I Became the Academy’s Pink Airhead

Two weeks had already passed since the racing incident in the wilderness.

Of course, I wasn’t forgiven by Hilde just with a wink, and we agreed on receiving a ‘prank’ milder than naked prostration.

Zap

Zap

-Hiiiii…☆

When Hilde’s fingers imbued with the power of her ether skill [Grimnir] tried to run all over my body. Accepting it in seiza position without resisting with ether manipulation.

She proposed that ‘prank’.

-Ughhh…☆ Oooooh…☆

-This is just the beginning, feel it more.

-Hiiiii…☆ Ngooooh…☆

Hilde’s electric massage mixed with anger.

Even now when I recall that time, my nape and stomach feel tingly. The more I felt that subtle tug-of-war sensation, the more it felt like approaching an unknown door.

‘The strange sensations felt by Clara’s body…’

Something I once tried to reject, something I once thought I had adapted to.

So I accepted it as the price for worrying Hilde, but…

In the end, I was still in a state of not fully conquering the unknown sensations felt by ‘Clara’s’ body. So after receiving the ‘prank’, I walked out of a secluded place trembling like a newborn deer.

Eir and , and Alvit’s group shook their heads seeing me stagger out.

-Geez… to think the strongest ones in the academy city are in that state…

-Senior is making weird gestures with both hands, eyes rolled back unsightly…

“…”

Recalling that time again, I sighed in shame and dejection.

‘What’s more embarrassing is… that I was glad Hilde rushed over worrying about me, and when she stopped the ‘prank’, I was slightly disappointed…’

My goodness.

My goodness…

This is completely like a female.

‘Truly like a pink airhead…’

I knew it.

I’m no longer the □□□ from my past life, but just ‘Clara’.

The faded memories of the past have flown away like dandelion seeds, and I’ve become a different existence… blooming again as a pink flower.

I am… now completely ‘Clara’.

‘By the way, to think I’d become such a pushover…’

When did I cling to her saying I like her… Now that she’s aggressively pushing from her side, I can’t even refuse properly and just keep exploring new territories.

To begin with, after vaguely confirming our feelings with Hilde, I was also swayed by her momentum of pushing forward at an incredible speed.

‘Moreover, Hilde was my favorite character from my past life.’

And even after becoming ‘Clara’, the fact that the one I thought about most since 1st year desired me so actively… didn’t feel entirely bad.

But.

But…

I felt something was half-baked.

To be precise, it didn’t seem like the ‘ideal romance’ I had imagined… though I never properly dated in my past life to begin with.

“…”

Somehow… I thought if I came to love her again, we would overcome many hardships and trials together, and dramatically regain our feelings.

But in reality, after a few uninteresting happenings, I found myself completely acknowledging Hilde as my lover.

The trigger was ordinary, the process was haphazard, and the conclusion was boring.

So the conclusion I reached—

I liked Hilde who accepted me in any form.

I didn’t feel bad about Hilde in any form.

I didn’t dislike sharing affection with her.

It didn’t feel unpleasant when she touched me.

I was happy to talk with her and be together.

Conclusion: Even as ‘Clara’, ‘I’ still love ‘Hilde’.

Though our time had turned back, we had been connected since we first met.

“…”

Just by acknowledging that… many worries felt useless.

‘This feeling of being completely conquered after just a few conversations and skinship… really.’

Perhaps the manly part in my heart was quite easy to begin with? Or was I going in circles looking for excuses with such an easy heart?

Anyway.

I was quite easy.

Realizing that, I hung my head even though I was sitting alone in a quiet campsite.

“Haah, love is—☆”

I tried to collect the memories of that time that kept popping up. And while sitting in a chair under a tree shade, I looked at the slightly open dungeon gate in the distance.

A stone building engraved with a white snake and tree.

It was a surprise event dungeon appearing in the middle of the main story.

The juniors were in the midst of training there.

‘I wonder if the kids are doing well…’

This place was a few hours away from .

Of course, it was roughly shown on the minimap in the shoddy game UI. So relying on memory, we searched around for days, but finally found it and it became a farming spot for the juniors.

“…”

Come to think of it.

That snake drawing, and the increasing frequency of dungeon gate appearances as the main story progressed.

This world had many subtly meaningful aspects. I often wondered who put treasures in there to begin with…

“…”

Thinking about it again, the memories from the game didn’t ‘fully’ explain this world.

To begin with, wasn’t the ‘prophet’ I’m wary of also an outsider who came from outside the game?

As if agreeing with that thought-

An orange cat meowed.

-Meooow—!

The magic that materializes ‘dreams and stories’ that has now become completely familiar… This too was a technique that only Rota used with [Golden Witch]’s help in the game.

But [Golden Witch] had disappeared to find rest, and fairy tale magic was now being used as a new research topic for research faction students.

“…”

Just as I became Clara.

This world was changing too.

The ‘original form’ no longer existed there.

‘Did the prophet… lose their original form in this world and change into something too?’

I picked up the cat that faintly smelled of Rota and whispered in its ear:

“Do you know? I’m not sure—☆”

“Meow—!”

“Hm? Ah, are you talking about that one?”

“Meow…!”

“I know☆ But I left it alone to see what it would do—♪”

“Meow?”

“Well… yes, it seems like nothing special—☆”

“Meow!!”

