episode_0022

“Hmm. To wake up right after class ends, could it be intentional?”

Professor-nim Alicia was kindly explaining it to me. Professor-nim Alicia would know that I genuinely woke up just now. Despite that, saying something like that must be her own kind of joke.

“Intentional? What a hurtful thing to say.”

I got up and looked around. The classroom, which had been littered with desks, was neatly organized while I was unconscious.

Thanks to the artifact’s effect, the classroom itself was clean enough to be considered new, and the scattered desks were neatly arranged.

It seemed only the intact desks were left, and the broken ones were cleared away, leaving only as many desks as there were students in the special class.

“The other students regained consciousness long ago and have been sitting at their desks, waiting for you. You should quickly go and sit in your seat too.”

As Professor-nim Alicia said, all the students except for me were sitting at their desks. No, ‘slumped over’ would be a more accurate description than ‘sitting’.

“It doesn’t seem like they’re sitting there consciously, though?”

Whatever happened while I was unconscious, their bright eyes from when I first saw them were now lifeless and dull. They even trembled whenever Professor-nim Alicia spoke.

“Good afternoon, everyone! It’s lunchtime now, so let’s eat and regain our strength!”

I cheerfully greeted the slumped students, but they only stared at me with lifeless eyes. No student responded. The only person who reacted to my words was Professor-nim Alicia.

“It’s not lunchtime yet.”

“As far as I know, lunchtime is after the morning classes end?”

“There’s still about an hour left until lunchtime.”

Upon hearing that there was still an hour until lunchtime, all the students trembled. It seemed they were afraid Professor-nim Alicia would make them fight again during that hour.

“So, during that hour, you can rest comfortably.” “Phew.”

When Professor-nim Alicia told them to rest, everyone let out a sigh of relief.

“I’ll say one last thing, and then I’ll leave. So, everyone, listen carefully.”

When she said she would only say one more thing and then leave, all the students who had been slumped over straightened up and looked at Professor-nim Alicia.

“There’s probably no first-year student who can defeat you in a 1-on-1 battle. However, that doesn’t mean you are strong.”

No one refuted Professor-nim Alicia’s words. Everyone might have thought they were strong, but everyone here hadn’t even touched a single hair on Professor-nim Alicia.

“You all have special talents, but you are still young and have weaknesses or bad habits.”

All the students who had received advice from Professor-nim Alicia during the fight flinched as if stung.

“Therefore, keep fighting me for a year. While fighting, I will tell you your weaknesses that you yourselves don’t even know.”

Professor-nim Alicia was, in essence, saying that they would fight every day until they fainted, just like today.

“If any student doesn’t want to fight, doesn’t want to know their weaknesses, and just wants to boast with mediocre strength, raise your hand. I will take responsibility and send you to another class.”

No student raised their hand. After confirming that no one had raised their hand, Professor-nim Alicia smiled contentedly and exited the classroom.

Once Professor-nim Alicia left the classroom, the students slumped over their desks again.

I also walked towards an empty desk to sit and rest. Since there were desks for every student, my seat was determined.

Sitting in the only empty seat, I spoke to Clara, who was on my left.

“Clara-ssi, hello!”

“…Yeah.”

Clara tried to ignore my greeting, but perhaps knowing I would keep talking until she answered, she replied curtly.

She was slumped over her desk, seemingly tired, as she answered me, her black hair disheveled across the tabletop.

Her red eyes, visible through her half-closed lids from exhaustion, made her look even more captivating.

“Clara-ssi, when did you get defeated by Professor-nim?”

She seemed too tired to even half-open her eyes and answered with them completely closed.

“Not long after you were defeated.”

Clara was currently slumped over her desk while sitting in her chair. Although the words themselves seemed casual.

Because of her emphasized thighs from sitting in the chair and the body parts naturally accentuated by being pressed against the desk, my gaze couldn’t help but linger on Clara’s body.

It’s a good thing I have a mask; if I didn’t, Clara would have probably slammed her staff onto my head.

“Then, please rest comfortably.”

