Chapter 16
Blink, blink.
An unfamiliar ceiling came into view.
What? When did I fall asleep?
I heard a steady tapping as someone drummed their fingers on a desk.
"Well, if you really want to hear it, I don't see any reason to stop you."
What did they mean, hear it?
"The academy starts next month, and your mother specifically asked me to make sure you took this course. Choose your other classes too, then submit your choices to Aria before the term starts."
"The History of the Platinum Continent? Mother wanted us to take this class?"
"More precisely, she wanted you to learn the true history, since elves have such a distorted understanding of it."
"I feel like my image of elves from my imagination has been shattered today. Don't you feel that way too, big brother?"
I heard Chris's voice as he spoke with the headmaster.
Oh, right. Aria had...
Only then did I notice the dull ache in my stomach, and a groan slipped out.
"Ngh..."
"Sis, you're awake? Are you okay?"
"It hurts. I'm not okay."
As I got up from the sofa and rubbed my stomach, Eah came over.
And right in front of me was Aria, kneeling with her hands raised, wearing her usual half-lidded eyes and dazed expression.
It seemed the headmaster was punishing her, and I was surprised to see her taking it so obediently.
Considering how she'd acted up until now, I wouldn't have expected that.
Who would attack their master just because—
Grrr.
...they'd heard something bad about them?
"Since you're up, come over and take one too. You can hear the story from this one."
I got up, took the paper the headmaster handed me, and looked at Chris.
"I'll explain once we're out of here."
"If you're done here, go. I'm tired."
The headmaster really did seem tired; they pressed firmly between their eyes with a thumb and forefinger.
As we started to leave, Aria, still serving her punishment, caught my eye and waved.
I stared at Aria in amazement, then closed the door and left the headmaster's office.
Anyway, my stomach still hurt.
Even though I'd gathered mana around my stomach to reinforce it the moment she hit me, I'd still been knocked unconscious.
The headmaster looked perfectly fine, so both of them must have been quite formidable.
"For now, it's a school rule that we have to live outside the academy until it opens."
After leaving the academy, we rented a room at the Adventurers Guild.
"She said we need to choose three of the classes listed here. What do you want to take?"
At Chris's words, I looked over the classes listed on the paper.
The main subjects were magic, swordsmanship, alchemy, politics, and so on, with classes ranging from beginner to advanced.
There were also business, cooking, archery, and spear arts—not to mention even lessons for brides.
"Mother asked us to make sure we took the introductory course on the history of the Platinum Continent, so keep that in mind."
Well, Mom had asked us, and I knew nothing about it, so I had no complaints about taking introductory history.
But did we really need any of the other classes?
"I'm thinking of taking swordsmanship and mana studies."
I could understand mana studies, but swordsmanship? Why would Chris, an intermediate Sword Master, need that?
"You never know. A small insight might help me improve."
"Hmm... That's a good point. Then I'll take the same ones. What about you, Eah?"
"I'll take swordsmanship and mana studies too. And I want to try learning this."
The class Eah's eyes had settled on was cooking.
"When I retire from adventuring someday, I want to open my own inn and live there. Hehe."
An inn run by Eah? It seemed like it would suit her.
There was no need to submit our choices right away, so after giving it some thought, we handed them in to Aria.
Our daily life over the next month was uneventful.
Chris kept working toward the upper Master rank, while I trained at a moderate pace and trained Eah.
We spent our time occasionally completing requests or grabbing snacks from street vendors.
Today, after eating, Eah and I walked down the street, trying to decide which shop to get snacks from.
The street, which hadn't been very crowded just yesterday, looked quite different today.
It had transformed into a scene that made it clear the new term was about to begin.
There were many carriages, likely carrying nobles, and children who looked like new students were getting fitted for uniforms with their parents.
They had uniforms?
"What? Were we supposed to get uniforms too?"
We went into a shop where a few students were getting fitted for uniforms and asked the owner.
"Hm? I thought that was written on the information sheet."
At the owner's mention of an information sheet, Eah and I returned to the guild and looked over the paper Aria had given us a while ago, telling us to hold on to it.
Looking closely, I saw a small note at the very bottom.
'New students must purchase and wear a uniform to enroll.'
Good thing I found out now, but... she just told us to hold onto it, right? Looking at it now, this is an information sheet.
Anyway, uniforms... My school days had been awful, but school was also where I'd met Chris, so I felt a little nostalgic.
"Chris, they say we need to get uniforms fitted. Did you hear anything about that?"
"Uniforms? I haven't heard anything about that."
As expected, Aria probably hadn't explained it properly.
Thinking back to how she'd acted recently, it seemed entirely plausible.
So we all headed to a clothing store with few customers to get our uniforms fitted.
After finding a suitable shop, we went in and first picked out uniforms for Chris and Eah to try on.
"My, it looks great on you. Maybe because you're so handsome~"
As expected, Chris looked good in anything.
Swish.
Eah came out of the fitting room in her uniform, her long green hair swaying.
"Wow, the uniform is pretty."
Eah wore a luxurious-looking wine-red top with a griffin emblem embroidered on one side of the chest, along with a white skirt crossed by a straight navy-blue stripe.
She gazed at her reflection in the full-length mirror, eyes sparkling, and let out an admiring gasp.
