Lisa stared after them with a clear look of disappointment, her shoulders slumping slightly.

"…Well, I guess it can't be helped," she murmured after a moment, accepting it far more quickly than I expected.

With that, our short moment of rest came to an end, and we continued walking toward the distant pillar of light.

As we drew closer, the air grew heavier—almost sacred.

The ground shimmered faintly beneath our feet, as if the surrounding forest itself was breathing magic.

And then—

"…What is that?" I muttered.

Something stood in the distance, blocking our path entirely.

At first, it was just a silhouette—tall, white, and impossibly elegant.

But the closer we got, the clearer it became.

Elena stopped dead in her tracks.

Lisa blinked rapidly.

A pure white horse stood before us, its mane rippling like silk under the breeze.

But what drew the eye immediately was the long, sharp horn jutting from its forehead—glowing faintly with holy light.

"A… unicorn?" Elena whispered.

The creature raised its head proudly, its eyes gleaming with intelligence.

A real, living unicorn—standing directly between us and the World Tree.

---

A legendary creature—one I'd only ever seen in old storybooks and half-believed bedtime tales—stood before us.

A unicorn.

A real one.

We froze on the spot, breath caught somewhere between awe and disbelief.

The creature was nothing like the illustrations in books.

It was far more majestic—its coat shimmering like fresh snow, its mane glimmering with faint strands of silver, and its horn glowing softly with a gentle, ethereal light.

None of us dared to move.

Yet the unicorn walked toward us anyway, unhurried and graceful, each step silent on the forest floor.

There was no hostility in its gaze—only curiosity.

When it finally stopped right in front of us, it lowered its tall, elegant body… and leaned its head toward Elena.

"…Huh?"

Elena blinked, her eyes wide as the unicorn's warm breath brushed against her hands.

She hesitated, completely unsure what to do, then slowly—almost anxiously—reached out and touched its neck.

The unicorn let out a soft, soothing whinny.

Prrrrr.

Its coat shimmered under her fingers.

"W-wow… wow…" Elena breathed, her voice trembling between excitement and disbelief.

Behind her, Lisa's jaw practically hit the ground.

"Th-this… this is real…?" Lisa stuttered, staring at the unicorn as if afraid it would disappear like a mirage. She took a tiny step closer.

"C-can I… touch it too…?"

Prrrr.

The unicorn turned its head slightly and nodded—actually nodded—as if it understood every word.

Lisa's face lit up like a child seeing a festival for the first time.

She cautiously reached out and stroked its neck. Her fingers trembled, but the unicorn seemed to enjoy the attention, leaning lightly into her touch.

"It's so warm…" she whispered, eyes shining.

Elena kept petting the unicorn's mane, still half in shock.

Lisa was practically glowing next to her.

And the unicorn stood calmly, utterly content, as if greeting old friends instead of three bewildered academy students who had wandered into its forest.

I watched the entire scene unfold from a short distance away.

A unicorn.

Not just any mythical creature, but the guardian Lumine sent to protect the World Tree.

Its presence alone made the air feel cleaner—divine, almost sacred.

As expected of a being contracted by Lumine, a dragon.

It wasn't just protecting this place—it was the reason I rushed straight here, skipping the other trials scattered across the area.

Unicorns, by nature, are divine creatures aligned with purity.

They despise evil, show unshakable hostility toward anything corrupted,

but for those without darkness in their hearts…

they're gentle—gracious even.

And of course, none of us had done anything that would brand us as "evil."

So this trial was supposed to be simple:

Let the unicorn judge your purity, pass through the gate, and that's it.

Just as I expected, the unicorn didn't react at all when Elena and Lisa stepped closer.

No aggression, no hostility—just calm acceptance.

Seeing that, I exhaled softly and walked forward.

But then—

The unicorn's expression twisted the moment it sensed me approaching.

Its pure white ears flattened, and it took a step back.

Then another.

It wasn't afraid.

It wasn't hostile.

It was… avoiding me.

Almost like a person recoiling from something unpleasant.

"…What?"

I stopped in my tracks, baffled.

'Why? Did it mistake me for someone evil?'

But that made no sense—

I hadn't done anything remotely bad.

Nothing that should trigger a divine beast's rejection.

And yet, the unicorn kept backing away, its pristine hooves scraping against the ground as it stared at me with what could only be described as discomfort.

Elena blinked.

Lisa tilted her head.

And I stood there thinking one simple, exasperated thought:

…What the hell is going on?

I frowned as I watched the unicorn continue to avoid me—darting left every time I stepped right, then stepping forward just so it could block my path again.

Why… why did that specific thought pop into my head at a time like this?

Unicorns like virgins.

Seriously?

Is this situation really about that?

In a lot of fantasy stories, unicorns are given one ridiculous, borderline insulting nickname:

Virgin-obsessed.

They're famous for showing affection toward pure, beautiful maidens…

and for reacting with absolute disgust toward men or anyone who isn't "pure."

I narrowed my eyes at the unicorn.

"…Is that why you're blocking me?"

The unicorn snorted loudly, as if offended I even questioned it.

Then it lowered its head and pointed its horn straight at me, the sharp tip aimed right at my stomach.

Its eyes held so much hatred that it was honestly kind of insulting.

This crazy horse bastard…

For a moment—just one moment—I seriously considered ripping its stupid horn off and seeing how holy it looked then.

"Louis, let's go quickly…" Elena whispered, tugging gently at my sleeve.

I sighed through my teeth.

Fine. I get it. No horn ripping today.

I briefly imagined blasting the glaring unicorn with a bolt of lightning—just enough to shut it up—but Elena's worried look made me force the idea back down.

Barely.

With a stiff smile that was absolutely not fake at all, I walked past the unicorn.

It stepped aside reluctantly, still glaring at me like I had committed some unforgivable sin.

We approached the pillar of light shimmering in the center of the clearing.

This was it.

Once we passed through that pillar, we'd return to the academy.

I let out a long breath and stepped inside first, feeling the familiar shift in the air as the light enveloped me.

Time to go home.

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