After staring at the dress for a while, Rudin suddenly came to his senses.
As reason returned, he felt guilty that he, a cleaning worker, had used the practice room without permission. Rudin jumped up from his chair and hurriedly tried to clean up.
Just then, Rudin saw it.
The figure of a man leaning against the entrance door, coldly glaring at him with eyes as clear and blue as the sea, like a beast with its prey in sight.
"H- Hiyah…!"
Rudin, who took a deep breath as if he was about to suffocate, froze. The man, who had taken his body off the door and straightened it, walked towards Rudin step by step.
It was the fashion terrorist, Calevik Roshaff Alstadt, whom he had never encountered before.
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Today's outfit was as bizarre and grotesque as the first time they met. He was wearing a tight silver-gray suit with dark green embroidery reminiscent of snake scales, and a Hawaiian silk shirt with a chaotic print of palm trees, large red flowers, and surging blue waves.
On top of that, he was wearing bright yellow chick-colored shoes with a toe length of at least 15cm. It was a combination of bizarre fashion items that would be hard to find anywhere else in the world.
However, he couldn't help but admit that his face was so handsome that his eyeballs were numb. Although his expression was rotten and he looked very upset, even that appearance was beautiful as if he had just popped out of the TV screen.
Rudin stood still like an object, holding the dress he had just finished tightly in his hand. His whole body was trembling. His head was filled only with the thought of 'I must not turn into a cat.'
No matter how scared I am, I must not relax. If I stay in human form, at least he won't kill me. If I can't overcome my fear here and turn into a Snicat, it's really over….
Now, the distance between Rudin and him was less than 1m. Fortunately, Calevik didn't come any closer and stopped there. When Rudin saw him raising his right hand, he was startled and squeezed his eyes shut and covered his head with both arms.
I'm going to get hit…!
But there was no impact on his body or head. After a moment, Rudin cautiously opened his eyes. Before him, Calevik was simply holding out his long arm, palm open.
"I, I don't have any money… There's only, only 20,000 cables in my transit card… If you want even that…"
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Rudin managed to stammer, enduring extreme fear. His cat ears flattened completely back, and his tail drooped, tucked between his legs, as if he were prey caught by a Tigercat.
He was so terrified that he momentarily forgot that Calevik was the son of the nation's top conglomerate. He thought Calevik was demanding a price, a hush money, to keep him from revealing that he had used the practice room without permission.
Calevik, looking bewildered for a moment, quickly grasped the situation and furrowed his brow deeply. He growled, low and short.
"Give it."
No matter how wonderful his voice was, in this situation, it was nothing but a threat. Rudin involuntarily hiccuped, sputtering for a while before finally asking back.
"The transit card…?"
Calevik's face became even more menacing. He glared at Rudin for a moment without replying, then suddenly snatched the doll dress from Rudin's hand. The dress, made for a 30cm doll, looked tiny, like clothing for a 15cm doll, in Calevik's large grip.
Rudin, his face pale, could only stare at the stolen dress without reacting, then suddenly snapped to his senses. He quickly clasped his hands together and bowed deeply to Calevik.
"Um… I'm sorry. I was really wrong."
Calevik's eyebrows twitched. Rudin, still unable to look him in the eye, continued, still bowing.
"I won't use the sewing machine without permission again. If you just pretend you didn't see this once, I won't covet the scraps of fabric and will just clean diligently…"
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Calevik looked at the practice table. He saw the fabric, neatly arranged, each piece rolled thinly and tied together for easy carrying. It seemed this Pussycat cleaner was trying to take the leftover fabric that students had discarded after practice.
Calevik immediately turned around. Without saying a word to Rudin, he crumpled the stolen doll dress into his jacket pocket and strode out of the practice room with his long legs.
Left alone, Rudin stood blankly, then realized that it was already dark outside the window. Holding back tears that threatened to spill as his tension eased, he hurriedly finished cleaning the practice room.
If Calevik reported his actions to the school, he could be fired as early as tomorrow. Perhaps today would be his last day cleaning this place.
With a stone in his chest, Rudin felt suffocated and heavy-hearted.
Returning home, Rudin immediately transformed into his cat form and crawled into his hiding house, curling up.
