Chapter 9: The Extra Wants to Live (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 9: The Extra Wants to Live (2)
Around midnight, I was sitting on a bench in a quiet courtyard. I was trying to calm my rattled nerves, look up at the stars, and make some resolutions for the future.
But right now, I couldn't make sense of the situation. How could the timing be so exquisitely, terribly perfect?
"Excuse me, could you move over a bit?"
Long, well-brushed blue hair cascading down to her waist, sparkling golden eyes as clear as day, a sharp jawline, and flawlessly sculpted features.
Dressed in navy athletic tights and a crop top, her figure was dizzyingly lethal. Her legs traced an exquisite curve from her hips before dropping straight down in a sleek, perfect line.
Perhaps finding the spring breeze a bit chilly, she had a beige cardigan draped over her shoulders like a cape, and a claymore in a white scabbard hung at her waist.
I hadn't noticed during the entrance ceremony since I'd only caught a glimpse of her from afar, but just looking at her now took my breath away. Her beauty was so unrealistic that it completely redefined my standards of what a beautiful woman was.
As I stood there with my mouth hanging open, Abel stared at me quietly. She exuded a cool, intelligent aura, making it look as though the moonlight was shining solely on her.
But still.
Did benches have assigned seats now? This was strictly public Academy property. I wondered if there was some shitty school rule dictating that Special Class students couldn't even sit on benches as they pleased. Then again, knowing this batshit crazy Academy, it wouldn't surprise me. I felt a sudden wave of self-loathing at how quickly I'd grown accustomed to this class-based society.
Sigh.
But whatever the reason, I wanted to avoid getting involved with her at all costs. I had literally just decided on a policy of staying far away from the main storyline. While a chance encounter with a beautiful woman was always welcome, in my current position, it wasn't something to celebrate. There was nothing more dangerous than getting tangled up with the main heroine.
Besides, after what had happened with Chloe earlier, I wasn't in the mood to deal with anyone. Every time Chloe's vacant, cloudy eyes flashed through my mind, my hands trembled slightly.
Well, it wasn't like she was mugging me. She was just asking me to move over, which wasn't a particularly difficult request.
Just as I placed my hands on my weary knees to get up and leave, she spoke.
"You don't have to leave. Just slide over a bit."
Abel tilted her head slightly and stepped closer. She gestured for me to make room, so I slid my rear toward the edge of the bench. She must have just finished working out, as a single bead of sweat rolled down her forehead like a drop of dew.
"..."
"..."
Silence settled over the quiet, early morning. Even the crickets seemed to have called it a night, leaving only the rustle of the wind through the trees.
I turned my head slightly. Abel was wiping away her sweat with her sleeve, her gaze fixed on the sky. She must have been blessed with an absurdly powerful heroine buff, because my eyes kept drifting back to her of their own accord.
"You can see the stars best from here."
Surprisingly, it was Abel who broke the silence first. Her eyes remained fixed on the night sky.
I couldn't help but stare in surprise at the sight of her looking up at the night sky with sparkling eyes. Was this really Abel von Nibelung, the granddaughter of the legendary Sword Emperor?
In the game, Abel was a character who couldn't be described as having a pleasant personality, even if one were being generous. You know the type—the classic ice queen who snaps at you constantly, and whose walls you can only break down after surviving countless life-or-death trials together.
Even the handsome protagonist barely managed to exchange a few words with her early on because of her hostile attitude.
So, her striking up a relatively friendly conversation felt incredibly bizarre. Tearing her eyes away from the sea of stars, Abel turned to look at me.
"Is your armament a sword too?"
I gave a small nod in response. Her clear voice tickled my ears.
"My grandfather always said that swordsmen have different eyes."
Abel squinted slightly as she studied me. Her silky long hair cascaded over her shoulders, brushing against her chest. Tilting her head, she stroked her chin before picking up the sword that had been leaning against the armrest and thrusting it toward me.
"Want to hold it?"
"Not particularly."
At my blunt refusal, Abel's face fell into a pout. She puffed out one cheek and whipped her head away. Is she seriously sulking? After sitting in silence for a while, she spoke again.
"You know who I am, right?"
"More or less."
"Well, I don't know you."
What was her point?
"Isn't that a bit unfair? You know my name, but I have absolutely no idea who you are."
"We literally just met. Do I really need to introduce myself?"
I narrowed my eyes at her, but she paid me no mind and pressed on.
"Who knows? Maybe you're a spy for the Demon King, disguised as a student to infiltrate the Academy. Otherwise, why would you be hanging out all by yourself in the middle of the night?"
As I stared at her, utterly dumbfounded, Abel tapped the hilt of her sword with her fingernail. Her eyes scanned me as if trying to size me up. Looking at her expression, I couldn't tell if she was joking or dead serious.
"Then what's your excuse?"
When I shot back coldly, Abel stared at me in disbelief for a long moment before letting out a soft sigh.
"Isn't it obvious? I was just working out and training, while you were just slacking off on a bench."
"I was working out too."
"What kind of workout?"
"Breathing."
