Ding-dong~ Good morning~ Ding-dong~ Pa-pa-pa pa-pa-

I reached over to my bedside and turned off the alarm.

For some reason, the spot where I usually leave my phone before sleeping was different, making it take longer than usual to shut off the alarm.

Ugh, don’t want to hear that part…

What the heck, when did I fall asleep?

It felt like I had lost my memory, as if I had been blackout drunk.

Feeling a bit confused, I slowly opened my eyes.

…A strange ceiling.

I can’t believe I’m actually having this thought in my life.

When I first fell into this world, the first thing I saw was my body on fire, so I didn’t really have the time to think about stuff like this.

As I carefully sat up, I noticed there were screens set up around me.

Considering my last memory was taking and smoking some magical herb from Leonor, it was highly likely I was still at the school.

With the screens and the bed around, it seemed like I was in the nurse’s office.

Peeking behind the screen, I saw a woman sleeping slumped over a chair.

She was wearing a white coat, so she must have been the school nurse.

As I put on the shoes that were beside the bed and stood up, she jolted awake, startled as if she sensed my movement.

“I wasn’t sleeping! I totally wasn’t! I was just meditating for a bit!”

Fine, but could you wipe the drool off your mouth before talking?

As I silently stared at the clear drool mark on her mouth, she seemed to catch on, wiping the drool off with the back of her hand and letting out a shy little laugh.

“Hehe, you’re awake, huh? I sort of got the whole story from the girl who brought you here. When someone smokes magical herb for the first time, you shouldn’t inhale so deeply. No matter how good it is for you and how there aren’t major side effects, it’s initially meant to stabilize the mind. So, if someone without tolerance inhales too much all at once, they end up all hazy like you just did. Be careful next time, okay?”

I could guess what happened from her explanation.

Leonor probably brought me to the nurse’s office after I got high as a kite on the magical herb.

The fact that I didn’t remember anything was a bit unsettling.

I hope I didn’t mess up in front of Leonor…

There are some bad memories tied to losing consciousness…

Once, right after getting my ID, I drank with friends without knowing how much I could handle and ended up totally wasted.

When I woke up the next day, I had no memories of what happened after drinking, so I asked my friends if anything had happened, and they all laughed until their stomachs hurt.

Then one of them played a video from our group chat titled “The Adorable, Cuddly Spirit!” which is now a legendary video.

I still can’t forget the shock I felt when I watched that video.

Something that looked like me was clinging to people while acting all cutesy…

Who would’ve thought I had such horrible drinking habits?

If I could revert one moment in my life, the first would be the time I commented on the last episode of [The Holy Sword Academy], and the second would be when that video was taken.

If I could go back, I would never drink until I blacked out again.

After that incident, every time I drank with my friends, that video would come up as a recurring topic, and it was incredibly tough to refuse their attempts to make me drink more just to see it again.

“Oh, by the way, the student who brought you here left her number on your phone and asked you to text her when you wake up.”

When I checked my phone, I noticed that a new contact had been added to my previously empty contact list.

Did she set the alarm while adding her number?

I thanked the nurse and left the infirmary.

Looking at the time, I realized that the class was almost over.

If I had slept from lunchtime until now, that means I’ve really been asleep for a while…

On my way to the classroom, I took out my phone and sent Leonor a text.

[Thank you for taking me to the infirmary.]

I wrote it casually.

Almost immediately, as if she had been waiting, a reply came in.

[Meet me at the snack bar after school.]

That text came with a video attached.

Feeling an ominous vibe, I clicked the video with trembling fingers.

-Senpai~ Are we taking pictures? Hehe, cheese~

-I’m so sleepy… I wanna take a nap…

In the video, a girl was acting cute towards the person holding the camera.

Originally, it would have been a cute video that would make anyone smile… if it hadn’t featured me as the star.

……Should I just end it all?

I really don’t want to die, but I was thinking along those lines.

I stole a glance at the window in the hallway.

The infirmary was on the first floor, and the first-year classrooms were on the second.

I probably wouldn’t die if I jumped…

The shame would likely drive me insane.

By the way, what on earth was the reason behind sending me this video?

As I thought about it, all that came to mind were strange ideas.

A humiliating video of a blonde bimbo could only mean one thing…

I started getting scared about what might happen after school.

When I returned to class, all eyes were on me as I entered through the back door during class time.

Please don’t let them think I’m some delinquent skipping class!

I slightly bowed my head to the history teacher to apologize for my interruption and sat down. Sylvia turned to me and whispered softly.

“…I told the teachers that Miss Scarlet was resting in the infirmary because she was sick.”

That was a relief.

I nodded gratefully to Sylvia, who shyly turned her head away with slightly red ears.

But how did she know I was in the infirmary?

Did Leonor tell her?

That seemed likely.

After a moment, class ended, and it was time for announcements.

Eve came in for the announcements, looking over at me while grinning.

“Evande, did you get a good rest? You should be more careful next time!”

She seemed to know why I was in the infirmary.

Well, being the homeroom teacher, she must have heard it from the nurse.

“I heard a student from your class collapsed after taking a hit from some weed for the first time! Isn’t that right?”

How embarrassing…

After the announcements were over, I nodded to the kids who asked if I was feeling better and headed toward the snack bar.

