Chapter 35: School of Knowledge!

"And up we go," Yvonne informed.

Using the magical floating tiles, the group ascended to the School of Knowledge level, moving past all the other levels. The tile they stood on soon merged with the floor; they stepped off, entering the new area.

"And we're already here!" Azusa exclaimed.

"Woah…" Eryn looked around the new level and his eyes widened. "This is…?"

A school store stood directly in front of the group, which Eryn figured was where he wanted to go. But that wasn't what caught his attention. His eyes darted around the place, seeing the interior design that he would describe as mystical.

Magical cubes floated through the air. Flowers of many colors glowed brightly, clinging to the walls. A giant statue sat on the left which looked like a monstergirl wearing wizard attire. What monstergirl could that be…?

But perhaps the most striking feature of this level was a giant glowing globe in the center. Staring at it sent chills down his spine. W-Woah, it's like I'm staring at the abyss…! It reminded him of another globe he saw somewhere else…

"Wooow!" the monstergirls exclaimed in unison, mesmerized by the mystical display this level had to offer.

"Eryn, Eryn." Lofie squeezed his cheeks. "Look at that flower on the wall!"

"I see it, Lofie." Eryn chuckled, gently pulling her little fingers away. "They look very pretty."

"This place feels so… magical!" Iris's eyes sparkled as her tail waved around. She could sense the magical energy coursing through this entire floor.

"I wanna check this place out, Eryn!" Melty stood behind him and pushed him forward.

"Haha, okay, okay." His lips curved into a smile. The monstergirls sure are excited to check this level out!

"Welcome to the School of Knowledge." Yvonne turned around. "As you may have already guessed from the name, this level houses facilities for your school and learning needs."

"Ah, neat!" Azusa adjusted her glasses, interested. "Why are there magical-looking stuff on this floor too?"

"This level is also relevant for those who wish to discover the knowledge of monstergirl magic," Yvonne replied, folding her arms. "It is particularly relevant for monstergirls with innate magical abilities."

"Monstergirl magic…?" Eryn pondered those words. Would that magic refer to…?

"For example, Eryn…" Yvonne's eyes shifted to the little hinezumi. "You may have already witnessed the fiery potential of Melty."

Eryn smiled wryly. "There's no doubt about that. It's pretty impressive!"

"That is her monstergirl magic." Yvonne nodded. "The ability to master flames."

I think I recall Piromi saying something similar! Hinezumis specialized in elemental characteristics, being able to manipulate flames. They're very destructive…

In contrast, Lofie's magic leaned more on the creative side of things. I don't know if her magic can be as destructive as Melty, and I'm not sure if I want to find that out nor want to know whether that is possible.

"I wonder if I can learn magic here…" Iris stared at her tiny palms, curling them into fists.

"Who knows, Iris?" Eryn patted her head. It seems she's still hung up on that. Out of the three sisters, Iris appeared to not possess any magical abilities; understandably, she felt left out. As far as he was concerned, Eryn never saw her as being lesser than her two sisters. "It's worth checking this place out."

"Hehe, okay!" Iris bobbed her head.

"So!" Eryn drew his hands to his hips. "Why don't we head into the school store?"

"Yeah!" The monstergirls replied in unison.

"Mhmm…" Yvonne stared at the family, the corners of her lips curling up ever so slightly. She faced the school store. "Right this way, then."

With the soldier beetle leading the group, they made their way into the school store and were immediately greeted with rows of items, all placed on colorful stands and displays. Sparkling lights resembling butterflies scattered around the place and flew around them.

"Waaah!" The three monstergirls stared in awe, their mouths forming O's.

"W-Woah…" Eryn shared a similar reaction, feeling another wave of chills crawl down his back. What is this place?! It's as if he stepped into an entirely different realm! Everything looked so pretty and lively and bright! I can't describe it in enough words!

"Wow!" Azusa clasped her hands together, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "It's like we stepped into fantasy land!"

"I believe it is what you would call fun design choices." Yvonne drew her hands behind her back. "It is meant to captivate the hearts of chil—…"

"Eryn, Eryn!" Lofie clapped his cheeks. "I want to look around!"

"Yeah! I wanna run around this place!" Melty ran in circles around him.

"It all looks so wonderful!" Iris exclaimed, her ears twitching. "Can we look around, Eryn?"

