One thing everybody could notice on Lord Haruki's face was that he had a zig-zag silver crest running from just below his left eye down toward the corner of his jaw.
Amongst the students, a hand suddenly shot up and everybody threw glances at whoever had done it. It was a girl from Class 4.
For a moment the whole Hall seemed to hold its breath, expecting the Dean to simply ignore her but Haruki gave her a small smile.
"You have a question? Please stand up and ask away." He said.
The student trembled as she got to her feet.
"M-m-mister… M-mister D-Dean of F-F-Familiars, s-sir…" She swallowed hard and tried again. "I-I… uhm… I w-was just w-wondering… if it's n-not too much t-trouble… c-could you… w-what is… wh-what exactly is…" She pressed both hands flat against the front of her uniform. "W-what is the F-Familiar Isle, p-please…?"
The last word came out so quietly it almost wasn't there.
