Chapter 159
Chapter: 159
“Haah, I wanna cut off my lower abdomen.”
“…Young Lady.”
“…Just kidding, just kidding.”
I was lying on the bed while spouting such nonsense.
It was honestly too uncomfortable.
Well, I did sort of reconcile with Grace… but regardless, my body wasn’t about to normalize due to my period.
I usually felt pretty bad during my period, but yesterday, it was especially worse in many ways, so I couldn’t help it.
“Are you okay…?”
“Of course I’m not okay! I really hate it every time it comes around. Should I just try to cast paralysis magic or something?”
“…Young Lady.”
“Hehe, just kidding. Just keep rubbing my belly.”
“Understood….”
Anyway, after having that conversation with Grace, I returned to the dormitory and was taking it easy.
I told Grace I would take a break today due to my period and abandoned the club activities, just like this…
To be precise, Rize was gently rubbing my belly while I lay back and received it.
“Ugh….”
Still, getting this massage made me feel a little better.
Much better than just lying around wallowing in the discomfort of my period.
Honestly, the fact that Rize’s touch was somewhat alleviating my pain was not entirely accurate, but…
It was certainly better than just sitting there, so I stayed like this.
“Still, considering it’s almost time to study for finals, I guess it’s good that I got to relax like this before then….”
“Are you planning to prepare with the club members again before the exam?”
“Yeah, right?”
“If that’s the case… I guess it really is a relief.”
“Definitely. Since I’m not doing it alone but with the other members… it’s definitely better than suffering alone during that time.”
In truth, I hadn’t really set anything in stone about studying with the club members.
But I probably would.
Since there was no need for me not to do it this time just because of what we did during midterms, and everyone in the club had gained from it, right?
“But Rize, do you think my menstrual cramps are particularly severe?”
“Umm….”
“See, I knew it, right?”
It was just a casual question, but Rize hesitated for a moment before answering.
It seemed I really did experience worse menstrual cramps than other girls.
“Sigh… In the end, I’m stuck having to deal with this pain every time my period comes.”
“I’m sorry….”
“It’s okay, why are you apologizing, Rize? You didn’t create my body or something. You’re not a doctor, so why say sorry to me?”
“But still….”
Ugh… Rize could be quite frustrating in various ways.
She hadn’t done anything wrong, so I had no idea why she kept apologizing.
Instead, she was helping me as much as she could by massaging my pained belly.
“You just keep rubbing my belly like this, okay?”
Ultimately, that was all I could say to Rize.
Though Rize usually paid a lot of attention to my mood, she was good at listening to this kind of request.
“You’ve already helped me feel a little better just by doing this.”
“…….”
“Please, no weird comments. Just calmly rub my belly, and that’s enough.”
I placed my hand on top of Rize’s hand resting on my belly as I spoke.
Honestly, I was truly grateful for even this.
Even though the discomfort in my lower abdomen was making me feel pretty bad overall… I was thankful for the help.
“I’m sorry….”
“I said it’s okay, right?”
“…Yes.”
“Oh, what do you want for dinner? Shall we go out and… hmm….”
Since I wasn’t hanging out with my academy friends today like usual, I figured it could be nice to spend some time alone with Rize.
Rize seemed a bit burdened… but she secretly enjoyed going out with me, so…
“Rize.”
“…Yes? Is there something you need?”
“How about we go out for dinner in casual clothes?”
“…Young Lady.”
…I asked since it had been a while since just the two of us went out to have some fun.
But Rize turned down my question with a serious face…
It’s still a weekday, and she was working as my maid, so she felt she had to act this way… but she could relax a little more than this.
Honestly, Rize looked super cute in her maid outfit, but personally, I thought she looked really pretty in casual clothes and wanted to see that…
It was a bit disappointing.
*
“Ellla.”
“Why again? I absolutely won’t let you touch my belly, so don’t even try.”
“…No matter how you put it, I’ve already been rejected several times. I’m not going to ask again.”
…I still came to the academy today even with my menstrual cramps.
