“I’m not a specialist in experiments, you know? You don’t have to look at me like that; there shouldn’t be anything to worry about.”

“…….”

Whether he was still surprised by Espen or not, Hadel’s sharp gaze didn’t easily subside.

As a sign for Hadel to calm down, I raised my palm and gently patted Hadel’s back of the hand.

Evelyn smiled and said, ”
“Marian’s body feels perfectly normal. Transforming between a human and animal appearance is just a characteristic; health seems fine.”

“Kkyukkyu.”

Alright, I’m very healthy.

I proudly straightened my chest and puffed up. Evelyn, after teasingly calling me cute, continued speaking.

“You already know that the capacity for storing flame mana has increased, right? In that case, it would be good to check how much mana is needed for staying as a human compared to the time spent.”

“Kkyu?”

Evelyn’s words sounded like I should choose when I intentionally want to turn into a magpie. I blinked my eyes in confusion, and Evelyn explained in detail.

“Isn’t there a lot of danger that can be avoided by transforming into a magpie? It’s a kind of good fortune, isn’t it?”

“Kkyukkyu.”

I see. Well, when collecting rumors, it might be more comfortable to move around in magpie form.

‘But how do I regulate the amount of mana?’

Should I adjust the level of physical contact?

‘Eek!’

Casually remembering the various forms of physical contact I had with Hadel to measure mana, I burst out laughing.

‘It’s fortunate that I’m a magpie.’

At least my fur will cover my embarrassment.

After discussing such matters, Evelyn stood up.

“Then, I will return to Neris tomorrow. Please contact me anytime you call; I’ll gladly come up.”

Hadel hugged me and saw Evelyn off.

“Thank you.”

However, Evelyn, whom I thought would leave immediately, hesitated for a moment.

“Oh.”

“Why is that?”

Evelyn seemed to remember just now.

“Come to think of it, I’ve heard that there is a country far to the east where there are beings known as a crossbreed between humans and animals. They are called the Beastkin. Wouldn’t it be good to gather more information by contacting them?”

“Beastkin… I see. I’ll look into it.”

Hadel nodded.

“Forcing all the crossbreeds beyond the mountain range was an achievement from a hundred years ago. Back then, humans had no means to resist crossbreeds, so it couldn’t be helped.”

Evelyn uncommonly expressed her opinion.

“But if we prepare thoroughly, wouldn’t interaction with the crossbreeds bring a different wind?”

Upon hearing that, I felt strangely moved.

‘Interaction. Viewing them as beings capable of communication?’

When I was a young girl, crossbreeds were invariably considered dangerous and needed to be expelled. So I never even thought about negotiating with crossbreeds.

‘The person taking the lead was me.’

Even in the royal family, I was a symbol of someone not to be taken lightly.

‘But the world has changed, and now I find myself facing another wave of change.’

What should I do? As I pondered, I suddenly had this thought.

No matter what choice I make, there are endless possibilities ahead of me.
After Evelyn left, Hadel, who I thought would hurry to work, hugged me and returned to the imperial palace. Sitting on the sofa, he stroked me and asked,

“What do you think?”

“Kkyu?”

“What Evelyn mentioned, about interacting with crossbreeds.”

“Kkyu.”

It wasn’t a typical issue, so I couldn’t answer immediately. I raised my front paw and made a creaking sound while supporting my relatively heavy head compared to when I’m a human.

‘Interaction with crossbreeds.’

The perspective of viewing them as beings capable of interaction itself was novel to me. I had never considered crossbreeds as such beings.

‘In the first place, many of the crossbreeds I fought against were races like dark elves or demonkin that were harmful to humans.’

Such races were impossible to compromise with because they enjoyed negative emotions like human fear and suffering.

But if it’s the Beastkin that Evelyn mentioned.

‘If there are Beastkin, I’d like to see them. They might know the real secret about my condition.’

As I pondered, Hadel, who seemed lost in thought, looked up at me.

Then, seeing Hadel gazing at me with a somewhat helpless expression, I widened my eyes.