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Chapter 13: Academy Heroine’s Right Diagonal Back Seat

Chapter 13



The weekend arrived.


Did you know?


When the weekend comes, you want to sleep in and don't set an alarm, but for some reason, you end up waking up at the same time as on weekdays.


Moreover, on weekdays, you can turn off the alarm and go back to sleep immediately, but on weekends, once you wake up, you can't go back to sleep no matter how hard you try.


I hate how my body stubbornly adheres to the law of preserving average sleep time...


I took out a portion of bean sprouts for breakfast and then sprawled back on the bed.


With no school, there was nothing to do.


But I quite enjoyed doing nothing.


A level where you're not doing anything but can even more intensely do nothing.


Reaching that state, you can achieve incredible things unimaginable to ordinary people.


That is, killing time.


The cruel time killer on the bed.


That was another name for me, Scarlet Evande, the Time Slayer.


Ah, this is what it means to [kill] something.


At this moment, I became a cold-hearted person without blood or tears, diligently chopping off the head of time.


'You cruel bastard, you will pay for this someday!'


The dying time screamed.


But I'm not someone who worries about such things.


Because the price will be paid by the future me.


For now, I just enjoy the pleasure of this moment to the fullest...


By the time the massacre ended, it was already lunchtime.


Since I didn't go to school, I had to eat lunch at home, so while taking out a portion of bean sprouts for lunch, I felt something was off.


Not going to school.


Not seeing Sylvia.


At that moment, an exclamation mark popped up in my head.


Instead of just taking out some bean sprouts from the fridge, I took them all out.


I was preparing for an extravagant act unimaginable to the previous me.


But the current me had no hesitation.


I picked up a big bunch of bean sprouts.


And then, I stuffed it all into my mouth at once and chewed!


Crunch, the refreshing texture filled my mouth!


I shuddered at the violent yet intense stimulation I couldn't feel when savoring it one strand at a time.


Unknowingly, my mouth opened slightly, and a satisfied sigh flowed out.


How could I have missed out on something so good until now? I've wasted half (three days) of my life!


I truly felt alive at that moment.


I was stupid.


I was really stupid.


Why did I realize such an important fact only now?


On weekends, I don't go to school.


If I don't go to school, I don't see Sylvia.


In other words, on weekends, I don't see Sylvia, but I also don't have to pay the friendship fee!


There are eight weekends in a month.


The friendship fee for eight days is a whopping 24,000 gold.


Combined with the 6,000 gold I had left, I had a total of 30,000 gold.


My living expenses increased by five times.


Then the next step was clear.


I quickly finished the remaining bean sprouts and greedily devoured the macaron pieces from the fridge.


A person with 30,000 gold assets like me doesn't need such trifles anymore!


Tonight's dinner will be a bean sprout party!


I arrived at the discount mart for shopping.


Indeed, having a thick wallet makes your heart feel more at ease. I felt like I could greet Yoon Si-woo with a smile and brush it off gracefully.


“Scarlet! Are you here for grocery shopping too?”


Damn, cancel that.


What are the odds of running into him right after thinking about it?


Even in a novel, running into someone out of nowhere like this would be criticized for lack of coherence.


...Come to think of it, we did run into each other when I went to school last time.


He probably lives around here, so I should be careful from now on...


I sighed inwardly and nodded at Yoon Si-woo.


“Running errands, huh? You're such a filial daughter, Scarlet.”


Filial daughter indeed, though with a fire attribute.


I quietly responded to Yoon Si-woo, who spoke with a bright smile.


“I don't have parents.”


Is it just me, or does it feel like I've said something like this recently?


When I looked at Yoon Si-woo, who had suddenly gone silent, he was standing there with his mouth slightly open, frozen.


What's with this guy?


Did I unknowingly use a magical spell, Stop!?


“...Sorry. I didn't know.”


After being frozen for a moment, Yoon Si-woo soon apologized to me with a gloomy face.


Why does he look so down?


“Don't worry about it. We both don't have parents.”


