I Became an Academy Chapter 32

"I thought I was going to die..."

"And you weren't even doing anything?"

Orca looked at

incredulously.

...It's true that I wasn't doing anything, but still... I replied to her while slumped on a park bench.

"I felt like I was dying because I wasn't doing anything! It's exhausting!"

"I don't get it."

"It was so boring I thought I would die, and ti just wouldn't pass! Plus, I couldn't move because I was worried about the students noticing!"

To be honest, I really hate having nothing to do.

I don't see what's so good about doing nothing.

If you're just going to sit there, why not sleep, or if you're bored, play a ga or sothing?

Like a child, I clung to Orca's waist and whined.

"It was so hard..."

"Ugh, get off !"

"No! My body feels stiff!"

"What does that have to do with ?!"

Well, it's fun because you react by trying to shake

off...!

Even though she was trying to get

off her, Orca wasn't using her full strength, probably worried she might hurt .

But even with that much force, it was enough for

to cling to her waist and feel like I was floating in the air, giving

a slight sense of flying.

...This is so much fun!

The stiff feeling I had after doing nothing for so long seed to vanish with the cool breeze blowing against .

"Orca, one more ti! Do it again, please!"

"No way! Are you crazy?!"

"Oh, co on!"

Orca and I spent our break ti playfully bickering with each other.

Eventually, Orca firmly refused to play along anymore, saying she didn't want to do it again, but...

Well, I guess I'll have to be satisfied with just once.

"You're so stubborn..."

"Watch your tone!"

"Sigh... Whatever. The practical exam is about to start, so I'll be going..."

"Wait a mont."

"What now? I told you I'm not doing that again."

"It's not that..."

Hmm, honestly, I'm still a bit conflicted.

Will Orca be able to keep her cool if I do this? What if she suddenly gets really angry?

Oh well, whatever. It'll work out sohow.

I approached Orca, who was looking at

with a dissatisfied expression, and after standing on my tiptoes, I gently patted her head.

Why does she have to be so tall?

Even compared to the other kids, she's exceptionally tall.

Thanks to that, I have to go on tiptoe just to pat her head.

I don't think I'm that short, but whenever I see Orca, I feel intimidated.

"...?"

"Oh, so soft..."

I've never seen her do anything to take care of her hair, but maybe that's just the protagonist's privilege?

Even without any special care, she maintains the status of one of the top beauties in the area.

It was much softer than I had expected.

...Oh right, that's not what I was supposed to do.

"Ahem. Orca, did you do well on the exam?"

"...I don't know. How would I know? I've never done sothing like this before."

"Oh."

Ah, right...

This is Orca's first ti experiencing school life.

It felt like I had just said sothing I shouldn't have, and I started sweating nervously.

Uh, how should I fix this?

"Uh, well, don't worry! I'm sure you'll see results that match the effort you put in!"

"And what good does that do ? I only did it because I was told to."

"...."

Even if I talk about preparing for the future... she wouldn't understand.

She's a kid who grew up on the streets her whole life.

She didn't co to the academy by her own will; it was the Principal's decision.

...Maybe I need to rethink things.

Orca might not care much about good grades.

In that case...

"I'll give you a reward."

"What?"

"Hmm, what would be good... A shark plushie?"

Orca flinched.

I noticed her body tremble slightly. If I hadn't been paying attention, I might have missed it, but I was watching closely, so I caught it.

She does like shark plushies, after all. I thought so. In the happy ending, she’s holding a shark plushie.

Her na is Orca, she loves seafood, and she likes shark plushies. It really makes

think the developers didn't put much effort into her character, but...

Well, it's cute, so I guess it doesn't matter.

"If your grades are better than I expected, I'll give you a shark plushie."

"...What? But that's so vague."

"That's the fun part. You don't know the criteria, so you'll try your best, won't you?"

I smiled brightly at Orca.

...Even though I said this, I was planning to give her the plushie even if she ranked at the bottom.

But if I told her that, she wouldn't try as hard.

"Well, it looks like it's ti. Good luck on your exam! I'll be watching you!"

"Wait, Teacher! Hold on...!"

So, what will happen?

I looked forward to finding out with a smile.

There's nothing more I can do here.

...I just hope no one gets hurt.

I prayed that the five students in the exam room wouldn't get seriously injured.

"Hup!"

"...Amazing. Isn't that sword aura?"

"Hmm, not sure. It seems a bit different sohow..."

