That whole being in pain thing kind of made me feel like a king.
Of course, only because I had so many people around me who genuinely cared about me.
I mean, even Harriet was willing to sing a lullaby and pat me to put me to sleep when I asked her to, even though she was very embarrassed by it.
What happened the day after was even more shocking.
On a school day, Ellen came to visit me in the recovery room early in the morning and brought some chicken soup with her for me to eat.
ââŠWhen did you make this?â
âYesterday.â
âYesterday? Ah⊠I must have been asleep then.â
I thought that she had come by while I was put to sleep through Sleep Magic. For some reason, I thought she would scold me or beat me up in the worst case, but she actually came and brought food with her that early in the morning.
It was really cheating to do something like that all of a sudden. I tried to take a spoonful of the food from the bowl, but of course it didnât work out.
Because my body wasnât in its best shape, it was only natural that my hands were trembling quite badly, making all of it spill from the spoon.
ââŠâ
ââŠâ
For some reason, Ellen stared at me for quite a long time as if she was thinking about something.
Eventually, she took the spoon and brought it to my mouth without saying a single word. Somehow, her doing that without saying anything⊠felt weird.
ââŠDid you really cook that?â
That was the first thing that came to my mind as soon as I tasted it.
âWhat the hell? Why is it so good?â
I couldnât believe she actually made it.
ââŠâ
When she heard my shining praise, Ellen stared at me.
Well, look at that mouth of hers. Well, well, well.
âIâm good at cooking.â
Ellened retorted as if she had actually been offended by what Iâd said. She didnât cook often, and yet she was that good?
Although she acted like that, Ellen gave me a couple more spoonfuls of the soup. When I finally emptied the bowl, she scooped some more from the pot into it.
âEat more.â
ââŠHuh?â
Not âDo you want to eat more?â but âEat more.â?
âYou need to eat a lot to get better faster.â
Ellen forced the soup sheâd cooked into my mouth with the spoon.
It seemed like torture, but in the end, it didnât feel all that bad.
*Â *Â *
Being sick really made one feel like a king. Harriet told me that I should call her whenever I needed her, and Ellen made soup for me and even fed me herself.
However, I still didnât want to be there because I was in pain, I just wanted to get better
It really fucking hurt.
Anyway, I couldnât go to class for a few days, and it was even hard to just leave the bed.
The hardest thing was going to the bathroom.
I vehemently refused the offer of the (female) teacher on duty to support me, so I had to get there while using crutches.
It was fine getting there, but when I tried to get back, I fainted.
It was a good thing that I only fainted on my way back and not during the act.
I almost gained a new entry to my black history.
âReinhardt, itâs nothing to be ashamed of if youâre unable to get out of bed as a patient.â
ââŠTeacher.â
âWell then, just put this on. If you go back and forth like this on your own and you faint, your recovery will be slowed.â
âP-please donât.â
When I strongly objected to wearing diapers, the teacher on duty put a finger close to her mouth and looked at me.
âMy, you were unconscious for four days, you know? What do you think you were wearing during that time?â
â!!!!!â
A terrible memoryâŠ
Although I couldnât remember it, I had already gained one.
IâŠ
I seemed to have forgotten about that. When Iâd woken up, I strangely wasnât wearing them, though.
AhâŠ
âI-I donât want to wear those anymore, though! I donât even remember wearing them, so it never happened!â
âNooooooo!â
We ended up arguing like that for some time.
âEhem.â
âAh, Mr. Epinhauser.â
As the door to the recovery room opened, Mr. Epinhauser appeared.
âT-teacher! Save me! Itâs still too early for me to wear diapers!â
The priest on duty let go of the pants of my patientâs gown when she noticed that Mr. Epinhauser had entered.
No, but it was somewhat weird for me to put it that way, that would mean that I would wear them later.
While I didnât know whether I would have to wear them later on or not, the words had already left my mouth. The priest on duty looked at me as if I had promised him that I would wear them later and went back to the priestâs office.
âSeeing you acting like this, it seems like this isnât that big of an ordeal for you. Number 11, your voice sounds quite energetic.â
ââŠN-no, I actually feel like Iâm about to go crazyâŠâ
âIt doesnât seem like it though if you still have the energy to say things like that.â
No, it really hurt a lot.
However, Mr. Epinhauserâs words that I wouldnât be able to speak at all if it hurt that much were true, so I had no choice but to shut my mouth.
He looked at me as cold as everâhis face held little to no emotion.
While he seemed and acted rather coldly, Mr. Epinhauser wasnât a bad teacher. He didnât really scold his students, and he didnât kick up a fuss or anything.
If he wasnât a bad teacher, would that make him a good one then?
I wasnât so sure about that either.
While he was stingy with his criticism, he was just as stingy with praise. Of course, he did end up giving me a merit point that one time.
Mr. Epinhauser performed his duty as a âteacherâ rather mechanically.
Did he hold any form of affection for his students?
I didnât know.
He didnât really discipline us, either. He would give demerits if what we did crossed the line and gave us merits if we did well.
