"Would you call this species discrimination?" Arthur frowned as he looked at the creature on his plate. He wore a forced smile, unsure of what to say in this situation. A rather funny thought crossed his mind as he stared at his food... It was literally a slightly burnt rat. But not just that—it looked like it had been cooked with all its organs still inside. It emitted a horrible smell. There was nothing else on the plate, just the roasted rat. That clearly wasn't right. If you looked at the other students' plates, you'd understand what I mean...
Arthur glanced at Evelyn, who sat beside him, completely focused on the meat chop on her large plate. She didn't have just one; if you counted, there were over ten stacked in a pile. And not just meat—around it were beautifully cut fruits, a gleaming salad on the side, and a large glass of what seemed to be fruit juice. Evelyn didn't pay me any attention and devoured the thick, juicy pieces of meat eagerly yet elegantly, her eyes sparkling.
"Hmmm... damn it, it's obvious they don't want me here," Arthur muttered with a dark look. His food was a burnt rat, and the drink beside it was a black liquid that occasionally released bubbles that burst in the air. He didn't even dare to touch the stuff.
"Isn't it a bit too different?" Leslie, who sat beside him, frowned at the sight of his plate. She leaned in slightly and smiled at me. "You can eat from mine!" she said, offering a piece of meat.
"Hehehe, looks like the deer folk don't like you!" Beatrice giggled as she stared at the rat on my plate.
Evelyn raised her head and locked eyes with me. She looked at what was on my plate and frowned in disgust. Then she looked back at her own plate. Her eyes wavered. She looked at me with those beautiful red eyes that trembled slightly. It was clear she was battling internally over whether to share her food or not...
"Well, what do we have here?" A youthful voice came from behind me. It was the Deer Progenitor. He glanced at my plate, then at me, his expression turning oddly thoughtful. "Apologies for that. My wife enjoys playing pranks from time to time. Let me take care of it."
"Thank you very much..." I said with an awkward smile. I felt he was telling the truth. But speaking of his wife... we hadn't seen her yet.
The Deer Progenitor nodded. The plate in front of me vanished, and another appeared instantly—it was just like Evelyn's. She, upon realizing she wouldn't have to share her food anymore, sighed with relief and returned her focus to her meal.
"Thanks," I said, nodding politely.
"No problem!" The deer smiled and disappeared, reappearing in front of the massive ice table. He looked at all the students. "I hope you're enjoying the meat, dear guests. My wife worked hard to prepare it for you. It was quite difficult for us to choose what kind of meat to serve... and who to kill." He paused for a moment. "Well then! I hope you enjoy the evening!"
"A pleasure! It was truly a pleasure having you with us!" the deer waved one of his forelegs side to side in farewell. It was a strange sight, but he seemed in a good mood. Behind him, the ice castle had vanished. So far, so good... but the deer wasn't alone.
Arthur felt a sharp chill run through his body. A pair of eyes, as blue as the ocean, were fixed on him. Yes, finally, the Deer Progenitor's wife was there, standing elegantly beside her husband. The deer woman was smaller, with silvery-white fur, and her antlers—though smaller—were beautifully intertwined like a crown. She was gorgeous, no doubt, even adorable. But the way she looked at Arthur—as if she might kill him at any moment—was anything but cute.
"..."Arthur had a complicated expression. The hatred he felt toward demons seemed deeply rooted...
"Interested?" A voice came from beside me. I recognized it immediately. It was the rabbit president. Elizabeth wore a dress in soft tones and a playful smile on her cherry-red lips. She looked at the female deer. "She lost her children. You could say it was the humans' fault. All of them made contracts with humans, only to die in combat against devils. You know what I mean— a mother losing her children far from home, never to see them again. Not even their bodies were recovered. They were devoured by devils. Quite painful, really. She holds a grudge against humans, but her greatest hatred is directed at demons. It's... complicated." She shrugged.
"That must be pretty hard on her..." I muttered, turning to look ahead. There stood Professor Emilia, offering a small bow after saying a few words.
"Hehehe, of course it is, especially since some of her other children are in the place we're heading to," Elizabeth added, placing her hands on her hips.
"Yes. Maybe she'll be unlucky again... if some students are lucky enough to form a contract with one of her children." Elizabeth smiled and walked toward Professor Emilia.
"It doesn't seem to end..." Daniela said fearfully as she looked down.
"This place is too strange..." Leslie added, gazing at the massive chunks of ice floating in the air.
The passage, just as the deer had described, was truly unique. Everywhere you looked, there was pure ice. Inside it flowed a blue substance, moving like veins through a human body. All around us, massive chunks of ice floated, seemingly defying gravity. Beneath us, a dark abyss stretched infinitely.
We walked along a narrow ice path, created by Professor Emilia. There was no pre-existing trail—she had to form it as we went. Around us, various shades of blue drifted slowly across glowing halos that, after a few seconds, turned into ice and began to float forever...
Arthur looked to his right. There, what seemed to be a massive bear was frozen mid-air. It must've been over 50 meters tall. In fact, none of the floating ice chunks were mere rocks—they were all giant animals, frozen for all eternity in this place.
"Maybe they got the meat from this place," Evelyn said, not bothering with troubling thoughts. Instead, she looked around with quiet fascination, captivated by the various frozen animals floating in the void. Her red eyes shimmered as they drifted downward—something very small caught her attention.A woman, her face frozen in terror, suspended in time…She had suffered the same fate as all the others.