Chapter 39: Exam’s over! Part 3

Ellie didn’t agree with the saying that one’s true self comes out when drunk.

Not in her past life, nor in this one.

However, she did agree that the side one usually hides could surface.

“Eh, Ellie…?”

Philia, who had been pushed onto the bed, looked up at Ellie in confusion.

“Hehehe… Hihi…”

Ellie, just as she had done with Clea earlier, began rubbing her cheek against Philia’s body.

Against her shoulder, her chest, her stomach.

“Euk…”

As Philia let out a breath from the ticklish sensation, Ellie suddenly sat up and locked eyes with her.

Then—

“Waah.”

Her playful eyes were undeniably Ellie’s, but what followed wasn’t.

She bit down on the bare skin of Philia’s shoulder.

“Huk!?”

A strange sound escaped Philia’s mouth.

It didn’t hurt.

In fact, it was less of a bite and more of a gentle nibble with her teeth.

Then, Ellie pulled away from the stunned Philia and lunged at Isabel next.

“Ehehehe!”

“Kyaak!? Ahaha, that tickles! Ellie, it tickles!”

Similarly, she rubbed her cheek against Isabel’s.

Then, she suddenly turned and looked at Stella.

“…Hik.”

She didn’t immediately pounce on her last remaining friend.

Instead, like a predator stalking its prey, she slowly, slowly walked toward her.

“Hihi… Haa…”

She collapsed into the tall girl’s arms.

“…Ellie?”

“Uuu…”

Then, with a soft thud, she rested her cheek on Stella’s shoulder.

She stared intently at Stella.

“…Eh, Ellie.”

As Stella cautiously raised her arm to pat Ellie’s back—

“Hihi.”

Ellie chomped down! Right on the shoulder she had just been leaning on.

“Kkeuuk…!?”

Stella was good at enduring pain, but the unexpected attack made her let out a small groan.

Ellie released her bite.

There was no blood, but the teeth marks were clear.

Ellie looked at the marks she had left, then licked them with her tongue.

“Hik…!”

The sensation of something hot and wet against her bare skin made Stella let out a strange sound.

Seemingly satisfied, Ellie finally pulled away from Stella.

Then, under everyone’s gaze, she spoke clearly.

“Guys.”

She smiled.

“Thank you. Really, thank you.”

With that, she collapsed onto the empty bed and fell asleep.

A silence fell over the four of them.

Philia, Isabel, Clea, and Stella all shared the same question in their minds.

‘What on earth just happened?’

To make sense of it, they slowly replayed the scene in their minds.

“!!”

“…!!”

Then, the shock hit them belatedly.

Of course, they had been shocked when Ellie suddenly hugged them.

But back then, it was just a reflexive panic.

Now, as they carefully dissected the situation, they realized something truly absurd had happened.

Yet, as the shock subsided, a strangely sweet sensation lingered in their chests.

What had just happened was exactly the kind of ‘humanity’ they had wanted to see from Ellie when they encouraged her to drink.

Ellie, collapsed on the bed, mumbled something.

[Don’t go…]

In her native language.

Fortunately, Ellie had never registered the Korean word for ‘go’ as a magic spell, so the four of them weren’t suddenly immobilized or unable to pull away from her.

But the girls could hear it.

Even though they didn’t understand the words, they could sense the deep loneliness within them.

Ellie was an orphan.

It was something all four of them knew.

But Ellie, who was always brighter than anyone else, who played on top of people’s heads, who had sought them out and made them her friends—

They hadn’t noticed the loneliness in her heart until now, when a part of it had leaked out.

“…Ellie.”

One by one, the girls climbed onto the bed and reached out to touch Ellie’s skin.

To ensure their most precious friend wouldn’t feel lonely in her dreams, to share the warmth of human touch with her.

“Ah…”

Ellie’s face, which had been scrunched up as if she might cry, relaxed.

***

From then on, at least one of the four stayed close to Ellie.

In that state, the girls quietly chatted.

It wasn’t about anything serious.

‘How they did on the recent exam, what they should do in class next, when they’d go back tomorrow, and so on.’

If it’s trivial, then it’s trivial.

If it’s lighthearted, then it’s lighthearted.

A mundane daily life where friendships grow stronger.

The central axis of the friend group was still Ellie, and it seemed she would remain so in the future.

However, as time passed, the relationship between the four of them was steadily developing.

Then, suddenly, Philia asked a question.

