It was a morning like any other, and I opened my eyes.
Before me was the familiar ceiling of the dormitory.
“…”
The familiar view of my room. But instead of getting up right away, I observed the numerous presences around me. Among the presences within a 100-meter radius, I focused on those of my juniors.
Clatter, clatter… Hmm… The amount is ambiguous, should I crack one more…? Snore… Hrr… Fuuu… [Blinding Sword]―!! Swish, swish, swish, swish――!! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Rota from the next room had already gotten up early and was on cooking duty. Kara from the room across was lying on the floor, scratching her stomach while sleeping. Alvit seemed to have headed to the main hall, as intense presences were felt from far away.
‘Hmm… Everyone’s healthy. Alvit has gotten stronger again… It seems her skill has evolved to the second stage. And why does Kara always sleep on the floor, even though she has a bed?’
I had gotten into the habit of checking if my perception and detection abilities were working properly as soon as I woke up.
‘If I lose my detection ability while the value of my original story knowledge is plummeting, I’ll truly become a useless pink airhead…’
I glanced to the side and looked at the cuckoo clock hanging on one wall. The room was filled with all sorts of dolls and pink. I could hear the sound of the parts inside the clock twisting, ready to wake me up. I had a feeling the alarm would go off soon.
‘The radar is still working perfectly.’
I was grateful that my detection and perception abilities were still functioning normally.
In fact, except for my ether recovery ability, my abilities had never been damaged. But because of my juniors' constant care, I sometimes thought I was really a patient in critical condition. So I habitually checked if there were any damaged parts.
‘No matter how much I explain that I’m okay, they don’t believe it…’
The test results were all clear today as well.
I reduced my perception range appropriately and checked the time. The parts in the cuckoo clock, visible in my momentary sight, were slowly twisting, preparing to ring the alarm.
The time was 6:59 AM.
A day when I wouldn’t go out on my bike at dawn.
I planned to get up properly, eat the breakfast my juniors prepared, and spend a lazy morning. It had already been a week of such lazy mornings.
‘Although I did do a few things…’
I felt a bit of frustration with these days.
The lament of a useless person.
Like Liu Bei lamenting his loss of muscle mass after four years of idle living with Liu Biao.
‘I’d like to do some cardio, but every time I try to do something, they surround me from three directions and start crying…’
The cute baby, the diligent baby, the big baby.
I’d never forget the sight of my three juniors, teary-eyed, clutching my sleeves and following me around.
Senior… Where are you going? Just a walk around the shopping district―☆ Senior, comrade! Please don’t move! I’d rather carry you! Senior!! Please!! Just lie still, and I’ll let you touch my ears! Isn’t that just something Rota wants…? Shuuuuush――!!! Remembering this, I got up appropriately.
As I tried to get up slowly to turn off the alarm, the white cuckoo burst out of the clock and let out a loud cry.
Ding-dong―!
Cuckoo! Cuckoo! Cuckoo! Cuckoo! Cuckoo!
The white cuckoo stared at me and cried out.
You stubborn girl! Pink Airhead! Wake up already! Since awakening my [Unique Ether], I hadn’t heard the cuckoo’s cry in a long time. Usually, I would instantly turn it off with ether, so the cuckoo’s fierce cry was quite annoying.
‘To do that again, I’ll have to wait three more months…’
Plod, plod, plod… Click!
I eventually walked to the clock and turned off the alarm manually.
Silence filled the room.
Basking in the morning sunlight streaming through the window, I rolled up the sleeves of my comfortable nightgown.
What I saw were the faint blue bruises on my arms and legs.
“Ooh―☆ Looks like cute blue moldy cheese♪”
Compared to the time when my body was covered in sinister dark red wounds, this was much improved. The scars on my neck and chest were inevitable, but the wounds on my limbs were gradually healing.
“Yes♪ This is good enough―☆”
I checked the healed scars and rummaged through the box of medical supplies for a new bandage. There were always plenty of bandages, so I found one quickly.
‘Hilde could just send these under her own name, but she insists on sending them under the <United Student Council’s> name.’
The box filled with various medical supplies and food, something that our poor school could only dream of affording, came with a support label from the <United Student Council>. I didn’t know who exactly was behind it, but…
‘Since Bell already stayed at our school for a night, and <Central Prism Academy> has started to act officially… Hilde couldn’t not know.’
In my first year, I was too embarrassed to tell Hilde about our school’s poor situation, but Bell had already exposed everything. Hilde, with her kind heart and integrity, couldn’t ignore our situation.
‘It’s fortunate that I still maintain a friendship with such a thoughtful and sincere girl. I was too indifferent…’
I remembered how Hilde shyly waved at me from the rooftop. Despite everything, Hilde was a girl with a kind heart who cared about her friends.
When the opportunity arises, I should meet her again and thank her.
I hummed a tune, thinking of her beautiful silver-white eyes.
“Hm―♪ Hm―☆”
I changed the bloody bandages to new ones, feeling the sharp pain and the comfortable pressure of the new bandage. I paid particular attention to covering the parts where my nails and toenails had fallen off, as they looked especially grim.
