Anywhere Door (4)

"Ah..."

Fortunate, I supposed. Before I could even refuse, complaints erupted from the cluster of students around Arthas.

"Teacher! Even if the class president is appointed, the vice president should be chosen by vote!"

"That's right! It's weird that a weakling like that would even be looking after Arthas!"

"I'll definitely become vice president and serve Arthas like a devoted wife!"

A devoted wife, looking after him... what the hell. Was I supposed to be his wife?

Park Ji-bo, who had seemed utterly vacant until now, apparently found this opinion reasonable enough, and nodded.

"Hmm... that's a fair point. But this is something the class president should decide. Why bother with a vote?"

So it was reasonable in a completely different sense.

"No, Teacher!"

"That's not right!!"

"What?"

"..."

"Ah, never mind..."

The democratic crusaders' desperate struggle was crushed by a single scowl from Park Ji-bo. How could a human face be that terrifying.

"Arthas, choose. Who's it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠going to be."

In the end, the choice fell to Arthas. The guy named his one-night stand... no, the vice president.

"...Then, Na-ho. I'll go with Oh Na-ho."

"Fine. You two work well together."

"Yes, Teacher."

And then those violet eyes turned back toward me, as if asking whether I was all right. Honestly, the dozens of sharp, axe-blade glares around him bothered ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me far more than he did. But what was I supposed to do with a trash-tier body whose Strength wasn't even twenty.

Soon Park Ji-bo asked me with a face that said he'd kill me if I refused.

"Oh Na-ho. Are you doing it?"

"...Yes. I will."

"Good. Then that's settled. Class president? Vice president? Get up here and hand these out."

Ah... immediately dumping the grunt work on us?

I dragged my still-settling body forward. Up at the front sat textbooks along with various notices, and Park Ji-bo launched into an explanation.

"First-year classes consist of physical training, mana training, plus history and general education as the basics. On top of that, knight-track students each choose one weapons class according to their weapon of choice, and mage-track students take applied magic. And finally, there's the all-first-year combat class."

Physical training for the body, mana training for magic, I figured. A surprisingly normal explanation was unfolding when—

"Ugh..."

I picked up a textbook and immediately set it back down.

"...Heavy?"

"...Yes."

"I'll handle it. Leave it there. More importantly, you can speak casually with me..."

"I'll hand out the notices."

I quickly put distance between myself and Arthas, gathering the notices against my chest. Why was this book so heavy? It was thick, meant to last a whole year, and my tiny hands couldn't even wrap around it.

As I went around handing out the notices, whispering voices drifted over.

"That fox-faced bitch..."

"Look at her already wagging her tail."

"Hey, you're being way too obvious."

"..."

The girls sitting around Arthas. No... I don't like that guy either, okay? Can't you see I'm keeping my distance? I couldn't say it out loud, so their stares showed no sign of improving.

After finishing the distribution and returning to Yu-ra's side, I felt my heart hammering in my chest.

...It's more bothersome than I expected.

Was this because of the high Sensitivity too? Things I would have just let slide in the past kept circling in my ears. Bitch. Slut. Fox. And on and on.

"You okay?"

"...Yeah. Thanks for worrying."

"We're friends! Hehe."

"Yeah, friends... still, thank you."

How many times had she asked if I was okay today alone. I answered with genuine feeling.

"Oh, and congrats on becoming vice president too!!"

"...Yeah."

I took Yu-ra's hand under the desk and settled my heart. Since it was the first period, Park Ji-bo was reasonably flexible with the remaining time.

"Next period is mana training. Use the leftover time to talk among yourselves."

"Yeees~."

"Arthas, I have something to ask you..."

"Hey, don't you know I came to Arthas first?"

"What? What kind of bullshit..."

The moment Park Ji-bo left, girls swarmed around Arthas. I could feel his gaze seeking me out through the crowd, but I ignored it immediately.

"What should we do, Na-ho?"

"...Think we can leave?"

"Hmm... we'd probably get in trouble if we left."

"Right...?"

"Yeah."

The anxiety that I might get fucked again at any moment shook me. The first time I could fumble through, but if I kept letting out lewd moans, how would they look at me? In my haste, the words slipped out on their own.

"I need to find it fast..."

"Hm? Find what? Oh — Na-ho, you've been looking for something this whole time... can I help?"

Yu-ra asked, squeezing my hand. Two soft, yielding lumps of flesh overlapping sent a heat through me I couldn't explain.

It's body heat, body heat! Lower belly, stop!

I barely held back from punching my own abdomen. Why did it keep getting hot on its own, damn it.

Anyway, I eventually told Yu-ra a slightly edited version of the story.

"So... on your first day here, you lost something, and you've been looking for it?"

"...Yeah. It might be... stuck to a wall or something. It's like a black slime. You know, the kind you squish around and play with."

Since it was a hole, I figured it was probably black — that was the lie that came out. I added the slime property on top and claimed, through my teeth, that it could stick to walls too.

"Hmm, our Na-ho is so cute."

"Huh?"

"I mean, playing with a toy that little kids like."

Yu-ra was looking at me the way you'd look at a child. I felt wronged, but there was nothing I could do about it. I'd take even a cat's paw at this point.

