The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

Honestly, the spot I was sitting in really was warm and comfortable.

As expected of an academy attended by the children of high-ranking nobles, the building had been designed so that the windows faced the direction of the rising sun, letting in plenty of warm sunlight from morning until noon.

There was even a flower bed in front of the window.

...Which I completely wrecked by sitting on it.

Being a griffon with a sturdy body wasn't all that great in moments like this. There had been a strong iron fence marking the flower bed, but I hadn’t even noticed as I sat down on it. I just thought, “Wow, the ground is kinda soft, nice.”

Sylvia, who had come running out the moment she saw me through the window after being told by one of her classmates, looked between me and the crushed flower bed and then glared with wide, furious eyes.

“Are you a cat or something?”

If anything, I’d say I’m closer to a bird of prey.

Sure, the lower half of my body was a lion’s, but if you measured by surface area, the upper body—including the wings—was way more eagle-like. My head was also an eagle’s, and since my brain was in that head, I figured I was more a bird of prey.

Even though the thing inside was a human.

I knew full well what the situation was, so I didn’t say anything. I was well aware that taking care of real flowers took both money and time. Especially a well-maintained flower bed like this—it probably required a skilled expert.

No—wait.

Come to think of it, I was a griffon right now.

My inner identity might be human, but to everyone else, I was a griffon, plain and simple. My body was that of a griffon, after all.

So wouldn’t it be fine to just pretend I didn’t understand what they were saying?

If it's about money or property damage, couldn’t I just play dumb?

When I tilted my head like I didn’t know what was going on, Sylvia let out a heavy sigh and pressed her forehead.

“I told you it was okay to go back home.”

Nope.

I wanna enjoy the festival too.

Sure, resting at home wasn’t bad. Even though I look like this now, I used to be someone who was constantly harassed and overworked at my job, so just lying around doing nothing wasn’t so bad.

But sometimes you need a day to just go out and do something special.

Plus, there seemed to be a lot of good food around.

Raw meat agreed with my griffon palate, and grilled meat worked too when I had it. So now I was curious—how would something like sugar taste? I hadn’t been a gourmet in my previous life, but I did enjoy eating.

While Sylvia and Alice were talking about how much the flower bed might cost to replace, I pretended not to hear and was just lost in those thoughts.

“You don’t have to be so harsh, you know? And it’s only been a month since he started living here. You even said yourself, didn’t you? That he seemed young. He’s smart enough to understand what we’re saying after a few tries, and he’s a lot more well-behaved than when he first arrived. Why not give him a bit more time?”

Alice was doing a stellar job pleading my case to Sylvia.

I almost nodded in agreement without thinking, but if I did that, they’d definitely realize I understood every word, so I held still.

It wouldn’t be a good look to suddenly start reacting now after pretending not to understand ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) this whole time.

“...More importantly, you should look around a bit.”

Sylvia, still mid-conversation, glanced around and spoke.

A crowd had gathered around us.

If a lion or tiger had strolled onto school grounds like this, people would’ve screamed and run in every direction. Even if the beast didn’t show any aggression. Humans and animals fundamentally can’t communicate, and unless you spend a long time bonding and confirming there’s no threat, there's no reason to trust one.

But I already had a history of walking around among people without causing trouble.

Since getting scolded last time, I hadn’t touched anyone’s property. And even here in the academy, aside from sitting on the flower bed, I hadn’t caused any problems.

Especially with Sylvia—who was publicly seen as my “owner”—standing nearby and not telling anyone to back away, it made sense people had some trust. Sylvia seemed to be quite well-respected, after all.

“See? People aren’t that scared. The griffon doesn’t look like he’s about to attack anyone either. Maybe it’s okay to let your guard down just a little?”

The future crown princess really was quick to assess a situation.

Seeing how she read the room and figured out exactly why it was fine for me to be there showed she was someone who’d become a wise and capable ruler. A good monarch.

And believe it or not, I was good at reading people.

Still, I didn’t nod. Keeping up the illusion of not understanding human language made my behavior more consistent.

“......”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight

After a long look at me, Sylvia finally spoke.

“All right.”

She agreed at last.

But she didn’t seem like she planned to end it there.

Looking up at me with a serious expression, she said,

“Still, let’s make one thing very clear. If there’s a space that was clearly made by someone—like a fenced-off area—you mustn’t trample what’s inside it. Whether it’s livestock or flowers, it’s a place born from someone’s hard work.”

Hmm.

“And if you can’t even show that bare minimum of courtesy, then I can’t stay by your side. If we’re going to be equals, you need to show me the same respect I show you.”

That was fair. Totally fair.

I hadn’t sat on the flower bed on purpose, after all. I just wanted to get a better look inside the window.

I slowly got up. I didn’t want to freak people out or send them into a panic, so I moved carefully and walked off to the side.

Then, I lowered myself onto a spot that still had sunlight but was firm enough not to get torn up by my talons.

Sylvia gave me a bit of a sour look, but at least she didn’t send me home.

At the very least, buy me some cotton candy if you’re going to say stuff like that.

I was seriously considering going and grabbing one myself so Sylvia would feel pressured to pay—

“Your Highness?”

Someone carefully approached Sylvia and spoke.

It was the man who had given the opening speech for the festival earlier. He was probably the headmaster.

A very dignified-looking old man. He had this perfectly angled Kaiser-style mustache straight out of a cartoon, and yet somehow, with that same face, he was gazing up at me with reverence.

It would’ve been less creepy if his eyes were sharper or something, but no—he had this soft, childlike wonder on his face like he was reliving a childhood dream. It made it more uncomfortable.

“Might I, perhaps...?”

After exchanging a few words with Sylvia, the headmaster lifted a hand slightly as he spoke.

Hey, if you want permission, ask me, not Sylvia.

You’re asking to touch me, aren’t you?

I stared directly at Sylvia.

I don’t want a man touching me. It’s a bit blunt, yeah, but seriously—what straight guy wants an old man stroking his body?

So I looked at Sylvia like, “Please say no.” Then glared pointedly at the old man’s hand.

And Sylvia seemed to understand exactly what I was trying to say.

But she still hadn’t forgiven me yet.

“It’s fine. He’s a good boy.”

!!!

Shocked, I whipped my head toward Sylvia. She wasn’t looking at me, but I definitely saw the corner of her lips twitch upward. No one else around us seemed to notice—maybe Alice, at most.

“He really loves people. He’s totally fine with human touch.”

He is NOT.

“But his reaction earlier—”

Even the headmaster had clearly noticed my behavior.

“He just loves people that much.”

Sylvia brushed right past his concern and delivered the line like it was fact.

No, wait. Hold on.

“I see.”

No, don’t accept that! I was clearly showing how much I hated this!

But apparently, the headmaster had surrendered to his own desires and started approaching me anyway.

I looked back at Sylvia again, but she just stood there with her arms crossed, looking up at me.

Dressed in a maid outfit, she somehow gave off the intense aura of an impossibly strict maid—it suited her disturbingly well.

When I flinched and tried to pull away, one of Sylvia’s eyebrows arched ever so slightly.

No way.

Are you really selling me out like this?

And just like that, the headmaster patted my body, and a bunch of students swarmed in to touch me too. Sylvia didn’t stop any of them—she just stared up at me the whole time.

And at the very end, she even smiled in satisfaction.

This is so unfair!