Free Web Novel"But it was just too long. Its torso was only about as thick as a person's forearm, but it looked well over 150 centimeters long."
"Ah, that is a bit too long. If it were large overall, then maybe..."
"Right?"
The student who had seen my familiar in person described Yor's approximate size.
After hearing that description, no one could keep insisting that "cats are naturally long."
The third-year student who claimed to own a cat was no exception.
'Are people going to start doubting Yor's species one by one?'
To get straight to the point, my prediction was completely wrong.
That was because, like people from a fantasy novel world, they were all excessively imaginative.
"Aah—! Don't tell me it's because Young Master Karvaldr's weapon is a whip...?!"
Why would that suddenly come up?
What possible connection could there be between Yor's body length and the fact that my possessed body uses a whip?
Anyone with normal reasoning would have had the same question I did.
But apparently, the people here weren't normal.
Not a single person looked confused by that completely out-of-nowhere statement.
On the contrary, they were all too busy gasping in shock, as though they had just realized some cruel truth. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
"Gasp...! Th-then...! That familiar was so long because it could be swung around as a substitute for a whip...?!"
"Heavens! That's so barbaric!!"
I agree. That really is a barbaric idea.
Worried Yor might hear those words and tremble in fear, I crossed my arms into a large "X" and shook my head.
At my gesture, Yor let out a sigh of relief and lightly stroked the front of her torso with one hand.
For a human, it would have been the equivalent of clutching their chest in relief.
"So that's why that strange cat familiar's body was covered in scales like snakeskin! If you swung around a fluffy ball of fur, it wouldn't hurt when it hit!"
"The hard-looking horns on its head must also be for increasing its attack power!"
"Then does he grab it by the tail and swing it? So that's why the fur on its tail was especially thick!"
Are they all insane? How can they seriously say such absurd things?
That was the first thought that came to mind.
But the dumbfounded feeling lasted only a moment.
Soon, I felt a chill run through my entire body.
'So what, there's no difference at all between how Yor looks to me and how Yor looks to others...?'
At the personal training ground, I had already confirmed that the Sky Blue Ether did not possess any perception manipulation or illusion type attributes.
I had also confirmed that Yor's horns, the scales covering her body, and her elongated form were all clearly visible to others.
'Even if this is a world where Korean food is served for school lunch with kimchi as a default side dish, its worldview is still Western-based. So it's understandable that they don't know what an Eastern dragon looks like. But cats still exist, don't they?'
And yet, people accepted without question that Yor was a feline creature.
Even though anyone could tell she ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) wasn't a cat.
People were twisting logic with ridiculous reasoning just to force it to fit.
"The fact that it can't blink because it doesn't have eyelids must be so it can chase targets to the very end without losing sight of them."
"So even if the attack misses because of the master's mistake, the familiar can twist its body and still hit the target?"
"To be born with its appearance deformed according to its master's needs! How horrifying!"
As anyone reading this already knows...
...I was happy that Yor had been born as a dragon, but at the same time, I was worried.
My position was already unstable because I had failed to fully inherit the family's Ether Ability.
And now my familiar had been born as a species other than a feline predator.
I was anxious about how Hárðr, the head of the Austri Family, would react.
I worried that the surrounding students would doubt my bloodline and start fabricating nonsense about Karvaldr's origins.
'If they were insisting Yor was a cat out of pity for Karvaldr, or to protect him, then I could at least understand...'
This possessed body earned people's hostility rather than their sympathy.
So there was no way anyone would manipulate public opinion for Karvaldr's sake.
No, there was no need to analyze the situation this deeply in the first place.
It was obvious at a glance that the extras gathered in the lobby were busy tearing Karvaldr apart.
Not a single one of them thought well of him.
'In other words, the current situation where everyone accepts Yor as a cat falls into the realm of the incomprehensible.'
And because of that, an answer emerged.
A familiar belonging to a member of the Austri Family is born in the form of a feline predator. That is one of the foundational settings that make up this world.
Which is why the people here cannot doubt Yor's species.
And that is the chilling part.
To be unable to deviate even slightly from the framework called a "setting" created by the original author Senna?
What a terrifying form of coercion.
"It's really pitiful, having to suffer that kind of fate just because it was born as the familiar of a brat like that."
Just as I was struck with terror after realizing the uncomfortable and dark side of this world, those words reached my ears.
Contrary to the pity in the words themselves, joy was obvious in that voice.
"Karvaldr, that guy...! I already knew his personality was rotten since last semester, but I didn't know it was this bad! Does it even make sense that a brat like that gets a familiar egg just because he's a direct descendant of a ducal family?"
I felt grateful toward the owner of that sneering voice.
If the conversation about Yor's appearance had continued, mocking remarks would inevitably have followed.
But since he shifted the topic to my possessed body at exactly the right moment, how could I not feel grateful?
