I Became the Academy’s Female Delinquent Chapter 21. Dinner Appointment

Thanks to Eir, Elsie, who had regained her energy, waved her hand with an unusually bright expression.

Eir, who was watching her with a surprised face, jumped up and waved back.

“E, Elsie! Recovery magic isn’t a panacea, so you have to go back and rest!”

Eir bowed politely and ran towards the Grid sisters, who were waiting.

“Recovery magic is amazing…”

Elsie could still feel the power of recovery lingering in her body.

“This is magic.”

Thrud poked Elsie, who was lost in admiration and putting on a solo show.

“Eek!”

“Stop it and let’s go back. We should enjoy our rare day off.”

“Day off?”

Elsie, who was rubbing her poked waist, turned to look at Thrud with a shocked expression.

She had been lying in the infirmary all day, so this was news to her.

“Did you think the academy only has classes every day?”

“Eek…”

Elsie couldn’t say anything.

She hadn’t even imagined that there would be a day off.

Not to mention, she had fainted all day today and unwillingly skipped lunch.

“T, then what about my lunch!”

“Lunch?”

If it was a day off, the only chance to have a proper meal, lunchtime, would disappear.

This was a matter of life and death for Elsie.

Seeing Elsie stamping her feet, Thrud realized something and opened her mouth.

“Elsie, never mind lunch, how have you been eating breakfast and dinner?”

For the past five days, Elsie had been stuffing herself with only clear meat stew and a lump of bread, the cheapest menu item, every lunchtime.

Thrud remembered her stuffing her face every time, talking about cost-effectiveness.

‘Surely not…’

Thrud anxiously waited for Elsie’s answer, hoping that her guess was wrong.

“I skip breakfast, and for dinner, there’s some kind of preserved food at home. I don’t know if it’s dried beans or jerky, but I’m saving it.”

Skipping one meal and saving preserved food?

Thrud rubbed her forehead.

“Why didn’t you buy something and cook something simple!”

“The money I got from ransacking the whole house is only enough for a month’s worth of school lunches. I need to have that kind of leeway…”

It’s also a bit awkward to wander around alone in a strange neighborhood-

Elsie muttered in a barely audible voice.

“I, I just thought it was okay because there’s no problem living right now.”

She tried to add an excuse, but it wasn’t enough to ease Thrud’s worries.

“Doesn’t your family send you any support money?”

Were they planning to let their family’s young lady suffer from malnutrition?

Thrud started to get angry.

But her anger was short-lived, and Elsie’s next words were truly shocking.

“It seems like I’ve been abandoned by my family. So I don’t think there will be any support money or anything.”

Not only Thrud, but even Doyun, who had been quietly standing next to her, froze in shock for a moment.

Elsie decided to explain about the unpleasant letter she had received from her family, as well as about Nidhogg’s poison.

She thought it would be a good idea to tell them about her situation while she was at it.

‘They wouldn’t believe me about Elsie’s death and my possession, so this is the best I can do…’

“H, how could they do that?”

Thrud muttered with a pale face after hearing Elsie’s story.

The truth she had learned only five days after bringing her to the academy was full of disgusting malice.

‘Not only were you exiled, but you were also made to swallow poison?!’

It was a miracle that she was still alive, considering she only lost her memory.

Thrud began to feel like Elsie might disappear at any moment.

“Why, why didn’t you say anything all this time…”

Elsie shrugged at Thrud’s trembling voice.

“I only found out after reading the letter. I didn’t feel like it was my business, so I didn’t feel the need to say anything. But not anymore…”

Elsie suddenly had the thought that she felt a little relieved.

If she had the chance, it would be nice to give the damn family that killed this Elsie a big blow.

She had been naive.

She should have paid more attention to Elsie.

It was a problem that she was living in such poor and precarious conditions, but to think that she had such a situation.

Thrud hugged Elsie tightly, whether she liked it or not.

Doyun simply stared at them with a complicated expression.

To abandon family.

He clenched his fist.

He was rarely angry.

Elsie looked up at Thrud.

“I don’t mind… but are you really coming?”

“I’m going. And we’re going shopping together tomorrow.”

“What?!”

“It’s a day off. Now that I know how you’re living, I can’t just let it go.”

Elsie shrank back at Thrud’s firm golden gaze.

Even so, she had to offer some kind of rebuttal.

“Our dorms are in completely opposite directions…”

“It’s okay. It’s closer than you think.”

“There’s only food with an unknown expiration date at home…”

“We can go grocery shopping on the way.”

“Ugh-”

Thrud’s will was firm.

There was no longer any excuse to stop her from coming to her house.

‘If this goes on…’

She would be alone with Thrud in a quiet house in the remote forest.

She had become a woman, and although she had become relatively accustomed to it, her pathetic nature, with its rock-bottom tolerance for women, remained unchanged.

There was no way out.

Elsie looked at Han Doyun, grasping at straws.

Doyun swallowed hard as Elsie’s gaze, which seemed somehow desperate, poured over him.

