Chapter 7. Field Trip on a Clear Day 11)

It was unmistakably Alec’s terrified scream.

Huan was just as shocked,

his eyes wide as he stared into the cave.

Uh… well.

We heard the scream, so of course we have to go save him.

I began warming up.

Even if I had learned swordsmanship,

I wasn’t some physical monster like Kyle or a genius like Daya.

I could get taken out in an instant against a magical beast.

With an escape plan in mind,

we launched the Alec Rescue Operation and stepped into the cave.

“Ugh! Don’t push me!”

“I thought you wanted to go first, Huan…”

I’m definitely not doing this because I’m scared.

It’s just that Huan’s face was clearly saying he wanted to lead,

so I’m simply letting him do what he wants.

Hoo, ha, hoo, ha. Calm down.

It’s a magical creature, but it’s known to be the gentlest and most docile one—

a Giant Rabbit.

Just cute, lovable, slightly rough,

and the kind of magical beast that bites hard enough to make a crunch sound.

…Should I just go back to the Tower?

“Kkyuuung.”

As we walked deeper into the cave,

I heard Tosoon’s adorable cry.

And then I saw—

our tragically unlucky Alec, soaked in tears and snot,

and Tosoon radiating pure cuteness while holding what looked like a carrot in one paw.

Hmm, I guess being a rabbit, he really does eat carrots.

I was suspicious for a second,

but thank goodness Tosoon is a vegetarian.

“Waaahh, Radel! Huan!”

Alec, having spotted us, rushed over.

His legs gave out mid-run,

and he stumbled straight into Huan’s arms like a heroine in distress.

Wow… maybe you should be the female lead.

You fit the role better than Seria…

“Having a fun time with Tosoon, huh?”

“No, I wasn’t!!”

I grinned and teased him,

relieved to see him in better shape than expected,

and Alec yelled at me from within Huan’s arms.

Hm? But… isn’t one of your arms looking a bit weird?

“Alec… your arm…”

I was speechless at the sight of Alec’s arm bent in a direction it absolutely shouldn’t bend.

So that’s what the crunch sound was…

He somehow managed to endure the pain.

Or maybe he was so scared he didn’t even notice it hurt.

I looked at Alec’s arm pitifully and gave his back a gentle pat.

That must have been the moment his tension broke—

Alec suddenly burst into tears and began pouring out everything that had happened without stopping.

“Hic… after that monster rabbit grabbed me… everything went b–black in front of my eyes! I was crying and crying, and that damn rabbit just kept shoving weird vegetables into my mouth! Sniff… he even gave me the carrot he’d been chewing on! And he kept poking me with his paws… sniff… over and over again… waaahh!”

“I-I see…”

It must’ve been rough.

Still sobbing, Alec rubbed his face against Huan’s chest.

Naturally, Huan’s clothes became completely soaked in snot, and his expression crumpled in horror.

…Considering how much Huan loves cleanliness,

I wasn’t sure if Alec was just terrified or weirdly brave to do that to him.

Thankfully, Huan seemed reluctant to use force on an injured person,

so he just kept trying to peel Alec off him.

But Alec, likely empowered by fear, wouldn’t budge.

“Kkyu… kkyuuung?”

My eyes drifted away from Alec and toward Tosoon,

who was letting out a pitiful cry.

Hmm… listening to Alec’s story again,

Tosoon didn’t really seem like a bad magical creature.

Nipping or pawing at Alec—he probably just wanted to play.

Giving Alec weird vegetables or the carrot he was eating—

maybe he was worried Alec would starve.

In other words, Tosoon was a kind and gentle magical beast…?

“Come here.”

Just in case, I held out my hand and called Tosoon over.

The enormous rabbit, easily three times my size, brightened its eyes and came bounding toward me.

The thudding of its steps made me worry the cave might collapse,

but I was reassured—if things went wrong, I could just use the teleportation magic stone.

“Good, good boy.”

“Kkyuuung!”

As soon as Tosoon reached me, I stroked its belly.

I originally meant to pat its head or chin, but it was too huge for me to reach—

so I just rubbed its belly enthusiastically instead.

Tosoon let out continuous cries of joy, clearly pleased.

Ugh… it’s so cute!

“Wow, you’re seriously adorable… Should I keep you?”

“Kkyuuung?”

“…What?”

“No way!”

My bombshell declaration received three distinct reactions:

First, Tosoon, who looked at me with sparkling eyes full of hope.

Second, Huan, who repeated my words like he couldn’t believe what he just heard.

And lastly, Alec, who screamed like he was about to die, with a horrified look on his face.

Hoho, thank you all for your explosive reactions.

Alec’s, in particular, was so intense it surprised me.

What, got a problem with me keeping it?

“Why not? Why can’t I keep it?”

“You’ll definitely get eaten alive.”

Alec stared at Tosoon with terrified eyes.

Hmm, it seems he’s developed a Tosoon-phobia on top of his Dia-phobia now.

I ignored Alec’s words and continued stroking Tosoon’s soft fur.

“Hm, there is one small problem, though.”

“One? More like a ton,” Huan snapped sharply, clearly intending to object too.

Seriously, what’s wrong with these guys? It’s so cute and gentle—

what could possibly go wrong?

Well, okay… Tosoon did break Alec’s arm, but that was just a mistake from poor control of its strength.

So, really, there was only one problem with keeping Tosoon.

“It’s too big!”

“Kkyuuing?”

Yes, the problem was the size.

Even if I wanted to keep it at home, Tosoon was way too huge.

When I pointed that out with my finger, Tosoon drooped like it had just been deeply wounded.

But then, it quickly perked up again and began shining with a radiant light.

“Oh my, oh my goodness.”

Its massive size shrank in an instant.

