16 – Tardiness 2
“Everyone, sheathe your swords.”
When Johanna spoke in a low voice, all the leadership team students sheathed their swords. Indeed, it could be spelled “leadership team,” but it was read as the Johanna Fan Club.
Every student in the leadership department had drawn their swords and was glaring at me. I ignored their gazes and ran towards Johanna.
“Waaah, Senior Johanna! I was so scared.”
I pretended to cry, wiping the eye part of the mask with both hands as I spoke. Of course, the tone and pitch of my voice didn’t sound like crying at all.
“Lies.”
“Kugung! How can you say that! Look here. Can’t you see the cold sweat from the surprise?”
Johanna looked at my face with her unique sharp eyes. Am I that good-looking?
“You can’t see it because of the mask. Take it off.”
It’s not because I’m handsome, but it’s because the cold sweat doesn’t show through the mask.
“Hmm. Unfortunately, due to the wind, it seems I can’t show you the sweat that has already dried.”
As I continued talking with Johanna, the gazes of the leadership students became hotter. Well, considering there are only girls in the leadership, it’s understandable that they would stare so intensely at someone as handsome as me.
I approached Johanna and whispered in her ear.
“Why do the seniors looking at me have such hot gazes?”
Upon hearing my words, Johanna turned her head in the direction of the leadership students.
Then, the leadership students, who had been glaring at me with extremely sharp eyes, exchanged gentle looks as if nothing had happened.
“What was today’s lunch menu?”
“The weather is really nice today.”
It was an obviously awkward conversation, but Johanna, seemingly oblivious, looked at me again with a puzzled expression.
“It doesn’t seem like that’s the case, right?”
When Johanna turned her head, the gazes of the leadership students became even more intense than before. It was a look that clearly said not to talk to Johanna.
“hehehe! That’s right! I think I saw it wrong!”
I pretended to be surprised by that gaze, moved behind Johanna, and tremblingly grabbed her shoulders.
At that moment, the student who had initially seemed ready to kill me with just a glance sincerely raised his sword as if to truly end me.
“What’s going on?”
Johanna asked me as if she knew nothing. Judging by the fact that she seemed unaware that they were trying to draw their swords, it didn’t seem like they genuinely considered harming me.
“Is it not true?”
Now that I looked, other students were joining forces to prevent the one who was attempting to draw his sword.
Deciding to stop playing around, I removed my hand from Johanna’s shoulder and spoke to her.
“By the way, Senior Johanna, don’t seniors usually undergo a dress inspection at the academy entrance?”
As far as I knew, Johanna had never undergone a dress inspection even once. Dress inspections were usually carried out by the youngest members of the student council.
From Noble mtl dot com
This wasn’t a bad habit of the student council; rather, when the youngest member handled the relatively easy dress inspection, the rest of the student council could patrol inside or outside the academy.
However, among the student council members standing at the academy entrance now, there were some strong students, strong enough to be mentioned in Croaca.
Of course, I knew the reason they appeared. It was probably because Johanna came out. But then, why did Johanna come out?
“I don’t usually do it.”
Even though I asked the question, it seemed like the student council members were waiting for a more substantial answer.
“I waited to see you this time too.”
When Johanna mentioned ‘this time too,’ the student council members exchanged glances.
“Did you make Johanna wait last time too?”
“From what I overheard, it seems like that.”
“Daring to make Lady Johanna wait!”
Johanna mentioned ‘this time too’ because she had waited for me on the day of the entrance ceremony exams.
The student leaders seem to have misunderstood, thinking I was late because I had set up a meeting. However, I found it amusing not to clarify the misunderstanding.
“Come to think of it, weren’t you upset when Johanna went out for a while during the entrance ceremony?”
“Yeah, was it because of that guy again?”
Johanna was probably upset because I had rejected the student leaders’ proposal outright.
Oh? Well, that’s really my fault, then.
Before the student leaders genuinely tried to kill me, I asked Johanna a question.
“Did you wait to see me? Do you have something to say?”
Really?
“Oh! Did you wait to see my handsome face this time?”
“No, it’s not that.”
Johanna answered solemnly, just like last time. Ugh.
“I have something important to tell you.”
The student leaders stirred at Johanna’s words.
