episode_0038

A day has already passed since I woke up.

“Yes♪ Full recovery―☆”

“… ”

“… ”

“… ”

Albit, Lotta, and Kara, who came to the hospital room, looked at me with complicated eyes. He didn’t open his mouth carelessly, but his constantly shaking eyes were filled with only worry and guilt.

I laughed out loud when I saw that.

‘I don’t know why you look at me like that. I guess this is really okay.’

I changed my clothes, took a bath, drank water, and rested for a day, and my physical condition quickly improved.

Compared to his previous life, his resilience was comparable to that of a superhuman, but in this world, he seemed to have barely returned from the crossroads of life and death. I still remember the good looks in the eyes of the Health Department students from the , who were shocked to see me like that.

Some time had passed after Hilde left the hospital room.

Students from the Ministry of Health came with all kinds of testing equipment and checked my physical condition.

-Ether… Not one… no.

-Tung… It’s empty. This is the first time something like this has happened.

-This is a reaction using forbidden power…

‘That’s just because there is less ether left compared to the size of my fuel tank… ‘

However, after completing all the tests, they seemed to be convinced and muttered something, so they did not provide any correction.

The test results came out right away, probably because it was in the intensive care unit. Fortunately, except for the ether-related part, everyone was said to have recovered to the point where they could continue their daily lives.

‘All the ether recovery buffs are gone, so it’s no different from an empty can.’

It wasn’t a bad thing as he survived thanks to Urud’s help, and it was the key to breaking through beyond the realm of martial arts. Anyway, it was a problem that could be solved.

Pass the ether for now.

I looked at the state of my body.

‘I’m glad my physical condition isn’t as bad as I thought.’

My hands and feet still feel a little numb.

Dark bruises appear on the arms and legs.

The vivid pink color of my hair has also faded a little.

Although he had scars that looked like creepy veins around his neck and heart.

“… ”

hmm… Well, this wasn’t that bad.

The scars are similar to the wear and tear of a smartphone.

I also had a mysterious feeling, like a magician who had mastered magic.

Didn’t Xiahou Dun chew off his own eyeballs and use them as a fashion element?

He was even better off than Don Hyeong, who was mocked as ‘General Wanche’ in a sarcastic reference to the fact that he had no eyes. This person’s entire body was fine, but only the skin had changed.

That’s right.

I got the event skin [Faded Spiral] Clara.

‘… ‘Not bad.’

So, pass on the scar.

However, it was surprising that the hair color had faded a bit.

‘Now it’s not a pink chang, but a light pink chang.’

It was really satisfying to see that her pink hair, which looked cheap, had now calmed down and had an elegant vibe like Hilde’s. If I met Hilde again someday, I wanted to joke around and ask her, ‘Have I changed anything?’

‘I couldn’t tell you at the time because I wasn’t in a good mood, but from now on, let’s go see Hilde whenever we get a chance.’

Wasn’t he the poor friend who couldn’t overcome his longing and smelled the sour smell of the patient’s unwashed hair? It wasn’t a bad thing to be able to see a new side of the woman who was always dependable and elegant.

‘If it’s [Faded Spiral], it wouldn’t be strange to go see an old friend… ‘

Pass on the hair too.

Although there were minor changes here and there… Anyway, I survived, so thank you.

All clear.

Surprisingly, [Faded Spiral]’s physical condition was much better than expected.

However, as soon as the juniors who came to see me after the test were all over, they burst into tears and shouted that they were sorry.

-senior… ! I… If only I was stronger…

-Sorry… Because I’m so weak… sorry…

-shit… shit… !!

Albit was holding my hand and crying.

Lothar sat down on the floor, shaking his shoulders and muttering.

Kara was hitting the wall with a sad expression and crying.

After hearing that sound, a minor incident occurred where the students of , who thought I had finally crossed the rainbow bridge, started a riot.

-Memorize the heroes!

-Hiyaaa!! Build a fire――!!

-You crazy bitches!! Why set fire to a building that is already under construction?!

I was dizzy when I thought back to that mess.

“They really make a fuss—☆”

“What a fuss… !”

“Anyway♪ Lotta had a promise to me to keep―☆”

“Ah.”

After so many twists and turns.

