Episode 72. cake (1)

‘How can I go to school like this! Mama wants me to be ignored by the other kids?!’

‘Yujin. That’s not-‘

Eugene was a child who was overly conscious of others’ gaze.

It was a daily routine for me to stand in front of the full-length mirror hanging to the left of the front door and check for over an hour to see if there was anything disorganized, and even on the way to school, I looked at myself everywhere and was worried that there might be flaws I hadn’t seen before.

Because I knew that these actions were a struggle not to get away from other honor student friends.

Eugene’s mother, Floren, couldn’t be angry with her and had to spend a warlike morning every day.

It was a precarious day, as if walking on thin ice without an inch of spare time.

Considering that her daughter was having even more suffocating days at school, Floren really didn’t mind being a little tired.

‘… I did.’

She watched Eugene crumple up his shoes and straightened his crooked tie.

Eugene was shy, but quietly accepted her hand.

“Thank you, Mom.”

“You still have 30 minutes to spare. You don’t have to go out too fast. Are you worried about that? Even now-”

“It’s not like that, it’s because I’m excited. My heart tickles.”

“Then I’m glad… . Is it really okay to leave the doll on the sofa? Aren’t you going to sleep at night?”

“Because it’s okay… . I’ll go and call you if I need anything more. Mom, get some rest now. He said he couldn’t sleep well.”

“Because I’m worried.”

Morning, one week after the magic duel evaluation ended.

Floren looked anxiously at her daughter, who was standing with her unusually swollen school bag.

Due to her picky nature that it would be a pity to leave it to others, Eugene went to school from home even though she had grades that allowed her to enter the Paideia dormitory… .

How nice are the new friends I made this time.

Floren couldn’t actively dissuade her daughter from asking if it was okay to live in the Agoge dormitory with her friends.

After the day Eugene wore a white rabbit hairpin instead of an ominous black ribbon, when he could see his daughter’s smile every morning, he even wondered if Elma had given her a miracle.

‘I heard that he has brightened up a lot after making good friends, but will he be able to adapt well to group life?’

They said that they happily gave permission to their daughter’s change, but when they were about to let her go like this… . I couldn’t hide my anxiety.

‘I don’t know if it’s Paideia, but it’s an Agoge dormitory that’s known for having rough kids.’

Will Yu-jin, who has lived a spoiled life, be able to live in such a poor place?

Of course, I know that Agoge isn’t all about bad kids.

but… . It was an undeniable fact that incidents and accidents occurred more frequently than Paideia.

It also bothered me that I had to live in a group.

‘If six people share the same room, there will be frequent disagreements, and there will be many inconveniences.’

Eugene’s ears are bright enough to wake up at the sound of the window opening, so it might be difficult whenever the children around her turn toss and turn.

“Think about it one last time. Why don’t you go to Paideia instead? Insects will come in the old building, and the naughty kids-”

“It’s okay, I was that mean kid… .”

Yujin knows better what Agoge is like.

Even so, the reason she wants to stay there is because she also wants to stay by the side of the children she bullied.

“Even if my friends forgive me, it doesn’t mean that I didn’t do anything wrong.”

Yuri and Jun may not be all the children who have been hurt by her until now.

The decision to go to Agoge did not end with a word of reflection, but it was a decision made with the desire to help other children in the Agoge dormitory who are having a hard time together with Yuri.

“Eugene… .”

If you are a mother who wants her children to grow up to maturity, you have to support them as they try to face the mistakes of the past.

‘… You’re no longer a child.’

Floren handed her the rest of the luggage she was carrying in her arms.

When Eugene opened the front door with heavy luggage in both hands, white sunlight greeted her.

“I will go now. don’t worry too much If anything happens, I’ll call you right away.”

“… yes. Take care of yourself, okay?”

Unlike before, Eugene did not avoid Floren’s hug. With one final word, “I love you,” her only daughter went to school.

