IRHWSDD 16

I Got a Pet Monster

Matian stared after Lukna’s retreating figure, then looked down blankly at the palm that had touched hers.

They hadn’t even hit each other that hard, yet his palm felt strangely warm and tingling.

Was it always like this when you touched another guy?

Why had the sensation of that warm, soft palm felt so vivid?

If he claimed that the warmth had spread all the way to his heart and brought him a fleeting sense of peace, that would truly be insane.

Matian stared intently at his palm before clenching it into a fist.

This feeling must be because Lukna possesses divine power.

Just like how he once found peace in the Holy Sword.

Was that why, for a brief moment, he thought Lukna resembled a living Holy Sword? He quickly shook his head.

Ridiculous.

Of course, her innate potential divine power was extraordinary, so in that sense she did resemble the Holy Sword—but still.

“What are you staring at your palm for, Matian?”

Bolton’s gruff voice pulled him from his thoughts.

“Do you know what happened during the Divine Studies evaluation? That idiot—”

“I know.”

“Yeah, figures. Must be nice.”

Grumbling, Bolton glanced around and spotted Ched lying across a corridor windowsill, his face covered with a major textbook to block the sunlight.

With a grin, Bolton snatched the book away.

“Ugh, sunlight… Who took my book?”

Ched rubbed his eyes and sat up. Bolton flipped noisily through the textbook while giving him a sidelong look.

He could never understand the girls who praised that gaunt, exhaustion-soaked face as “decadently handsome.”

“Yaaawn. Do you think cramming now will raise your score?”

Ched stretched and yawned at Bolton.

“Yeah, I’ll pass on advice from the runner-up.”

At the word runner-up, Ched’s shoulders twitched. His stiff lips stretched into a forced smile before he muttered that he didn’t care about rankings anyway.

“By the way, Ched, where were you during the Divine Studies evaluation?”

“In the lecture hall next door. Like Matian, I took a written exam instead.”

“Why? Matian’s case is because of his condition, but you’re not an exception.”

“I’m right below our esteemed student council president in rank. A matter of fairness, you could say. The professor suggested it.”

He added, rather smugly, that after finishing the exam early, he’d left to nap by the window.

Watching him, Bolton thought Ched was like a sly fox—always making sure to secure his own advantage while pretending to be lazy.

Blaming his loss to Matian on laziness felt cowardly.

“What are you looking at? Cursing me in your head, Bolton?”

“Huh? No?”

“Sure you weren’t. Anyway, I heard Luka was incredible?”

Ched slowly climbed down from the windowsill, rolling his stiff neck.

“Maybe I should’ve taken Applied Magic at the same level as Luka instead of Advanced Magic. Sounds like it would’ve been fun.”

“Why? So you could roast that idiot alive during class?”

Bolton’s tone sharpened.

After all, Ched had a history of “accidentally” tormenting cadets with magic.

Ched let out a weak chuckle.

“Come on. I don’t beat people with a smile like Matian does.”

“Right. You just burn them alive with that sleepy expression. If you’re in charge of managing problem students, do it properly. Don’t mess around.”

Honestly, every top-ranking student had a rotten personality.

Why someone like him was in charge of “monitoring problem students” was beyond Bolton.

Shaking his head in exasperation, Bolton strode forward—only to notice Zwei’s gang bustling about angrily.

“Didn’t you hear me? Find Lukna Golden right now!”

Zwei’s face was red as a steamed sweet potato as he searched for her.

“Wow, our idiot’s practically a celebrity now. Everyone’s looking for her.”

Clicking his tongue, Bolton recalled Lukna’s face.

Small and pale like a hamster, with no presence whatsoever.

But once someone good-looking starts getting good grades too, popularity comes fast.

Two hours later, at a secluded clearing behind Golden College.

「Master, Visbi is upset.」

After finishing her remaining two exams, Lukna opened the black sack she had hidden, ignoring the Holy Sword’s nagging.

Inside was the injured griffin.

Normally, evaluation monsters were disposed of afterward.

But when she saw the griffin’s tearful eyes, she couldn’t bring herself to abandon it.

She disinfected its injured leg and carefully wrapped it in bandages.

Even then, the Holy Sword continued scolding her.

「You had two exams left, and you left me in the room and went alone!」

‘Call it self-directed learning. This master has to survive on her own.’

「So you survived, but your grades died?」

‘Yes, yes. Sorry for being a zero-point master.’

Lukna brushed off the complaints and looked down at the griffin resting obediently on her lap.

The monster, as large as a hunting dog, accepted her touch without resistance.

Perhaps because she had purified it with divine power, even influenced it, its eagle-like round eyes shone unusually gentle.

「From now on, I shall call you Zero-Point Master.」

‘Go ahead. That’s exactly what I wanted.’

She had successfully scored the lowest in two subjects. Her average must have dropped significantly.

Her overall ranking would no longer stand out.

「Zero-Point Master, why are you breaking school rules to treat this griffin? Are you deliberately seeking wrong answers even now?」

‘In the world I used to live in, there’s a story about fixing an injured swallow’s leg and receiving a gourd seed in return. It reminded me of that.’

Who knew? Maybe planting the griffin’s “gourd seed” would grow a treasure-filled gourd.

Lukna smiled brightly as she treated the griffin.

「You’re referring to Heungbu and Nolbu, correct?」

‘Wow, you know that?’

「I briefly visited your world and updated some information, Nolbu Master.」

‘Why am I Nolbu? I’m Heungbu.’

Lukna corrected it while stroking the griffin.

「Upon review, you are indeed Nolbu, Master.」

‘Why?’

「Heungbu healed a swallow that fell from a tree. Nolbu broke the swallow’s leg and then healed it.」

‘…You’re right.’

She had injured the griffin herself. From its perspective, she had harmed it and then healed it.

Damn it.

She drooped her brows and patted its head.

“Mongsil, don’t bring me any strange gourd seeds, okay?”

Since its fur was fluffy, she named it Mongsil. The griffin seemed to like it, rubbing its head against her leg and purring.

So cute!

Lukna squealed.

Then came the Holy Sword’s unusually curt voice.

「Nolbu Master’s naming sense is unsophisticated and awkward.」

‘Just say it’s tacky. Don’t drag it out.’

What a mean-spirited sword.

“Right, Mongsil? You like it, don’t you?”

She scratched under the griffin’s chin affectionately.

「The great Holy Sword Visbi has just learned a proverb.」

‘…?’

「A rolling stone dislodges a settled stone.」

‘Are you jealous, Visbi?’

「Impossible. The divine mercy and great Holy Sword knows no such petty emotions. Unknown individuals are approaching. Nine seconds remaining.」

With that, the sword fell silent.

‘Nine seconds?! Why tell me now?!’

Leaning against the building’s exterior wall, Lukna quickly peeked around the corner.

Just as Visbi said, dark figures were approaching, murmuring among themselves.

‘That sulky sword delayed on purpose!’

She released the healed griffin into the sky.

But it hesitated, circling her instead of leaving.

“You have to go, Mongsil!”

At her urging, it flapped its eagle wings.

A whirlwind rose, carrying the griffin high.

Though a monster, it easily passed through the academy’s magic barrier thanks to purification.

After circling above her head twice, it vanished into the sky.

‘4, 3, 2, 1…’

Zero.

Lukna turned around.

Zwei, who had glared at her during Divine Studies, stood behind her with his gang.

“Hiding here like a coward, Lukna Golden?”

At Zwei’s signal, his followers threw what they had been dragging in front of her.

Hans.

And the Potatoes.

They had been thoroughly beaten.