“Ugh…”
I had too much faith in my own digestive ability.
No matter how sour it tasted, shouldn’t it be fine if it had been in the fridge?
I don’t know at what point it went bad, but anyway, it seemed my porridge was spoiled from the inside out.
“My goodness, why would anyone eat something like this?”
“Huh? That’s…”
The doctor looked horrified at the state of my porridge, showing a look that suggested I should throw it straight into the garbage.
“Is it really that bad…?”
Still, it was food I made for the first time in this world, wasn’t it? No, that was the alcohol chocolate, right?
“And what on earth did you put in this?”
As I diligently responded to the doctor’s questions, his expression deteriorated with each word I said.
“Why would you put something like that in food…?”
“It was reasonably… okay…?”
His expression was quite grim, so I had no choice but to give up on the porridge.
“I hate to say this, but throw away anything at home that’s like this. It’s probably gone bad too.”
“All of it? That seems wasteful.”
“Wasteful… to some extent…”
The doctor paused, rubbing his head while wobbling slightly, then let out a sigh and continued speaking.
“Now, remember this. Spoiled food should be thrown away… it’s inedible. Besides, the amount you consume will be less than the amount expelled.”
“Ah…”
This might sound like a rich person’s complaint, but what can I do?
If food doesn’t serve its purpose as sustenance, then it is no longer food.
Yes, sometimes bold decisions are necessary.
“For now, I’ll give you some medicine, so stick to soft foods like salt water or porridge…”
He started to say something but seemed to remember that I had eaten spoiled porridge and extended his words slightly.
“I can’t believe you would eat that again.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.”
“Then that’s a relief.”
Though his expression seemed quite untrustworthy, I could understand why, so I didn’t press further.
Swish.
After receiving the prescription from the doctor, I lay down for a moment.
I realized I needed to go take the leftover food from Noah’s house and headed there.
***
Since I was absent from class due to illness today, I thought Noah wouldn’t be around, but surprisingly, she was there.
“Noah-senpai.”
“Oh, didn’t you just take the food not too long ago?”
“It’s spoiled.”
“Ah…”
“Have you eaten this? If so, I can offer some compensation…”
“I don’t think I’ve had it before.”
That’s a relief.
If I had eaten spoiled food, I might have had to offer compensation.
“But did this taste strange? When I had it, it was okay except for being a bit sour.”
“Well… I guess?”
As she made a somewhat subtle expression, I completely pulled the pot from inside the fridge.
The cold steel sensation touched my head, spreading a refreshing feeling throughout my body.
“Ugh!”
“Are you going to carry it alone?”
“Ah, yeah.”
“You struggled a lot last time, didn’t you?”
“This time… it’s a bit different.”
During that time, I had been occasionally wearing doomsayers’ masks, enhancing my stamina, and the stats gained from resisting the brainwashing were very helpful.
I had now improved so much that I could probably defeat two of me back then.
So, this iron pot was no longer a daunting challenge for me.
…Maybe.
“You look like you’re struggling. Do you need help?”
“Oh, no. I’m really fine.”
However, I overlooked my physical condition.
Somehow, I was enduring with mental strength along with the alcohol, so I didn’t realize I was in pretty bad shape.
The heat radiating from my face didn’t particularly show on the outside.
Because of that, I felt a weight similar to when I first brought this pot from Noah’s house.
“Really…?”
Of course, Noah had no way of knowing this, so while she looked worried, she didn’t say anything further.
“Oh, but what are you working on? Didn’t you have class today?”
Noah’s computer screen displayed various complex numbers and seemed to be generating incomprehensible analysis data.
“Oh, we have the academy festival coming up soon. I didn’t have time to prepare, so I skipped today.”
“The academy festival…”
Now that I think about it, I had forgotten about the festival.
About a month later.
So, the academy festival starts a few weeks after the terrorist attack in the story.
In a typical novel or comic, it would be impossible to hold an academy festival less than a month after a terror incident.
It would be dangerous, and opening a festival in a situation where another attack might happen would be quite a significant risk.
But this place is the Central Academy.
Here, after such an event happens, security becomes extremely tight, making it feasible.
