67) Chapter 11. I Should Have Said Something (7)

Unicorns in this world aren’t all that dangerous.

If you really think about it, they’re about as dangerous as “a horse with a horn.”

If you carelessly approach a horse from behind and get kicked, you’ll die, and of course, if a charging horse tramples you or you get stabbed by its horn, you’ll die too. But as long as there’s a skilled handler nearby and the situation is well‑controlled, there’s no real reason to get seriously hurt.

Even in the original story, no one ever got injured because of a unicorn.

Well, even if the danger level is “a horse with a horn,” it’s still a monster, so its body is much sturdier than a horse’s, its legs almost never break, and it’s even smarter than a horse—which is already a smart animal—so if you treat it kindly, it listens incredibly well.

If this were two centuries ago, the species might have become “legendary,” like the prized steed of a famous general. But unfortunately, in the 21st century, it’s stuck at the level of “a peculiar horse.” They say you can’t even use them for racing because they’re classified as monsters.

Another unique thing is simply that a unicorn is a unicorn.

They’re said to be very good at recognizing people with no sexual experience and tend to follow them. No one knows why they developed such a trait.

Because of that, they were the stars of an early gag episode meant to lighten the mood. There was even a scene where the unicorn reacted to someone completely unexpected, leaving the woman utterly flustered.

Come to think of it, did it react to a man too? How did it go in the original? Something about him being called a weird nickname “pure man”?

…Ah.

“Hey, isn’t it kind of funny?”

While we were walking to see the unicorn, I heard some classmates talking in the hallway.

“When you look up animals or insects, there are tons of really bizarre‑looking ones, but weirdly enough, there’s no such thing as just a horse with a horn.”

“There’s the rhinoceros.”

“Right, but a rhino looks way funnier than just a horse with a horn, doesn’t it? If anything, it looks stranger than a horned horse.”

But since unicorns already exist in this world, isn’t the whole discussion pointless?

“Now that I think about it, this is our first time seeing a monster.”

“Normal zoos can’t keep them, and if one appears in the wild, a special team gets dispatched.”

Hyeonji responded to Soi’s comment.

“Wouldn’t it be cool if there were a monster zoo?”

“Some of them are extremely dangerous, and they’re all so rare that they’re probably kept in research facilities. I heard there are monsters with only one or two individuals in the whole world.”

Well, if there’s only one in existence, it makes sense for it to be in a sanctuary rather than a zoo.

I heard that some rare animals with only around 200 individuals left aren’t allowed to be removed from their natural habitat at all.

Talking about all sorts of irrelevant things, we soon arrived at the field.

Well, not exactly the field—more like the grassy area beyond it.

“Wow.”

Soi gasped at the creature lounging lazily on the grass.

I kept calling it “just a horse with a horn,” so I’d somehow convinced myself it wouldn’t be anything special.

But seeing it like this… it is something.

Maybe the “danger level of a horned horse” refers not only to its physical abilities but also to its intelligence and temperament.

First of all, the horse rolling on the grass was pink. Its coat was so evenly colored and silky that it looked like it had been deliberately dyed. It looked incredibly pleasant to touch.

Its mane was a much lighter shade—almost white, a pale pink. It draped over its face like well‑maintained human hair, covering one eye with unusually long eyelashes… how should I put it?

Hmm. A bit cheesy. The overall impression.

The horn on its forehead was magnificent. I’d imagined something like ivory, but instead, it was like a narwhal’s tusk—spiraling outward in a perfectly straight line, like something drawn in a picture.

If you only saw that, you might think it was a heavily color‑corrected photo of a horse with a horn edited in.

But its size—huge.

I haven’t seen many horses in person, but were they ever that big? If it stood up, it would be looking down at me from way up there.

Its head alone was far bigger than Instructor Justina’s thigh, which it was currently using as a pillow.

A “monster” is still a “monster.” If it stomped down with its front legs, your head wouldn’t even keep its shape.

