The next morning.
I received word that classes would resume because the restoration work in the residential district had made good progress, so I headed to the academy.
When I left the house, I peeked into "Mark's House." Mark was curled up and sleeping soundly.
I didn't want to wake him, so I left the forest without saying anything.
The residential district was being rapidly improved with professional workers on site.
To avoid getting in the way, I walked along the outer edge of the district.
There, many temporary tents had been set up, and students were working on something.
The alchemist Akemi had taken over one tent by herself and was stirring a large pot.
When I tried to approach, her male followers blocked my path.
But Akemi noticed and gave a single commanding "It's fine, he's okay," and the men reluctantly stepped aside with bitter looks.
When I asked, "Alchemy?" she gave a short "Yes."
"Ahaha, a shop will open in the residential district soon, so I'm preparing for the opening right now."
There was only one kind of business an alchemist would run.
Beside the tent stood a sign that read "Akemi's Potion Shop" with a black-purple flower logo.
Akemi reached out with her manicured fingertips and gently picked something off the shoulder of my coat.
"Animal fur."
It was Mark's, I thought.
"Nfufu, wait a moment."
Akemi whispered seductively and dropped the fur into a small pot that was boiling nearby.
She added sweet potato roots and a mushroom called "Haranobori-dake" into the pot.
While stirring, she muttered something like an incantation, and then…
…Pon!
A puff of white smoke rose.
Only a tiny amount of red liquid remained at the bottom of the pot. Akemi carefully transferred it into a small bottle.
"Here, I'll give you this."
"What is it?"
"It's 'Whispering Voice Potion.' When you drink it, your voice will carry on the wind and reach far away.
The distance depends on the strength of the roar of the animal used as material…
With just one drop of this, you can have a whispered conversation with someone at least 50 meters away.
Of course, everyone within a 50-meter radius will also hear that whisper."
"That could be really useful depending on how you use it. How much?"
"Ahahn, no charge. All the materials I used came from you anyway.
Instead, come visit the shop when it opens, okay?"
Akemi fluttered her long lashes and gave a wink that seemed to leak pheromones.
I felt like I had received a bonus and gratefully accepted the potion.
I parted ways with Akemi and headed toward the school building.
This morning's class was an "elective subject."
As I passed through the school gate, I was wondering which class to take when…
The vice-principal spotted me and came flying over like a fly.
"Leopin-kun! Come with me! I will take you to the classroom for the class you should attend!"
"The class I should attend?"
"Yes! Students in the Special Training Class are immature and don't even know which classes suit them, you little fools!
Therefore, when a teacher designates a class for you, you are required to take it!"
"I see. If that's the rule, then fine. What class is it?"
"That is still a secret! You will understand when you follow me!"
I was led to an outdoor classroom on the edge of the school grounds.
There were stables and animal pens nearby, so I had a pretty good idea what this was, but I followed silently.
The classroom was a large tent-like structure, and students were already seated.
Each student had a small animal on their desk and was playing with it.
I was made to sit in the very back corner.
After a while, a woman in flashy dancer-like clothing, extremely sexy, came flipping through the air and landed on the podium.
"Hiii! I'm Domanna! The teacher for the Tamer Course! I treat pets and students the same!
Good kids get petting and stroking, bad kids get whipped hard, so be nice, okay?
Today, to test everyone's skills, let's jump right into a big 'Pet Battle'!"
"Pet Battle"… having tamed pets fight each other.
It was just as popular as "Pet Races" for testing a Tamer's ability.
Teacher Domanna looked around at the students and continued.
"Let's see… Is there anyone who forgot their pet, or still doesn't have one? Any super unfortunate kids?"
I honestly raised my hand. I did have a pet, but it was sleeping at home.
Since I was the only one who raised a hand, laughter spread through the class.
Teacher Domanna calmed everyone with "Okay, okay," then pointed straight at me.
"You're Leopin-kun, right? If you don't have a pet, I'll specially lend you one just for today!
But as punishment, you'll get 10 whip strikes after class!"
I thought I had misheard and asked "Eh?"
"I told you earlier! I treat pets and students the same!
Bad pets and bad students need to be whipped hard!
But if you show something amazing during class, I'll generously waive the whipping!"
The vice-principal standing right behind me clapped enthusiastically.
"Yes! Whip the dropouts! What a wonderful educational policy!
Then, as something special for Leopin-kun, I will lend you my precious pet!"
I had a strong feeling that things were heading in a very strange direction, or rather, that everything had already been arranged in advance.
The vice-principal kicked a small tube-like object at his feet toward me as if he didn't even want to touch it.
Inside was a small sewer rat.
It was crammed tightly in the tube and couldn't move, squeaking miserably.
"Use that! Garbage and a sewer rat—what a perfect match! Muhohohoho!"
I picked up the tube and, for now, pulled the stressed-out rat out of its cramped prison.
I tried to tame the sewer rat using my Tamer skill…
But before that, I should raise my Charm a bit.
I activated the "Skilled Body" skill from "Dexterity-Poor."
I raised my Charm stat to around 100 for now…
…This is something I can say now.
I'll explain why I always ended up with such unbalanced stat distributions.
"Skilled Body" made it extremely difficult to distribute points evenly. The slightest distraction would cause all the numbers to rush into a single parameter.
Because the vice-principal was laughing loudly with "Muhohohoho!" right beside me, I got distracted, and…
My Charm once again broke through its limit.
Top idol, once more…!
The next instant, every pet in the classroom turned toward me as if I were their favorite treat.
They broke free from their owners' hands and rushed toward me all at once with a "Gowaaaaah!"
In an instant, I turned into a "tree of animals."
The pets that had been completely loyal and stuck to their owners were suddenly stolen by me, so the students looked as if their souls had been yanked out.
"Eh… eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh!?!?"