‘If my juniors see this, they’ll cry and overreact again.’
Having finished changing the bandages, I moved my hands and feet lightly.
Squeeze, squeeze
Clenching and unclenching my fists.
Lifting and lowering my feet.
Wiggle, wiggle
I wriggled my fingers and toes.
Fortunately, the condition had improved significantly, and I no longer felt any pain.
Yes.
I was now completely healed.
‘If I’ve recovered this much, maybe it’s time to talk to my juniors about it…?’
Thinking this, I put on a pink cardigan and walked toward the dormitory dining hall where Rota was preparing breakfast.
*
The dining hall next to the dormitory.
There, a small orange cat was angry.
“Senior! What nonsense are you talking about? What patient exercises? Just because there’s no pain doesn’t mean the wounds are gone, they’re just starting to heal!”
“…”
“Anyway! Absolutely not! Just eat breakfast now!”
“Yes―☆”
I was flatly rejected.
‘Damn, this little one always speaks the truth.’
Rota, wearing a white apron and a headscarf, put her tiny hands on her hips, expressing her displeasure. Her outfit was cute, like a meal prep worker, but the stern look in her orange eyes made it hard to speak.
‘Is this why Liu Bei couldn’t mess with his mother?’
I smiled wryly and handed her a plate. She ladled potato soup into the plate with one hand, then brought out some prepared fruit and boiled eggs.
“…”
I couldn’t help but feel moved by this sight.
Really… Since I came to this world, this was the first luxurious meal I’d had at school, thanks to Rota.
‘Nina-senpai could cook, but she only made pastries and desserts.’
Rota’s potato soup contained various finely chopped vegetables, and the table had baskets of warm bread, steamed to perfection.
‘With the right ingredients, she even prepares the meals herself… Her domestic skills seem better than Alvit’s… Is she really from a wealthy family?’
Alvit only cared about cleanliness during cleaning time and prepared meat-centric meals during meal times. Kara, on the other hand, just laid out the raw ingredients, claiming we should be grateful for having food at all.
So the only one who prepared proper meals was Rota.
The neatly arranged breakfast.
Rota held a large plate filled with breakfast, hesitating to pass it over.
“…”
Rota, with her twitching orange cat ears, was hesitating and fumbling.
‘Does she have something to say?’
I just blankly watched her.
“…”
“?”
I urged her playfully.
“Hmm? What’s the matter―☆ I’m about to go grumble, grumble♪”
“You know, senior… If the lack of ether in your body is causing you more pain… There’s a ‘special dungeon’ near my old school…”
I felt like I knew what Rota was going to suggest.
“If your condition is due to ether depletion, maybe if you receive the ‘blessing to quickly recover ether’ there… It might get better? It won’t make you as strong as before… but…”
No matter how much I explained, this misunderstanding wouldn’t go away.
I had no idea how to clear up this gap between common sense and the achievements I’d shown.
‘Ha… It’s really heartbreaking. No matter how many times I say I’m okay, they don’t believe it.’
I just smiled awkwardly and continued to listen to Rota.
“Hmm…☆”
“I just… I just want you to hurt less, senior. Being in pain… is really sad.”
“I see. Thank you―☆”
When I patted her head, Rota, still holding the plate, lowered her head deeply. She shyly extended the plate, telling me to take it, and I started eating.
Rota, thinking she had overstepped, was awkwardly fidgeting and moving around.
‘How could I dislike you worrying about me?’
But knowing her personality, if I said it out loud, she’d feel even more guilty and clumsy. So I quietly ate my breakfast.
Tasting the flavorful soup, a thought crossed my mind.
‘It’s about time I go tease those furballs again.’
Rich and arrogant beasts.
Their land was full of hidden treasures.
In my first year, I only took a few dungeons and retreated quickly.
But now, with the main story timeline starting, there must be more.
‘And I need to get some cool stuff for our little cat…’
With these thoughts in mind, the dining hall was filled with a delicate silence.
“…”
“…”
At that moment, Alvit entered the dining hall.
She was covered in sweat, having just finished vigorously using her newly enhanced skill.
But she had a satisfied expression, knowing she had grown stronger.
Alvit, with an innocent smile, spoke loudly.
“Wow~ Soup!! Rota! Give me a lot!”
“…”
“…”
“…Ah. Sorry.”
Sensing the subtle atmosphere, Alvit quickly helped herself to the food. Finally, Kara, in her underwear, came in and started noisily eating, ending our breakfast.
It was a peaceful breakfast.
*
And that afternoon.
A surprising guest arrived at <Mimir Industrial High School>.
“I’m here.”
The guest appeared in work clothes with eyes full of ennui. She had driven a huge truck and brought a strange machine to me.
Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep
Maya brought the strange machine to my head and muttered quietly.
“Wow, a corpse talking.”
“Hey―☆ What’s that supposed to mean, Maya☆”
“This machine measures ether depletion. When I tested it on someone who collapsed from overwork recently, it beeped twice.”
“…What does it mean when it beeps five times☆”
“I don’t know. On animal corpses, it beeped three times.”
“…”
And hearing that, my juniors looked devastated.