Chapter 5 - Part 18 (Book 1 - Fantasy World)

The sensation of the servant's chilling stare continued to give Valessandria a sense of dread, which failed to be shaken off even as they reached the main floor of the Tower. She couldn't help but feel as if she was being stalked by a monster in a dense forest. The woman's eyes were like long, sharp claws that grazed her body. Taking a deep breath, since they were back on the floor and off the stairs, Valessandria couldn't help but feel better now that she was no longer constrained to the path where the number of people was limited compared to each level that allowed individuals to naturally congregate amongst themselves.

"At least if that woman were to do anything, I could attempt to escape with a more open area surrounding us," She couldn't help but laugh out of anxiety, not enjoying the unrestrained hostility directed at her.

Wanting to distract herself, Valessandria watched the students make their way up to the second floor and those casually heading to other parts of the main floor.

She could even see students casually sitting on chairs in the area designated for relaxation and studying near the stairs.

A few students bowed their heads slightly before continuing their day, respecting the Lady Knight's time. However, a few female students giggled and whispered amongst themselves as their eyes darted to catch a glimpse of Valessandria as though she were some celebrity.

Valessandria noticed pins were designed after her image was attached to a few female students' uniforms.

She took a deep breath while politely smiling at the students. She couldn't help but feel a mixture of emotions. One extreme was being glad to no longer be in a semi-confined area with the young master following her, in addition to the servants who would sometimes stare at her, whether aware of Valessandria noticing the looks or not being beside the point. The other side of the emotional spectrum she couldn't help but feel was how she was being surrounded by students who slightly overwhelmed Valessandria with their admiration.

"I am just a mere bureaucrat who has some responsibility to keep this place safe," She wanted to press her hands into her face in an attempt to calm her emotions.

Sometimes, she didn't know what she had done to get such praise from students. Valessandria may not have completely believed it, but she knew that her appearance would be something that would be considered attractive. The problem was that several other members of the Council had the beauty that could be regarded as rivaling any other woman on the continent, ignoring the servants who accompanied the young master behind her. She knew that Yi's servants would be seen as approaching the level of divinity, causing anyone who didn't know any better to be captivated by them.

Not counting the servants, Valessandria thought of the timeless beauty of the elves from the Elven Kingdom. With their graceful forms, even the ladies of the Lunar Empire would have difficulty claiming to be among the most desired women in the area. Their flawless skin would be complemented by their flowing gowns, a popular style in the Kingdom. Even she couldn't help but admire their appearance, which made her feel clumsy and inadequate as a woman compared to how they floated as they walked.

Pulling her away from her thoughts were raucous cheers.

Valessandria observed a group of beastpeople who had formed a small circle around a table. Their sizes were just as numerous as the various species raising their hands to encourage those in the center, obscured by the beastpeople around them. A few were tall enough that the students of other races appeared to be children.

A few students paused momentarily, their eyes trying to spot what was occurring in the center.

The few who stopped had their friends tug their arms, indicating their desire to not get involved with the beastpeople.

Seeing the commotion, Valessandria considered making her way to break up the students who were disturbing the relatively quiet area of the first floor. But before she took a step, she threw the thought from her mind.

"I see that the second floor of the Tower is not the only place where people seek to display their prowess."

Valessandria took a breath before turning her head, "Yes. The beastpeople tend to be people who enjoy competing against one another as a way to socialize." She addressed the white-haired servant named Queen.

One of Queen's brows was slightly raised as though she were observing children playing at being soldiers. While the expression didn't appear dismissive, there was clear amusement.

As though sensing Queen's gaze, one of the beastwomen turned her head, her eyes searching for the one that had triggered her senses.

Valessandria watched as the beastwoman's eyes locked onto Queen. She always appreciated witnessing the sensitivity of the beastpeople. Compared to how she had developed the skill to detect when someone's gaze landed on her through years of combat and near-death experiences, the beastpeople developed such senses as naturally as they breathed.

