The Price of Staying Awake
An entity possessing the appearance of a woman or a young girl, yet wielding incomprehensible power and authority. This was the definition humanity gave to those they called Witches. While it remains unknown when or how they first came to be, surviving historical records indicate that the first to be called a Witch was the Witch of Pride, who appeared approximately six hundred years ago.
Though detailed accounts are scarce, many of the era's greatest powerhouses lost their lives to her hands. The Witch of Pride, who plunged the world into absolute terror, was ultimately vanquished by a man who would later be hailed as a Hero for his feat. Much like the Witches of Envy and Lust, no records of her specific abilities remain, leaving modern scholars to speculate on the nature of her power—
Just as I was about to turn the page, the morning sun flickered through the slats of the window blinds. I had stayed up all night reading, but since I had picked up the book to kill time rather than out of genuine interest, I closed it without regret and sat up from the bed.
A rustling sound came from the head of the bed. Two empty wrappers—the remnants of the things that had graciously kept sleep at bay all night. I couldn't bring myself to look at them fondly, so I crumpled them up with a pinch of irritation and tossed them into the trash can.
It felt like at least an hour had passed since the candy had completely dissolved in my mouth, yet the lingering sour aftertaste showed no signs of fading. If my body didn't naturally regenerate, my tongue would probably be raw and covered in painful bumps by now from the sheer acidity.
If the sour candy I used to eat back in the day was 'Sour Power,' the school nurse's special candy was 'Sour Motherfucker.' It was enough to make the curse word slip out automatically. But what choice did I have? I needed this just to keep my sanity intact.
With a sigh, I prepared breakfast. This morning's menu was fluffy white rice, freshly made Bean Sprout Stir-fry, and a warm fried egg. It was a combination that, even if you grew tired of it, always tasted delicious.
I neatly piled them onto my spoon, took a huge bite, and stuffed it into my mouth.
But after chewing a few times, my face fell.
...It was clearly rice, egg, and bean sprouts, but all I could taste was sourness.
As if my previous struggles with the mind-shattering sourness had been a lie, I had sucked on the candies so much that I could now keep a straight face and hide my agony. Because of that, I kept secretly popping them into my mouth on my way to school and during class, leaving a constant stream of acidity in my mouth.
The school nurse who gave them to me probably never expected me to overdose on them like this. But just like a salaryman who lives on coffee to survive the workday, I had to keep a candy in my mouth at all times to stay functional.
While the tongue-numbing sourness was far more effective at keeping me awake than any physical pain, this incredible efficacy came with an entirely unexpected side effect.
A phrase I had heard somewhere before came to mind: the law of equivalent exchange. Everything comes with a price.
And the price for abusing the candies to stay awake was my sense of taste.
When everything I ate was completely drowned out by the lingering sourness, how could I possibly have an appetite? Who would have thought the candies had a side effect like this?
Since I had no appetite, I only took a tiny portion for lunch. Jesse and May, who were waiting for me to get my food, gasped as if they had just seen the sun rise in the west.
"Huh? Scarlet, what is up with that tiny portion?! Are you sick or something?!"
"...That definitely looks like a problem. You usually eat several times that amount. Did something happen?"
...Was me eating a little less really that shocking? I thought they were overreacting, but looking down at my plate, I realized their reactions were actually quite reasonable. Usually, I ate a ton at lunch to relieve stress...
Sighing inwardly at having one of life's simple pleasures stripped away, I replied as casually as possible to reassure them.
"It's nothing. I'm just not really in the mood to eat."
"I'm glad it's nothing serious, but... ugh, Scarlet eating so little is a major crisis for me..."
Jesse's reaction was rather unexpected. She looked incredibly grave, as if my small portion was a genuine catastrophe.
When I tilted my head in confusion, Jesse muttered with a deeply disappointed look.
"I gain weight so easily even if I eat just a little, so I've been living vicariously through watching you eat, Scarlet... If you eat that little, how am I supposed to survive...?"
