Weiss regained consciousness while being carried away on a stretcher and screamed,
"B-Black Panther, attacking your own master… you are disqualified as a pet!
No, you are 'expelled'! If you don't want to be put down, disappear from my sight!"
But the Black Panther completely ignored him.
It was writhing happily, purring and rolling around while Monaka and Kotone rubbed its belly.
"Uwaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!! Remember this!!"
With a scream like his whole body was being torn apart, Weiss disappeared into the school building.
He finally seemed to realize where he was being taken and cried out,
"St-stop! Please don't take me to the infirmary!
If I get demoted any further, I… I…!
Gwaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!"
While the sage's screams echoed, the vice-principal also tried to slip back into the school building.
"Well then, I shall go have lunch."
"Wait a moment." A hand grabbed his shoulder.
"W-what is it, Teacher Domanna?"
"The prize award hasn't been given yet with a big 'boom'!"
The vice-principal let out an audible "Giku!" and panicked.
"Wh-what are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb! You promised to give a prize with a big 'bang' to the student I recognized!"
"I explained it to you, Teacher Domanna! That prize was meant to be awarded to Weiss-kun…!"
"Yes, I was asked to cooperate in strictly disciplining a dropout student.
Since I heard it was a dropout, I accepted with a big 'boom'!
But Leopin-kun is not a dropout—he is an outstanding Tamer far beyond anyone else!
Therefore, I will give the prize to Leopin-kun with a sharp 'spat'! If you refuse, I will gently report it to the education committee…!"
"Gyaaah!? P-please don't do that!
Guh… gigigigi…! F-fine! I'll give it! I'll give it, okayyyyy!!"
An emergency prize award ceremony for me was then hastily held.
The vice-principal looked so resentful that his eyes were bloodshot and he was grinding his teeth so hard his blood vessels seemed ready to burst as he thrust the catalog toward me.
"Gi…! Gi…! Gi…! I will never… forget this grudge… zamasu!!"
It didn't sound like words of congratulations at all, and even when I tried to take the catalog, he wouldn't let go.
If he hated giving it to me that much, I was fine without it, but Teacher Domanna wouldn't allow that.
"Come on, Vice-Principal! Just accept it and let go already!
Monaka-san, Kotone-san, and Leopin-kun, pull this way with a big 'gui'!
I'll pull the Vice-Principal this way with Mark-kun with a big 'zui'!
Black Panther! You bite the Vice-Principal's leg and hold him down with a 'gabu'!"
With four people and two animals working together, we finally managed to pry the catalog away.
I'm sure at that moment the "Asset Ranking Board" was updated.
1st Place Special Training Class 31,200,000 Ender
Only three people congratulated me.
"Congratulations, Le-kun!"
"I humbly offer my congratulations, Master!"
"Leopin-kun, you are going to become a legendary Tamer with a big 'baban'!
I guarantee it with a big 'zudoon'! So keep coming to my classes!
If you do, I'll give you petting with a 'pafu pafu' bonus!"
"Kuoon!" "Pyaa!"
Oh, that made it three people and two animals.
Monaka tilted her head and asked, "What is 'pafu pafu' petting?"
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆
I finished the morning classes and parted ways with Monaka and Kotone for now.
I was taking Mark and the Black Panther back home.
Since the Black Panther had been "expelled" by Weiss, I decided to keep him.
As I walked along the edge of the residential district with my two pets, I saw several students crying on the ground.
"Uuu… uuu… uuuu…! My house… my house…!"
"A huge rock-like thing came rushing through with incredible force and wrecked everything…!"
"I thought I finally had a house that wouldn't collapse this time…!"
It seemed Mark had destroyed their houses.
Several wooden houses of the upper-ranked classes had been reduced to rubble.
The misbehavior of a pet is the responsibility of its owner.
I thought about apologizing by rebuilding them into even better houses, but…
"Uuu… I finally got a house, so this time I was going to wreck that unemployed garbage's house!"
"I planned to go with everyone at lunch and trash it completely!"
"And now my own house is trashed! Uwaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!"
When I heard such screams from all around, any sense of guilt vanished.
On the way home, I thought of a name for the Black Panther.
"How about 'Tom'?"
The Black Panther raised its paw and meowed "Pyaa!"
"All right, from today on you're 'Tom'! Nice to meet you, Tom!"
"Chuu!" came a protesting squeak from my shoulder.
A sewer rat had crawled out of my coat pocket.
"Ah, I completely forgot about you. You're… let's see, how about 'Jerry'?"
The rat squeaked "How rude!" with a "Juu!"
"Oh, you're a girl? Sorry about that. Then… how about 'Jewelry'?
It means gem, so it fits a cute girl like you, right?"
Jewelry stretched up with a "Chuu!" and nuzzled against my cheek like a kiss.
Chatting and playing with my pets like that, I returned to the forest.
The house greeted us with warm light.
--------------------------------------------------
Base
LV: 2 → 3
Scale: Ordinary house with divine beasts
Population: 1
Divine Beasts: 3
Base Skills
Activity Support
Base Expansion
NEW! Base Defense
Gains a bonus to the base's defensive power