The Gloomy and Timid Princess Heads to the Academy

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I knew that the people around Ho-yeon would become my trials.

It was quite unexpected that the Black Wolf would act like that, but since we seemed to have been close since childhood, I thought I could view her favorably, even as the daughter of an enemy.

But who would have guessed that Ho-yeon would become my trial?

She was perched on the edge of the bed, wearing a fresh smile and asking a truly awkward question that left me stunned.

Fortunately or unfortunately, her appearance had completely transformed from head to toe.

The good thing was that it was easy to notice what had changed; the unfortunate part was that everything had changed, making it overwhelming to observe.

I had been warned by the Black Wolf, who could be considered her brother, so facing her at the moment felt a bit uncomfortable.

And of all times, she had to ask such a question. I thought the timing was really off.

“…You changed into clothes you bought at the department store.”

No matter how much of a friend Ho-yeon was, I was at a loss for how to respond. Usually, when girls ask such questions, it ends in mutual dissatisfaction.

“Yeah. Anya helped me dress up… How do I look?”

Somehow, it looked too stylish for Ho-yeon to have picked it herself. On the contrary, it made me wonder if she had been trapped by Anya until now.

Having witnessed her expression change at the department store, I felt a twinge of sympathy.

At first, she appeared shy and surprised, but later, her desire to leave became apparent.

While I had escaped with an excuse of being tired to take a little break, it seemed she didn’t have that luxury.

“You look pretty. It seems the trip to the department store was worth it.”

Regardless of that question, she appeared genuinely beautiful. It may not have had the power of a dress, but it was still enough to capture everyone’s attention.

Besides, perhaps due to her fatigue, her half-closed eyes added more to her beauty.

If it weren’t for the brutal questions, I would have been filled with admiration. Instead, I was only wracking my brain on how to navigate this situation.

“…Right?”

“Just be careful when eating. It would be really sad if red oil splattered on your new white clothes.”

Although she had never dropped food on her clothes before, I couldn’t help but offer a bit of advice, just in case.

After all, Ho-yeon had mostly worn black clothes until now.

“…Is that so? Anyhow, you’re saying it’s pretty!”

Seeing Ho-yeon happy brought me a sigh of relief.

I was glad that this sort of answer was enough to satisfy her. I was thinking that to myself when…

“And also… don’t you have anything more to say?”

It seemed she wasn’t satisfied yet.

With her tail held high, she demanded more compliments.

I was sincerely grateful that the Black Wolf didn’t witness this and continued.

“The skirt seems a bit shorter… And you changed your stockings, too.”

“Yeah! Anya helped me change! How do I look… cute, right?”

Fortunately, as expected of Ho-yeon, she seemed satisfied with my words. I didn’t have to wager my life, just praising her according to her wishes raised a question in my mind.

“…But Ho-yeon, where’s the hole for your tail in the skirt?”

I had always wondered about that. Her tail moved, yet the skirt never lifted.

But while it never lifted, it still moved, so I was curious about it.

Her tail moved quite actively, so why had it never flipped up her skirt?

“Hehe… Huh? Tail hole? Oh, you wouldn’t know since you’re not a beast person…”

Maybe feeling good from the compliments, her voice was tired yet bubbly.

It felt a bit wrong to take advantage of her state to quench my curiosity, but I thought it was only fair to ask about the structure.

However, she acted in complete contrast to my thought of just wanting to hear about the structure.

She placed her hand on the hem of her skirt.

—

I was very tired from the continuous dressing up done by Anya, but I couldn’t help but feel thankful to her since I had received praise from Dokan.

Even though I was quite exhausted, a few good words were enough to make it all disappear.

It felt like she was using mind-reading, selecting only the praises I wanted to hear. Since she was an insider, I expected that much from her. It made me grateful that, for once, she was around.

I wished she would only say such sweet things to me…

But if Dokan started openly doing it, he would probably do the same to other girls.

Hmm. I didn’t like that.

Just as I was about to darken the mood, Dokan suddenly asked me a question.

“…But Ho-yeon, where’s the hole for your tail in the skirt?”

I wondered what he would ask next. It seemed he wanted to know something only a beast person would understand.

I was about to simply explain the structure when suddenly, a mischievous prank crossed my mind.

