The Morning Alarm of Madness
Ding-ding-ding~ Good morning~ Ding-ding-ding~
Ding-ding-ding~ Good morning~ Ding-ding-ding~ Pa-pa-pa pa-pa pa-pa-pa-pa Good morning~
The alarm rang out. It was noisy. I reached my arm out toward the pillow. Perhaps because my hand was shaking, I only grazed the phone, and the alarm didn't turn off. Pa-pa-pa pa-pa pa-pa-pa-pa Good morning~
It was noisy. I felt around the bedside with my hand to locate the phone. My hand was trembling so violently that I couldn't press the screen properly, and the alarm continued to blare. Pa-pa-pa pa-pa pa-pa-pa-pa Beautiful day~
Noisy, noisy, noisy! I slammed my hand down on the phone as if to crush the screen. But still, the alarm wouldn't stop. Pa-pa-pa-pa It's a beautiful day~ Ding-ding-ding~
“Aaaaaaaah!!!!!” I screamed and hurled the phone. It bounced off the wall with a sharp thwack and skidded across the floor. The battery had popped out, and the screen, now powered off, was as pitch-black as stagnant water. And yet, ding-ding-ding~ the alarm, it rang.
My heart hammered against my ribs as if it would burst. My hand shook uncontrollably, and my breathing became so rapid I couldn't distinguish between inhale and exhale. I rolled off the bed and crawled toward the bathroom like a bug. I reached the bathroom, my trembling hands slipping on the floor, falling over several times. I finally managed to rest my head on the toilet bowl and gripped it with both hands.
Good morning~
“Ugh-! Bleeegh... H-huff... Keugh......”
From my mouth, my nose, my eyes. Everything was pouring out of every hole in my face except for my ears. The residue of emotions that had been rotting inside my body, now spilled out, emitted a foul stench. It felt as if the alarm sound entering through my ear canals was raking through my entire body, forcing those things out through my face. Even though, in reality, there was no alarm sound playing in my ears.
Ding-ding-ding~
I actually knew. It was the song I used as an alarm in my original world—a song that obviously shouldn't be on a phone in this world. Even though I had checked the phone on the very first day I arrived and saw that no alarm had been set.
Pa-pa-pa pa-pa pa-pa-pa-pa Good morning~
The alarm sound that played every time I woke up. The proof that I wasn't sane, which I had tried to ignore every time I realized it. I flushed the toilet and let out a dry, hollow laugh.
Pa-pa-pa pa-pa pa-pa-pa-pa Good morning~
I was too lazy to even take off my pajamas, so I turned on the shower while still fully clothed. Just like on the day I arrived in this world. I felt like I could barely stand, so I sat down heavily on the narrow bathroom floor and let the water from the showerhead pour over me.
Pa-pa-pa pa-pa pa-pa-pa-pa Beautiful day~
There’s no way I’m okay. Pa-pa-pa-pa, the truth is, I’m so exhausted I feel like I’m going insane. It’s a beautiful day~
I woke up one day and suddenly fell into the world of a novel. Ding-ding-ding~ My body is spewing fire. Ding-ding-ding~ On top of that, I’ve become a girl. Good morning~ If I think about the ending of the novel I read before coming here. Ding-ding-ding~ So many people die. Pa-pa-pa, to survive, I have to be friends with Sylvia. Pa-pa, I buy her macarons. Pa-pa-pa-pa, Yoon Siwoo. Good morning~ The Holy Sword of Truth. Pa-pa-pa, if I’m careful, I can deceive them. Pa-pa, I’ll deceive everyone. Pa-pa-pa-pa, even myself. Good morning~ A promise made with pinky fingers must be kept. Pa-pa-pa, Father. Pa-pa, live strongly. Pa-pa-pa-pa, I’m not the protagonist. Beautiful, change the future? Day~ Impossible. Pa, I’m scared. Pa, a crisis I don’t know about. Pa, I might die. Pa, I want to live. This school. Tsu, friends. Uh, memories. Beautiful, Mom. Ti, I miss you. Full, can I go back? De, I don’t know. I~ I have to live. Ding, with Sylvia. Ding, I have to become. Ding~ friends. Ding-ding-ding~
I stood up. I turned off the shower and looked in the mirror above the sink; a girl was reflected there, soaking wet in her clothes, looking absolutely wretched. I threw off the pajamas that were clinging to my skin. I breathed out fire with just the right intensity, and my wet body and hair dried in an instant.
Good morning~
I wrung out the water from my pajamas and hung them up, then put on the school uniform I had left on a hanger. I packed my bag, slung it over my shoulder, put the battery back into the phone lying on the floor, and shoved it into my pocket. I finished getting ready for school and looked at the mirror through the open bathroom door.
Ding-ding-ding~
The mirror reflected a girl who had dressed neatly but still wore a pathetic expression. I tried to force it into a blank stare, but it wouldn't return to a perfect neutral. In that case, it would be easier to just put on a different expression. I spoke to the girl in the mirror in my heart: Why so serious? Smile.
