21 Chapter 5 (4): A surprise, part 2

Chapter 5 (4): A surprise, part 2

We followed the headmistress to her office, where she put up a soundproof barrier and looked - no, glared - at me, but she only spoke after she gave us some tea and we all sat down.

"You told me your father was neither a demon nor a general. That has to be a lie, as you said your father was the Demon Lord. As that perfectly explains your massive amount of mana, I doubt that's the lie. So. Why did you lie about that? You knew I was friends with some demons, so you had no reason to think I would try to report you or kill you because of it" (HM)

"Well, actually, you only said you were friends with them after I said what I said about my father. In addition, I didn't lie. Demon Lords are different from demons, like the difference between high elves and elves. My father, therefore, was neither a demon nor a general. I assume that Souta was the one who told you?" (Ryuu)

"Yes, of course. You even went so far as to try to make him seal his mouth, bribing him with knowledge. You should know that what happens in regards to the students is not disclosed to anyone but the administration of this school, in other words, the teachers and myself, unless there is proof of them being an active threat to others, as opposed to just a potential threat. Anyone with the skills to become an adventurer could be a potential threat, so... Anyways, that's wordplay meant to try to disguise a lie and to deceive even yourself into thinking that said lie wasn't wrong. However, this? Hiding it and bribery? That's going a bit too far" (HM)

She then turned towards the other three girls, and continued to speak without taking a breath.

"You three knew the truth, and also kept quiet about it, meaning that you are also complicit. I have to punish you four, even though I can completely understand why you kept it hidden. Even I can't break the rules I have set down, or else there's less meaning to them. Understand, I'm less mad at you and more mad at the fact that I have been caught between a wyvern and a dragon, where I don't want to punish you, but I can't not do so. Speaking of wyverns, there's a reason I called Ver here. Could I see that human form you have?" (HM)

[I guess... If Ryuu says it's fine, that is] (Ver)

"Ver... you have to learn to think independently, if you want to be able to work with the rest of us as an adventurer. You'll also have to learn common sense, but that can be learned at the same time" (Ryuu)

[So... I can?] (Ver)

"Do you think she can be trusted? How did the rest of us act around her, and what does that tell you?" (Ryuu)

Wordlessly, she shifted, and put on the shirt I handed her.

"You're cuter than I'd heard... Well, anyways, I guess I should say congratulations on becoming the eleventh divine beast that we know of" (HM)

"Hmm? Say what now?" (Ryuu)

"Ah, right. Do you know the ten divine beasts of legend?" (HM)

"Let's see... the Gold, Black, and White Tigers, the Nine-Tailed Fox, the Bone and Blood Wolves, the Moon Rabbit, the Flame and Earth Rhinos, and the first of them all, the formless Warbeast, right?" (Char)

"Indeed. According to legends, each of those was an ordinary monster that gained the ability to shift into a human form, just like Ver here. This is classified information, but... have you ever wondered about how the various kinds of beastkin came to be?" (HM)

"Not really... wait... you mean..." (Elise)

"According to the same legends, each of them bred with a human, and their children were the first of their kind, the first of each clan of beastkin. The Gold, Black, and White Tigers' children were the first red, black, and white catkin, the Nine-Tail's kids were the first foxin, and so on for the white and red wolfkin, the rabbitkin, and the black and white rhinokin" (HM)

"What about the Warbeast?" (Mae)

That's the question I was going to ask. Those were the only beastkin tribes I knew of, so did he not have kids?

"That... it's... well, it's complicated and lost entirely to legend and myth. He was probably the only one to have a harem, and he was the only one to have children with an elf, a high elf, to be exact. His children with his human wives became the first demons, and his child with his elven wife became the first Demon Lord. Nobody knows what he was originally, but it's speculated to be an evil dragon. That's why demons are so feared, because they are more powerful and share more traits with monsters than beastkin, who could be explained as children with ordinary animals, and the speculation that the Warbeast was an evil dragon made people think that his children were evil too. Eventually, his true nature was lost to history as he became an object of contempt and hatred, becoming different over time, until nobody could agree on what he looked like or what he was, and he became known as 'formless' and his link with demons was all but forgotten after that" (HM)

"So, what you are saying is that I'm not a ruler class wyvern, like a noble orc or whatever, but a divine beast? And my children will be the first... Wyvernkin? Lizardkin? Something like that?" (Ver)