A few days had passed since the first day when it hurt the most, so now the pain was almost gone.
Just a slight discomfort remained.
During this time, I’d asked my academy friends to touch my belly, complained about wanting to leave early, and generally hoisted a lot of bothersome issues on them.
But now, truly, truly, the pain and nausea from my period had almost disappeared.
“I’m not bringing it up because of my period. I just wanted to ask if you wanted to study for finals together again.”
“Ah.”
“After all this time, I’ve asked you a bunch, and you’ve refused every time.”
“Cough….”
I was trying to think of Ella’s grades while asking, but I had been rejected so coldly at the start that I didn’t really feel hurt.
I only thought I might have been a bit annoying to Ella over the past few days.
“Sigh… This is why you shouldn’t be too nice to people.”
Well, I did annoy Ella quite a lot during my period, to be fair.
During class, I asked her for a belly rub and whined and complained about being thirsty… yeah, I probably was a bit too much.
But I’d been really struggling with my period for the last few days.
Last month, I had felt quite a bit of pain, but this time it was worse, making it harder to get through.
“So, what are you going to do? Want to study with me?”
“Well… if you help me out, then of course it would be beneficial for me, right? There are hardly any first years who study as well as you do?”
“Hardly?”
…It was just a small comment.
It really was, truly, a small comment.
But because of what Ella just said, I felt a bit… hurt.
“Hardly, huh…?”
“Yeah? Um… right?”
“…I came first in all the written tests.”
“…?”
No.
No.
No.
No, I was so indignant.
How could my contributions from helping Ella during the last midterm be reduced to this?!
Not just Ella, but I’d helped Ivana and even Grace immensely.
I didn’t get why my grades were viewed so low in Ella’s eyes.
“Why do you think I’m hardly any good?”
“Um… there are other students in the first year who study well too…?”
“You really think so…?”
I was just at a loss for words.
I was unwittingly getting a bit hot-headed.
You’re saying I’m on the same level as a mere 13-year-old kid…?
Really?
“Ella. Even if you look at the problems being solved by a 3rd-year student at the academy, I could solve it right away, you know?”
“Really?”
“…Hah.”
…I guess she really didn’t know.
Did she think I just did some preliminary studying at the first-year level?
Seeing her so clueless only made the heat in my head fade away.
Rather…
“Sigh…”
I let out a sigh.
Well, it was understandable that showing remarkable skills for a first-year would be a tall order… it could happen.
Yeah, that could happen…
“So, what are you going to do? Are we studying together or not?”
“Yes, I was planning to study after school for a while anyway. It should be fine to study together again.”
“Alright… then I’ll ask Ivana and Grace shortly, and that should be enough.”
I just thought I’d teach them the subjects as usual, but…
I decided to add a slight twist.
Last time, I focused heavily on teaching Grace in the club room, but this time, I’d teach a bit differently.
Though it was more because I felt quite unfair about being ignored, even if they hadn’t known any better.
“Hehe….”
“You seem to be enjoying teaching more than you expected? Honestly, I thought you would quit halfway through last time since you found it annoying.”
“Yeah, I’m looking forward to it. Especially this time… I’m more excited.”
“After all, Grace’s grades might rise significantly. This time, she might aim for the top tier at the academy… right?”
“Haha… that’s true.”
Ella was talking as if she had no idea what I was thinking.
Watching her show zero interest or awareness about what was brewing in my mind made me quietly laugh.
Really… until the point when Ella finally admits how smart I am and how much I’ve studied.
“Puhuh….”
I was already getting excited thinking about how I would teach Ella like crazy until that day came.
This time it would be much harder and more intense than when I taught Grace.
Setting my sights on the absolute top tier… also, making Ella recognize my capabilities could be rather thrilling.
Even though I hadn’t seen Grace or Karen much lately, I really enjoyed the responses I got from teasing Ella.
Making her cry in frustration during studying… that could be…
“Puhuh….”
“What? You look a bit silly when you laugh.”
“Nothing, really.”
“…?”
It truly seemed like this would be a fun time.