The First Day of Academy Life
Perhaps because of what happened earlier, Yoon Siwoo kept glancing at me. Every time his gaze drifted toward my direction, I felt an urge to land another Fire Punch on him, but since other students were slowly returning to the classroom after finishing their measurements, I gritted my teeth and held back. Besides, it would be a disaster if I accidentally incinerated my clothes again...
I needed Sylvia for my own peace of mind. In the original novel, she was supposed to finish her measurements around the same time as Yoon Siwoo, but she seemed a bit late. As soon as I thought that, Sylvia appeared in her seat. She looked exhausted from the testing, and her posture was slightly more slumped than before. As I stared at her profile, the turbulent waves of frustration caused by Yoon Siwoo finally began to settle.
After catching her breath, Sylvia noticed Yoon Siwoo sitting next to her and flinched. Her slumped posture straightened up as if it had never been there. With a faint, barely visible blush on her cheeks, she spoke to him.
"I was so flustered that I couldn't properly thank you. I am Sylvia Astra. Thank you so much for what happened earlier. I would like to repay you somehow."
"Ah, I'm Yoon Siwoo. You don't need to worry about what happened earlier. I didn't do it expecting a reward."
"But..."
"We're going to be seeing each other for the next few years anyway, right? If I ever run into trouble later, helping me out then will be more than enough."
Sylvia’s eyes went dreamy. Hearing him say they would be seeing each other for years, she was probably thinking something like, 'It’s not just a few years, I want to see you forever.' If I were in her shoes, I would have already been debating what to name our grandchildren. So, for the love of god, stop looking at me while you're talking to Sylvia, you lunatic...
Sylvia must have sensed the tension, as she shot me a sharp glare every now and then. I suppose it’s all my fault. Having lived through the peak of being a hot-blooded male student myself, I couldn't entirely blame Yoon Siwoo. I mean, seeing a classmate naked would definitely be distracting. If my ability hadn't been fire, none of this would have happened. Ah, I really need a Status Window right now...
Regardless, after everyone finished their measurements, a different teacher—not Eve—walked in. The teacher said, "Since it's the first day of class, we'll keep it simple," followed by two full hours of passionate, non-stop lecturing. In the novel, there wasn't much description of theory classes like this, so it was quite fascinating. It made me realize all over again that this was a fully realized world. However, listening to the history of this world or the mindset a hero should have was completely lost on me. So, I just stared blankly at Sylvia until it was suddenly lunchtime.
As soon as lunch started, Sylvia invited Yoon Siwoo, saying, "Would you like to have lunch together?" Sensing that Yoon Siwoo was about to look in my direction, I quickly fled to the cafeteria.
The food was delicious... I suppose the quality was top-tier, given that it was served to students who would eventually become heroes risking their lives. How could fried fish taste this good? I was eating in a corner where no one seemed to come, marveling at the meal, when I saw Yoon Siwoo and Sylvia eating together in the distance. Even just eating, they looked like a painting. I finished my meal, doing my best to ignore Yoon Siwoo casting glances toward me, and returned to the classroom.
As I sat in my seat, I felt something strange. A sense of unease, perhaps? I scanned my surroundings carefully, but other than students who had returned from lunch sitting on windowsills or chatting in groups, there was nothing out of the ordinary. It looked like a perfectly normal classroom scene. But I knew instinctively—even if I couldn't put my finger on it—that something was wrong.
And then, I faced a shocking, indescribable reality: I was the only one sitting alone.
A sharp sense of being an outcast.
Eh? Why? The academy life I dreamed of while reading these novels wasn't supposed to be this lonely! My hands and feet trembled. I felt like if I didn't make a friend today, I would be spending the rest of my school life entirely alone. Just then, I saw Sylvia opening the classroom door and walking in. A friend... I, too, want to be friends with Sylvia!
"U-um... could you please be my friend?"
Before I knew it, I had blurted it out impulsively. After saying it, a wave of embarrassment washed over me. When I thought about it, friendship is something that happens naturally; it's not something you get just by asking. Perhaps that was why Sylvia was looking at me with an expression that clearly said, 'What is this weirdo talking about?'