“…By the way, what on earth is that language Ellie speaks?”

Until now, everyone had thought it was an artificial language Ellie had created herself.

Probably the professors and the dean thought the same.

‘But can someone really talk in their sleep using an artificial language?’

‘Especially while drunk?’

‘Theoretically, it might be possible, but really?

“Should we ask her next time?”

***

The morning sun tickled my face, waking me up.

Without opening my eyes, I focused on the sounds around me.

Rustling noises reached my ears.

It seemed I was the last one to wake up.

I sat up.

Four pairs of eyes met mine.

Without preamble, I said, “I don’t remember anything.”

Nods.

“Last night, after the first sip of alcohol, I don’t remember anything.”

Nods. Nods.

“Really.”

Philia asked, “…Really?”

“I-I don’t remember, okay!”

You loner jerk!

Here, it’s considerate to either stay silent or just say, ‘Oh, I see, you don’t remember.’

Isabel spoke up.

“Oh, I see. If you don’t remember, there’s nothing we can do.”

“…”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

I was being shown consideration by Isabel.

Of course, Isabel is a kind person, so she’d show consideration in various ways, but this kind of consideration… well…

“Ugh…”

Damn it.

Daaamn it..!!!!!!

I buried my flushed face into the pillow and thought to myself.

‘I’ll never drink again.’

Tonight, I’m definitely going to kick my blanket in frustration.

Forced to.

***

The weekend passed, and the next week arrived.

With all students having taken exams for each subject, there were plenty of test papers to grade.

However, short-answer and multiple-choice questions could be graded instantly using magic.

Over the weekend, the teaching assistants worked hard to grade the essay and discussion questions.

From Monday to Thursday, there was a period for raising objections, and then on Friday, the teaching assistants finalized the grades.

By Saturday morning of the week after exams, the midterm report cards were completed.

And the academy is a competitive society.

Once the grades were finalized, the top 20 students from each grade were posted on a bulletin board as a commemoration.

By the way, the number of top students posted has changed several times throughout the academy’s history.

The most was 50, and the least was 3.

This year, a bulletin board with the names and rankings of the top first-year students was posted in Snowdrop Hall, where the first-years resided.

This, too, was put up by a teaching assistant at 7 a.m.

Even though it was Saturday, some freshmen who couldn’t sleep in comfortably heard about the grade bulletin board and immediately flocked to it.

Almost everyone who was awake came out, creating a bustling crowd.

Everyone looked for their own names, some were horrified to find names they didn’t like, while others were happy to see their friends’ names but also felt a twinge of jealousy.

However, what stood out most clearly to everyone was the name at the very top of the bulletin board.

The top student in the entire school.

“Sorry, I haven’t seen it yet! Let me through!”

With her usual boldness, Ellie pushed through the crowd to check the bulletin board.

It didn’t take long.

The five names she was looking for were all at the very top.

“Guys! Guys!!”

Ellie ran to her friends’ room to deliver the good news.

First, she went up to the fifth floor to wake Stella, who had fallen asleep late last night, and brought her down.

On the way, she woke Isabel on the second floor and Philia on the first floor.

She even grabbed Clea, who was peeking out to see what the commotion was about, and pulled her outside.

And the four girls, led by Ellie, saw it.

“Huh…?”

“R-really…?”

“Oh my god….”

“Really?”

They trembled as they saw their names at the very top of the list.

<Fall Semester Midterm Exam Top 20 Students>

1st place. Ellie

2nd place. Isabel Shuker

3rd place. Philia Clyford

4th place. Stella Blaze

5th place. Clea Lacostrin

6th place. Dein Edwick

Looking at the stunned group, Ellie also felt a wave of emotion.

‘They really did it.’

Among the academy freshmen, no one really knew how much they needed to study or how to put in the effort.

Ellie had taught her friends study methods and provided mental care until the exams were over, so she had hoped they’d do well.

But exam results are something you never know until they’re revealed.

So.

‘Thank goodness.’

Ellie felt a deep sense of pride and gratitude toward her friends who had made her feel this way.

For following her, for working hard, and for staying strong until the end.

The excited voices of her friends reached her ears.

“E-Ellie! Look at that! I, I, we……! Wow!”

“T-today, we must celebrate with a feast……!”

“We really… did it…”

“…W-wait… I think I’m going to cry…”

Ellie warmly said to the joyful girls, “You all worked hard. And congratulations.”