Let's hope it isn't a monkey's paw.

Yu-ra and I were deep in discussion about where my hole might be when a broadcast crackled from the speaker on the ceiling.

Wait... why did this broadcast sound so familiar. In the game it had just been text, but here, matching it with an actual voice and the person making the announcement made it feel unnervingly real.

"Sorry, girls. I'll be right back."

"Ah, can I come too?"

"Me too!"

"Hmm... it seems like they're calling the first-year student council president. I'll go alone."

Arthas shook off the girls and hurriedly disappeared. And once that insanely handsome alpha male was gone, the females in heat who'd been desperate for even a glance from him came toward me.

"W-what?!"

"You, stay out of this, commie."

"What, how long have the commies even been dead..."

"I said stay out! We have something to say to the fox bitch next to you!!"

At that sharp voice, my reliable tank Yu-ra shot up from her seat. The approaching girls actually flinched and stepped back.

"I don't think so. You guys aren't trying to talk to Na-ho with good intentions."

She seemed a bit off her rocker most of the time, but at moments like this she was dead serious. That sturdy ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠back made me trust her even more.

As I stood behind Yu-ra, an ice-cold voice rang out.

"That's enough. We just want to talk. Why are you making such a fuss, friend."

"Ah... yeah, sorry. I just wanted you to talk comfortably..."

"Right. Thanks. Could you step aside?"

"U-uh..."

And through the females parting like the Red Sea appeared a haughty-faced girl. Was she even one of them? When everyone else had been clinging, she'd been watching Arthas from a slight distance.

"Hello. Nice to meet you. I'm Annelisa Moritz."

The girl who casually offered her hand. Hearing the name Moritz, something clicked. Way up north, nested in Russia, a powerful martial organization. The daughter of Mikhail Moritz, lord of the Crystal Citadel — Annelisa Moritz.

Commonly known as the Crystal Princess, and...

One of the heroines. Here, "heroine" didn't mean some throwaway side piece — it meant a character with illustrations, cutscenes, and proper interaction. And Annelisa was a heroine with severe possessiveness. In other words, a yandere-adjacent bitch.

Ah... am I screwed?

No. I still had a chance to convey my true feelings. I lightly took the hand she offered.

"Yeah, nice to meet you. I'm Oh Na-ho."

"A name I've never heard of."

"Ah... I just got in because my aptitude was good."

It was an openly dismissive remark, but I couldn't really deny it. More importantly, my tank Yu-ra...

Ah...

Before I knew it, Annelisa's lackeys had Yu-ra marked and occupied. Well, Annelisa was scarier than Yu-ra, I supposed.

"Ah, cold."

A slightly cold sensation brushed my cheek. Turning my head, I found those sky-blue eyes, even colder than before.

"..."

Wow, you make threats this vicious... What did I even do wrong... But the weak do as they're told. I carefully conveyed my true feelings.

"Um... seriously. I genuinely have no interest in getting close to Arthas. I just... want to quietly go to school and graduate."

"Ho... is that so?"

"Yeah. Please believe me. Really..."

Silence fell over the classroom. I'd been appealing that I had nothing to do with him at all, but Annelisa's eyes had already grown even thinner.

"Hmm. Go on. They're calling you."

"...Please believe me. I really have no interest."

After saying that, I stood and headed for the back door of the classroom. And behind me, Annelisa's snorting voice came quietly.

"She's lying her ass off, that bitch."

"Haa..."

I let out the deep sighs I'd been holding back because Yu-ra was there. What the hell did I even do wrong, you bitches...

Looks like I've been marked... ah, I hate this...

When things refused to go my way, that overflowing Sensitivity of mine erupted into actual feelings again. I was holding back the tears that kept leaking out in little drips when I suddenly remembered I didn't know where the faculty office was.

"Ha... what do I do?"

Should I just sneak off for a bit and look for the hole? I was a freshman, so if I said I'd gotten lost, they might let it slide once.

As I was thinking that, I sensed a presence behind me.

"Oh, student. What are you doing here, haeyou?"

"Eek?!"

Fingers brushing along the small of my back made me whirl around in shock. There stood a Black man who looked a good two meters tall.

Shit... the racial diversity is too much...

Even if the Holy God's grace had unified all languages...

The Black man showed me a badge as I stood there flustered.

"Oh, sorry if I startled you, haeyou. Me's Thomas, in charge of academy security, haeyou."

It was definitely a badge stamped with the academy logo. A silver badge that read Academy Security Guard.

"You've been circling around since earlier, so I followed you, haeyou."

"Ah... yes. I, I got lost. Sorry for being startled earlier."

He was a security guard, so there was no need to look at him badly. I bowed my head.

Gulp.

"...?"

"Ah, I've been on patrol so my throat's dry, haeyou. Where are you headed, haeyou?"

"The... faculty office."

That was a pretty blatant swallow. Standing next to a Black man with this perverted body of mine, all kinds of delusions swirled through my head.

"Heh heh, follow me, haeyou. Me knows the school layout inside and out, haeyou."

"...Please."

And so I followed Thomas, the academy security guard.

It'll be fine, right?

Getting to the faculty office came first. It'll be fine.