With every step, my mind ran wild with images.

I could picture Leonor snickering and threatening to spread the video unless I did what she said.

Was I going to face torment from now on?

Shaking, I arrived in front of the snack bar when suddenly something cold touched my cheek.

Huh?! I turned in surprise to see Leonor holding a soda can.

She offered me the soda that had just touched my cheek. When I took it, she pulled out her phone from her pocket and shook it with a mischievous smile.

“This is a thank you gift for showing me something cute. I love adorable things, and thanks to you, I have something fun to watch before bed. What should I do about sharing this wonderful video?”

Aah… no…

Feeling my face heat up with embarrassment, I realized I was stepping right into her trap, so I nervously uttered the dreaded line.

“…What will it take for you to delete it?”

Ah, I said it.

From now on, I wouldn’t be able to refuse any of Leonor’s requests, and I’d end up being subjected to all sorts of unspeakable things until I was completely at her mercy…

With that hopeless feeling, I waited for Leonor’s next demand.

She thought for a moment, then her face lit up with a suddenly bright idea.

“Well then, could you call me ‘onee-san’ from now on?”

“No way. Do whatever you want with that video.”

I stiffened my face and flatly rejected her.

No matter how cool Leonor was, even if she made me want to call her “big sister,” there was no way I could seriously call her that—especially considering I was older. I’d rather have a sword at my neck than say that.

A man has his pride, you know.

I’d rather be called “Evande” by everyone!

“Hey, are you mad? Actually, I had no intention of spreading the video from the start, so lighten up… But do you really hate calling me ‘onee-san’ that much?”

Leonor looked a bit down.

I knew from the beginning that she wasn’t the type of person to pressure others into things they truly disliked.

I assumed she was just joking around, but seeing such a cool person like her get sulky made her seem kind of cute.

Is this what they call “gap moe”?

Of course, even then, I had no intention of calling her that.

“I won’t call anyone ‘onee-san’ unless they’re family.”

“…Did something bad happen to your sister?”

Unless it was a situation where it would be strange not to refer to someone as “big sister” — like if Scarlet Evande had a sister and they weren’t being referred to — I had no intention of calling anyone that.

I meant it in that sense, but seeing Leonor cautiously asking made me think she might be misunderstanding, so I prepared to clarify my statement.

“It’s nothing like that. I don’t have any family.”

Since I have no family that could face something bad, it’s totally fine!

Saying that while smiling, Leonor’s expression grew serious, as if she was holding something back.

I raised an eyebrow at her peculiar reaction when she suddenly grabbed my hand.

“Hey, your name is Scarlet, right? Do you want to join my club?”

A club activity…

I hadn’t thought about joining anything, but her desperate expression made me consider at least hearing her out.

“What club is it?”

“It’s the cooking club! We borrow the cafeteria kitchen every Friday evening to cook together. It’s just for whoever feels like it, so hardly anyone shows up, but I thought we could cook together and maybe eat dinner or something…”

The mention of “dinner” sparked my interest suddenly.

Maybe eating something other than bean sprouts every once in a while wouldn’t be so bad?

As I was warming up to the idea, she continued.

“Normally, the annual fee is 100,000 gold, but I can cover that for you. So, how about joining?”

If it were free, I might have given it some thought, but since there was an annual fee, entering felt heavier.

I only had 23,000 gold left, and 100,000 gold?

In theory, that’s a debt I couldn’t take lightly.

I shook my head and handed back the soda can she’d given me.

“Uh, I really don’t like to get into debt, so if I decide to join later, I’ll pay and officially sign up then. You don’t have to give me that soda.”

“No, if I’m paying for club fees, that’s one thing, but refusing even that… I understand if that makes you feel more comfortable. If you need help with anything, just reach out. See you next time.”

She accepted the soda can back with a bittersweet expression.

Was she really that eager to do club activities with me?

I didn’t have any real intention of joining a club anyways, but thinking that there was no way in because I was broke made me feel a bit bad.

Should I try earning some money?

I decided to think about it once I got home.

*

As soon as I got home, I searched on my phone for ways to make money.

Excluding jobs that required long hours or clashed with school hours, I aimed to find something I could do in a single day.

One thing distinctly caught my eye among the options.

Demonstration of psychic abilities.

There was a note saying “students from the academy preferred.”

It said you just needed to demonstrate your abilities for about two hours, and the pay was a whopping 120,000 gold.

That breaks down to 60,000 gold an hour; I wondered how they could afford to be so generous.

Though I didn’t know exactly what the job entailed, this was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.

I quickly filled out my profile and sent an email to the given contact. Shortly after, I received a confirmation message.

It asked me to come to XX park by 8 PM the next day.

It was that same park I had visited before.

Feeling lucky that it wasn’t far from my home, I plopped down on my bed and suddenly felt something crinkly in my pocket.

I pulled out the chocolate that the class president had given me in the morning.

After being in my pocket all day, it had nearly melted and lost its shape.

I paused briefly and then smiled bitterly.

Sorry, class president. I can’t eat this.

I opened the refrigerator and placed the chocolate in a corner where it wouldn’t be seen.

After having dinner and changing my clothes, I lay down on the bed.

Tomorrow, I could become wealthy, and maybe I could finally buy more than just bean sprouts.