The duration of the "Midnight Mark" was uncertain, decided entirely by the school. The "Midnight Mark" could occur at any time. During this period, all male students were prohibited from being on school grounds. For the few male students, this was treated as a holiday.
Some male students' parents had previously complained, suspecting that St. Lux Academy was purely discriminating. The so-called "Midnight Mark" was just a means for the majority of girls to continue their education without boys. Essentially, it was no different from not admitting boys at all, and they felt they were being scammed.
Ultimately, the parents failed. Frankly, their conjecture was unrealistic. Who would create a special rule just for a few dozen boys? That would be senseless. Therefore, this so-called "Midnight Mark" must involve something that couldn't be known to outsiders.
It's worth noting that the time regulation for the "Midnight Mark" was ridiculous. It could happen at any moment. This meant that the "Midnight Mark" could be announced for tomorrow or even this afternoon. And once the time approached, all male students would be forcibly removed from the school. Since the school itself lacked male teachers or leaders, there were no corresponding rules for them.
Speaking of the exchange student list, Alistair was the only male student included in the plan; the rest were all girls. In other words, Alistair would be one of the few male members of St. Lux Academy.
"'Midnight Mark'... A term that sounds so much like Hentai material is clearly the setting for a massive plot. Tsk, the fact that the school can always predict the time a day or half a day in advance suggests it might be some kind of anomalous artifact. This 'Midnight Mark' is probably when some strange phenomenon occurs."
Alistair didn't think the school would implement a rule for trivial reasons. Based on the logic of Hentai plots, this "Midnight Mark" might actually be a time of mass heat or rutting. When that time came, they would all go into a collective frenzy, so the male students had to be chased away. The higher-ups probably didn't want the daughters of wealthy families getting screwed for free by those male students.
The feelings of the girls aside, their parents could easily destroy the school leadership, and the girls couldn't resist because this was an aristocratic academy, and those parents were essentially all middle-class or above. They couldn't fight back.
As for how the heat was resolved, that depended on the school leadership's methods. Since they could predict the arrival of this period, they should also have the ability to resist its effects, though the effect might not be too significant, otherwise they wouldn't need a special rule.
Alistair wondered if the anomaly caused by the "Midnight Mark" could provide the ring with energy for his evolution. If so, Alistair would have to stay at the school during that time, as getting energy from phenomena would surely yield much more progress than sleeping with girls, which hadn't given him much progress so far.
Of course, this depended on Alistair's prediction being correct. If not, Alistair would just consider it broadening his horizons, as this was his first time being an exchange student.
"Meow... Meow..."
A few cat meows interrupted Alistair's thoughts, drawing his attention.
Are there cats at this school?
Alistair looked toward the source of the sound, which was a patch of grass and some low bushes. The meows were coming from the low bushes.
Let's go take a look.
The thought suddenly popped into Alistair's mind. He stepped into the grassy area and walked to the bushes, parting them at the most likely source of the sound.
"Meow~ Meow..."
What met his eyes was a black cat. Based on the breed, it looked like a common domestic or stray cat, a common type Alistair didn't know much about, but it looked unremarkable.
Unlike the cats he had encountered before, Alistair found this black cat to be very intelligent. Its pair of golden eyes seemed to hold complex and lively emotions, making Alistair feel as if he were looking into the eyes of a person.
"Heh... What am I thinking? This is clearly just a cat. Although there are many Hentai stories about turning into catgirls, this is the human world. There aren't that many non-human entities here." Alistair patted his forehead, chuckling self-deprecatingly.
The black cat looked at Alistair and meowed a few times, seemingly not understanding his actions. It tilted its head, watching Alistair, and didn't run away, just remaining lying there.
"That's rare; it's not afraid of people. Does someone own it? Or is it kept by the school?"
Alistair crouched down and reached out to stroke the cat's head. The fuzzy feeling was very comfortable, and the cat seemed to enjoy it, purring softly.
This is really nice. No wonder so many cat owners were obsessed with felines. It was truly rare to find a cat as well-behaved as this one. Most cats would adopt a cautious stance just when approached, and if you got closer, they would either run or try to scratch you.
As Alistair thoroughly rubbed the cat's head, it closed its eyes in contentment, rolling from lying on its belly to lying on its side, revealing its clean, soft little belly.
When an animal exposes its soft abdomen to you, it signifies complete trust.
"Oh~ It's a little female cat." Alistair said casually, noting the visible nipples as the cat turned onto its side, not giving it much thought.
The cat seemed to understand Alistair's words, extending a paw to playfully bat Alistair's hand, which was stroking her neck, as if protesting Alistair's casual tone.
Does my [Pheromones] ability work on animals too? Although he had never conducted experiments, it was quite possible.
Hmm?
Alistair looked at the cat, which suddenly started gently nibbling on his finger. He wasn't sure what she wanted.
"Are you hungry?"
Alistair pulled out a sausage from his inventory, opened the packaging, and offered it to the kitten. He was relieved when the kitten began to bite and eat the sausage he was holding.
This is truly a rare and intelligent cat... Hmm? What is this?
Alistair suddenly noticed something underneath the cat on one side. He hadn't seen it earlier because he was focused on the cat, and the object was pressed underneath her on the other side.
It was a round iron tag, slightly larger than a 100-yen coin, looking like a pet ID tag. However, it had no small hole for threading a string, and no information was inscribed on it. All that was on the iron tag was a heart shape, surrounded by a few scattered smaller heart symbols. This pattern was on both the front and back. Alistair didn't know what it meant.
Is it just a small ornament that happened to be tossed here?
Alistair looked at the black kitten on the ground. She was currently engrossed in a struggle with the sausage in Alistair's hand. She held Alistair's palm with both front paws, eating the sausage Alistair held bite by bite, looking somewhat comical.
It's probably my imagination.
Alistair thought so, but he didn't discard the small iron tag. He put it into his pocket, then wrapped his arm around the kitten's abdomen and picked her up.
"Chiaki and Kasumi might like her. I might as well take her home."
Alistair muttered, cradling her securely in his arms. He turned and headed toward the school gate. Finding a cat, and a very interesting one at that, meant he could take her home and enjoy her slowly. As for the clubs, it was just a way to pass the time; going home to cuddle the cat would do just as well.
Hiss hiss hiss...
In Alistair's pocket, the iron tag with the heart pattern touched his phone, making a corrosive sound. Quickly, a coin-slot-like hole appeared on Alistair's phone, and the iron tag slid into it like a coin.
Shhh~
Alistair's phone screen flashed and lit up, displaying a heart shape identical to the pattern on the iron tag, then quickly went dark again. It was as if nothing had happened, except for the vanished iron tag, confirming that everything that occurred was not an illusion.