Chapter 58: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat
Chapter 58
In a small room with one transparent wall.
Though the room was empty, past experiences had taught me enough.
Beyond that transparent wall were two people: one who caused me pain and one who relieved it.
The man with silver hair was the one who caused me pain.
He was the one who, in a very matter-of-fact voice, issued orders that resulted in various parts of my body being damaged.
He was the one who injected me with needles that delivered agonizing pain, like my insides were melting.
Every time the man with silver hair did something, I had to endure excruciating pain.
Whenever I was in pain, flames would involuntarily erupt from my body,
and each time, the flames grew hotter and hotter.
The man with silver hair would then smile with delight.
Because I hated the pain, I hated the man who took pleasure in causing it.
But unlike him, there was someone I didn’t hate.
He was a man with non-silver hair and no pointed ears.
I knew that this man was the one who alleviated my pain.
So, I didn’t dislike him.
The man with silver hair was not present, and only the other man stood beyond the transparent wall.
Today, too, he made the pain go away.
Because I wanted to do something for him, I tried to communicate with him for the first time.
I pressed against the wall and knocked to get his attention. He looked into the room.
I stared at him, recalling how the silver-haired man would smile when flames erupted from my body.
So, I let flames burst from my body.
This was something I had only recently learned to do, something I hadn’t shown anyone else.
The man was startled, staring at me with a surprised expression, not the delighted one I had expected. So, I extinguished the flames.
[Number 10, what did you just do?]
His voice echoed through the room. I ignited and extinguished the flames again.
[Can you control your ability now? Did you show me that on purpose?]
I nodded.
He looked puzzled.
[...Why?]
I pointed at him.
Then, I pointed to the spot where I had been injected today.
It had hurt tremendously, but after he came in and left, the pain had subsided.
Though I didn’t remember clearly because of some strange gas I inhaled.
[Because I treated you? So you showed me that as a form of thanks?]
I nodded again.
For some reason, he looked very pained.
Since then, whenever he treated me, he would apologize.
---
“Are you okay? If you’re not feeling well, don’t push yourself and go rest in the nurse’s office.”
Mei, who was sitting to my right, spoke with concern as I sat dazed during a meal.
Sylvia, sitting to my left, also nodded in agreement with Mei.
“Yes, you’ve just been discharged from the hospital. You should be more mindful of your health. If you feel even a little off, don’t hesitate to rest.”
“...I’m really okay. It’s just that I’ve been having a lot of dreams lately, so I’m a bit out of it.”
“I’m glad to hear that, but still, be careful. It could be serious if you suddenly collapse.”
Despite my reassurances, Sylvia and Mei still looked worried.
It really was just because of the dreams, nothing more.
I couldn’t remember the last time I had such frequent dreams, to the point where I was dreaming every night.
Most of the dreams were nightmares where I was in pain, leaving me feeling dazed even after waking up.
But it wasn’t enough to warrant a trip to the nurse’s office.
I thought about this while looking at someone who genuinely seemed to be struggling.
“Uhh, Scarlet, you shouldn’t be sick.”
Jessie, sitting across from me, spoke with a slurred voice, as if she had noticed my gaze.
She clearly didn’t look normal.
With dark circles under her eyes and disheveled hair, she looked like Dwight Neinhart from Class B, who barely slept because of his magic training. Anyone would think they were siblings.
Whatever she had done last night, it was clear she hadn’t gotten enough sleep.
As she tried to reassure me, looking the worst among those present in the dining hall, Mei gave her an incredulous look and said,
“...Jessie, it’s nice that you’re worried about Scarlet, but you should take care of yourself first. You look like you’re about to collapse. Shouldn’t you go rest in the nurse’s office?”
“Don’t worry... I’m just a little, really just a little bit not normal. I’m fine. Heheh.”
“No, you definitely look more than a little tired...”
Everyone stared at Jessie with bewildered expressions as she laughed strangely.
She definitely did not look like someone who was just a bit tired.
-That doesn't look okay, right?
-It certainly doesn't.
I exchanged glances with Mei, silently communicating our thoughts.
Despite her state, Jessie grinned at me and spoke.
“Hehe, Scarlet. About your prosthetic. Everyone at home thinks it’s so interesting that they’ve all jumped in to help. So it might be finished sooner than expected. All the artisans are working on it day and night, so it’s progressing really fast. It might be done in 2 or 3 days.”
So that’s why she was so exhausted.
I had no idea they would push themselves this hard to finish it quickly.
They didn’t need to push themselves to the point of exhaustion…
“It’s okay to take your time with it. You need to take care of yourself too.”
“Hehe. Well, it’s like I can’t control myself right now.”
Jessie laughed as if she had lost her mind and responded.
Not understanding what she meant by “can’t control myself,” I stayed silent. Jessie continued.
“My family has some dwarf blood mixed in, which is rare. Sometimes, that side’s instincts kick in. It’s not widely known, but dwarves have periods where they have an overwhelming urge to focus on crafting. I happen to be in one of those periods, so I ended up staying up all night.”
