Night had settled once more over Damon’s dormitory, the faint glow of the academy lights slipping through the window and casting soft shadows across the room, while the quiet hum of the distant campus created a calm, enclosed stillness. For a brief moment after the hologram vanished, nothing moved.

Then—

Sahira stepped out from where she had been hidden.

Her head was lowered, her posture hesitant, as though unsure whether she should have revealed herself at all. Damon’s gaze shifted toward her immediately, his expression composed as he observed her without interruption.

"You seem to have something to say?" he asked, his tone even.

Sahira lifted her head slightly, her lips parting as if to speak, yet no words came at first, her fingers tightening faintly against the fabric of her uniform before she finally managed—

"Y-you... really want to do this...?"

Damon gave a small, questioning hum.

"Hm?"

Sahira swallowed lightly before continuing, her voice still uncertain.

"T-this business... and that too without involving the duchy...?"

Damon watched her closely, his eyes steady, while Sahira quickly added, almost in a rush—

"I-I didn’t mean to eavesdrop..."

"I know," Damon replied calmly, cutting off her apology without irritation, "this room is too small."

Relief flashed across her face almost instantly, her shoulders easing just a fraction as she let out a quiet breath.

"I-I thought..." she continued, gathering herself again, "y-you were doing all this... to improve your relationship with m-master... b-but now, with this..."

Damon’s gaze sharpened slightly.

"Who said anything about improving my relationship with my father?" he said, his tone carrying a quiet finality, "I don’t want anything to do with it."

Sahira’s eyes snapped up at that, surprise breaking through her hesitation as she looked at him fully now.

Damon met her gaze without wavering.

"I want independence from the duchy," he continued, his voice steady, measured, "I want to build something of my own... power that belongs to me."

There was no hesitation in his words.

No uncertainty.

"So that I don’t have to rely on the duchy," he added, "and so I don’t end up being moved around on someone else’s chessboard... like a pawn."

Silence followed.

Sahira stood there, looking at him, her expression caught between confusion, realization, and something she could not quite define, as though she had just heard something she had never expected to hear from him.

Damon observed her just as closely, his thoughts calm yet deliberate.

...This is the first time I’ve laid my ambitions out this clearly in front of someone...

A brief pause.

...but it’s also a test.

His expression did not change.

Let’s see what she chooses.

He straightened slightly, breaking the moment with quiet finality.

"Let’s sleep," he said simply.

***

"In bull-type beastwomen, the distribution of muscular density differs significantly from both human and elven standards, particularly in the lower frame, where strength generation is most efficient..."

The lecture flowed in a calm, measured tone as Instructor Sylvariel stood at the front of the classroom, her silver-lime hair falling in smooth strands over her shoulders while her pale, almost translucent eyes remained fixed ahead with a distant, analytical focus. There was something distinctly detached about her presence, as though she viewed everything before her not as individuals, but as subjects of observation.

"...unlike humans, whose physical development tends to balance between adaptability and specialization, or elves, whose bodies favor agility, precision, and mana affinity, beastmen exhibit a far more pronounced divergence based on subtype—"

"You... bitch— let me go!"

The interruption tore through the room.

All eyes shifted instantly.

Khaira hung suspended in mid-air beside Sylvariel, her body restrained by thick, vine-like constructs that had emerged seemingly out of nowhere, coiling firmly around her limbs and torso, lifting her effortlessly as she struggled against them, her expression burning with irritation.

"Lemme go, ya hear me?!" she growled, her heavy, rolled accent thick with frustration as she thrashed slightly, though the vines did not so much as tremble.

Sylvariel did not react immediately.

Her gaze shifted just enough to acknowledge Khaira’s presence before returning forward, her tone remaining unchanged, cold and almost disinterested as she continued.

"As you can see... this is a bull-type beastwoman."

The room fell into an uneasy silence.

Khaira froze mid-struggle for a brief second.

"...Oi— what the hell are ya sayin’?!"

Sylvariel ignored her entirely.

"Bull-type beastmen are characterized by a high concentration of fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscle fibers coexisting in unusual balance," she continued, her voice steady, as though delivering a demonstration rather than enduring an interruption, "this allows them to generate explosive force while maintaining endurance over prolonged combat periods."

The vines adjusted slightly, turning Khaira just enough as if presenting her from a better angle.

"Physically, their skeletal structure is denser than that of humans, particularly around the spine and lower limbs, which supports the additional muscular load and enhances impact resistance," Sylvariel explained, her pale eyes scanning Khaira’s frame clinically, "their center of gravity is also lower, granting superior stability, which is why brute force approaches are commonly associated with this subtype."