"...Wow, Jesse. That's a bit of a turn-off," May said, looking slightly exasperated.
"Uuu... but Scarlet eats so much and makes it look so delicious! There aren't many people who eat so beautifully!"
"...I can't say I don't understand," May chimed in. "Honestly, it makes me happy just watching Scarlet enjoy the food I make, too..."
A hollow laugh escaped me as I listened to the two of them talk so seriously. What was I, some kind of Mukbang YouTuber?
Letting their passionate discussion about my eating habits go in one ear and out the other, I quickly finished my meager meal and pulled a candy out of my pocket, popping it into my mouth.
Seeing this, Jesse asked, "Oh? What's that?"
"This...? Just a candy..."
"Candy? If you have more, could I have one too? I think I need to soothe my disappointed heart with at least that."
Without thinking, I handed a candy to Jesse as she held out her hand.
"Thanks for the food!"
"...Ah! Wait, Jesse, not that—!"
Just before she popped it into her mouth, I remembered that the candy was far from ordinary and tried to stop her.
"Pffft—!!! Hyaaaah!!!"
But it was too late. Jesse's high-pitched shriek echoed loudly through the cafeteria.
Jesse immediately spat the candy out, but the terrifying sourness had already ravaged her mouth. Unable to even close her lips, she cried, drooling and tearing up as she yelled at me.
"Thour...! Thour...! Th-Thcarlet... thith ith too thour! Ugh... the thaliva... my thaliva won't thtop...!"
"I-I'm sorry, Jesse! I forgot how sour it was and didn't warn you!"
"Uuu, why... why would anyone eat thith...? Are you in your right mind...?"
Staring at me as if I were an utterly incomprehensible madman, Jesse's question left me speechless.
Well, I'm not exactly in my right mind...
But I couldn't just say that. As I scrambled to think of an excuse she would accept, a sudden spark of inspiration hit me, and I blurted it out.
"I-It's for appetite suppression! I'm on a diet lately..."
Jesse gasped in surprise, then nodded with an understanding look.
"I-I see. It definitely makes you lose any desire to eat after tasting it..."
Jesse paused for a moment, then glared at me with a slightly irritated expression.
"...But wait, a diet? Scarlet, where do you even have fat to lose? Why are you trying to lose weight by eating something like this?"
"Uh, well..."
Since the appetite suppression excuse was a total lie, I fumbled for a response under Jesse's intense interrogation. Suddenly, Marin, who was eating nearby, chimed in.
"Who knows? Maybe she found a guy she wants to look good for?"
At those words, everyone sitting nearby gasped and whipped their heads toward me. May, Jesse, and even Sylvia, who had been quietly eating her meal beside us.
"Is that true?!"
"Really?!"
"Sc-Scarlet, is it...?"
"It's not like that...!"
I shook my head frantically in denial, but it was already too late. In the minds of these teenage girls, I had already become a girl on a diet to look good for her crush.
Realizing that any further excuses would fall on deaf ears, I slumped in frustration. Then, Flone, who was sitting next to Marin, giggled with a mischievous grin.
"Ehehe, I'm glad the makeup I gifted you isn't going to waste."
Looking at her face, which was practically screaming her intent to tease me, I let out a heavy sigh.
"...I am absolutely never wearing makeup."
"Aww, don't be like that. I noticed you haven't been sleeping well lately, and that's exactly when you need to care for your looks. Make sure to use the makeup, okay?"
"...I said I'm not. More importantly, did you just..."
"Oh my, what's with that passionate gaze? Did you fall for Flone instead of the boy you like? Well, I feel bad for him, but I can't help it. I'll specially accept you as Flone's 70th girlfriend."
"...Thanks, but I'll pass."
My brief moment of tension melted away. Looking at Flone's usual airheaded antics, a hollow laugh escaped me, and I shook my head.