Chapter 9: The Laws of Academy Possession Stories (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 9: The Laws of Academy Possession Stories (2)
After demolishing the omurice and building favorability with my secret friend in a slightly weird direction, I faced yet another trial.
Indeed.
Since the official semester hadn’t started yet, things were still a bit relaxed, but the dormitory still had a curfew.
And now, having been seen off by Professor Cathy and arriving at the dorms, I had to head to my room before the curfew began. A massive ordeal was waiting for me there.
None other than my roommate.
Knock, knock.
“Hmm? Oh, Kang So-hyun?”
As expected, a response came the moment I knocked.
Sigh.
That’s right. In my room right now was an existence that was a bit too much for the current me to handle.
“Yeah.”
“It’s open, just come in.”
Kang Han-hee—no, Kang Ha-ni.
The author is my friend, but she really was lazy with character names.
Of course, it’s a name that perfectly reflects her purpose for enrolling in the Academy while disguised as a man.
In the original work, she was the character who became the roommate of the protagonist, Lilac. She comes from a prestigious swordsmanship family that failed to produce a son, so they used her, the daughter, to find a talented son-in-law—someone strong enough to inherit the family’s secret techniques. It was a truly cliché setting.
For the record, the reason she cross-dressed and enrolled as a man was to “observe many men from a closer distance.”
Is she sane?
I don’t know if I should curse her out-of-touch parents or my friend who created those parents.
“Ah, yeah. Okay.”
Clearing my stray thoughts, I opened the door and went inside. She had naturally claimed the top bunk of the bunk bed.
That’s right. From now on, I had to wash up and sleep in the same room as that girl in disguise.
Since the dormitory’s large public bath wasn’t open yet—just like the cafeteria—I inevitably had to wash in the shower room attached to the room.
I was essentially screwed.
Now, was I just being shy? Don’t give me that crap.
The problem wasn’t me; it was how Kang Ha-ni might react.
This cool-faced girl in disguise, currently scrolling through her smartphone as if she didn’t have a care in the world, was surprisingly a naive, sheltered maiden who hated men.
I’m talking about a top-tier beauty in disguise (a 17-year-old virgin).
Damn it.
To be precise, it wasn’t that she hated all men; being a sheltered maiden, she hated unrefined men.
I still remember the scene where the protagonist, meeting her for the first time, tried to touch her shoulder to act friendly and suggest going to the baths together—she nearly drew a real sword to kill him. Or the time Cheon Yu-hak told her she was “good enough to be on his team” and grabbed her shoulder, only for her to glare at him and give a scathing rejection.
When I asked my friend about it, she claimed it was “gap moe,” but the gap moe I know doesn’t involve killing people or publicly humiliating them.
Of course, she was fundamentally a “cool-type” character, so as long as I didn’t cross the line, she wouldn’t suddenly attack me. But scary was still scary.
In terms of the practical entrance exam scores, she was the runner-up, on par with the protagonist and Cheon Yu-hak.
In short, a half-baked superhuman like me couldn’t beat her even with Reinforcement.
I quietly entered the shower booth and closed the dressing room door before I started taking off my clothes.
Fortunately, she didn’t seem bothered yet, and I was able to get through it peacefully.
* * *
Contrary to Kang So-hyun’s worries, she actually found him quite likable as a roommate.
‘Not bad.’
Though she was a sheltered maiden, she had done her research and knew how some men her age could be shamelessly casual with the same sex.
She couldn’t exactly enroll in the Academy disguised as a man without knowing their behavior, after all.
According to the data she found, most men would strip their clothes off haphazardly in their rooms or barge in without knocking.
In contrast, Kang So-hyun had knocked before entering the room every single time, even after they had introduced themselves. And despite having clearly exercised and broken a sweat, he had been considerate enough to enter the dressing room before undressing.
She had thought she might need to “educate” him if he turned out to be a boor, but he was proving to be a fairly decent roommate.
