Chapter 17

“Are you ready to go Anon?” asked Morala Fray, the titania that had been assigned to help you acclimate to your new schedule.

Stuffing the last of your belongings into a leather bag bearing the college insignia, you nodded and followed her out of the room. You had spent a month in that accursed place; hopefully you would never see it again.

“Where will I stay now?” you asked.

“Let’s go see! You’re rooming with the other men at the college. We can drop off everything you don’t need and then go see the rest of the campus.” said Morala.

She pushed open a door and a draft of cool air blew past you.

“This is one of the grand staircases. Most lecture halls and laboratories are connected to one of these. If you ever get lost, find one of these!”

	Grand was certainly one way to describe it. The ‘staircase’ was an enormous tower with stairs circling around the outside. Massive stone staircases swept up at least four stories above you.  Mamono moved up and down the steps in crowds, unperturbed by the amount of jostling that was occurring between them. The center of the tower was empty, and flying mamono would occasionally fly up past you, or jump over the railing to glide to a lower floor. A skylight let the light from the grey sky above shine through the cavernous room.
“Come on Anon; let’s go find your room.” said Mora.

	You snapped out of your daze, and realized that a crowd had gathered to gawk at you as you took in the scenery. Mamono of all shapes and sizes looked at you curiously, some giggled at your wonderment and others were more aloof. Blood rushed to your face and you quickly hurried off up the stairs after Mora.

	Mamono gave you plenty of room as you walked past. The college had declared that you were to be given an arm’s length of personal space at all times, and that any violation of your personal space would be treated as an attempt to rape you. In time, when the mamono got used to your presence, this stipulation would be lifted. Hopefully by that time you will have courted a waifu.

	As you reached a landing, Morala abruptly turned and exited the grand staircase. You followed her through the thick wooden doors into a small skyway. It sloped at a gentle incline upwards to what looked like another grand staircase embedded into the side of the mountain. Morala was humming contentedly and looking over a sheet of paper with what looked like various instructions. You could only read a few words, but your name seemed to show up a lot. She had also doodled some flowers and a stick-figure painting of herself and some fairies eating a comically large cake.

“You’ll be living up there, with the other men!” she said pointing to the left of the next stair case.

	She was pointing at a large building, carved out of the mountain side. Similar to an apartment building, it had rounded, staggered floors that jutted out away from the cliff the lower they were. Gaps in the buildings gave way to terraces that were accessible from most floors. Of course, the building was made of stone. Another grand staircase adorned the opposite side of the building, meaning that this dormitory was in a central position relative to the rest of the campus. A harpy landed on one of the patios and walked out of view. The scene reminded you of photos you had seen of Mesa Verde in the American Southwest.

“Wow…” you said looking up at the building and the surrounding countryside.

“Isn’t it pretty? I love sitting up on the terraces and having picnics with the fairies. The boys are so kind to us.” said Mora with a little flutter.

You began to tell her about some of the buildings in your world as the two of you walked up the stairs and onto the lowest terrace.

“Let’s see here… you’ll be in… this one!” said Mora spinning in a full circle before pointing to one of the entrances.

She strode over and produced a key with characters and numbers stamped onto it.

“Here’s your key! Don’t lose it, okay? You need it to get into your dormitory.” She said handing it to you.

Yes mom.

	With a twist, the door unlocked, and you pulled it open. The interior was brighter than you would have thought, being halfway under a mountain. Angled skylights and windows allowed the natural light to poor in. It also became apparent that only residence rooms were on the sunny side of the building. The rooms posterior to the sunny side were few and far between; inhabited solely by cleaning supplies and toiletries.

For the first time in more than a month, you saw another human. A man around your age and his peers watched you from their chairs as you passed through a lounge.

“Hey Morala, am I going to have roommates?” you asked as the group began whispering behind you.

“No, you’re a bit of a special case. We can’t risk anyone but you having access to your room. That’s why it’s so important to remember that key!” she said.

She glanced back at you after a moment of silence. “Oh, but don’t worry! There are plenty of people just down the hall. Look! This is the closest lounge to your room. Say ‘hi’ everyone!”

Morala began to wave excitedly at everyone in the room. Two people were eating at a table, one was studying, and three were just having a drink. All of them stopped what they were doing to stare at the titania flail her arm at them.

