In his muddled state of sleep, Cyril vaguely felt a disturbance, as something nudged his face.
He remained unresponsive.
Immediately, something lightly pushed him, using a bit more strength.
He turned his body over and continued sleeping.
Finally, the disturbance went away and his rest returned.
Peace and relaxation followed for a whole few seconds.
Suddenly, some furry object crashedinto his face at high speed.
"...!"
Cyril sat up straight, wide awake.
On the bed near him, Tigris groggily got on his feet.
"Meow." He roared with complaint, his blue eyes locked on him.
His tummy soon grumbled, making the look in his eyes more urgent.
"Hahaha. He climbed on the desk and jumped on you!" Rhamn held her belly and laughed, a few tears rolling down her face.
Couldn't you warn me?
"I could've." She said nothing more.
Cyril tiredly sighed and got off the bed.
"Sorry, Tigris. Food will be ready soon."
He stretched and looked at the clock.
I really slept in...
There's still plenty of time before lessons begin.
Even though his body was in its peak condition most of the time thanks to Rhamn's efforts, right now he still felt somehow more rested than usual.
Cyril unhurriedly went towards the kitchen.
The white tiger walked after him, his claws tapping on the wood. His blue eyes coldly made sure that the sacred task was done.
"Where is Morpho?"
Cyril looked around but found no familiar butterfly anywhere.
"She left to train." Rhamn pointed at the open window nearby, sending in the morning breeze.
Must still be upset.
"We'll make it up to her."
Of course.
He familiarly made breakfast, Tigris now sitting on his shoulder to make sure of the meat's safety.
In a moment three plates were on the table, three healthy breakfasts.
Tigris eagerly climbed on a chair and began hitting the plate with his mouth, devouring the food in quick and eager gulps.
Cyril observed the white fur that slowly transformed into some greasy nightmare.
We really need to begin teaching him.
"..." Rhamn decided to keep her silence.
Cyril sighed, observed one of the dishes, and covered it with a plate, saving it for later.
Then he ate his own portion, calmly in small bites, using a noble's etiquette.
Soon a knock came from the still-open window.
Without any surprise, Cyril stood up and walked up to it, peering outside.
There, Ophelia in her maid uniform stood with a newspaper in her hands.
"Good morning, Master." She said, bowing and presenting the paper.
"Good morning."
With that, she went away, a broom in hand.
In her place was left a pitch-black cat with jewel-like green eyes.
It sent him a glance, meowed, and quickly followed after the maid.
Anything interesting?
Cyril quickly flipped the paper as he walked, his blue eyes briefly scanning the contents.
More money than ever being spent in the entertainment district... An explosion in Boxwood, suspects unknown... Concerns from the churches about the coming celebration denied...
It was mostly things he wasn't too curious about.
Though soon one headline caught his attention, so he slowed down to read it in slightly more detail.
Nostro Thorne invests in a new project helmed by a known mage from the Tower. Elvira Arken commends the beginning of a great business.
I wonder what Leo thinks about this...
The noble student with blond hair and black eyes flashed in his mind. He tried imagining his reaction and found out...
Actually, I don't. It has nothing to do with me.
He flipped the page again, browsing for something else.
A few segments about the opening of the zoo… Advertisements for different schools of magic... That's about it.
In the end he put the paper on the table and shot Tigris a look.
"Meow?"
The white tiger cub licked his lips and tilted his cat head. Now he looked more like a regular orange cat, if a bit less clean.
Cyril shook his head and picked him up.
Tigris blinked a few times in confusion, but as he saw himself being taken to the bathroom, confusion soon turned to reluctance and complaint.
"Meow!"
"No, you need to be clean. It's time to get used to taking care of yourself."
Cyril entered the bathroom, feline in hand, and closed the door behind him.
Meows of discontent could be heard behind it, followed by running water and claws tapping stone.
...
Today their last lesson of the day was history. It was the least favorite subject of many students, or at least that's what Cyril heard from the students of different classes.
Their professor was an old man with a hunched back and a mean face. Usually he would talk about anything but the history of the Empire, instead preferring to nag about the current times.
No one complained, however, as most nobles here didn't need to know how great their Empire was. This was already nailed into them from a young age.
They were still graded for this lesson, but everyone knew the answers for the occasional test already anyway. The only ones who had it rough are the precious few commoners without any significant prior education.
