One morning like any other.
The birds chirp, and the flowers bloom.
“Haa, indeed, morning exercise is refreshing.”
Looking out the window at the rising sunrise, I prepare breakfast and savor my meal slowly.
Then I check the time; it’s half past six.
If I leave for the academy now, I will arrive suitably early.
“Shall I go?”
The girl with blue hair starts to step out, wearing her ID around her neck.
[Aria Noah]
Her steps were powerful, and she had a feeling that today would go well.
After all, she had become the second-year student council president after overcoming numerous competitors this year!
Her father was also pleased to hear that.
The fact that her usually reserved father smiled was a refreshing thing for a Monday morning.
As she walked toward the academy, she suddenly witnessed a scene of cognitive dissonance.
“Ugh…”
“…a homeless person?”
A girl with gray hair was fainted between the trash and an abandoned mattress.
If she were an ordinary homeless person, it wouldn’t have mattered, but the girl’s appearance was distinctly unusual.
Objectively speaking, she had an outstanding face for a homeless girl.
It seemed like a child that would instinctively evoke a protective instinct in most people.
In fact, it would be more fitting to say that someone had discarded an android they had created.
“…No, more than that…”
As Noah looked intently at the girl’s face, she recalled having seen her somewhere.
“The girl from the entrance ceremony who caused a ruckus… No, surely not.”
She was clearly the girl who had caused a fuss at the entrance ceremony after drinking.
Although she had already been given an odd nickname publicly, seeing her lying quietly made it hard to understand how she earned such a name.
However, why the girl was collapsed here was entirely incomprehensible.
“What time is it…?”
There was still plenty of time to arrive at the academy.
Initially set to leave an hour earlier than usual on this first day of school for second-year students, since she had no idea what might happen.
So, Noah chose the latter option: to wake the girl instead of leaving her and going to school.
“Umm… just five more minutes…”
Not sure if it was sleep-talking or drunken rambling, the girl finally rubbed her eyes and woke up.
“Um… hello?”
“…Who are you?”
“I’m a student from the Central Academy. I found you sleeping here…”
“Oh, right.”
The girl nodded as if understanding and took a gulp from a bottle of some liquid next to her.
“What is that?”
“It’s alcohol; it doesn’t taste good… Want some?”
“No… not really.”
“Okay.”
The conversation was at a standstill, so Noah began to ask questions to make some progress in this situation.
“Can I ask why you’re sleeping here?”
“Well…”
“?”
“Ah… now that I think about it.”
The girl seemed to think for a moment, closing her eyes and opening her mouth.
“Yes, I was definitely trying to go to a job placement agency to earn some money yesterday… I think I must have fainted on the way.”
“Did you have some kind of illness or something?”
“No, but I haven’t eaten for about a week.”
“One week without food?”
“There’s a disease where you die if you can’t drink alcohol, but the price of alcohol is so high. I thought I could survive by eating grass like in the cartoons, but that was too much.”
As Noah listened to the girl mumbling that cartoons were just cartoons, she fell into deep contemplation.
Should she take this girl home and at least feed her?
No, maybe all of this was a joke? It felt too convoluted from the start…
However, Noah wasn’t cold-hearted enough to leave a peer who hadn’t eaten for a week.
“Um… would you like to come to my house and have a meal?”
“I’d be grateful, but I don’t have any money.”
“Money is fine, really.”
“Isn’t this a kidnapping scenario or something?”
“Of course not!”
That moment shattered Noah’s protective instincts and wariness toward the stranger.
She took the girl she had brought home and let her take a shower for a bit.
“Is it really okay for you to help me this much? I’m sorry if it feels too nice.”
“It’s fine.”
The girl didn’t seem clean at all, as it looked like she hadn’t showered in several days.
Despite not originally intending to, since she had invited her, she let her take a bath.
“Phew…”
“Wow…”
She then offered the girl the side dishes she had prepared and portioned earlier.
Up until then, the girl had an expression of doubt as if questioning, “Is there sleeping medicine in this?” but eventually agreed and started devouring the food at an incredible pace..
“It’s delicious!!”
“Is… is it that good?”
“It’s not restaurant-level… but I think my friends would say you cooked well.”
Noah felt a bit shy at the girl’s blunt evaluation, but seeing her stuff her cheeks full of food also made her heart feel at ease.
