Rain's Dignity

Since lunch break wasn't over yet, I was able to have Carmel summon Rain's junior colleagues.

"Is this everyone?"

"Yes."

I sipped the cola Carmel had brought me and looked at the people standing before me. The sweet, cool, and thrillingly fizzy sensation tingled on my tongue.

Two men and one woman. All three were young. Since they had graduated from the Academy around the same time as Rain, their youth was only natural. I wondered what subjects they taught.

"Hello," I greeted them.

The teachers replied with tense expressions. "Hello, ma'am!" Their voices were excessively loud.

I lightly covered my ears and looked around. We were in the spacious garden at the center of the Academy. Quite a few students had come out for a stroll after lunch, so we were drawing a lot of attention.

"You're being too loud."

"We apologize!" At my words, they lowered their voices to a more reasonable volume.

Only then did I nod and turn back to Rain. "Rain, these are the ones, right?"

"Uh... yeah."

Rain was hiding behind my back, desperately trying to keep out of sight. But no matter how much she shrank, she couldn't completely conceal herself. "Why did you call them here...?"

"To show them your dignity."

"Uggghhh..."

At my answer, Rain's face flushed beet red, and she buried her head. I turned back to the teachers standing stiffly in front of me. They looked so incredibly nervous that I actually felt a bit sorry for them.

"You can relax, everyone. Why are you standing like statues?"

"W-well, because you summoned us so suddenly..."

"Yes, I summoned you because I have some business with you."

Yet, despite my reassurance, they didn't relax one bit. Standing in a neat line and trembling, they were more than enough to attract the attention of the surrounding students. I frowned and glanced around. The students who had been staring at us gasped in fright and quickly scurried away.

"Everyone, what do you think of Rain?"

"Pardon?"

"I'm asking what you think of Rain. Please, answer me."

I gently pushed the trembling Rain forward and questioned the teachers. They exchanged bewildered glances, utterly flustered by my question. I leaned in and whispered softly in Rain's ear so the others couldn't hear.

"Rain, stand up straight. Show them your dignity."

"P-please stop..."

"Rain, you're amazing. You can do this. Show them your dignified side so they'll call you an awesome senior."

"H-heee..."

But despite my encouragement, Rain couldn't bring herself to lift her head. Her legs seemed to have lost all strength as she began to slump against me. I looked at the teachers with a troubled expression.

"What are you all doing? Rain is losing her energy."

They didn't answer. Like mutes who had swallowed honey, they kept their mouths tightly shut, their eyes darting around anxiously. Did they seriously not understand why I was doing this?

I let out a small sigh and spoke. "I'm telling you to cheer Rain up. Praise her for how cool she is."

Saying so, I propped Rain up in front of me once more. Supporting her limp, swaying body from behind, I used my hand to gently lift her drooping head. Her face was burning hot.

After exchanging glances for what felt like an eternity, the teachers finally began to speak one by one.

"R-Rain-nim, you're so cute!"

"It really suits you so well!"

"That's right! You're incredibly adorable!"

A flurry of compliments rained down on her. However, I shook my head and corrected them. "No, not like that."

"Huh?"

Did they still not get it? I firmly held onto Rain, who was trying to flee, and thrust her forward again. Completely drained of strength, she swayed helplessly wherever I guided her. "Can't you see she's feeling down? You need to praise Rain's dignified side."

"D-dignified?"

"Yes! Hurry up and praise her!"

The three of them exchanged glances, still looking utterly lost. Watching them, I let out a long sigh. They were being so incredibly slow. The staff back at Grandfather Pehrman's castle understood and anticipated my every word instantly... The contrast was so stark that I was starting to feel disappointed in them.

"Rain-nim, you are so magnificent!"

The first to break the ice was a male ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠teacher with a slight build. He began showering Rain with every flowery adjective he could muster. Yes. Exactly. That was the kind of praise I wanted.

"Rain-nim is truly magnificent! Her ability—her unrivaled control among all water manipulators—is at a level that no one could ever dare to replicate!"

Only then did I nod with a satisfied expression. When my gaze shifted sideways, the male teacher standing next to him flinched in surprise and quickly opened his mouth. And so, the praise continued.

"Rain, how is it? Do you like it?"

"Heuuugh..."

"Why aren't you answering?"

Even at my question, Rain couldn't seem to pull herself together. I hugged her tightly and shook her back and forth. "Rain~"

"Rain-nim! You are so cool!"

"Rain-nim! You are truly beautiful!"

"Rain-nim! You are so mature!"

The juniors' praise went on and on. I looked around with a slightly troubled expression. As the compliments continued, their voices grew louder, drawing more and more stares from the students.

It was right when they were chanting praises of Rain's dignity. A female student walking out from the center of the building caught my eye. Even from a distance, her light blue hair was instantly recognizable. A cute girl with her hair tied in twin tails—it was Appleton.