Now looking like an ordinary rabbit, the downsized Tosoon started tapping on my leg, acting all cutesy like it wanted to be taken along.

Ugh, how can I not take it when it’s this cute?!

“See? It got smaller!”

“Hm… So Giant Rabbits had this kind of ability, huh.”

“Hiiieek!”

Unlike Huan, who looked at Tosoon with interest, Alec took one look at the now-smaller Tosoon, freaked out, and ended up fainting.

It seemed that too many things had happened all at once and the fatigue had piled up.

Oh dear, what a sadly fragile friend you are… Let’s go back now.

“But how do we carry him?”

Huan, holding the unconscious Alec in his arms, looked troubled.

I offered him a simple solution.

“Princess carry.”

“…Any other way?”

“Nope. Princess carry it is.”

Prince-on-a-white-horse Huan let out a deep sigh, then gently lifted Princess Alec into his arms. Kyaa~

His expression was a little—no, very—scary, but thankfully, he didn’t complain at all.

“Alright, let’s go, Tosoon!”

After a small incident, we finally succeeded in rescuing Alec.

I marched forward proudly, holding the tiny and adorable Tosoon in my arms.

“But it’s a male.”

“…What?”

“It’s a male. If it were human, it’d be a boy.”

Tosoon… you were a boy?

I looked at Tosoon with wide eyes.

No matter how I looked at it, it was such a cute, feminine-looking rabbit.

Well, it was a bit of a bias on my part, but I had just naturally assumed it was female because it was so cute.

I lifted Tosoon up with both hands.

“Then, I guess I need to rename him…”

“How about Tosil?”

“No thanks. I’ll just stick with Tosoon.”

Tosil? That doesn’t suit him at all.

I had already grown used to the name Tosoon, so I decided to leave it as is.

Tosoon seemed to like the name too…

“Students.”

“Oh, Teacher!”

When we exited the cave, we saw the school nurse and Seria.

What the—where were the two of them this whole time?!

I crossed my arms and fired a question at the school nurse.

“What were you doing, leaving a student in danger like that?”

“Seria suddenly said she had a headache, so I stepped away for a bit…”

Ah. So basically, Seria suddenly felt unwell, the teacher gave her some medicine and went to gather herbs, and in that brief window, Alec was left alone—right when he was attacked. What awful timing.

“…Alec, are you even still alive?”

“Well… for now, yes.”

The school nurse cautiously checked Alec’s condition and then clicked his tongue.

It must have been worse than expected.

“Oh no, what if I get fired from the academy for this?”

The school nurse, spouting unnecessary worries, gently lifted Alec in a princess carry.

For various reasons, Alec really did look delicate and dainty today.

“This won’t do. We need to head back to the Tower now. We have to pack our things first, so Huan, you come with me.”

“Yes, sir.”

“The girls, use the magic pebbles—no, magic stones—and teleport back first.”

The teacher and Huan went to pack up. Since the sky, which had been clear, was gradually filling with dark clouds, we needed to hurry back.

“Ah, what do I do…”

“…?”

Seria’s face turned pale as she fumbled through her pockets. Then, looking like she was about to cry, she grabbed onto my sleeve. I tilted my head, wondering if her condition had worsened.

“I… I think I lost my magic stone. What should I do, what am I supposed to do?”

Losing the magic stone was a big deal. To escape this vast, expansive forest, the magic stone was essential. If she lost it, she would have to walk all the way back to the Tower.

Seria wasn’t as talented in magic as Aren, but she was still quite capable. She could’ve just used teleportation magic to return to the Tower—if not for her current condition.

Of all times, she had to be unwell now…

Seria had been sick since morning, sweating coldly and visibly unwell. Naturally, using magic—especially something like teleportation that consumed a lot of mana—would be too strenuous on her body.

This situation was giving me a headache, so I pressed my forehead with my hand.

“So… what, you want me to go help look for it with you?”

“Yes, please.”

Seria fluttered her eyelashes pitifully. It was easy to see through the act right away.

What kind of scheme was she plotting that she had to put on such a pitiful show? Narrowing my eyes, I gripped the magic stone in my hand.

“I’ll head to the Tower and call for someone.”

“Ah, but…”

Seria’s long, delicate fingers clung to my sleeve and trembled slightly.

I tried to leave first in case she planned to harm me somehow, but Seria wouldn’t let me go so easily.

She must’ve firmly decided to lure me into her trap—fine then, let’s see who wins.

I had the communication stone with me too. It was time to prepare to expose Seria’s true nature to the world.

Swallowing dryly, I put on a friendly smile. I had to make her feel at ease, so she could guide me straight into the trap she’d set.

“Alright, I’ll help you.”

I held her hand gently, smiling as kindly and warmly as I could.

Seria looked startled for a moment, then gave a soft smile in return.

Her expressions really changed quickly, no matter how many times I saw it—it sent a shiver down my spine, and I rubbed my arms as I started walking deeper into the forest with her.

“Let’s start looking.”

I trudged through the Dedelia Forest with Seria. The sky was overcast, gloomy, and so was my mood. Damn Seria. I grumbled inwardly as I dug through the bushes.

Come out, magic stone, where are you, magic stone!

“Rabbit…”

Seria showed interest in Tosoon, who was in my arms. Tosoon bared its teeth, fully on guard…

Whether she genuinely liked animals or it was just part of her persona, Seria was always surrounded by little creatures like birds or squirrels.

Alex, seeing that, would always shout, “So pretty! So lovely!” showing his boundless affection for her, and I’d just shake my head nearby. Ugh, just thinking about that reaction now makes me tired.

Come to think of it, I wonder if Alex is doing okay.

I recalled him again, held in the arms of the school doctor, his arm bent grotesquely.

Setting aside the pain, he looked really exhausted… I hoped he was alright.