What would happen if I lifted my skirt right in front of Dokan?

“Hehe… Huh? Tail hole? Oh, you wouldn’t know since you’re not a beast person…”

It wasn’t the best time to be playful, given that I was tired and feeling good. A nagging doubt crept in, but it was just a little prank among friends.

Besides, he wouldn’t see any panties, would he?

And what’s more, I wanted to leave a strong impression on him, so he wouldn’t forget me when he was rolling around with other girls later.

With that thought, I slowly rose from my seat and grabbed the hem of my skirt.

Dokan seemed to sense something was wrong and urgently called out to me, but I paid him no mind and lifted my skirt.

“Ho-yeon, wait! That might not be a good idea…”

“Ta-da~ It’s a double-layered skirt. Were you looking forward to it?”

In fact, explaining it verbally was a bit tricky.

There’s a skirt with a hole for my tail inside the main skirt, so no matter how much it moves, only the outer skirt flicks about.

I had often done this back home, so when I requested they do it at the department store, they really obliged.

Dokan’s reaction was exactly as I had expected.

It was like watching the world crumble before my eyes.

“…Dokan?”

No, it was as if he was frozen, as if he had just seen someone get killed.

Was it too much?

“…Dokan? Are you okay?”

“Ho-yeon.”

“Uh… yeah?”

Dokan, looking as if he aged ten more years, spoke in a voice that seemed to rise from the depths.

“I think that kind of joke is inappropriate.”

“R-right…?”

Letting go of the outer skirt I was holding, I felt like I should sit quietly for some reason.

It seemed the atmosphere suggested that if I joked any further, something might actually happen.

“…Let’s go eat.”

“Ah… okay.”

This wasn’t like him at all; he was acting as if he had seen the weight of the world. For some reason, I felt compelled to follow him.

Had he gotten sulky?

I thought my prank might have gone too far. I expected he would enjoy it.

I should apologize, but I didn’t know how to time it right.

“Umm….”

I tried to muster the courage to say something, but Dokan didn’t seem ready to accept anything yet.

Ugh, I hope he doesn’t hate me too much. I guess it really was too much.

What to do…

As I pondered a good way to apologize, no good ideas came to mind until we arrived at the restaurant.

Thinking I might lose a friend over a silly prank made me nervous.

But Dokan was completely ignoring me, so I didn’t know what to do.

Just as I was silently agonizing over it, Dokan wrapped something around me.

What on earth? I looked and found it was an apron.

…What? Wasn’t he angry?

“Be careful not to get anything on your clothes.”

His tone was dry, which left me confused about whether he was mad or not, but the important thing was that he hadn’t ignored me.

“…So you weren’t mad?”

“Why would I ever get mad at you, Ho-yeon?”

Seeing him avoid expressing any emotion in his voice indicated he was indeed mad, but looking at how he acted, I felt bewildered.

So was he mad or not?

“…Yes. Understood. Please finish your meal.”

Though I unnervingly didn’t apologize, seeing him treat me well made things even more confusing.

This made me feel a sense of guilt. I evidently did something wrong, yet the discomfort from being treated nicely led me to feel like I was sitting on pins and needles.

“…Thanks.”

Ultimately, I didn’t gain anything noteworthy until the meal was completely over and we returned to the dorm.

As soon as we arrived, I couldn’t hold in my frustration and asked Dokan.

“…Were you mad?”

“No, really, I wasn’t mad.”

“…Then why have you been acting this way since earlier…?”

He hadn’t spoken to me. When I did talk to him, it was in such a dry way. Yet he wasn’t being cruel either.

I couldn’t tell if he was feeling good or bad.

“I just found it a bit overwhelming.”

…Overwhelming?

“I think there’s a line that should be maintained even among friends. What just happened isn’t something that can casually happen, even between friends.”

“…Is that so?”

Seriously?

Wasn’t our bond so close that I could just drop by and ask him to buy me a cola?

“Yeah. So I’d appreciate it if you could hold back actions like that in the future.”

“Uh… I get it. So… we’re still friends, right…?”

Hearing him suddenly define the friendship made my anxiety spike.

Somehow it felt like he might say that we were no longer close enough to speak to like this.

“That’s obvious. I just hope you understand the distance as a friend.”

A profound conversation seemed to be starting.