“Why…?”

“…You come too. No, please come.”

‘Please.’

Elsie swallowed her desperate cry and shot a look to draw Doyun in.

Because she was completely unaware of it, the effect was devastating.

‘If it’s hard to handle alone, make it bigger.’

This was a tactic she often used when she was attacked by multiple parties in the game.

“M, me too?”

“Doyun too?!”

The two of them staggered at Elsie’s sudden plea.

“Your house is close by, so come over for once. It would be nice to have dinner together…”

A life of eating alone every day in a house that was too big to live in alone.

Even though she had gotten used to it, she missed having dinner with someone, just like Elsie said.

‘Besides…’

Doyun glanced at Elsie.

He could feel her expectant gaze.

Would it be possible to refuse after seeing that pure face?

At least it was impossible for Doyun.

“Okay. Now that it’s come to this, I’ll bring some food from home.”

Elsie’s face lit up at his positive answer, and Thrud puffed out her cheeks as if she was a little unhappy.

Doyun was strangely excited at the thought of visiting Elsie’s house.

Leaving Doyun, who had left for home to pack food, behind, Elsie and Thrud headed for the street.

“Phew-”

‘I avoided being alone with Thrud!’

It was a success to bring in Han Doyun.

“Tch… Han Doyun… you sly guy…”

“What?”

Elsie tilted her head at Thrud, who was muttering something.

“It’s nothing. More importantly, let’s hurry before it gets dark.”

“I’m a little excited because I don’t go out except to go to and from the academy.”

“Elsie, what have you been doing all this time…”

Elsie became embarrassed at Thrud’s worried question.

Was it because of her instinctive aversion to unfamiliar environments?

She should have wandered around after finishing the academy, but she had been living so frustratingly.

‘I’ve been acting recklessly… I don’t have any living expenses, but I’m just holing up.’

The past five days.

The time she spent checking her abilities little by little and measuring her limits was fulfilling.

It wasn’t perfect, but it was time to look around.

Because she couldn’t just run towards a distant goal.

***

The main academy to which Elsie belongs is located in Glitnir, the most prosperous region and city in Midgard.

The commercial district of this place, which is also thriving as a trading city, is so crowded that traffic jams occur from early afternoon.

In other words, hell had unfolded before Elsie’s eyes.

The street, crowded with all kinds of races, resembled a department store.

“Ugh…”

Elsie staggered, feeling dizzy from the flood of people.

‘I have to come here again tomorrow?’

She wanted to run away.

It was a sight that made her want to enjoy quiet peace in a secluded place.

“Amazing, isn’t it? There are so many people. So you should go out more. Touch some grass.”

“There are too many, I feel like I’m going to get indigestion…”

“You timid softie.”

Thrud grabbed Elsie’s cheek and stretched it, laughing.

“You can get a discount if you go to an academy-affiliated store?”

Thrud took out a strangely familiar card from her pocket and shook it.

Elsie’s eyes narrowed at the sight.

“What kind of thing is that…”

It is said that highly developed science and magic are indistinguishable, but how far has it gone?

The sense of alienation when faced with something similar to modern civilization being realized with magic.

The first day of her possession was like that.

A shower and a bathtub with a temperature control function that she couldn’t even guess whether it was magic or science.

Honestly, it was so absurd that she wanted to grab someone and ask them.

‘It’s just going to give me a headache if I think about it too deeply.’

Then, Elsie’s face flushed as she recalled the time she spent showering and bathing.

The beautiful Elsie—no, the act of cleaning her naked body, now her own.

It was the greatest challenge she faced every day.

“…Shouldn’t we hurry up, buy what we need, and go back?”

Recalling the embarrassing memory, Elsie asked, tugging slightly at Thrud’s sleeve like a frightened child.

Thrud simply grinned.

“Auntie! One jar of lingonberry jam, please!”

“Oh, Thrud? Didn’t you buy some a few days ago? You’ll get fat!”

“It’s for her!”

Thrud, flinching at the mention of getting fat, pointed to Elsie, who was hiding behind her.

“Oh, hello…”

Elsie, glancing around at the mountain of cooking ingredients and tools, greeted the woman awkwardly.

“My goodness. When did you bring such a cute one along?”

“Ugh…”

Elsie, receiving the jam jar from the grocery store auntie who was purely admiring her, wore a troubled expression.

“How much more are you planning to buy?”

Turning her head while muttering under her breath, she saw a mountain of already-packaged food ingredients and various kitchen tools.

“Why are all the bowls and mugs rabbit-shaped… even the ladle…”

In the first place, there was no reason to buy kitchen tools or tableware.

Even though they were old, there were things like metal bowls at home.

When she explained that, Thrud became even more enthusiastic.

Squatting down, Elsie picked up a mug with a rabbit drawing on it and examined it with suspicious eyes.

“Well… it is cute…”

“Right?”

“Wah!”

Elsie, startled by Thrud’s voice whispering in her ear, fell backward.

