Chapter 11: Academy Heroine’s Right Diagonal Back Seat
Chapter 11
When I woke up in the morning and opened the refrigerator, seeing food inside was truly touching.
Could this be how a farmer feels when looking at a granary full of grains after the harvest season and before winter arrives?
Even though the quantity was small, seeing the bean sprouts in the fridge made me feel secure.
I took out a portion of bean sprouts enough for breakfast and placed them on a plate.
Before eating, I decided to express my gratitude for discovering the bean sprouts.
After collecting my thoughts and praying with my hands clasped,
I picked up a sprout, put it in my mouth, and chewed.
I repeated this process.
I wanted to perform this act of gratitude for the bean sprouts ten thousand times a day, but due to the limited amount of sprouts, I had to proceed in a simplified manner.
If there had been enough bean sprouts, I would surely have reached the level of eating them faster than sound someday, but the world always imposes trials and hardships on those with talent.
Does even the sky fear the talent of this Scarlet Evande?
I sighed as I realized the sprouts had run out and finished today's breakfast by popping a piece of macaron into my mouth.
Having a leisurely breakfast, it was almost time for school, so I left the house.
I barely arrived at school on time.
A bit more and I would have been late.
I nodded appropriately to the kids who greeted me and sat down, noticing the class president approaching me with a different, downcast mood from yesterday.
“Why didn't you come out early today?”
“Oh, I just took my time eating breakfast...”
“...I see. Breakfast is important.”
The class president said this in a dejected voice, looking down.
Is it because I almost arrived late?
Being responsible, she might think it's her fault that a student she had warned not to be late again almost did so after a few days.
...Thinking that way, I felt like I had done something really bad.
“I'll come out early from tomorrow.”
“...Really?”
The class president looked at me with sad eyes, slightly tilting her head down while glancing up.
Her pitiful gaze pierced my heart, and I quickly nodded.
Then the class president's face brightened instantly with joy.
...To come out early from tomorrow, I'll have to give up my gratitude ritual with the bean sprouts.
I sighed inwardly in regret.
Meanwhile, I was bothered by Yoon Si-woo's gaze at me since earlier.
I shot him a glare as if asking what he was looking at, and only then did he avert his eyes.
Despite having a pretty girl like Sylvia smiling at him, why was he wasting his attention on me?
Does he not realize he's losing half of his life by doing that?
“Today, we will have a mock battle training! You will form groups of three and fight in a hallucinatory space to find and defeat the boss monster. So, group up with people you get along with!”
At the mention of grouping with people you get along with, I turned to look at Sylvia.
Someone I get along with! A friend! Sylvia!
I sent her an earnest look, but she seemed preoccupied with Yoon Si-woo and didn't notice.
Glancing at Yoon Si-woo, I met his eyes again as he was looking at me.
Yoon Si-woo gave a slight smile.
It was a smile that somehow seemed to produce sparkling effects around him, making me feel a bit uncomfortable.
But to be in a group with Sylvia, I'd have to be in the same group as Yoon Si-woo.
Though I felt reluctant, I had no choice but to endure it.
“Oh, and to ensure fairness, Si-woo, Sylvia, and Evande will be in separate groups!”
No way!
It was a truly despairing statement.
Glancing around, I saw that both Yoon Si-woo and Sylvia were also shocked.
Come to think of it, in the original story, Sylvia and Yoon Si-woo were in different groups too.
But why me?
I'm not as much of a cheat character as those two, so I felt wronged.
With both of them being exceptionally attractive and skilled, everyone wanted them in their group, causing a commotion around them.
The girls gathered around Yoon Si-woo, squealing, and Sylvia, annoyed by the situation, quickly and charismatically chose her team members.
The problem was me.
Without Sylvia, the idea of grouping with people I get along with was terrifying.
My hands and feet grew cold as bad memories resurfaced.
The teacher's command to form groups, students clustering in groups of three or five.
And there I was, hesitating until everyone I knew had joined other groups, leaving me alone.
Eventually, I ended up in a group with students whose names I barely knew.
The unbearable awkwardness of no one speaking first!
Ugh, my head...
My hands and feet trembled.
As I stood there, unsure of what to do, the class president suddenly appeared beside me.
When I tilted my head in confusion, the class president cautiously asked,
“If you don’t have anyone to group with, would you like to join my group?”