Floren watched Eugene’s back as she walked down the street where the lilacs were in full bloom under clear clouds.

Slowly, she had to get ready for work, but her steps did not fall easily because she thought that the luggage was heavier than expected for Eugene to carry alone.

Since we won’t be able to meet until vacation, I was wondering if I should take her to the dormitory.

“Eugene!”

“Kyaaak!?”

A girl with bobbed white hair like an angel came out from hiding among the lilac leaves and hugged Eugene.

“lol. Are you surprised?”

“glass… ? what’s going on in the morning Why are you here-”

“I heard that you decided to live in Agoge from today. They came together to help move the luggage.”

“… you gathered? What is it, Karin? Jun!”

“Hello Eugene… ? Did you come in a summer clothes today?”

A theological student with light purple flowers on her ashen hair and a girl wearing large glasses also followed and took Eugene’s hand.

In the fresh May, everything bathed in the bright sunlight shone brightly as if painted with paint, and school uniforms, petals, and leaves swayed in the early summer breeze.

Floren stared blankly at Eugene, who was surrounded by friends who had come all the way to the house.

It was even more beautiful.

‘Don’t worry… . I will.’

You will do well.

She wiped her eyes for a moment, then closed the door after watching Eugene and her friends sharing their luggage.

* * *

Agoge Dormitory does not charge any fees to its users. This is the same for food, so one of the few advantages of this place is that no matter how poor the students are, they don’t starve.

If Agoge students do not use the cafeteria, the head office will try to reduce the cafeteria operating expenses and incidental expenses assigned to Agoge… . There was a rule within Agoge that students must get penalty points if they do not eat three meals a day in the dormitory cafeteria.

At first glance, it seems to limit students’ freedom, but there was also a justification for managing the diet of growing students at the school level.

This regulation did not come as a big problem for the students, as the Agoge restaurant was usually crowded enough to have to stand in line.

“Wow, what happened to lunch today? I’m telling you not to eat this. Dog food won’t come out like this.”

“Sepia, even the Langs don’t eat these things… .”

“No, I didn’t mean it like that. Come on, let’s pretend to eat in the corner and then leave.”

However, on days where canned sardines and chicory salad were served as the main menu, like today’s lunch, there were cases where the cafeteria was empty with students turning around in a panic as soon as they saw the food.

Sepia and Ina, who were aware of leaving the food as soon as they received it, took the tray and headed to a corner of the restaurant.

It doesn’t always come out like this, but there were times when once or twice a week, there were foods that students avoided.

On a day like this, only a few timid first-year students who care about the management of penalty points kept their seats in the agoge cafeteria with sullen faces.

Of course, there is no way that they don’t know that even if Sepia and Ina, who are in the third year, get a little penalty, it won’t have a big impact on their school life.

“Ina, what the hell did you do to accumulate so many penalty points? If you pass 5 more points, they say you will clean the bathroom.”

“Ugh… . that-“

“Could it be because of the fight with Heryl a week ago?”

“no. They acknowledged it as self-defense, so I didn’t get punished.”

Herrill, who continued to attack Ina ignoring the broadcast to stop the duel evaluation and evacuate, was suspended for life.

Perhaps she was abandoned by Euril, or she was even stripped of her student council executive qualifications, so she won’t be seen on campus for a while.

“Looks good. So, why did your penalty points accumulate?”

“The day before yesterday, the kids in my room were having a party to celebrate the end of exams, and I was caught… .”

“Certainly, were you the fool who grilled and ate meat in the dormitory in the middle of the night… ?”

“I couldn’t help it! I was so hungry after talking until dawn. Ah, I should have bought snacks that day… . Why isn’t the canteen open here at night?”

“Agoge is not allowed to go anywhere at night. Where the hell did you get the meat from?”

“I caught it from the back mountain. It was delicious… . huh? Look at him, he’s the first kid I’ve seen.”

Yuri and her friends were sitting where Ina pointed.

