Chapter 70: The saintess of the academy (5)

From that day on, Aisha’s school life completely changed.

Perhaps it was because rumors spread like wildfire in just a single day.

No one bothered the girl anymore.

The bullying, the criticism, the contemptuous stares that had been a daily routine were all gone.

In fact, those once-frightening delinquent students now actively avoided Aisha’s gaze.

Consequently, her treatment within the classroom also underwent a complete transformation.

Students began to approach her first.

Some even struck up conversations, saying they wanted to become close friends.

“Um… Aisha. Would you like to have lunch together?”

“I heard you got a perfect score on the last business mathematics exam? Could we perhaps invite you to our study group?”

However, the girl politely declined their advances.

“Thank you for the offer, but I have things I need to do.”

Just a few days ago, it would have been an opportunity to make friends she could only dream of.

She would have accepted without a second thought…

But now she knew.

She knew that such gestures weren’t genuine friendship.

When she was being tormented by the popular delinquents, they had all been bystanders, pretending not to know her.

Now, hearing rumors of her connection to ‘that person,’ they were merely approaching her in hopes of some scraps falling their way.

Yet, Aisha didn’t particularly despise such behavior.

That’s just how the world worked.

Everyone acted like snobs, paying no attention to things they deemed unnecessary.

Those were the ordinary people.

And that’s why it felt even more special.

The kindness of someone who reached out to a useless outcast, simply because they had become ‘friends.’

“……..”

Recalling the unforgettable memory from yesterday, Aisha unconsciously pressed down on her racing heart.

The more she thought of someone who had shone so brightly, her heart pounded and her face grew hot.

The adolescent girl vaguely sensed the name of this emotion but deliberately feigned ignorance.

Not yet…. She didn’t want to acknowledge it just yet.

Naturally, the contact information for her ‘friend’s’ terminal came to mind.

The number she was given to call if she was bullied again.

Aisha had even memorized the number itself, fearing she might lose it.

But she never even had a chance to use that number.

The bullying had already vanished completely.

Some of the delinquents who had always tormented her even came to her secretly today, begging for forgiveness and bowing their heads before her.

The result of the disappearance of those who had consistently tormented the girl was clear.

“This semester’s top student for the first year is… Aisha. Congratulations.”

Perhaps it was an obvious outcome.

A scholarship student was a prodigy, talented enough to receive a tuition waiver while attending the coveted corporate academy.

If only provided with an environment for full concentration and motivation, she had the capability to achieve first place.

Until now, that ability had instead provoked envy and jealousy.

But now that no one could hinder her from displaying her talents, Aisha never missed the top spot in any test from that day forward.

However… for some reason, the girl felt that this wasn’t enough.

She herself couldn’t understand what was lacking, or why.

There was just an unfulfilled feeling in her heart.

Lost in such complex thoughts, Aisha was heading home after classes today when she suddenly heard a familiar sound.

Inside an alley.

Students in school uniforms were surrounding someone, hitting them.

“Ah, seriously. Why do you keep showing up even after getting beaten like this? Drop out! A beggar like you doesn’t belong in the academy!”

“……..”

Aisha’s legs began to tremble at the familiar sight.

The bullying had disappeared, but the memories remained.

The trauma she had momentarily forgotten resurfaced.

Her heart pounded.

She wanted to run away immediately.

But then, Aisha remembered someone.

Thinking of the person who had saved her, the person she admired, courage welled up from somewhere.

The girl, who had been backing away, steeled her resolve, strode back into the alley, and shouted with all her might.

“Stop it!!!”

At the sudden voice, everyone on the scene flinched and froze.

“What, you again? You want to get hit too?”

Aisha squeezed her eyes shut at the threatening demeanor.

But she didn’t regret it.

Just like that person who hadn’t ignored the injustice she accidentally witnessed and ultimately saved the girl… she wanted to be dignified too.

She had mustered her lifelong courage, and then a miracle happened.

Another student urgently grabbed the arm of the boy who was striding forward.

“W-Wait, Wilson! That girl, she’s…!”

After they whispered among themselves for a bit, soon, everyone’s face began to turn pale.

“Tch, of all people…..”

Whatever rumor they had heard, they quickly dispersed, turning their backs on Aisha.

Left alone, the girl, with a bewildered expression, realized what she had accomplished.

‘I… I did it.’

She had finally overcome it.

She had even conquered the memories of being bullied and had, in turn, helped someone else.

A sense of pride swelled up from within her chest.

But still, why did it feel like something was missing even with this?

Then, suddenly, Aisha’s gaze landed somewhere.

A male student, his face a mess, covered in dust.

He was staring at the girl with a dumbfounded expression.

Recalling that she too had been in such a state not long ago, Aisha unknowingly smiled faintly and extended her hand.

“You’re Jayden from Class B, right?”

“Uh, yeah….”

