Entering the Game with a Cheat Physique

Episode 38 Sickroom Visit (2)

Episode 38 Sickroom Visit (2)

The school is bustling with energy.

As it’s the end of the semester and the ‘Monster Festival’ is about to be held, the students are excitedly chatting and making plans.

Of course, I’m not one of them.

The end of the first act means the boss is about to appear, how could I possibly relax?

‘Guess it’s time I ate.’

The meatball Beri had made before.

This meat, made by processing 【Werewolf Lung】, provides a special effect when eaten.

A round meatball.

Beri did a pretty good job finishing it, it looks appetizing.

I pop it in my mouth and munch on it, and then a notification pops up.

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‘Unique’ category added!

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Powers that fall under the unique category, like 【Ultimate Physique】 and 【Twelve Stellar Fists】.

I immediately opened my status window to check.

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【Howling】

A power acquired by consuming 【Werewolf Lungs】.

Unleashes a powerful roar, dispelling status ailments from allies.

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A skill that can dispel CC effects on allies.

Since the Act 1 boss inflicts unavoidable area-of-effect CC during combat, this is a must-have.

Anyway, thanks to ‘Strong Heart’, I’m immune to status ailments, so it will be easy for me to use.

Knock knock.

At that moment, I heard a knock.

“Senior. May I come in?”

“Come in.”

It was Isolet.

Click, the door opened and a silver-haired woman entered.

“How have you been doing?”

“Well, what else is there to do in a temple? Just eat what they give you and relax.”

“Hehe, that’s true.”

Isolet nodded with a gentle smile.

Then, she gestured behind her with her eyes.

“Aren’t you coming in?”

“……”

“If you keep doing that, I’ll be the only one talking.”

‘Is someone behind her?’

With a puzzled gaze, I looked past the door, and soon a red-haired girl with pigtails entered.

“……Hmph.”

Irina pouted her lips and avoided my gaze.

“It’s not like I was worried about *you* specifically. I just came because Isolette wanted to.”

“Excuse me? If I recall correctly, Irina was the most enthusiastic about this hospital visit.”

“No? That never happened?”

Irina snorted at Isolette’s counter.

The two of them sat on chairs, their conversation flowing in soft murmurs.

“Senior, you were amazing. You achieved great results in this duel. I was surprised you managed to beat the top student.”

“It was nothing. I just had my reasons for doing it.”

“Heh. You’re probably the only one who’d say that after beating the top student in a duel, Senior.”

Isolette takes the lead in the conversation, in place of Irina, who’s still grumbling with her mouth shut.

It’s always the same, every single one of the people visiting asks about the duel.

I guess that just means the incident had a big impact.

“Anyway, did you guys really come to see the duel just for me? It’s not like it’s your business, it must have been boring.”

“No, it was a duel I learned quite a lot from… and, well, I didn’t really like Senior Apollon, so it was a little satisfying.”

So Apollon was already on Isolette’s dislike list, huh.

If I’d left it, there probably would’ve been a side story event where Isolette crushes Apollon.

But since I already got him expelled, it’s gone now. I’ve saved Isolette some trouble.

“Well, I watched the duel too.”

Irina, who was quietly listening to Isolette and I talk, jumps in.

She huffs and snorts, but she’s also glancing at my face.

Like she wants me to notice something.

“It was amazing, you know? Using a magic no one’s ever seen before. A unique school of thought that doesn’t follow the existing systems…it’s just so you.”

“What? What’s with the sudden praise?”

“Hmph! Do you think I have some sort of vendetta against you? I can give praise when it’s due.”

For someone who says that, your tone is still so disrespectful, don’t you think?

“Besides, that Apollon senior is completely unlikable. He was kind of pathetic when he started struggling, but since you were bound to win anyway, I wasn’t worried.”

“That’s a lie. Miss Irina was watching with sweaty hands every time you were hurt, Senior.”

“aaargh! Dammit, Isolette, you gonna keep doing that?”

Irina, who was acting all nonchalant, loses her composure in an instant.

Isolette giggles as she’s swayed back and forth by Irina’s hand.

‘They’ve gotten pretty close, huh.’

They seem to have gotten quite close.

Considering Irina’s past counseling, and well, they’re protagonists, so I guess it’s their destiny to be intertwined.

Sunlight streams through the window.

I watch them bicker and squabble amongst themselves.

Quietly, I imagined the future ahead.

‘Act 1 Boss Fight.’

The two heroines who will fight alongside me then.

I hope we can make it to summer vacation in one piece with these two.

*

It’s been quite some time since I was hospitalized.

Outside the temple, the festival is already approaching, and the facilities requested by ‘Monsties’ are being set up.

I’m also starting to recover and preparing to be discharged soon.

And on the last day of my stay.

Those guys who hadn’t visited until now finally came.

“Ohoho. Hello, Herak.”

“……Hello.”

Penel and Berry come in together.

Penel is carrying a basket in her hand, filled to the brim with various treats.

“I deliberately scheduled it for the last day, you know? Other days are too noisy. We should have a cozy chat on a day like today, don’t you think?”

“Penel. You’re being such a fuss…”

Penel is chirping away, clearly excited just by seeing me, and Berry is next to her, trying to calm her down.

The same familiar scene I always see.

I feel a lot more at ease too.

“So, are you two feeling a bit more at ease now?”

“Huh?”