“Okay, okay☆ Let’s kill it—☆”

As expected of Rota’s summon.

It communicates well with me.

“Meoooow~”

Flash—!

The orange cat became a huge spear in my hand, and I spun it once without hesitation and shot it far away.

“[Blue Sweet Macaron]—!!”

Ether manipulation of weapons now familiar.

An orange straight line instantly engraved in space.

A flash of destruction.

Swoosh—!!

The cat-engraved spear causes numerous vibrations in the air, breaking through the wall of air, surpassing the realm of sound.

The hundreds of rings containing that aftermath advanced towards the single one hiding in the forest.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Numerous trees and grasses are scattered, caught in the storm of destruction.

Boooooom—!!

The sound arriving belatedly.

And countless flocks of birds scattering.

The sound of their wing flapping tangles chaotically.

Flutter—!

“…”

Perhaps power rivaling [Pink Lemon Sherbet] now.

I shattered everything in a path of tens of meters with a single attack.

Rumble…!

Leaving behind the sound of slowly falling trees.

I approached the ‘one’ impaled by the spear.

“…Kuhak!”

A giant with the horns of a huge dragon.

The follower was trembling, pierced by the spear. This one who had been watching us since yesterday showed no signs of contacting anyone or trying to escape.

“Yes♪ When were you summoned? [Priest of Erosion]? Or [Priest of Strife]? Ah, could you have been sent by the ‘prophet’ on that side?”

“…”

“Or do you remember anything from when you were a chaos beast? If you do, could you tell me—☆ Tell me what happened 1500 years ago—☆”

“…”

Just in case the prophet might have received something from Ofnir, I threw out some confusing bait.

But the creature only said a coy line like a lady knight caught by a group of orcs:

“…Kuh, kill me, inferior species!”

“Okay, got it—☆”

Splat—!!

I kicked and burst the head of the one who had no will to answer. Green blood scattered behind as it died on the spot.

“Ugh, how dirty—☆”

I picked up a horn from among the follower’s head pieces that had instantly become duck mincemeat and held it up to the sunlight. The color of the ether leaking out like a heat haze was faintly visible.

“…Gray mixed with black. Has the property of slowly absorbing surrounding ether—☆”

This one wasn’t summoned recently, but was summoned by [Priest of Erosion]. It seemed to have been wandering the wilderness since the beginning of the semester.

I suddenly muttered the name of [Priest of Erosion] that came to mind:

“…Grafvolud.”

That name I couldn’t recall well because it was too difficult now comes to mind.

“…”

The final executive who should have been lurking at the very end, and who succeeded in summoning the ‘dragon’ in the original work.

But that one died by my hand.

It died acting outside the original work.

“…”

And Ofnir died acting according to the original work.

Though it was a more threatening enemy than in the original… it died by Hilde’s and my hands.

“…”

Ofnir summoned [Snake of Wisdom and Cycles] to reach the World Tree. Then how will the remaining executives… [Twin Priests], Goin and Moin, respond?

‘If they plan to use the power of [Wolf Seeking Revenge], it wouldn’t be strange for them to appear anytime, anywhere.’

Now that the strongest executive and second strongest executive are dead… what choice will the prophet make?

‘Probably, if I didn’t know the current situation in the academy city…’

While I was thinking that, the sensation of soft fur clinging to my leg.

“Meooow!”

“Hm? Ah, thank you—☆ Our combination is like Zhuge Liang and…”

“Meow?”

“…”

-Kukukukuk…! Kuhahaha!!

Perhaps because of encountering a follower after a long time?

Suddenly Ofnir’s mockery, who had understood my verbal habit, flashed through my mind.

…

Perhaps, if the prophet learns that I am no different from a ‘prophet’… I could put Hilde and my juniors in danger.

Different dreams.

I had to confuse them as much as possible.

Acting as ‘Clara’.

‘Let’s refrain from □□□’s verbal habits now.’

I picked up the orange cat and walked back to where the camp was. Calm was returning to the forest that had become a mess.

“It’s nothing—☆”

“Meow!”

I shook off another faded trace kept from the past.

I have been Clara until now, and will be Clara from now on.

…That’s enough.

* * *

Alvit pointed at the messy forest with a dumbfounded expression and said:

“Wh-What on earth is that?! What happened?”

“Well, you see—☆ A huge dragonfly appeared and went woosh☆ That’s what happened!”

“R-Really…?”

“Of course that’s a lie—☆”

“Oh come on!!”

Alvit pounded her chest as if frustrated.

Rota and Kara watching her giggled and said:

“Well, Senior comrade must have handled it well, right? Who would dare mess with [Pink Spiral]?”

“Really… Then it feels like I’m the only fool again…”

“…Ahaha☆”

At Kara’s joke subtly praising me, Alvit pouted and showed signs of becoming bird-like.

“More importantly! The new fairy tale magic operation method I developed this time…”

“Ah, you mean the one where cats suddenly appear riding bicycles?”

“Yes, yes! It’s an applied version of that…!”

The bonfire blazed, and the atmosphere grew increasingly mellow.

“…”

* * *

Brunhilde nodded as she looked at Erda, the general affairs manager who had come after discussing with .

“Summon the representatives of all nine schools belonging to the union by next week.”

“Yes, I will convey that. Then that includes too, right?”

“…”

Brunhilde quietly nodded.