episode_0082

The next day.

“Ugh….”

Whoever said soju helps with hangovers was lying. My head feels like it’s going to split open.

I heard somewhere that no matter what alcohol you drink, if you drink it like there’s no tomorrow, you can’t avoid a hangover.

Whether it’s from lying on the ground or from walking around all night, my body aches and feels sore in every corner.

If the boiler hadn’t come on, I might have frozen to death, so I should consider myself lucky.

“What time is it?”

Looking at my phone, it was 5:57 AM.

Goodness. Habits are scary.

I don’t even have to attend morning roll call anymore, so why am I waking up so early rubbing my eyes?

I wanted to drink cold water and settle my stomach, but unfortunately, there’s no water purifier in this house yet. No water purifier, no fridge, no bottled water.

“…I don’t feel like going out.”

But I could just go to a restaurant and eat, so I reluctantly got up and quickly washed my face.

As for my hair… let’s just tie it up.

Come to think of it, I don’t even have a towel. I always used the ones provided in the dormitory. The only things I own now are my phone, a ramen pot, underwear, and a few changes of clothes.

Of course, I don’t have a uniform.

So, after washing up, I was dressed in a bra under my tank top and panties, literally in my underwear.

I wiped the water off my face with the tank top in a hurry.

I only had a dress that Lager had given me, so whether I liked it or not, I had to wear that to go outside.

“Ugh, ugh….”

It was a struggle to put it on with the zipper at the back. It was nauseating to have all sorts of shows in an empty stomach.

“I wish there was some hangover soup….”

With a desperate wish in mind, I left the house.

“Darn it.”

Darn it, what hangover soup. It was cream bread and cereal for breakfast.

“Ugh….”

Even the so-called goddess, Lina Frilwood, felt nauseous.

What kind of goddess suffers from a hangover? Ridiculous.

Among the many students dressed in uniforms, I, wearing a fancy dress alone, and Lina, suffering from a hangover with a dirty expression, were enough to attract the attention of many students.

From now on, it might be a bit awkward to use the restaurant.

“You can’t eat? Should we just go back to my room and eat ramen?”

That seemed like a better idea. I felt too sick to even think about lunch. The feeling of being watched by people was an added bonus.

At least in the so-called honeymoon house, there was a pot and ramen, so boiling and eating something spicy seemed more appropriate for a hangover.

“No. We can’t.”

Unexpectedly, Lina shook her head.

“Why? Is this also restricted by the rules?”

“It’s fine as long as it’s not caught by the Academy rules. The problem is the competition rules. They don’t want us to get too close in the future.”

“When are you going to give up this ‘self-proclaimed goddess’ concept?”

“Hey, it’s not a concept. I’m a real goddess, you know?”

Seeing her so unjustly treated, she really seemed like a goddess, but then again, seeing her retching after eating cream bread, it’s hard to believe she’s a real goddess.

Lina exhaled a breath full of alcohol fumes and scratched her short black hair.

“I already got a warning yesterday. They said I’m interfering too much in the works.”

“Who said that?”

“Not me. The rulers of other worlds.”

“There are other worlds?”

“I’m the ruler of the 1,937th world. There are other rulers participating in this competition from other worlds.”

“So, there are 1,937 worlds similar to this one?”

“Do you think it’s called ‘Universe’s Strongest Competition’ for nothing?”

The scale is no joke.

Lina breathed heavily, trying to hold back her nausea.

“Phew, no, yesterday, phew…. It seems like it’s a problem that I directly told you how to find your abilities. The rulers of other worlds say this is unfair.”

“What’s wrong with a little unfairness? Is it a big deal? What even is this competition?”

Lina gulped down the cereal milk and let out a breath before answering heavily, “If you spill that, I’ll be in big trouble. I’ll get sanctioned.”

“What happens if you get sanctioned?”

“It’s not just the work, it’s the disqualification of participation for the entire sector.”

“What happens if you get disqualified?”

“Kid, I don’t know. Just don’t ask too many questions and do what I tell you to do!”

Lina clapped her hands and quickly got up from her seat.

…What on earth.

“Oh, so from now on, it’ll be hard to eat together. I’ll make it look like we fought to others, so you’ll have to eat alone for a while. Is that okay?”

Do I really have to go this far?

Despite my reluctance, Lina, with her head bowed and hands nervously wiping, made me agree.

“Okay, got it.”

How can one refuse when the author himself casts ‘Veniad’? There’s no choice.

“But the planned meeting on the weekend should be fine, as it doesn’t seem to violate the rules.”

“So, what about Saturday?”

“Sure. If I knew this would happen, I should have at least made a phone.”

“We can’t meet, but can we communicate through the phone?”

“Oh, right. Anyway, that won’t work either.”

What is this carelessness!