“Apollon got expelled. It wasn’t like I fought for that specifically, but I’d be happy if it makes you happy.”

“…Heh heh.”

Penel smiles brightly at my words.

“Of course. Thanks to Herak, it’s so much easier. Now that that annoying guy is gone, I feel like I can walk around much more comfortably.”

“That’s a relief.”

Apollo had to be such a piece of shit.

Penell, all smiles, thanked me and then rummaged through the basket.

She pulled out an apple, grinning.

“Herak, you must be hungry from recovering, right? I’ll peel this for you.”

“You can even peel an apple?”

“Of course! I’m a domestic goddess, you know?”

Her knife skills were definitely not amateur.

With quite a practiced hand, she peeled the apple.

She was humming a tune, focused, so my gaze naturally drifted to Berry beside me.

“……”

‘Why’s she been looking like death since we got here.’

She seemed to be getting better lately, and now she’s back to this.

I mean, Apollo got expelled, so why the long face?

I couldn’t help but ask, feeling a little concerned.

“Hey, Berry.”

“……What.”

“How about you? Apollo’s gone, so aren’t you relieved?”

It’s not like I have a habit of gossiping like this, but.

Apollo was the only topic I could think of, and Berry trailed off.

“……Of course. I was so happy thanks to you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah… I was so thrilled about the duel, I couldn’t sleep.”

……She doesn’t seem thrilled, though?

I tilted my head, scanning her face, but she still looked sullen.

I felt uneasy and was about to ask more, but then a fork blocked my mouth.

“Here, open up.”

“……”

Penell was holding a piece of apple on a fork, right in front of my mouth.

The apple, cut into the shape of a rabbit, looked cute.

She really is so girly, it really hits home, but…

“Mmph.”

“……”

No, Penel. Don’t keep pressuring me like that.

It looked like she’d pry my lips open and shove the apple down my throat if I didn’t eat it right away, so I had no choice but to obediently take a bite.

“Ohoho. Delicious, isn’t it? Isn’t it?”

“Yeah. It’s good.”

“There’s more, you know? You can eat it all.”

…What is this, some kind of picnic?

The flow of conversation shifted back to Penel as she kept feeding me apple slices.

She continued to bring up topics, smiling brightly all the while.

“Speaking of which, Herac, you’ll be Head Student now, won’t you? Congratulations in advance.”

“……Aren’t you disappointed? You’re losing your spot as Head Student.”

“Huh? Not really? I’ve never been that attached to the Head Student position anyway…”

Her voice trailed off, followed by a smile.

That alluring smile was every bit the noble lady’s.

“……I’d be much happier if you became Head Student.”

I didn’t ask why.

I had a feeling that a truly unsettling answer would come back if I did.

The boss fight is just around the corner, and I shouldn’t be letting my mind get disturbed. Right. I’ll be careful.

As I was exchanging pleasantries with Penel,

“……I’ll be going now.”

Berry got up from her seat.

“Huh? Why? Don’t you want to stay longer?”

“No, I remembered something I need to do. I’m going back early today.”

“Hmm. Alright. See you later, Berry.”

Despite Penel’s puzzled gaze, Berry left the room without hesitation.

Her retreating figure looked rather forlorn, and I almost stopped her, but…

“Oh right, Herac. By any chance, would you consider teaching ‘Battle Mage’ skills?”

“What?”

“The entire academy is in an uproar right now, you know? They were completely amazed by that fiery fist you showed off…”

Penel kept talking, her eyes sparkling, so I couldn’t.

It bothered me for no reason, but there was nothing I could do.

I’d just have to ask later.

*

Berry left the hospital room and leaned straight against the wall.

Her legs felt weak, like they were about to give way, and she somehow managed to keep them upright.

If even the slightest noise happened, it would make things complicated.

“……”

My chest hurts.

I don’t even know why I’m like this.

It’s been like this a lot lately.

I pulled out the doll from my pocket.

As I fidgeted with ‘Mechanized Knight HR3’, a self-deprecating sigh escaped.

“……Why am I like this.”

When did it even start?

It began that day, when Herak complimented my doll.

The biggest turning point was…

‘When Herak saved me from Apollon.’

When I was being choked, unable to breathe.

When the wicked person in front of me was so terrifying.

The man who protected me at that moment.

And that man finally defeated the wicked person.

He got him expelled from the academy, and restored peace to Penel.

Yeah.

Looking at that, it’s so happy.

It was a more than satisfactory outcome.

‘It hurts.’

My mind was a mess.

I was confused by the emotion that had grown from the bottom of my heart since some time ago.

This isn’t right.

I shouldn’t be feeling like this.

He’s the guy my friend likes.

The most precious thing to her, a friendship she wouldn’t trade for anything.

Penell.

If Penell likes Herak, Berry needs to back off.

That’s how it should be.

Penell is a noble, and I’m a commoner.

Penell is the top student, and I’m at the bottom.

…Penell liked him from the start, and I’m just a nasty girl who barged in late.

‘You can tell just by looking at them.’

The way Penell looks at Herak.

There’s no way I could miss the honey dripping from those pink pupils.

Just look at her slicing apples for him.

A woman only does that kind of thing for a man when she loves him that much.

So, I can’t interfere.

I should be supporting my friend’s love.

I need to step back and watch from afar.

“I shouldn’t be like this…”

And yet, my heart slowly grows cold.

Outside the warm hospital room, Berry could only sigh.