88 – shadow(11)

Xenia, vice president, frowned as she watched the smoke.

“If you use flame-type elemental magic in a place like this, it could all spread, but really… .”

Lilith stood up silently again, brushed off her dust-stained clothes, and prepared to fight again.

Unlike the soft and passive impression in my memory, I am calm and resolute now.

You were concentrating on your training while you weren’t looking.

“Newcomer, do you know someone?”

“No, no.”

Deputy Director Xenia says it as if it’s not a big deal.

“Is it training? This… We might as well not intervene. When you get tired and lie down, the attack will stop on its own.”

Plantera’s habit is to not touch it when it is incapacitated. He looked a little tired, but there was no reason to intervene in someone else’s training.

But the strange thing is… .

I could definitely hear a scream, but it didn’t come from Lilith.

At the same time as I thought, someone from the side let out a tear-jerking shout.

“Hey! Not there!”

We turned our heads at the same time.

In the direction where the shouting came from, another group of Planteras were concentrated. They were carrying someone on their shoulders and entering the woods. It is similar to the situation when carrying incompetent students to Eternia during the entrance exam.

It was quite a distance, so I couldn’t see her face, but the blond hair and voice made it clear that Haley, the head of the art department, was.

And the desperate cry echoes again.

“Kyaaak! newcomer! Here it is, here!”

Xenia covered her mouth with one hand and giggled.

“The manager’s last test remains. go ahead and play I’ll take care of that Ministry girl.”

Thinking of the head of the art department, who was desperately immersed in the role while entrusting the sword to me, made me laugh.

“I’m coming.”

I cleared my throat to hide my laughter, then immediately drew my sword and ran toward Hailey.

***

I chased hard, but I couldn’t catch up right away.

Plantera lifted Hailey, the general manager, and entered the forest first.

The entrance ceremony isn’t over yet, so you shouldn’t rush into it.

Fortunately, due to the heavy weight of Plantera, there were clear footprints on the dirt floor.

As I followed the footsteps into the forest, I heard Hayley’s voice immediately.

“newcomer! Here!”

After chasing the sound, a group of Plantera carrying Haley was immediately caught in sight.

However, the number of them increased from the first time I saw what they had done, and now they are fifteen. Looking closer, the body is a little bigger than the one I encountered on the way to the flower garden.

I ran into a group of Plantera. Hayley exclaims urgently.

“newcomer! no! These guys are for intermediate level players!”

As I approached, Plantera in the back row reflexively swung her arms with a booming sound. A part of the nearby tree shatters with the sound of destruction.

Soon after, the other guys in the group who noticed my presence turned back and took a hostile posture.

As it is the last test for the manager, the difficulty level seems to have increased a bit.

Five Planteras in the back row cling to me at the same time. I fell right back and erratically moved beside the trees. It was to lure and deal with them one by one.

“Aww! newcomer! Do not come. You’re hurt!”

I swung the knife at Plantera’s shin, which was the first to attack me. I had to take two shots to get a clean cut. When his leg was amputated and he lost his balance and slanted, his arm was cut off in the gap. I dealt with the five Planteras that were lured in like that.

And when I approached the group again, everyone except for one carrying Hailey pounced on me.

“newcomer! You get hurt when you’re surrounded! Bring the sword to me!”

I evaded Plantera’s attack a couple of times, and in the meantime, I was completely surrounded.

It was hard to go out aggressively. The sword itself was very good, but the problem was that it was not familiar to the hand.

The arm is fine. However, when I tried to cut down the thick bridge with a barrel, it got stuck in the middle.

I dodged attacks from all sides. Fragments of broken tree roots and pebbles bounced noisily.

In the middle of a busy movement, if a gap was found, the ankle was shaved two or three times. Hannom’s ankle fell off and his body leaned over, entangled with him next to him.

Since it was an urgent situation, the habit came out without me knowing. Some of them were treated as if they were dismantled by inserting a knife into the joint gap as usual and cutting off only the joints.

