Chapter 16: I Became the Last Place in the Academy

Wednesday, the day of the third test.

I endured. There was no monster invasion. I was deeply relieved by that fact.

Perhaps that one totem alone was enough to break the barrier and destroy an entire village.

Thinking that way, I felt it was fortunate that I had eliminated the totem, even at the cost of my hand.

Well, investigating the barrier was one thing, but I was so tired from studying to escape last place that I felt like I was going to die.

Of course, I wasn't exactly thrilled when I received my report card.

My written test score had improved a little, but since I didn't receive any points in the practical exam, it seemed I was stuck in last place.

If I wanted to escape last place, what should I do in the practical exam?

As I looked at my report card, wondering what I should do in the practical exam, Yun Hamin approached me.

"Kanna."

"...Yeah?"

What did he come to say?

He wouldn't have come to see my report card.

Was he going to say that nothing happened on Wednesday after all, and that he couldn't trust me?

Or was he going to ask if this was what happened because I got rid of the totem?

I raised my head and looked up at Yun Hamin standing in front of me.

Then Yun Hamin said quietly.

"...Today, you won."

The moment I heard those words, something welled up in my throat.

Honestly, I expected him to question me.

Whether he spoke negatively or positively, I knew he couldn't feel better than questioning me because I hadn't shown him any proof...

But Yun Hamin simply told me that I had won.

I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the emotions, so I tightly closed my trembling lips.

Then, after counting numbers in my head, I answered with my emotions barely under control.

"...Yeah."

I didn't expect him to say that, so I felt like I had been ambushed.

"...Hey, Yun Hamin?"

Orca called out to Yun Hamin.

Yun Hamin turned his head, and Orca seemed about to say something.

I hesitated for a moment, then grabbed my report card, stuffed it into my skirt pocket, and slung my bag over my shoulder.

"Then I'll go. Orca, please go carefully too."

"Ah, wait a minute..."

Honestly, I thought it was best to leave in this situation, so I hurried away without listening to Yun Hamin trying to stop me.

I wasn't trying to change everything from beginning to end, just to change Yun Hamin's future.

I just wanted a future where he wouldn't shed tears.

A world where the things around him remained intact, where the things he loved survived, and where he could live and smile.

Surely that wasn't too much of a dream.

I left the classroom, stepped into the hallway, went down the stairs, and exited the building.

In any world, the day after the test ended earlier than other school days, so the lazy sunlight shone on me.

I swallowed a sigh at the fact that April was already approaching.

I had only just overcome the first hurdle, and I was already worried about how the next one would come.

I had to pray that things wouldn't go too far astray.

***

Walls were originally created to isolate spaces from each other.

Because there were walls, the inside and outside were defined, and at the same time, names could be added.

So, for the remaining humans, the inside of this barrier was definitely precious.

It was a space where their homes were located, a space where they could enjoy peace and tranquility.

"...That's strange."

Beyond the barrier, there was a village where people lived, but the opposite side was a completely overgrown forest.

I was sure I had marked it with mana-filled feathers beyond this point, but now I couldn't feel anything.

I put my hand on it and pondered several times, but I definitely hadn't erased it myself.

It wasn't a problem with my memory.

I was planning to send a few troublesome monsters to the academy where the heroes gathered as much as possible, and then send the remaining monsters to a nearby village to trample and swallow it whole, but I couldn't do that.

A barrier was a seemingly ordinary structure, but it wasn't ordinary.

Of course, the inside and outside of the barrier had different flows of mana, so it served to block them.

It was definitely different mana from what ordinary people absorbed into their bodies, refined, and used as their Abilities.

Of course, monsters swallowed the mana outside the barrier, just like ordinary humans swallowed the mana inside the barrier.

Anyway, in order to invade such a place, prior preparation was necessary, but that preparation had disappeared, so I was puzzled.

"...It's not anywhere?"

I groped the innocent wall.

I couldn't help but click my tongue.

I had confirmed that it hadn't been removed for several days, and then I considered it a village without heroes and tried to destroy it, tried to trample it, but it disappeared the moment I tried to execute it, so it was frustrating.

"That's strange."

I thought I had controlled it as much as possible so as not to provoke the humans, but I didn't know they would find it.

Besides, it would be difficult to find unless they were consciously trying to find it, so I wondered how they did it.

Even though they were heroes, they were already just 'jobs' that received compensation.

Their sense of duty was just a facade, and no one would be truly committed, so how?

No, even if they had a sense of duty, it would be crazy to be sure that something like this existed and act on it.

The corners of my mouth turned up involuntarily.

I didn't know what kind of crazy bastard was inside the barrier, but it seemed clear that they had taken a gamble.

"Heh, heh heh, hahaha!"

I laughed loudly.

I laughed so loudly that anyone who saw me would be horrified and try to get away.

I felt like I would really go crazy if I didn't laugh like that.

To soothe my loneliness, to soothe this desolation, I needed someone's screams.

I wanted to know who the damn bastard was who had stopped it.

"Okay, okay. This time, it's my defeat."

It was absurd, but for now, my preparations had been ruined, so there was nothing I could do.

I had no means to break through the barrier right now.

Of course, I could find another guy and get a means, but I didn't like borrowing someone else's hand.

"But next time, I..."

