The Shapeshifter Academy - Chapter 5
More than that, the problem was the fangs that appeared at first glance every time the woman spoke.
Please don’t talk to me.
Whether or not she knew what I was trying to avoid, the woman continued talking.
“Why are you sweating so much?”
It’s because I’m scared of your face.
I couldn’t say that, so I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead.
“By the way, you smell a little strange.”
Slightly frowning, she leaned her head toward me and sniffed.
“Uhm, sweet smell?”
Carnivorous shapeshifters have good noses.
Secretly clicking my tongue, I took out a small paper bag I had brought just in case. At the same time, the voice of the child of the Patreon Adventure Corps echoed in my ears.
‘Bendy, you know what? Carnivore shapeshifters are also crazy about sweet potatoes in our deer territory!’
When I held out the paper bag without saying a word, the woman accepted the envelope bewilderedly.
“Baked sweet potatoes…?”
I’m not talking about this smell. With a small mutter, the woman took out the sweet potato and took a bite.
I didn’t hear her murmur, so I clasped my chin satisfactorily.
It seems like she really likes it. I couldn’t even see her fangs as she ate the sweet potatoes, so it was like killing two birds with one stone.
“Hey, you know what?”
It’s more delicious than I thought. As if it were her first time eating sweet potatoes, the woman who had just muttered something incomprehensible started talking.
“I heard that the top student automatically becomes a candidate for student council president.”
“….?”
“So that means you’ll be a candidate too.”
Student council president candidate, what are you talking about?
“First of all, if you become the head.”
The woman tapped her temple with her index finger.
As she explained, the student council president at this Shapeshifter Academy was a pretty prestigious position.
It meant a clan with influence in the academy, and even a single student was sometimes given the authority to put a horse on the continent’s great and small events.
Practical rights, such as the decision to build a new academy building or the management of student loans, were also abundant.
There were also many practical rights, like the right to decide whether to build a new academy building or how to handle student loans.
In the past, there was even a fight to get the student council president position. That’s understandable. It’s like a battle of pride in this place, where people hold back a lot because of their status.
In a word, it meant that the election for student council president was a battleground for proud carnivorous shapeshifter.
‘It has nothing to do with me.’
Therefore, it is said that there is absolutely no chance that I will be selected even if I am nominated.
‘Be quiet.’
Principal Milane’s stern voice lingered in my ears.
“Hey, why don’t you answer me like this?”
I broke out in a cold sweat at the dissatisfied woman’s voice.
“Do you know that you haven’t said a word until now? I am talking to myself.”
If I want to live quietly, I shouldn’t just stick with my classmates.
However, I didn’t yet have the courage to face the carnivorous shapeshifter’s fangs and had a conversation.
I need to end the conversation naturally and without being rude.
When I finally decided to put my hand on the woman’s shoulder, she suddenly pushed her face. The fangs approached as if they were expanding and getting closer to my eyes.
“Top student, why are you not talking?”
“Shut up.”
That’s how I lost my social skills and a friend.
*****
Even when she talks to her, she doesn’t even respond properly. Doesn’t she touch her shoulder and tell her to shut up?
“Did you see what she said back then? IIs she really insane?
“Oh no, don’t be friends with her.”
I naturally became isolated in Class X.
However, if I think about it positively, it was rather a good thing.
I can focus on my studies without interacting with my classmates.
Also, fortunately, the Shapeshifter Academy boasted a wide and splendid scale as its reputation.
The main building with a dark red spire soared high, and the gymnasium was also unnecessarily magnificent with a round dome shape.
The number of libraries was high enough to be counted in the first and second halls, and there were so many study rooms and laboratories that it was hard to count them all on ten fingers.
Therefore, it came to a point where I didn’t have to run into carnivorous shapeshifters if I could avoid them well.
Thanks to that, I succeeded in my mission of living in the academy as if I were dead.
I always stayed close to the wall and took the roads with the fewest people when I moved. I also try to avoid going out at night as much as possible.
A month and a week had passed since I continued my fierce struggle with the carnivorous shapeshifter.
“Fellow students. You’ve been waiting for a long time, right? Finally, the results of the student council president election are out.”
As the students gathered in the square, I looked up at the host standing on the podium.
“These elections are said to be more intense than ever. It was decided by a very narrow margin.”
Ah. The short but strong voice caught everyone’s attention right away.
‘Hurry up and finish it.’
I crept into a corner with my hands behind my back to get away from the crowd of carnivores.
Because of their campaign, the academy has been so noisy for the past few days.
‘If I become the student council president!’
Walking around the school while doing a handstand, and don’t they also walk around with their tops off?
‘I will change the school rules so that you can ride a horse to school!’
People were often seen riding dozens of white horses to the election campaign.
