Chapter 147
Chapter 147
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 147
Chapter Title: Flu (1)
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A short while later, a petite and sturdy nurse wheeled Adam's bed toward the hospital ward.
I followed a little behind Adam until we settled into a dim corner room in the hospital building.
The nurse, busy enough to make her eyebrows flutter, was rushing around so frantically that she didn't even notice I'd taken a seat there.
"Have you ever been this sick before?"
At my question, Adam, who had been mumbling nonsense about being cold or scared, barely managed a "No."
Across from our room, I clumsily mimicked the nurse's procedures as I wiped away Adam's sweat.
'His fever keeps rising. This isn't something I can handle on my own.'
To be honest, I'd realized long ago that this was beyond my responsibility the moment I saw Adam's eyes rolling back under his eyelids.
This symptom was clearly not something for an amateur like me without specialized knowledge.
"Ugh... C-cold... M-more blankets, please..."
Before long, the little kid in front of me started shivering from chills.
This was a situation I'd experienced myself several times as a child.
Typically, for a child feeling chills—
"Sorry, but we need to take some of this off."
With a high fever and crying, it was usually better to switch to light clothing and a thin blanket to help the fever break faster rather than piling on thick clothes and covers.
"It's cold."
"It'll come down soon."
At least Adam was a sensible kid.
He muttered something, but he obediently accepted it and writhed, enduring the cold.
"No, Cadet Cruise! Don't turn away. Let me disinfect your hands first."
"Sorry. I just got worried seeing the kid suffer."
"Sigh— I get it."
The nurse, who had rushed back in belatedly, isolated me and Adam, then sprayed something reeking of alcohol on my hands and clothes.
"There's a nasty flu going around among the young cadets. The Black Lily Class cadets are helping out, but as you can see, we're critically short on medical staff."
"Now that you mention it, there seem to be fewer nurses and doctors too. What's going on?"
"If I knew, I'd lose my mind! I'm not even on duty today!"
"I see."
The moment I heard that, I felt a strong suspicion—no, a certainty—that this was tied to the professors' departures.
'What the hell is happening...'
Half the academy was minors, and half of those were little monkey-like kids closer to apes than people.
Even if we were training to be future soldiers, we were still amateurs.
For them to abandon us first...
No, before that—what were they running from?
'Guardian Angels have coexisted on the island long before now. There must be some other sudden reason for this.'
A chilling feeling crept over me.
After offering a few words of comfort to the distressed nurse and having holy water splashed on me front and back like a ritual, I was finally able to leave the hospital building.
Meanwhile, Theodore, who had timely informed Adam Peacock's older sister, returned with an uneasy expression.
"How's the Student Council?"
"Most of them are away."
"Even President Makina?"
"Yes. The Student Council already knows about the hospital wing's situation. But it seems they have other matters too."
According to Theodore, the Student Council was just as frantically busy as the hospital staff, with eyebrows fluttering.
Some were apparently hurrying somewhere, dashing out with their usual hats tucked under their arms.
"Looks like something's definitely up."
If even the Student Council was this swamped, the cadets were practically left to fend for themselves in the wild.
"Guess we just wait for things to stabilize."
Aegis Academy's flawed system was failing in its role.
I hoped the situation wouldn't turn out more serious than expected.
In the end, under this optimistic thinking, Theodore and I ended up wasting the afternoon much the same way.
.
.
.
It was when I was heading to the lecture hall for attendance, a book tucked under my arm.
Part of it was morning sluggishness, but I hesitated to wake Theodore again after he'd barely fallen asleep, making it quite iffy whether I'd arrive on time.
Running would get me there precisely, but otherwise, it'd be awkwardly late.
"No need to rush?"
"Well, it's just formal attendance. Filling seats on time was a chore anyway— this works out."
The once-diligent me now felt like whatever happens, happens, so I decided to stroll leisurely.
Theodore didn't seem anxious either— this probably happened more often than I'd think.
As we dawdled along, we saw a few other relaxed cadets, but honestly, we were diligent compared to them.
"Plenty seem to have no intention of even showing up to teach."
"Attendance has been dropping since the day before yesterday. Lots of proxies too."
"The elite training ground's true face is showing fast."
Not that I, a donation parachute admit, had room to talk.