“Oh, you’re here.”

The unicorn’s half‑closed eyes suddenly sparkled open.

Then it lifted its head slightly, as if saying, “Oh, you came?”

They say it’s fearless, and I can see why. With that size, it probably has no natural predators. The horn looks more threatening than I expected too.

When Instructor Justina stood up, the unicorn rose as well.

“Oooh.”

Some kids gasped. It was already big, but with the horn raised even higher, its presence was overwhelming.

“Everyone’s here, right? No one skipped class? Good. Then… huh? Principal?”

Justina brushed off the grass and dirt from her clothes and looked around.

The principal—Seol Heewon—was standing far away.

With a very uneasy expression.

“Huh.”

Justina muttered as if she hadn’t expected that, then sighed deeply and slumped her shoulders.

“…Is it because it’s a unicorn?”

A student whispered.

Well, in mythology, unicorns supposedly hate impure women. And considering how the internet often uses “unicorn” to mock people who get angry when a heroine isn’t a virgin…

But the person in question is Seol Heewon.

Back when she was an active hero, she was strong enough to be compared to Meteor. Even if she’s been out of real combat for a while, she’s not someone who would fail to handle a single unicorn.

She became the academy’s principal because she has more than enough ability to respond to emergencies. That’s also why she’s out here instead of staying in her office.

Still, standing that far away with that uneasy expression… anyone would assume she’s “afraid of the unicorn.”

…Of course, I know the truth.

Because this unicorn is a gag character. If you can call it a character.

“Good grief.”

Justina shook her head as if she couldn’t deal with it, then gestured to the students.

“Alright, sit down in front. Same formation as during sparring. Don’t worry about getting dirt on your uniforms. I’ll take attendance once everyone’s seated.”

And so, the class began with one of the two teachers standing far away.

*

The unicorn was truly gentle.

As soon as Justina began the actual lecture, it yawned widely as if bored, then folded its legs and lay down with its belly on the ground.

Its behavior seemed more like a dog than a horse. Maybe monsters just act differently from normal animals.

“…And that’s the explanation about unicorns. You’re all listening, right?”

Seeing that everyone’s eyes were glued to the unicorn, Justina chuckled.

“Well, I’ll trust that you heard it.”

When she looked at the unicorn, it slowly got up.

Then, as if acting cute, it lowered its head toward her and bobbed it.

Justina gently stroked its muzzle, and it let out a pleased whinny.

“Alright, everyone come up and pet it once. Don’t worry too much. It’s not scared of people.”

It really didn’t seem to think anyone here could hurt it.

With that size, and with all of us being much smaller, it wasn’t unreasonable.

“Sometimes it might cling a bit too much, but don’t be scared. It’s just being affectionate. If you pet it a little, it’ll be satisfied.”

Yes. This scene.

Strangely enough, the unicorn had approached Nam Jinwoo quite eagerly.

Even though it ignored all the other boys.

Then the principal approached, the unicorn’s attention shifted to her, the students murmured, and the principal blushed in embarrassment.

That was the whole episode.

…So is that why the unicorn approached Nam Jinwoo?

Was that foreshadowing?

I narrowed my eyes and looked for him. Nam Jinwoo was standing a bit away, looking nervous.

When our eyes met, she flinched, as if I’d ever bullied her.

Should I help her if the unicorn approaches her?

No, probably not necessary. The principal will step in and draw its attention anyway.

She must have stood far away because she expected that situation… which means she intervened because she already knew what was going on with Nam Jinwoo.

If that’s the case—

Tap.

“Eek?”

“Whinny.”

Tap, tap.

“Whinny.”

“Oh.”

The unicorn nudged my shoulder with its nose, and Justina laughed.

“Looks like it likes you.”

“H‑huh?”

Me?

Why?

…Ah.

Right. Of course.

The original Seo Rua and I are… different in several ways.

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Pub: 12 Apr 2026 08:35 UTC

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