“Oh my, something important? Seriously?”
“To Johanna from that guy! But if Johanna is happy, then it’s okay.”
I also wanted to hear what Johanna’s important message was, but…
“Senior, but I don’t have time right now. Can I hear it next time?”
If I stay here any longer, I’ll be late for class. That demon instructor is the professor for the special class, and if I’m late, who knows what will happen.
Upon hearing my words, Johanna looked somber and lowered her head.
As Johanna became gloomy, the eyes of the student leaders glaring at me became extremely fierce.
“Right now, it might be a bit inconvenient. How about grabbing lunch together a little later?”
“Sure.”
The possibility of having lunch with Johanna during lunchtime meant I could hear something important she had to say. It also meant fulfilling my 23rd wish: having lunch with Johanna.
“Well then, I’ll be going now.”
“Just a moment.”
I was about to leave when Johanna’s voice stopped me.
“Yes? Is there a problem?”
“You’re late. You’ll get a penalty point.”
Darn it. I thought I was being quite natural this time.
A member of the disciplinary committee approached me with paper and pen. Were they going to record the students receiving penalties over there?
“What’s your name?”
As I was about to say my name, I noticed the disciplinary committee students listening closely. Surely they weren’t trying to remember my name and start some kind of group ostracism.
No way.
“I’m Rocky! Being late gets one penalty point, right?”
“Correct, more surprising than I thought. I thought you’d use Johanna’s connections to avoid the penalty if you were going to sneak in secretly.”
“While I have the audacity to sneak past the disciplinary committee seniors, I don’t have the cheek to use connections to escape penalties.”
The disciplinary committee student writing down my name casually dismissed my words. Now, the moment of truth.
“But, seniors, I already went, and there was something written. Is there no separate penalty for that?”
At the words of one disciplinary committee student, everyone fell silent. I froze too.
“Is that so? But was the attire inappropriate in the note?”
“Is this… acceptable?”
“If masks are prohibited, wouldn’t accessories like necklaces and bracelets also be prohibited?”
“Can masks be considered as accessories?”
One of the student council members, who was pondering with their head in their hands, approached me and struck up a conversation.
“Have you properly put on your school uniform?”
“Of course! I’ve put on my school uniform properly.”
I spun around in place to show that I was indeed wearing my school uniform properly.
The student who spoke to me then walked back to where the other student council members were.
“What should we do? I’ve put on my uniform properly.”
Perhaps if I hadn’t worn my uniform properly, they would have given me a demerit and be done with it.
However, now that I was wearing my uniform properly, a decision had to be made about whether my mask constituted a dress code violation.
“Just let it go.”
In the midst of everyone’s pondering, Johanna spoke up.
“If anything happens, I’ll take the responsibility.”
When Johanna said she would take responsibility, the student council members didn’t know what to do. After all, they wouldn’t want Johanna to suffer any consequences.
And in the midst of this situation, I unwittingly blurted out:
“Johanna senior will take responsibility for me?”
The student council members glared at me as if they wanted to kill me because of my joke. I was so frightened by their gaze that I quickly left the spot.
Of course, Johanna wouldn’t actually take responsibility because of my mask.
“Johanna senior, then I’ll see you later during lunchtime!”
“Okay.”
.
.
.
Yohanna watched Rocky’s swaying figure as he walked away.
And she remembered the times when Rocky would casually pass by the student council members, never bothering to greet them if he wasn’t already struggling. None of the student council members would have known Rocky passed by if he didn’t acknowledge them.
If Rocky had even used his unique magic to erase his presence, perhaps even she wouldn’t have noticed.
But the surprise didn’t end there.
The way he moved when the student council member attempted to touch his shoulder was astounding.
“Faster than last time.”
It was incomparable to the day of the entrance ceremony exam.
How could he have trained in such a short time to become this strong?
Yohanna thought she’d ask about it during lunch, shifting her steps.
Heading in the opposite direction from the student council room, one of the students stopped her.
“Hey? Yohanna, where are you going? That’s not the way to the student council room.”
In response to the student’s question, Yohanna replied briefly as she walked.
“To the Student Council Office.”
Yohanna redirected her steps towards the Student Council Office, aiming to establish a rule acknowledging masks as accessories.