Wouldn’t it be a ship for a tolerable city festival?
‘It’s also big.’
Ugh. I secretly frowned and looked at the bulletin board on the platform.
[Candidate no.18, Bendy Reppy]
Even though my name was on the list of candidates, I was barely noticeable.
Anyway, the student council president is Class S.
During the election, these were the words that students were talking about.
Only power, brains, family, and money.
In this place where the law of the jungle prevailed, the class where those who had all three gathered was Class S.
The Shapeshifter Academy was a place where the class was determined by family or power rather than the order of admission.
Except for the classes they have to take, they can choose which lectures to listen to, so there wasn’t much difference between upper and lower students.
So, of course, the students think that this year’s student council president will also come from class S.
‘I don’t care about the student council president.’
I didn’t want anything else besides to stay hidden from my uncle and be able to stand on my own after graduating.
Great. I made up my mind again and clenched my fists tightly.
“As a result of the election, the student council president.”
Yeah, hang in there for a few years.
“of class X,”
If I graduate quietly, it’s a happy ending that everyone wants.
“Bendy Reppy.”
What?
I, who was clenching my fist, raised my head. All the hairs on my body stood up because I had a bad feeling.
‘I think I just heard my name.’
Looking up at the podium with confused eyes, the host was also staring at the result sheet with a confused face.
The host unknowingly muttered into the amplifying magic device.
“…Is it Bendy Reppy? That fox who entered Class X?”
That’s not it.
‘Something’s wrong.’
I, whose complexion had turned dark from contemplation, vigorously shook my head.
The host, who just happened to meet my eyes, shrugged his shoulders in embarrassment.
Shake my head, and shrug.
Shake my head, and shrug.
There was no way the conversation could work with me just shaking my head and shrugging.
The host broke out in a cold sweat and then looked at the students who were in charge of counting the votes.
How did this happen?
We don’t know, either.
They drew an X with their arms as if there was no problem with the counting results.
“The results of the election….”
After the silent conversation, the host cleared his throat.
“The results of the election are… unusual… It’s never happened before that a freshman was selected as student council president….”
At the same time, my mouth opened slowly.
‘Don’t accept the result, don’t accept it.’
What the hell do you do to get this result?
I had no idea why they chose me, who was disappearing due to my dim presence, over a full-fledged Class S member.
‘…Why?’
Even if I rolled my head, I couldn’t tell what was on the carnivores’ heads.
Having lost my mind, I stumbled into the dormitory.
I didn’t even remember how I returned to the dormitory after being elected.
My legs gave out, and I fell to the floor. The eyes had long since lost their focus.
“….?”
I was staring at nothing when I turned around and saw myself in the full-body mirror.
A congratulations wreath was around my neck, and I was clutching a letter of appointment as student council president in my arms.
I can’t even remember when I got this.
The words “student council president” written on the appointment letter were pressed against my chest.
It was too heavy a word for me as the only position I had was the leader of the 1st platoon of the Patreon Adventure Team.
‘Why me?’
Something mysterious began to rise in my heart.
I quickly stood up after throwing away the wreath and the appointment letter until it sounded.
“Why!”
An angry fist violently hit the pillow.
“Why–!”
Puf, puf! No matter how hard he hit the pillow, the only reward that came back was a feather.
*****
I didn’t even realize how the day had passed. I just shed enough tears to make a face mark on the pillowcase.
Eventually, without hearing the proper explanation, the square was where all the academy’s students gathered.
“That concludes my speech.”
Following Principal Milane’s speech, it was time for Bendy Reppy’s election speech, as the fox shapeshifter who was elected as the next student council president.
Taking a deep breath, I resolutely climbed the stairs.
A rare spectacle unfolded as soon as I stepped up to the podium.
‘Tigers, lions, wolves…it’s a mess. I’m going crazy.’
It was a feast of wild beasts that could not even be seen in the deer area where I lived, Patreon.
Moreover, the eyes of the carnivorous shapeshifter looking at me were all disapproving.
No matter how much I didn’t know anything, I could confirm that I didn’t become the student council president out of kindness.
“Ah.”
Looking around indifferently, I checked the amplification magic tool and made up my mind.
Even if I only have a carnivorous shapeshifter, I’m at least about my age.
Furthermore, I didn’t need to feel down because I was no longer a deer and was now a carnivore like them.
Above all, shrinking in front of so many carnivorous shapeshifters was a shame to the deer clan, and it also humiliated the entire herbivorous shapeshifter race.
‘Who knows who would be scared.’
As I read the speech, I groaned inwardly, avoiding the sight of the terrible carnivorous shapeshifters.
Bendy Reppy, I’m a proud deer. I’m proud of myself, “D, deer people.”
Ah, it’s ruined.