Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Monopolizing in the Academy...?
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Munching absentmindedly on the cake Michelle had left behind without even realizing it, I started thinking.
...What am I eating right now?
It felt too natural putting it in my mouth. The moment I became aware of it, the spreading sweetness on my tongue turned faintly bitter.
Here I was, stuffing myself with something this sugary when I should barely have time for workouts.
But I couldn't just spit it out and throw it away either.
This gluttonous body of mine was already addicted to the sweetness, my mouth chewing away on its own.
If it were my original body, this never would've happened.
I'd probably be doing squats right now, ranting about muscle loss or whatever.
I carefully stood up from my seat and struck a pose.
Then I slowly lowered my hips, trying to rise again.
"Eek!?"
It wasn't easy.
Of course not.
Fine, this body's stamina was nonexistent, but that aside...
The center of gravity was completely different, so without focusing, my body kept pitching forward. No need to spell out why, Arin would know.
After a few reps, I was gasping for breath, my body creaking in protest.
Sitting back down in the chair by the table, catching my breath, I unwittingly popped the rest of the cake into my mouth.
Seemed like my dizziness was from low blood sugar.
Makes sense—I'd fallen asleep without even dinner. For someone already frail, exercising without enough calories was bound to be tough.
...Feels like I'm just making excuses piling up.
Letting out a sigh, I cleaned up what I'd eaten and headed outside.
Basking in the gently falling sunlight lifted my spirits nicely.
Once I resolved to move this hopeless body, conflicting thoughts started battling in my head.
On one hand: Who cares? I'm going back to my original body anyway.
On the other: What if...?
The sensations I'd felt right before my consciousness cut out were still vivid.
If I'd died for real and some force brought me to this world?
And if people here had already checked and concluded, "This girl's a futanari gamer who died playing..."?
...Might be better to just live here.
But nothing was certain right now, so I lacked grounds to decide.
For the sake of seeing the ending, at least.
Or... to live on in this body with its uselessly heavy chest.
Either way, my plan had to proceed.
...If it was the latter, seeing the ending would just be for my personal satisfaction.
My head was getting complicated.
The dizziness from low sugar—normally you'd eat something sweet in a case like this—
...Huh.
I must be going crazy. Me, thinking like that?
Though in a situation like this, staying sane would be weirder, right?
Best to move my body even more.
With that judgment, I started running as planned.
And I could taste the sweetness from moments ago lingering in my mouth.
I'm gonna die for real.
Right around when I worried I'd get shocked back to where I came from...
A familiar voice called out.
"Ah, Instructor Iris?"
I turned my blurring vision toward the voice and saw Charlotte staring at me, her face full of bewilderment.
"Ah."
...Why's she here?
She's not out wandering for exercise, that's for sure.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, I used the bench that had been propping me up like a crutch to stand.
The world spun wildly, but Charlotte grabbed me.
"Ah... um, thanks."
"N-no, it's nothing. But... what were you doing...?"
"Tr-trying to exercise a bit..."
Then Charlotte spoke in a tone and expression like she was looking at someone extraordinary.
"H-how intense was your workout to leave you like...?"
"Ahem..."
I'd only jogged a little...
As embarrassment flooded me and I just panted, Charlotte blushed faintly for some reason and bowed her head.
"Um, about yesterday... thank you..."
"Uh, yeah... It was just what I had to do, so don't worry about it."
"I see..."
She'd probably rushed over worried about me collapsed on the ground gasping, but she seemed conscious of what happened then too.
For me, dredging it up wouldn't do any good, so I decided not to drag it out.
Still... the way she fidgeted with her fingers was awfully cute.
At my reassurance, Charlotte smiled shyly, looking touched, then hurried off like she had something to do.
I'd wanted to savor the sweetness of magical engineering while I was at it, but it felt too soon.
...And asking for a favor or reward after "handling that" would feel... off, right?
It was unavoidable anyway, and I didn't care what others thought, but it left me uneasy.