Fortunately, Garnet was scheduled to return late due to a dinner appointment. Garnet was very perceptive and could quickly grasp Rudin's mood with just a little conversation. If he had dinner with him as usual, Garnet would notice his depressed mood, and he would have to explain the misdeed he had committed today. He would have to tell him someday, but it felt difficult right now.
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Why did he do that? Why did he use the school's practice room without permission? As soon as he saw the high-quality fabric and the latest sewing machine, he lost his mind and forgot his place. He was just a cleaner, yet he arrogantly tried to enjoy the same benefits as students who paid 50 million cables for a semester's tuition.
Moreover, he was caught by a student. Now that he thought about it, having the doll dress he worked so hard to make taken away was what he deserved. It was okay that the fabric was obtained with formal permission, but he had used the sewing machine, thread, needles, scissors, and even a snap fastener, a subsidiary material, without authorization.
He was even planning to sell the illegally made dress in an online shop. He must have lost his mind for a moment.
He couldn't forget the look in Calevik's eyes as he looked at him with contempt. As a Pussycat, he had occasionally suffered contempt and humiliation from higher species, but that was simply because Rudin was born a Pussycat, not because he had done anything particularly wrong.
But this time, it was 100 percent his fault. Rudin felt deep guilt and self-loathing.
He would probably be fired.
He hadn't even been working for a month yet. He might not even receive the wages for the work he had done so far. On the contrary, he might have to pay compensation separately for using the school's equipment without permission.
Rudin could take responsibility and handle even that. But even as it was, higher species looked down on Pussycats, so what if this incident caused not just Rudin personally, but all Pussycats to be criticized?
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If that Alstadt guy posted this story on a university community or something, and reporters saw it and posted articles on the internet… If Rudin's personal information was exposed and people swarmed his parents' laundromat in his hometown of Flemil to protest… Furthermore, if it affected his older brother and sister…
Moreover, the other party was an arrogant scion of the nation's top conglomerate who brazenly acted that way even to Tigercat professors. Whether it was power or wealth, he was beyond Rudin's comparison, so arguing with him would be like hitting a mountain with an egg.
"Nya, nyaa…"
He was upset, regretful, and afraid. The more he thought about it, the more terrified he became, and Rudin sobbed quietly to himself.
At the very same time that Rudin was hiding in his hiding house and crying, Calevik Roshaff Alstadt was sprawled on the sofa in his living room.
A Tigercat, the top 3% of the Feladia population, and the youngest son of a conglomerate, he had become independent as soon as he became an adult and secured his own territory. His home was a duplex penthouse in a luxurious officetel located in the most prime area of the capital, Cairn.
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The furniture decorating the interior was all high-end, but the interior design was kept as simple as possible. The house was vast, but only the necessary furniture was brought in, making it look somewhat desolate.
If anyone who knew Calevik saw the clothes he was wearing now, they would be shocked. He was wearing a plain black sweatshirt and gray sweatpants, which made his appearance stand out even more than any of the expensive luxury goods he usually wore.
He only wore normal-looking, ordinary clothes when he was alone at home.
Calevik picked up the blue doll dress that had been carelessly tossed on the table and flopped down on the wide sofa. The events of the afternoon at school flashed through his mind like a panorama.
'Mr. Alstadt, it's good to see you. I left my favorite pen on the teacher's desk in the clothing composition practice room, but I have to leave right away because of urgent business. I'm worried about it getting lost, so I'm sorry, but would you mind keeping it safe and handing it over to me later?'
It was a request from Professor Kwangbeom, whom he had met by chance on the first floor.
The combination of Kwangbeom and Calevik was considered a 'crazy duo' by the fashion design students, so much so that just the two of them standing together would create a silence so profound that not even an ant would be left within their radius. Since there was no one else in sight to pass the errand on to, Calevik reluctantly took the elevator and went up to the 7th floor himself.
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Passing through the empty hallway and arriving in front of the practice room, Calevik heard the sound of a sewing machine running. Alstadt Electronics' new product, 'Alsewing-s77,' was known for its low noise during operation, but Tigercat's hearing was so acute that he couldn't help but hear it.
Thinking that perhaps one of the students had stayed behind to practice, Calevik quietly opened the door, and he couldn't believe his eyes.
