At Seojun's house, Nathan and Elshienne had just finished a video call with their parents. They both leaned back on the sofa, looking a little more relaxed.
"Mom agreed," Nathan said with a smile. "We'll study here. Dad said he'll prepare our papers for the transfer."
From the kitchen, Ahye peeked out and grinned."Yay! I'm so excited to start! We can go to school together now!" she said, bouncing over to them.
Elshienne turned to Seojun, who was sitting on the floor checking on Sui, the dark sli."What about you? What are you going to do?"
Nathan added, curious, "Yeah, will you enter school again?"
Seojun glanced at them and shrugged."Dunno. We'll see."
There was a short pause, then Elshienne changed the topic."Oh, by the way... we heard from Dad about the rging of awakened and unawakened schools."
Nathan looked serious now. "Yeah. They haven't told the dia yet, but it's already being planned, right?"
Seojun nodded slightly. "They're keeping it quiet for now. They don't want people to panic or complain before everything is ready."
Ahye looked confused. "rging? Like, awakened and unawakened in the sa building?"
Nathan explained, "Kind of. Sa school, but separate classes. Still, it's big news. First ti sothing like this will happen."
Elshienne leaned back and sighed."I just hope no one gets hurt... I an, I get why they're doing it. But there are risks too."
While Nathan and Elshienne were still chatting with Ahye in the living room, Seojun quietly went to the kitchen. He opened the fridge, took out so at and vegetables, and started preparing dinner.
As he sliced the at,
[Host, Nean's almost done] the system spoke,
[The curse is about 95% cleansed. Just a little more, and the dark fur will be fully gone.]
Seojun stirred the soup and placed the rice on the table.
"It took a full week."
After Seojun finished cooking and they all ate together, he went to his room to check on Nean.
Huno, as always, followed closely behind. Seojun was about to sit down when he noticed sothing strange.
Under his bed, Nean began to glow brightly. The light was faint at first, but it grew stronger, shimring with golden light.
Seojun blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected Nean's fur to shine so intensely. But before he could react, the light faded just as quickly, leaving Nean quietly resting under the bed.
Seojun stood up, heading to the side of the bed to check on him. As he moved closer, a system notification appeared
[System Alert: 100% Cleansing Complete]
[ 4/6 - Discover the Echidna Offspring]
"So this is the reason why you begged not to kill Nean," Seojun said, eyes fixed on the system window in front of him.
[When I was punished, most of my mories beca hazy. But when I saw Nean... I felt sothing. Now I understand—it's because he's one of my children]
Huno, who had been beside Seojun the whole ti, let out a shocked bark. "What?! You're saying Nean is one of my siblings Father?!"
Just then, Silla slithered into the room, his body gracefully moving as he entered. He paused when he heard what was said and blinked slowly.
"Nean is our sibling? No wonder I always felt like I'd t him before…"
Huno's ears drooped as he sat down with a sigh. "Our mories are all hazy, but seriously? That guy? Our sibling? Oh co on…" he groaned dramatically.
Seojun chuckled. "Nean was cursed. That's why he had black, dark fur all this ti. But now that he's been cleansed, he's back to his true form. His golden fur... that's how he was ant to be."
As if hearing his na being spoken, Nean crawled out from under the bed. His fur shone with a soft golden glow now, completely different from before. He stretched, then puffed out his chest and held his chin high.
"Ha! Now you can't bully anymore, because I'm your big brother!" Nean declared proudly.
Huno imdiately frowned. "Big brother?! Since when?! Who said you're the eldest among us?!"
Silla flicked his tail. "I'm with Huno. You're acting like you're the boss just because you got a glow-up."
Nean scoffed. "Tch. I am the eldest. Look at —golden fur, majestic eyes, kingly aura. It's obvious."
"You wish you're the eldest," Huno muttered, still glaring at Nean. "Golden fur or not, you were hiding under the bed just a few days ago!"
Nean gasped dramatically. "That was for recovery! A true king knows when to rest!"
Silla let out a huff. "A 'king'? More like a dramatic kitten."
"Say that again, snake noodle!" Nean barked back.
"Snake noodle?!"
Before Silla could launch himself at him, Seojun stepped between them with a calm voice.
"Enough. If you wreck my room again, all three of you are sleeping outside."
The trio froze.
At that mont, the door opened again, and Nymira walked in gracefully, her fur shimring with a quiet glow. Her eyes scanned the room, and she tilted her head at the commotion
"What's going on now?" she asked.
Silla turned to her imdiately. "You won't believe it—Nean is our sibling."
Nymira blinked once, slowly. "…I figured."
"You knew?!" Huno and Silla said in unison.
"I had a feeling," Nymira said calmly, settling down beside Seojun. "Even with the curse, sothing about him felt familiar. Especially the way you three always fight. Classic siblings."
Nean sat down smugly, puffing his chest. "See? Even Nymira thinks I'm one of you. And probably the eldest, too."
"You're not!" Huno and Silla snapped together again.
Huno added, "You were cursed for who knows how long. What if you're actually the youngest?"
Nean scowled. "Ridiculous. Look at . Does this golden fur scream 'youngest' to you?"
"Yes," Silla said imdiately.
"No," Nean barked back.
"Yes."
"No!"
Seojun sighed and rubbed his temples. "I should've expected this"
Nymira just chuckled. "Well, you asked for them. Better get used to it, Master."
Huno's ears perked up, and he suddenly turned to the Sui that is just passing by in Seojun room with a mischievous grin.
"Hey, Sui! You're neutral, right? Tell us—who looks like the eldest among us?"
Sui blinked. "…Kyuu?…"
Silla leaned down. "It's obviously . I'm the most elegant."
"More like the most hissy," Huno muttered.
Nean puffed his chest. "No need to ask! It's clearly ."
Sui wobbled nervously. "Kyuuu Master huhuu Uhm… uhh…"
Before the little sli could finish choosing, Nean swiftly scooped him up and set him on his back with pride. Sui jiggled slightly from the movent, but stayed in place like a loyal pet on a lion's mane.
"See?" Nean said with his chin held high. "I look the eldest, right Sui? You should start calling Big Brother Nean from now on!"
"Kyuu Help Master…" Sui blinked in panic, unsure what to say.
Huno's tail bristled. "You tricked him! You kidnapped the judge!"
"I did not!" Nean replied, wagging his tail. "He chose naturally."
Silla hissed. "Get off the stand, you furball. You're corrupting the jury!"
"Stop being jealous, Snake Noodle!"
"Stop calling that!!"
Huno and Silla both lunged—but only to be held back by Seojun's arms on either side. He sighed again, long and deep.
"This is worse than babysitting toddlers," he muttered.
Nymira smiled. "They're bonding."
"They're fighting."
"Sa thing."
anwhile, Sui stayed on Nean's back, quietly trembling from the pressure of suddenly being involved in the greatest debate of beast siblings.
"I didn't sign up for this Kyuu…" Sui murmured softly.
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