Anyway.
I felt my troubled heart warm a little.
Riding that mood, I kept moving.
The silver lining with this body?
Separate from its awful stamina, flexibility was decent. Not satisfying, but enough to say a dragon rose from a gutter.
After working out hard like that, I summoned Undine to clean up.
Since this didn't burden me much, making a water onahole with her must've been pretty taxing.
Now, how can I use this ability better?
Does it improve just by using it a lot?
...Kinda like exercise.
Might even relate to what I'm getting today.
With those thoughts, I staggered onward. Destination: the cafeteria.
I could go outside the academy grounds, but honestly, I didn't want to trek that far.
Needed to conserve energy till dinner.
Conveniently, even on rest days, lunch was available there.
I hadn't paid it much mind, but using it was easy. This world full of convenience settings made it all too familiar.
While having lunch like that.
Rarely, some cadets were using the cafeteria on a weekend.
And at their center sat a somewhat familiar face.
A woman with luxurious silver hair tinged purple and gem-like eyes that gleamed.
Honestly, I couldn't claim to know every character.
There were just... so many, and unmemorable ones faded fast.
But she was different.
Because... she was the one whose ending I'd seen last before coming here.
Irene Edelweiss.
...Her full name was longer, I think, but I didn't have the brainpower to memorize that.
Anyway.
She was the character I'd paired with her beastkin guard maid, Leona.
Right now... she probably didn't feel that way, but who knows.
Being the last route I'd cleared, my memories were sharpest.
So she was the first couple on my mind.
...But separately, the process was so grueling I'd only thought about it.
The game had no "after story," so I didn't know what happened after they whispered their love.
I hoped their love ended in happiness, but I couldn't guarantee it.
A princess somewhere and her maid's love.
Doesn't that scream thorny path?
So... I'd probably never step in to push their relationship.
In a game, I'd casually say "hot," but thinking of them as living people made me hesitate.
...Maybe reflecting my anxiety about living in this body.
My mouth tasted bitter for some reason.
Still, her face was stunningly beautiful. Eye candy, I guess?
I left before she could notice me.
Glancing back one last time... I thought I saw another familiar face.
But their group stood to leave too, so I hurriedly exited the cafeteria.
Figuring if I didn't approach, nothing would entangle us anyway.
Like that, I killed time blankly until dusk.
...Building stamina personally was important, but today I planned to fetch something immediately useful.
The academy shrouded in darkness.
The weekend evening academy was incredibly quiet.
Dorms were probably bustling, sure, but any sane person avoids the main building—especially its remote corners.
Why hide something like this here?
I decided not to question it.
...I'm just taking what's there.
Nothing more, nothing less. If not me, it'd rot there till the academy fell, so they should be grateful, right?
Deep in the academy.
Long ago, a statue of the academy's founder stood there.
There it is.
Finding the unexpectedly small statue of "her," I confirmed no one around and cautiously approached.
According to the text...
...It felt a bit creepy, but I groped under the statue's skirt.
Feeling around the hard, cold thighs was kinda weird.
Even reading it in text made me think, "Hidden here?" Doing it myself was worse.
The one who hid it wasn't right in the head either. Why else stash it here?
Muttering thanks to my benefactor who'd hidden this fateful encounter item.
Click.
Something shifted with a sound.
And something dropped into my hand.
This is really weird.
Touch a stone thigh and some elixir falls out!
First time finding it in-game, I had no clue what it was for.
An elixir boosting mysterious stats like affinity and sensitivity.
But pondering what I needed, I remembered this.
Physical stuff was tough right now, but this felt directly tied to my ability, a hunch.
An Easter egg in-game whose purpose was unknown.
A stat invisible in the game.
Perfect combo that'd make anyone's mouth water.
Probably.
Definitely not because my body was trash and this was my only option.
...I stared into the skirt of the nameless founder where the elixir had fallen, then headed back to the dorm.
Not forgetting to swallow the elixir first, of course.