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Chapter 107: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat

Chapter 107



It had already been about a month since the Academy closed, and in that long but short period, relationships between people had changed quite a bit.


"Hehe, sis, look. I drew you and Rion."


Just like how a child who lost their parents and was entrusted to an orphanage would develop new attachments to someone else.


Rion’s sketchbook had gradually filled with drawings of me and her together, to the point where they now occupied most of the pages.


Rion had grown so attached to me that she welcomed me more warmly than anyone else whenever I visited.


And I felt the same.


Even though I wondered if this was the right thing to do, I couldn’t push away Rion, who needed me, and I became more attached to her as well.


I was worried this would happen when we first met, but by the time I realized it, it was already too late.


Just as the drawings of Rion and me increased in her sketchbook, the memories we shared accumulated and became an important part of me.


I gently patted Rion’s head as she sat on my lap, showing me her drawings.


“Wow, you drew it so well. Where is this?”


“It’s the zoo where I went with mom and dad a long time ago. There were all kinds of animals here-.”


When I asked, Rion began to excitedly point out and explain each animal drawn in her sketchbook.


As I listened with a fatherly smile, Rion, who was eagerly explaining the animals, suddenly looked sad and muttered in a regretful voice.


“I want to see Mr. Bear again… but now I can’t because mom and dad aren’t here...”


Rion said this while glancing at me shyly.


From her gaze, I could tell what she wanted.


After hesitating for a moment, I couldn't help but give in to her earnest look. I held out my pinky finger to her and said,


“When we have time later, let’s go to the zoo together. I’ll talk to the head teacher about it.”


“...Really? You’ll go to the zoo with me?”


“Really, really. I promise with a pinky swear. Next time, we’ll go see Mr. Bear together.”


Affection is a scary thing.


Even though I can’t stay by Rion’s side forever, I can’t stop giving her my affection.


But what can I do?


When I see Rion sad, my heart breaks as well.


“I love you the most in the world, sis.”


Seeing this child smile so brightly, as if she had the whole world, while hooking her pinky with mine made me so happy.


However, I was also worried that the more attached I became to Rion, the more she depended on me.


I wouldn’t be able to visit as often as I had been recently.


“Rion, I won’t be able to visit you as often from now on. But I’ll try to come by occasionally. Can you be brave until then?”


When I spoke with concern, Rion stayed silent for a moment, then tore out the picture she had just drawn from her sketchbook and handed it to me.


As I tilted my head in confusion, Rion gave me a mature smile and said,


“It’s okay. You promised to go to the zoo with me. You always keep your promises. So, I’m giving you this picture so you won’t forget our promise.”


“...Okay, I’ll never forget.”


I carefully accepted the picture Rion handed me, making sure not to crumple it, and nodded.


Tomorrow, the Academy will resume normal classes.


It was time to return to being a student of the Academy.


*


“It’s been a while. It’s nice to go to school with you again, Scarlet.”


“Haha... Yes, it is.”


I awkwardly smiled back at Sylvia, who was beaming at me.


No matter how many times I took a limousine to school, I never got used to it.


It probably felt more unfamiliar since I hadn’t attended school for about a month.


Even the uniform that I thought I had gotten used to felt a bit tight, probably because I hadn’t worn it in a while.


Maybe I gained some weight from eating too well recently...


In any case, going back to school after such a long time felt a bit strange.


It felt like returning to school after a break.


Incidentally, the Academy originally didn’t have vacations, so this feeling was something I probably wouldn’t experience again.


With these thoughts in mind, we soon arrived at the Academy.


As I opened the classroom door, familiar faces greeted me after a long time.


“Hey, Scarlet, how have you been?”


“Long time no see. Glad to see you’re doing well.”


Waving back to Daniel and Andre—as they greeted me, other classmates started to greet me one by one.


As I responded to each greeting, I saw Mei, the last person I had seen most recently, approaching me with a slight smile.


"Hi, Scarlet. Nothing much happened while you were away, right?"


"Not really. But I'm sorry for leaving early when I visited your place last time. I had an urgent matter to attend to..."


"That's fine. Thanks to you, I got some private tutoring from Rion. She asked me to get in touch later. She said she had something to tell me about our promise."


Oh, now that she mentioned it, I remembered that.


I nodded to Mei, indicating that I understood, and then took my seat.


As I looked around the classroom, I noticed that, apart from the empty seat of someone who no longer attended, it hadn't changed much from a month ago.


I was relieved that everyone seemed to be doing okay despite the bad incident that had happened.


While I was thinking about that, I heard the classroom door open,


And the chatter in the classroom fell silent.


"...It's been a while, everyone."


Jessie, who had just walked in, greeted us, but no one responded.


It was probably because everyone, like me, was shocked by how much she had changed over the past month.


Jessie, who was once a kind friend who cried and got scared easily.


With her thick, fluffy curly orange hair that looked like a lamb’s wool, and being smaller in stature than her peers due to her dwarf blood, she had been our class mascot, adored by everyone.


But now, her once sparkling eyes were bloodshot and lifeless, her thick orange curls were streaked with white as if bleached, and they stuck out in all directions.


More than anything, her whole demeanor had changed, making her seem like a completely different person.


I knew how shocking the death of a family could be...


Jessie, who had stayed up several nights to make my prosthetic arm, looking as if she could collapse at any moment, now seemed like an angel compared to how she looked now.


Jessie now looked like someone who had been broken.


"...Why is everyone acting like this? It's not like you haven't seen me before."


As everyone was taken aback by her transformation, Jessie tilted her head and asked nonchalantly.


However, even though she tried to act normal, her dark circles and trembling hands and feet made it clear that she was far from okay.


"Jessie, are you alright?"


"Ah, Scarlet. I’m fine. I just cut back on sleep for training."


Unable to hold back, I asked, and Jessie responded with a smile.


But no one believed her.


She looked exactly like someone suffering from severe sleep deprivation.


It wasn't just that she cut back on sleep; she probably hadn't been sleeping at all.


"Training while cutting back on sleep? Since when?"


"Ahaha, not long... about two weeks?"


"Two weeks?! Are you insane? Why are you pushing yourself so hard?!"


People can become mentally unbalanced after just a week of sleep deprivation.


Let alone two weeks without proper sleep, coupled with training, would push her to her mental and physical limits.


Though I didn't know why she was driving herself to such extremes, I shouted out of concern, and Jesse responded with a laugh.


"Ahaha... You have to push yourself to get stronger. I realized I’m too weak."


"Weak? You're plenty-."


"No. I'm too weak. I need to get much, much stronger. To take revenge on the witch."


Jessie's eyes flashed as she mentioned revenge.


Looking into those eyes gave me chills.


The gentle warmth of her eyes from before had turned into an obsession and determination bordering on madness.


However, because I could somewhat understand her feelings, I couldn't say anything to her.


Then Jessie, glancing at the empty seat in front of me, spoke.


"By the way, did you see? Yoon Si-woo became a hero. I saw it on TV, and he looked so cool. People say Yoon Si-woo will defeat the witch."


With the same look I saw in those praying for Yoon Si-woo at the restaurant.


"Someday, I’m going to become a hero and get revenge on the witch too."


Jessie said with a smile.


And so, with the changed appearance of my friend, the first day back at the Academy began. 


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Comments

  1. Poor Jessie, ruining your sleep isn't going to make you stronger

    ReplyDelete
  2. She'll be the next person to know Scarlet is a witch remnant.

    ReplyDelete

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