The spotted fur on the beastwoman negligibly raised as her fangs were slowly revealed.

Sensing the mood, a few other beastpeople students pulled their attention away from the center of the circle as they tried to find out who was picking a fight with them. Their mouths moved as they communicated in a manner akin to how soldiers would behave in a hostile environment. With smooth movements, each lowered their center of gravity and freed their hands.

Valessandria noticed a glitter of light.

One of the beastwomen who appeared to belong to the feline tribe, like the spotted one who felt Queen's gaze, extended her claws just enough to catch the light. While the claws weren't fully extended, the sight would be enough to cause anyone to pause before things escalated any further. Beastpeople were the type who didn't play around when it came to defending their own.

"I seemed to have attracted the attention of one of the beasts." Queen slightly tilted her head while her eyes continued to observe the beastwoman, not paying any mind to the friends of the beastwoman -- even after they had realized that Queen was the one who had antagonized them.

"Queen."

"I am aware, Master. I have no intention of fighting against children." Queen's head slightly turned to address her master, though she continued to maintain eye contact. The grin on her face grew larger as if to antagonize the leopard beastwoman.

Valessandria slowly breathed in deeply, not knowing what she should do with what was playing out in front of her.

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Alexei picked up a cup filled with warmed milk with chocolate added, a treat he enjoyed upon being accepted into the Academy. Raising it to his mouth, he tilted the handle and enjoyed the warm and soothing liquid.

He couldn't help but wince as the treat made contact with a cut on his tongue, a gift from the opposing team during their training session.

"Those human nobles can put up a decent fight when they want," His lips slightly curled as he tilted his head back a bit.

His eyes were focused on the pair of siblings who were arm wrestling to show who was the stronger of the two.

"Do you think Anton can win against Bogdan?" A boar beastman snorted with a grin as he nudged his friend.

The snake beastman hissed, "I don't know about Anton, but I know that Katerina will show you what she thinks about you using her birthname." The student chuckled as he glanced sideways at his friend. "I imagine you'll look similar to that dwarf who thought trying to pick a fight with her was amusing."

Alexei placed his cup on the small table beside him as he shook his head. He would laugh if not for the fact that even he didn't enjoy the idea of going up against that woman who was currently snarling and baring her fangs at her older brother, her biceps bulging as she was slowly pulling her fists back from where it was inches away from the top of the creaking table.

There were cheers as many enjoyed watching how Katerina often played around with her opponents, leveraging her larger frame, even compared to many beastfolks.

Anton panted while whining slightly, the muscles on his arms about to tear through the fabric of his shirt. He didn't even pay attention to the grin on his sister's face as he stared at his hand, which was clamped around his sister's massive hand.

"I can already see that he's going to lose this time again," Alexei shook his head.

Despite their relationship, if strangers saw the two standing next to one another, they would find it difficult to believe that they were born from the same mother, not just because of the difference in their builds but also because the younger sister would tower over her older brother like a silent mountain of death. If anyone saw the two, they would wonder if the smaller sibling was being kept as a snack to enjoy later.

He knew that Katerina was holding back her strength. She did not want to destroy the table they were using, having been scolded numerous times for the many items they had destroyed during their strength competition that would often occur at least once a day. The fact that the older brother would frequently challenge an opponent he could never win against was one of the traits that gained him much respect not just in their small pack of friends but in other beastfolk circles at the Academy. Though all the various groups may only spend a little bit of time with one another, it didn't change how they would share news about what each of them was doing and anything significant changes that happened with family matters.

Raising the cup of the sweet liquid back up to his lips, Alexei continued to watch the entertaining match of the siblings, ignoring the loud cheers and teasing words, all said in good fun and typical when beastfolks gathered together.

"It won't be much longer longer." He thought to himself.