Khaira gritted her teeth, still suspended.

"...I swear I’ll—"

"Silence," Sylvariel said flatly, not even looking at her this time, yet the authority in her voice was absolute, cutting her off mid-sentence.

Without pause, she continued.

"In contrast, elves possess a lighter skeletal frame and a significantly higher affinity for mana conduction, making them more suited for precision-based combat and sustained magical output," she said, briefly shifting her gaze across the class, "humans fall somewhere in between, lacking extreme specialization but capable of adapting across various disciplines."

Her attention returned to Khaira.

"Within beastmen themselves, however, distinctions are far more pronounced," she added, "feline types emphasize speed and reflexes, canine types favor coordination and pack-based synergy, while bull-types, such as this one, prioritize raw strength, durability, and direct engagement."

The vines tightened just slightly, not enough to harm, but enough to reinforce her control.

"Biologically, their muscle recovery rate is also higher than that of humans, though it comes at the cost of increased caloric requirements and, in some cases, heightened aggression responses under stress," she continued, her tone as detached as ever, "this makes them highly effective in frontline roles, but also more prone to acting on instinct rather than calculated strategy."

Khaira’s eyes burned with restrained fury, though this time she did not interrupt.

Whether by force—

Or realization.

Sylvariel finally turned her gaze fully toward the class once more.

"Observe carefully," she concluded calmly, "as this is a clear example of subtype-specific physiology in motion."

Sylvariel did not pause after establishing the physical distinctions, her tone remaining steady as she transitioned seamlessly into biological functions, her gaze still carrying that same detached, almost clinical focus.

"Beyond musculature and skeletal density, mammalian traits in bull-type beastwomen also extend into internal biological systems," she continued, her voice even as though discussing nothing out of the ordinary, "particularly in regard to nutrient conversion and lactation capacity, which is significantly more efficient compared to humans due to their physiology being adapted for higher output."

A subtle shift passed through the classroom.

Students who had been listening attentively moments ago now exchanged brief, uneasy glances, the nature of the topic settling in.

Khaira, still suspended mid-air, stiffened slightly.

"...Oi... what the hell are ya even talkin’ ’bout now..." she muttered, her earlier aggression faltering just enough to reveal discomfort creeping in beneath it.

Sylvariel, however, remained unaffected.

"In terms of reproductive biology," she continued, her tone unchanged, "bull-type beastwomen follow a cyclical pattern similar to large mammalian herbivores, where fertility is not constant but peaks during specific intervals."

Khaira’s eyes widened slightly.

"Oi— don’t ya dare—"

More vines emerged without warning, coiling around her more firmly, restricting even the slight movements she had retained, holding her in place with effortless control.

Sylvariel did not even glance at her.

"These intervals, often referred to as mating periods, are characterized by heightened hormonal activity, increased physical sensitivity, and a natural biological drive toward reproduction," she explained, her pale eyes scanning the class rather than the subject of her demonstration, "during this time, the probability of successful conception is significantly higher compared to other phases of the cycle."

The discomfort in the room deepened.

Several students avoided eye contact altogether, others pretending to focus intensely on their notes despite clearly not writing anything.

Khaira, on the other hand, struggled against the vines again, her voice rising with clear embarrassment now.

"Ya can’t just— say this stuff out loud—!"

The vines tightened slightly in response.

Not painfully—

But enough.

Sylvariel continued regardless.

"Outside of this period, reproductive likelihood decreases, though not entirely," she added, her tone maintaining that same detached precision, "and while structural differences between male and female bull-type beastmen are aligned with typical mammalian dimorphism, the primary distinction lies in hormonal cycles and behavioral responses tied to those cycles."

At the back of the room, Damon sat with a relaxed posture, completely removed from the tension filling the space as he casually ate from a small snack in his hand, his gaze fixed forward as he observed the entire scene unfold.

...Is this a lecture or some kind of bondage display? he thought dryly, his expression unchanged.

Sylvariel finally allowed a brief pause once her explanation concluded, her eyes moving across the classroom as she assessed the room, though her expression remained as unreadable as ever.

"...Next time," she said calmly, as though nothing unusual had occurred, "we will study human physiology."

With that, she turned and walked out of the classroom without another word.

The vines remained.

Khaira remained.

Suspended exactly where she had been.

For a moment—

Silence.

Then—

"...That damned woman...!" Khaira snapped, her voice returning with full force now that the lecture had ended, her heavy accent thick with irritation as she struggled once more, though the restraints still held firm.

The classroom, however, had already begun to stir again.