Academy’s Drunk Fighter

"Huueegh..."
After vomiting up what was coming from inside, I sat down on a nearby bench and enjoyed a moment of rest.

"Mm... I'll clean this up, so you guys go on ahead."
"Ah, thank you."
Philia crushed the debris from the broken training room floor and walls, along with the concrete floor where I had thrown up, and bundled it all together.

And while she was carrying that somewhere, Yoon Siwoo handed something to me.
"Want a drink?"
"...Yes."

What was handed to me was a chocolate milk.
Since Yoon Siwoo was holding the same product in his hand, it seemed he had bought them from a nearby convenience store.
And the moment I took a sip, a sweet aroma spread through my mouth.

It had a distinctly different taste from regular chocolate, and it was good enough to enjoy in its own right.
"It's from my favorite company."
"Ah... is that so."

I should remember this company.
It tasted quite similar to the chocolate drink I used to like in my previous life.
"So, what was it you wanted to say?"

"Ah, well... putting everything else aside for now, the person who was in the archive back then. That was you, right?"
"...Haa."
At this point, I guess there’s no choice.

Avoiding it any further when the other party already has confirmation would be meaningless.
"Yes, it was me."
"Then... is there some kind of connection between you and the person who threw something at me back then?"
"There... is a connection."

Seeing Yoon Siwoo’s face suddenly cloud over, I added a few more words.
"Yeah, you could call it a bad connection if anything."
In my past life’s game, they were the ones who would always show up out of nowhere to sabotage every time I tried to clear something.

Because of those bastards, I can’t even count how many characters I spent dozens of hours on ended up dead.
Dreaming World didn’t have any save function, so if you died, you had to start over from scratch.
And even if you tried to start another run, the advantage of prior knowledge that usually exists in games didn’t apply here.

Since the reactions and personalities of the people around you would change every time.
"...That’s a relief."
"What is?"

"I handed that person over to where the professors were having a meeting, and they said he was a criminal."
"...."
Seriously, you took that bastard to where the professors were?

"By any chance... was the Headmistress there too?"
"She was."
"Ah."

Hearing that, I let out a deep sigh.
Knowing the bad blood between the Headmistress and the Doomsday Followers, there was no helping it.
I'm sure that woman must have been absolutely furious.

Still, if he took that guy to the Headmistress, then he probably doesn’t know much about the Doomsday Followers.
Then what was that thing he mentioned earlier?
"Why...?"

"No, it's nothing. So, is that the end of what you wanted to say?"
"Not exactly... back then, I started saying something but got interrupted. It’s about that strange word I mentioned."
"Yes."

"Actually, I can kind of see something... different with my eyes."
"Something different?"
This might be related to a Trait.

Because of that, even as I stared into empty space, I focused on listening carefully to Yoon Siwoo’s words.
"But when I saw you at the supermarket back then, there was something strange attached behind you."
"Something strange? Like a ghost?"

"No, I don’t really know since it was my first time seeing something like that either, but at the time, all I could think was... ‘This is like the end of the world.’"
"...Is that thing still attached to me right now?"
"...."

Yoon Siwoo stared above my head for a moment, then nodded.
"Yeah."
"Ah."

Something attached to the back of my head, huh.
And if the first word that popped into his head was "the end"...
Could it be that hanging around the Doomsday Followers caused something to latch onto me?

But if that were the case, there’s nothing strange showing up in my status window.
Physically, I don't feel particularly sick either.
Assuming it’s about seeing invisible things, a few Traits come to mind.

Abilities usually related to sight.
In general terms, things like [Spirit Eye], or even [Samsara], which is the highest grade that allows you to see everything invisible.
But without knowing exactly what the thing attached to my head is, I can’t accurately determine the Trait.

"But the weird part is... it looks dangerous, but it also looks like it hates you?"
"Huh?"
"It’s like... it’s bound to you."

Yoon Siwoo’s gaze slowly traveled from my neck up to the top of my head.
As if he were staring at something I was holding onto.
Even in the game, I had never experienced a situation like this, so I had no idea what to do.

Should I call for an exorcism?
No, rather than that, it might be better to commission something from the [Mystic] department.
"So, um... would it be okay if I tried... touching it?"

"...Um, sure."
I wasn’t sure exactly what he was trying to do, but if he could somehow remove whatever was stuck to me, I was more than happy to let him.
It felt a little like some shady cult trick, but this guy didn’t seem dumb enough to be involved in something like that.