"If the legends are true, yes. You're different from the ten in a few ways, however. First, you are the only one to have been tamed, though that's not likely to affect your children. Second, you are the first to be female, and third, you are the first besides the Warbeast to be anything but mammalian, and even the warbeast we aren't sure wasn't really, say, a plague bat, which is a mammal, for those of you who might be wondering. In addition, you are the first to be confirmed to be of a species rated as higher than C rank. In fact, going from C rank, such as terror wolves, the race the Blood Wolf was, to a greater wyvern's SS rank is a huge jump in power, so we don't know what might happen in your future. In addition... Ver, who knows what might happen were you to have kids with a dwarf, a beastkin, a demon, or a Demon Lord... well, that last one won't happen, as the only existing one is female like you" (HM)

"Well... actually..." (Ryuu)

"I've seen you naked plenty of times, you're a girl. Don't make jokes" (Char)

"I am a girl, but so was the Demon Lord who got my grandmother pregnant" (Ryuu)

Everyone froze at that, and the two who were holding things when I said that, Elise and the headmistress, dropped what they held, tea and papers spilling across the floor.

"That means... I... might be..." (Elise)

"Yay! This means I can have Ryuu's children!" (Ver)

"Elise, no, you aren't pregnant. I'd need to work at it to make that have a chance of happening, and you'd know it if I was trying. Besides, I wouldn't do that without the both of us being ready and willing, which neither of us are, so far as I know. Ver, I think it's a bit too early for you to be thinking about having kids" (Ryuu)

"Don't care! I'll still have them at some point! Well... unless... you don't... want me... like that..." (Ver)

"Honestly, I still am trying to wrap my head around the fact you can take this form at all, so I haven't had time to think about that. It's only been eight hours since I found out, you know" (Ryuu)

"Eight hours is a long time! I'm less than a hundred times that old!" (Ver)

"Right, I keep forgetting that... Your sense of time will change pretty soon, I think. If you think about the fact you and I will probably live to be several hundred years old, an hour or a week might as well be nothing to us. Of course, you don't feel that way now, but you will later on" (Ryuu)

"Hold on, back up a bit... First, uh... you... can... have children with other girls? I... You know, it's you. I shouldn't be surprised by anything, but I still am at first. I'll learn, I guess. More importantly, I didn't think about the fact that you might get into that kind of relationship with your roommate... Well, uh... if you two are fine with it, and it doesn't result in children until after it's not my problem anymore, and it's not disturbing Charlotte and Mae, I guess it's fine" (HM)

"Why would it be disturbing us? Being Ryuu's lover isn't something that's limited to just Elise, you know. She's got both of us, and someone else who's not at this school as well, though we haven't been properly introduced or had a chance to talk with one another" (Char)

"I... I guess... I forgot that having a harem is normal in the demon lands, and that it's not uncommon among nobles and high elves here. I guess my being away from all of that for the last century or so really has skewed my perceptions of what's normal somewhat... or perhaps, it's just Ryuu" (HM)

I think it's a bit of both, but... I'm not sure. Still, Char does have a point...

"Char, thanks for reminding me of that bit. I'll have to set up a time for that this weekend, I guess" (Ryuu)

"Oh no you don't. I have to punish you somehow, so your time to leave this weekend is revoked... at least, that's the official statement. I'll look the other way when you sneak out and back in, but don't get caught" (HM)

Damn... Char is absolutely awful at stealth, and Mae is also bad at it... wait... I wonder... hmm... would that idea work?

"I'd like to ask a few questions first, before the punishment is set in stone" (Ryuu)

"Go ahead, I guess..." (HM)

"Okay, first off, will you be telling people outside of the administration, like some students or the king, why we're being punished? Like, what it was we were hiding?" (Ryuu)

"Of course not. I don't want to cause panic that a Demon Lord exists, let alone is in this country" (HM)

"Then, why do you have to officially punish us for that in particular? Couldn't you punish us for, say, hiding Ver's being a divine beast?" (Ryuu)

"I... I mean, I could, but what would be the point? You'd still be punished all the same" (HM)

"And what if that was the reason you called us here, which does more to explain why you asked for Ver as well, and learned that we were planning to tell you after class, because we only learned this morning? Would you still have to punish us?" (Ryuu)

"Ah... I see. You're right, I don't have to punish you at all, I can just say that I was going to before I learned that there was no reason to do so, so I let you off with a warning or something... Clever" (HM)

"So, does that mean..." (Mae)

"You will be getting no punishment. The reason is nonexistent, so you are free to go out this weekend" (HM)