Of course, it might just be because they had only just met, or perhaps he had a complex about his own body.
“Yes, that could be it.”
His body didn’t look particularly robust or well-built at a glance.
“Well, whatever.”
Regardless of the reason, as long as they maintained this level of distance, they could get along fine as roommates.
* * *
“Alright. Let’s scrub as hard as possible. No smelling like sweat!”
The refreshing scent of the body wash melted my heart—like hell it did.
The reason Lilac was able to survive in the original work even after treating a triggered Kang Ha-ni like a man for a while?
Because Lilac was damn strong and the protagonist!
The setting even had him learning a lot from Kang Ha-ni’s swordsmanship, but that wasn’t me.
If Kang Ha-ni decided to cut me, I’d die.
It would be a miracle if this pathetic body of mine could parry even a single strike from her sword.
After washing thoroughly to ensure no odor remained, I dried myself completely with a towel to avoid any dampness and tossed the towel into the washing machine.
Good. By my standards, it was perfect.
Now, if I just get dressed and go out, she’ll probably be asleep since it’s late, right?
“Oh, you’re finally out. You take a long time to wash.”
Damn it.
Defying my expectations, she had actually climbed down from the bed and was sitting in a chair, seemingly intending to talk to me.
“Uh, yeah. I tend to take my time.”
“It’s good to be clean. Anyway, it’s nothing major, but I realized we haven’t decided who gets the top bunk. I just assumed I’d be using it since I was here first, but I should hear your opinion too.”
Wow, because I’ve been acting so considerately, she’s not saying “Piss off. Use the bottom bunk,” like she did to Lilac.
Right, she was also an intelligent, sensible person.
As long as I treated her with common sense, I wouldn’t meet a sudden end by her blade.
I looked forward with hope.
“Ah, if you want the top bunk too, should we decide by strength?”
“No, please use it. It’s fine. Really. I love the bottom bunk.”
I yielded to power.
“No, I was joking…”
It might be a joke to you, but a frog can die from a stone thrown in jest by a child…!
“Still, if you’re really okay with it, I won’t decline.”
Ah, seeing a hint of a smile on that expressionless face, she really was beautiful.
Truly a victim of the “Heroine Dies First” trope.
“Oh. Don’t snore, okay? I hate noise.”
“Yes.”
“Why the formal speech?”
I lay down in bed, fearing the predator lying on the top bunk as she chuckled.
Fortunately, I wasn’t the type to snore.
* * *
Fortunately, it seemed we would be able to get along.
Of course, it was a relationship built on my one-sided efforts, but I considered it a success.
“Haha…!”
More importantly, now wasn’t the time to think about the gentle monster in the room, but a moment to rejoice in my own achievements made in just a single day.
The 500g dumbbell that felt so heavy yesterday was as light as a feather today.
Indeed, while yesterday’s efforts were somewhat pathetic, the fruit was this sweet.
I stood proudly before the 2kg dumbbell that had once defeated me.
Now it was my turn to make you submit.
Are you afraid?
No, I’m just excited…!
Without hesitation, I lifted it.
The excessive weight that felt like it would shatter my arm just a day ago was gone.
“Hehe…”
However, I quietly set the dumbbell down and picked up the 1kg one instead.
The perfect weight was pleasantly transmitted to my arm.
It seemed it was still a bit too early to face that 2kg beast again.
Today’s workout begins!
“One million and one!”
Ah, of course, the “one million” part was just for show.
Ring, ring~
Just as I was about to start my workout with gusto, my smartphone rang with a tacky default ringtone.
I’d have to change that soon.
[Hey.]
Oh, surprisingly, it was a voice I had heard before, albeit over the phone.
To me, who had almost no acquaintances in this world, a familiar voice was a precious thing.
“Yes.”
[You’re not asking who it is today?]
Of course not.
She was none other than my Elder Sister.