A small Pussycat beastmen with cat ears exposed was bowing his head deeply and diligently making something with a sewing machine.
Cleaning tools were scattered haphazardly on the floor next to the practice table. Judging by the work clothes he was wearing, he seemed to be a cleaning staff member hired by a service company.
He was so engrossed that he didn't notice at all that Calevik had come in, closed the door, and was watching him quietly. The triangular cat ears, which seemed even larger because of his small face, were constantly twitching. For some reason, he seemed quite excited.
With delicate hands, he gathered the pleats of the skirt abundantly and sewed them in the blink of an eye, and he created an apron with fluttering frills as if by magic.
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There were some among Calevik's classmates who were quite good at using sewing machines, but he could confidently say that there was no one as skilled as that. His hands were so fast that it felt like he was watching a fast-forwarded video.
Calevik rubbed his eyes several times, wondering if a Pussycat fairy had secretly entered the empty practice room, made clothes, and run away, like the fairy in the fairy tale who secretly came at night to make shoes and leave.
In fact, Rudin Greenwood's height was 173cm, which was not very short, but to Calevik, who had always lived among higher species, Rudin seemed relatively small and petite. He also looked very fair and soft, and the light pink fur inside his light brown cat ears looked fluffy, which somehow made him look even more mysterious.
Calevik, who had been staring at the Pussycat cleaner as if he were possessed, suddenly remembered why he had come here. Kwangbeom had asked him to find his favorite pen. He looked at the teacher's desk where the professor had been standing while lecturing.
Calevik was truly dumbfounded to find the pen placed there so innocently.
The 'favorite pen' that Professor Kwangbeom had even asked him to run an errand for, worried about it being lost, was a promotional item distributed to all students in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of FDS's founding. It was even lying around in piles everywhere on campus, so everyone regarded it as public property.
No matter how much Kwangbeom disliked Calevik, he was by no means a man who would stoop so low as to give him dog training to make a fool of him.
He must have seen the cleaner seamster before Calevik. Then, he sent Calevik, whom he had encountered by chance, up to the practice room. Perhaps it meant, 'I want you to see with your own eyes and reflect deeply on the fact that the sewing machine skills of a Pussycat, the most common class in society, and even a mere cleaner, are far superior to yours.'
Calevik, realizing Kwangbeom's intention, felt annoyed.
So what?
FDS was a design school, not a seamster training center. When you think about it, the people with the best sewing skills would be in factories or laundromats all over the country, not in universities.
Although it was true that he didn't know how to use a sewing machine at all because he hadn't listened to the class for a semester, what would change even if he was made to witness this scene, and why would he deceive people with such a trivial errand?
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While resentment was bubbling in Calevik's chest, the Pussycat fairy had already finished making the doll clothes. Seeing him looking at the clothes he had made with a proud and happy expression, his suppressed temper exploded. He wanted to make his efforts go to waste in an instant.
Without realizing it, Calevik strode up to him and held out his hand. The Pussycat cleaner, who was terrified and frozen as if he had seen a ghost, covered his face with both arms, and then, after a moment, opened his eyes and said stupidly.
'I, I don't have any money… There's only, only 20,000 cables in my transit card… If you want even that…'
It seemed the cleaner didn't know who Calevik was. If he did, he wouldn't think that he was trying to extort a transit card with only 20,000 cables in it. It was quite unfamiliar to Calevik, who had lived under public attention, whether he liked it or not, as the youngest son of the nation's top conglomerate.
But even if the Pussycat didn't know his identity, the lousy feeling that he had been outsmarted by Kwangbeom didn't improve at all.
Calevik frowned and told him to give it in a menacing voice. In context, shouldn't he have realized that he was asking for the doll clothes he was holding? But the Pussycat, frustratingly, mixed in hiccups and answered like this.
'The transit card…?'
He was so angry that he snatched the doll clothes without saying anything more, and then the Pussycat began to bow and beg Calevik endlessly, saying he was sorry.
'Um… I'm sorry. I was in the wrong, really.'
At first, Calevik didn't understand at all why he was begging.
