Chapter 14
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Ariel Academy (2)
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After finishing my meal, I was walking down the corridor to head to the second-floor training ground.
Lloyd, Bobby, and Lui—friends of Sian before the possession, apparently—had been following me from the cafeteria and kept striking up conversations.
"Sian, what the hell did you do during vacation? Did you get stranded in the demon realm or something?"
"Uh... I just, you know, did some dieting."
I answered Lloyd, who was about my height and looked skinny.
If I suddenly cut ties with these guys and wandered off alone, it'd raise suspicions.
For now, I figured I'd just hang out with them casually.
"Now that we've got you looking good, picking up girls should be easier than before. We might even have some fun without hitting up the brothels, heh heh..."
Lui said. He was short with narrow eyes.
Wasn't he hyping me up a bit too much?
This face I'd stared at daily in the mirror for motivation back when I was fat—it had grown familiar.
Every time I looked, it seemed too delicate. A real man should have that wild, rugged charm.
Though my eyes did seem a little bigger than average...
"Fuck! The world really is unfair! I thought you were in the same class as me, but how does a face like that hide behind all that blubber?!"
"......"
Bobby, the big guy, said.
Then Lui teased Bobby with a smirk.
"Hey, Bobby! You never know—maybe if you diet and lose the weight, you'll turn out like Sian!"
"Y-Yeah...? Should I start dieting today?"
"Pfft, idiot. You believe that? Even if you diet, you'll look the same. Fix that flattened nose first, man! Heh heh!"
"What did you say—?! You...! Fucking bastard!!"
An angry Bobby chased after Lui.
Lui, nimble as ever, dodged him while keeping up the taunts.
...They really acted so immaturely.
Maybe because they were Sian's friends from before the possession. Or were all boys this age just like this?
Still, as Sian's friends, they all seemed to default to foul mouths and a love for girls.
"Sian, where are you headed anyway?"
Lloyd asked as I walked down the corridor, lost in thought.
"...To work out."
"Work out? Come on, forget that and let's go hit on the cute girls in the library. They looked prime today—if you go, it's game over for them, man!"
"......"
No way.
If I went, my workout routine would be ruined.
Aria was already forcing me to push my afternoon session to evening.
Any later, and I wouldn't have enough recovery time until lunch the next day.
Besides, girls my age just looked like little sisters to me—meeting them would probably just make me feel guilty first.
Right now, building strength was the priority.
"I get anxious if I skip even a day."
"Dude... what really happened during vacation? For you to turn down girls for workouts...?"
We were almost at the training ground at the end of the second-floor corridor when it happened.
"Hey, hey! Look over there! Check it out!"
"Ooh...!"
Lui pointed excitedly far ahead.
Bobby, who had been chasing him, instantly calmed down and stared blankly ahead.
What was getting them so worked up?
I looked ahead too.
...A girl?
She was pretty stunning. These guys really were girl-crazy.
A cool beauty. Beautiful enough to remind me of someone I knew...
Black, long ponytail. Haughty cat-like features, just like Aria's...
Like... Aria...
Wait, that was actually Aria walking toward us?!
I quickly ducked behind Lloyd.
"? What are you doing?"
"N-Nothing... just stay like this for a sec."
"...?"
I couldn't let her spot me. If she recognized me, it'd spell trouble!
Did she work out twice a day? I thought she was obsessed only with swordsmanship, but apparently she was just strength-obsessed in general...
"Man, is that even human? She's sooooo pretty... for real..."
"Heh heh, wonder if she's got a boyfriend. If not, I could treat her right."
Bobby drooled as Aria drew closer.
...A new breed of suicide seeker?
She lived for strength and would die for it—she had her eyes set on Cain after he awakened his talent.
She naturally fell for him and chased after him as one of the heroines, getting dragged into countless incidents along the way.
Wanting to get involved with her was the same as saying, "I don't value my life."
The prettier the flower, the more thorns it has—perfect fit.
Judging by these guys' reactions, Aria must be exceptionally beautiful.
...In the story, she was one of the academy's top three beauties, so it made sense.
"Hey, how long you gonna hide?"