"At this rate, maybe there should be a condition where you have to pass a personality test before getting a familiar egg~?"
I stepped out from behind the pillar and revealed myself.
The time had come to accomplish my purpose.
"He's a disgrace to the ducal family. Not just the Austri Ducal Family, but the other Ducal Families probably think so too. He might even incur the wrath of the Imperial Family, the ones who guard Yggdrasil, which bears the familiar eggs as fruit."
The extra who was currently rambling on happened to be sitting with his back toward me.
So even as I slowly approached with an expressionless face...
...he continued insulting Karvaldr without noticing a thing.
"It was pathetic how he looked down on others even though he couldn't properly inherit his noble family's abilities. Should I start acting friendly toward him from now on? Then when he gets kicked out of the family, he'll come crawling to beg for help, won't he? Wouldn't it be hilarious to watch that happen?"
A strange silence fell over the lobby, and there was only one person still making noise.
The faces of those who noticed me approaching were turning pale.
Whether he failed to notice that, or merely thought they were shocked by his bold remarks...
...the extra's words escalated even further, as though reaching for the heavens.
"Come to think of it, I heard Karvaldr only signed up for combat-related subjects this semester. According to rumors, it's because he's trying to protect himself... He must've been told by his father during vacation that he'll be kicked out of the family as soon as he graduates."
"A truly interesting opinion."
"Right? It's really interesting. To think that impossibly arrogant bastard is probably trembling with anxiety right now... Hehehe!"
I almost let out an admiring "Oh!"
Both the fact that he failed to notice my deliberately suggestive tone when I spoke to him, and the way he chuckled with such a vile laugh...
...made him feel exactly like a character from a novel.
'More specifically, an extra villain who will never appear again. And an extremely vulgar and insignificant one at that.'
Usually, lines like those are given to characters involved in rough professions like mercenaries, or people mixed up in all sorts of illegal activities.
But what about the person speaking now?
He was nothing more than an ordinary noble student.
And this wasn't some dark alleyway or damp basement, but the bright and lively dormitory lobby of the Academy.
That could almost be considered an unexpected twist.
"Is it really that enjoyable for you to imagine me desperately clinging to you for help, or trembling in fear?"
"Of course it's..."
"Of course? You're saying it's that obvious?"
"...!!!"
It seemed he had finally realized who he was talking to.
The extra turned his stiff neck with a creak and looked up at me standing behind him.
His face had gone deathly pale, almost blue.
"Why are you so frightened? According to your speculation, am I not destined to be kicked out of my family upon graduation and incur the wrath of the Imperial Family as well?"
"Th-th-that... That's..."
"Hmm~, strange. According to you, the one trembling should be me, so why are you the one shaking?"
I placed one hand on my hip and stroked my chin with the other, deliberately dragging out my words as though genuinely puzzled.
At that, fear spread across the extra's face.
"Why aren't you saying anything? Weren't you just saying you'd help me after I'm kicked out of the family, and that I should beg you for mercy? Didn't you say you wanted to see me trembling and bowing my head while asking for help?"
"......"
"Judging by how quiet you've become, you don't seem very confident in your speculation anymore. Or are you still afraid of the name 'Austri' attached to me?"
"......"
I could see the extra grinding his teeth.
Whether from humiliation or anger, his pale face gradually regained some color.
To be this offended and still unable to get angry.
"You, a nobody whose name I don't even remember, from a family too insignificant to mention. No matter how jealous you are that I'm a direct descendant of a ducal family and even received a familiar egg, shouldn't you watch your mouth? You should know your place. Did you really think someone like you could dare speculate about the intentions of the Imperial Family and the Four Great Ducal Families?"
"Th-that... but I'm not wrong, am I...?"
Perhaps because my remarks about his family background and calling him a nobody offended him again, the extra timidly muttered a response.
"Do you truly think so? I don't know the intentions of the Imperial Family or the other ducal families, but I do know the intentions of the head of the Austri Ducal Family very well. Since he's my father, after all."
The possibility that the extra standing before me was personally acquainted with Hárðr was close to zero.
Therefore, he naturally had no way to refute the statement, 'Do you think a nobody like you knows my father better than I, his son, do?'
Even though I'm not actually Hárðr's biological son and am merely a stranger inhabiting his body.
There's no way a mere extra could know that.
"My father wouldn't mind if I swung my whip at you right here. In fact, he might even praise me for doing well. After all, you insulted me and recklessly brought up the names of the Four Great Ducal Families and the Imperial Family as well."
"......"
I could see the extra's Adam's apple bob.
He had swallowed hard as the tension mounted.
"And even if I did hit you, you wouldn't dare resist and would simply stand there and take it. Because you know that if I were injured during your resistance, my father wouldn't leave your family alone. Isn't that right?"
I said that, but I had no intention of actually hitting him.
However, to his ears, it probably sounded more like, 'I'm about to hit you now, so brace yourself.'