“Hi…” said a man slowly lowering his drink.

Silence followed the single halfhearted greeting, and the man who had been studying scoffed and went back to work. The duo at the table resumed their meal.

“See? You are friends already!” she exclaimed.

	Is this seriously the person they chose to guide you? THIS is the best they could come up with?! At this rate any relationship you hoped to establish with the community would be undermined by this air-headed ditz. Sure she was nice, but if this lukewarm reaction was anything to go off of, she was as clueless as she was shameless.

You give a little wave to some of the guys as you pass by and quickly follow Mora. She ascended a small spiral staircase, (your legs were starting to give out after climbing so many stairs), which led to a single door.

“Here we are! Isn’t this exciting?” asked Mora.

For once you shared her optimistic attitude. This was your new room: where you would sleep, live, work, and relax. No matter where your adventures took you, this would be the place you came back to.

Morala’s breasts press against you as you gently push her aside to unlock the door. She doesn’t seem to mind, and wiggled in excitement smooshed between you and the wall. With a loud thunk and a blast of air the door swung open.

	The room was small, roughly the size of a college dorm room on earth. It had all the basic amenities of one too; a desk, a closet, a window, and a bed. The furniture was made out of sturdy wood smelling faintly of pine. The legs of the bed frame were almost as thick as your thigh. Perhaps mamono beds had to be stronger than their human counterparts for obvious reasons.

	The room had not been used in some time. As you stepped through the threshold, motes of dust swirled around you. The air wasn’t stale, it was merely aged. It had a pleasant earthy scent of times long since passed. Running your finger along the desk, you accrue a sizable lump of dust on your fingertip.

“This room hasn’t been used in a while, the last person who was housed here was a dignitary from a different city.” said Morala, as her wing beats created elaborate patterns on the dusty floor. “The maids said they would be along to clean up everything by this evening.”
You gently wipe away a layer of grime from the window and look out. The college sprawls beneath you, giving way to the town and then the lake below. This room was situated in a small tower that jutted out from the side of the building. Morala bounced up beside you and pressed her breasts into you.

“Anon I’m hungry. Let’s go see the dining hall next!”

Normally you would have protested the full body contact, but Morala had been specially screened by the college for this task. Her intentions were pure, and the amount of mana she put out was only mildly dangerous to you. She could be around you all day without killing you, unlike most mamono.

“Alright, we can go. I was getting a little hungry anyways.” You said gently shrugging her off of you.