“By the way, your hair isn’t really gray?”
“Well, I probably haven’t had a proper place to wash for quite some time.”
“Really…?”
Noah wanted to say something like they could come here if needed, but even she thought that was too much meddling.
Everyone has their own stories.
Going deeper would likely not bring any positive influence on either her or that girl.
At first, it’s a child wanting a cute pet, but later on, they just give up and lose interest.
This was not how she wanted to act.
Just feed her enough and send her back; that was her plan.
After all, she didn’t have the luxury to take responsibility for someone else’s life.
“Yeah… but eating this kind of meal feels like a long time ago.”
“…Ugh.”
Suddenly, the girl felt a sensation of nausea.
‘No, Noah. Don’t! Don’t say anything recklessly!!’
Naturally, she wanted to respond to the statement about how it had been a long time since she had eaten. Still, she managed to hold back.
“Huff… um, where are you living now?”
“In the academy dorm. It’s an old dorm, but it’s cheap and nice.”
“At least you have a place to stay…”
“Right?”
And then silence flowed again.
What caught the girl’s eye was the bottle of alcohol on the table.
“By the way… is it true that you’ll die if you can’t drink that alcohol?”
“It’s just a joke. It only gives me a headache; I won’t die, I think?”
“Thank goodness.”
How fortunate it was.
While it might have been okay back at the entrance, once officially entering the Central Academy, smoking and alcohol-related activities are strictly prohibited.
Moreover, as she had become the second-year student council president and was well aware of all the rules regarding this matter.
Upon relaying this information to the girl, she stopped moving.
“Absolutely… prohibited? Isn’t there any exception?”
“Right? It all changed after one of the seniors had a nicotine addiction and smoked inside the academy, causing a fire and getting expelled.”
“Damn that bastard.”
“Huh?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
Noah watched the anxious girl for a moment before checking the ticking clock and hurriedly packing her bag.
“Oh, I have to go! Don’t you have to go too?”
“Is today Monday?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow… I must have fainted for not just a day but two whole days!”
“…”
Noah was left speechless at the girl’s claim that she had fainted for two days and her apparent nonchalance about it, but time was truly running out.
“Let’s meet at school later!”
“Thank you.”
.
.
.
.
.
The girl named Noah who temporarily brought me to her home.
From her, I was able to acquire quite a bit of information.
First, that today is Monday.
I never thought I would faint shortly after going out to find a job placement agency.
Especially for two days.
If it weren’t for spring, I might have been in danger of hypothermia.
Still, I was glad to be up…
The problem is that I can’t drink alcohol at all.
I wondered how I might get a temporary permit, but it turned out to be completely impossible.
All because of that bastard senior whose name I don’t even know.
However, even a seasoned player wouldn’t remember every single rule of the academy, so I was entirely unaware of this fact.
“What should I do?”
I can’t drink alcohol at the academy.
This goes directly to a decline in my mental fortitude and leads to problems.
Moreover, I can’t even discuss my curse, making it even more impossible to gain permission.
“Hiding it…”
Probably won’t work.
It might have been okay for small Japanese drinks, but the bottle is too big.
Even if I buy it in cans, there wouldn’t be anywhere to hide it in this small body, and even if I brought it in a tumbler or bottle, the distinctive smell would give me away, and I’d have to face inspection.
An obvious mistake on my part.
However, I cannot completely avoid going to the academy, so I’m trying to think of a way, but no proper ideas came to mind.
And then.
I recall the ID hanging around the girl’s neck.
[Aria Noah]
“That name is definitely…”
That girl is one of the potential heroines the player can choose.
However, as Dreaming World is quite open-ended, decisions concerning heroines solely rely on the player’s choices.
If my memory serves correctly, if she is not chosen as a heroine, Aria Noah may find herself in jeopardy within a month.
“Ugh…”
With various problems overwhelming my mind, my brain felt stifled.
Afterward, I took a deep breath while looking at the half-empty bottle of alcohol and shifted my gaze to a convenience store.
[White Day Chocolate Sale!]
“…”
A gift from a corporation for those preparing for White Day but lacking the skill to make chocolate themselves.
“Oh.”
Some may call it commercialism, while others may suggest enjoying it; seeing the chocolate sparked a brilliant idea in my mind.
Though I’m not sure if it will truly work…
