Chương 63: Ch.62— Back To Class

First day of class since she came back from the nightmare, and of course, she overslept. Amy ran through her room—occasionally taking peeks at the clock on the wall—while trying to gather her Academy uniform, which was magically distributed throughout the living room, her bedroom, and, for some reason, under her bed. Seriously? Of all the days she could've shown up late, it had to be today. The absolute worst day imaginable, considering it was that guy's class.

"Dammit, Libris, couldn't you have come out of the coma an hour before class? Why yesterday?" Amy muttered those words as she put on her socks and tied her laces. Yeah, sure. It wasn't Libris' fault that she had a nightmare about a giant gorilla pursuing her and couldn't sleep properly. But still, she really didn't want to take accountability for her own mistakes, so…

With a sigh, she took her satchel, checked that her school materials were all there—including the two red books—and finally, after going to the sink and washing her face, she walked to the exit. Once there, she stared at the door for a couple of seconds as her mind went to the last couple of days since she arrived from the nightmare, specifically her experiences going out of her room. It wasn't like she was a celebrity.

But after the incident with the glowing golden man's thingy and the protagonist group returning battered—Crow even missing an arm—the story had spread across the cafeteria's tables. Since then, people had constantly stared at her or tried to strike up conversations whenever she went out. The attention itself wasn't new. Ever since the manga had yassified her into a blonde, and especially after Building B, people had looked at her. But they had only looked.

Pretty students weren't exactly rare, and a Class S student helping save the Academy wasn't completely unexpected, considering they were the "pride of the Academy". Most people who didn't know her simply saw her as a capable, slightly mysterious girl among an already strange class. After the "teenage prank," though, they suddenly seemed to think she was approachable. Worst part, even if they didn't know her by face, the bandages made it clear she had been one of the culprits.

Amy groaned, grabbed the handle, and opened the door. The hallway outside her dorm was, regretfully, not empty. Amy's eyes immediately caught two students, both with animal ears, leaning against the hallway wall and talking to each other at the far end of the hallway; of course, both of them had already noticed her. They stared fixedly at her as their conversation stopped.

Amy, the ex-socialite and retired member of the "popular-bully-school-group", instinctively flashed a bright and completely fake but natural smile and spoke.

"Good morning." The two boys blinked, waking from their trances.

"Oh—morning."

"Mornin'." Amy had already turned away before the second greeting had fully left his mouth.

"Hey, weren't you—" Amy walked fast and luckily got into the teleporter—this world's version of an elevator— before the boy could finish his words. The next moment, she was on the ground floor, exiting the building and walking calmly to the main doors. She pushed them open, looked left and right, and, after confirming the courtyard contained nobody but a pigeon, she ran; whenever a window or a person came into view, she dropped into a fake unhurried walk, then resumed sprinting the moment they disappeared. Walk.

Sprint. Walk. Sprint. Her stomach growled somewhere around the third transition, making her bad mood for being late and not sleeping properly worse; breakfast this morning had been half a bread roll and water, because the coin faucet named Libris was currently comatose, and her remaining money had to survive until she found a j*b. I killed a prophet and probably one of the biggest threats to this country, and my reward is poverty… Is this how war veterans feel?

As she kept alternating between running and walking, she finally arrived at the building, and soon she found herself in front of the classroom door. Now in front of the entrance, she straightened her uniform and smoothed her hair while at the same time taking deep breaths. Ugh, what am I so nervous about? It's not like he is going to kill me… probably… Without losing any more time, Amy's hand moved towards the door and knocked on it three times.

There was no sound for a couple of seconds before a voice said, "Enter." Amy took the handle and began her slow, nearly soundless push. Her anxiety peaked as every head in the room turned towards her; specifically, she felt terribly uncomfortable with one in particular. At the front of the hall, standing beside a floating diagram, a tall man with stark white hair and completely dark eyes without visible pupils stared at her, unmoving.

She had been complaining all morning, but genuinely, Amy couldn't stress enough how bad her luck was; of all classes, she could have arrived late, it had to be Kaelen Gaspard's divination; Zayd's creepy uncle and member of one of the most powerful noble families, which currently holds a monopoly over divination abilities.

