Self-Introduction
Ding, dong
Just as I heard the sound of something like a bell or chime, loud footsteps—thud, thud, thud-thud-thud—came echoing in.
“Safe! I made it in time!”
Smack
“That was way too close. Haven’t you been told to act with more time to spare? … Oh?”
The one who came rushing in was a bunny-eared boy.
A teacher-like person gave him a light smack on the head, but it didn’t seem to hurt, since he just laughed.
Apparently, those loud footsteps from earlier were because he’d come down the stairs skipping multiple steps, and he was being scolded for that too.
Maybe he jumped like that because he’s a rabbit, or maybe he was just in a hurry not to be late. I’ll ask once we’ve gotten to know each other better.
While I was thinking that, my eyes met with the teacher-like person.
He had no ears on top of his head—his were in the same place as mine. He might be from the monkey tribe.
I couldn’t see a tail, but monkey tails can be short depending on the type, so maybe it’s just not visible.
“You must be Vio. Nice to meet you. I’m Paul, a human. I mainly teach language and writing for classwork. Ah, lots of the children here are meeting for the first time, so let’s get some introductions going. Can you say your name yourself?”
Thinking he seemed like an elementary school teacher, I was gently prompted by him and stood next to him.
When I looked back, all the kids in the classroom were watching me with sparkling eyes.
The bee boy in the front row was still snuggled up to his desk, starting to form a puddle under his face though...
“Nice to meet you. I’m Vio, a human. I live with my bearkin dad, Alke. Starting today, I’ve come to study. I look forward to learning with you.”
I bowed politely and greeted them.
Everyone here mentioned their kin, so I followed suit. Looks like that was the right call.
“Ahh, so that’s the kid Mom was talking about.”
“I already knew~.”
“Tinyyy. How old are you?”
“Can you use magic~?”
The kids began to buzz with reactions, and questions flew my way.
“Hey now, don’t overwhelm someone with questions the moment you meet them. Why don’t you all tell her your names too? Vio, are you okay with questions? You don’t have to answer anything you don’t want to.”
Thanks to the teacher’s intervention, the room quieted down.
They all seem surprisingly well-behaved.
When I said I could answer questions, they began standing up one by one, giving their name and a question.
“I’m Tony. Rabbitkin. Six years old. Hey, can you use magic?”
So the one who barely made it on time was a bunny boy a year older than me.
He wasn’t asking what kind of magic I could use, so I just said, “I’ve just started practicing life magic.”
“If you’re gonna become an adventurer, you’d better learn both attack and defense magic, y’know? I can teach you if you want!”
That confidence is adorable, but the teacher said, “We have a separate instructor for magic, so don’t worry,” and Tony was teased by the others with lines like, “You only just learned to use it yourself,” and “Trying to show off?”
Everyone’s twitching ears and fluffy tails were quite the torment to me, the fluff-lover.
“Okay, next!”
“I’m Nachi. Dogkin. Seven years old. My dad works at the guild reception. I’m a Bronze Rank adventurer. You also registered recently, right, Vio? Try earning points through helping out and level up your rank!”
He must be Taki’s son. What a good boy to cheer me on. His bedhead’s still there, but that just adds to the charm—nice.
“Oh my, I greeted you earlier, but once again— I’m Mare, sheepkin, nine years old. I’m one of triplets~ Vio~ are you planning to become an adventurer~?”
Mare, with the red ribbon, started with an “Oh my.”
“Yes, I registered recently. Right now, I’m working on building up my strength with my dad. I plan to study and collect herbs this afternoon too.”
“My, next is me. Same sheepskin, also nine years old—Mire~ Mr. Alke is an excellent adventurer, so I’m sure you’ll rank up in no time, Vio. Is there anything you’re having trouble with in the village~?”
Mire, with the green ribbon, began with a “My.”
“I still get lost if I walk alone, but I’m practicing, so I’ll be fine! Everyone in the village is kind, so I haven’t run into any trouble.”