“...Is there really such a period? That’s fascinating.”
Sylvia, listening in, asked with curiosity.
Jessie responded with a wild grin.
“Just like how elves and human women have a monthly visitor? It’s like that for dwarves.”
Not understanding the euphemism, I remained confused until I saw the shocked expressions on Sylvia and Mei’s faces.
Apparently, it was a euphemism in this world too.
Jessie, now appearing to have completely lost her sanity, giggled again.
“Hehe, it’s like we relieve the stress of that period through crafting. Normally, it makes us a bit edgy, but having something to make helps lessen that while making us super focused on crafting. This time, it was particularly intense, so I stayed up all night. Honestly, even now, my hands are itching to get back to crafting. I can’t wait to get back and work on the prosthetic…”
Mei and Sylvia looked at Jessie, who spoke with an almost delirious tone, with resigned expressions.
It seemed I was the only one left bewildered by the situation.
These moments made me acutely aware of the change in my gender.
Having not experienced such things directly...
“Just thinking about it makes it hard to resist. Ah, I want to work on the prosthetic!”
“...You seem really out of it. We should force you to lie down. Jessie, I’ll take you to the nurse’s office. Come on.”
“Ugnyaaak!”
Mei quickly finished her meal, grabbed Jessie, who was barely eating, and dragged her to the nurse’s office.
Watching the bewildering sight of Jessie being dragged away while making strange noises, Sylvia glanced at me and spoke.
“...Elves don’t have any such peculiar traits. Since I can control it with spirit magic, you don’t have to worry about me.”
...Using spirit magic to block it seemed a bit odd, I thought.
---
After finishing my meal, I felt a bit concerned about the whole situation, so I headed to the nurse’s office for a consultation.
“You’re heading to the nurse’s office? Are you feeling unwell?”
Yoon Si-woo, entering from the main entrance as if returning from outside, saw me and asked with a worried expression.
Perhaps due to my arm, everyone seemed to be overly concerned about me.
“...It’s nothing serious. I just need some advice.”
Still feeling awkward around Yoon Si-woo, I responded curtly.
“...Um, if you need advice, I could listen?”
He seemed to have had a change of heart, as he also had been acting awkwardly around me lately. He looked at me with a hopeful expression.
“It’s fine. It’s something you can’t help with anyway.”
“You never know. Maybe I could help. You said you’d listen to my worries before, so let me return the favor.”
He seemed to be referring to what I said in front of the supermarket.
Knowing Yoon Si-woo’s stubbornness, I decided to say something that he definitely couldn’t help with.
“I haven’t had my period this month. That’s what I’m worried about.”
It had been about a month since I became a girl.
Though it wasn’t something I wanted to experience, I thought missing it might indicate a health issue, so I was on my way to consult about it.
Since Yoon Si-woo was a guy, it was naturally something he couldn’t help with.
Leaving the now rigid Yoon Si-woo behind, I entered the nurse’s office.
The nurse explained that it could be due to several reasons but most likely because I had been overexerting myself.
“There’s no way it’s due to poor nutrition.”
Thinking about what the nurse said, I wondered if I should start eating more than just instant noodles.
After advising Jessie, who was resting in the nurse’s office, to take it easy, I stepped outside and found Yoon Si-woo still standing there like a statue.
He’s a peculiar guy.
---
[This is Sator Astra.]
[I contacted you to see if I could get some containers of magi from the beast disposal company.]
[The purpose? Of course, it’s for research. What other use would someone like me have for it?]
[You’ll approve it? Thank you. May the Dolos family always prosper.]
we're eating good today
ReplyDeleteScarlet is a bit dumb... She's not far smarter than yoon si-woo... I swear if she doesn't realize these dreams are memories i'm entering this ln rfn
ReplyDeleteI think she mentioned she can't recall those dreams and that she just feels them as if they are nightmares
DeleteSince he is still misunderstanding about motel thing, that is guite brutal
ReplyDeleteBro is going through it as the misunderstandings get progressively worse.
DeleteI'm aware that MC feels like an stranger but it would be time already to realize that whatever is being shown is the body's memory and not kust nightmares.
ReplyDeleteI'm very interested in how that prosthetic is going to turn out.
Stalker guy is still pushy, i see.
As an FtM trans i kind of find hard to understand why guys have such aversion about period.
It's just a natural phenomenon, a VERY annoying one if one doesn't have an interest on offpring but that's about it.
It's not like men don't have any similar thing themselves, it's just they aren't mentioned that much nor there's a market for that like it happens with pads and whatever.
But well, stalker is a kid still so i suppose being stunned at the bluntness of MC makes sense.
Of course, he may have misunderstood AGAIN as to why the period isn't there... *facepalm*
Y'all know it, misunderstanding that aren't resolved leads to more of em.
ReplyDelete