episode_0025

It had been about a week since then.

I was still stuck at ‘Heroine Move 61 points.’

Consciously trying to act like a heroine and focusing on the score was a task I was not good at. Just simulating in my head already made me feel guilty, and the infinite embarrassment of failing at it was indescribably fatal.

Rina, who was quick-witted in this aspect despite being a delusional leader, brought up the topic during dinner.

“Have you two been fighting recently?”

Rina, who had completed her ankle rehabilitation and returned to daily life, still felt uncomfortable with Lager, but she subtly joined the meal group after seeing me always eating with Lager.

Of course, my only purpose was to accumulate points with Lager’s help, but Rina, who didn’t know that, always tried to detect a pinkish atmosphere between me and Lager whenever she had the chance, with her poorly performing love radar always sticking out.

But in the first place, we weren’t like that.

“Not really, we didn’t fight.”

Lager and I both replied in a nonchalant tone, each picking up a chopstick with black bean noodles and spicy seafood noodle.

“It’s strange. The atmosphere between you two is strange these days.”

Muttering like that, Rina picked up the kkanpunggi on her plate and put it in her mouth.

Today’s menu was Chinese food. You could choose between black bean noodles and spicy seafood noodle as the main dish, and then choose one of sweet and sour pork, chili shrimp, and kkanpunggi from the kitchen. Pickled radish and raw onions were standard.

I always felt that the quality of meals at the Academy was very satisfying. It made me wonder if they fed us so well because we never knew when we would be called out and when we would die.

I carefully scooped up some noodle broth to prevent it from splattering on my blouse, took a sip, and asked Rina.

“Is there a reason you feel that way?”

“They don’t seem close. You two haven’t been fighting much lately.”

“It’s good if we’re not fighting.”

“Yeah, it’s good. But why does it feel awkward?”

Although I didn’t have any recent memories of arguing with Lager, the reason Rina felt that way was probably because of me.

– Hey. I found out some important information about ‘Heroine Move.’

That’s where it all started. I shared what I had found with Lager.

– So, doing heroine-like things increases the score, right?

– Yeah. So, can you help me out a bit?

– How?

– Just follow along with what I do.

– Hmm… Alright. Let’s give it a try.

That’s been the flow ever since.

I struggled to imitate a woman’s mannerisms that I didn’t have, and naturally, Lager always looked at my daily failures with pity.

The atmosphere that Rina felt, where we weren’t fighting but there was a strange distance, was formed.

Lager, who was slurping up his black bean noodles, looked at me and raised his spoon.

“Hey. Let’s share the broth.”

The most disappointing thing about Chinese food was that they didn’t provide the broth separately for the spicy seafood noodle. They said they removed that option because most customers would only eat the black bean noodles if they were given the broth separately. It was frustrating, whether you liked it or not, if you wanted to eat the spicy seafood noodle, you had to deal with it.

It’s the fault of the worldview next to me, Ha Kko.

“You said you didn’t like it when your saliva got on it.”

“Oh, that was then. This is now. I’m thirsty.”

“Alright.”

Reluctantly reaching out my bowl, I suddenly remembered something and stopped Lager for a moment.

“Hey, wait a minute.”

“What are you up to now?”

As I took a deep breath, Rina leaned on her chin and watched me with interest.

“He’s a fraud, but he’s surprisingly good at reading the atmosphere sometimes.”

I scooped up some jjamppong broth with a spoon and blew on it lightly.

“…Ah, give it a try.”

I attempted to score points once again.

“Why go to such lengths…”

“Just open your mouth and try. It might be important to do it in front of others, you know.”

Despite my reluctance, I forced a smile and brought the spoon to my mouth.

Slurp.

Mmm, it’s delicious.

“Want more?”

“No, I’m good.”

Of course, Rager declined to drink the broth again.

Seeing Lena looking pleased with us, I decided to stop here to remember that we were in a contractual relationship for the experiment.

“Oh, by the way, are you guys ready for the tier assessment?”

“Tier assessment?”

Lena laughed as if she couldn’t believe my question.

“You’ve been so engrossed in your little love game that you haven’t even been paying attention to the important stuff, have you?”

“It’s not like that.”

“What do you mean it’s not like that? Just now in front of me…”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?”

Cutting off Lena’s words, I angrily slurped up the jjamppong. As I did, two drops of broth splattered on my blouse. Darn it.

Seeing this, Lena clicked her tongue, cleared her throat, and spoke.