"..."
Abel's lips twitched. She massaged her temples and shook her head. I noticed bits of gauze and bandages stuck to various parts of her hand. When my gaze lingered on them, she quickly hid her hand behind her back and scratched her cheek sheepishly.
The gap between reality and my expectations was so vast that I seriously questioned if she was the same ice-cold kuudere I knew from the game. In the original story, she was the textbook definition of cold and aloof, but the girl sitting before me was showing a surprisingly rich range of expressions.
Abel fidgeted with her fingers, stealing glances at me to gauge my reaction while occasionally brushing back the strands of hair that fell over her face.
"You're working hard."
"Well, yeah."
A shadow fell over Abel's face.
"People don't understand what it means to carry the Nibelung bloodline. You always have to be the best. You have to be perfect. People will jump on even the slightest flaw. As you probably know, I didn't place first this year. Honestly, it's the first time in my life I've ever lost to anyone."
Abel bit her lower lip, then forced a strained smile.
"But you know what? In a way, it actually felt a bit liberating."
I didn't interrupt as she continued.
"Still, I'm really curious about who the top student is. I want to know who beat me so I can surpass them the next time we meet. Actually, no—next time, I'm going to absolutely destroy them."
"Is destroying them really necessary...?"
"Honestly, it's a matter of pride. I pestered my grandfather until he told me, and apparently, the top student isn't even in our class. On top of that, they skipped the representative oath ceremony. It's so unfair to be the runner-up..."
She muttered petulantly, then shook her head as if to clear her thoughts.
"Look at me, rambling on like this to a complete stranger. I guess the exam results really did a number on me."
"Why are you telling me all this?"
"Hmm? Because you look weak. Our family motto is actually, 'Be strict with the strong, and merciful to the weak!' Plus, everyone in my class is incredibly obnoxious, so I don't really have any friends."
So that's why she was so cold to the protagonist.
Abel let out a long stretch, brushed the dust off her tights, and stood up.
"I should head back inside now."
"Yeah, see ya."
"So, when are you going to tell me your name?"
"I'd rather not."
"Hey!"
* * *
He was a strange boy, especially considering they were complete strangers. Yet, for some reason, their brief conversation—which hadn't even lasted thirty minutes—had brought her an immense sense of comfort.
"That was actually kind of fun."
She could barely remember the last time she had opened up to someone so candidly.
To the outside world, she was burdened by the heavy titles of being a descendant of the Nibelung family and the granddaughter of the Sword Emperor.
At the Academy, surrounded by her peers, she had grown thoroughly sick of the looks of awe and jealousy directed her way.
But this nameless boy, whom she had approached on a whim, had looked at her simply as herself. They say silence is also a form of conversation.
They hadn't spoken much, but his nonchalant attitude had a strange knack for drawing out her honesty.
Granted, he was a bit rude. Actually, he was downright obnoxious. He hadn't even given her his name in the end, even though the boys in her class would gladly line up just for a chance to speak to her.
"I feel like I just got dumped, and I didn't even confess..."
Abel smiled wryly as she walked down the dimly lit path toward the dormitory.
Her steps felt lighter than usual.
* * *
As soon as morning came, I headed to the library.
True to the reputation of the world's greatest academy, the library was massive. It was a towering eight-story structure reminiscent of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. If nothing else, this world certainly knew how to do scale.
The interior was even more spectacular. Books were packed tightly all the way to the top floor, lining the walls of a massive, central cylindrical atrium.
After scanning the quiet library—empty due to the weekend—I found a suitable spot to sit.
I actually feel like a real student.
To be honest, I had never been much of a reader. Part of it was because I'd entered the workforce immediately after getting my middle school diploma, but mostly, just looking at printed text made me feel dizzy.
Shaking off my idle thoughts, I focused on what I needed to look up first: introductory texts on this world's lore and the knowledge I needed to survive.
Specifically, I needed to prioritize how to utilize Blessings and study the list of Magical Beasts I would encounter during the upcoming practical training sessions this semester.
In my past life, I had relied entirely on auto-battle to hunt Magical Beasts, meaning I had zero knowledge of their attack patterns. Whenever I hit a wall, I just pay-to-won my way through. Since everything from here on out would be completely foreign to me, I needed to study up.
Of course, I also intended to train my body and learn standard swordsmanship. Until my physical vessel was fully developed, I planned to refrain from using the 'Blessing of the Sword God' as much as possible, reserving it strictly for life-or-death emergencies. Though, I wasn't sure if things would actually go that smoothly.
In a pinch, I'll probably reflexively whip out my sashimi knife first.
But what else could I do? Even if nothing went according to plan, I had to try my best.
I slowly browsed through the library categories. As I did, a book sticking out from a corner shelf caught my eye.
It was a red magazine titled The Lewd Academy Principal's Secret Private Life♥.
The cover was so worn and finger-stained that the color had almost completely faded. Chuckling at the realization that boys are the same no matter what world you're in, I picked it up.
"Jackpot."
Studying was important, sure, but there were far more important things in life for a hot-blooded young man.