Six left. The smaller the number left, the faster the cleanup of Plantera became.

Haley shouts again.

“Hey! Throw the knife at me!”

I cleaned up everything that attacked me and threw my sword at the last Plantera holding her.

The sword that rushed in like that cut off the two ankles of the last remaining guy and impaled it on a wooden pole.

I ran quickly and picked Hailey up from the stumbling Plantera.

done.

Only then could I be sure. I say pass

Hailey was screaming loudly, coughing in her arms.

I put Haley on the ground and said.

“Are you okay?”

“…What are you?”

“Have you passed the test now?”

She answers in a trembling voice.

“Did you know?”

“The senior couple head told me.”

She opens her eyes wide and quietly looks around the remains of Plantera. It’s a look that doesn’t understand what this is going on. Then, as if it came to mind, he grabs my arms.

“Aren’t you hurt? Where is the guy who catches all of this at once? I won’t catch you so ignorant.”

Hayley’s momentary ambiguity raised her suspicions. did i do it right?

“Did I misinterpret the test?”

She nodded right away.

“yes. Just showing the courage to hand over a knife is enough to pass? Catching Plantera is my role.”

“… .”

“It’s amazing. Just looking at your face, I think you’ve grown up like a boy. You… are you a freshman?”

***

On the way out of the woods, I had a long conversation with Haley.

“I haven’t done this in a while. Let’s not fight, because everyone is scared and in a hurry to run away.”

She suddenly slaps my forearm several times excitedly, then continues.

“Thanks to you, it was really fun after a long time. you were pretty cool pass! pass!”

Haley was very excited because I rushed into the test. Now it is an atmosphere that is fully recognized as a member.

“I feel like I’ve won a thousand and ten thousand horses. I will save an hour from the intramural competition. you don’t go anywhere else Understand?”

“I don’t want to learn anything other than painting.”

“Pretty, pretty. Was it because he was from Wiesel? I’ll show you around the Empire during vacation.”

“I will go when the opportunity arises.”

And when I carefully asked a question about senior Favela, who helped me find Lilia, she suddenly burst into laughter and said,

“Ah, a boy who entered the art department at the invitation of Favela suddenly confessed his love, so he had a hard time. even two. Do you know what it was like once? While everyone was drawing, he suddenly stood up next to the favela, opened the scroll, and recited the ballad of love he had written. Can you imagine?”

“… .”

“That’s enough to really traumatize women. Even if you were like me, you would have been a little wary. Even if you’re sensitive, you understand.”

“All right.”

After leaving the forest and coming back to the flower garden, he ran into Lilith, who was resting on the remains of Plantera.

“Oh, he must have had a hard time getting involved with the Plantera I lured.”

When I wondered how so many Planteras came together, it turns out that Hailey personally lured them in one by one. I thought there was a special pheromone that only seniors knew about.

Lilith, who only thought of training, seemed to be entangled in it without knowing why.

Lilith’s shoulders droop and she looks lethargic.

And fortunately, he doesn’t give me a single glance, as if he’s not interested in me.

Haley walked up to Lilith and patted her on the shoulder.

“Are you okay? sorry. Come to the art department later. I’ll treat you and give you some potions.”

Lilith bowed her head and nodded.

“No. it’s okay… .”

As if this seat was uncomfortable, she weakly avoided the seat, leaving only those words.

***

The eventful first class of the art department has been completed.

I waited in front of the theater department’s small theater entrance at 6:00 PM, as Trisha said. With the schedule over, it was time to go home together.

I couldn’t bear to go in because the words ‘other members are prohibited’ were hung on the door of the small theater.

There were quite a lot of people going in and out of the theater entrance. Is the theater department not finished yet? Every time they passed by, they took a careful look at me. The eyes are quite warm.

Did you wait ten minutes like that? The door slammed open with loud footsteps thumping from inside the small theater.

It was Trisha. My hair is a bit tousled for some reason.

She stepped outside, slammed the door shut, and leaned back for a moment to catch her breath.