I was rubbing my face against Lotta’s two cat ears.

“Hmm♪”

“Hiit?!”

Lotta was sitting on a chair in front of me. As I rub my hands and face to enjoy the soft touch, her small shoulders tremble with my breath.

Albit and Kara were embarrassed when they saw my skinship like that.

“Senior, that… Isn’t the touch too blatant?”

“Honestly, if there were students at or , even if they were arrested for indecent assault, it seems like a gesture that would have nothing to say.”

‘Yes, none. ‘I’ll do what I want.’

I don’t care about such reactions at all.

Hold the orange cat ears in both hands and enjoy the smell and feel.

rub rub rub

Clap clap clap clap

Seupseup

“Huuum☆ Ummm♪”

“Ugh… ?! Hehe… ?!”

I enjoyed the modern softness that is rarely felt in this world full of rugged arcane funk.

Extreme softness, like a microfiber blanket or sleeping socks…

‘Surprisingly, the animal parts of the beastmen have a really luxurious feel.’

To begin with, most of the beastmen in Academy City are nobles who attend prestigious high schools, so they are good at managing them. The animal parts they had inherently had a noble feel that could not be found in the country dogs or street cats of their previous lives.

‘Still, there were some who had strange textures or shapes.’

With the exception of children who have strange shapes even from the objective perspective of other races, most of them try to create what they consider to be their ideal shape.

In particular, in the case of Lotta, it could be said that she was quite a handsome figure thanks to her exemplary standing upright and moderately luxuriant cat fur.

I was enjoying without hesitation the cat ears, which were the most beautiful of all cat beasts.

“Hmm… Yum… It’s heaven-☆”

“Ahi… ?! Ugh?!”

Still, I couldn’t bear to refuse.

Lotta continued to snort and spoke to me in a pitiful voice as I sniffed.

“Seon, senior. that… Prisoners get a bit startled when wind gets into their ears, right? So, the nose is a bit… ”

“Huhmmmm―☆”

“Ahhh—?!”

Unlike the fluffy hair, the orange cat fur has a somewhat rugged feel. If you rub your cheek against that area, it will be gently swept away as if you had never done it before.

“Um yum yum yum―♪”

“Baby Geek?! Huh?!”

The softness of the fur with the fragrant scent of flowers and the warmth of sunlight. No matter how high-quality fabric you bring, it will not be able to recreate this natural texture that embraces the warmth of living things.

‘It’s soft… It’s heaven… ‘

Kara tilts her head as she looks at Lothar making strange noises.

“That… I know this is a very embarrassing sight to see. Is it something that makes you twitch your fingers like that and make strange noises?”

“Ugh?! Ouch~!! hey!! The prisoners return home… Ahhh?! The brain and the most… ! Hey!! It’s close!!”

“Ah, I see. This is knowledge I didn’t know about.”

Arbit was smiling bitterly after hearing that conversation.

“Well, even in Academy City, there aren’t many people who would grab the ears of high-class beasts and treat them so carelessly.”

“Yes―♪ I’m glad Rota came to our school―☆ Ubububub… !”

“Agiik?! Huh?! Oh my… ! Gooook… ! OMG?!”

Around the time we were having a good time together.

From afar, there was a figure approaching with a helpless, melting pace. And the figure soon approached, opened the hospital room door, and came in.

Sigh…

It was Bell who came in with the weak sound of the door.

Instead of wearing a red training uniform like in my last memory, she had changed into the school uniform worn by executives of the . Decorated with more colorful ribbons and frills than when we first met, they looked like the high-ranking people of Academy City.

But Belle’s face was so haggard that her cheek lines were sunken.

Babble, babble…

Belle weakly raised her hand and greeted in a low voice.

“Not… Hello. long time no see… at that time… Since… It’s my first time.”

“Hello Bell―☆”

“Oh… Pink hair… no… Clara… You woke up… thank god… ”

“I don’t mind any nickname―☆”

“No… To the savior of life… That can’t be… No… huh… ”

Albit and Kara anxiously greet Belle, who is waving her hand helplessly.

“Senior Bell, it’s been a while. It looks like you’ve been very busy.”

“Comrade Bell. Why do you look unwell?”