Alexei could recognize how Anton was barely hanging on. The young wolfman's eyes were wide, and the occasional growl flowed from his mouth. Anton's desperation was perfectly matched by his young sister, who was like a predator who knew her prey had used all of its strategies and would be devoured soon. She was now stalking and playing with her meal.

"Brother, your adorable losing streak will have to continue," Katerina cooed.

Snarling at his sister, he said, "I must have missed the part where I've lost." His eyes trembled slightly as he attempted to calmly look into his sister's eyes. "The fact that you believe that you've already won is the reason why it won't be long until I win. Your overconfidence in besting me will be your inevitable downfall."

Listening to the usual banter of the siblings made Alexei snort, feeling it silly how they behaved in a manner that was counter to what many would expect a sibling relationship to be like within the territory of the Beast Alliance.

He shuddered slightly at how Katerina gazed at her brother, never understanding what went through the woman's mind.

Feeling a slight change in the air, Alexei furrowed his brow. Sensing how his muscles coiled slightly, a smell slowly permeated the air. It didn't take him but a moment to recognize where he had smelled it before.

"Decay." The word flashed through his mind.

Opening his mouth slightly to give out an order, Alexei noticed Sasha and a couple of beastfolks turn away from the game. Alexei couldn't help but frown with confusion when he noticed how Sasha's fur was raised. Seeing the fur being raised, his eyes naturally rose, and he looked at her face.

Sasha's face had always been one of cool beauty, not nearly as aggressive as Katerina's, while also being able to be a humble individual, unlike Mila.

Alexei pulled his thoughts away from Sasha and recognized that something had alerted her. He couldn't help but sense something approaching them as he watched how Sasha's eyes carefully scanned her surroundings. It was apparent that she had yet to locate the source of her unease. This only made the apprehension within grow as the smell in the air now clung to his fur. Alexei was aware of Sasha's experience when it came to real-world combat. Sasha had numerous encounters with not just monsters but also slavers who hunted down beastfolks to be sold to humans, especially the nobles of the Empire. While beastfolks had a heightened sense of danger, Sasha was someone that could easily be part of her tribe's military force.

"Alert everyone that we may have trouble heading our way," Alexei didn't bother addressing his words to anyone, knowing it would spread like a spark in a pile of dried kindling.

The group that had been cheerful moments ago now had an air of strain, like Anton's biceps, as he continued to struggle to regain any advantage lost against his sister. His fist was now inches away from touching his side of the table and marking another defeat against Katerina.

Neither sibling had made any indication that they were aware of or even cared about the material sift in their group's mood. Both only cared about who was in front of them and the primal desire to defeat the person who dared to challenge them.

Alexei didn't bother yelling at the siblings, knowing that if things were to escalate into a fight, the siblings would be the first to jump into the new conflict -- seeing the current competition as merely a warm-up and not to be taken seriously despite how they looked to viciously tear the other apart.

"What do you think?" Mila asked as she walked up to where she had been standing with Alina. An eyebrow raised as she slowly turned her head to try and locate the origin of the shift in their group. "Among the student body who have been here for over a year, few would be foolish enough to pick a fight with our group." Snorting, she grinned to reveal her sharp teeth, "Even the human nobles take a moment to rethink their decision to go up against us."

Alexei didn't say anything to Mila's words. While he did agree with her assessment, it didn't change the reality that many groups within the human population of the Academy weren't fond of non-humans attending the Illumin. He also knew that there were new students who were being accepted during this time of the year. There are undoubtedly several new students who would think that picking a fight with beastfolks would be a good way for them to elevate their own status.

"Alexei?" Mila directed her attention to Alexei, turning her head to look down at where he stood due to how she towered over him.

"Sasha isn't one to be spooked by some young noble thinking it was their opportunity to look good in front of their friends." Alexei took a deep breath as he opened and closed his fists, as though getting them warmed up for a fight.

"I also can't help but get the sense that we've attracted the attention of something." He whispered the words as the smell continued to grow stronger, as though they had walked into an ancient battlefield.