Chapter 27
[Bilharan! Starting the day fresh with vomiting again!]
[You look bored—wanna play catch? No ulterior motives, just want to get closer.]
[If you’re free today, wanna go grab some sweets? My treat.]
Lately, Bilharan Dessart often thought of the girl who kept showing up at the nurse’s office.
At first, she seemed to come because she was sick, but now, even when she wasn’t particularly ill, she skipped classes to see me.
Sparkly, sparkly.
Bilha had never seen such a radiant person in his life.
Her greenish-silver hair practically dazzled when it caught the sunlight streaming through the window.
Most people grimaced and avoided him after exchanging a few words, so this was rare.
A few people had spoken kindly to him out of pity, but they quickly gave up because of his sparse responses.
But that White Head was different.
If I replied even a little, she’d pour out a torrent of words, enough to make my ears bleed.
Still, since no one at the academy had ever kept talking to me so persistently, Bilha thought it wasn’t bad.
And…
[I skipped class to see Bilha.]
[Good job, so smart.]
[I want to be friends with Bilha.]
Bilha, more accustomed to people’s disdainful glares, harsh words, and avoidance, found Sigrin’s kind tone incredibly unfamiliar.
It felt like stuffing my mouth full of roughly chopped, angular butter.
But Bilha didn’t mind filling his stomach with butter.
Even if the greasy taste made me nauseous, I wanted to clamp my mouth shut to keep it from spilling out.
Conclusion: Bilha also wanted to be friends with Sigrin!
While dragging the dummy cart, Bilha thought of Sigrin again.
Strangely, whenever I thought of her, she always popped up out of nowhere.
I wondered if she’d appear this time if I thought of her.
To test it, I called her in my mind.
‘White Head.’
“Hello, Bilha. Kind of a sudden meeting, huh? I have something to ask.”
“…?”
Sigrin emerged from the cart, pushing aside a dummy, smiling so brightly her teeth shone.
Bilha stopped walking, his eyes widening.
Then he let go of the cart’s handle.
Clap.
Clap, clap.
Clap! Clap! Clap clap clap!
He burst into applause.
I couldn’t help but clap.
It was a breathtaking entrance.
“Hm? Why the sudden applause… Oh, right, yes! It was a surprise magic show. I prepared it because you looked bored.”
Nodding, Bilha kept clapping.
“It was fun, so tell me one thing. I saw you use sand from the sandbags you wear during a fight. Is the mask to protect your airways?”
“Heh…”
“Hm… Now that I think about it, I have another question. Do you turn your latent lower abdomen Core on and off by choice? Or is it the curse’s influence? It’s a pretty important question. I need to specify the curse incantation. It’s partly because I’m diligent about my assignment, but it’ll be really helpful for you too.”
“Here we go again.”
Chatter, chatter.
Blabber, blabber.
Yammer, yammer.
“What? You didn’t understand my question yet? It’s okay, I’ll break it down into digestible bits. Nod when you understand a part.”
Why does she keep asking me to understand? I don’t care.
But keep talking, I like your voice.
Without much thought, Bilha turned the cart in the opposite direction of the storage.
I’ll pretend to listen for a bit, and when I get sleepy, I’ll head to the nurse’s office to nap.
“Okay… First, I’ll continue from last time about the definition and principles of curses. You need to understand so you can process it well when I help you.”
Bilha nodded.
✦ ✦ ✦
Wednesday afternoons were free for all students.
That’s because the entire grade had to attend the “Beginner Dungeon Raid” class.
A practical-focused class, it involved most of the professors teaching morning classes for high school freshmen.
Professor Marcus Steelheart from Basic Dungeon Studies, Professor Diranmidel from Basic Item Studies, and Professor Spitu from Basic Ether Studies stood before the students in combat gear.
“This ‘Beginner Dungeon Raid’ will take place in the Cardia beginner hunting grounds. The designated area is filled with solitary magical beasts that don’t form groups, so there are no dungeons. Occasionally, there are magical beasts that form habitats, but they’re so weak even Coreless civilians can kill them, so don’t worry.”
Professor Marcus, with a massive greatsword strapped to his back, handed out stacks of papers to the high school freshmen.
“I’ve explained enough during class, so I’ll wrap up here… Everyone, sign the bottom of the consent forms being passed out.”
He continued in a stern voice.
“It’s nothing major—just a form agreeing that the academy isn’t responsible if you die from ignoring instructions and acting recklessly.”
“P-Professor, could we actually die fighting magical beasts…?”
Apple’s hand trembled as she held the edge of the consent form.
“Yes. Dozens die every year.”
“Whaaat??”
In truth, that number included graduates currently in the field, but Marcus spoke harshly to instill caution.
Gulp.
Sigrin swallowed and signed the bottom of the consent form.
‘It’s my first time fighting without Family members.’
Honestly, the daily letters from home urging me to become independent didn’t hit me until now.
Sorry, but I’ll have to stick close to my friends and leech off them during practicals.