I said it without much thought because he looked like his mood was about to hit rock bottom.


“Huh? How did you know? That I don't have parents. Did I ever mention it?”


And with Yoon Si-woo's words, I realized I had made a mistake.


A shiver ran down my spine.


I couldn't tell him I knew because I read it in the novel where he's the main character.


It was entirely my fault.


In academy novels, it's a golden rule for the protagonist to be an orphan, so I spoke too naturally.


Usually, it's something like, "Oh? The protagonist is from an orphanage, and there was something between their parents and the orphanage, and their relationship develops as they find out," right?


Of course, in [Academy’s Holy Sword], that kind of story doesn't come up!


Feeling the need to make an excuse, I just said whatever came to mind.


“You just, seemed like it.”


Yoon Si-woo mumbled a "Really?" looking confused by my answer.


Come to think of it, it wasn't entirely wrong.


With that face and those abilities, it's balanced if he doesn't have parents!


Moreover, that guy's got a lot of money because Lucy, the ego of the Sword of Humility, tells him the locations of ruins full of valuable items.


Comparing myself to him, I suddenly felt irritated.


I don't have parents either, so why do I have no money and mediocre abilities?


It seems the one truly without parents is this world.


How disgustingly unfair.


How are people who aren't born with a silver spoon supposed to live?


Feeling annoyed, I waved my hand dismissively at Yoon Si-woo, signaling him to get lost.


Yoon Si-woo gave me a puzzled look but soon paid for the items in his cart and left the store.


Just looking at the items in his cart made me feel a sense of relative deprivation. It seemed like what he bought cost more than my monthly living expenses, but I shook my head to clear my thoughts.


Don’t be jealous, Scarlet!


You’re here to do your own shopping, not a duel!


I forced myself to look away from the meats tempting me from a distance and started picking up the items I intended to buy.


First, a small 500ml bottle of cooking oil.


Cooking oil is essential for a variety of dishes. Without it, your cooking options are very limited.


Today’s dish absolutely required it.


Price: 1500 gold.


Next, the item I wanted the most today.


A small 300g bottle of oyster sauce.


Oysters are a polarizing ingredient, but for some reason, oyster sauce is widely liked. 


It makes even the simplest dishes taste amazing, giving them a real sense of being a proper dish.


But it’s a bit pricey.


Price: 3500 gold.


Then I grabbed a 300g bag of bean sprouts, not one but two.


I told myself I wasn’t someone who trembled over spending a mere thousand gold anymore, but my hand was shaking as I picked up the bean sprouts.


...I couldn’t help it.


I was someone who had tried to survive on 7,000 gold for a month, and now I was spending 7,000 gold in a day.


What I was doing felt like an enormous extravagance.


But just for today, I decided it was worth it for the bean sprout party.


Since tomorrow was also a weekend, it would be okay to buy a little more.


Bean sprout flex.


I nonchalantly pulled out my student ID with my index and middle finger and paid for the items.


After spending 7,000 gold, my remaining living expenses were 23,000 gold.


If I only ate bean sprouts from now on, I could live quite comfortably.


I wouldn’t have to worry about going hungry for a while.


I returned home, laid out my purchases, and prepared to cook.


I put one bag of bean sprouts in the fridge and opened the other.


I grabbed a handful of bean sprouts from the bag, washed them clean under running water, and drained them.


I turned on the stove, placed a pan on it, and added the cooking oil.


Then, I put the drained bean sprouts in the pan.


As the heat caused the bean sprouts to wilt, I stirred them with a spatula.


The nutty aroma of the bean sprouts frying in the oil was already a guarantee they would be tastier than just blanched bean sprouts, but the real deal was just beginning.


I added my secret weapon, the oyster sauce.


As the sauce coated the fried bean sprouts, the smell made my mouth water.


Some sesame oil would have made it even better, but this was good enough.


I plated the finished dish.


Oyster sauce bean sprout stir-fry.


Those who have tasted it would know this is a real rice thief.


