Chapter 28

Today, we have a magic class on the sports field, so Vine and I came here early in the morning.

Well, the class hasn't started yet, and basically, he just wanted me to join him for morning training.

I guess he doesn't get much time to spend with Cross on weekdays, so he caught me and we're doing this training together.

First, we stand back to back, raise our hands above our heads, and stretch by pulling each other.

"Ughh"

It feels great to stretch my whole body. The morning drowsiness seems to be flying away. This angle with the sunrise is also nice.

"Ughh"

This time, it's my turn to stretch with Vine. He's big and heavy; my back feels like it's going to break.

"Last night, I read the magic book I brought from home, but I couldn't understand anything at all."

I talked to Vine, who was behind me, while continuing to stretch.

"Is that so? Cross is quite studious."

"What about you, Vine?"

"Hmph!" Vine's body stretched, and he let out a breath, but he continued talking.

"Yesterday, I was practicing with my sword."

"Sword, huh? You're serious too."

When I finished my response, Vine stopped moving and stood there silently.

It was my turn to stretch, so I turned my head toward Vine, a bit discontentedly.

"Ah!"

From my left, Vine's right.

...There was a cat.

A human-sized cat.

A lion!? No, it's a cat. Vine must have frozen because of this.

It wasn't a bold-faced cat but a cute one with big, round eyes.

It had a kitten-like atmosphere.

A kitten, but big. A cat, but human-sized. A giant fur ball.

"Good morning, nya."

And it could talk.

Hilarious.

"So, how about we go somewhere with Cross this weekend?"

"Hey, don't ignore me, nya."

"Sure, I think it's a good idea."

"You're ignoring me too, nya, big one."

Big one... I wanted to say, but I felt like I shouldn't.

A dream!?

"Vine, pinch me."

"It's not a dream, nya."

Vine and I let go of each other's hands, faced each other, and looked at the reality in front of us.

"Who are you?"

No, what are you?

"I'm the magic teacher, nya."

"Is that so... Why are you a cat?"

Vine gave me a look that said, "Hey! You're asking that right away!?"

"From my perspective, why are you humans, nya?"

Vine whispered in my ear.

"That's bad, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's bad," he replied in a whisper.

"It's not bad, nya. I'm just a teacher, nya."

With her cute, calm face, I started to wonder if she was telling the truth.

"What's your name, teacher?"

I asked tentatively.

"Cats don't have names, nya. It's common sense. How many people are you?"

Ah, I'm sorry.

"T-t-teacher."

This time, Vine mustered the courage to raise his hand.

"What, nya?"

"Is the teacher male or female?"

"Female, nya. You're rude, nya."

Ah, I'm sorry, Vine must have thought.

"Still, big one! You're no good, nya. Your body is big, but your magic power is just leaking out, nya."

She sighed and then turned to me, putting her hand on my shoulder.

Her paw is so soft!

"Compared to this one, you're good, nya! Your body is slim, but your magic power is overflowing, nya. Amazing, nya."

I was happy to be praised, but please stop using that expression!

"It's been a while since I've had a student as excellent as you, nya. What's your name, nya?"

"Kururi."

"Kururi-kun, nya. I remember, nya. And the big one?"

"Vine."

"Vine-kun, nya. I remember, nya."

Vine's shoulder was also touched, and he shuddered for a moment.

What! This creature, he must be thinking. No, I am!

"Hey, cat teacher!"

"What, Kururi-kun, nya?"

"Are you the magic teacher!? Can you use magic?"

"Of course, nya."

As she said this, the cat teacher activated earth magic and created a statue of herself out of soil.

Her legs were a bit longer, and her eyes were sharper, but let's ignore that.

"How, nya?"

Vine whispered in my ear.

"Is it real?"

"Seems so."

"I've been saying that from the start, nya."

"Question! How many hours does the cat teacher sleep a day?"

"14 hours, nya."

Ah, it's a cat after all.

"Hey, it's a cat," I whispered to Vine.

"But it's big."

"Alright, nya. Since the class hasn't started yet, I'll check your magic first, nya. If you have talent, I'll let you join the research group and teach you magic, nya."

First, Vine used magic, urged by the cat teacher. He released magic power, changed its properties, and made a flame burn in his palm.

"No good, nya. Average, nya. Next is Kururi-kun, nya."

Vine, who was criticized by the cat, slumped and sat down.

Don't worry.

It was my turn, and I thought about what to do but couldn't come up with anything, so I created a statue of the cat teacher in her actual size. This is possible through material transformation and maintaining the form, which I had mastered before.

"Hmm, your artistic sense is lacking, nya. It lacks beauty, nya. But your magic is top-notch, nya. Pass, nya."

"Thank you."

"Redo it, nya."

Following her detailed instructions, I recreated the ideal statue of the cat teacher.

"Shorter legs, nya. What are you looking at, nya?"

"Cat teacher, what kind of magic will you teach us?"

"Secret, nya. Right now, there's an outsider, Vine-kun, nya."

Vine's expression says he's not interested, but is this maybe something to look forward to?

The magic book by Chris Heran at my house doesn't cover all the magic.

There are unique spells and rare ones that aren't in circulation, of course, not included.

"You can look forward to it, nya."

The cat teacher answered as if reading my thoughts.

"The research group meets irregularly, nya. I'm whimsical, nya."

She's a cat!

"Bringing snacks is good, nya. Meat-based is preferred, nya. No salt, nya."

She's a cat!!

"Touching me is not allowed, nya. It's harassment, nya. You can only touch my chin, nya."

She's a female... cat!

While Vine and I were chatting with the cat teacher, other students started to arrive.

Everyone was reacting to the big cat.

We've already done that!! We've already gone through that!!

When all the students gathered, the class finally settled down and began.

"Release your magic, nya. Today, we'll practice property transformation, nya. Change it to a property that's easy to imagine, nya."

I made a flame appear in my palm.

This is easy.

Next, I'll try to see how much I can release.

About a third of the class can easily release magic. This is in A-class. Other classes will struggle, I guess.

Looking around, Prince and Riel were easily activating their magic.

Vine, as usual, had a small amount and was being criticized by the cat teacher, "That's just leaking out, nya."

"You have good potential, nya. You too, nya."

The cat teacher stopped in front of Eliza and Iris.

Since that incident, Eliza has been glaring at me whenever we meet, but today she's surprisingly in a good mood.

She was creating sharp ice on the ground.

Iris's property transformation was also excellent, producing beautiful water.

Recently, I've been hearing rumors about the prince and Iris, but it's still early for their relationship to develop.

Eliza, a huge obstacle, stands in the way of their love, and unfortunately, she's currently standing in front of me.

Eliza, why don't you focus on your job?

No, you shouldn't! Come on, me!

"Hey, Kururi."

Approaching boldly was the first prince, Arc.

Is he here to get back at me for interrupting our date the other day?

Little man!

"You seem to be good at magic too. But I'm better, you know? How about we have a showdown next time?"

"Stop it, Arc. Kururi-kun is troubled, isn't he? Sorry, my prince is saying something strange."

The first prince was pulled back to his original position by Riel.

Phew!

I tried to look cool.

The cat teacher is giving advice to each student one by one.

Despite her appearance, she's surprisingly caring and serious.

"No good, nya. Put more strength in your waist, nya."

"You lack passion, nya. You won't release it like that, nya."

"How old are you, nya!? It's too early to wither, nya!"

...I think she's a serious teacher. Definitely.