DONG——
Right on time, the bell signaling the end of class rang.
Tsk, Nigel clicked his tongue inwardly where no one could know. To fall behind Veil Khalid. And to be saved by that bastard at that.
The majority of students hadn’t achieved any results. But Nigel hated the fact that he was placed on the same level as them.
Though no students were conscious of this point, Nigel felt a sense of defeat. Especially seeing that triumphant face of Veil Khalid made it worse.
As soon as he stepped into the hallway, he felt all the sand that had settled on his body disappear in an instant. He’d certainly expected this, but coming out of the classroom definitely cleared his mood a little.
Ha, a short sigh escaped between Nigel’s lips.
Today’s only class had been the <Theory and Practice of Magic> that had just ended. Normally he would have stopped by the library or student council room and sat a bit longer, but he absolutely wasn’t in the mood for that.
Ugh, the migraine came back. Rubbing his brow, Nigel decided.
It would be better to just return to his dormitory room—that is.
For some reason, his physical condition didn’t seem very good. As Rowen had said before class, it might be time to stop by the infirmary.
On the way back to the dormitory, the reddened sunset was illuminating the academy buildings. It was when he was passing through the back alley of the sparsely populated old building, trying to move as quickly as possible.
“…?”
He saw familiar blonde hair.
It was Rowen Ashfield. As always, the guy wasn’t alone. A student wearing an ash-gray robe covered in chemical stains stood blocking Rowen’s path.
Clearly an Alchemy Department student.
The distance was too far to hear the conversation, but just looking at the atmosphere made it obvious. The other party was appealing some grievance with agitated gestures, and Rowen was quietly listening to that story with his characteristically good-natured expression.
……It’s obvious what this is. They were clearly making a request for him to persuade someone on their behalf, using his friendship with Nigel as leverage.
‘They don’t have the guts to come complain to me directly, so they’re grabbing onto Rowen who at least listens to their stories and pouring out their grievances.’
Since Rowen was well known as the Crown Prince’s friend, this wouldn’t be the first time he’d received such requests.
The thought of helping crossed his mind, but fatigue and annoyance won. If it were another student he might have helped, but… it’s Rowen. He’ll probably handle it well on his own.
“He has so much time. To listen to all those bastards’ complaints.”
Nigel hastened his steps back toward the dormitory.
He only thought inwardly that when they met later, he should rebuke him to stop being such a busybody.
***
Returning to his dormitory room, Nigel headed straight for the bathroom.
As he immersed his body in the bathtub filled with warm water, it felt like the fatigue accumulated throughout the day and the desert’s heat were being washed away.
“Haah…”
The sound of the water sloshing was particularly loud.
After finishing his short bath and coming out, medicine the servant had prepared in advance was placed on the nightstand beside his bed.
Nigel poured it out habitually and downed it in one gulp.
After drinking the medicine with cool water, his nerves that had been on edge all day completely relaxed.
Thud, Nigel set down the half-finished glass of water on the nightstand.
Then he lay down as if throwing himself onto the bed. The soft texture of the blanket enveloped his whole body. The academy’s emblem drawn on the ceiling came into view.
It had been a tiring day.
Nigel thought this and didn’t resist his eyelids as they drifted closed. Deep sleep overcame him.
It had clearly been an ordinary day that passed like usual.
Up until this point, that is.
D-Day
And now again, the present.
Nigel, in his frog state, crammed his body into the darkness as much as possible and recalled the ordinary yesterday.
Should he have listened more carefully to Rowen Ashfield’s warning?
It was when he’d been chased by two maids until just moments ago and was breathing heavily, inflating his torso and exhaling again.
…Ribbit
When he took a deep breath, this sound inevitably resonated through his whole body. For some reason, he felt a bit short of breath and stuffy. Whether it was natural for frogs or whether this body hadn’t yet adapted to a frog’s lung capacity, he couldn’t tell.
The damp and sticky sensation of his belly touching the cold floor awakened him to reality. His vision was bizarrely lowered, and all the furniture he’d passed so far stood imposingly like objects from a land of giants.