"Haah!"

"As expected of the Princess. She's quite impressive."

"...But it would be nice if she could tone down the kicks a bit."

"Yeah, that's true... If she sses up, it could be considered a cri against the royal family..."

"Overseer, can she really fight? I thought she was just a symbol of the Church. Her eyes are even covered with a blindfold..."

"Apparently, that’s not the case. Wow. That's incredible."

"Where does she get that ridiculous amount of divine power from?"

"...Her chest?"

"You're such an idiot."

"...Why isn’t anyone coming out?"

"They forfeited. I guess they didn’t want to do it."

"Whoever it is, they must be out of their minds."

"Yeah, no kidding."

Voices from the people around

drifted into my ears.

Both familiar faces and new ones showed off their strength against the dummy.

Even Leo, the Princess, and that creepy woman were all strong.

Strong enough that you didn’t even need to look at the numbers displayed on the dummy to know.

"Next. Orca. Step forward."

"..."

"Orca? ...The demon-possessed one?"

"Better watch closely. We might have to face her soday."

"Ugh, she gives

the creeps..."

The chatter from the others who had finished their exams and were now watching echoed around .

Honestly, it was annoying. I wanted to glare at them right then and there.

But the teacher said she would be watching.

So I'll hold back this ti.

That woman doesn’t seem to like it when I pick fights with people like them.

"No need to prepare?"

"...I'm fine. This is enough for ."

"Alright. If you've been watching, you should know what to do. Start when the signal sounds."

But, that woman...

Why did she say she’d give

a shark plushie?

I nodded along at the ti, but I’ve never even touched a plushie before.

The last one I touched was back in that mansion when I was a kid... damn it.

That mory soured my mood.

To vent my frustration, I summoned the demon within

and channeled its power into my hands.

I could just float it in the air and swing it, but this way feels more satisfying.

Thinking about sothing I didn’t want to rember put

in a bad mood.

After all, that dummy isn’t even a person.

So it’s okay to smash it to pieces.

Alright, I’ll beat it until it stops working.

Who cares about the ti?

Beep!

Like the ones before , Orca began hitting the dummy with the intent to completely destroy it.

However, despite the countless attacks it had already endured from other students, the dummy showed no signs of damage and remained steadfast, silently absorbing Orca's blows.

...This is really pissing

off.

"Damn it, your face is really pissing

off! Die! Just die already!"

"...Why's she so angry?"

"Beats ."

I hate that stupid face on the dummy. It looks so dumb.

As I paused to catch my breath and raised my fist for another strike, the signal sounded again.

"Stop. That’s enough."

"I'm not done yet!"

"Orca. Don’t cause a scene. The exam is over. If you continue to cause trouble, your grade will be affected."

"Grades? Like I care about that crap..."

...The teacher said she would be watching.

Tsk.

"Fine, whatever."

"...What's with that tone towards a teacher? Show so respect, Orca."

"Why should I care? It doesn't matter to ."

I wasn’t in such a bad mood earlier.

Maybe because I thought about sothing I didn’t want to. My irritation skyrocketed in an instant.

I wanted to relieve so stress by beating up the dummy, but that didn’t go the way I wanted either.

Why is nothing going right? I should just go to the counseling room and take a nap.

As I grumbled and started to leave the area...

Soone struck Orca's back hard, slamming her into the wall.

"Gah?!"

"T-The dummy?! What is it doing...! Stop imdiately! Hey! There’s a malfunction in the system! It shouldn’t have any attack capabilities..."

"Ahhh! What’s going on?!"

"P-Please remain calm, students! You’ll be safe if you follow the protocol!"

"Help! The dummy suddenly...!"

"Soone got pinned down! Where’s a healer?! We need a healer!"

The teacher in charge of supervising the practical exam stood there, looking around in a daze.

He couldn’t comprehend what was happening.

There was no way the dummy should have any attack capabilities.

"Ah, damn it... That hurt like hell..."

"O-Orca! Are you okay?!"

"Shut up, my head's ringing... Damn, my back hurts... What’s with my luck today?"

Ha.

Orca couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.

She was definitely trying to hold back.

She was trying to swallow her anger and just take a nap in the counseling room.

But that piece of junk over there went out of its way to pick a fight with .

"Hey, Teacher... Don’t stop

now. Not until I’ve smashed that thing to bits!"

Orca grinned savagely and charged at the dummy.