“Oh my, that’s wonderful. I’m Mure. Also sheepkin, nine years old. This village is like one big family, so we warmly welcome new members~ Nice to meet you.”
Mure with the yellow ribbon started with, “My, oh my~”
Maybe it was because the three of them were the oldest in the class, or maybe it was just a trait of the sheepkin, but they all gave off a very calm and big-sisterly vibe.
Their fluffy white hair looked so incredibly soft, I had an almost overwhelming urge to touch it…
“I’m Lun, seven years old, catkin. Sorry about earlier. What kind of training are you doing with Mr. Alke?”
A slightly shy boy looking down and apologizing? That’s just too cute to handle.
On top of that, he’s a black cat. And he refers to himself as *boku*. That’s way too many appealing traits all at once! Thank you, universe!
“Well, I still don’t have much stamina, so I’m starting by helping out in the back fields and gradually increasing how far I can walk to get here. Today too, I got tired just before reaching the plaza and ended up being carried here by my dad.”
I almost said I got lost, but I didn’t. I absolutely did not.
“Whaaat, you can’t even walk all the way here? What are you, a baby? Even Lon runs here.”
The mischievous black cat boy next to him was treating him like a baby, but…
The little brother you were chasing after was literally in full cat form when he was running, right?
Please don’t compare a short, two-legged human kid with a body built purely for walking to a feline born with a sleek, running-ready physique.
Smack!
“Ow! Big bro, why’d you hit me?”
“Mom always says to be nice to girls, right? And introduce yourself! I’m telling Mom about today, just so you know.”
Lun, who was sitting behind, smacked his little brother Len on the head. Len looked up at him with a pouty glare.
The classic “I’m telling Mom” is truly a global weapon, isn’t it?
Even that tearful face of his is a treat for me. Thank you again.
“I’m Len, catkin, five years old. If you don’t have stamina, I guess I could help you out by running with you sometimes.”
Even while pouting, he’s offering to help me train…
Huh? Is this what they call tsundere? Or dere-gire? What is this flavor?
His ears are flopped down, and his tail is wrapped around the leg of the chair—where am I even supposed to start reacting to this?
I’m full to bursting from how cute this is.
“Okay, thank you, Len.”
When I smiled and thanked him, he turned away with a surprised look on his face.
But the cheek I could still see was bright red—also very good.
From the back of the classroom, I could hear the older girls cooing, “Oh my, he’s embarrassed,” “He’s so red~,” “Oh dear, how adorable~”—that added spice is also appreciated.
“Oh, looks like Hachi’s not quite ready yet. Well then, I’m Kathe. I’m eight years old and a lizardkin. I’m good with water and wood magic.
My adventurer rank is Bronze, and my dream is to become a Gold Rank elite and serve as a guard knight for the margrave someday.
Can I ask what your goal is?”
Kathe had big, sparkling eyes.
The lizardkin, like the snakekin, don’t have visible ears, and with training, they can even learn to retract their tails. Kathe still had a proud-looking tail, though.
A guard knight for the margrave, huh? I guess that kind of dream is possible too.
I don’t plan on getting involved with nobility, so that path’s probably not for me.
“Hmm, I haven’t decided yet, but my first goal is to go into a dungeon. So right now, I’m starting by building stamina so I can get promoted to Copper Rank and gain combat experience. Eventually, I’d like to meet a dragon too.”
Apparently, the words “dungeon” and “dragon” were enough to electrify the class—even the children reacted with a burst of excitement.
That commotion must have woken the little puppy boy from his nap.
He looked around, then wiped a puddle of water on the table with his sleeve.
Not very hygienic, huh?
“Who’s that?”
When our eyes met, the puppy mumbled the question. Kathe, sitting behind him, gently replied,
“She’s the new girl. We’re all introducing ourselves so she can learn everyone’s names.”
Ahh, even though it’s supposed to be free seating, it seems like the older kids are positioned nearby to help the younger ones.
And for mischievous siblings, it might be standard to have the older brother sitting behind—within head-smacking range.
What do you think about this chapter?