If it was within the rules, we could do it, and if it wasnât, then we shouldnât.
He didnât let his emotions affect his work.
I didnât know whether you could call someone like that a good or bad teacher.
In conclusion, I liked teachers like Mr. Epinhauser.
He wouldnât unnecessarily interfere with us.
He didnât ask things like âAre you okay?â or say things like âIâm glad youâre awake again.â
He just said whatever he had to say, as usual.
âThere will be a disciplinary committee meeting soon.â
ââŠYes.â
âYou will receive a summons as soon as you have recovered enough to move freely. Take note of that.â
I had crossed the line that timeâand by a lot.
Mr. Epinhauser only said what he had to say to me like a machine. He didnât say that I did something wrong or ask why I had done something like that.
That was why I didnât say anything like âit wasnât my faultâ or something.
Well, I mean, it wasnât like I hadnât been at fault there.
âWhat part of what I did is subject to disciplinary action?â
âTwo unauthorized duels with other classmates, and the use of supernatural powers during said duels.â
Fighting was permitted in the name of a duel, but we hadnât gotten permission, and Iâd used my supernatural abilities during those fights. While my abilities werenât extremely dangerous like Pyrokinesis or Electrokinesis, they were still supernatural powers in the end.
Using supernatural power offensively like that was certainly one of the biggest violations of the school rules.
âIs there a possibility that I will be expelled from school?â
Mr. Epinhauser shook his head at my question.
âThat wonât happen.â
He seemed rather certain about that.
It wasnât that easy to kick a student of the Royal Class out of the school.
âHowever, this isnât just an internal issue of the Royal Class. The Orbis Class is also involved. Besides you, two Orbis Class students are also being subjected to disciplinary action.â
It was problematic that Iâd gone and picked those fights, but those guys who accepted those challenges were also quite problematic. Therefore, Lilka Aaron and Oscar de Gardias were also subject to disciplinary action.
âIf this was just an internal matter, the disciplinary committee would be composed of Royal Classâ faculty, but since this matter involves both classes, the disciplinary committee will be formed by faculty members of both Classes.â
The trouble I caused that time was different from last time; it couldnât be solved by the Royal Class alone.
Therefore, the faculty of the Orbis and Royal Classes would form a disciplinary committee and would hold a meeting for Lilka Aaron, Oscar de Gardias, and me.
I was rather sure it wouldnât end well.
It wasnât just the students of the Orbis and Royal Class who didnât get along with each other, right?
Werenât the teachers like cats and dogs as well?
However, in the end, they would still follow Templeâs rules.
No one would tell me something like I had to pay for raising my fist against the imperial family, right?
I didnât know what the disciplinary committee would end up doing.
What I did know was that if I received an extended or indefinite suspension, I wouldnât be able to stay in the dormitory for that period of time.
I knew that because Iâd written a scene where Ludwig received that kind of punishment for an incident. He got caught up in an argument outside of Temple with his friends that turned into an actual quarrel, so he and his friends were suspended.
Later on, they found out that it was actually one of Bertusâs tricks
* * *
Reaper Scans
Translator â KonnoAren
Proofreader â ilafy
* * *
Anyway, during that suspension, Ludwig, Scarlett, Lanian Sessor, and Delphine Izadra took a short trip using the warp gates since they couldnât enter Templeâs dormitory.
In fact, I did that because it was just too difficult to progress the story if they just stayed inside Temple, so I made them get suspended to force them out into the world. Iâd just wanted to write about other kinds of incidents.
Anyway, I didnât know whether those incidents would still happen to Ludwig, but they would actually hold a disciplinary committee meeting against me.
I wasnât going to be expelled, but other than that, I didnât know what kind of disciplinary action would await me.
Even if I ended up getting suspended, I didnât really think that it would be that bad since I only had a bit of time left. There would be a lot of things I would have to do in that time.
*Â *Â *
There were quite a few people coming to visit me even though I was just lying in bed. Although I didnât have that much energy to talk, some of the guys who came by would just chat among themselves while I lay there.
Although we werenât actually that close, Ludwig even brought a bunch of his friends along to visit me.
He mightâve thought of me as his friend, but I actually didnât reciprocate such thoughts, though, you know?
Was I actually surprisingly shy?
Anyway, not only Ludwig, but even Lanian Sessor came around. He even offered to play some comforting music for me.
It got rather noisy, but that wasnât actually that bad.
I was the only patient in the recovery room anyway, so no one told them to leave even though the B-Class guys gathered in there and made a lot of noise. The priest on duty didnât seem to care at all.
âAre⊠you in pain?â
Scarlett hesitantly asked me.
ââŠYeah.â
I couldnât just give her some empty words and deny it, so when she heard my confirmation, Scarlett closed her mouth and stared at me.
I didnât have that much contact with that girl. Weâd just taken some swordsmanship classes together during the second semester. We did do some morning training together, but we usually wouldnât talk or anything like that.
But she seemed to have some difficulties dealing with me, but well, how should I put it? She seemed to have a good impression of me.