Even though I had no memories or feelings for her, and she was just a family member I gained by possessing Kang So-hyun, I couldn’t just cut ties as I pleased.
“Well, actually, I wasn’t in my right mind that day because of the damage I took in the Dungeon.”
It wasn’t a complete lie. I had even coughed up blood because of the side effects of my ability.
Perhaps it was effective, as my sister on the other end of the phone suddenly went quiet.
[Sigh, fine. As long as you’re not planning on cutting ties with your family. More importantly, where are you? Why did I get a text saying you’ve moved into the Academy dormitory early?]
Ah, so that finally reached her.
Since she hadn’t called, I thought, ‘Wow, their relationship must be really bad,’ but it seemed it wasn’t quite that extreme.
“That’s right. I’m at the Academy gym right now, Sister.”
[…Sister?]
Ah, crap.
Come to think of it, I didn’t know how he usually addressed her, so I just blurted it out.
[It’s been a while since you called me that. More importantly, what are you talking about? You, at the gym? Don’t joke around and tell me the truth.]
But it is the truth.
I’m even doing curls with a 1kg dumbbell.
“It’s true.”
My sister was silent for a long time again, and then her voice trembled significantly.
[Are… are you crazy?]
“Huh?”
No, damn it, a person can go to the gym.
Right?
Sure, I had a pathetic body that coughed up blood, felt faint, got out of breath after walking for ten minutes on flat ground, and felt like it would die if I tried to hike a mountain, but I could still go to the gym.
…Actually, I probably did sound like a madman.
[Are you really going to act like this? Do you think you can become a hero by doing that?! Just stay home quietly and get treatment!]
Let’s recall the small amount of information about Kang So-hyun’s family.
She regrets it after Kang So-hyun dies.
That means, regardless of her attitude, she does have the will to improve her relationship with me.
Well, actually, it seemed that very attitude was the problem that made the family relationship worse.
If Kang So-hyun was a character modeled after me, and he wanted to be a hero for some reason, and his family opposed it… I probably would have resisted fiercely in the same situation.
“Sister.”
I called out to her, but I didn’t know what to say.
I wasn’t the real Kang So-hyun.
The others were new connections I made at the Academy, but I couldn’t just act recklessly toward family.
[Hmph, I don’t care what anyone says, I won’t accept it. I heard there was a terror attack there too. I’m going to tell Father and bring you back.]
Hmm, So-hyun.
I really hope you had a similar personality to mine.
“I’m not going back.”
[You really…!]
“I felt it during this terror attack. I want to be a hero.”
Please.
[You… as expected… still about that day…]
“Yes, you know why I want to be a hero, Sister.”
I hope he was the type of person who, like me, thought lying was a valid tool depending on the situation.
[Even so…! There’s no way you can do it!]
“It’s not about whether I can or can’t. It’s about whether I do it or not.”
[You jerk.]
“I won’t die. I’ll definitely graduate and become a hero.”
And since I’ve been given this chance, I’m going to fix the absurd stories of this shitty world.
So that something like that never happens again.
…?
What was “something like that”?
For a moment, it felt like something I had forgotten was resurfacing.
[Hey.]
“Yes?”
The sense of déjà vu vanished instantly, buried by my sister’s voice.
[Don’t be stubborn and say you’re going to work part-time or whatever. Just use the money I sent you, you jerk.]
“Huh?”
Just in case, I opened the banking app on my smartphone.
It was password-protected, but when I entered the password I usually used, the lock was easily released.
“Sister.”
[What, do you hate it again?]
“I freaking love you.”
Thanks to the generous amount written there, a sense of family love that hadn’t existed before blossomed.
This was the true form of a family, a beautiful display of sibling affection.
Come to think of it, I needed to eat after working out, and I couldn’t keep relying on the Professor.
Wow! I’m not a beggar anymore!
[Crazy bastard.]
My sister said that and hung up.
But who cares! All’s well that ends well! This love will burn in my heart for at least the next two hours.