Morala did a little wing-assisted hop and walked out of the room.

~~~~~~~

The dining hall was a stunning work of architecture. A massive convex wall of windows overlooked the town and the lake beyond. One could exit through doors on either side to reach a patio beyond.

	The floor was packed with tables, benches, and booths. There were several places were tables were raised a few steps above the rest of the rabble. Judging by the appearance of the mamono sitting at the tables and the men they had hanging off of them, it was the popular or wealthy girls who separated themselves. Most monsters just happily sat and ate their food with their friends. Except the ones at the benches. The picnic-style table set up looked more like a free-for-all between the hungry patrons. A plate of food would be passed down and a flurry of hands would lash out to empty it. All the food was served in large portions, allowing for the diners to serve themselves as much as they pleased. A strayos laughed loudly and almost fell backwards onto you as she drained her tankard.

“This is where we eat!” said Morala.

So you had gathered.

“But don’t eat anything! They have to cook your food special.”

“So where should we sit?” you asked looking around for a suitable seat.

“My friends are over there!” said Morala excitedly pointing to a table.

	She was gesturing at a raised table that was swarming with fairies. A fresh plate of dinner rolls was set down and they scattered briefly before converging on the steaming bread. It was humorous the way they swarmed the bread; like piranhas in old cartoons.

	This was another perk of having Morala as a guide: she was unlikely to have any friends who were potential sex offenders. Fairies were a perfect mamono to sit with as they were incapable of forcing themselves onto you and their mana output was negligible. Not that it mattered when you were trapped in a room this size with dozens of monsters. You could already begin to feel the onset of malaise that accompanied your mana allergy. Lunch would have to be quick.

	You keep close to Morala as you work your way over to the table, doing your best to ignore the stares and whispers behind you. Glancing over your shoulder, you see most of the mamono in the room have trained their gaze on you. You would have made eye contact with a succubus, but she was completely fixated on your ass. Swiftly, you divert your gaze. Dealing with mamono was a lot like dealing with a gorilla; no eye contact, don’t smile, don’t approach them, and if one comes after you, death is almost certain.

The swarm of fairies begins to rise and seethe as you and Morala approach.

“Mora! You brought the guy!”

“The guy!”

“What does he do?”

“Are you married?”

The ball of pygmy people engulfs you and the sounds of the cafeteria are drowned out amidst the din of tiny wingbeats.

“Settle down everyone! Anon is just trying to eat.” Morala pulled up a chair for you, causing the fariries that had been resting there to fly away protesting. “Here Anon, have a seat.”

You sit down slowly so as not to crush a stray fairy as Morala sits next to you. The fairies on the table form a semicircle around the two of you and stare at you with fascinated eyes.

“Could one of you fly back to the kitchen and tell the cooks that Anon is out here? I believe they prepared some food for him earlier.” said Morala. A few fairies fluttered off towards some large doors that presumably led to the kitchen.

“Is everyone on your world as big as you are?”

You looked down to see a fairy sitting on some kind of berry that was as big as her torso.

“Some were. Most people were about my size. There were some who were bigger and some who were smaller. I was average.” you replied.

“How small were the smallest people?” asked another fairy.

“Maybe… about this much shorter than I am.” you said holding a hand level at your sternum.

“Do you not eat what we eat ‘cause you have to eat alien food?” said a fairy hovering in front of your face.

“It’s not alien food. I’m not sure what it is they’ve been feeding me all this time. All I know is that it isn’t tainted with mamono mana, or they’ve somehow purified it. The mana makes me sick.” You replied.

More and more fairies began to ask questions as you opened up. There was no way you could keep up with the deluge of tiny voices.

“Calm down everyone! There’s only one Anon, remember? He can answer your questions at the lectures he’s going to give about his world. Right, Anon?” said Morala with a smile.

“Of course.” you said.

The fairies that had flown off to the kitchen returned, doing cartwheels and flips through the air. One flew towards the titania who offered her a hand to perch on.

“Mora! They said the food is coming. It looks super tasty!” she said.

“Splendid! Thank you very much little one.” said Morala using her middle and index finger to pat the fairy’s head.

Sure enough, a cart carrying a tray of food was wheeled out from the doors, accompanied by two guards. The succubus chef passed the plate to one of the guards who set it down in front of you. She waved her hand over it and her palm glowed faintly.

“What’s that for?” you asked as she pulled out a piece of paper and jotted something down.

“Head Practitioner Hicera’s orders. We’re to inspect anything you eat for traces of sabotage, and record how much you’re ingesting at each meal.” Replied the dullahan quietly.

“Hope you enjoy Anon! It’s so nice to see the face I’ve been feeding after all this time!” said the chubby succubus chef. She was almost spilling out of the apron she was wearing, and you had no doubt that the lettering on the front was nothing short of scandalous if you could read it.

“You haven’t made anything I couldn’t eat yet. Sorry for all the trouble this must have cause you.” you said.

“Nonsense! Cooking for you was a great way to try cooking in a whole new way! Let me know if you need seconds, okay sweetie?” she said. She gave you a wave and returned back to the kitchen. The guards exited the cafeteria and you were left to enjoy your meal.

“Mr. Anon?” asked a timid looking fairy from behind a dinner roll.

“Myeh?” you replied through a mouthful of food.

“Aren't you scared of the other monsters?” she asked.

You swallow your food and reach past the crowd of fairies for a napkin. “No, not really. Why?”

The fairy sunk a little further behind her roll. “It’s just that they look at you funny. It…uuh… makes me nervous.”

	A chill runs down your spine. This whole time you’ve been seated with your back to most of the cafeteria. But now that she mentions it, you can see the mamono in your peripheries eyeing you and Morala. Keeping your gaze low, you twist around ever so slightly to look over your shoulder.

The room went quiet.

From what you can see, every set of eyes are trained on you. As you turn back to your meal you swallow hard. You swear you can hear someone licking their chops. And several low ‘ufufu’s.

“Anon is very brave! He won’t let anyone rape him. Tell them Anon!” said Morala.

	As much as you would love to tell the adorably innocent fairy royalty that your pelvis was in no danger, Magnara, Hicera, and Oroba had told you in no uncertain terms NOT to declare yourself beyond molesting. To do so would be taken as a challenge by less scrupulous mamono.

“Uhh… well… Wow! This food is so good! Where does this meat come from?” you ask attempting to deflect the question.

“It comes from a hog! It’s a very popular cut of meat here in the demon realms.” said Morala.

“Oh, how interesting. What about these berries?”

The rest of the meal was Morala and the fairies talking about where all the various foods on your plate came from and which ones they enjoyed the most.

“… and this fish comes from a shallow reef off the coast to the west. Oh! Look at the time! Anon, we should get to your first class.” said Morala unseating herself.

You awkwardly pushed away from the table, unsure what to do with your dishes and silverware. Stacking all your utensils and plates, you see other monsters leaving theirs on the table. Leaving the messy pile of cutlery, you hurry after your guide.

