101. Academy (14)
101. Academy (14)
How long has it been since I was trapped here?
There's no way to know.
Since all my senses have been restricted, my sense of time has broken down.
Leah comes once a day.
That means Leah comes and then about 22 hours pass before she comes again.
I know this because last time Leah said she would only be here for about 2 hours.
But it doesn't feel like 22 hours at all.
It feels like from when Leah leaves until she returns, it's not one day, but two or three—no, even four days.
I can't even pass the time by sleeping.
When I try to sleep, my breath gets choked off and prevents me from sleeping.
I have to spend 22 hours in a half-asleep, half-awake state, unable to see, hear, eat, or feel anything.
Those 22 hours were absolutely horrifying for me.
I tried to move my body to get even a little stimulation, but I couldn't move at all.
I just had to wait for 22 hours, my whole body tied up tight.
In that endless boredom where 22 hours felt like 100 hours, I found myself praying for Leah to come even a little earlier.
It's ridiculous to have such feelings toward a being who sees humans as nothing more than crawling ants and is suspected to be the culprit behind this freshman attack incident, but I can't help it.
In a situation where I can't even kill myself, the only one who gives me peace and happiness is Leah.
Of course, it was also Leah who made me unable to feel that, but right now I'm not in a state of mind to think about such things.
Just Leah's touch, the food Leah feeds me, Leah's gentle stroking, and even being able to close my eyes and sleep comfortably—right now, Leah is the Saintess herself to me.
==
Leah and Prodisia became the most famous figures at Padix Academy.
First of all, all attention was focused on Prodisia, who is an elf.
With an elf suddenly entering the Academy, attention was inevitable.
Leah didn't receive much spotlight because attention was directed toward Prodisia, but by the 10th day at the Academy, Leah became more famous than Prodisia.
The reason was simple.
Because she was strong.
It was to the point where it made people wonder why she even had the nickname 'Saintess'.
Everyone thought that since her nickname was Saintess, she would use magic and holy magic, but she was stronger than most melee combat students.
Plus, her appearance was outstanding.
Her beautiful looks and voluptuous figure didn't even make anyone think to feel hostility.
From freshmen to returning students, everyone believed that the moment Leah graduated from the Academy, she would be the one to represent this era, so many people approached Leah early to build goodwill.
Leah didn't need to go looking; she carefully examined each human who came to her on their own and happily pondered who to kidnap.
"Phew... Having more popularity has its benefits, but there are also many inconveniences."
Leah was secretly smoking a cigarette in an Academy alley, blowing smoke out of her mouth.
Now that she had started eating humans, the reason she needed to smoke disappeared.
But smoking isn't something you do because you have a reason to.
You just smoke because you want to.
Leah, whose cigarettes were filled with tobacco leaves made from dried human flesh, had become addicted to the fragrant smell the more she smoked.
Leah was secretly smoking in a place that seemed to have few people around.
It's not that the Academy doesn't allow smoking.
From the start, the Academy, which requires adults to enter, has a smoking room.
But because of her 'Saintess' nickname and the attention pouring onto her, Leah simply looked for a place to smoke alone, and as a result, she was smoking in an alleyway like a student secretly having a cigarette.
There was only one reason she was secretly smoking.
Her reputation.
Since humans would gather on their own if she acted like a holy Saintess, Leah, who was putting her all into the Saintess act, thought that a Saintess and cigarettes don't match, so she was smoking in secret.
"Phew. Even after becoming this kind of body, I still can't quit smoking."
A cool breeze, a clear sky, the laughter of humans in their 20s heard from afar, and the magnificent and majestic Academy buildings.
"The cigarette tastes better than usual."
While feeling happiness from the feeling of her body becoming healthier with every fragrant puff of smoke against the backdrop of the beautiful scenery...
"Leah hubae-nim?"
"Huh!?"
At the sudden voice, Leah hastily hid the cigarette she was smoking behind her back.
"Charlotta seonbae-nim?"
"Good to see you. Is this the first time since the Class Assignment Exam? But that just now..."
"Ahem..."
"Pfft. So Leah hubae-nim also has a human side. I never imagined that a junior with the nickname 'Saintess' would smoke."
"Could you keep it a secret...?"
"Of course."
