Chapter 9: Hellish Gym Class (4)
Whether I succeeded or failed, I would have drawn attention regardless.
However, now that I had stepped up, I regretted not just quietly declaring my surrender from the start.
Until just moments ago, the students who had been lounging around or busy gossiping about the instructor were now all staring at me.
Their expressions carried various emotions, but one thing was universal.
Doubt. Their faces varied, but their eyes screamed disbelief—”Could a girl who doesn’t even know magic or mana control possibly pull that off?”
Especially Georg. His face had gone beyond shock and turned completely ashen.
Dealing with the weight of my golden sunlight insignia was hard enough, but now everyone was staring at me as if to say, Who is this girl? I felt like the cream bread and steak I’d eaten earlier were about to make a reappearance.
I couldn’t let that happen. Puking on my first day at this academy would be a social death sentence. Already, I could faintly taste salt in my mouth.
This was bad. It was definitely coming up.
…This was all because Georg had to test me. Messing with an outcast’s pride like this was bound to end badly.
Surrender, huh? If he’d said that to me with such a smug expression, even Buddha himself would have been offended.
Though I knew I’d overreacted and escalated things, there was still some satisfaction in knocking him down a peg.
Even if the momentary joy felt like something out of a loser’s delusional daydream, that thrill quickly dissipated.
Even losers and loners squirm when stepped on.
While my mind indulged in its small and pathetic victory, my body was diligently preparing to expel everything I’d eaten. The salty taste in my mouth grew stronger.
I looked desperately between Georg and the cube, waiting for him to respond.
Honestly, I figured he might at least acknowledge my effort by now.
Then again, he might just nitpick, saying it didn’t fully leave the ground, or insist that anyone who saw it wouldn’t call it “lifting.” He seemed like the type.
Just look at his face. Even someone as bad at reading people as me could see it—his expression radiated malice and pettiness. It was even more convincing since he was an elf.
In the original serialized chapters—which barely reached the 20th installment—the protagonist’s entry into the academy and eventual harem-building were only vaguely outlined, but even in that short span, the elves’ racist tendencies were evident.
“I’ve lifted it, so I’ll be leaving now,” I said curtly.
I knew it was rude, and I wasn’t sure he’d even let me leave, but I had no time to waste.
My vision was blurring, and just staying upright was a challenge.
Suppressing the rising nausea was making my head spin.
And those stares—those piercing stares that wouldn’t stop drilling into me.
“…You, that strength… No, it’s too soon to conclude. Fine. You may leave,” Georg finally said.
He gave his consent surprisingly easily. It felt for a moment like he wanted to stop me but reluctantly allowed it. I pushed such impure thoughts out of my mind.
Right now, I was too busy feeling infinite respect and gratitude toward my instructor.
Maybe I had been too prejudiced against him.
Without the tinted glasses of “grumpy old elf,” I saw him differently. He had never discriminated against me or the other students.
The deep wrinkles that contributed to his harsh appearance now seemed more like the marks of a long, wise life.
As for his overall angry-looking face… Well, some people are just born that way. At least he wasn’t unattractive, so that was something.
Though my initial dislike for him had completely dissolved, my nausea hadn’t. I bowed deeply to Georg, conveying my heartfelt respect, then hurriedly averted my eyes from the others and rushed out of the gym.
The air outside was still dreadful, and even the warm spring sunshine felt irritatingly unpleasant, but just escaping those stares helped calm my nausea.
The faint saltiness lingering in my mouth hinted that I’d be in trouble if I exerted myself too much, but as long as I avoided pushing myself, I’d be fine.
Having fled the gymnasium like a fugitive, a sudden thought struck me.
I had nothing to do.
In my original world, I would have been busy reading novels or sparring and joking around with my head guard brother.
I’d never have a dull moment. But here, I didn’t have anything I particularly enjoyed.
The closest thing might be trailing behind the protagonist, or perhaps reading this world’s books.
Chatting with the local god would also be fun, but that felt like a bad idea.
It was like forcing a terminally ill patient into conversation.
Compared to the gods of my homeland, this world’s deities felt like they were barely clinging to life on some magical life-support system.
If I tried to talk to them a few more times, I feared they might die outright. The thought terrified me into keeping my distance.
Should I head to the library, then? Surely, an academy this prestigious would have an impressive collection of books.
Filled with hope, I took a step forward—only to realize something.
Where was the library?
I’d barely managed to find the gym. How was I supposed to locate the library on my own? Thinking about it now, it was absurd.
I’d only found the gym by sheer luck after running into my homeroom teacher.
Now, during class hours, there was no one wandering around to ask for directions.
Well, almost no one.
Han Dogeon. He’d been nowhere to be seen since I left the gym.
I assumed he’d gone to the rest area to eat bread and then to the gymnasium, but maybe he’d gotten lost like me.
Perhaps Georg would forgive him too. Despite his grumpy appearance, he was a kind person.
Looking at the clock tower, I saw that P.E. was almost over. Only the fourth period had ended out of six, meaning there were still over two hours left until all classes finished.
…In typical academy stories, characters often storm out of class only to get swept up in various events. But nothing dynamic ever happened to me, a mere side character.
I wasn’t particularly disappointed since I hadn’t expected much to begin with. Really. Besides, I had no desire to battle evil or uncover dark conspiracies. Those dangerous adventures didn’t appeal to me at all.
With plenty of time to spare, I decided to wander the academy to familiarize myself with its layout.
Just as I was about to take a step, someone emerged in the distance, walking slowly toward the gymnasium.
It was Han Dogeon.
Where on earth had he been?
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