'I won't use the sewing machine without permission again. If you just pretend you didn't see this once, I won't covet the scraps of fabric and will just clean diligently…'
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Only after hearing those words did he realize that the Pussycat had been using the school's practice room without permission. Calevik didn't know the school regulations well, and he had no interest in the rules that cleaning staff had to follow. He was just angry because of Kwangbeom, and he was just trying to take the doll clothes as a way to vent his anger.
Leaving behind the Pussycat with a face mixed with embarrassment and guilt, Calevik took the doll clothes and came out. The dress that was now in his grasp was that very one.
The more he looked at it, the more beautiful and adorable it was, and he honestly admired it, but that was all. He didn't have the slightest thought of wanting to hone his sewing skills and make something like this himself. Kwangbeom's scheme to instill a spark of motivation in Calevik was a complete failure.
What if he used this to screw over Kwangbeom instead? Calevik had not yet submitted the problematic 'clothing composition practice assignment.' The content of the assignment was to design and complete the production of a set of women's clothing. He wondered what kind of expression Kwangbeom would make when he submitted this small doll dress as his assignment.
'There were no guidelines saying that you couldn't make doll clothes, were there?'
If he could see Kwangbeom's bewildered face while giving him a rotten smile, he might feel secretly pleased.
But…
Calevik, staring intently at the cute frills on the apron, picked up his smartphone and made a call somewhere.
"Yes, young master. This is Bernard."
A polite voice flowed out before the second ringtone even ended. But in the end, he was just a watchdog of the Alstadt Family, or more precisely, 'Mother,' so the more faithful he was to his duties, the more disgusting he was.
"A torso for displaying doll clothes. Leave it in front of the front door."
"Yes, I will find one immediately and send it up."
His mother would soon be informed of what he had requested, but as always, he decided not to care about the reaction of the main family. Rather, the more she got angry because of him, the more pleased he would be.
This doll dress would be a kind of trophy and a medium for remembering the humiliation Kwangbeom had given him. Calevik decided to display the dress, which seemed to have a fragrant scent, in his living room.
***
How many times did he doze off and wake up again?
Rudin, who had come out of his hiding house and returned to his human form, picked up his cell phone and checked the time first. It was just past five in the morning.
It seemed Garnet had come by last night. He had come to see him because Rudin hadn't answered his calls, but he had just gone back without waking him up because he was sleeping, according to a message he had sent. There was still no message from the service company about 'dismissal' or 'compensation.'
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Rudin entered the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. It was a good thing he hadn't run into Garnet yesterday. His swollen eyes wouldn't even open properly, and his face, which had already lost weight due to the recent strenuous physical labor, looked even more haggard because of last night's worries.
After showering, Rudin came out of the bathroom and got dressed. He suddenly worried that a post exposing his misdeeds might have been uploaded to 'Caniversity,' a community for each university in Feladia.
Sitting back against the head of the bed, Rudin connected to the internet with his smartphone and searched various news articles, including FDS Caniversity. He found no posts that seemed to be about his story.
Rudin put down his cell phone and closed his eyes, which still felt hot. He didn't want to think about it, but his encounter with Calevik Roshaff Alstadt was automatically replaying in his head against his will.
It was the first time he had seen a Tigercat so close.
Honestly, it was quite scary. His aura, the energy he exuded, was on a different level from a Pussycat, and the gap was as overwhelming as that between a cat and a Tigercat. Of course, he was more intimidated because he was the one who had done wrong, but in front of him, Rudin had a hard time even breathing comfortably.
「I don't want to run into him ever again.」
This was Rudin's one-line review of Calevik.
The alarm on his cell phone rang. Six o'clock, time to start the day.
Having received no contact since yesterday, Rudin knew he had to go to work, but a sudden fear washed over him. He had a sudden urge to turn off his phone and run away to Fremille.
But Rudin shook his head.
Whatever the consequences, he would be honest and sincere and take full responsibility for his actions. It was the teaching of his parents, ordinary commoners who had lived a simple and upright life. Rudin decided not to run away.
He had done wrong, but he would not be a coward.
After finishing his preparations for work, Rudin steeled himself and stepped out the front door.
Rudin arrived at work on time and cleaned in the same order as always. As the first class approached and students began to arrive, he felt a cold sweat on his forehead. But they passed him by as indifferently as ever.
