"Um…" Irene scratched her cheek shyly, "I wasn't going to say anything because of how cute your bird is, but I think I need to let you know that Eldom has a strict no-pet policy... mainly due to the alchemical side of the school and how any hint of animal essence could compromise someone's work."
Grant's eyes widened in surprise and he snapped his head towards me, "Wait, no kidding? But-"
"Truly unfortunate, it is," Irene said, folding her arms and lifting her big chest. You may choose to send it to a caretaker—or, if you'd like, we have someone who looks after wild creatures back in the palace!"
He sighed, "Maybe I'll just let it go free."
Irene hummed and took me off of Grant's shoulders. I flinched and wiggled in her grasp, "Here! I'll take your bird until you exit the campus grounds. We have a vacant room I could place it in."
"Wait, no," Grant began, "I can just take it and—"
Irene seemed to love cutting Grant off, "No worries! I've gone through this process many times already. Your bird is safe in my hands!" she smiled like a fairy, "If you go straight on in here, there will be a spiral staircase that will lead you up to the grandmaster's office at the very top."
< Don't worry, hero. I'll meet up with you later. >
Grant looked worried but exhaled and directed his attention to the direction of the staircase, "Okay. I appreciate the guidance."
"Of course, Sir Brimhorn! I look forward to seeing you later!" Irene bid farewell and bounced away.
…
It was dark at night and hard to make sure I wasn't bumping into anything as I paced around the room, planning what options I had at the moment.
My first and most urgent concern… one of the harem members are in this academy. Irene should not be here. In the novel, she was too lacking in everything but socializing and high society to get into such a prestigious academy that doesn't discriminate on whether one is of royal blood, a noble, or a peasant. Even if this was the after story, she should be fooling around at parties and having shopping sprees every other day.
'This is too odd to gloss over.'
Her sole purpose in the hero's party was a damsel and a major piece of fanservice. But I never saw her nor any of the other members when I was spying on Grant after he stepped into my territory.
It looked like they were meeting for the first time, no less.
'Grant… he hasn't been following the storyline. Why?'
I came up with a few possible explanations for this, the most probable reason being this was a multiverse of the novel I read that slightly deviated in the storyline.
'Interesting… very interesting…' I thought, feeling a bit happy in a way, 'So in this life, he's all mine?'
A smile crept up on me without realizing it. My bird transformation took on a crooked appearance, but no one was present to witness the oddity.
'Then, I won't have to worry about the harem members Whatsoever!' my feet hopped gleefully, but then they stopped, 'Wait, but… if that's the case, then doesn't that mean other things could also be differing from the novel? Doesn't this mean I should discard everything I thought I knew before?' A sigh escaped my mouth as I undid my transformation.
My feathers turned into beautiful, black, silky hair. I turned my head to look at a mirror on the bedside table. My sharp, eerie, ruby-like eyes stared back at me. I touched my face, adjusting some parts a bit.
This beautiful young girl before me was not my true form in this world. My true form was the bird that I took the appearance of earlier. I shapeshifted into a human for convenience's sake and because I was a human in my previous life. This power was all too wonderful to use for espionage and for flaunting around. My previous self, Valerie, had a pretty below-average body and face, but now, I could live my life as someone with a pretty face— that's why I didn't hide my pride in my gorgeousness because I constructed this fair lady!
"Ooh, yep. I've nailed it again," I smirked, flicking my long, perfect hair to the back, "Alright then. Shall we get started?"
A black cloth crawled out of my skin and surrounded my entire body. A demonic gray mask melded out of my face and attached itself firmly. It was a shame I was hiding my lovely face like this, but I had to do what must be done.
I heard a bell toll in the distance.
'It's time.'
…
In the serene night, the grandmaster of Eldom slept soundly.
It had probably been a long day for him, because he was out cold. I smiled, sitting on his bed while observing his calm bearing.
"Looks like he's only reached transcendence," I muttered, putting some more of my power into his brain. Hypnotizing someone of his level wasn't that easy, but not too difficult for someone at my level.
I commanded him eagerly, "Walk to your desk and go through the process of registering a new student into your academy."
Watching him wasting no movements to follow my instructions, the description of a future anomaly fell from my curved lips.
"...Anthony Stone, a commoner from the Third District."
…