Of course, I didn’t have rice, so it was just a thief.


I picked up a glossy, well-coated bean sprout with my chopsticks and put it in my mouth.


Even though it was stir-fried, the bean sprout still had a crunchy texture, and the salty, savory flavor filled my mouth.


In a word, it was a nostalgic taste.


It was a dish my mother often made because bean sprouts were cheap and plentiful.


When I first said it was delicious, she made it so often that I got tired of it and even complained.


I thought I was sick of it, but being in a place like this made me miss it first.


One bite.


Two bites.


As I ate the bean sprout stir-fry, lost in these thoughts, a drop of water suddenly fell onto my plate.


I wondered what it was, and then more drops started falling onto the plate.


The first thought that came to mind was to protect the bean sprout stir-fry, so I quickly moved the plate away.


It turned out the source of the water was my eyes.


Tears were pouring out as if a faucet had been turned on.


“Damn it, what’s happening...”


I tried to stop them, but the tears wouldn’t stop, as if they had gone haywire.


The absurdity of the situation made me laugh.


The first thought I had while crying was to protect the bean sprout stir-fry.


Fortunately, I had moved the plate quickly, so not many tears got in.


I realized the tears wouldn’t stop anytime soon, so I sniffled and chuckled while slowly eating the slightly saltier bean sprout stir-fry.


I guess it was so delicious that it made me cry.


So delicious.



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Comments

  1. Wow… this is just sad… I hope Sylvia can stop hating mc as she is the only one that keeps mc from going insane

    ReplyDelete
  2. Uhhh... This is so sad... I hope Sylvia realize faster that she genuinely want to be friend with her...

    ReplyDelete
  3. MC really needs to learn how to manage money properly, like, yesterday.
    As for the emotional side... first, no can do about the fact of being transmigrated and having no family there (no idea of in the last life either).
    Second, although i understand being scared of socializing... i fail to understand why MC is SO fixated on Sylvia.
    I mean, the president is nice and requires literally no effort or money to befriend.
    The spear guy could maybe also be a friend or a least someone to say hi to.
    MC is shrinking options without reason. I mean if you're lonely and things aren't working out...do something different, no?
    It can't really get much worse than paying for company (which MC is already doing) from a mental health standpoint.
    MC really, REALLY makes me facepalm with things like these.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Try changing as a person within a day or week. I dare you to try.

      Delete
    2. i hope you can grow and change at a person

      Delete
    3. a person can't change in one day, let alone she transmigrated to another world into a woman without a family with a personality that was already twisted from the start. I don't think she's ever been friends with girls and she really wants to be friends with Sylvia so she feels safe, I don't know how to say it.I think it's a side effect of him suddenly becoming a woman.

      Delete
  4. MC really said fatherless behavior huh

    ReplyDelete
  5. The next button is linked to chapter 12 instead of chapter 14

    ReplyDelete
  6. Even if I dislike MC a bit, this still made me cry. If I were in her shoes, I would've done much more worse. Suddenly being transported into an unfamiliar world, away from your loved ones forever, and trying to adapt with a new identity while there's a possibility of dying in the future... there's no damn way someone would have it easy unless they're psychopaths and a genius.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's going to be lonely, especially since you're the only one aware of what's gonna happen in the future. Dang, tbh if I could, I wouldn't mind being one of MC friends.

      Delete
    2. I'm surprised she haven't gotten into an existential crisis yet. If this weren't fiction, someone would have most likely gone insane.

      Delete
  7. Writer spends more words describing cooking than any of the characters or environments

    ReplyDelete
  8. I mean.. I guess I could honestly understand latching onto a familiar character in a suddenly unfamiliar environment like this.

    MC woke up in a completely different body, on fire, finds out it's a novel she fell into for unknown reasons. While I personally might not have started paying for someone to be my friend, I'd at least try to stick to what's familiar in such a situation.

    Doesn't stop it from being somewhat frustrating, haha.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Now that i think of it, I might honestly be worse than her in this situation if I were in her shoes.

      Delete

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