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Around eleven o'clock, Rudin was cleaning the men's restroom at the west end when someone slipped inside.
"Rudin Greenwood, in charge of the 7th and 8th floors! Here you are."
It was the Highcat from before, the one in charge of managing the cleaning staff. He was an employee of the cleaning company's headquarters and didn't come to FDS, so Rudin hadn't seen him since his first day of work. The fact that he had come to find Rudin meant that what was coming was surely about to happen.
"Hello."
Rudin lowered his head with a gloomy face. 'Hello? How can you say that? You inferior Pussycat! Because of you, the school is complaining! What are you going to do?' The kind of words the Highcat would say automatically came to mind, and Rudin gripped the mop even tighter.
"So. How's work going?"
"I, I was wrong…! Huh?"
At the unexpected question, Rudin tilted his head slightly and stared blankly at the Highcat. He shuffled through the documents in the file he was holding and said casually.
"The building is so clean, it's like you're not even cleaning, right? There's nothing to complain about, no matter how hard you look, right?"
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Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed like an interim inspection. The cleaning work was certainly not as easy and comfortable as he said, but Rudin nodded anyway.
"Yes, well…"
"Good. Keep up the good work."
The Highcat turned to face the wall, examined the bathroom cleanliness checklist that Rudin had meticulously recorded and inserted into the acrylic panel, and scribbled something on the document in his hand. Rudin swallowed hard, and the Highcat suddenly turned back to him.
"Come to think of it, one of the professors said that the 7th and 8th floors have been very well cleaned lately. He said there wasn't a speck of dust on the bookshelves in the library."
"Yes…?"
The Highcat, seeing Rudin's surprised expression, warned him in a stern voice.
"Don't get cocky just because you got some praise, and work like a cow. Got it?"
"Ye-yes…"
The Highcat didn't even listen to Rudin's answer and quickly left. Rudin, left alone, let out a long sigh. He was still so nervous that his heart was pounding fast.
He thought he was here to reprimand him for his mistake, but instead he was praised, which was somewhat confusing. The fact that a 'professor' had noticed that he had been sweeping and wiping every corner with care, even though no one paid attention, made him feel shy but also good.
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Nothing happened until Rudin finished his day and went home. Not only that day, but also after the weekend and after all the students' final exams were over.
He couldn't relax completely yet, but he felt more at ease after the winter vacation started. The number of students attending school had also decreased significantly, making it easier to work.
Rudin often wondered why it was so quiet.
Did Calevik consider Rudin's mistake to be very minor? Or had he, uncharacteristically of his fearsome personality, shown mercy and decided to turn a blind eye just this once? Either way, it was a very fortunate thing for Rudin.
In late December, Rudin, having finally regained his composure, was able to take out the pieces of fabric he had obtained from the clothing construction practice room. He had brought them home on the very day he had secretly used the practice room, but he had not dared to take them out because of his guilt.
Rudin used the mini sewing machine he had brought from his hometown in Plemil to make several doll clothes.
A cute mint-colored hoodie and denim skirt, a cute striped cotton t-shirt and stylish boot-cut jeans, a funky leather biker jacket and a 5-part shorts set made of high-quality leather, a princess dress that harmonized floral-patterned fabric and lace, a chiffon blouse with frills and ribbon details at the neck, and a voluminous flared skirt made of strawberry milk-colored fine satin were created one by one from Rudin's hands.
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The new products, made from scraps of fabric and produced in only one piece each, were sold out in the blink of an eye as soon as they were posted on Rudin's handmade doll clothing store, 'Ruby Doll Boutique' website.
While replying to inquiries about whether there were any plans to restock with apologies, Rudin felt happy but also bitter. This time, he was able to lower the unit price by using free fabric, but if Rudin were to buy such high-quality fabric himself and make clothes, he would have to double the selling price.
Rudin also wanted to make beautiful clothes with good fabrics and high-performance sewing machines.
If possible, not small doll clothes, but clothes that people could actually wear.
But now he was just grateful that he hadn't been reported for unauthorized use of the practice room. He firmly resolved that he would never be greedy beyond his means in the future.
But then…
On January 2, the first day of work in the new year, Rudin saw a large notice posted on the bulletin board in the center of the 7th floor.