Is she an angel?!
I felt like there was a halo shining behind the class president.
When I nodded, she smiled brightly and nodded back.
Then she suddenly raised her hand and shouted,
“If anyone is confident in their combat skills, join us! First come, first served!”
Immediately, two boys rushed forward.
One held a spear, and the other carried a large shield on his back.
Since I didn't know their names, I decided to call them Spearman and Shieldman.
The class president, assessing the two who stood nervously, said,
“Hmm, Daniel and Andre, right? Sorry, Andre. Our group could use a spear more than a shield.”
“Well, since we’re both melee specialists, it can’t be helped.”
Shieldman left regretfully, and Spearman waved at us cheerfully.
“Nice to meet you, ladies. I’ll take care of everything so you won’t have to lift a finger.”
“Well, try your best. If you can outdo me, that is.”
“Oh dear, I’ll have to work hard then.”
Spearman laughed at the class president's retort.
I just nodded slightly in greeting, not having much to say.
But wow, our group was formed in the blink of an eye without me doing anything.
I was amazed by the class president's overwhelming competence.
Seeing her already knowing everyone’s names, she was truly diligent.
Everyone else also seemed to have formed their groups of three by now.
Shieldman had joined another group without issue.
Luckily, there didn’t seem to be any awkward groups left.
When only outcasts are gathered, it’s hell, you know.
“Since everyone has formed their groups, let’s begin. The rest will observe and learn from how the other groups fight! Let’s start with Si-woo’s group!”
As Eve snapped her fingers, Yoon Si-woo’s group disappeared and reappeared on a large holographic screen.
The scene was a dense forest with tall trees.
After briefly scouting the area, the three began moving.
Watching the screen, the viewers fell silent at the appearance of the monster.
They were caterpillars hanging from the trees.
The problem was their size, nearly as big as a person.
The girl with the bow quickly shot at the caterpillars, but they exploded with a pop, spilling their insides when hit.
Seeing this, Yoon Si-woo drew a large sword that looked hard to wield.
The Holy Sword of Protection.
As the name suggests, its ability is to create a barrier.
A barrier unfolded above the group, blocking the caterpillars' fluids.
Judging by the way the fluids corroded the trees, it wouldn’t have been good if they got drenched.
The other girl, not the one with the bow, looked sick seeing the burst caterpillars.
After dealing with the onslaught of caterpillars, they faced the boss monster, a giant cockroach.
Its dark, shiny appearance elicited disgusted reactions from everyone watching.
The girl who had trouble with the caterpillars seemed on the verge of fainting upon facing the cockroach.
Thankfully, Yoon Si-woo quickly impaled the cockroach to the ground with his sword, stopping its movements, and the illusion dissolved.
Eve shouted, “Jessie, you’ll have a special training session against bugs later!” making the girl look like she was about to cry.
The next group was Sylvia’s.
Their setting was a swamp.
As soon as the illusion magic unfolded, the party's faces twisted as they sank into the muddy swamp.
Using her spirit magic, Sylvia created glowing platforms under their feet, allowing the group to walk on the swamp.
The boys watching the screen reacted enthusiastically.
Though the special material of her outfit prevented anything from being seen through, Sylvia's appearance after emerging from the swamp was so alluring that no man could resist feeling excited.
The swamp monster was a frog-like creature.
It mainly attacked by wrapping or striking with its long tongue. While the two boys in the group blocked the tongues, Sylvia used her spells to deal with the frogs, an effective division of roles.
The boss monster was a larger frog.
At one point, one of the boys was almost swallowed after being wrapped by the tongue, but Sylvia cut off the tongue with a spell, allowing them to defeat the monster without injury.
The regretful expressions of the boys watching were evident to me.
I understood.
They wanted to see Sylvia wrapped by the tongue.
The girls gave the disappointed boys dirty looks.
Finally, it was our group's turn.
We signaled that we were ready, and with a snap of Eve's fingers, our vision went dark.
Pitch-black darkness.
I couldn't see anything.
Suddenly, I remembered something a senior said to me when I was in the army with my eyes covered.
-What do you see?
-I can't see anything!
-That's your remaining time in the army.
A truly horrifying memory...
As I gasped for breath, feeling my PTSD resurface, I sensed someone holding my hand.
"Scarlet, are you okay?"
A worried voice whispered softly.
