Chapter 77
As expected, there was definitely something different about a rich girl.
I never thought there would come a day when I’d ride a limousine to school…
I felt a bit pressured, and since there was a portal right near Astra’s mansion, I was thinking of saying I would just walk, but Sylvia asked, “You don’t want to go to school with me?” So I ended up getting in without a fuss.
How could I refuse when she asked with such a pitiful expression…?
For that reason, as Sylvia and I entered the classroom, all the kids’ gazes suddenly focused on us.
Flustered by the onslaught of attention, I froze for a moment until Mei quickly approached and asked.
“Scarlet! I heard you were sick all day. So sick you couldn’t even contact the school; are you okay now?”
“Ah, um… I’m fine now.”
I immediately realized the reason and answered.
After being kidnapped and rescued, when I came to my senses, my phone was overflowing with missed calls and texts from the school and Mei.
They were asking why I hadn’t shown up and if something had happened to me, so I had to cover by saying I was sick.
I really couldn’t say that I was a created experiment related to a witch and that I had been temporarily kidnapped because of that.
Anyway, it seemed I had worried them for quite some time.
“Waaah… Scarlet, did you suffer a lot? Is it… is it from the aftereffects of the prosthetic arm surgery?”
Jessie, who had followed Mei, clung to me with a teary face.
“It’s not that, so don’t worry. I just suddenly felt a bit unwell, that’s all.”
“Well, that’s a relief, but… either way, don’t overdo it for a while. I’m worried you might faint suddenly…”
As I patted her head to calm her down, she seemed to relax a bit, but maybe because I had been late before, my image had turned into that of a fragile child.
Thinking about it, being terminally ill might fit with being weak, huh?
… It’s not like I’m a heroine from a tear-jerking story, so what’s the meaning of having terminally ill traits as someone like me?
Anyway, in agreement with Jessie’s words, other kids looking our way shouted similar things.
“Yeah, don’t get sick, okay? Everyone is worried about you!”
“Um, if there’s anything tough, just say it, we’ll help you.”
Daniel and André’s voices stood out particularly loudly.
As I became shy from all these concerned words, I waved my hand a bit and sat down. Yoon Si-woo, who had been looking at me from his spot, casually greeted me.
“… Did you have a good weekend?”
“Yeah, it was alright.”
As I answered casually, Sylvia, who followed me and took her seat, shot a sideways glance at Yoon Si-woo.
As Sylvia glared at Yoon Si-woo, she leaned closer to his seat and seemed to quietly whisper something to him.
Oh… Honestly, I thought there hadn’t been much progress between them, but it looks like they had gotten quite closer without me realizing.
Isn’t it a kind of privilege to be able to watch the original protagonist and heroine from a good spot?
In my mind, I imagined munching on popcorn, eagerly waiting for a situation where they would both blush, and soon enough, I saw Sylvia beginning to turn red.
However, it felt a bit different from what I had expected.
No matter how I looked at her, she seemed angry…
Still, usually, the protagonist and heroine argue and bicker a bit before they get closer, so I decided to stay quiet.
*
“… Yoon Si-woo, now that you’ve done that, you’ll take responsibility, right?”
Yoon Si-woo, who had greeted Scarlet in class, suddenly came over and answered Sylvia, who was asking in a small voice.
“Responsibility? What are you talking about?”
“The thing that happened with Scarlet yesterday. I have a rough idea, so don’t pretend and answer clearly.”
With a stiff expression, he tried to remain calm while recalling what Scarlet had said before they parted yesterday.
“The fact that I asked you for that favor is a secret from others, especially Sylvia. If she finds out that I asked you such a thing, she will surely get sad. Got it?”
But Yoon Si-woo had no choice but to feign ignorance in response to Sylvia’s probing.
“… I don’t know what you’re talking about?”
“Ugh…! Are you going to pretend you don’t know after doing such a thing?”
“It’s not pretending, I really don’t know.”
When he replied like that, Sylvia’s face turned bright red in anger as she mumbled.
“How can you be so irresponsible…?”
I couldn’t understand why she was so angry, but it was clear that she had developed a dislike for him.
Wondering what to say, Yoon Si-woo knew he wasn’t good at lying or making excuses, so he remained silent.
Just as Scarlet said, to keep the secret.
*
“By the way, Evande, no matter how sick you were, you should have sent at least a message to the school. Do you know how worried the teacher was, not knowing what had happened to you?”
Before I got my prosthetic arm, I hadn’t participated in training for quite some time.
Eve, who was conducting a 1-on-1 training session distinctly separate from other students doing group work to help me quickly get used to my prosthesis, said that.
Hearing that, I was so dumbfounded that I lay flat on the ground, collecting my breath and complaining.
“… Isn’t it a bit harsh to treat someone who was sick like this?”
I had just cleared up to the 17th round of Eve’s illusion magic, “Wave Defense of Monsters, which increases with each one taken out.”
I thought that the person who had forced me to achieve a legendary 17 against 1 had no room to talk, so I said that, and Eve responded as if she was flabbergasted.
“Evande, no matter how low-level the monsters are, can we treat someone who single-handedly took down 17 monsters as a sick person? You seem much healthier than before. I thought the 10th round would be your limit.”
Once I listened to her, her argument was persuasive enough that I shut my mouth obediently.
Regardless of getting used to the sensation, at first, I had been very confounded when she said not to rely on my abilities and to fight the monsters using my body as much as possible.
However, having tried it out, I ended up going in barehanded with flames flickering in my hands and took down multiple monsters.