■Number of students to be recruited: ○
■Restrictions on origin and age: None
■Special benefits for top applicants: Full tuition waiver
(Until graduation)
■Details: See the FDS official website
Eduard Neuer Löwe, head of the FDS Future Design Institute and head of the Fashion Design Department, commonly known as Professor Kwangbeom, watched from afar as a cleaning worker with a trash picker in his hand stared intently at the transfer student recruitment notice. As if someone had glued the soles of his shoes to the ground, he had been frozen in the same spot for several minutes.
Kwangbeom already knew that the Pussycat cleaner hired as a part-time worker had a keen interest in fashion design.
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He had often seen the Pussycat carefully reading all the postings, posters, and various notices on the 7th and 8th floors. He had also seen him going into empty classrooms to clean and taking pictures of the notes the professor had left on the blackboard during class with his cell phone.
When he saw him cleaning the library and pulling a thick book on design theory from the bookshelf and reading it intently, Kwangbeom's guess turned into certainty.
The joy that filled his small face pierced through the professor's thick chest and violently shook some kind of emotion that had been dormant somewhere deep inside. He couldn't even remember when he had last felt such pure and desperate desire for learning from a student. Kwangbeom became interested in the Pussycat cleaner.
Then one day, just before leaving work, Kwangbeom happened to pass by the clothing construction practice room, his class's lecture room, on the 7th floor after all the classes were over, and he heard the sound of a sewing machine coming from inside.
He wondered if some student was commendably staying behind to practice. He opened the door slightly and peeked inside, and he was startled.
The Pussycat cleaner was making something with amazing skill. Judging by the size, it looked like a clothing sample or a doll's clothes. He was skillfully operating the sewing machine and even using the overlock machine with ease, so it was clear that he had done it more than once or twice.
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Kwangbeom quietly closed the practice room door and went down to the first floor. Still reeling from the shock of the Pussycat, he ran into the troublemaker Calevik Roshaff Alstadt, dressed in flamboyant clothes.
Bringing up the absurd pen story and sending Calevik up to the 7th floor may have been a momentary whim, but he had a feeling that the Pussycat cleaner would somehow stimulate Calevik. Kwangbeom, who had always had a knack for strange directions, firmly believed in his innate instinct, his 'sixth sense'.
In fact, Kwangbeom's desire to somehow rescue Calevik from his ennui was not because Calevik was the son of a chaebol family, nor was it because Kwangbeom was a true teacher armed with a sense of mission. He had a deeper, more historical reason that he could not tell anyone.
Looking at the sunset pink sky, Professor Löwe murmured to himself.
Senyar. I feel like I've found it somehow.
The most sparkling North Star to lead your one and only precious treasure into the world where light reaches.
***
Rudin, having seen the FDS Department of Design's transfer student recruitment announcement, endlessly agonized over submitting an application. His older brother, Garnet, and older sister, Perry, shared in his worries.
On the day before the transfer application deadline, the three gathered at Garnet's house, enjoying delicious food and talking until dawn.
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Perry Greenwood, the proactive and straightforward eldest daughter, was absolutely in favor.
"Transferring to FDS? This kind of opportunity only comes once in a lifetime. Besides, they say there are no restrictions on species or age. You absolutely have to apply."
Garnet Greenwood, the cautious and sensitive eldest son, was against it.
"Even if you get in, the tuition is over fifty million cables per semester. It'll be hard for Rudin to handle."
Perry immediately retorted.
"The top applicant gets a tuition waiver until graduation. Don't you believe in Rudin's skills?"
"It's not that, but everyone who challenges FDS is going to be highly skilled. And it's not just the tuition itself. Everyone there comes from families with the wealth to afford it. Not to mention they're all upper species. They'll treat Rudin like dirt just for being a poor Pussycat."
His brother's words, which were all too true, caused the triangular cat ears of Rudin Greenwood, the timid youngest sibling, to droop downwards. He knew that his brother loved him more than anyone else in the world, but he was heartbroken by the undeniable reality.
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"Who cares? You can get the best design education in the country. Is being looked down on such a big deal? Maybe they won't even care about a Pussycat transfer student. If you just survive for two years without being noticed, like a desk or chair in the classroom, Rudin will be the first Pussycat to graduate from FDS in this country. How awesome is that!"