I clenched my fist tightly.

Grrrrr.

I heard a growling sound that seemed to scratch up from my throat.

The monster tamed in my hand was baring its teeth and signaling its hunger, but it was a pity.

"Oh, my baby, were you hungry?"

Grrr.

"I'm sorry, but it seems there's some kind of interferer this time. The chance to eat your fill has disappeared...?"

As I said that in a whisper, the monster, understanding it, gnashed its teeth.

Then I would just create an object of hatred for that monster.

"There's a guy inside there who keeps making you starve."

Hate him.

Because you're starving.

Because I'm lonely.

It's all because of that bastard.

If I only knew what his face looked like, I would play with him until he was distorted, I vowed.

"Don't you hate it? Don't you want to kill him? Then let's get bigger."

Grrrrr.

Looking at the well-behaved monster made me smile.

Of course, just because it understood words didn't mean it was a sentient being capable of conversation, so it didn't relieve my boredom because it was an existence that screamed instead of screaming.

I looked up at the barrier.

The largest structure since the dawn of humanity.

I couldn't help but feel annoyed that I had failed to break it, but it was good news that the opponent to tear apart had become clear.

I hoped that next time I made a scratch on the barrier, I could at least guess who it was.

***

"...Damn it."

I opened my hollow eyes and groped for the device that was next to my head.

The time displayed on the screen was 1 AM.

I closed my eyes, turned off the screen of the device, and stretched my arms out in a large gesture.

The cause was that my biorhythm was completely messed up because I had stayed up all night yesterday to finish investigating the barrier and studying for the test.

My head throbbed.

I had rushed home and closed my eyes as soon as the academy's schedule was over, but I was at a loss because I had fallen asleep and woken up at 1 AM.

I felt refreshed, but the throbbing remained as an aftereffect of staying up all night, and I wondered if it hurt because it would be troublesome to go to the academy like this tomorrow.

"...Ugh."

Could I sleep if I closed my eyes again?

The alarm was always set for 7 AM, but I was actually anxious and didn't know what to do.

As I groaned and calmed my breathing, I felt like there was a notification when I looked at the time earlier.

I wondered if I had seen it wrong, or if something had come, so I pulled up my left arm holding the device.

When I turned on the screen, there were several text messages from Yun Hamin.

[Yun Hamin: Hey, I'm sorry about earlier. You didn't have to leave so quickly.]

[Yun Hamin: Are you angry? Or just tired?]

[Yun Hamin: Are you asleep?]

[Yun Hamin: Good night, see you tomorrow.]

Looking at the gradually increasing intervals, I felt like he had been watching me carefully while I was sleeping.

I didn't need him to pay so much attention to me, but I felt a strange emotion when I saw him sending me text messages.

I was the one who had tried to change the story from the beginning because I thought that if the original was like this, it might suddenly turn into a bad ending at any time.

I acted for that purpose, but I didn't want Yun Hamin to pay so much attention to me, so I felt a little embarrassed.

I turned off the screen and threw it next to my head, thinking that it would only be a nuisance to reply at this time.

I pulled the blanket up to my chest again, looked at the ceiling of the dark room, and then closed my eyes tightly.

There were so many uncomfortable things after becoming this body, but I thought of the end of my life and felt like this was the least I could do.

"...Haa."

I sighed softly and calmed my breathing.

I didn't know if I could sleep again, but I tried my best.

The morning dawned, and I woke up to the sound of my alarm, put on my school uniform, and headed to the academy.

Since the test was over, it was now a week to start studying again.

I felt like I was going crazy with the ever-increasing test range.

When I entered the academy, I was always an object of no interest.

Everyone avoided me and didn't even pay attention to me because I was in last place.

Could I, like this, play the role of a proper hero anywhere?

It was natural because I was useless to them, and after graduation, I was just a guy who couldn't be used as a connection.

But, as if mocking them, there was someone who greeted me.

"Hi, did you sleep well yesterday?"

"...Yeah, I slept well. Hi."

I replied with a slight smile.

And Orca, who was next to him, quietly greeted me.

"Hello, Kanna."

"Ah, hello."

Orca nodded as I replied with an awkward smile.

I felt like a light was coming into my academy life, which I always thought would be lonely.

I had felt it before, ever since Yun Hamin started talking to me and eating with me, but now, perhaps because I was more at ease, I was feeling it even more intensely.

Yes, it must have been because of what Yun Hamin had said to me yesterday.

Saying that it was my victory meant that he believed in me.

It felt like he was approaching me with more care.

Before, even until yesterday, I thought the word "friend" was just an empty word, but now it was different.

"It was too late, so I didn't reply."

"You looked tired. Were you out late?"

"...No, I stayed up all night studying, so I ended up like this."

The way we were talking so naturally now really felt like friends.

Orca, who was listening to me, stared at Yun Hamin next to her and smiled.

Even though she seemed to dislike me approaching Yun Hamin, I felt a little more comfortable with her smiling when I didn't arbitrarily take up Yun Hamin's time or interfere with his future, and when I did my part.

"My written scores went up a bit, but my practical skills are still a bit of a problem."

"By the way, when will your hand get better? You're always wearing a bandage."

"Ah, this? It's taking quite a while because it's a burn."

I smiled awkwardly like that and started my day.

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