“We have a tier assessment every quarter. If your tier goes up, your salary increases, and the dormitory conditions improve significantly. Nowadays, the training grounds are in chaos because of this, and you’re the only one who doesn’t care about the tier assessment.”

“I’m satisfied with my salary and the dormitory conditions as they are now.”

In reality, I didn’t have many places to spend money, and considering that I had the dormitory to myself, it wasn’t that cramped, so I didn’t feel any regret.

Lena shook her head, saying, “You really have no idea.”

“Tier Black doesn’t even use the dormitory, you know?”

“You mean they get kicked out?”

“What are you talking about? They escape. They get apartments!”

Apartments?

The ones I know?

The ones that cost 1 billion won in Seoul?

Confirming the change in my expression, Lena’s voice began to excite me.

“Do you know the apartment complex behind the academy cafeteria? It’s obviously a high-end place.”

“Wasn’t that for faculty housing?”

“It’s also for faculty housing. From Tier Black onwards, students can apply to become faculty members.”

“Oh, really?”

I had always thought that teaching something unremarkable and sucking up to get perks was a sweet job. But if you could switch to being a faculty member as your tier increased, that changed the story a bit.

“And the ultimate benefit given from Tier Black onwards is…”

“There’s more?”

As I slowly began to brighten up, Lena delivered the final blow.

“Unlimited weekend outings and overnight stays, and exemption from roll call.”

“Wow, damn!”

It was such a huge benefit that I couldn’t help but swear.

Any military personnel would empathize. The urge to commit suicide when you wake up every morning feeling like you’re going to die, shivering in the chilly air, screaming for three seconds towards the front with a dry throat, the feeling of smoking a cigarette before and after roll call to calm yourself down, it was too pathetic to soothe.

But achieving Tier Black meant unlimited weekend outings and overnight stays, money, a house, and even exemption from roll call?

Wow, I can’t stand this. Mom, I want to become Tier Black when I grow up!

“The head of the discipline department might feel a little bitter.”

“If he’s the head of discipline, then Dakota?”

Lena nodded in response to my question.

“In this quarter, you were aiming for the Black tier, right? I heard you got injured not too long ago, with your ribs and organs all hurt, so it’ll take quite a while to recover.”

Listening to Lina’s words, I suddenly remembered vaguely hearing about Dakota’s tier.

─No matter how Dakota was a ‘Red tier,’ it wouldn’t have been easy to face humanoid monsters.

Dakota’s tier is Red. Is Black the next tier after Red? To that question, Lager answered this time.

“There is a ‘Grey tier’ between Red and Black, but depending on the skill level, it’s possible to advance up to two tiers at once. You could say he’s in a position of power now.”

Oh… that explains why he fearlessly charged forward even when facing humanoid monsters. Dakota was truly a skilled individual.

After finishing the explanation and eagerly slurping up his black bean noodles, I made a suggestion to Lager.

“It’s about time we visit him. Shall we go see him?”

“Why bother.”

As Lager had some history with Dakota and that… obvious mirror-like incident, he seemed reluctant to see him again.

“But he got hurt because of us, so we should at least go once, shouldn’t we?”

“Hmm….”

Lager pondered for a moment, then nodded.

“Alright. Let’s go together tomorrow.”

He nodded.

After finalizing our plans, we finished our meal and got up from our seats. After spending about a month in a girl’s body, I found myself leaving less food behind. It seems I’m starting to figure out how much I can eat.

There’s no need to adapt to such details. No, perhaps correcting even these minor details is necessary for acting and speaking like a true heroine.

Should I be happy that I’m adjusting to my body, or should I feel embarrassed? I still don’t know.

On the way back to the dormitory with everyone, I was a bit late in asking a question that piqued my curiosity.

“Come to think of it, what tier am I?”

“It’s a tier that’s hard to forget. You often seem to have thoughts that are hard to grasp.”

Letting out a deep sigh, Lina teased me. I could roughly understand how pitiful I must look, like looking at a soldier who doesn’t know their rank.

But it can’t be helped. There’s still so much I don’t know about this world.

When I gestured to Lager asking where this tier thing is, Lager simply shook the pendant hanging around his neck once.

No, to be precise, he emphasized the pendant.

Come to think of it, Lager and Lina’s pendants were purple. Mine was yellow.

Suddenly, a bad feeling crossed my mind.

‘Is this setting taken from Taekwondo belts?’

Quietly asking Lager, he glanced at Lina before replying.

“Yeah. This lousy pendant.”

Oh… I sighed quietly as I resentfully grabbed the yellow belt around my neck.

I… I’m a yellow belt…. I’m low level. What is this nonsense!