Cyril boredly sat in the auditorium, glanced at Myra's despairing face as she hurriedly read through a textbook in front of her, and returned to his own study.
"Hehehe."
"-what is the Empire thinking!? How could they attach so little importance to the coming Hollowing!? Listen, all of you. Buy yourself a costume as a disguise. The spiritual becomes stronger that day. Don't forget the church's teachings!"
Outwardly, Cyril was the picture of a diligent student, carefully writing down the professor's ramblings. Inwardly, however, his mind was elsewhere.
...I suddenly feel the urge to practice Selene's technique.
"You mean Dragon Art. And what about illusions? We can't slack off there."
Yeah, I know.
He spun the pen in his hands in thought.
...Practicing two things like this at the same time might prove difficult.
Cyril focused back on the whiteboard and the professor.
"-the church is an important bedrock of society. We can't forget our gods! So-"
The lessons today passed especially slowly, as if a powerful mage just cast a miraculous spell to slow down the time's passage over the academy.
Eventually, the bell rang, and the students practically shot to their feet, their faces excited.
"Alright, go have one on the weekend. Try not to get into any trouble. The demons still haven't done anything since the Tower incident. The authorities urge everyone to be careful."
The professor warned them and sat down on his desk, taking a sip of a tea that had long since gone cold.
The students completely ignored him, talking to each other and making plans with interest.
Cedric got up from the table and shot Cyril a wide grin.
"…?"
Cyril responded with confusion, but Cedric moved without doing much else, eagerly walking out of the auditorium.
Okay.
Cyril turned towards Rose and Myra. They both finished packing their books at this moment.
"So, what's the plan?"
"Well," Rose eagerly pulled out a notebook from her pocket, "let's meet at the gates in about thirty minutes."
"Sure." Myra gave a thumbs-up.
Cyril nodded, grabbed his bag, and moved to get out of the auditorium.
His pace somewhat quickened, he reached his dorm, finding an unusual sight there.
A butterfly was attacking a small training mannequin in the corner. One of the many things he bought for her.
She flew at it again and again, striking with her wings.
As he focused, he discovered she was shaving thin slices of wood with each swing of her wing.
He observed her training for a moment and internally began feeling some shame.
She seems more hardworking than me...
Nearby sat a small tiger, obsessively watching Morpho's display of skill, cheering with a meow occasionally. His fur was thankfully spotless.
Cyril locked the door behind him and slowly walked closer, careful not to disturb Morpho's focus.
"I never expected Morpho would become so... dedicated to the sport?"
"Somehow the figure of a butterfly martial artist was hard to imagine."
I think she's on the right path.
He glanced at the kitchen, finding the plate he left for her completely empty of food.
The sight brought him a certain warm feeling.
"Hope Tigris didn't eat it."
"..."
When Morpho was done, she wobbly landed on the ground, too tired to even fly.
Cyril, having already finished changing and packing his things, quickly walked up to her and picked her up with his palm.
"Good job. You can rest."
She nodded her insect head as he put her on his shoulder.
Tigris then ran up to him, pawing at his legs with urgency.
"Of course you are going with us."
Cyril picked him up as well and put him on his other shoulder.
With that he walked in front of the mirror.
Reflected there was a young man with blond hair and blue eyes in a grey uniform. The usually cold sight was somewhat softened out by the presence of a beautiful red butterfly and a cute tiger cub on his shoulders.
Cyril nodded with satisfaction, grabbed his things, and walked out of his dorm.
"What animal are you looking forward to meeting the most?" Rhamn asked on the way.
While Cyril was petting the purring Tigris, he thought about his answer.
I would say a tiger. I am curious how a real one would behave.
Tigris lazily yawned within his grasp and looked around at the students coming and going around him.
"That would be interesting, yes. But aside from that, which animal are you genuinely curious about?"
Cyril thought about it some more.
That would be snakes.
As a kid, he read a storybook in which a snake played the role of an antagonist. At the time he thought they were quite scary but also a little cool.
Their smooth, wavy movements and cold, vertical pupils reminded one of dragons.
"Dragons are indeed cool." Rhamn nodded up and down, clearly in thought.
As they approached the gates, Cyril found Myra and Rose already there, so he sped up to join them.
I'm looking forward to it.