"U-Uh…" Eryn gently put Lofie's hands away from his face, then set her down on the floor. They're all really excited! His eyes then diverted to Yvonne since she got interrupted.

"Please go ahead." Yvonne nodded. "I will be here if you need me."

"… All right." He smiled in relief, then turned to the monstergirls. "Let's look around then!"

"Yaaay!" uttered the joyful monstergirls. Melty was about to sprint forward, but not before Eryn grabbed her arm.

"Slow down, Melty." Eryn chuckled and patted her head. "You wouldn't want to trip yourself."

"Hehe, I'm just so excited!" Melty grinned, her tail bouncing left and right.

Eryn returned her grin. "Me too, Melty."

It was times like this the monstergirl children acted like… well, children. Seeing their excitement reminded him of his school days when he'd get excited to join school field trips. Such a childlike innocence. It was not something he alone could give them. I'm glad they're getting a chance to experience this…

"Come on, Eryn." Iris tugged his arm along. "Eryn has to explore with us, too!"

"Okay, okay." Eryn smiled sweetly as he followed along. Even she's a lot more expressive now!

"Look at this, Eryn!" Melty grabbed a set of what looked like pencils. "These are… colored pencils, right? There are so many colors in it!"

"That's right, Melty." He nodded. "They got lots of colors here, too!"

"… What's this, Eryn?" Iris grabbed what looked like a cookie; it felt rubbery between her fingers. Expecting a food scent, she sniffed it and slightly frowned.

"That's not food, Iris." Eryn held back a laugh. "That's an eraser."

"Oh!" Iris blinked a few times at Eryn, then looked back at the eraser. "Why is it shaped like a cookie?"

"I guess because it looks cute." He briefly raised his shoulders and then grabbed an animal-shaped eraser. "Look, they even have an eraser shaped like a cat! Doesn't this look cute too?"

"Mhmm…" Iris stared at Eryn, then at the eraser, then pouted at Eryn. "Eryn thinks it's cute?"

"Er… sure?" Eryn raised a brow. She does not have a very approving look right now…

"Does Eryn think the eraser is cuter than me?" Iris puffed her cheeks out.

"Huh…?" It was his turn to blink a few times at her. That was quite a random question coming from the eldest sister. "W-Well…" he stared at the cat-shaped eraser in his hand. Wait, is she comparing herself to an eraser because they're both cats…?

"Well, it's an eraser, Iris!" Eryn shook his head. "You can't compare an eraser to a monstergirl."

"Oh!" Iris's ears twitched in understanding. "Then Eryn thinks I'm cuter?"

He poked her nose. "… Are you jealous of an eraser, Iris?"

"N-No!" Iris rapidly shook her head. "I'm not j-jealous!"

"Heh, I see…" His eyes glanced at her wagging tail behind her back. Those tails make it obvious sometimes. He found it rather adorable.

Speaking of wagging tails, there's one particular bushy tail he noticed wasn't in his sights. He stood up and looked around. He saw Melty admiring the colored pencils. Where is… Lofie? Yvonne stood guard at the entrance, so he didn't have to worry about her leaving the store. Where could she be?

"Oh…" Walking along the displays, Lofie was looking at bags that came in many vibrant colors. A green one caught her attention. She stood in front of it, admiring its design. She recalled the monstergirl children the other day wearing similar bags. This must be the school bags, she thought.

As she stared at the bags, her vision suddenly faded into black, as if being covered by a pair of hands. "A-Ah…?"

"Guess who is it~?" a gentle womanly voice asked.

"H-Hum…!" That voice sounded familiar to her, but she couldn't pinpoint who it was immediately. She felt a little scared, realizing that Eryn wasn't nearby.

"I didn't expect I'd see you here—…"

"Hands off the little Anubis."

"H-Huh?"

The woman looked up; a spear stood directly in front of her face, mere inches away from her nose. Holding the spear was no one other than Yvonne, who gazed into the woman's eyes with no emotion behind her own.

Yvonne tightened the grip on her spear. "If you have intentions of kidnapping this child, I will swiftly put you down."

"No, no, no, no!" Pulling her arms back from Lofie, the woman jumped back up and frantically waved her hands, visibly panicked. "I'm not a kidnapper! I've met her before!"

Yvonne tilted her head, skeptical of this woman's words. She turned to the little Anubis. "… Is this true, little Lofie?"