It was ridiculous for me, who'd entered via a near-cheating system, to resent the system.
Looking at the book under Theodore's arm titled *Gold and Silver Know*, I recalled Eliya Allison reading a book with the same title exactly one semester ago.
'Looks like they really don't discard books if a student checks them out.'
Since the day before yesterday, we'd been competitively grabbing boring books and rereading them in silence, driven by a desire to inflict the boredom on each other for a fresh shock.
But truthfully, this behavior stemmed partly from anxiety.
An attempt to draw attention with odd actions we wouldn't normally do.
"Oh, right— club meeting today. Wanna come, Theodore?"
"The Classical Culture Club?"
"Yeah. It's so small, one more person shouldn't be an issue."
"I'm fine."
Theodore shook his head slightly.
Well, imagining this guy suddenly showing uncharacteristic sociability and sitting in a club room full of strangers was impossible.
Especially with Eliya Allison...
'That combo would force me to play clown myself.'
Eliya never opened her mouth first unless she felt like snarking.
She wouldn't outright snark at a stranger like Theodore, so the foreseeable scenario was endless silence.
"Rest in the dorm then. Eat dinner, okay?"
"......"
"Not answering?"
Prodded, Theodore reluctantly nodded.
What a high-maintenance young master.
A bit more time passed, and Theodore and I split off toward the annex and dorms respectively.
I wondered if club activities would continue amid this chaos, but freeloading off Dillon's—well, reputation without even showing my face would prick my conscience.
*Knock knock knock.*
Carefully avoiding eye contact with that cherub statue, I knocked, and heard a "Come in" from inside along with movement.
Opening the door, I saw Dillon rummaging through a duffel bag made from torn Thorn Crown House robes, and Eliya sitting in front with her chin propped, slouched lazily.
"Holding a club meeting even today?"
"Especially today. When haughty Cadet Arma Cruise graces us with her presence!"
"...Sorry."
Dillon smirked at my words, then forced an awkward smile.
"Honestly, I feel bad saying this after you came in person. The situation's... not great right now."
"I missed the timing to ask, but what's with that duffel? Transferring again?"
"What kind of question is that?"
Dillon comically wrinkled his nose bridge and said,
"Not transferring— something urgent came up. Feels awkward canceling after calling people, but really sorry!"
"If not transferring, there'll be another chance soon."
Dillon finally relaxed and burst into loud laughter at my joke.
Then he slung the packed duffel over his shoulder and hooked his arm around mine.
"Come on, let's go. Eliya, hold down the fort."
"Worrywart."
"Sigh, you tiny thing. Don't you have a tail following you around? Is he as wild?"
"Theodore's good."
The real problem was me.
Me, who might one day act on murderous fantasies.
Oblivious to my thoughts, Dillon just urged on with his half-dancing steps, leaning on me.
"But seriously, what's going on? What's in the bag?"
"You'd get hurt if you knew."
Though playful with a lowered voice, I caught on that he had no intention of telling me.
'What the heck? So suddenly...'
The bag, crudely made from robes from his Thorn Crown House days, was stuffed with things visibly smaller than a palm.
"Come on then. Don't skip tomorrow's class— see you next activity day."
"Yes."
Seeming truly rushed, Dillon vaulted over the wall instead of using the path and vanished in a flash.
As he leaped, I heard clinking from glass vials inside.
Small, light but sturdy things clashing in glass bottles.
A sound I knew well.
'Medicine bottles...'
The secretive demeanor, the hastily made bag crammed with them.
Dodging my question about contents with a joke...
Everything was suspicious.
"Cadet Eliya, see you next time."
"Yeah, sure."
Eliya replied indifferently, nose buried in *Examples of Using Magic Like a Fashionista*.
Hoping she'd stay lost in her book, I quietly began tailing Dillon.
'Call Theodore?'
Sadly, no time for that.
Dillon's pace was incredibly fast; I hurried to keep his silhouette in sight.
No room to fetch Theodore.
Dillon passed the wooden cross building's main hall, crossed the central fountain, cut through the chapel and cafeteria.
At the academy's roughly 3m wall, he paused, then acrobatically scaled it using pillars and lampposts, stylishly vaulting over and gone.
"Not using the gate..."
Why was Dillon acting like he was hiding his tracks?