"Okay, now."
After Aria passed without seeing me, I stepped out from behind Lloyd.
"Was my back that comfy, bro? Why'd you suddenly stick to me like that?"
"...Work on your back muscles. It was too narrow to stay there."
"W-What did you say, you little shit—?!"
The anchovy bastard was getting cocky.
Lloyd, Bobby, and Lui escorted me all the way to the training ground door.
I asked if they wanted to join, but they said they'd go hunting in the library and crash after.
The training ground was empty when I entered alone.
It was nighttime, and the day before classes started—everyone probably had prep to do.
Tomorrow, I'd be attending Ariel Academy classes too.
It was far off, but come second year, I'd definitely take magic classes.
The original owner had only taken a bit of swordsmanship, which left me regretting it. I wanted to learn magic and alchemy too...
...I swung my sword for four hours in the training ground and did back exercises on the equipment.
The facilities were so clean and nice that I worked out feeling great and headed back to the dorm.
I woke up early at dawn, grabbed breakfast in the cafeteria, changed into the white shirt uniform, and was heading to the lecture hall.
For some reason, a few girls were whispering as they looked at me.
I thought it was paranoia at first and tried ignoring it, but no—it was definitely about me.
...Had they figured out I was the Debauched Young Master Sian?
Even after I entered the lecture hall and sat in an inconspicuous spot at the top of the pyramid seating, a few girls kept glancing over.
"Isn't he... a new student?"
"Never seen him before—go talk to him!"
"Feels like he'd brush me off... You go talk to him—!"
Why did they keep peeking?
"......"
"......"
Ah.
In my growing unease, I ended up locking eyes with one of the girls staring at me for too long.
She realized it a few seconds later and turned away.
But something felt off.
Why was her face red...?
I couldn't make sense of it. Was she mad? She had looked first...
The sidelong glances continued bit by bit until a female professor entered through the lecture hall door.
Not wanting to be aware of it and feeling uncomfortable, I propped my chin on my hand and stared out the window, pretending not to notice.
"Did everyone have a good vacation~? I'm thrilled to spend the first day of school with you all~!"
The female professor entered the lecture hall, smiling brightly and addressing the students.
She vaguely overlapped with memories from the original owner's life before possession and my game playthroughs.
Laura, the swordsmanship professor.
One of the Sword Masters in the Lianna Empire.
Just looking at her dantian, she had surpassed the 6-star realm—an ultra-elite swordswoman.
She had gained fame from childhood through adventurer work, subjugating countless monsters.
She was an 'S-rank' adventurer, the highest grade with only a handful per nation.
And here she was, gracing us as a paid part-time instructor.
In the story, many master-level experts were too eccentric or twisted in personality to teach, so I wondered how Laura would be.
"Since it's the first day, let's swing some swords lightly! Everyone up and head to the practice field!"
She said cheerfully, her blue hair swaying.
But some students' reactions were weird.
"Aww~ It's the first day—can't we do theory instead~?!"
"It's hot.... So hot..."
"Waaaaaaaaah—!"
Were they crazy?
Paying steep tuition to act like this?
And rejecting a national treasure feeding it to them...
I was a bit annoyed. Kids were just kids, huh.
The academy's facilities and interior felt like a university, but the class vibe was straight out of high school.
Half the students looked displeased like me, while the other half got swept up in the complaints and didn't want class.
"Aww~ Come on, get up, everyone. Even the teacher doesn't wanna go out in this heat.... But what can we do? We gotta cover the material to take the exam!"
"Just don't make us take the exam!"
"Yeah, yeah!"
"You think...? Exams are mandatory."
The more I watched, the more absurd it got.
A national treasure Sword Master not just teaching, but parenting these kids too.
That's when it happened.
From around the center seat in the pyramid-style desks, a cold voice rang out.
It was like dropping a boulder into the chaotic atmosphere.
The eyes of the chattering students turned to the center.
I couldn't help but look over out of curiosity too.
"I'm quite displeased with wasting time like this. You guys don't know moderation."
It was a blunt remark, basically telling them to shove their friendships.
And it came from a girl, which made it all the more intriguing.