“Ugh?! Nghhook?! Oooh… !!”

“Yes… ? He… why… Like that… ?”

“The expression of affection shared between me and Rota―☆”

“I see… ”

With slow movements, Belle brought out a simple guest chair and flopped down on it. It was a movement that looked like ice cream placed on the road on a summer day.

Drur…

dump…

Belle soon lowered her head and sighed.

“Huuuu… For a while after that… I was punished and released from solitary confinement… ”

“Yes?! Solitary confinement?! But I heard that Senior Sigrun avoided disciplinary action because he was recognized for his achievements.”

“What is he… If you think about it, I did what I was supposed to do as … And something happened while I was away… ”

“That… ”

“But it didn’t end like this… You watched it more than usual… Originally, he would have been relieved of his position and subjected to various penalties, but he made up for it by being punished in solitary confinement… Phew… ”

Belle sighed and lowered her head. And when he raised his head again, he began to emit a lively voice.

“Yes! Well, it’s like the cutie secretary has been completely resurrected! Haha! I’m back to normal work!”

“Senior Bell, what are your plans for the future? Are you planning to protect the garrison of ?”

“What… There are also movements by the Eastern Alliance… Above all… ”

Belle answered while scratching her cheek.

“Because through this incident, we learned that the group called is not just a group that encourages the kidnapping of students.”

“ … ”

“According to the analysis of the magic analysis club, this incident was suppressed early and only fluid chaos appeared. It is said that if it had been a little later, subadults or adults could have been created outside the dungeon gate.”

“… Eucharist.”

Albit let out a sigh when he heard those words.

“… ”

“Eunghook!! Oh my… ! now… ! Stop now… !”

As I was still massaging and touching Lothar’s ears, I remembered the fight with the [Priest of Erosion]. In the changed flow of the original, how should we move now?

“… ”

“… ”

“… ”

The hospital room became quiet, each person holding their own thoughts.

The one who broke the silence was Bell, who took a moment to gather his thoughts.

Belle spoke while looking at me with serious eyes.

“Thank you. Clara. It was an unexpected incident, but he sacrificed himself by burning his whole body to protect everyone amid the threat that the entire northern part of Academy City could have been ruined… I will definitely remember.”

“Nothing to say―☆ It wasn’t a sacrifice, it was something that had to be done♪”

“Really… [Pink Spiral] is not some legendary saint… Anyway, I don’t know if it can be called repayment.”

Belle took out four tickets stiffly coated with high-quality finishing material from her uniform pocket and handed them to her.

“This is my minimum sincerity. Use this when you have trouble or just want to come to the garrison to have fun.”

Albit and Kara were very surprised when they saw the ticket.

“This is… !”

“ exclusive route commuter pass?!”

“It was originally issued only to high-ranking executives of the , but I was forced to get it. With this, you will be able to use all the ether trains between and .”

Belle said with a gentle smile, still with a haggard look on her face.

“We met through a really funny relationship… I never thought it would be like this.”

“Cluck… ”

“Hehe.”

“Eungho clothes?! Oooh… for a moment… I also need to set the mood… ?!”

We also laughed as we recalled our first meeting with Belle.

“Okay~ Now, the cutie secretary is going to go back to her normal duties!”

“Senior Bell… !”

Belle stood up, smiling as cheerfully as when she first met him. That smile seemed somehow reassuring, and it also seemed like it had some playfulness in it so as not to be embarrassed when we met again.

“Until now, the cutie secretary of the … It was a bell!”

“Thank you, Senior Bell!”

“Comrade Bell! If you have any trouble, come to !”

“Yes―♪ Because we are friends beyond the same union~☆”

Belle laughed when she heard that and tried to leave the hospital room.

“Oh my… !”

“… ?”

“What’s going on?”

“[Yang Hong’s Trail] called for an airship to , so he asked me to come to the dock. I want to say goodbye.”

“Air?”

“Then I’ve said everything I wanted to say, so I’ll go~”

Just like that, Belle left the hospital room with her side tail wagging.

“… I have to go back now.”

“Really… I thought it would only be hard for one night.”

“Sure☆”

“Wooooh… ! Oooh… ”

We realized that it was time to leave Scarlet Academy and return home.