Leah gave an awkward smile, then pulled out the cigarette and started smoking again.
Although the Legion had obtained numerous humans, it wasn't enough to eat abundantly, so for Leah, who was consuming humans minimally, tobacco leaves were also precious.
"Hmm? The scent is quite unique."
"Do you know a lot about cigarettes?"
"No, I don't know much, but there are many men around me who smoke. I have a rather sensitive nose, but I've never smelled this kind of scent before. Is it a cigarette from another country?"
"This is a special cigarette. It's not easy to obtain... no, actually it is easy to obtain."
It's just that no one thinks of making cigarettes using humans as ingredients, but Leah didn't say the rest of that sentence.
"Oh? That's a bit interesting. But did you come here just to smoke?"
"I was just looking around various places and ended up here."
"You're really interesting too. Both last time and this time, your actions are like you've dropped out of another world. Like a transmigrator? There's a kid like that in my class—"
"There's a transmigrator in seonbae-nim's class!?"
Leah shouted for the first time since coming to the Academy.
"Gah, you startled me. To have that reaction... could it be that Leah hubae-nim is also—"
"That's right... I also came from another world... So I'm curious!"
Leah's eyes sparkled.
There were many reasons for coming to the Academy, but the most important reason was to find humans to put in the museum, the Human Zoo.
Although she had been at the Academy for over 10 days now, there were almost no humans that caught her interest.
The first human Leah had tried to directly manage was Gwen, who was one of the strongest among humans.
Besides, after seeing Saintess Candidate Viviant, who had the unique ability called the Status Window, looking at humans who had just turned 20 and entered the Academy made it hard to find a human she liked.
Abe, with his unfamiliar yet interesting spirit magic, was somewhat appealing.
But now, suddenly being introduced to an interesting human made Leah excited.
In this world, transmigrators, reincarnators, rebirths, and possessed individuals generally have a high probability of possessing powerful unique abilities.
Proving this, Charlotta said there was one in her own class.
Charlotta is in Class S of the 3rd year at Padix Academy.
Originally there were up to Class A, but starting from the 3rd year, they select outstanding individuals and operate Class S with a small number of students.
Class S is a class that gathers students with potential equivalent to Guild Rank A.
Being in such a class meant that the student Charlotta mentioned also possessed considerable power, which also meant they had a strong unique ability.
"Okay, okay. I'll introduce you."
"Thank you!"
"Ahem."
Seeing Leah smile brightly, Charlotta unknowingly blushed.
It wasn't that she liked women, but the sight of Leah, who was just so pretty and beautiful, smiling made her face turn red involuntarily.
==
While Leah was talking with Charlotta and Charlotta was introducing her friend, Abe was waiting for Leah in a situation where he could do nothing and feel nothing.
'Leah... Leah... When is she coming...'
In this situation, rather than thinking about his parents, or people who might come to rescue him, or friends, Abe was only yearning for Leah.
This was only natural.
When a person loses all senses for 24 hours and can't even sleep.
The thought 'Am I the only one in this world?' keeps embedding itself in the brain without fading.
Left alone in a jet black world? The horror of that is indescribable.
Abe realized he was slowly going crazy, and it was becoming unbearable to the point where tears were about to flow when...
"I'm sorry. Were you waiting?"
It wasn't a cracked, terrible auditory hallucination voice, but a soft, warm, sunlight-like voice that seemed to gently embrace his entire body, reaching Abe's ears.
Abe squirmed his body toward the direction the voice came from, crawling.
Because he wanted to feel Leah's warmth one second faster, and wanted Leah's voice to reach his ears 0.1 seconds—no, even 0.01 seconds—faster.
"I'm sorry. I was late because I went to meet a human to bring to the Human Zoo today. But since being here alone would be lonely, you'd like to have a friend, right?"
At Leah's question, Abe nodded his head eagerly.
Because...
"What a relief. I'm glad Abe likes it. I'll bring them as fast as I can."
If he answered well to Leah's words, she would praise him, and even hug and stroke him.
Through that kind of skinship from Leah, Abe could feel that he wasn't alone in this world.
When feeling that kind of happiness, Abe thinks,
'I'm glad I listened to Leah and acted cute.'
Though Abe was thinking thoughts that weren't like a human's but rather like a pet's, that no longer mattered to him.