[34.5] Saying Goodbye to a New Friend

I felt something heavy on top of me. I groaned, "Zephyr… Get off…"

Eh… But isn't this a bit too heavy for his fox form?

Don't tell me.

I opened my eyes in anger, "Zephyr you little brat-"

I froze when I saw a small boy, probably the age of a toddler, laying on my chest as he stared at me with bright blue eyes. He had long silver-blue hair with tiger ears on his head.

Then there were the horns.

Yup. Those are horns.

My expression darkened.

…What the hell do I do in this situation!?

He blinked slowly, "Wanna go home."

"Uhhh… Home?"

He nodded, "Yes! Can I?"

"...Yes?"

His face lit up in happiness, "You won't eat?"

"No."

He jumped off of me and let out a shrill scream of happiness. I sat up in bed and watched as the bare naked toddler ran out of the room.

My mother stepped out of the doorway confused, "Um… Reika? Did I just see a tiger demon run out of your room?"

I blinked in disbelief, "Uh… Yeah. I think you did."

"I wonder where he's going…"

We both stared at each other, "..."

Suddenly a burst of cold air flew through the hall.

My mother and I exchanged a panicked look before rushing out the door.

When we ran to the source of the snowy explosion, we could see the toddler laughing while grabbing onto the pant leg of the Headmaster.

He looked at me and my mother with a dark expression, "...Explain."

I leaned against the wall, "I guess he was a demon this entire time."

Zephyr walked up the stairs eating snacks he had taken from the kitchen, "Knew it."

The Headmaster glared at him, "If you knew, why didn't you say anything?"

He shrugged, "I was bored and thought it would be fun to see how long it took for you to figure it out."

My mother walked over to the Headmaster's closet and pulled out a shirt. She placed it on the child, "What's your name?"

He grinned while holding onto the Headmaster's leg, "Sanc!"

He looked particularly adorable with such an oversized shirt that looked like a dress. My heart melted even more seeing how he clung to the Headmaster with such an innocent face.

I reached out to pinch his cheeks, "So cute-OW!"

He bit down on my hand until I pulled it back.

I felt betrayed, "I thought we bonded."

The child stuck his tongue out.

The Headmaster sighed and pinched the brow of his nose, "Can someone explain to me why a demon child is hugging my leg? Or did you all forget that harboring a demon could get you executed?"

I thought for a moment, "I actually did forget."

My mother nodded in agreement, "I didn't even know."

Zephyr pointed to himself, "But I'm a demon and you don't have a problem harboring me."

My mother rubbed his head, "Yes, but that's because you're a charity case."

He frowned, "Oi."

The little demon spoke, "I go home. No death!"

The Headmaster looked down at him in confusion, "Home?"

He nodded furiously, "Yes! Home."

Everyone looked at me, but I shrugged.

I don't know what he's talking about either.

The boy grinned at us, "I will never forget you!"

He suddenly turned from us and ran down the stairs. We all sprinted after him until he ran outside. He waved happily at us with his large sleeves, "I go home now!"

I called to him, "How are you getting home!?"

"Found a ride!"

I frowned sternly, "You're just going to get a ride!? That's dangerous!"

He shook his head, "Trustworthy!"

I frowned, "How do you know?"

He grinned ear to ear, "He's your friend!"

With a poof, he changed back to a tiger cub and ran off.

I gulped down my tears.

It feels like my kid is going off to college.

My mother hugged me, "You did a good job raising him, Reika."

Zephyr scowled, "He was only here for a week."

"Let's go back inside." The Headmaster looked at me with a stern look, "We need to have a long discussion about your need to bring demons home."

I forced on a smile.