Chapter 9: A cheeky and weak little brat

On the morning of Lily Academy’s entrance ceremony,
Linea walked towards the auditorium with a disinterested expression.

The students politely made way for her as she passed. It seemed the academy students were all quite courteous.

In her past life, her all-girls school was nothing like this.
Instead of clearing a path, students would cling to her, delaying her.

It had been about ten years since she crossed over into the game world.

Linea recalled her past life.

Walking home with a friend, she saved a child who ran into the street to retrieve a ball.
But she couldn’t avoid the accident herself.

She remembered being hit by a car.
Then, she woke up not in a hospital, but inside her favorite game.

Her friend often recommended novels and games, and this game was one of them.

She’d been hooked on its open-ended story and RPG elements before her death.

It was called something like “Yuri Academy…”
She couldn’t quite recall the full name.

She still remembered the word “Yuri,” having seen it often in the novels and games her friend suggested.

After waking up in this world, she trained relentlessly,
following a character build she considered effective.

Fortunately, she’d been reincarnated as the protagonist, possessing ample talent and potential.

Once she was strong enough, she traveled as an adventurer, collecting dungeon loot and artifacts.

Having explored these dungeons countless times in the game, they posed little challenge.

Though her attire became somewhat cluttered with accessories.

Thanks to her efforts, she was overpowered for a new student at Lily Academy.

But her thorough preparation dampened her anticipation for the academy.

Linea sighed softly.
The beautiful scenery and architecture were already familiar from the game.
She walked without paying attention to her surroundings.

Until a small commotion broke out ahead.

“Did you think I wouldn’t know you were planning to kidnap and imprison me, keeping me as your personal possession forever?”

Judging by her tone, the little girl was clearly from a high-ranking family.
She was berating another student on the way to the auditorium.

She was so small Linea initially mistook her for a visitor.
But she was wearing the uniform, so she was a student.

The little girl’s scolding lacked any real threat.
She seemed to enjoy attracting attention while harassing the other student.

The targeted student, embarrassed and overwhelmed, stood frozen, tears welling up.

Apparently, the issue was about being touched on the head.
Isn’t head-patting normal between friends?

Well, maybe she doesn’t have friends and wouldn’t know.

Linea decided not to dwell on it.

This event wasn’t in the original game, as far as she remembered.
Nor was the little girl.

She had such a strong presence; Linea felt compelled to investigate.

And maybe correct her nasty habit of tormenting others.

****

On her way to the auditorium, Linea wondered if she really needed to attend the ceremony.

She changed course and headed towards a flower garden.

Better to relax in the open garden than be stuck in a boring ceremony.

It would be over by the time she was done relaxing.

But her plans were interrupted by a strange sound.

“Sob…sniffle…”

A faint cry came from deep within the garden.

Linea followed the sound and
found a small wolf, curled up and crying.

More accurately, it was a wolf beastkin with black ears and a tail.

“Hey, wolf. Why are you crying?”

“…Sniff…sniffle… I’m…hic…lost…Waaah!”

“…I see.”

Linea helped the crying beastkin up.

She brushed off the dirt from her uniform and patted her head, calming her down. The beastkin looked up at Linea with big, watery eyes; quite cute.

“Forget the entrance ceremony, let’s go to our rooms.”

The wolf beastkin nodded obediently, nuzzling Linea as if asking for more pats.

On the way to the dorm, Linea learned her name was Nina.

Nina insisted on being called “Woofie” or “Puppy,”
but Linea couldn’t call someone by such names.

Shaking her head, she called her Nina.

“This is my room. Nina, where’s yours?”

Linea stopped Nina from following her inside.

“B…but…you said you’d take me to your room and raise me…”

There seemed to be a misunderstanding.
Linea wouldn’t pick up a random person like a stray dog.

Realizing her mistake, Linea tried to clear up Nina’s misunderstanding.
She promised to eat together later and sent Nina to her room.

Nina looked like an abandoned puppy, disappointed about missing the entrance ceremony.

But the ceremony was long over by the time Linea comforted Nina and escorted her.

As Linea thought of what to say to Nina, she bumped into someone leaving the next room.

A small, cute girl with ash-gray hair and sharp, almost arrogant eyes.

This must be the girl who was harassing the other student earlier.

Being neighbors must be fate.

Linea approached her, but the girl’s eyes widened with each step, then she lowered her head, avoiding eye contact.

She didn’t respond when Linea spoke. What was she up to?

As Linea was about to speak again, the girl finally said,

“Wh…what are you going to do by staring at me like that? D…do you think I’m scared or something?”

“…What?”

What was she talking about?

It took Linea a moment to process.

Perhaps her negative feelings towards the girl had unintentionally leaked out.

Linea felt a bit wronged by the girl’s reaction, but she knew she needed to learn more about this child.

“I wasn’t trying to scare you…I just wanted to know your name.”

Linea needed to appear harmless.
Otherwise, she’d lose the chance to learn the girl’s identity.

“D…do you think I’d be intimidated by a weakling like you?”

‘What…did you say?’

A weakling?

The one thing Linea couldn’t tolerate.

‘You’re terrible at this game.’

The ultimate insult when gaming.

Being called a weakling in this game-like world implied her character was weak, which translated to being bad at the game.

And the girl’s arrogant tone and expression infuriated her.

Linea snapped out of her thoughts and searched for the little girl, but she was long gone.

Linea gave up and
had dinner with Nina, then returned to her room to check her equipment.

Nina kept clinging to her during dinner, trying to share her food, which Linea found endearing.

She was reminded of her friends from her past life and her current younger sister, feeling both warmth and longing.

Pushing aside the sentimental feelings, Linea jumped out the window.

****

The Wolf’s Forest.

An early-game hunting ground and the location of the first story boss, a significant location in the original game.

Now, due to the boss’s influence, drakes roamed alongside wolves, making it unsuitable for beginners.

Linea had visited this forest daily since arriving in the capital.

Even after entering the academy, she came here late at night, hunting drakes until late, then stretched her stiff muscles before returning.

Growl—

Drawn by the scent of blood, she was suddenly surrounded by wolves.

They circled her cautiously, wary of any movement.

Looking at them, she was reminded of her new wolf beastkin friend.
She liked the soft, fluffy feel of Nina’s ears.

She didn’t feel like harming the wolves, despite their menacing growls.

“Hoo…”

Thump—

She exerted magical pressure, and the wolves scattered.

Satisfied with the sudden silence, Linea left the area littered with drake corpses.

Yelp—

As she walked towards the academy,
a mournful yelp echoed through the forest, like a wolf’s dying cry.

Was there a drake nearby?

It was possible.
The forest was teeming with them.

Even with her daily hunts, their numbers quickly replenished.

Like respawning monsters in a game.

Maybe it should be called the Drake’s Forest instead.

This unusual monster distribution would stabilize after the initial events.

Remembering a key event from the game, Linea rushed deeper into the forest, towards the sound.

A faint glow of fire was visible in the distance.

Only the first boss, the Wyvern, could breathe fire.

It shouldn’t be appearing yet.

Unless the game was different from what she remembered, just like the unexpected encounter at the academy.

Worried, she quickened her pace.

She hid behind a tree and observed.

Peeking cautiously, she couldn’t believe her eyes.