"Um…" Lofie looked up at the woman. She wore a long dark brown coat. Two tufts of feathers drew out from her hair. She had sizable talons for feet. Her yellow eyes gazed back at her worriedly, hoping that she'd recognize her.

"U-Uhm…." the woman gulped.

Yvonne's insect eyes darkened. "Suspicious…"

"W-Wait, I swear I'm not a kidnapper!" The woman panicked. "I'm—…"

"… Ms. Nona?" Eryn popped up to Yvonne's side.

"Oh, Eryn!" Nona let out a sigh of relief.

"Huh…" Yvonne raised her brows, the most expressive she's ever been. "Do you know this person?"

"Y-Yes, we met at a school called Little Flower," Eryn replied. Why do you have your spear pointed at her? "She's, uh… the librarian."

"I see." Yvonne nodded, putting her spear away. She bowed at the waist. "I apologize for the misunderstanding."

"No, no, it's fine!" Nona rubbed the back of her hair. "I understand you were doing your job."

"I shall be standing watch at the entrance then." Yvonne walked away with that parting remark.

Eryn watched as Yvonne returned to her position. What happened? At least he found Lofie safe and sound here.

"… Ms. Nona." He turned back to her. "Quite the coincidence meeting you. Are you also here for shopping?"

"… Right!" Nona adjusted her robe. "I'm here stocking on some magical materials for my little project back at the library."

"Ah!" Lofie's ears twitched in realization. She looked up at the owl mage and pointed at her. "I remember. You taught me magic."

"Oh, you do remember me!" The owl mage crouched down and patted the little Anubis's head. "That's right. You used your magic to grow a flower from a seed."

"Humhum." Lofie nodded.

"May I ask what you're doing here, little one?" Nona asked with a gentle smile. "Are you here for some shopping too?"

Lofie looked at Eryn, then looked back at the owl mage. "We're shopping for school supplies with Eryn."

"Oh, school supplies…?" Nona blinked a few times, diverting her eyes to their owner. "Oh! Is Eryn going to enroll you three in Little Flower?"

"W-Well, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't thinking about it…" Eryn scratched his cheek. To be honest, I wasn't thinking that far ahead, but that's likely going to be the case.

"Isn't that nice?" Nona let out a little laugh. "I'm sure your children would bring a lot of life to Little Flower if they were to attend."

"Is that so…?" Eryn crossed his arms. I hope they'll do fine in a school environment. But from what he's seen in Little Flower, it appears to be a welcoming environment for human and monstergirl children alike.

"Well, please don't let me keep bothering you." Nona stood up and bowed her head. "Please explore the store to your heart's content. I'm sure you'll find many things your monstergirls will adore."

"For sure, Ms. Nona." Eryn bowed his head back, returning a smile. "Will do."

With that parting remark, Nona returned to her own business of searching for magical materials. Eryn and his monstergirls gathered together.

"Eryn, Eryn." Lofie turned around. "Will I learn more magic if I join Little Flower?"

"I think so, Lofie." Eryn hummed. "With a teacher like Ms. Nona, I've no doubts you'll learn a lot."

"Oh…" Lofie stared at her little palms. The idea of learning more magic fascinated her!

"And I'm sure Melty will learn some cool tricks about her fire." Eryn poked the little hinezumi's forehead. Considering there's another hinezumi with the experience!

"Hehe!" Melty giggled. "That sounds really cool!"

"And Iris…" Eryn chuckled, patting her head. "I'm sure she'll learn some secret tricks to scare you two."

"E-Eh?" Iris's eyes widened in surprise. That's not even close to what her sisters would learn. "Secret tricks?"

"T-To scare us with?" Melty continued, a little fearful. "What kind of secret tricks are they?"

"It's a secret!" Eryn winked at her, then drew his hands to his hips. "Well, then! Let's continue our shopping-venture, shall we?"

"W-Wait, Eryn!" Melty huffed. "What's the secret trick?"

"Eryn has to tell us." Lofie head-bumped his leg.

"I want to know too, Eryn!" Iris puffed her cheeks out.

"Come on, come on, we shouldn't waste the day away." Eryn paid their words no word, nonchalantly moving along with the shopping adventure.

Truth be told, he didn't have the faintest idea of what would await them at Little Flower. It's not out of the question that Lofie would learn magic and Melty would hone her fire manipulation skills…

He simply didn't want Iris to feel left out.

Let's see more of the School of Knowledge!