Chapter 36
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Between Chance and Grudge
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After the orientation led by Professor Aria, our homeroom instructor, came to an end.
Without giving anyone a chance to say a word, I kicked back from my seat and bolted out of the classroom.
The outside was just like Class S—since it was the first day, they'd only done a brief orientation and called it quits.
The streets were swarming with students pouring out now that classes were over, making it hard to take even a single step.
But I seized the bustling chaos as an opportunity, diving into the crowd to hide myself.
Anyone witnessing the scene might wonder what I was in such a hurry about.
But right now, I could feel someone's presence chasing after me in real time from behind.
I couldn't afford to waste even a single minute or second.
"The weather's so nice today."
"Yeah, tell me about it."
Figures chatting away, savoring their carefree academy life, caught my eye, but I shook my head and quickened my pace.
Sure, dazzling sunlight was pouring down just as they said, feeling pleasant.
But I was shivering all over from the cold sweat trickling down my back.
"...Weird. I feel like it was around here."
A chill ran down my spine.
[Whoa. That girl's persistent, huh?]
Her voice faintly reached me from not far off, so I hurried my steps even more.
I hadn't committed any crime in the academy or anything.
Yet because of her—that walking embodiment of death—I had to hold my breath like some guilty criminal.
"...Where'd she go?"
I dodged the sharp gaze sweeping her surroundings.
The moment before I left the classroom flashed in my mind.
The instant Professor Aria stepped out and Iris shot up from her seat right after.
That split second when her blue eyes locked onto me with fierce intensity.
It felt like being a herbivore whose nape had been seized by a predator.
If she'd at least harbored some clear hostility, I might've felt better.
An opponent with fierce enmity, troublesome as they were, was easier to read.
'If it were negative emotions, I'd get a notification. It's quiet, so that's not it.'
...Honestly, I had no idea.
I couldn't even guess the reason behind her abnormal obsession with me.
'At least I seem to have shaken her off.'
I slumped onto a bench in a quiet corner of the campus, catching my ragged breath.
Only after arriving at a spot where I'd evaded Iris, who was scanning around with that hair-raising aura, could I finally let out a sigh of relief.
Few freshmen knew of this secluded place.
I could relax for the moment now that I'd made it here.
'Let's catch my breath before heading back.'
A gentle breeze rustled my disheveled hair.
Escaping the packed crowds everywhere, this sparse space brought me a sense of inner calm.
As I sat with my eyes closed, steadying my breathing.
A sudden thought made me slowly open them.
...Come to think of it, being here reminded me of something.
There was an artifact you could only get on the first day of enrollment.
If my memory served right.
I recalled there being a few hidden pieces available on the first day at specific spots.
One was right around here—a mana recovery ring hidden inside the clock tower.
It didn't have overwhelming effects, but just wearing it restored mana in real time.
Holding onto it wouldn't hurt, at least.
'Might as well grab it since I remembered.'
The others were hidden pieces in name only—basically toys, so I could skip them.
As I organized my thoughts and rose from the bench.
"Cough! Cough!"
A cough echoed in the space, silent except for the wind.
Turning toward the sound.
Under the shade of a large tree opposite the bench, someone was collapsed as if fallen.
Pale skin, slender shoulders. And light pink hair fluttering in the breeze.
She clutched her chest, coughing in agony.
"Ugh... Haa... Haa..."
Her shoulders heaved with ragged breaths.
She looked on the verge of passing out any second.
"Ah, it hurts... Hic... Haa!"
I'd planned to slip away quietly.
'But... is she really gonna die like this?'
Her condition seemed too dire to ignore.
"Cough cough! Haa... Haa!"
Unable to turn a blind eye to her suffering.
I turned my steps toward her in the end.
"...Are you okay?"
"Haa... Haa...!"
At my voice, she slowly lifted her head, teary eyes meeting mine.
The moment our gazes locked, I sucked in a breath.
Her face revealed through sweat-matted, tousled hair.
Lips red against skin so pale it seemed translucent.
A bust bursting with volume, utterly at odds with her frail impression.
The buttons on her uniform blouse strained dangerously as her ample curves rose and fell with her rough breathing.
It rivaled—no, perhaps surpassed—Elysia's overwhelming presence.
Most striking was the Class A badge on her chest.
'This person...'
No way someone this distinctive was just background in The Glory.
I rapidly sifted through my memory database for a match.
Pink hair, frail look, and those insane proportions.
'Second-year Class A, Sera von Rose.'
If memory served, that was her.
Iris's senior by a year, one of the tragic side characters doomed to an early grave before fully blooming her magic talent due to her sickly body.
Cursed with innately twisted mana circuits that shaved years off her life every time she cast, yet she'd claimed top spot in Class A through sheer genius transcending her limits.
'Right, Sera was a thing too.'
She died so early after the game started that I'd completely forgotten.
Encountering her as the protagonist was entirely optional.
You could skip her entirely without affecting the story.
So forgetting was natural.
"Haa... Haa...! M-Meds..."
Her trembling hand fumbled at the tight pocket over her chest, but it slipped, too weak even to grip properly.
"...Excuse me."
After several futile tries.
I swiftly pulled the pill bottle from her chest pocket, popped it open, and a few tablets rolled out.
"Is this it?"
"Y-Yes...! Haa... J-Just one...!"
Even speaking was a struggle, so I pried open her mouth and fed her a pill.
She gulped it down with water from the bench with great effort.
"Cough! Ugh..."
Moments later, her ragged breaths eased, faint color returning to her deathly pale face.