Was she feeling better now? Forcing all that green juice down her throat seemed to have worked. She was walking straight toward us. Because of the distance, it seemed Appleton couldn't see us yet.

"Rain-nim! You are truly amazing!"

The moment Appleton stepped into the garden, I raised my hand high and shouted toward her. "Appleton!"

When I shouted, the teachers praising Rain abruptly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shut their mouths. Why did they stop? When I gave them a sharp look, gesturing for them to continue, they hastily resumed their halted praise.

"Are you all better now?"

Appleton's eyes went wide in surprise. The surrounding students' gazes shifted to her as well. Appleton couldn't even answer my question. Looking around, she began to tremble violently. In the end, she collapsed once again.

"Appleton!"

Was she still not fully recovered? I handed the shivering Rain over to Shine's arms and rushed toward the fallen Appleton. Behind me, the teachers' praises did not stop.

The students gathered around Appleton quickly scattered as I approached. I lifted the collapsed Appleton and checked her condition. Fortunately, she was breathing. She had simply fainted. Carrying the unconscious Appleton in my arms, I walked back to where I had been.

The teachers' praises were still going strong. Maybe this is enough? I thought, checking Rain's expression.

"Rain, are you satisfied?"

"U-uh-huh..."

Rain, completely limp and red-faced, barely managed to nod. She ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠didn't look satisfied at all, but since she said she was fine, I couldn't keep making the others suffer. I nodded and spoke to the teachers.

"You may stop now."

The teachers, who had been chanting praises of Rain's dignity, slumped their shoulders in sheer exhaustion.

"Good. You all did very well."

Mindful of the onlookers, I didn't mention words like "junior" or "senior." They seemed to have enough wits about them as well, as they hadn't made a single slip of the tongue despite pouring out so many compliments.

"We'll end it here for today."

"F-for today?"

"Yes. Would you like to do more?"

"No, ma'am!"

"If you say it so flatly, Rain will be sad."

"We are sorry!"

I checked the time and shook my head. Lunch break was almost over. "You may all return now. Lunch is ending, so we must head to class."

At my dismissal, the teachers gave a brief reply and vanished on the spot.

"Carmel. My friend Appleton has lost consciousness. I'd like you to take her to the infirmary."

"Understood."

At my request, Carmel took Appleton from my arms. The unconscious Appleton hung limply as he carried her toward the infirmary.

"Rain, you're satisfied, right? Everyone's going to think of you as an awesome senior now."

Dragging Rain, who was melting like warm cheese, I headed back to the classroom with Shine.

"Hey, Shine."

"Yes?"

"Don't you think everyone is looking at us weirdly?"

"Hmm..."

I spoke as I looked around. As we walked down the hallway toward our classroom, the way the students looked at us had subtly changed. They hadn't looked at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠us like this at first, so why now? The students were trembling with fear.

"I think everyone is scared of us."

I let out a soft sigh at the surrounding stares and muttered under my breath. School life. Will I really be able to pull this off? Today was a day I sorely missed Grandfather Pehrman.

Even after returning to the classroom, the situation didn't improve. Everyone was actively avoiding us. I sat the floppy Rain down in her seat, then sat next to her with Shine beside me. As we prepared for class, a new teacher entered, and the lesson began.

"Hey, Shine."

"Yes?"

"Are we doing okay in school?"

"Ah, of course. You're doing great, Jeff."

No one approached us. Even the teacher was constantly walking on eggshells around us. Shine seemed highly satisfied with this atmosphere, but I certainly wasn't. I pulled out my phone and searched for ways to lighten the mood. Having rarely socialized with people in the past, I had no idea how to handle this. The internet, however, was a treasure trove of information.

I nodded as I read the online post. A funny joke, huh? I wonder what kind of funny jokes are out there. I began searching once again.

"Jeff, what are you doing?"

"I'm searching for funny jokes."

I showed Shine my phone screen. A few simple jokes were displayed on it.

"Do you really think this is funny?"

"Mmh... actually, I think they're pretty lame too."

Shine grimaced, clearly unimpressed by the jokes I showed her. I could understand her extreme aversion. Honestly, I wasn't a fan of this kind of humor either.

"Jeff, we don't need stuff like this."

"Really?"

"Yeah. If you just tell them to laugh, they'll laugh."

"That easily?"

"Yep. Watch closely. I'll show you."

Shine stood up abruptly from her seat as she spoke. Instantly, every single eye in the classroom locked onto her.

"Teacher."

"Y-yes? Me?"

"Laugh."

The teacher standing at the podium stammered in confusion at Shine's command. He was a balding, middle-aged man wearing glasses, giving off the impression of someone who had been a model student in his youth.

"I said, laugh."

Is Shine really telling the truth? I watched the teacher with anticipation. Wiping his balding head with a handkerchief, he forced the corners of his mouth all the way up.

"Ha... Hahaha! Hahahahaha!"

He laughed. Shine's words were absolutely true.

"See?"

"Yeah."

The teacher didn't stop laughing until Shine told him he could stop.