And considering how tight I was on money even just to treat my wounds, if it worked, I’d be grateful.
"Your hair is super soft."
"....?"

And for a moment, I felt the sensation of fingers twisting and touching the top of my hair.
From far away, Professor Philia was approaching us, and her eyes met mine.
In the middle of waving her hand, she suddenly covered her mouth with both hands and quickly turned around and disappeared somewhere.

What the hell was that woman thinking?
Still, it was the kind of misunderstanding anyone might make.
From an outsider’s perspective, it would have looked exactly like Yoon Siwoo was stroking my head.

No, actually, that’s exactly what he was doing.
"When are you going to finish?"
"Uh... ah, I can’t."

It had been a long time since I last felt the sensation of someone touching my head, so it didn’t feel bad, but given the situation, I immediately shook my head and brushed off his hand once I realized it wasn’t working.
"Ah..."
Why are you looking at me with such a disappointed face?

"So, did you figure out what it is?"
"No, I can see it, but I can't touch it or anything."
"Then please don’t put your hand back up again."

"Ah."
Then why were you messing with my head in the first place?
"Anyway, there’s still more I want to ask. So, why were you standing in front of Noah’s house back then?"

"No...ah?"
"The original resident living at the place where we ran into each other."
"Ah, that. Same reason — it looked way too dangerous, so I was trying to warn them."

"Mmm..."
What is this, could it be that he’s not actually a bad person?
Was it all just /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ my misunderstanding?

I had already tentatively concluded it could be possible before, but... I didn’t expect everything to be wrong.
Still, I didn’t feel any particular fondness toward Yoon Siwoo.
Because I’m the kind of awful person who instinctively feels jealous whenever I see talented people.

In cases like Charlotte or Scholar, who are talented in their own right, their narratives still have negative and despairing aspects, but this guy is standing entirely in the position of the protagonist.
Even Professor Philia isn’t without a dark past, after all.
"But you really had no idea there was something behind you?"

"Yes. I don't have the ability to see ghosts or anything like that."
"I don’t think it’s a ghost though."
Just talking about this made something I hadn’t even noticed before start to feel irritating, so I shook my head to clear it.

It was like when you become aware of swallowing or breathing, and suddenly it starts to bother you.
So I decided to change the subject for now.
"Yoon Siwoo... are you participating in the tournament?"

"You can just call me casually."
"No, because I don't like you."
"...Right."

Looking a bit disappointed, Yoon Siwoo nodded.
Well, it's not like someone like him would have any reason not to participate in the Academy tournament.
Is there even anyone among the first-years who could beat him one-on-one?

I really wasn’t sure.
Since I couldn’t accurately grasp Yoon Siwoo’s full power, I couldn’t even compare him properly to the characters I knew.
"What about you?"

"I’m going to participate."
"Ah, then... do you want to team up for the team tournament?"
"Um... do you already have other people you’re teaming up with?"

"Ah, do you know Hellicia? One of the girls in our class..."
Yoon Siwoo listed the names of the people he was teaming up with, and all three of them were people I knew very well.
That was important information. I hadn't intended to form a team with Yoon Siwoo from the beginning anyway.

Still, if I wanted to keep the most likely tournament winner’s team in check, I had to gather whatever intel I could.
"Sorry, I can’t."
"What, why...?"

"Because I already promised other people."
"What...? You’re not saying..."
It seemed Yoon Siwoo realized it a beat late, and he looked flustered, but I just smiled and brushed it off.

"Weaklings have to do whatever it takes to defeat strong people like you."
"It’d be easier if we just teamed up though..."
"No, this time, I’m going to win the tournament. Together with my team."

"Esha..."
At my words, Yoon Siwoo also seemed to set his resolve, smiling at me.
"Alright. Let’s have a good match."

"Yes."
Seeing him head-on like this, I could finally understand why even the female students who were supposed to be focusing on their Academy studies ended up forming fan clubs for him.
Standing under the streetlights gave him some unfair lighting advantage, sure, but even without it, this guy was ridiculously good-looking, damn it.

If I hadn’t been a man in my past life, who knows what would’ve happened.
And then, leaving Yoon Siwoo’s side, I started walking home.
Urgently, I began revising all my plans related to the tournament.

"Tsk... He’s way stronger than I expected."
At this rate, I concluded that winning the tournament would be impossible.