Then, without even catching his last breath, he clung to me, grabbed my shoulder, and said.

“Damian, you shouldn’t be here! Never, never!”

what is this all of a sudden

It looks very urgent, as if I had committed some serious crime.

“You told me to come here.”

After shouting loudly to pick him up to the theater department… .

“Talk about that later!”

She pushed me on the back and hurried out of the theater.

It kept pushing me off the road and into the middle of a dense, deserted garden.

“Tricia, calm down first… .”

I resisted to stop, but Tricia kept pushing my chest until she tripped over the roots and collapsed.

Tricia took a quick look around her, as if she were looking for a pursuer, then crept into the gap between my legs and squatted down.

“Do you know how dangerous you are right now?”

“… I?”

“yes! I heard seniors from the theater department were conspiring to bully you. It was so savage and nasty. From now on, don’t even come close to the theater department.”

“… .”

“How hard I worked to protect you! I tried so hard to convince him not to, but he wouldn’t listen. If you weren’t my friend, I would have given up long ago.”

“Why is the theater department trying to do that to me?”

“I will tell you about that later. You’d better hide for a while.”

It must be a mischievous joke. I don’t worry too much, but I’ve heard a similar story from a senior in the art department, so I moderately agreed.

“… yes.”

Accepting it without much resistance, Tricia lets out a relieved breath. A strangely sweet smell comes from her breath.

“But what does it smell like? Do you do anything other than play?”

“smell? what? ah! It is because of this.”

Trisha pulls out a leather pouch the size of a fist.

Inside, he picked up a piece of carrot cut lengthwise to make it easier to eat.

“Suddenly, why carrots?”

“First-year students can’t digest complex roles, so they practice with fables! I am a rabbit.”

“Are you eating to immerse yourself in the role of a rabbit?”

“Yeah, similar. It’s a sweet carat from Purikio. Is this too sweet?”

Then he took a bite and mumbled.

He didn’t stop there and recommended it to me as well.

“You eat too.”

“No, it’s okay… .”

Tricia forcefully squeezed the bite she had taken into my lips. Then he covered my mouth with his palm.

“They said they split a bean among themselves.”

When I was taken aback by the foreign object that came in suddenly, Trisha gently comforted me.

“Chew it tight. That’s right, that’s right.”

I chewed it reluctantly, but… The taste is good. Unlike ordinary carrots, it has a deep and rich sweet taste.

Trisha smiles shyly, her dimples popping up, then pats the pelvis next to me like a baby.

“Ah, well done.”

“… … .”

“Originally, I wasn’t going to say a word to you, but I’ll listen carefully and see.”

Are you talking about morning work? I still can’t figure out why I pouted, but… I think it would be less of a headache to just accept it without complaining.

Soon after, a female student from a fairly close place called her anxiously.

“Trisya! Where the hell did he go?”

Tricia shrank in surprise and whispered in my ear.

“Where are you going? mask!”

“… In the inside pocket.”

She rummaged in my arms and pulled out a mask and put it on my face.

“I am writing this. And wait at the front door. I’ll be going soon!”

Tricia burst out through the garden trees. After a while, I heard their conversation.

“sister! I’m here.”

“Tricia, where did you go because your friend was around here?”

The voices of the two gradually fade away. I quietly listened to the sound.

“I don’t know. I must have waited and left first.”

“yes? oh that’s too bad I… So… Hala did.”

I couldn’t catch all the voices because I was gradually moving away. Trisha raises her voice slightly.

“No! He says he doesn’t like that, sister!”

“What do you like? Perhaps… Hey?”

“Nope! Long hair as white as snow… … compendium.”

“… what is he going to do… do you like it?”

“no… … not… .”

“Hey, there’s nothing complicated about men… same… Taste… get out… .”

“Eh, no… .”

I don’t know what Trisha is trying to do, but I hope she doesn’t say anything strange about me.

I leaned against a tree for a while.

what is it I feel weird. Everything that happened during the day… It feels like a strange play.

A play where everyone knows the script and I am the only audience member.