Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: The Gold-Scattering Beasts ☆ (6)
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Like any other morning, I opened my eyes.
Before me was the familiar ceiling of my dorm room.
“…”
The same old sight of my room.
But I didn't get up right away, instead observing the myriad presences around me.
Among the presences I could feel within a 100-meter radius, I focused on my juniors.
*-Clatter, clatter...*
*-Hmm... this isn't quite enough. Should I peel another one...?*
*-Zzz... snore... phew...*
*-[Flash Sword]—!!*
*-Swish, swish, swish—!!*
*-Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!*
Lotha in the next room was already up and on meal duty.
Kara in the room across the hall was sprawled out on the floor, scratching her stomach in her sleep.
Alvitt must have headed to the main hall, as I could feel an intense presence from far away.
*‘Hmm... they're all healthy. Alvitt's gotten stronger again... It looks like her skill has evolved to the second stage. But why does Kara always sleep on the floor in a prostrating position instead of her bed?’*
The first thing I did upon waking had become a habit: checking if my ability to perceive 'the moment' and sense presences were working properly.
*‘With the value of my knowledge from the original story plummeting, if I lost my sensory abilities too, I’d truly become a useless pink-haired girl...’*
I gently shifted my gaze to the cuckoo clock hanging on one wall. My room was filled with all sorts of dolls and pink things. I could hear the twisting of the parts inside the clock that always woke me in the morning. I had a feeling the alarm would go off any second.
*‘The radar’s still working just fine.’*
I was grateful that my presence-sensing and cognitive abilities were still functioning normally.
Truth be told, aside from my ether recovery, none of my abilities had ever been broken. But my juniors’ constant coddling made me feel like I was a critical patient. So, I found myself unconsciously checking for any broken parts out of habit.
*‘No matter how many times I tell them I’m fine, they don’t believe a word of it...’*
Today’s inspection results: all pass.
I narrowed my perception range and checked the time. In my momentary vision, the parts inside the cuckoo clock were slowly twisting, finishing their preparations to sound the alarm.
The time was 6:59 AM.
A day when I didn't go out for an early morning bike ride.
The plan was to wake up at a reasonable hour and eat the meal prepared by my junior.
It had already been a week of such lazy mornings.
*‘Still, I did manage to get a few things done...’*
Somehow, I found these days a little frustrating.
The lament of fattening thighs.
It was the same frustration Liu Bei felt when, after four years of unemployment while living off Liu Biao, he lamented the muscle loss in his thighs.
*‘I want to start loosening up my body with some cardio, but whenever I try to do anything, they surround me from three directions with teary eyes...’*
A cute baby, a diligent baby, and a big baby.
The sight of my three baby juniors, eyes glistening with tears, grabbing my sleeves and trailing after me is something I don't think I'll ever forget.
*-Senior... where are you going?*
*-Just for a little walk around the shopping district—☆*
*-Comrade Senior! Please do not move! I would rather carry you myself!*
*-Senior!! Please!! I’ll let you touch my ears, just lie down and be still!*
*-Isn't that just what you want, Comrade Lotha...?*
*-Hiiiissss—!!!*
Recalling such memories, I finally got out of bed.
Just as I was slowly starting to get up to turn off the alarm, a white cuckoo bird burst out of the clock and let out a resounding cry.
*Clang—!*
*Cuckoo! Cuckoo! Cuckoo! Cuckoo! Cuckoo!*
The white cuckoo glared at me as it cried out.
*-Scold—!! You pink-haired wench—!! Will you not awaken from your slumber!!*
After awakening my [Unique Ether], this was the first time in a while I'd heard the cuckoo's cry, and it felt like it was saying just that. I had always used my ether to shut it off instantly, like a superpower, so the cuckoo's triumphant cry was incredibly annoying.
*‘To do that again, I’ll have to wait another three months...’*
*Trudge, trudge...*
*Click!*
In the end, I had to walk right up to the clock and turn the alarm off myself.
Silence fell upon the room.
Bathed in the morning sunlight streaming through the window.
Still in my comfortable one-piece pajamas, I rolled up my sleeves.
What I saw were the faded blue bruises on my arms and legs.
“Oh—☆ It looks like cute blue cheese♪”
Compared to when I was covered in gruesome, dark-red wounds, my condition had improved a lot. The twig-like scars on my neck and chest were unavoidable, but the wounds on my limbs were slowly healing.
“Yep♪ This is more than enough—☆”
Checking my improved wounds, I rummaged through a box of medical supplies for a new bandage. There were plenty of them, so I found one quickly.
*‘Hilde, honestly... She could have just sent it in her own name, but she had to send it under the 's name.’*
A box of daily necessities filled with various medicines and food items that 's poor finances could only dream of.
Ever since that day, we had been receiving boxes of various necessities from the under the guise of support. They were always sent in the Council's name, so I couldn't be sure who was behind it, but...
*‘Vel has already stayed a night at our school, and has begun its activities in earnest... There's no way Hilde doesn't know.’*
Back in my first year, I was too embarrassed about our school's poor situation to tell Hilde, but Vel had already seen everything. For the soft-hearted and earnest Hilde, it would probably be hard to pretend she didn't know about our circumstances.
*‘It's a blessing that I can still be friends with someone so thoughtful and sincere. I was so thoughtless...’*
The image of Hilde timidly waving from the rooftop flickered in my mind. When all was said and done, Hilde was also a soft-hearted girl who cared about her friends.
When I get the chance, I should meet her again and thank her.
Let's go back to normally exchanging thanks and greetings.
I hummed a tune, recalling those beautiful, jewel-like silver-white eyes.
“Humm—♪ Hmm—☆”
I unwrapped the bandage crusted with dried blood and replaced it with a fresh one.
