22 – Lunch
I was hit by Professor Elysia and regained consciousness two hours later. How did I know?
“Hmm. You got up right after class ended, deliberately, perhaps?”
Professor Elysia was explaining kindly. She must have known that I had really just woken up. Still, she made such remarks in her own playful way.
“Deliberately? What a bitter thing to say.”
As I stood up, I looked around. The classroom, which had scattered desks before I fainted, was neatly organized during my unconscious period.
Thanks to the artifact’s effect, the classroom itself seemed brand new, clean enough to be considered so, and the scattered desks were neatly arranged.
Only the intact desks were left alone, and the destroyed desks seemed to have been cleared, leaving only as many as the students in the special class.
“Other students had already regained consciousness and were sitting at their desks, waiting for you. Hurry up and take your seat.”
As Professor Elysia said, all the students except me were sitting at their desks. Well, not just sitting; it would be more appropriate to say they were lying down.
“It doesn’t seem like they’ve regained consciousness and are sitting, though?”
When I first saw them, the bright eyes that were sharp had now lost their vitality. Even when Professor Elysia spoke, they trembled.
“Everyone, it’s time for a good lunch! Now, let’s eat and regain our strength!”
I greeted the lying students with a cheerful tone, but they just stared at me with lifeless eyes. There was no student responding to my words. The only one who responded to my words was Professor Elysia.
“It’s not lunchtime yet.”
“As far as I know, there’s a lunch break after the morning classes, right?”
“We still have about an hour until lunchtime.”
Upon hearing that there was an hour left until lunchtime, the students all shivered. It seemed like they were afraid that Professor Elysia would initiate another fight during that hour.
“So, you can all take it easy during this one hour.”
“Sigh.”
When Professor Elysia suggested taking a break, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
“I’ll say one more thing before I go. So, pay attention, everyone.”
As she said she would speak just once and leave, the students who were slouched over adjusted their postures and looked at Professor Elysia.
“There probably isn’t a student among the first-year students who can beat you one-on-one. However, that doesn’t mean you are strong.”
No one contradicted Professor Elysia’s words. Everyone might have thought of themselves as strong, but none of them had even touched the tip of Professor Elysia’s hair.
“All of you have special talents, but you still have weaknesses or bad habits you’re not aware of.”
Every student who had received advice from Professor Elysia while fighting winced as if pricked.
“So, keep fighting with me for a year. While fighting, I will let you know your weaknesses that you don’t even know about.”
In essence, Professor Elysia had declared that she would keep fighting until she collapsed, just like today.
“If you don’t want to fight, don’t want to know your weaknesses, and just want to mumble with mediocre strength, raise your hand. I’ll take responsibility and send you to another class.”
No student raised their hand. Confirming the absence of raised hands, Professor Elysia left the classroom with a satisfied smile.
As Professor Elysia left the classroom, the students lay back down on their desks.
I also walked to an empty desk to sit and rest. There were desks for each student, so my designated seat was predetermined.
Sitting in the only empty seat, I spoke to Clara, who was on my left.
“Hello, Clara!”
“······Sure.”
Clara tried to ignore my greeting, but perhaps she knew I would keep talking until she responded, so she answered briefly.
She replied while lying on the desk, looking exhausted, her black hair scattered on the table. The slightly narrowed eyes, tinted with fatigue, made her crimson irises look even more enchanting.
“When did you incur the professor’s wrath, Clara?”
She responded with closed eyes, as if too tired to open them fully.
“Not long after you did.”
Currently seated in a chair, leaning over the desk, Clara seemed outwardly unaffected, but my gaze couldn’t help but linger on her body due to the emphasized thighs when seated and the natural contours revealed by the desk’s pressure.
Thankfully, she had a mask; if not, Clara would’ve probably snapped a photo of my head as a staff member.
“Well, rest well then.”