"Th-Thank you... You saved my life... Ah!"
As she regained some strength—or tried to force herself up—her body collapsed into my arms.
The soft sensation and heavy weight transmitted through her thin uniform.
And the faint rose scent wafting from her.
"S-Sorry! My legs... won't hold..."
Her face flushed as she tried to pull away hastily.
But that only made her lose balance, pressing closer into my embrace.
"Don't push yourself. Sit down."
"...You're so kind."
She smiled weakly up at me.
Sweat-dampened bangs poked at her eyes uncomfortably, yet even that looked poignantly beautiful.
"No trouble at all. Shall I take you to the infirmary?"
"N-No...! I'll be fine after resting a bit. It's... normal for me."
Normal, she says.
Well, with her terminal condition, every day must be a gamble.
"Um... I don't recognize you. A freshman?"
"Yes. Just enrolled recently."
Maybe because she was a character headed for a bad end.
Seeing her stirred an uneasy feeling in me.
It hurt knowing I could only watch her fated demise.
"Well then, I'll be—"
As I averted my gaze from the now-stable her to leave.
She lightly tugged my sleeve.
"W-Wait a sec."
"...?"
"I want to repay my savior... Your name. Right, what's your name?"
"I-I'm Sera von Rose."
My name, huh.
Her eyes gazed up at me, brimming with pure, worldly innocence.
Meeting those eyes, I pondered whether to give my real name.
Or a fake one.
You might think it's silly to hesitate over just a name, but...
Anyone seeing her fragile, on-the-brink state would understand my reluctance.
I had no idea how far my infamous reputation had spread.
Blurt out the truth and shock her into collapsing? I'd be wracked with guilt.
'...Just fool her.'
"Crow."
I uttered the improvised name with a straight face.
No point anyway—we wouldn't meet again after this.
"Crow... Junior Crow. I'll remember it."
She murmured the alias repeatedly, smiling shyly.
Her angelic purity pricked my conscience again, but what could I do?
Tell her my real name, and that innocent gaze might turn to disappointment.
I could gain negative emotions that way.
But I wasn't villain enough to steal emotions from a girl on death's door.
"...Then, take care of yourself."
I gave a brief nod and hurried off.
I felt her wistful stare from behind but ignored it.
'Sera von Rose, huh...'
A completely unexpected encounter.
She didn't have a huge role in The Glory due to her early exit, but her potential was the real deal.
If her body had been healthy, she could've made Class S, no doubt.
...Pure speculation, though.
'Won't meet again anyway.'
I withdrew my gaze from her demurely clasped hands over her chest and headed for the clock tower.
Artifacts were the priority now.
+ + +
Retrieving the mana recovery ring hidden at the clock tower's top was anticlimactic.
Just squeezing between dusty gears, opening a rusted box, and done.
No traps or guarding monsters.
It was simply tucked away in an overlooked corner few visited.
That obscurity made it harder to find, ironically.
'Easy peasy.'
The ring was as worn and plain as its hiding spot.
But slipping it on my finger, I felt mana slowly replenishing.
Every little bit adds up.
This would be quite useful long-term.
'Time to head back.'
I descended the tower in satisfaction, walking toward the dorms.
The sun dipped low, streets bathed in red sunset glow.
Students' voices, rustling leaves in the wind.
Everything peaceful, idyllic youth scenery.
Yet for some reason, a corner of my mind churned with vague unease.
Maybe from Iris's relentless stares all morning.
Or Sera's poignant gaze later.
Or a premonition of some bullshit incoming.
'Just my imagination?'
As I turned onto a quiet forest path to the dorms, sorting my thoughts.
"Hey! You bastard up front! Stop!"
A sharp yell from behind shredded the forest's silence.
A familiar, unwelcome voice.
'Damn. No wonder I've felt off all day.'
"Ears clogged or what, you illegitimate scum? I said stop!"
I halted.
Figured they'd keep chasing if I didn't.
Slowly turning toward the source.
"Finally turning around, huh."
There, a freckled face twisted in rage, huffing, with his apparent retainers approaching.
Wait, where've I seen that punk? Who was it again?
"..."
"..."
Oh. Right.
"Jotkiss? What's this about?"
The guy from the placement exam who'd picked a fight for no reason and gotten wrecked by Imir.
Completely forgotten until his mug jogged my memory.
"Don't call me that, you illegitimate bastard!"
Even his tantrum was goat-like.
Suits the nickname perfectly.
"How dare... How dare a wretch like you humiliate me, of the Fernan family?"
"Couldn't even take the exam properly because of you. Thought you'd get off scot-free?!"
What'd I do? Felt wronged.
Blame me for your own lack of skill? Kinda pathetic.
And...
"You did get off scot-free."
I replied flatly.
Just the facts.
I hadn't laid a hand on him, so no punishment.
And here I was, attending school fine.
"Crazy bastard. Don't you get it? No little sister or monster girl to protect you here."
He smugly jerked his chin at the burly guys behind him.
"See these? Our family's elite knights. Punks like you are one-punch fodder."
'Elite knights...?'
Scanning the confident fool's "elites."
"Oh."
Not gangsters, are they?
Faces scarred with knife marks drew an involuntary exclamation.
'Total trash.'
Big builds, but that's it.
Auras were pathetic.
Less knights, more street thugs who could throw a punch.
Those as elite knights?
'You're joking.'
Like a surprise party of clowns.
No, seriously—they couldn't beat a Dreadnote grunt.
"Scared speechless?"
Nah, just too ridiculous for words.