Thrud, who had finished paying, had secretly approached her.

“Ahaha! It’s so fun to tease you.”

“This is my last spare set of clothes, and it got dirty!”

Elsie shouted, dusting off the blazer that had become thoroughly soiled from being dragged on the ground.

“It’s a holiday, just wash it!”

Thrud, wearing a nonchalant smile, patted Elsie, who was puffing out her cheeks and getting angry.

Then, she nonchalantly began to unbutton Elsie’s blazer.

“What are you doing?”

“Take it off.”

“You bi…”

“It’s dirty. As an academy student, you should maintain your dignity when you’re out in your uniform.”

Who made her fall in the first place? The words she spoke were utterly shameless.

Elsie desperately protected her blazer from Thrud’s grasp.

Taking off her blazer outside? That was an unacceptable action for Elsie.

At least, it was still.

“What if it’s a little dirty? We’ll be back soon!”

Elsie shook her head wildly, not at all relieved by the thought of taking off a layer of clothing.

“It’s better to be in a blazer than to be in a blouse in a crowded street.”

“Why are you so shy when it’s not even underwear—”

Thrud’s persistence was even greater than Elsie’s, and ultimately, Elsie ended up taking off her blazer.

As Thrud also ended up in just her blouse because it was hot, Elsie had no choice but to compromise with her psychological burden.

“It seems like they put more effort into the design of the blouse than the blazer.”

At Thrud’s words, Elsie reluctantly nodded.

‘That design is what makes me stand out.’

The blouse, with some kind of pattern embroidered in silver thread around the shoulders and chest, was more of a work of art than a simple uniform.

It was said to represent the branches of Yggdrasil, but that wasn’t the important thing.

‘It’s embarrassing!’

The reason why she felt like she was attracting attention wasn’t just Elsie’s self-consciousness.

In fact, gazes were pouring down on her as if she were some kind of spectacle.

Anyway, it seemed like they had bought a serious amount of stuff.

“Didn’t we buy too much?”

“Elsie, looking at how you live, you need to have at least this much.”

“Still, we bought so much that it’s inconvenient to carry.”

“Hmm… that’s true. There are no hands left at all…”

Both Elsie and Thrud were carrying armfuls of bags filled with all sorts of food ingredients and tools.

Wasn’t this inconvenient?

“And how much is all this… there’s no need to go this far.”

Elsie had received so much help from Thrud.

This kind of one-sided favor was unknowingly building up a sense of indebtedness within Elsie.

“Elsie.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t feel burdened by these things.”

There wasn’t a grand reason for helping Elsie.

It wasn’t because of the responsibility she had as class president either.

In fact, was a specific and clear reason really necessary? For wanting to help a friend?

Elsie was silent for a moment after hearing Thrud’s thoughts.

Her heart felt a little touched.

“If that’s the case, then all the more, I’ll repay the debt I owe you someday in some way.”

“Haha, that’s so you, Elsie. Just so you know, you don’t have to worry about money, okay?”

The relaxed smile of someone who didn’t seem to have any money worries.

Looking at Thrud’s triumphant appearance, Elsie recalled her game setting.

‘The Strong One’ who inherited her father’s power, the Valkyrie Thrud.

In the game, her father was said to possess half of Draupnir, Odin’s divine artifact that produced gold.

How similar was the game’s setting to this world?

Suddenly curious, Elsie asked Thrud.

“Thrud, what’s your father’s name, by any chance?”

“Sráz. My dad’s name is Sráz Valtýssher. Why? Ah—the reason I don’t have to worry about money is because of my dad, but um…”

‘Sráz? Not Thor?’

Thrud, unaware of Elsie’s question, recalled her father and wore a troubled expression.

He went logging with his bare hands,

and when the demonic beasts that sprang from Ginnungagap flooded Vanaheim, he would summon lightning to sweep them away, a great father.

But when he was at home, all she ever saw was him driving a goat cart or drinking mead.

Of course, that didn’t mean he wasn’t a good father…

‘What should I say… it’s a bit difficult to explain to a friend…’

He was a kind father who would run up and hug her tightly whenever he saw her, as if he was so happy.

The problem was that he was almost always drunk on mead, and so he got smacked on the back by her mother almost every day.

***

‘Didn’t I tell you not to smell like alcohol when you hug Thrud?’

Slap—!

‘Ugh!! This woman’s hand is getting fiercer every year! I didn’t drink that much!’

‘The child will learn from you! You haven’t changed since you were swinging that hammer around, you thunder pig!’

‘Hey honey! That was hundreds of years ago! And a pig! Where do you see…!’

***

“I’ll, I’ll explain it to you next time.”

“Oh… okay. Sure.”

Elsie, puzzled that Thrud’s father wasn’t Thor.

And Thrud, agonizing over how to introduce her father to Elsie.

An awkward silence continued until the two of them left the commercial district.

In the silence, only a black shadow following them flickered and disappeared.