201. Jager (1)
#201
Secret who had gone missing had turned into a furry wearfox. Ronan and Adeshan froze in place dumbfounded. The owner who saw the secret coming down rushed over.
“Ah are you awake? “Would you like me to prepare a meal for you today?”
“No that’s okay. I still have leftovers from last night. “Could it have been Jager’s henchmen who caused the commotion just now?”
“no. It was just a local municipal miscellany. It’s common isn’t it? “Friends whose only pride is the fact that they were once henchmen of the rebel army.”
“Thank goodness. Anyway the meal is okay. “Thank you for taking care of me.”
“you’re welcome. “If you need anything please let me know anytime.”
The owner returned to the kitchen again. Judging from the conversation it seemed like Secret had been staying at this inn for quite some time.
Normally I would have asked Jager what he was doing but right now I wasn’t even that curious. Because that damn white fluffy tail was waving behind Secret’s back. He approached me with his back to me and spoke slyly.
“I heard that spring has returned to the islands. “You did a great job.”
Ronan didn’t react. He absolutely did not want to admit that this bipedal arctic fox was his professor. It was quite shocking that she turned into a girl but now she’s a beast. Secret who was looking at the dumbfounded Ronan chuckled.
“You seem to have a lot of questions. “It’s worth it.”
“…Wait a moment.”
Suddenly Ronan took a big sip of the distilled liquor in the stone glass. Perhaps because it is a northern drink the alcohol content was quite high. A fragrant vanilla scent vaguely emerged from the back of the throat where the distilled spirit burned.
Well it’s definitely a good drink. Ronan wiped his mouth and put down his drink. The bipedal arctic fox remained standing in her original position. The familiar mana was still blooming from the dwarf shoulders. Ronan cursed covering his face with both hands.
“Fuck.”
It was not delirium caused by the shadow’s mana. What was in front of me now was truly a secret. He pulled up a chair and joined the table.
“It’s been a while since I was student council president Adeshan. How have you been?”
“Am I really Professor Secret…? “For now I’ve been doing well.”
“I guess so. I even traveled all the way to the north with my lover. Well I recognized that this friend wrote a letter while he was trapped in the ice.”
“He’s my lover Ronan is just…!”
Ade Shan’s face was as red as an apple. She opened her mouth and tried to explain something but all that came out was something unintelligible like babbling. ‘Ah.’ “therefore.” “Uuuh.” Same things. You could just say that you are a junior or a friend but why are you saying that?
“It’s just…what?…”
Adeshan who was suddenly rambling took a sip of the drink in front of him. She lowered her head as she nuzzled her neck without once stopping. The glass she put down was empty.
“Puh-ha…!”
“are you okay? “It must be pretty harsh.”
“Hmm I think it’s okay. “It’s not bad…?”
Every time Adeshan opened her mouth there was a scent of vanilla. Ronan seeing the indifferent reaction laughed. The difference between Erzsebet and Erzsebet who was intoxicated by a sip of wine that was almost like a drink was like heaven and earth. I think he drinks better than me. Is drinking also a talent?
They ordered a whole bottle of alcohol. For snacks melted cheese and crackers were served. Ade Shan seemed to like the spirit so much that she began to sip it without toasting it. Ronan brushed off her bangs and looked back at Secrit.
“So…why are you here Professor? “Why didn’t you come back to Phileon?”
“There were circumstances. I’ll explain that later so let’s talk about something else first. “Why did you come to the North?”
“I have to stop by Heiran and then go to the Sea of Ghosts. “You came to help me by stopping by the blacksmith shop… Oh can’t you just leave that tail alone?”
“It’s because I’m glad to see you. I can’t control it because I move wildly depending on my emotions. “It’s a new fact that I learned only after becoming a prisoner.”
The tail hanging under the chair was constantly wagging. Secret added the completely unexpected information that ears move in the same way. As Ronan took another sip of his drink Secret’s eyebrows twitched.
“But you’re still a student aren’t you drinking too much? Well it’s not a fileon so it doesn’t matter.”
“I don’t think I can survive without drinking. “How did it end up like that?”
“I ended up like this while wandering the ancient northern ruins in search of magic to melt the Winter Witch’s ice. “It was a regrettable accident.”
“Is there a way to return to normal?”
“It’s possible right now. But I don’t know how to get it again so I’m going to stay like this for a while. “Isn’t it fun?”
For some reason I felt like my head was pounding. It was fortunate that there was no smoking pipe. If there had been I would have burned an entire bag of powder right here. From what I heard Secret’s physical condition was in a state of total crisis worse than two years ago.
The curses except for the curse of the beast-man-hwa still remained coiled in his body. The Sphinx’s curse of changing gender and age still persisted and as a result he became a female werefox who grew younger and older every time day and night changed. I was wondering if I could call this a human anymore. Secret continued.
“It’s not as bad as you think though. Surprisingly there are quite a few things that make us better than humans.”
“I guess so. “You mean I can scratch my itchy ear with my hind paw or something?”
“That’s also one of the advantages. If it’s okay I’d like to tell you a bit about what’s going on in the outside world. “For the past few months I have been completely cut off from any news.”
“…Of course.”
Ronan nodded his head. Although he was disgusted by the shocking change Secrit who lifted the curse was a definite benefactor. As I continue to look at him he seems to be better than when he turned into a little girl.