~~~~~~

	The first class that you were to attend was located in a very plain classroom. Honestly you had no idea what the classrooms would look like. Probably somewhere between Harry Potter and a sex dungeon is what you had figured. But the room you were in had desks, windows, a chalkboard, and several bookshelves and charts on the walls.

“Okay, let’s see here… Ah! This is where you will be taking Introduction to Magical Theory. The professor will also be your academic advisor.” said Morala. “This class is really important, so do well in it okay?”

No idea why you would ever NOT try to do well in a class but alright, point taken.

“Where is the professor?” you asked.

“She’s right there silly.” said Morala.

	You turn around and almost bump into the owl harpy staring into your soul. With a shriek you topple backwards into some desks. A thunderous crash resonates through the room as guards break down the door with weapons raised.

“ANON! STAY DOWN! WHERE’S THE ENEMY!?” shouted a lizard woman doing and impressive but wholly unnecessary flip onto a desk.

“It was professor Aegoli!” said Morala, unfazed by the display of force.

The guards quickly surrounded the bird-woman who hadn’t moved or broken her stare since the guards had entered the room.

“You tryin’ to rape Anon? Huh?” said the lizard woman prodding her with the tip of her sword.

“No.” said the harpy. Her voice was flat and uninterested.

“I uh… don’t think she’s trying to rape me. She just startled me.” you say getting to your feet.

“Hmmm…” the reptile woman and her compatriots sheath their weapons and begin to leave. “Alright, but if she tries anything just call. I’ll always be there for you Anon.” she said giving you a wink and making a little gesture that you didn’t understand. “And YOU.” She said pointing at the owl. “I’ll keep my eye on you. Keep those talons to yourself.”

Your entourage exited the room, walking over the door and out the splintered frame.

The three of you stood in silence for a few minutes before you spoke.

“Sorry about that. I guess they’re a little overzealous about protecting me.” you said.

“There concern is justified. You reek of mana. What a queer specimen you are.” said the harpy twisting her head at strange angles to examine you. Eugh.

“Professor! It’s me! Mora! ‘Member? I was in your class!” said Morala floating over to hold one of her hands.

“Yes. You always worked so hard. Good thing you did, too. You were so close to failing.” said Aegoli trying to pull her hands away from the effervescent fairy girl.

“This is Anon! He’s a human from another world!” said Morala pointing at you.

“I know that, Mora. They briefed me about all of this. Everyone has heard of his arrival and unusual circumstances surrounding him.” she turned to you. “Mora has no doubt informed you of who I am: professor Agoli. I will be teaching you the basic theory of magic, and how to preform foundational spells that will be used in your other courses.” she said.

“Pleased to meet you.” you reply.

“I am also your advisor, so if you have any questions that this one cannot answer, please let me know.” She said as Morala embraced her and buried her head in the harpy’s thick neck plumage.

“Ahh! Teacher, you’re even fluffier than I remember! Did you finally find a husband?” asked Morala.

The owl’s face did not change, but there was a hint of blush in her cheeks as she pushed Morala away.