*

Returning to my studio apartment, I cooked and ate ramen, fiddling with my phone on the floor.

I tried various things using mana.

Summoning a ramen table, a folding table, and a cutlery set was possible, but it didn’t last long.

Just as I was about to get up after finishing, I felt dizzy at the thought of the table disappearing and the ramen spilling on the floor.

Even these small things were difficult, let alone a sofa or a bed.

I decided to only wear dresses to avoid the disaster of clothes disappearing like last time when I made unnecessary clothes.

So, I lay on the floor in just the hoodie that Lager gave me, in my underwear, rolling around and purchasing the necessary items.

“Let’s see…”

Since I didn’t have a refrigerator, I bought simple food. I also bought some clothes because I felt burdened to go to a restaurant in a fancy dress.

A few sets of ‘appropriate clothes’ that were neither too casual nor too fancy.

They will arrive in 4 days. Darn it.

In the meantime, as I was selecting and purchasing the necessary items.

It was lunchtime.

I changed into a dress and went to eat, then came back and changed into a hoodie, rolling around in my underwear while shopping or meditating.

Standing in the empty house where the pale sunlight was coming in gradually.

It was evening.

I changed back into a dress and had dinner.

Since there was no point in staying at home, I decided to take a walk.

Walking around the academy in casual clothes instead of a uniform made me feel different. It was similar to when I went to see other people in casual clothes instead of my usual combat uniform.

Anyway, I’m not a student of the academy anymore.

If I find my abilities, can I become a student again?

What will happen to me in the future?

With a bittersweet feeling, I headed towards the smoking area as usual.

Some students in the smoking area started whispering when they saw me.

“Hey, isn’t that the girl with the tail?”

“Isn’t she a student of the academy? Why is she dressed like that?”

“Seriously, didn’t you know? She got pregnant, got expelled, and then got married.”

“Wow, really?”

“Hey, keep it down.”

…I pretended not to hear.

“But wait, can you smoke when you’re pregnant?”

“Are you not going to give birth? There were rumors that you weren’t pregnant.”

“Then why did you get married?”

“I heard you had a love triangle with Seondo Director. What, was it because of that last commotion…?”

“Oh, that’s why?”

“I heard you spread your legs from fear of losing to Seondo Director in rank and looks. Rumor has it that it happened in the main warehouse…”

“Wow, it’s really a mess.”

Just one cigarette.

Just smoke one cigarette quickly and let’s go.

“But what about the kid’s father?”

“Why the blue hair. Was it a lager bottle?”

“Wow…. those delinquents really get along well with each other.”

“Men are such idiots. If you tease them a little, only men suffer…”

“You, bastard, don’t you want to calm down a bit?”

Before I knew it, I was grabbing the head of the girl who was making the most noise, slapping her, and pulling her hair.

“Ah! Let go, let go! You whore!”

“What did you see? Do you know everything?”

“Aaah! Even if I didn’t see it, it’s obvious, either a delinquent in heat with a whore or what aah! Let go!”

“I won’t let go, you fucking bitch. Or maybe I’ll look like a whore. Honestly, that’s really unfair. But, but!!”

Because of me, this happened. I could endure whatever they said to me.

But.

“That guy, really, did nothing wrong!! He was just trying to protect me, why do you know everything, damn it!!”

Shouting with screams as if pulling out her hair, she shouted.

And the next moment.

Thud.

A sharp pain hit my neck.

Gasping with a short cry, I knelt on my knees.

My body lost strength and my vision blurred.

Thud.

After collapsing on the cold floor, I realized that I had been hit in the neck.

“Ugh, ack, augh….”

I couldn’t breathe properly, so I took deep breaths.

Looking down at me, the girl whose head was a mess cursed.

“Fuck, you’re useless.”

“Hey. She said she’s pregnant, look at her belly…”

“She probably didn’t. How can she be pregnant while smoking?”

The girl kicked my cigarette that had fallen on the floor.

“Is that so?!”

“Gah!”

As if threatening to kick my belly with her foot, I involuntarily shivered and trembled.

“You little shit. Don’t catch my eye. I’ll kill you for real.”

“If you kill me, you’ll be expelled too.”

“Hey, do you really want to kill me? Do you keep provoking me?”

“I’m telling you because I really feel like killing you.”

They looked at me lying on the floor and then left.

Even after they left, I couldn’t get up for a while.

“Ow, ugh….”

It hurts.

It hurts….

I still couldn’t breathe properly.

“When will he come.”

That guy.

When is he coming.

“When are you coming.”

Feelings of injustice, sorrow, pain, or whatever it was, complicatedly swirled in my head.

So even though tears were streaming down my face.

I couldn’t figure out why I was crying.

“Ugh, sob, sniff….”

…I feel like I’ve become too weak.

I should drink some alcohol and go to bed.