Of course, gathering people and allowing unrestricted entry to outsiders would still have some limits.
It’s like saying, “Come in if you want to.”
But if you get caught, we’ll wipe out your entire group. So, the chances of a terror attack happening during the festival are very low.
Even if it does happen, it’s not very widespread.
And more than anything, I was curious…
“Do they sell alcohol at the festival?”
Do they sell alcohol or food?
There are various shops within the game, but not all of them are interactable, so I wasn’t sure if there was an alcohol shop.
I hoped there would be.
Moreover, since the festival is an event hosted by the academy, I understood that they would sell food at much cheaper prices than usual.
Of course, no external vendors would be allowed.
So, if I could buy alcohol in bulk at a low price, it would help keep my wallet from getting too light.
“Hmm… I’m not sure about that. You’d have to discuss it with the merchants…”
“That sounds unexpectedly complicated.”
Even though it’s just a festival being held at one academy, they had to consider the local businesses as well.
“I think there might be room for one or two. But why? Want to drink or something?”
“Ah… that…”
I realized a bit too late that I had accidentally revealed my true feelings to Noah out of excitement.
“Hmm, anyway. I’ll check later.”
“Ah… okay.”
Fortunately, it seemed she let it slide.
“Phew, I need to be careful.”
And then Noah asked me a question.
“Oh, by the way, Aesha. Do you not carry a mobile phone?”
“Yeah, and so what?”
I was slightly taken aback by her sudden question but answered truthfully.
“Why?”
“Why do you ask…?”
Of course, I had no money to buy a phone or pay for a service plan, so it made sense.
“Telecom…?”
However, after hearing my answer, Noah tilted her head with a blank expression.
“Yeah, telecom… uh?”
Wait a minute, this isn’t Korea, is it?
Then, do we not have the three major telecom companies?
I’ve been living a life removed from things like searching the internet, so I don’t even know how the world is really turning.
I wanted to know if communities or such even exist here, but I barely have enough money to afford PC bang fees, so I can’t waste even that.
Hence, the only information I get is from rumors or stories floating around.
I’ve never actually looked for proper information.
‘Am I… an idiot?’
Having become so used to this life that I couldn’t even think of searching, Noah’s question brought me back to reality.
Now that I have some money, I can search and enjoy some entertainment…!
Of course, it wouldn’t be abundant, but it’s not impossible.
“No, I do pay for the service… but if you’re a student at the academy, they should provide you with a basic device.”
“What happens to the information inside later?”
“You can reset it or buy it directly. It’s rare for someone to take it secretly, right? After all, graduating from Central Academy suggests no one there is short on money at that point.”
“Ah…”
“Oh, and the service plans give discounts. If you show your student ID, it’s maybe 90% off?”
“That’s insane.”
“Huh?”
“Oh, never mind.”
I unintentionally swore out loud, surprised.
My goodness, if they’re cutting the fees by 90% just because you’re an academy student, what’s left to gain?
So that’s why everyone’s trying to get into the academy.
“What’s left if they give such a discount?”
“Ah, the deputy principal had mentioned something about that… just a moment.”
She rummaged through some documents in the computer archive and pulled one out.
“Did you record all the declarations that have been made so far?”
“Exactly, it’s useful for references or rebuttals when needed later.”
Click.
And a line appeared.
[-If you give out so much, what’s left?]
[-You all are what’s left.]
“That’s amazing.”
That same day, I bought a device within the academy grounds and returned holding it.
The cost I incurred in the process was only 20,000 won.
And that was including the initial device price and the communication fee.
Although I chose the cheapest device, being able to use the internet for about 20,000 won a month is pretty amazing.
Furthermore, starting next month, it would only be the service fee, so it would decrease even more.
“You bought a mobile phone and came back?”
“It’s better to do things quickly.”
“Hmm… then, do you want to exchange phone numbers?”
“Oh.”
It’s been decades since I’ve asked a girl for her phone number.
In my life, is there a sentence that makes my heart flutter as much as this one just by hearing it?
A clear, refined girl with long blue hair asks to exchange numbers?
“Of course!”
Naturally, there was no reason to refuse.