Just the other day, this creepy dude had come to her infirmary room—back when she had just come from the nightmare—demanding explanations, which she did not give in the slightest; if anything, she kind of politely told him to suck it. And now, the very next time they shared a room, she arrived twelve minutes late to his lecture. There was no version of this that he would read correctly. He is definitely going to misunderstand that I did this on purpose, isn't he?

"Miss Stake." His voice was soft—it was always soft, actually; that was the problem with him and one of the reasons she disliked him so much.

"Good morning."

"Good morning, Professor." Amy inclined her head.

"Apologies for the interruption."

"No apology is necessary. I had a feeling you would come through that door at this exact moment." He paused, then gave her a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"It was one of the very few things about you I could know." Is he aware of how he looks to others right now…? The silence stretched enough for some of the students to notice the tension as Amy heard a loud and uncomfortable cough. Kaelen didn't seem to mind, though, as he continued watching her with that damn smile.

Amy stared at him silently for a few more seconds before she decided that she didn't feel like taking part in whatever game he was playing and turned towards the rows, searching for an empty seat away from everyone. As she looked, she saw Zayd sitting with a few nobles in the middle, Iris with a group of second years, Lain sitting in the left corner alone, and finally Lyra on the right, surrounded by students but also alone. Crow and Ash were missing, probably because their injuries were worse than the rest.

Amy searched for a convenient place to sit, and luckily, one in the far back corner of the room was empty and set apart from everyone. She was about to go there and sit when a voice stopped her mid-step.

"Hold on, Miss Stake," Kaelen said while turning to the front row and walking towards a first-year boy with cat ears.

"You can go back to your seat; Miss Stake will take this one." It took everything in Amy to keep a frown from appearing on her face as she glanced at the seat Kaelen was referring to. There, in the front row, was a seat—now empty since the cat-eared boy was moving to another after some hesitation—right between two other first years from class S, Stella and Tallen. Amy stared at the seat. Then at Kaelen. Then at the seat again.

What did I do in my past life to deserve this— actually, never mind, I have a pretty good idea…

"Professor," she said carefully, "there are other empty seats."

"Indeed, there are," Kaelen said while nodding with a smile.

"However, I placed Mister Blackwood and Miss Brighthaven in the front row specifically so I could keep an eye on them, as the two of them appear incapable of sharing a five-meter radius without bickering incessantly— You see, it has been rather disruptive to my lectures. But since you were so kind as to arrive late, Miss Stake, you may do me a small favor in return. Sit between them, dispel some of the tension, and keep an eye on them in my stead. Consider it a… trade." Amy weighed her options. She could refuse.

She had already affronted him multiple times after all; what was one more? However, he did have a point; she did arrive late, so wasn't this at least fair? Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

"... Of course, Professor," she said with her best fake smile, and walked to the front row. The two students flanking the empty seat could not have reacted more differently to her arrival. On the left sat Stella Brighthaven, whose face lit up the moment she saw her coming—the chatty and somewhat nervous commoner girl with the ability to reflect magical attacks, whom Amy hadn't properly spoken to since before the nightmare. Meanwhile, on the right sat Tallen Blackwood, who stared at her with a deep frown.

He had dark hair styled flat against the skull like the one nerds and rich people wear in movies, and the general aura of an annoying brat who hated others because of their commoner blood, which, look at that, happened to be what he was. Amy sighed and sat in her seat before muttering "Morning," to Stella.

"Morning!" Stella whispered back, way too brightly for an Amy who had just woken up.

"Listen, you have to tell me about—" She stopped as her eyes fell on Kaelen, who was looking at her. She coughed once before turning back to Amy.

"I mean, good morning. Hi." Amy nodded at her then turned her head back to the front. She had not acknowledged Tallen in any way, shape, or form. She hadn't looked at him, greeted him, or so much as breathed in his direction. He gave her a dirty look anyway, maybe even dirtier than the one he had given Stella; she could tell through her peripheral vision. What did I even do to you? Actually, she knew what she had done to him.

She had surrendered during their assessment match instead of fighting him properly, and the boy had apparently been mad about that ever since. Nobles and their grudges, I swear…

"Now that that is done, let's continue," said Kaelen as he turned back to the class.