His sister's words also sounded quite reasonable, and Rudin's ears twitched, trying to perk up again. However, the moment he heard Garnet's next words, his ears drooped even more limply than before.
"That might be true for an ordinary Pussycat. But have you forgotten? Rudin is a Snicat."
Even Perry was speechless at Garnet's words.
Could Rudin, a Snicat, survive for two years in a class composed only of upper species without being discovered? There were so many dangers everywhere that he had to study at home for middle and high school, and he could only graduate from a cyber university.
"But… he's not as weak as he was when he was little, is he? And the pheromone medication seems to be working well."
Perry's voice didn't have as much spirit as before, but Garnet agreed with that point. Originally, Snicats were mutants with unstable genes and terrible immune systems. However, if they were well-managed and cared for until adulthood, they would become much healthier than when they were young.
"Still, dangerous things can happen at any time."
Perry couldn't deny Garnet's words either. Even though things had gotten a little better with age, the fact that Rudin was a Snicat hadn't changed. If he transferred, Rudin's information would be registered in the school records, and if his personal information was leaked, his identity as a Snicat could be revealed, making him a target for crime.
Garnet wanted Rudin to meet a trustworthy partner to spend his life with and to start a family safely, without any danger to his personal safety. That was the wish and goal of the entire family, not just Garnet, so the Greenwood family had always been united in protecting Rudin.
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"Garnet, I know how you feel. It's not like I'm not worried at all. But if things continue like this, Rudin will just stay cooped up in our parents' laundromat in Plemil and grow old. He has such a great talent for clothes and so much passion for it. I think that's just so sad."
At Perry's words, the three stopped talking for a moment and fell silent.
If they were a wealthy family, they would have simply solved all the problems by hiring a skilled bodyguard to stick with Rudin. However, his parents, who ran a laundromat, Perry, who worked as a jewelry designer, and Garnet, who was a high school art teacher, were all barely making a living.
After repeating the same arguments several times, with the debate continuing to run parallel, Rudin, who had been quiet all along, opened his mouth.
"Um, what you guys have said so far is all true. But, you know, I really want to try just once."
Perry and Garnet closed their mouths and looked at Rudin. He swallowed hard and continued with a determined expression.
"I might apply and fail. Even if I get in, if I'm not the top applicant, I won't be able to afford the tuition and I'll have to give up. But if I can confirm that I have the skills to pass the transfer exam for such a great school, I think I'll gain a lot of confidence, even if I can't end up attending."
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Perry's expression brightened. However, Garnet was still cautious.
"If you really become the top applicant, you're going to transfer to that school and attend. You'll be three or four years older than the other kids, and they might bully you or ostracize you. Are you okay with that?"
Rudin briefly imagined the upper species students bullying and ostracizing him.
It would certainly be heartbreaking, but Rudin and they lived in completely different worlds anyway. It would be difficult to suddenly get along and live in harmony, so as long as they didn't cause him too much harm, he thought he could tolerate some degree of ostracism.
Maybe it was because he hadn't experienced it yet, but when he thought about the many educational opportunities and benefits he could receive as an FDS student, he felt that he could endure the upper species' contempt and hatred. If it was so painful and difficult that he really couldn't bear it, he could always consider dropping out.
The important thing was that it was unprecedented for the FDS Department of Design to recruit transfer students. If he missed this opportunity, he might never be able to try again for the rest of his life.
"I think I can endure it if my family, especially you guys, are on my side until the end. But there's something else I'm really worried about."
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Rudin calmly told his brother and sister about the time he had secretly used the sewing machine in the practice room and was caught by Calevik Alstadt. Perry laughed, finding it amusing, but Garnet's expression gradually hardened, and when the story was over, he sternly scolded Rudin.
"Don't be too hard on him. It seems like Rudin was suffering a lot on his own."
Only after Perry intervened did he finally stop, but Garnet still looked displeased. Rudin nodded.
"I've really regretted and reflected on it a lot since then. Now it's vacation and I'm only working until the new semester starts, so I thought it would be okay because I wouldn't see him…"
"You're worried that if you transfer, you'll be in the same year as him?"