Ronan explained in detail his travels through the world of imagination during which he wandered for two years and what he experienced after awakening. The unexpected audience with the Emperor between the Winter Witch and Lorhorn and the decisive battle with Darman at the summit of Farzan. After hearing the story related to Nebula Clage Secret’s eyes sparkled as if he was interested.
“Huh I didn’t know it was such a vicious organization. “But to see something like that in the Festival of Swords I guess you did it right even if it meant killing you.”
“Thanks to you high-ranking people from all over the world became aware of it. “Now we are branching out on a continental basis.”
“That’s a good thing.”
Secret laughed. Ronan was satisfied with the information provided but he thought it was a bit harsh.
He didn’t know about the great event that took place at the Festival of Swords and as he said he seemed to have lived quite a life apart from the world. Secret who was licking a drink from a wide bowl muttered softly.
“Hmm… Then does what’s happening here have something to do with those fanatics? “This might be more serious than I thought.”
“hmm? Has something happened to Rundalian?”
“okay. To be exact I would say the North. “You happened to come to the North at a dangerous time.”
Secret’s face became somewhat serious. Ronan tilted his head after hearing the meaningful words.
“Dangerous times?”
“okay. If it’s okay let’s do the rest in my room. “Because it’s not a story worth telling in an open place.”
Suddenly Secret stood up. Ronan was puzzled by the sudden change in atmosphere but he followed suit and got up. He tapped Adeshan’s shoulder as he was drinking alone.
“Senior are you okay?”
“Yeah…it’s nothing. “This is delicious.”
Adeshan smiled softly. There was a charming snort in his tone of voice but he was still calm and there didn’t seem to be any problem. Ronan raised his eyebrows after seeing that the bottle was empty.
‘Did you drink this all by yourself?’
It was almost twenty glasses and he was a natural drinker. I didn’t know because I had never drank alcohol with him in my past life. Ronan gently stopped her as she lifted the glass to her mouth.
“Stop drinking now. “I drank too much.”
“Aang this is shameful.”
Adeshan puffed out his cheeks as the glass was taken away. Her face was flushed red and she looked playful but she also gave off a somewhat seductive look. She said by the way she said ‘Aang’ now. You probably heard it wrong right?
“Oh wait.”
Then she saw Ade Shan suddenly get in her face. Big gray eyes were sparkling before her eyes. Ronan gasped as the distance narrowed until her nose touched.
“…What is it?”
“I buried it here.”
Adeshan suddenly stretched out his hand and rubbed the corner of Ronan’s mouth with his index finger. It came out with cracker crumbs the size of her fingernail attached. Apparently it was buried during a conversation with Secret. She casually put her index finger in and out of her mouth and smiled coquettishly.
“Ahaha I heard you have a bit of a clumsy side too.”
This truly provocative action made Ronan forget what he was going to say. It was a scary drinking habit in a different sense from Erzsebet who was fussing about showing off the essence of fire magic. Secret tapped his back with his tail and whispered.
“I thought about it earlier and it suits you well.”
“It’s not like that.”
Ronan who had washed her face shook his head. She didn’t drink much but she seemed drunk. A professor I haven’t seen in a long time has turned into a beast and my former boss whom I respected a lot is showing off a charm that isn’t even in his character… Of course the latter wasn’t that bad.
“Then let’s go up.”
Anyway Ronan and Adeshan followed Secret to the second floor. His room was located in the most corner.
In the doorway a curtain of mana that seemed quite dense at first glance was shining and shining. It was a security magic I had seen before. Only after the secret holding the doorknob muttered a specific spell did the curtain disappear and the door opened.
“It’s dirty and shabby but please come in.”
“This is…”
Ronan’s eyes widened as he entered the room. Secret’s room had a very different feel from Separaccio which I saw two years ago. Various books clothes and papers with something scribbled on them were strewn about. White clumps of fur presumed to be body hair were rolling around like bushes in the wilderness.
The blanket with the phrase “For Human Use Only” embroidered on it was buried in the corner of the room and I couldn’t easily lift it out because it seemed like something small and evil was living inside. To summarize it was just shit. Ronan looked around the entire room and opened his mouth.
“…It’s really shabby and dirty.”
“Hmm I warned you like that.”
“What on earth do you do to end up like this?”
Apparently with the change to Wearfox my lifestyle habits also changed to become dog-like. Fortunately I was able to defecate in the bathroom. Adeshan who was drunk was tapping his forehead against Ronan’s back and just laughing heartily. The three crits scratched their heads as if they were embarrassed.
“I stayed here for about a month. “I was so busy researching Haeju and tracking down Jaeger’s gang that I didn’t have time to pay attention to cleaning.”
“Do it? Jager?”
Jager was the name that had appeared in the conversation with the owner just moments ago. The three krits nodded their heads.
“okay. The leader of the new beast-in alliance that has been on the rise recently. “From what I don’t know it looks like you haven’t visited any cities other than Rundalian.”
Secret walked into the room and picked up a piece of paper rolling on the floor. On a large piece of paper presumed to have been torn from a poster was a picture of a white tiger wearing an eye patch the size of a gate.
He wasn’t as good as Jaifa but he was still a very temperamental guy. At the bottom of the portrait was written a provocative motto: “Let’s wash the North with the blood of inferior races!” Ronan who had received the paper was in the process of carefully examining his face.
“I can’t find a cute corner even after washing my eyes… hmm?”
It was a face that gave me a feeling of déjà vu. The same was true even taking into account the fact that all the prisoners looked like that. Ronan who was finally digging through memories of his past life raised his eyebrows.
“This kid…”