"Last time we were talking about how everyone is raised on the vulgar understanding of fate. Let me reexplain: Fate is not a single thread. It is…" Amy pulled Libris out of her satchel—making sure not to get the devourer's book by mistake—opened it to a blank page, and began taking notes. Then after a few minutes of going at it, she paused. How in the hell can all this be real….?

Nobody was bleeding, nothing was screeching, there wasn't any sort of spider chaos being out to get her, and the most dangerous thing in the room was a creepy man who loved being passive-aggressive. Just a few weeks ago she would have wanted to kill herself before doing any of this, but now…. I've officially reached the point where attending class feels like a vacation. What in the hell happened to me? She shook her head slightly and kept writing.

Kaelen moved on to another theory, and Amy's notes moved on their own to an entirely different topic, because his lesson about fate was knocking something loose in her head, and now it wouldn't stop rattling— Abaddon was dead; the same Abaddon who in the original manga hadn't even appeared on the last arc; the same one who was behind half the disasters of the early and late story— Amy had smashed the skull of a man who was, literally speaking, the main load-bearing villain.

A big ass achievement and something that, just by thinking about it, brought a smile to her face, but also something that meant that part of fate had been cut and she had no idea how or what it had transformed into. Amy drew a line that separated Kaelen's lettuce from her personal notes and wrote: [Things to check. ONLY CHECK, not fix.] She had made herself a promise during her stay at the infirmary; she had told herself she was going to rest, and she wanted to honor this word. She truly needed a damn rest.

[The sewers. Check for the rats.] Amy continued, for now her first and only objective. In the original manga—somewhere in more than forty chapters or so that would have come after this one—the protagonist party would go and try to stop a rat infestation that might have had ties to Abaddon. And in the process, Ash had been eaten alive. If it had really been that guy, then the swarm might not be there anymore at all. Which also meant that Amy could take a peek, see nothing, and get ice cream.

But if it hadn't been him… Taking the original manga into account, there was still plenty of time until it happened, but considering the manga was no longer reliable for predicting events, there was no way to know now. Actually, I'm kind of killing two birds with one stone since I need to go to the city anyway and search for a j*b. She stared at that thought for a second, and then a small, tired sigh left her mouth. How in the hell was this a break…?

"—which is why," Kaelen was saying, "I always tell you to be extremely careful when dealing with a seer; we do not play by your rules." Amy's pen stopped, and she looked up. The man had felt something break during the Vernal Alignment, which happened right during their entrance to the nightmare. He had been stonewalled by everyone, including his own nephew, and now apparently looked completely unbothered by it all. He had to be planning something…

Amy lowered her eyes back to her notes and, with another tired sigh, added a second and, for now, final item to the list: [Kaelen: avoid/watch out for.] -————-　■　-————- The bell that announced the end of the class finally sounded.

"That will be all," Kaelen said.

"Read the second chapter of Verren's Structures before next class. And Miss Stake." Amy, who was halfway through packing her satchel, froze.

"Do try to arrive on time. Today I was in a good mood, and I could forgive tardiness. However, next week I may be considerably less flexible." Amy only nodded, then continued packing. Tallen was the first out of his seat. He gathered his things and, on his way past, he treated both Amy and Stella to one final dirty look before striding off toward a cluster of noble second-years by the windows.

"I hate him so much," Stella muttered, then shook her head and turned her gaze away from the boy as she spun toward Amy so fast she nearly tripped.

"Okay. Okay, okay, okay. I've been dying the whole class. Amy. What did you guys do?"

"Uh?"

"The office! The—" Stella dropped her voice to a somehow loud whisper, "—the golden… uhh… you know…! Everyone's talking about it! You were gone for like—and then you all came back covered in bandages, and Crow's arm, and—""Stella, tone it down," a voice interjected into Stella's verbal questioning assault. The owner of it was Alba; another first-year and Stella's best friend, a girl with pink hair and an ability which allowed her to create illusions.

Alba shook her head while looking at Stella, then turned to Amy and gave her an apologetic smile.

"Forgive her; she gets way too excited when it comes to gossip."

"I do not… Okay, maybe a little bit." Amy was about to respond when—"Sorry to butt in, but was the dick really shining and stuff?" A voice interrupted their conversation; it was a boy from second year who seemed to have been close by, hearing and finally gathered the courage to ask.