“Yes, I did Mora.”

“Really?! I’m so happy for you! I was afraid you would be lonely forever! But when did it happen? I never got an invitation to any wedding or party…” said Morala.

You wondered if the owl’s kuudere attitude was a trait of her species or the result of dealing with too many Morala’s over her teaching career. You swear you could hear a faint groan coming from the poor avian as Morala nuzzled her.

“I’ll be sure to ask you if I have any questions…” you reply turning away from the embarrassing spectacle.

“Excellent. I have also been tasked with assisting you prepare for your lectures. I look forward to learning more about {Ersh}.” said Aegoli using a taloned foot to push Mora away by her sizable bust. It looked painful, but Morala kept smiling anyways.

“I’d be happy too. It’s the least I can do for all the college has done for me.”

Aegoli nodded. “Morala, you should take him to the next class. He must be able to navigate the college in a timely manner. No sense in showing him around if he never arrives on time.”

“But you never complained when I was late Agi! You even said I should just sleep in and miss your class if I had too!” said Morala.
You glanced sideways at the owl. She was staring through Morala, not at her. Poor woman.

“Come on Anon! Let’s go to the next class.” said Mora.

You waved goodbye to Aegoli and hurried after the flying fairy princess.

~~~~~

The other classes you were taking were defensive magic, world history, and applications of magic. You went to each of the other rooms, and met with the professors in their offices. All that was left was to procure all the books and stationary you would need for your classes.

“I hope we can find everything you need. You came at a weird time. We were in the middle of the semester when you arrived, and some classes had to be condensed since you shut down a whole entire building.” said Morala fluttering up to some shelves in the library.
Thanks. No need to make me feel guilty or anything. Sorry to inconvenience everyone by almost dying all the time.

“Catch!”

You look up just in time to see a meaty tome make contact with your nose. The pain and surprise cause you to jump back and slam into a bookshelf. More literature rains down on you.

“You were supposed to catch it Anon! Do they not have catching in {Eerk}?” said the titania.

“Quiet you two!” hissed a voice.

Freeing yourself from the pile of books, you see an angry arachne scurry over and begin re-shelving the books around you.
“The only reason you’re even allowed back in here is because of HIM.” she said angrly. The last of the stray volumes was put back onto the shelf and she turned to look at you.

“I am the head librarian of this institution; Head Archivist Ixade. Pleased to meet you, Anon the human.”

“You as well. I look forward to working with you.” you answer.

“I’m here too Ix! Me! Remember? Morala!” said Morala loudly from behind you.

“Mr. Anon, you did not know this so I will not hold you in contempt, but that girl is banned from the library. She is too much of a… disturbance.”

“I’m not disturbance! I’m a titania!”

“I’ll try to keep visits as short as possible while I’m here.” you assure her. “I am curious, how are books organized here?”
The spider woman’s face lights up. “Well, we have a very efficient system that organizes books according to the subject matter, authors name, date of publication…”

	You do your best to listen to what the librarian has to say, but most of it goes over your head. It was important to be on good terms with Ixade. With no internet access, any research you would need to do would send you here. Having someone who could assist your helpless ass in finding pertinent literature would be invaluable. Especially since you were only semi-literate. Morala may be able to help, but you got the impression that you wouldn’t get any studying done with her around. How she managed to stay in college was a mystery to you.

“…leaving the autobiographical accounts from contemporary times on those shelves over there. Was that helpful?” finished Ixade.
“A little. I’m afraid I don’t know any of the popular works of this world. If you asked me to pick a book about an important mage I may be able to find a book, but I’d have no idea if it was a good choice.” you explained.

“Oh! How silly of me. I forgot just how ignorant you were to our world. Come with me.”

	Ixade skittered off down the aisle, forcing you to power walk to stay close to her. She clambered over a circular desk that was attended by other librarians all hard at work writing or reading. She pulled a quill out of an inkwell and wrote down several things on a small note.

“Here. These titles are what I would consider ‘essential reading’ for our students. There are also books about the world and its history to give you a foundational understanding of your new home.”

The last sentence caused you to flinch. This really was your new home. In a matter of months you had travelled across dimensions and continents to be here. This was the first permanent home you had since Earth.

“Thank you, I’ll be sure to read these.” you said pocketing the slip of paper.

“Ah, and before you go, could you help me understand something about your language?” asked Ixade. Her face was a little red, but you figured that she had enough self-control to stick around a bit longer.

“Alright, what did you need?”

Ixade produced a scrap of paper cluttered with malformed letters. “Err, I was trying to write my name, but I wanted to make sure that I wrote it correctly.”

exxuby.

	You looked back up at the expectant spider woman. Other librarians had paused their work to come and look at what was happening.
“Err… there are a few things that are out of place, but it’s better than most attempts I’ve seen. Here, let’s start with the first letter. You picked ‘e’ when you should have written ‘i’. And because it’s a proper noun, you need to {capitalize} it. Here…”
You worked the arachne through writing, correcting her mistakes and helping her to write legibly. No easy task, considering she had YOUR handwriting as an example.

“So… this?” asked Ixade twisting the paper around for you to inspect.

“Hmm… yep, that looks right to me. There’s no official spelling for this in my language, but this is how people would write it if it were.” you say with a nod.

“Ooh, wow. Let me see Ixade!” said another librarian.

Morala tugged your sleeve. You turned away from the excited archivists to see Morala waiting patiently. Her perennial smile was still plastered on to her face, but she seemed a bit tense for whatever reason.

“Anon, we should go. It’s getting late and we need to get dinner.” She said.

“Yeah, of course. I was getting hungry too. I’ll see you around, Ixade.” you gave a wave to the spider-woman and made for the exit, followed by Morala. Her tiny feet hardly made any noise as she walked after you.