“Oh, rabbit friends.”

“One more!”

As people name them, they call them Bunnies.

They were famous among students for going around the school wearing the same hairpins from before, but after the class A duel evaluation, I heard that professors recognize them as well.

Sepia, who was looking at them, whispered to Ina.

“That’s them, the top of the first year. There’s a kid who said he left the student council.”

“That is Eugene. Wow, then you entered Agoge even though you were in Class A? Not Paideia?”

“It is the same for you and me.”

“Oh right. I am no longer E class, am I?”

Sepia and Ina looked around for a while at the topical first graders.

On the first day of Agoge, Yujin was talking with Jun about life here, and Karin was regretting her bravery after taking a bite of chicory.

And the glass… . I was moving the fork nonstop while wondering why there were no people today.

Even Sepia, who spent her first year at Agoge, had never seen a student who ate this notorious menu so deliciously.

“He eats very well. I guess it fits in your mouth. Are you from the docks?”

“That’s right. Shall I just take a bite? … Wow! empty!”

* * *

“Well… . Yuri was originally I don’t think there’s anything I can’t eat. To put it mildly, should I say that it will survive no matter where I leave it?”

On the day when a catastrophe occurs on the restaurant menu, Agoge students flock to the bakery near the cafe alley on 2nd Street.

Compared to the luxurious and famous refreshment shop inside the Paideia dormitory, it is commoner in many ways, but it is loved by common students due to its good accessibility and low price range.

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Jun swallowed a bite of the sandwich before continuing.

“Occasionally, Yuri tells me and Karin stories about her adventures with a person called Master. He said it was a lot of fun, but actually, from the point of view of ordinary kids… . Well… .”

“… I think I know what it is.”

“yes. He said he slept outside almost every day. Hunt, gather food, and… .”

It was after Yuri said she had an appointment with Mina-senpai, and went somewhere with bread in her hand.

After breaking up with Yuri, Jun and Karin were talking about what happened when the three of them went to the back mountain to play, to Eugene, who asks if Yuri likes sardines.

The forest is dangerous.

I could have encountered wild animals, and I could have lost my way through the trees… .

However, for Yuri, who has been adventuring with her teacher for over five years, this forest felt like a living room.

School was inconvenient, and there was no place to spend time in the Agoge Dormitory, so Yuri often took Jun and Karin to the forest behind the dorm.

“Karin, do you remember that time? Yuri picked a flower and gave it to me to suck on the honey. You’ve been looking for beehives somewhere lately.”

Karin nodded eagerly. To her eyes, who had never been out of a cathedral in her life, Yuri’s survival skills seemed just miraculous, so she definitely remembered them.

“You have lived in a very rough environment, are you not aware of it?”

“I think so. Even outside the forest. Even a wound that would have run to the health room if it were normal kids would stop bleeding casually, or even if a knee is cracked or scratched while practicing alone, it looks fine… .”

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Jun and Karin were envious of such a tough Yuri, but Yujin had a slightly different idea from them.

Of course, Yuri’s toughness was an aspect that was not often seen in Kiruna, where most of them were from cities.

There would be less than 10 students in the entire school who knew how to survive in the forest, and that practical and rare knowledge would surely be useful in the field.

‘but… . This is a school.’

If you had been a slave for over 10 years, and then wandered around the world without rest for the next 5 years… . Wouldn’t it be nice to relax a bit here?

Yuri, who has overcome all kinds of storms, may seem like she has more experience than others, but she has never lived a life as an ordinary girl.

It’s not that the whole world is a rose garden, but it’s not like only weeds are growing.

There are times when the world looks desolate, but there are many things to enjoy and many delicious things in it.

Eugene wanted to present a normal daily life to Yuri, who had suffered so far.

“Guys. Hey… .”

It’s 2:00 in the afternoon when the sun is warm.

Ina and Sepia, who had been seated at the bakery earlier, also quietly listened to the story of the rabbit group.