Early in the morning, several Foxy warriors were sent to the Royal Academy and others to the Goblin village to deliver news about the herbs.
Meanwhile, inside the royal residence, soft rays of dawn slipped into the wooden room where two boys lay side by side. Aurelian—now simply called Aura by his family—slowly blinked open his golden eyes. He sat up, rubbing his face, then turned to see Riku, still sound asleep.
Aura smiled.
"His ears and tail look so soft…"
He couldn't help himself and gently reached out, touching Riku's fluffy fox ears. They twitched slightly. Giggling, Aura played with the ears and then softly poked Riku's tail. That did it.
Riku suddenly jolted awake and pulled back with wide, panicked eyes. "W-Who are you?! Where's my egg?! Did you… eat it?!"
Aura blinked, confused, then shook his head quickly. "No, no! I was the egg!"
Riku paused. "…Huh?"
Aura tried to explain everything quickly—but in his own clumsy, childish way. Riku stared in disbelief, unsure if he should believe him.
"You mean... you're that egg? You... turned into a human?" Riku still looked skeptical but didn't say anything more, watching Aura closely.
Just then, Lily entered the room carrying a tray of food. Seeing Riku sitting up, she gasped with joy. "You're awake!"
She hurried over, hugging him gently, and gave him a kiss on the forehead. Then she turned to Aura. "You two met already? Oh, I should've been here to explain! Riku, this is your new little brother, Aura."
Riku's eyes widened. "Little brother…?"
Kael stepped in from behind Lily and added, "He's our adopted son now."
Riku looked at Aura again. Aura gave him the biggest grin he could manage and nodded.
"…I guess that makes me your big brother," Riku muttered with a sigh. "That's… kinda cool."
They all shared a laugh and sat down to eat breakfast together.
After breakfast, Queen Elowen arrived, dressed in elegant robes. Aura immediately felt her powerful presence again.
"Good morning, Your Majesty," Kael and Lily greeted her with a bow. Aura gave a polite wave.
The Queen smiled gently. "Good morning, little one. Aura, today we must decide—do you wish to attend the Beast School or the Human School?"
Aura tilted his head. He was a dragon—technically, not a human, nor a beast. But…
"I want to stay close to Mama and Papa. So I'll go to the Beast School," he said with confidence.
Queen Elowen nodded. "Good. You should know that human children usually awaken their class at the age of five. Since you appear around that age, keep that in mind."
Aura nodded, lowering his gaze. "Okay…"
Kael gently cleared his throat. "Ahem. About the situation with the Li Family…"
The Queen's smile faded. "Yes. We spoke with the Academy. They… won't interfere. The Li family has strong business ties with them. If they cut off trade, the Academy could lose too much."
"So we can't count on their help?" Kael asked with a frown.
"We must forget this matter for now," the Queen replied firmly. "And focus on protecting our own."
"What about the goblins?" Kael asked.
Lily replied, "We haven't received news from our messengers yet. I believe we'll hear from them by nightfall."
Just then, a knock came at the door. Riku's teacher had arrived.
Kael turned to Aura. "Time for your first day at school, little one."
Kael led Aura across the elevated tree bridges, heading to the Beast School located within the largest cluster of treehouses in the village. As they walked, Aura looked around at the other children—Foxies, Goblins, Catlins, even a few small Orcs and Tigerlins. They were all chatting or playing in groups.
When they saw Aura, a human child with golden hair and eyes, walking beside Kael, they stopped and stared.
"Why is a human at our school?" some whispered.
"He's glowing!" said a Tigerlin girl.
"Look at his hair! And his eyes!"
Aura stayed quiet, just smiling shyly.
Kael ignored the whispers and brought Aura straight to the office of the Beast School's Dean. The moment they entered, Aura heard the system's voice:
[Name: Elrean]
[Race: Elf]
[Bloodline: Rare]
[Position: Dean of the Beast School in Foxy Village]
Dean Elrean stood tall with elegant silver hair and long ears. He looked at Aura for a long moment.
"You're the human child Kael mentioned?"
Kael nodded. "Yes, Dean. This is Aura, my adopted son. He's four years old."
Aura stepped forward and bowed. "Nice to meet you. I'm Aura."
The Dean's gaze softened. "Well-mannered. Good."
After a few formalities, Kael handed over some documents and said goodbye. Aura was then guided to a classroom full of Beast Race children.
The moment he stepped inside, all eyes turned to him.
"Is that a human?" someone whispered.
Aura gave a nervous laugh. "Hi! I'm Aura. I'm four. I'm new here, but I'll try my best!"
The teacher entered soon after and began the lesson. Aura did his best to pay attention, even though a few kids kept sneaking curious glances at him.
By evening, Aura returned home.
Lily met him at the door and crouched down. "How was school today, sweetie?"
"It was nice!" Aura replied. "Everyone stared a lot, but the teacher was nice."
"Did you make any friends?"
"Hmm… not yet. But I will!"
After dinner, Aura yawned and curled up beside Riku. Exhausted from the day's excitement, he closed his eyes.
The system spoke again.
[Heart Echo: 39% → 43%]
[Aura is adapting to village life.]
[Emotional stability: good]
[Reputation with Foxy Village: Neutral → Kind-hearted Cub]
[Status: Integration successful. Monitoring continues.]
With a sleepy smile, Aura drifted off into dreams, surrounded by family, safety, and the warmth of a new life.