Lilia's Tale: Freyja's Endeavor

Chapter 57: Honesty

"You do realise even I cannot stop him were he to go on a rampage for what you said, right?" Cassandra continued.

"Yeah, I get it. But there are things I am not willing to compromise on. I will live like a human no matter what."

"I must confess, I struggle to understand your obsession with being a human. But no matter, you've made your point clear. We should go back now."

I nodded and turned to Koko-sensei. Father was right next to her, simply staring at me.

"Let's go back, we probably took too long."

She merely nodded and we went on our way back to the academy. The teacher was discussing something with Father in front of me as I looked back towards Jor. He stayed put, watching me leave, only moving himself once he was very far away.

"Lilia-sama," he said in my head. "We must find Alice quickly. I cannot feel her through you as I normally would."

"I cannot find her either. Maybe she's stuck in my familiar space?"

"I will go investigate."

The rest of the walk was silent. We eventually arrived at the academy and I was immediately tasked with going to the principal's office, alongside Cassandra who had been staying atop my head.

To my surprise, the front door was open. I knocked on the door and excused myself in, since he wanted to see me anyways. He immediately looked up and told us to close the door.

"So...What did you-"

"Explain yourself. Both of you," he interrupted me.

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"I heard Fenrir came back. The entire town was in a panic. What did you do."

"I was the one to call Fenrir," Cassandra spoke up. "Lilia-chan here needs his guidance now more than ever, so I requested for him to give her so. However, she insisted on staying, so he left."

"...Is that really what happened?"

"Yeah... I just wanted to go see Jor to figure out what happened with the familiar connection. In fact, I haven't heard from him since he went in my familiar space. Can I try and get through to him now?

"No. You need to explain to me just what is going on between you and Fenrir right now."

"There really isn't anything though! He just-"

"Lilia," he interrupted me again. "You cannot feign ignorance anymore. You may be a good person, you're still a yokai. People will advocate for you to get lost sooner or later. The Emperor is likely getting fed up with you, bringing all those terrifying creatures into our doorstep. If you can't explain anything, you're gonna get killed."

The harsh reality of his words were sharper than any sword. I had never thought of it that way, since they all come to me themselves and are always respectful to me. But to others, it's like the end of the world is coming to their doorstep. Over and over again. I sighed at the realisation and prepared myself. There wasn't anything I could hide anymore.

"...Fine. I'll tell you about it."

I explained to him what recently happened with my death and loss of magic, and why Cassandra asked for Fenrir to come and help. He seemed understanding considering he had been present, though still skeptical.

"Why Fenrir specifically? It's not like he would know more about you than anyone else, would he?"

"...He would," I replied, starting to uncontrollably shake at what I was about to say. "You see, I was always told to keep it hidden so people don't freak out. That's why Father and I are saying we don't know what I am. But in reality, I'm not just something that looks like a dragon. I am one."