"So, Scarlet Evande? You want to be friends with me?"
I nodded quickly at Sylvia's question. My heart raced as she scanned me, making a soft humming sound. She looked at me with a subtle expression, then finally smiled with her eyes.
"Alright. Let's do it, friend."
At her answer, I felt a surge of endorphins. Wow! Scarlet Evande wins!
"By the way, I really want to eat the special macarons they sell at the kiosk. You can buy me at least that much, right?"
But her follow-up words left me stunned. She was so brazenly trying to use me as a bread-delivery girl?
"Please? We're friends, aren't we?"
Even though she was saying it with a face full of smiles, I had to say what needed to be said. I gathered all the intense emotions filling my chest and shouted:
"I'll go buy them!"
I bolted from my seat and headed toward the kiosk. ...At a glance, I might look like a pushover, but if you think about it carefully, that's absolutely not the case. Think about it: if you could be called a friend by a beautiful girl like Sylvia in reality just by buying her bread, wouldn't you? Men are creatures who wouldn't hesitate to spend real cash for a 1% probability girl in a gacha game. If I could buy a "100% Friend Pass" for a beautiful girl for the price of mere bread, it was a total bargain. I'm sure even if she asked for a luxury bag instead of bread, men would be lining up to buy it. No matter how I looked at it, it was a profitable deal.
The kiosk was filled with high-end bread that didn't look like typical school cafeteria food. The macarons Sylvia asked for were 3,000G each. G stands for Gold; honestly, if 1 Gold is worth 1 Won, I wondered why they even bothered to change the currency. 1 Gold felt like an amount a family of four could live on for a month, which was weird. I paid for the macarons using my student ID. It was the one Eve reissued after my original one burned up with my uniform earlier. The student ID could be used like a debit card, and fortunately, it seemed there was more than 3,000G in the account. I should check my balance when I get home.
"Hey, you with the red hair, stop for a second."
On my way back from the kiosk to the classroom, I was stopped by a female student. It was the same classmate who had shouted for everyone to evacuate the classroom earlier. With glasses and short hair, she had the look of a class representative. I think she was just called "Class Rep" in the novel, too.
"I acknowledge your ability to see through the illusion, but is it appropriate for a hero-in-training to cause trouble for others by being late? I think you're old enough to wake up without your parents waking you, aren't you?"
Right, she was that kind of character—blunt. It might feel a bit unpleasant to hear, but since I knew she was saying it out of concern for me, it didn't bother me much. Besides, she wasn't wrong. So, I smiled and replied to return her consideration.
"Sorry, I won't be late starting tomorrow. And I don't have parents."
It was a logical deduction. If Scarlet Evande had parents, at least a contact number would have been registered. Perhaps if I had been better at games in my past life, I might have had parents. But since I wasn't, Scarlet had become a fire-attribute dutiful daughter...
Anyway, I didn't have time for this. I had to get these macarons to Sylvia quickly. I left the class rep, who looked deathly pale for some reason, and returned to the classroom. Sylvia was having a lively conversation with Yoon Siwoo in the seat next to her. I quietly approached her and handed over the macarons I had bought. Sylvia looked a bit flustered as she accepted them. Yoon Siwoo saw that and asked:
"What's that?"
"Ah, this? Scarlet said she wanted to buy it for me to celebrate becoming friends. Right, Scarlet?"
It was slightly different, but it was close enough, so I nodded. More importantly, Sylvia called me by my name! Scarlet, she said Scarlet! My mouth curled into a happy grin before I could stop it.
"...What about mine?"
I was smiling in a happy mood when I heard that voice. I looked in the direction of the sound, wondering, 'Huh?' It was Yoon Siwoo. He was blushing, asking me with an expectant voice:
"Don't I get one?"
What did this guy do to deserve a macaron from me? If he saw me naked, shouldn't *he* be the one buying *me* something? I was so dumbfounded by Yoon Siwoo's lack of conscience that I stiffened my face and backed away from him. Yoon Siwoo looked incredibly dejected. Then, for some reason, Sylvia shot me a hostile glare. I didn't know what I did wrong, but I made a mental note to buy two macarons starting tomorrow.