Along with a stinging pain, I felt the comfortable pressure of the new bandage.
The parts where my fingernails and toenails had fallen off were hideous, so I took special care to cover them.
*‘If my babies see this, they’ll overreact and cry again.’*
After finishing the bandage change, I lightly moved my hands and feet.
*Squeeze, squeeze.*
I clenched and unclenched my fists.
Lifted and lowered my feet.
*Wiggle, wiggle.*
I even tried wiggling my fingers and toes.
Thankfully, my condition had improved so much that I no longer felt any pain.
That's right.
I had now made a full recovery.
*‘Now that I've recovered this much, maybe I should start dropping hints to my juniors...?’*
With that thought, I put on my pink cardigan. Then, I walked toward the dormitory dining hall where Lotha was preparing breakfast.
***
The dining hall next to the dormitory building.
There, a small orange cat was furious.
“Senior! Are you going to keep talking nonsense? What patient exercises! Just because there's no pain doesn't mean the wounds are gone, it just means they're starting to heal!”
“…”
“Anyway! Absolutely not! Just eat your breakfast for now!”
“Okay—☆”
I was shot down in an instant.
*‘Damn it, the little one only speaks the truth.’*
Lotha, wearing a white apron and bandana, expressed her displeasure with her adorable hands on her hips. Her outfit, like a lunch lady's, was cute, but the cold look in her orange eyes made it hard to say anything.
*‘Is this why Liu Bei couldn’t talk back to his mother?’*
I gave a bitter smile and held out a plate to Lotha. She ladled potage soup onto the plate with one hand, then brought out prepared fruits and a boiled egg.
“…”
I couldn't help but be moved as I looked at it all.
Really... since coming to this world, this was the first time I'd had such a luxurious meal at school since Lotha arrived.
*‘Senior Nina knew how to cook, but she was biased toward sweets and desserts.’*
The potage soup Lotha had prepared contained various neatly chopped vegetables, and on the table was a basket of bread, warmed by steam.
*‘The fact that she prepares meals herself as long as she has the ingredients... Her life skills seem better than Alvitt's... Is she really from a rich family?’*
During cleaning time, Alvitt only cared about tidiness, but at mealtime, she only ever shouted for meat and prepared meat-heavy meals. And Kara would just serve the raw ingredients, proclaiming, 'You should be grateful just to have something to eat.'
In the end, Lotha was the only one who prepared a proper meal.
Such a neatly arranged breakfast.
Lotha filled a large plate with breakfast but hesitated, not handing it over.
“…”
Lotha fidgeted, her orange cat ears twitching.
*‘Does she have something to say?’*
I just stared blankly at her.
“…”
“…?”
I urged her on in a playful voice.
“Hm? What is it—☆ My tummy's about to start rumbling♪☆”
“You know, Senior... if you're in more pain because you're lacking ether... there's a 'special dungeon' near the school I used to attend...”
Hearing those words, I had a feeling I knew what Lotha was about to suggest.
“If your condition is due to ether loss, then if you receive the 'blessing that quickly restores ether' there... wouldn't you feel a little better? I mean, getting strong like you used to be... might be impossible, but...”
This misunderstanding that wouldn't clear up no matter how I explained.
I had no idea how to resolve the gap between conventional wisdom and the results I had shown.
*‘Ha... geez. That's heartbreaking. No matter how many times I tell her I’m fine, she won't believe me.’*
I just listened to Lotha with a troubled smile.
“Hmm…☆”
“I just... want you to be in less pain, Senior. Being in pain... is just too sad.”
“I see. Thank you—☆”
When I said that and patted her head, Lotha, still holding the plate, bowed her head deeply. She shyly offered me the plate, and I took it and began to eat.
Lotha seemed to think she had overstepped, fidgeting with awkward hand gestures.
*‘You’re just worried about me, there’s no way I’d dislike that.’*
But given my junior's personality, saying that out loud would only make her feel more guilty and flustered. So, I decided to eat my breakfast quietly.
A thought came to me as I savored the delicious soup.
*‘It's about time I went to tease those furry beasts anyway.’*
Those rich, arrogant beasts.
All sorts of treasures are hidden in the lands they rule.
In my first year, I only quickly plundered a few dungeons and retreated.
But now that the main story has begun, there should be much more.
*‘And I need to grab a few cool things for my house cat to use...’*
As I fell silent with those thoughts, a subtle silence filled the dining hall.
“…”
“…”
Just then, Alvitt entered the dining hall. She was drenched in sweat, likely from spamming her newly strengthened skill.
But her face was full of pride, as she could feel how much stronger she had become.
Alvitt smiled without a hint of malice and said loudly.
“Wow~ Soup!! Lotha! Give me a lot!”
“…”
“…”
“…Ah. Sorry.”
Alvitt quickly sensed the subtle atmosphere and started serving herself. Breakfast for everyone ended with a late-rising Kara barging in, still in her underwear, and smacking her lips as she ate.
It was a peaceful breakfast.
***
And that afternoon.
A surprising guest arrived from .
“I'm here.”
The guest appeared in work overalls, her eyes filled with weariness. She had driven a huge truck and was now pointing a strange machine at me.
*Beep.*
*Beep.*
*Beep.*
*Beep.*
*Beep.*
Maya held the strange machine to my head and muttered softly.
“Wow, a talking corpse.”
“Hey—☆ What's that supposed to mean, Maya☆”
“This is a machine that measures ether depletion rates. I used it on a kid who collapsed from overwork the other day, and it beeped twice.”
“…What does five beeps mean☆”
“When I tested it on an animal carcass, it beeped three times, so I don't know what more than that means.”
“…”
And upon hearing that, the juniors looked like they were about to cry.