It was the class president's voice.
Hearing her, the spearman also spoke softly from nearby, "I'm here too."
I was wondering what to do in the darkness when I realized I could just turn on the light.
Tired of always being told the flame didn't burn out, I simply named it "Stage 1 Flame" and surrounded myself with it.
As the surroundings brightened, I saw the class president and spearman with their weapons drawn.
It seemed we were in a cave.
There was a large passageway in the center, with various tunnels branching off around it.
And from beyond those tunnels, I sensed something.
I was about to prepare for battle when the class president grabbed my hand and shook her head.
"Just rest for a while. Daniel and I will handle it. Is that okay, Daniel?"
"Of course."
The class president and spearman stood resolutely in front of me, quietly gathering their strength.
What? Are they telling me to stay back because I'm useless?
With the two of them standing so firmly, I decided to just be a human firefly.
The creatures crawling out from beyond the tunnels were unpleasant-looking green dwarfs.
Annoying, let's call them goblins.
The goblins, armed with weapons, charged at the two of them.
Despite their small size, their swift movements were quite threatening.
But they had the wrong opponents.
An expert in goblins once said,
The only good goblin is a dead goblin.
If so, then these two were like dog trainers for goblins.
The class president, who was far faster than any goblin, and the spearman, who manipulated spheres of water around him, using both his spear and the water in perfect unison, made short work of the charging goblins.
They effortlessly cleared the goblins coming through the passageway.
I rode the bus with an incredible ride, walking along, watching the two goblin trainers' skilled work in a daze.
I am a bug, I am a human firefly...
Following quietly with my light on, I suddenly felt this wasn't right.
Doing nothing made my body comfortable but my mind uneasy.
This couldn't continue.
I was someone who believed that free riders in group projects deserved to have their drinking water replaced with a mix of "Sole's Eye," "Dejawa," and "Zico," a beverage from hell.
Seeing a large chamber that clearly seemed to be the boss's lair, I felt the need to do something and spoke urgently.
"I'll handle the next one."
"Are you sure?"
I nodded at the class president's question and looked at the spearman, who shrugged as if he didn't mind.
The passenger took the wheel.
From now on, I will become Schumacher.
Entering the chamber, we saw a goblin so large it made the previous ones look like baby goblins.
The goblin stood up as we entered, slowly scanning my glowing, flame-covered body.
Then it snorted and its lower body swelled.
Goosebumps rose all over my body.
"...Shall I take over?"
The spearman, horrified by the sight, asked me.
I shook my head.
No matter how disgusting, I said I'd handle it.
I quietly adjusted the flames to only cover my arms.
The aroused goblin let out a disgusting cry and charged at me.
Lusting after a schoolgirl?
Its vulgar appearance overlapped with a flasher harassing girls near a school while drunk.
Since ancient times, there's been a cure for perverts.
Dodging the goblin's arm, I slid into its chest and delivered a powerful kick to its bulging area under the cloth.
With a thud and a scream, the goblin collapsed without a sound.
I kicked its body, making it lie on its back.
Mounting the trembling goblin, I settled into a perfect position.
Like someone suffering from a hangover, the goblin shook.
Wait a bit, I'll help you detox.
When someone asks what alcohol is, some novel enthusiasts might reply,
"Alcohol is a cold flame. We drink it with the moon inside."
If so, fire must be a hot drink.
Filled with anger at being an object of lust, I punched the goblin's open mouth with my flaming fist.
Nothing beats alcohol for detoxing.
Finished with the goblin, I dusted off my hands and stood up.
The illusion had vanished.
Eve was holding her stomach, laughing loudly.
I saw the boys, terrified.
What had happened while I wasn't looking?
Again, Sylvia sucks and the president is cool <3
ReplyDeleteMC is so dumb for not realizing that.
Also, it's obvious why the guys were terrified... i'm a bit surprised that he doesn't realize. I suppose the change of body did something to his psyche xD
El único duende bueno, es un duende muerto.
ReplyDeleteAll guys covered their crouch after seeing the treatment of the goblin lol
ReplyDeleteMC's in love with Sylvia a bit too much
ReplyDeleteIf MC goes for the yuri route, she'd better choose Mei, otherwise she's gonna overcook herself.
ReplyDeleteDoes this world have mobile phones and refrigerators but no guns?
ReplyDelete