The girl helped the boy up and brushed the dust off his clothes.

Then, a good idea suddenly struck her, and she spoke.

“I’ll help you from now on, so in return, would you do me one favor?”

“Wh-What is it…?”

“Let’s be friends.”

Hearing those words, the male student, with a dazed expression, slowly nodded his head.

From that moment on.

Aisha became a shield for students bullied at the academy, regardless of their year or class.

Most of them were scholarship students like herself, without influential backing.

Once Aisha started to personally intervene and help, other students could no longer lay a hand on them.

Consequently, the scholarship students began to showcase their respective talents freely and started to stand out.

“Is that girl the top of the year again?”

“I heard the second and third places are also scholarship students?”

As they continued to achieve such good grades, the group of scholarship students rose to become one of the influential factions within the academy.

Talented individuals who received excellent grades had a high probability of being recruited by major affiliates or key departments after graduation.

Other students might look at them askance, but they could no longer treat them carelessly.

Having gained the support of the scholarship students, Aisha inadvertently came to be regarded as their central figure.

The timid girl she once was would have found that position burdensome.

But not anymore.

Because now, Aisha had a special wish.

‘If we don’t have backers to pull us up, we just have to stick together. We’ll use that as a stepping stone to go higher, much higher.’

Because that goal was in the sky above.

A star in a place she dared not reach.

And yet, an angel who descended when most needed and became the girl’s friend.

That person had called Aisha a friend, but she couldn’t dare to truly believe it.

No matter how she thought about it, the distance between them was still astronomically vast.

But, despite that, she wanted to get even a little closer.

Every time she recalled that strong and beautiful figure who had willingly stood up for her that day, her heart pounded and her face grew hot.

It was fine even if her hand couldn’t reach.

If she could just bask in that brilliant light a little closer… she felt like she could accomplish anything.

Those past days of just being aimlessly swayed by others.

That life, lived without finding meaning, was over.

Now, she knew what her life’s goal was, and where it lay.

If she kept climbing higher and higher, endlessly…

Wouldn’t a chance to fulfill that distant wish eventually arise?

---

[“That concludes today’s lesson. Thank you for your hard work, Young Lady.”]

“Yes, thank you for your hard work too, Teacher. See you next week.”

As the farewells ended, the image of the teacher who had been speaking vividly before my eyes vanished like a mirage.

It was a holographic image, not a real person.

I turned off the projector and stretched my stiff body with a long sigh.

“Hoo….”

As you can see, I had recently been taking various classes, including business administration, remotely from the Church.

For students in the special class, most lessons were also provided as private video tutoring, so there was no need to attend school in person every day.

It seemed that unless it was a scheduled ‘social gathering’ day, all classes would proceed this way.

Recalling the academy building I had visited just once, my thoughts naturally drifted to the connection I had made there.

‘I wonder if that girl is doing well?’

Aisha, the cute-looking female student I first encountered at the academy.

After helping the bullied girl, I contacted her a few times out of concern, but each time I only received a brave reply saying there were no problems.

I had been worried… but it seemed the words I had with the academy director had worked well.

[“I sincerely apologize for causing the Young Lady concern due to our academy’s problem! We will resolve it immediately!”]

I still vividly remembered him shouting like that, cold sweat dripping from his balding forehead.

Having received such a confident assertion, it appeared to have been resolved well.

‘Still, next time I go to the academy, I should talk to Aisha directly again. Let’s see, when was that again……’

The only reason for special class students to go to school was for the ‘social gathering,’ so I was briefly calculating that date and the Church’s schedule in my head.

Suddenly, an alert rang from my communication terminal.

Ding-!

“…?”

The name displayed on the screen was from an unexpected sender.

‘Sophia…?’

It was a name I hadn’t seen in a really long time.

The incident that had become quite a past event now, the catalyst for the establishment of our Church of Radiance.

The mother and daughter, Sophia and Karen, who had come seeking a divine miracle for the blind daughter with a dream of becoming a painter.

The daughter’s name was Sophia.

I still vividly remembered the two of them shedding tears of overwhelming emotion after her sight was miraculously restored.

Even after that incident, the mother and daughter continued to express their gratitude and occasionally updated me on their lives.

It was just a few weeks ago that I received the happy news that Sophia had safely been accepted into the art school.

So I thought this contact was also a routine greeting, like the ones before…

‘What’s this? An electronic ticket?’

This time, the message came with a few items that looked like exhibition invitation tickets.

Puzzled, I looked at the message, and there was an explanation sent by Sophia.

[Eve unni! Have you been well? The invitation I sent isn’t for anything else, but my painting was selected as the representative work for new students at the upcoming student exhibition hosted by the city art school… and they said I could invite acquaintances or family. Eve unni, you are the greatest benefactor who enabled me to draw again, so I really wanted to show you my works and sent you the invitation. If you have time, would you be able to come and see it?]