Rustle, rustle.
“Hey, hey, don’t make origami with that.”
Hearing a commotion nearby, Sigrin turned her head.
Bilha was folding the consent form into a paper airplane.
Luca, frowning, unfolded the airplane and placed a pen in Bilha’s hand.
Luca wasn’t fond of Bilha, but since Sigrin had carefully chosen him as a new subordinate, he decided to look after him.
“Sign at the bottom.”
“…?”
“I mean, write your name at the bottom.”
“What’s this?”
Puff, puff.
Bilha covered his face with the crumpled consent form and blew air to make it float.
“It’s a long document, but to summarize, it’s a consent form for flexible liability evasion in case of unforeseen accidents… Are you listening?”
“…?”
Frustrated by the lack of communication, Luca rubbed his forehead, while Sigrin smiled.
“Luca, Bilha’s a foreigner, so he’s probably illiterate.”
“He should’ve learned Imperial in middle school.”
“Maybe he slept through it. Come on, Bilha, give me your hand.”
Bilha obediently placed his hand on Sigrin’s.
Sigrin blackened Bilha’s thumb with pen ink and pressed it onto his consent form.
A clear thumbprint, devoid of the illiterate foreigner’s intent, marked the form.
It looked surprisingly natural.
“Bilha, if someone gives you complicated papers in the future, bring them to me. I’ll handle them for you.”
“Okay.”
Somehow, it felt like a mafia forcing a signature on an unfair contract, making Luca and Apple break out in cold sweats.
“…Huh? Bilharan, you shouldn’t make promises like that lightly… Even if it’s Miss, no, especially because it’s Miss, you need to be careful…”
“Hey, Princess, you don’t need to bother with that. I’ll handle subordinate management. Even the small paperwork.”
Bilha and Sigrin tilted their heads, looking at Apple and Luca, who were suddenly making a fuss.
“Nah, it’s not a bother. It’s my job. By the way, Luca, Apple, I have a favor to ask. About this practical…”
It’s a bit shameless, but I wanted to hunt magical beasts together.
“Oh, by the way, the dungeon raid is individually graded!! Everyone, take a Kill Count Watch!!”
✦ ✦ ✦
Kyaaaah!!
Damn it!!
Sigrin desperately fled from the Cardia hunting ground’s beginner magical beast, the “Spirit Sprout.”
Right, the one we dissected in Item Studies class.
The Spirit Sprout, infused with water spirit energy, chased Sigrin on its thin, thread-like root legs.
At the same time, it steadily shot high-pressure water droplets from its leaves toward Sigrin.
Boom!
The high-pressure droplet hit Sigrin’s shoulder, exploding on impact.
Sigrin, struck once, rolled on the ground.
‘For a beginner magical beast, its accuracy is insane?? It hurts!! Is this really something civilians can kill??’
The beginner hunting grounds owned by Panoplia Academy had three main types of magical beasts.
The easiest, “Spirit Sprout,” the stronger “Wisp,” and the crown of the Cardia beginner hunting grounds, the “Pebble Golem.”
And the one Sigrin was struggling with was the weakest of them all, the Spirit Sprout.
Whoosh! Boom!
“Aaaagh!”
The Sigrin suffering era.
For someone with a Core, the impact would be merely ticklish, but Sigrin’s wasn’t a combat Core.
‘How am I supposed to earn 500 credits in a month?’
The afternoon raid class involved hunting magical beasts for a month, exchanging their corpses for credits at the Credit Exchange to earn points.
Spirit Sprouts were worth 1 credit, Wisps 5 credits, and Pebble Golems 10 credits.
If you processed the beast corpses into items as taught in Item Studies, you could get slightly more credits based on the part’s grade.
‘I’ll have to risk my life processing beast corpses to earn credits.’
Honestly, I wanted to make a deal where I’d process the beasts Luca and Apple hunted to get higher credits in exchange for their corpses.
But…
[Panoplia High School Semester 1 (1/3) - Cardia Beginner Hunting Grounds]
[Sigrin Ebenkera [N/A Affiliation]]
[Current Location: Cardia Beginner Hunting Grounds - Spirit Sprout Territory]
[First Task: Spirit Sprout [0], Wisp [0], Pebble Golem [0]]
[Submitted Credits: 0/500]
Sigrin stared at the screen displayed by her Kill Count Watch.
‘Damn Kill Count Watch!!!’
To prevent cheating, all students had to wear a “Kill Count Watch” made by the university department while in the hunting grounds.
So Sigrin couldn’t follow Apple and Luca, who went to hunt Wisps and Pebble Golems, and was stuck loitering in the weakest beast’s territory.
Since Spirit Sprouts gave almost no points, their territory was empty of students.
Only Sigrin and a few underachievers were struggling here.
The one somewhat reassuring thing was…
Pop!
“Ow.”
Pop!
“Ow.”
Pop!
“Ow.”
Bilha, getting hit by Spirit Sprouts, was sitting nearby, resting his chin.
…Was that reassuring?