Quite a good one at that.
Why though?
I had a feeling, but I didnât actually know.
Scarlett said some more words like she hoped that I would get well soon.
All the guys from B-Class said a few words to me as well. Although we hadnât started our activities as the Magic Research Society yet, its members, Anna de Gerna, Christina, and Louis Ancton also asked me whether I felt better than before
Huh.
The othersâ reactions were quite favorable, considering that Iâd picked a fight with a senior from the Orbis Class.
They comforted me even though Iâd caused an incident. I thought that Iâd lived like an outcast, so I wondered how that ended up happening.
*Â *Â *
Time passed as I continued to lay in bed.
Harriet told me that she would cast sleep magic on me if I couldnât bear the pain, so I should just call her whenever I needed to. Olivia and Adriana also came by from time to time, and unexpectedly, even the little senior Redina paid me a visit, nagging me for always getting in trouble as if she was an adult even though she was younger than me.
I couldnât talk back to her because she wasnât really wrong.
I would only ever get into trouble with guys who were older than meâŠ
However, I wasnât actually just a year older than her⊠I was a lot older.
That was even more pitiful.
Redina also continued to nag me with her hands placed on her hips.
âItâs even more problematic since you barely succeeded by using Magic Body Strengthening.â
âWhy? Isnât it fine? I got hurt pretty badly, though.â
âArenât you going to cause bigger trouble now?â
ââŠNo.â
âAfter you fought a third-year, you went and fought a fourth-year because you got a little stronger. Arenât you going to fight a fifth-year next if you continue like that?â
âNo, those werenât my intentions at all.â
While it was me whoâd picked the fight first, I didnât have any plans on fighting the fifth-years. Redina just went on, shaking her head, saying something like âI donât know what I should do with a junior like you.â
Although I hadnât expected Redina to visit, while she was already there, there was something I wanted to talk about with her.
âAnyway, since you came here, letâs talk.â
âWhat? Talk about what?â
âWhether youâre still in that Exodium or whatever pla-hmpf!â
âSh-shut up!â
Redina covered my mouth as her face turned bright red. Then she groaned.
That chuunibyou club Redina was the president of⊠She seemed to think that just mentioning it openly like that was fatal.
âN-not now! Donât! Donât even bring it up!â
It seemed like sheâd stepped down from her position as Exodiumâs president after she was discovered by Charlotte and me. After Redina lifted her hand from my mouth, I asked her a question.
âThen, what happened with your other delusional friends?â
âI-Iâve passed down the position to another⊠Th-they arenât delusional!â
Redina huffed, perhaps because she thought that I insulted her friends.
âWell, itâs a good thing that you quit.â
Redina had a Talent that couldnât be simply called a supernatural power or a magic related talent. No Casting. That was why she thought she might be a dragon.
Iâd planned on talking to her about it later, but since she went there to meet me in person, though for a different reason, I thought I could tell her.
âIâm going to create a magic research club with some other first-years. Join us.â
ââŠA Magic Research Society?â
Redina tilted her head at the invitation to join my club.
No casting.
The only problem was that her magic power pool was rather small, but it was true that Redina was the owner of a great talent as well. She was already stronger than she was before, so she didnât really have anything she could improve.
âYeah, thatâs it⊠Alright! Alright! I wonât force you to join, but itâll be a lot more useful to you than you think.â
âNo, I donât even think of joining, so what do you mean with âJoin usâ? Youâre my junior, so why are you ordering me around?â
Redina frowned, perhaps because the manner in which Iâd asked her was weird.
Of course, I didnât respond to those complaints at all.
âAsk Harriet for details. Itâs kind of difficult for me to talk right now⊠By the way, do you know how to cast sleep magic?â
âSleep magic?â
âYeah.â
âI know how to cast it.â
As to not cause any misunderstanding, like with what happened with Harriet the last time, I mentioned it from the start.
When that Harriet suddenly started singing and patting me, Iâd felt like I was about to lose my mind.
I couldnât even say anything because I thought that she would strangle me on the spot if I teased her.
SeriouslyâŠ
I felt a ticklish-yet-strange feeling when she did that stuff. It was hard to describe.
It wasnât a bad feeling, but because I didnât feel bad about all that, it felt even weirder!
âCast it on me. I want to sleep a bitâŠâ
âIs it that bad?â
âIt isâŠâ
Redina looked at me, saying, âI guess it does hurt a lot if youâre looking at me like that.â
Of course, sleep magic wasnât some high-ranked spell.
And it wasnât like one could just unconditionally put oneâs opponent to sleep.
There werenât any crazy spells that would knock out oneâs opponents right away.
I had to accept its influence without even thinking of resisting the spellâs effects.
I could feel that it was what one called magic resistance, and I also knew the concept of giving up that resistance.
It might not be as strong as Scarlettâs, but everyone had some form of magic resistance, and so did I.
So in order to be affected by sleep magic, I had to fully accept its effects on me.
If the level of the spell was too low, I wouldnât be able to fall asleep whether I gave up my resistance or not.