And then, the girl smiled.
“Is something good happening?” the class representative asked me during the morning cleaning.
I tilted my head at the sudden question, and the representative continued. “No, it’s just, you’re smiling since this morning, which is rare.”
Smiling? Ah, right. I was smiling. Today was 'Smile Evande' mode.
As I thought about how to answer the representative’s question about why I was smiling, a song melody reached my ears.
Pa-pa-pa-pa It’s a beautiful day~ Ding-ding-ding~
“Just, the day is pretty.”
That was my reply. The representative nodded and said, “True, the weather is nice today.”
I glanced out the window, and it really was a sunny day. It truly is a beautiful day. Birds are chirping, flowers are blooming... On a day like this, fire-users like me should be burning in hell...
WA! Sans! Papyrus! If the song playing right now wasn't 'Good Morning' but the Undertale BGM, wouldn't I be able to spend a more passionate day imagining myself dodging incoming attacks? I finished cleaning while thinking about the famous game from my original world.
Once cleaning was over, the kids arrived at school one by one, and a few students greeted me. When I greeted them back, the people watching me had expressions as if they’d seen something miraculous. I looked behind me, wondering if there was something there, but there was nothing. I wondered if they were all in on some hidden camera prank targeting me.
More importantly, we had sparring starting from the first period. Even in my original world, first-period P.E. was one of the most terrible schedules, and in my opinion, P.E. should always be in the afternoon. If you move around from the morning, it’s obvious you’ll be sleepy after lunch, right? I shot a look of resentment at Eve, who had set such a terrible schedule.
Today, Eve was still wearing her pointed hat and robes that screamed, ‘I am a wizard,’ and she shouted with a playful, girlish smile that belied her actual age. “Today is sparring, just like last time! I’ll be setting up the matchups so you don’t face the same opponents, so think ahead about how you’ll fight whoever you’re paired with!”
At Eve’s call, we paired up, put on our protective gear, and climbed onto the sparring grounds next to the gym. Then, Pew-pew, zoom-zoom. Sylvia met an opponent who used long-range superpowers and crushed them with overwhelming firepower, and the class representative met another close-combat student, cornering them with her specialty, speed, and winning easily. The rest of the students were clearly more accustomed to combat than during our first sparring session.
I could tell, but... do you know this? Even if you’re watching a grand battle scene from The Lord of the Rings, if the BGM is ‘Good Morning,’ it feels incredibly funny. Thanks to the song ringing in my head, the sparring looked like kids playing house!
Gyaaaaaak! While I was screaming in agony inside, a scream that no one would ever know, I heard Eve’s voice calling my name.
Hya-hya. Who is the opponent!
“Evande’s opponent is Siwoo! Show us a wonderful match worthy of your 200 points!”
I’m screwed. I offered my condolences to myself and put on the protective gear. I saw Yoon Siwoo looking at me from across the way with a complex expression. After what happened yesterday, it must be uncomfortable to even look at my face. I feel the same way. I lowered my gaze slightly to avoid eye contact. For now, I made it a rule not to look above the opponent’s neck. You are now Dullahan Yoon Siwoo. I thought that to myself as I took my fighting stance.
The most important thing in a fighting stance was the step. It was about bouncing lightly and being ready to move at any moment. ...Since the song was ringing in my head, I was unconsciously stepping to that beat. Since it’s come to this, I’ll just leave my body to the 'Good Morning' beat!
“If you’re ready... Start!”
Start! As soon as the hologram text announcing the start of the sparring appeared, I lunged forward. In a fight, the most important thing is to take the initiative. In knowledgeable terms, we call it 'strike first, win first.' Yoon Siwoo must have known that too, as I saw him flying toward me immediately. Perhaps because of the physical enhancement passive of the Indomitable Holy Sword, he was damn fast. He was faster than the class representative, whose specialty was speed.
Light flashed from Yoon Siwoo’s empty hand. A sword appeared out of nowhere and swung horizontally toward my body at a terrifying speed; I barely avoided it by bending my knees. I pushed off my bent knees and launched my body forward with that momentum. Flames bloomed on my right hand. Eat this, you son of a bitch. I threw a punch.
And then, a strange Tee-eng sound was heard.
Tee-eng? A large greatsword was now in Yoon Siwoo’s hand. My fist was blocked by the barrier spread out in front of him. You dirty item-abuser, what does that make the class representative...
Yoon Siwoo, who had swapped the sword in his hand in an instant, unleashed a sword strike. I didn't think I could dodge it, so I instinctively reached out my hand to block the attack. Since I had tried to block a sword with my hand like an idiot, blood naturally splattered. Blood flowed from the palm where the sword had bitten in.
It hurts! I was screaming inside, but for some reason, the surroundings were quiet, so I lifted my gaze. Yoon Siwoo was looking at me with an unreadable expression. I thought it was because I’d hurt my hand, but when I followed his gaze, he was looking toward my face. Wondering if I had something on my face, I swiped my hand across it. There was nothing in particular.