My conscience pricked me for continuing to stare from behind my mask, so I left my seat. I knew I couldn’t tear my eyes away otherwise.

The first place my steps led was to the spellcaster who had cast a curse spell on Professor-nim Alicia after hearing my words earlier.

“‘I should have raised my hand when Professor-nim told us to earlier. What good am I doing here? Everyone here, except for me, is amazing. Someone like me shouldn’t even exist in this class. No, I shouldn’t even exist in this world.’”

I grabbed the shoulder of the spellcaster, who was engaging in intense self-deprecation. I felt like a valuable talent might desert if I left them alone.

“What hurtful talk is that!”

When I grabbed their shoulder and shouted, the spellcaster, startled, opened their mouth wide and said nothing. Surely they didn’t faint, did they?

“Huh?”

Fortunately, they didn’t faint.

“Your spell even worked on Professor-nim. So, have some pride! Understand?!”

“Huh? Yes!”

The spellcaster replied loudly in a daze. And perhaps embarrassed by speaking so loudly, they fled the classroom as if escaping.

If they really left the classroom because they spoke loudly, then I should probably leave this world.

As the spellcaster exited the classroom, I naturally moved my steps, and this time, my steps stopped where Lucas was.

“Lucas-ssi, you seem to have a lot of worries on your face. Such a handsome face, though not as handsome as mine, is wasted on such an expression.”

“Haha.”

Lucas let out a short laugh after hearing my words. But his face still held a look of worry.

“Loki, do you also think it’s arrogant of me to only use a spear?”

‘Lucas, I have no specific advice regarding your spear. But why aren’t you using that power?’

Could the reason for his worries be that he keeps thinking about what Professor-nim Alicia said?

“Lucas-ssi, I don’t know what ‘that power’ the Professor-nim spoke of is, but I’ve thought of a way to not receive her advice even while only using a spear!”

At my words about having a good method, Lucas looked at me with a mix of anticipation and disbelief.

“What is this method?”

“It’s simply to defeat Professor-nim using only your spear! Then, even Professor-nim won’t be able to say anything to Lucas-ssi.”

Lucas burst out laughing after hearing my words. Unlike before, the worry on his face had disappeared this time.

“Hahahahahaha.”

“Well, has your concern been resolved?”

“Yes, thanks to you.”

After that, I had a short conversation with Lucas and then approached the student in the special class who had the most gloomy expression.

“Sepia-ssi, why are you making such a face? If you make a face like that, even coming good fortune will fly far away [a saying that a gloomy expression can deter good luck].”

Sepia briefly checked my face, then lowered her head again.

“Hogu fought well against Professor-nim, but I couldn’t do anything.”

It seems the spirits not listening to her was a big shock. But in reality, it’s because her opponent was a dragon. If it had been any other being, the spirits would have listened to Sepia.

However, I couldn’t reveal that Alicia was a dragon.

“Aaaaargh!”

Sepia frantically messed up her own hair. As a result, her pink hair became completely disheveled.

Whoosh.

A wind spirit, which had appeared unnoticed, was tidying her hair. The wind spirit and spirits of other attributes hovered around Sepia, at a loss.

Sepia was deliberately ignoring those spirits.

To reconcile Sepia and the spirits, I decided to use my 77th special skill.

I carefully picked up the water spirit, held it in front of my face, and spoke in a soft tone.

“Sepia, please stop being angry.”

This time, I picked up the earth spirit and spoke in a rough voice.

“I was wrong.”

The wind spirit, in a slightly prim voice.

“I’m sorry.”

With the fire spirit, passionately.

“I apologize.”

This is my 77th special skill, ventriloquism.

For your information, my 1st special skill is being handsome.

Pfft.

Seeing my skill, Sepia burst out laughing. As Sepia laughed, the spirits also clung to her.

Sepia, rubbing her cheek against the spirits, smiled brightly and made a suggestion to me.

“Hogu, do you want to have lunch with me?”

If I didn’t already have plans, I would have accepted the offer, but I already had a prior engagement.

Just as I was about to decline, Kuran called out to me loudly.

“Loki, a woman has come to see you.”