Rather than feeling healthier, it felt like I had a better grasp of my abilities than before.
… What could cause such a change?
“I remember saying I was scared to fight monsters not long ago, but now it seems you don’t hesitate at all. Hmm, maybe overcoming it came from fighting against medium-level monsters?”
Eve muttered while looking at me.
That remark seemed to explain why it had become easier to fight.
Thinking back, I felt much less resistance to fighting against monsters.
Whether that was because of the experience gained from fighting medium-level monsters or realizing I had been resisting something even scarier than the monsters, I couldn’t tell, but anyway, it seemed the delay caused by that resistance had diminished.
Then again, I was created to fight monsters in the first place.
With such a short lifespan, I had to make the most of it.
Even if I wasn’t entirely accustomed to the fighting techniques and couldn’t utilize my body properly yet, I felt that with enough training and getting used to applying my abilities, I could become a considerable force.
It might not match up to someone like Yoon Si-woo, though.
Still, it seemed that Eve was satisfied, as she grinned and said,
“This level is completely passing. Usually, many people struggle to adjust to a prosthetic; I was worried it’d be difficult for you, but it seems there’s no need to. You could enter a real battle without dying easily.”
“… Is that so?”
“Well, unless it’s a unique case, like last time, you won’t have many opportunities for real combat! But if that happens, never let your guard down. Evande, you promised not to die last time, right? If you off yourself without a second thought, I’ll follow you to hell and scold you!”
Eve spoke so brightly, but knowing she meant it more than anyone else made me chuckle bitterly inside.
In the original work, she was the one who grieved the most whenever students died.
Despite looking young, she had been a teacher for a long time and cared for her students more than anyone else.
She had made a tremendous fortune through her abilities, but donated most of it to the welfare of heroes and to children orphaned by monsters, earning her the nickname “the wingless angel.”
That’s why, when she was suddenly found dead in the original, every surviving hero was deeply shocked by her death.
I had prevented her grief by saving the students who should have died in the gymnasium, but still, I felt indebted to her, as I thought I might not keep my promise of not dying.
So, I responded, hoping that Eve would live.
“Then, you shouldn’t die either, teacher. Always stay vigilant.”
Then Eve burst into laughter.
“Ah ha ha ha! Did you just tell your teacher not to die, Evande? Wow, I’m really getting old. I’m supposedly the best illusion magician in the world.”
Feeling a bit embarrassed by her reaction, I averted my gaze while Eve smiled and pet my head which was still lying down.
“Hey, it makes me happy that my student worries about me. Alright, let’s both stay alive. Then, Evande, to stay alive, you’ll have to train harder, right? Let’s do one more round?”
“Eek.”
Like a personal trainer, Eve insisted on “one more round” and conjured an illusion of 18 monsters in front of me.
After that, I was thrown into a chaotic fight against 18 monsters.
18.
*
Though we had quite a bit of rest before lunch after training, my body felt completely drained, and my head felt foggy.
It was like I just finished a march…
It didn’t seem like I was the only one rolling about today; most of the kids eating looked exhausted.
Sylvia, who was pretending to be fine, was trembling as she held her spoon.
Maybe because of the fatigue, she probably craved something sweet.
When I subtly offered her a macaron, Sylvia flinched and looked at it, asking.
“… Um, Scarlet, you mentioned that you give macarons to friends, right? But if you don’t consider me a friend, what’s the reason for giving me this now?”
She touched on a sensitive area…
If I were to put it simply, the relationship between Sylvia and me was extremely close to that of friends, but since I had turned her down, it had created a complex situation.
If I said I wanted to be her friend, she would definitely say yes at any time.
Yet, because of the accumulated guilt and anxiety about the future, I hesitated.
Still, I thought, maybe in time, it would be alright to be friends with her, and I wanted to cherish our relationship.
And so, I whispered,
“Because I like you, Sylvia…”
“… Huh? W-What?”
Sylvia let out a strange sound and her face turned bright red.
Seeing that, I stood there dazed for a moment before I snapped back to reality.
… Oh my, what did I just say?
It seemed I had muttered what I was thinking without realizing it.
To like someone only meant that I liked the kindness they showed me.
It wasn’t a lie.
Still, there is a certain nuance to it, right?
Watching Sylvia’s face turn red from what I said made me feel shy, and I quickly finished my meal and got up.
I had business with someone else anyway.
I approached the one who seemed to be eating as if unaffected by the training.
Yoon Si-woo, looking at me like, “Why are you here?” while chewing, slightly blushed when I presented him with a macaron.
“… Is this for me?”
“Yeah, it’s a thank you for saving me and for fulfilling my request.”
“… You made it for me, right?”
When Yoon Si-woo asked again, I nodded.
It felt wrong to ask for something for free, and this macaron was one I had made together with those for Sylvia.
Seeing me nod, Yoon Si-woo picked up the macaron with a somewhat moved expression and said,
“… Thank you.”
I didn’t expect him to be so happy for a simple cookie; did he really like macarons that much?
“… Well, I might occasionally make you some.”
Seeing his overly cheerful reaction made me a bit awkward, and Yoon Si-woo smiled widely and nodded.
Don’t smile like that, or you’ll make me fond of you.
And when I turned around, for some reason, Sylvia was glaring at Yoon Si-woo with an unpleasant look.
Was she feeling possessive, thinking I was giving my macarons to someone else?
I began to ponder whether I should make a few more to give to Sylvia starting tomorrow.
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