Ch.254IF Side Story: From the Beginning (22)

Despite everything, Delphinium eventually accepted my story.

I’m not sure if it was because I said I “didn’t want to leave her alone.” If anything, that might have made her want to distance herself from me even more. People who prefer solitude typically dislike when others keep approaching them.

But even the most solitary person can feel desperately lonely sometimes.

I was like that. At school, I was the type who put up barriers to keep others away. I got along well with Hayun, but that was because she was Hayun.

Everyone else who approached us was just annoying. Most people wouldn’t even try to get close once they saw how sharp I was with others, but there were plenty who would push past that just to get to Hayun.

Still, sometimes I wished I could just be a normal, popular student at school. I eventually gave up on that idea.

Somehow, here I was living the complete opposite life.

That’s why I didn’t want Delphinium to feel those emotions.

Seo-hee and Yeonwoo started with somewhat negative feelings, but Delphinium didn’t have such negative emotions toward me. There was an atmosphere of dismissal, but that was closer to “lack of interest” than anything else.

That’s how I treated people who approached me at school with ulterior motives, so I could understand that feeling well.

“…”

As I stared blankly at Delphinium explaining various things, she frowned at me.

That was Delphinium’s way of expressing emotion. She must have quickly noticed that I wasn’t focusing on the lesson.

Besides this class, there were other basic classes about magic. However, those weren’t particularly advanced either, and usually focused on using or repairing equipment made by the Galactic Federation. That made sense since Cherry was the teacher.

Delphinium’s class was much more theoretical, which made it difficult to concentrate. Even though I was considered a good student at school, what she was teaching was on such a high level that it was hard to understand intuitively.

Thud.

“Huh?”

I didn’t expect Delphinium to close the book.

“W-wait a minute!”

I jumped up from my seat and called out, barely preventing Delphinium from taking the book and returning to her room.

“Ah, sorry. Honestly, it’s a bit difficult to understand…”

“…Then there’s no need for you to attend.”

Well, she had a point.

True. An elementary school student listening to college-level lectures might be pointless. Without even the basics, I couldn’t understand it. Delphinium’s class was at quite a high level.

But if I just let Delphinium leave, everything I wanted would fall apart.

“Um, Senior Chaeyeon.”

Seeing my panic, Hayun quickly raised her hand.

“I understand everything properly.”

“…”

Delphinium turned her gaze toward Hayun. There was a very subtle expression of surprise in that gaze.

In the original story, Hayun maintained good relationships with all the magical girls. She didn’t just maintain those relationships as an individual; she connected magical girls who were at odds with each other, ensuring teamwork didn’t break down when fighting enemies.

That’s why she could be the leader of the magical girls despite having seniors. Of course, the Hayun in the comic probably didn’t want that position.

In this world, I somehow took on a significant portion of that role, but that didn’t mean Hayun’s nature and abilities disappeared.

Delphinium stared at Hayun for a moment, then looked back at me. Her expression was nearly blank, but I was certain those eyes were glaring at me.

Delphinium reopened the book, placed it on the desk, and continued the lesson.

“…”

Honestly, I still couldn’t understand.

But I couldn’t just zone out again. After all, this was the class I had asked for.

I picked up my pen and tried my best to take notes on the lesson. I wrote down everything I could—all the formulas and theories Delphinium was writing.

Maybe if I read it again later and asked Hayun, I might be able to understand?

During the class, Delphinium briefly stared at me, but continued the lesson without stopping.

And so the first day ended without much progress.

*

When I crossed over to this world, I lost everything I had achieved in my past life.

Well, it’s not like I had accomplished anything extraordinary like ruling the world or becoming one of the top five richest people. I just achieved some small things that any person could do, like getting into university.

All of that disappeared, and I can’t show off those achievements to others anymore, but there was still one thing that remained with me.

That was my persistence.

For better or worse, when I fixate on something, I stick to it tenaciously. I’m not sure if that’s truly a positive trait.

But thanks to that trait, I was able to adapt here. Without that persistence, I would have given up after losing to Seo-hee once, or after getting hit by Dahlia’s magic.

And I would have greatly disappointed Hayun.

So, I decided to use that persistence again.

I took the notebook where I had written down the theories I learned from Delphinium and went around asking everyone in the facility.

“Huh? This is too advanced for you to learn, isn’t it? Did you hear this from Delphinium?”

That was Cherry’s reaction.

So it really was difficult.

“Yes. But I’m going to try my best to understand it.”

Hearing my words, Cherry looked up at me as if she was proud, but—in truth, I wasn’t so much interested in the knowledge as I was frustrated.

Wasn’t that how my fights with Seo-hee and Yeonwoo started? Both began because I “lost” at first.

It was the same with Delphinium.

I asked for a duel and got rejected, so I tried to persuade her in another way.

But if I couldn’t understand anything at all, wouldn’t that make me look completely incompetent? Even if I couldn’t win, I wanted to show that I wasn’t the type to give up.

This was also a form of intimidation.

A threat that if she kept ignoring me, I would continue to be annoying. A threat to make Delphinium think it would be better to join us than to deal with my persistence.

So, I studied hard.

“Aren’t you working too hard?”

Hayun worried about me like that.

There probably aren’t many eighth graders who study this hard during winter break.

But somehow it was enjoyable. Not simply because my knowledge was increasing, but because it felt different from studying for exams.

There was no need to get a higher score. Delphinium wasn’t diligent enough to give me test questions.

But it was interesting to see Delphinium’s reactions as I gradually kept up with her classes, occasionally asked questions, and answered the questions she sometimes posed.

When I first landed an effective hit on Seo-hee. When I was able to approach Yeonwoo more properly.

When I asked Ju-a to make a staff for me, or when I transformed while fighting with Hayun using that staff.

All of it was enjoyable. It felt like finding and fitting puzzle pieces together in human relationships.

My relationship with Delphinium was like that too.

The more effort I showed and the more I kept up, the longer Delphinium extended her classes. She taught more and spoke to me more frequently.

Whether Delphinium herself realized it or not, we were gradually becoming closer.

“Can I join this class too?”

When I went to ask Ju-a, she showed great interest and said that. That’s how we gained one more student.

Delphinium tilted her head in confusion but continued the class anyway.

“This magic seems helpful for growing plants.”

After hearing about the related theory, Yeonwoo also showed interest when I asked her.

The next day, Yeonwoo quietly followed us and sat a little distance away to listen to the class.

Delphinium again made an expression that suggested something was odd.

“Wouldn’t it be weird if I’m the only one not attending? Besides, things like exploding fists might be helpful in fights.”

The perceptive Seo-hee, realizing we were all participating in the class, immediately joined. She truly had the opposite personality to Delphinium.

And so, Delphinium’s class became one that all magical girls attended.

Before we knew it, the blue-haired girl who preferred the most secluded spot had become the center of our group.

It took about three days of classes with all of us participating before Delphinium realized this, and for the first time, she made a dumbfounded expression.

Seeing that expression, I felt a sense of satisfaction.

Our eyes met.

When I grinned at Delphinium, she covered her forehead with her hand.

But still, she didn’t give up on teaching.