~~~~~~

After a filling dinner, you returned with Morala to your dorm room. Sure enough, the room was almost unrecognizable from this morning.

There wasn’t a speck of dust to be found anywhere, and the bed had been made with a welcoming quilt and soft sheets. The desk was laden with writing instruments and paper. The crusty rug from before had been replaced with a plush carpet.

“Wow, they really cleaned this place up!” you said walking over to the closet. There were now shirts and pants hanging above a small dresser. Opening one of the drawers you found an ample supply of socks and underwear.

Looking over your shoulder you saw Morala looking out over the college. Taking a spot next to her you looked out over the moonlit town below. A sea of tiny lights rolled over the hills to the lake below, shimmering in the cool night. Fantastic constellations sprawled over you, never before seen by any citizen of Earth.

“Are you alright?” you asked the fairy.

“Hmm? Oh! Of Course, Anon! I was just appreciating the beauty of the college at night. It’s pretty late, so I’m going to go back to my room now. I’ll see you tomorrow for your first day of class!”

Morala fluttered out of the room quickly. You yawned. It really did feel late. Slipping into some comfortable sleepwear, you extinguish the candles in the room and crawl into the cool sheets of your new bed.

~~~~~~~

“Are you okay Mora?” asked a pixie.

“Yeah, you look like something is troubling you…” said a fairy with concern.

“Oh, I’m alright little ones. I’m just tired. I had a long day of helping Anon around all day!” said Morala, back in the lounge of her dormitory.

“Do you think you’ll get married to him?” asked a fairy excitedly.

“I don’t know about that… Anon is a wonderful man, but I’m not sure that I’m someone he would be interested in…” said Morala.

“You just have to make him see!”

“Make him see! Make him see the you that we see!”

“Is it that you don’t want him?”

Morala squirmed. “Well, I certainly wouldn’t be opposed to it or anything…”

There was an explosion of noise as the hoard of miniature women squealed in unison.

“Eehee! Just show him Mora! Show him what a good wife you would be!”

“No, I can’t. I can’t seduce Anon, I’m responsible for him. And besides it’s too dangerous.” said Morala.

“It’s not seduction if he falls in love with you!”

“And if he does, you can just stay with him until he’s strong enough!”

Morala rose from her seat, spilling several fairies onto the ground. “I… I’m going to bed. Goodnight everyone.”

She hurried into her room and shut the door behind her. What was wrong with her? She had been feeling strange ever since the library. Something about seeing him pay attention to those librarians while ignoring her made her feel… bad.

Morala put out all the candles and climbed into bed. Oh well. She knew she would feel better when she saw Anon again tomorrow.