to upset her more, and she pushed back, her voice rising.

“…Then why are you meeting other girls…!”

That particular part was something I couldn’t disclose at all. The fact that this world was a novel, and to reach a happy ending—meaning I had to charm all the other girls, including her mother—was not something I could just reveal.

In fact, I wondered if I would even manage to win against Byeolbi. After all, how could one defeat a being that could create a moon and drop it in an instant?

The original portrayal involved not genuinely engaging in battle, being toyed around while slowly ramping up the intensity instead.

“I’m just trying to expand my connections… do you think you’d believe that?”

I was left with no choice but to make a pathetic excuse. Even I thought it sounded awful, but saying it straight was an even bigger nonsense, so I came up with nothing sharp.

“I… I’m a princess… so I must be lacking… right?”

“…But you’re the only one I’m this close with.”

“R-really? That’s nice… but…”

I felt like I had set the wrong condition, and now I was sweating buckets. I almost wished she would just punch me to feel better.

“…Shall we stop here?”

I suggested this to end it in a draw, as my hunch told me that any further escalation would leave us both battered.

“Are you saying you’ll stop after asking all those questions…?”

In the tension, I naturally denied it, but instead, I seemed to have fallen right into her trap.

“Then… shall we continue?”

For some reason, it felt like I had awakened a sleeping tiger.

—

Gloria was currently unconscious. Stephanie was severely injured, missing after fleeing.

The notorious demon organization lost its leader and was naturally dismantled by the other apostles.

While the identity of the mastermind behind the monster attack had not been revealed, the church had achieved a favorable outcome despite some losses.

However, Ethan had not received a single good piece of news. The merit for subduing Stephanie went entirely to Eana, and the lurking monsters had also been dealt with by the other apostles.

In practical terms, it meant that he had no achievements at all. Consequently, his standing was extremely precarious.

There were opinions suggesting that with the major demon forces subdued, there was no need for his magic sensing ability, while others thought it was a rare talent that should be nurtured for the long term.

He felt a sense of crisis, afraid he might face dissection rather than being dismissed from his position.

However, each matter was handled by other apostles or the church, leaving him stuck and abandoned in the academy.

Someone approached him during this time.

Was it a noble who came to mock him, or had the church finally decided on how to deal with him?

In his solitary eye, he discerned an elf—not a noble nor a member of the church.

“…You’re chasing after Ho-yeon, aren’t you?”

His only connection to her was observing from afar during church prayers, leaving him curious about the motive behind the elf’s words. His expression stiffened in response.

“…How do you know?”

Could it be? But the elf interrupted his question with an offer he couldn’t refuse.

“The spirits told me. I want to help you too. Let’s uncover Ho-yeon’s secret together!”