Thump, thump, thump. The ticking of the clock hanging on the wall rang in his ears like the sound of a massive hammer. All of this—all of this was the sensation felt by this horrible frog body.
Damn it, what the hell kind of state is this.
Blink. He moved his eyelid from bottom to top as if wiping his eyeball. Though he couldn’t see his own appearance with his own eyes right now, it was obviously disgusting and hideous.
Someone must have done this to me with malicious intent.
Since he hadn’t left the academy much recently, the culprit must be inside here.
That’s when it happened.
—”They definitely went this way!”
—”We can’t fail to find a single frog. You go check that side.”
—”What should we do if we find it?”
—”What do you mean! We have to drive it outside. If that doesn’t work, we’ll have no choice but to kill it.”
—”Yes!”
The voices of the two cleaning maids who had entered his room earlier were heard from above. It was a loud and threatening sound, like the noise made when lightning strikes.
Thump, thump, thump.
His heartbeat pounded as if filling his entire body.
K-kill? Ribbit, Nigel lowered his body while swallowing the sound into his belly as much as possible. If driving it out doesn’t work, they’ll kill it. If they discovered he was here, they seemed ready to immediately strike down with a broom.
What now?
He couldn’t keep staying here. Somehow, he had to escape. But escape? To where? Was going outside the academy in a frog’s body truly the right choice?
Not even a dog or cat with small but at least some teeth, but in this extremely weak frog body? If he was accidentally kicked even once, he would immediately lose his life.
But still, he couldn’t just keep hiding inside the academy building. Even if not the maids, the Crown Prince’s disappearance would soon become public knowledge.
Then the Imperial Knights and the academy’s professors would begin to search the building thoroughly. If this unidentified frog was discovered by their eyes?
The terrible imagination of becoming a magical test subject flashed through his mind. If only his voice worked, he could at least explain the situation.
Nigel crouched and spun his head quickly. In this situation, who could he trust and rely on?
Eden Lake? No, Eden was loyal but not the type who could handle such an absurd situation. He immediately excluded Lios Cesare. The bastard was smart enough that he might understand this situation right away, but he was dangerous because you couldn’t know what he was thinking.
And…. Tsk, Nigel clicked his tongue inwardly. The other bastards weren’t even worth mentioning and were dangerous.
Then, a face flashed through his mind.
Annoying, frustrating, and sometimes even pathetic.
Rowen Ashfield.
Right, Rowen. If it’s that guy, he’ll surely help a pitiful frog.
Once the goal was set, his confused mind cooled down. The problem was the method. The Swordsmanship Department dormitory was past this hallway, down the central staircase, and in the west annex.
It was a distance that would take less than 10 minutes with a human body, but for Nigel right now, it was a journey comparable to crossing the continent.
—”What about there?”
—”There’s nothing on this side! Let’s try the opposite side!”
He felt the maids’ voices growing distant. Now. Nigel cautiously stuck his head out from the darkness.
The endlessly spread marble corridor looked like a massive glacier, and the armor decorations lining the corridor cast threatening shadows as if they might come alive at any moment.
Gulp. Dry saliva went down without him realizing.
No, did frogs even have dry saliva? Nigel deliberately ignored the alien sensations continuously felt throughout his body and desperately gathered strength in his legs that had been pressed flat against the floor.
Hop—! The sensation of his body touching the cold marble floor was chilling. He really felt like he’d become a frog.
Having moved only about one step, his whole body felt stuffy as if lacking oxygen. His valves moved endlessly as if gasping for breath. But having jumped once, he couldn’t stop.
Once, and then once more. He jumped even higher.
When there was no one in the hallway, he had to move a bit farther. Hop— It was when Nigel jumped several times higher than his body and the central staircase of the hallway came into view.
“Hm?”
Someone’s eyes met precisely with Nigel’s gaze as he floated in midair. In that instant, as if time had stopped, his body slowly fell to the marble floor.
Splat, the damp palms and feet touched the floor with a squelching feeling. But Nigel couldn’t budge in that state. It was because of the pure white eyes that didn’t seem human, directed at him.