Feeling a pang of conscience about continuously peeking from behind the mask, I left my position. Without leaving my seat, I couldn’t avoid the gaze, as I had no confidence in diverting my attention away from Clara’s body.
The first place my steps led to was the curse-casting sorcerer, who had heard my words earlier and had been casting curses on Professor Elysia.
“When the professor mentioned ‘raise your hands,’ why bother being here like me? What’s the point? Everyone here, except me, is extraordinary. Beings like me shouldn’t exist in this class, no, we shouldn’t exist in this world.”
Muttering self-deprecating remarks, I grabbed the sorcerer’s shoulders. I didn’t want to risk a valuable talent escaping.
“What kind of melancholic nonsense is that!”
As I shouted while gripping the shoulders, the sorcerer, wide-eyed, remained silent. Was he unconscious, perhaps?
“Yes?”
Fortunately, he hadn’t fainted.
“Your magic worked even on the professor. So have some pride! Understand?!”
“Yes? Yes!”
The sorcerer responded loudly, then hastily left the classroom as if embarrassed by the loud declaration.
If he left the classroom because he really spoke too loudly, then I have to leave this world.
As the sorcerer exited, I naturally shifted my footsteps, and this time, I found myself where Lucas was.
“Lucas, you seem troubled. It’s not to the extent of that expression, but it’s a waste on a handsome face.”
“hahahaha.”
Lucas briefly laughed at my words. However, a hint of worry still lingered on his face.
“Rocky, do you also think using only a spear is my arrogance?”
‘About Lucas’s spear, I have no separate advice to give. But why isn’t he using that power?’
Perhaps the reason for his apparent concern is that he’s still thinking about what Professor Elysia said.
“Lucas, I don’t know what that power the professor mentioned is, but I’ve thought of a way to use only the spear and still not disobey the professor!”
Lucas looked at me with a mixture of anticipation and skepticism upon hearing my words.
“What’s that way?”
“Just defeat the professor using only the spear! Then, even if it’s the professor, they won’t be able to say anything to you, Lucas.”
Lucas laughed heartily at my words. Unlike before, the worry on his face had disappeared this time.
“hahahahaha.”
“How about it, is your worry resolved?”
“Yeah, thanks to you.”
After that, I had a brief conversation with Lucas and then approached the person among the special class students who wore the gloomiest expression.
“Sephia, why are you making that expression? If you make that face, the corridor we came through will fly away into the distance.”
Sephia briefly checked my face and then shook her head again.
“I fought well against Professor Hogo, but I couldn’t do anything.”
It seems the spirits didn’t listen to her. But realistically, it was probably because the opponent was a dragon. If it were any other being, the spirits would have listened to Sephia.
However, Elysia couldn’t reveal that she was a dragon.
“aaah!”
Sephia wildly messed up her hair. As a result, her pink hair became a complete mess.
Swoosh.
The wind spirit that had appeared out of nowhere was tidying up her hair. Spirits of different elements were circling around Sephia, unsure of what to do.
Sephia pretended not to notice those spirits on purpose.
In an attempt to reconcile Sephia with the spirits, I decided to use my 77th skill.
I cautiously caught the water spirit and brought it in front of my face, speaking gently.
“Sephia, relax.”
This time, I grabbed the earth spirit and spoke in a rough voice.
“I was wrong.”
The wind spirit spoke in a slightly apologetic tone.
“I’m sorry.”
The fire spirit spoke passionately.
“I messed up.”
This was my 77th skill, the art of reconciliation.
For your information, the first specialty is good looks.
“Pfuhat.”
Upon seeing my specialty, Sepia burst into laughter. When Sepia laughed, the spirits also clung to her.
Laughing widely while floating with the spirits, Sepia made a proposal to me.
“Sucker, want to have lunch with me?”
If there were no prior engagement, I would have naturally accepted the offer. However, I already had a prior engagement.
From Noble mtl dot com
So, at the moment of refusal, Kuran called out to me loudly.
“Roki, a girl has come looking for you.”