"Stake," another voice called, this time from a girl from second year who, just like the boy, had been listening close by and also finally decided to speak, "Can I ask you about Crow's arm? Did he really lose it because of the ward or did the headmistress cut it herself?"

"Is it true—" And another voice joined, this time from a guy. Before Amy had realized, she had been surrounded by second years.

"To answer the first question," someone suddenly spoke, gathering the attention of everyone, a voice that Amy recognized, "the golden dick, yes it was golden and very shiny." Iris—who at some point had also joined—dropped into Tallen's chair, which was now empty, spun it backward towards them, and straddled it with her arms folded over the backrest, before grinning.

"Was it big?" The second-year boy who had arrived first asked.

"Very." Iris held her hands apart, then further apart.

"If my finger is this classroom, then the dick was like way bigger; like this." She paused as she stared at the people with amazed faces looking at her before continuing, "Honestly, I can't believe we pulled that off. Did you know that just to set up the base plan we had to prepare for around twenty days prior, and during the infiltration we had to pass through six protective golems."

"There were no—" Amy started." Six," Iris repeated louder while stepping on her, causing Amy to let out a tiny yelp.

"Blondie here was incredible, too, by the way. You should've seen her." The crowd's shining eyes shifted to Amy. Amy looked at the gazes fixed on her, and involuntarily her mouth moved on its own.

"Right, it was… an experience."

"An experience, she says." Iris slapped the backrest.

"Modest. That's why they gave her the harshest punishment of all of us."

"Which is?" Alba asked.

"Employment," Amy said grimly. Everybody laughed at her words; Amy personally wasn't amused at all.

"So what's next?" A boy asked Amy with a grin.

"You two planning your next adventure already? If so, I would like to join; this class has been missing some action for a while."

"Yeah," another student agreed.

"I heard about the punishments you got from Iris, and if I had known it was just going to be that, I would have done it a long time ago." Uhhh… that's… Right, from his perspective, we did some crazy stuff and barely got punished for it. But in reality… Amy thought for a second and eventually decided not to comment on the two boys' dangerous words. It was none of her business if they decided to do something stupid and got a massive fine, or worse, expelled.

Iris seemed to have come to the same conclusion as she locked eyes with Amy and laughed awkwardly before turning back to the group.

"Well, personally, I have a date planned with my bed," she said.

"So no more adventures for me, at least for a while."

"What about you, Stake?" Asked a girl, Amy, and she had a faint déjà vu upon seeing her. One of Iris' close friends from the manga, perhaps?

"The city," Amy said with a shrug.

"We barely have any classes today, so I'm heading job hunting this afternoon." And a quick wellness check on the sewer ecosystem, she did not add.

"Oh!" Stella exclaimed.

"The city? Wait—do you even know your way around down there? You're not from the capital, right?" Amy paused, then responded.

"... Not exactly, no."

"Then we could come with you!" Stella said while taking Alba's hand.

"She and I go down all the time, we know all the districts, we know which shops are hiring, we know where they say they're hiring but actually just want free labor—""That one bakery," Alba agreed solemnly.

"That one bakery! Amy, we have to warn you about the bakery."

"You really don't need to—" Amy began, then she stopped because… why not, actually? She genuinely didn't know the city beyond the teahouse and the route to it, and as far as Amy could tell, these two were among the maybe four people in this Academy with zero suspicion of her and zero hidden motives. So why no…? They just wanted to hang out…

Amy looked not only at the two girls watching her, but also at the group that had formed, looking at her without any negative emotion, unlike the suspicion she had gotten used to. I guess I just want to be liked, her own voice echoed from a couple of days ago, and Amy quietly told it to shut up.

"... Actually," she said, "sure. Why not." Stella grinned brightly while Alba smiled. Iris, meanwhile, raised an eyebrow at Amy with a weird expression, and Amy just ignored her.

"After lunch, then," Amy said, as she draped her satchel around her.

"Main gates." They both nodded at her. Amy nodded back and, with that, left the group to talk among themselves and exited the classroom. Job hunting. Rat checking. And an outing with two people. For a break, it was already suspiciously busy, but whatever.