"It looks good on you too, Eah."
Satisfied with how cute Eah looked, I went to get my own uniform fitted, but there was one problem.
"Female students aren't allowed to wear pants."
Why were the rules so strict...?
My shoulders slumped at the shopkeeper's words.
"Come to think of it, I've never seen you wear a skirt, Sis."
Now that I thought about it, I couldn't remember ever wearing one.
In fact, I hadn't worn a skirt once since arriving in this world.
I'd been wearing shorts when I first fell into this world, and when I lived with Mom in Edren, I usually trained, so I preferred pants and never had a reason to wear a skirt.
I thought I'd accepted myself as a woman by now, but the thought that there were still hurdles I had to overcome weighed on me.
But what could I do? It was a school rule. At least the skirt was long enough to reach my calves, so I took comfort in that.
"Wow, you look so pretty too, Sis."
Ah, this was the first time I'd heard someone call me pretty since coming into the human world. I still wasn't used to it. Mom had been so happy the first time I called her pretty.
As I thought that, feeling embarrassed, my eyes met Chris's.
"You're pretty."
"...Really?"
If Chris said so, then it must be true. Ahem.
"Wow, how am I supposed to go around with those elves? If I can't get married, it's all your fault, big brother."
"You really are as beautiful as an elf. Ho ho ho."
I was startled for a moment by Eah's loose tongue, but thankfully the shopkeeper didn't catch on and took it as a joke.
"By the way, would you like to get gym clothes as well?"
There are gym clothes too?
After returning to the guild, we ate a light meal, washed up, and soaked in the bathtub with Eah.
"Ahh... This feels great."
"Sometimes, Sis, you're like an old man. Ever think about acting a little more feminine? You have such a pretty face; it'd be a shame not to."
"Who am I supposed to look good for?"
"Big brother Chris?"
"Why would I try to impress him? Get real. That's not happening."
Why would I bother acting feminine around Chris?
Besides Chris, I had no desire to impress any man in the first place.
"In three days, we'll be entering Deus. I can't believe I'm going to an academy."
I'd come here because I had no choice if I wanted to avoid being hounded by Mom, but after meeting Eah, I liked how we were living, so I had no particular complaints anymore.
Honestly, I wanted to skip the academy and keep traveling around with Eah like this.
If Mom found out, she'd work me into the ground, so I couldn't bring myself to act on it. But the fact I could even think that way was proof that Eah had settled deep in my heart.
Honestly, I found it a little strange. How had someone like me, who didn't even want to interact with people, grown so close to Eah in less than a year?
"Sis! I'm so excited and nervous!"
Ah, she was so bright and cute. That must be why I'd gotten attached. I shouldn't think too hard about it.
"What if I can't keep up or fit in?"
"At least I can help if you have trouble with swordsmanship. And even if you don't fit in, you can just stick with me. What's the problem?"
"But are you going to keep hiding that you're an elf?"
Oh, right. There was that problem too. I'd been worrying about it all this time, afraid of drawing a lot of attention, but having Eah with me made me feel reassured.
"If I don't fit in either, you'll take care of me too, okay?"
When I asked her that, Eah smiled brightly, moved behind me, slipped her hand around my side, and started feeling me up.
"Eek! You again!"
"Then you're mine, Sis, so of course I'll take good care of you."
Her words were reassuring, and I wanted to pat her on the head, but I was too busy trying to stop Eah's hands, which were after my body.
Eah's hands slipped past mine like snakes as I tried to stop her, gliding over my skin and indulging her desires.
When it came to Eah's hands, which were stronger than a Sword Master, I lost again today.
Exhausted, I floated limply in the water, and Eah seemed satisfied as she quietly hugged me from behind like she was cuddling a doll.
Three days later, I saw the new students getting checked at the entrance as they entered Deus.
New students of all ages stood in line. Some chatted with friends, some gazed at the building with shining eyes, and others looked terribly nervous.
The line moved quickly, and soon it was our turn.
"Are you Eah Duglich?"
"Yes!"
The person, looking pleased at Eah's energetic reply, soon turned to me.
"I'm Katrina."
"Yes, I see you here. Are you Katrina?"
"Yes."
"And there's a special note here... Elf?"
Ah, if it was listed in the special notes, there was no helping it. I'd already steeled myself for this, so there was no need to be afraid.
I wasn't weak like I used to be, and Chris and Eah were here too. I wouldn't be alone, so it didn't matter.
Having made up my mind, I took off my hat, put it in my inventory, and boldly answered the person staring at me in shock.
"Yes, I'm an elf."
A murmur rippled through the crowd.
It was fine. I was going to live here for years, so I had to get used to it.
"Um... You don't actually have to reveal that here."
"Huh?"
I let out a foolish sound at the person's words.
Couldn't you have told me that sooner? Weren't you the one in charge of checking that?
"Well, that's true, but I'm only here to check names for a day's wages. I heard they'll do the detailed checks inside..."
Oh, then why were you acting like a teacher pleased with Eah? And if you were only checking names, why did you read the special notes?
Feeling wronged and wanting to avoid the stares around me, I used Chris behind me as a shield.
Chris, who'd told me to listen to people until they finished, closed his eyes and sighed at the sight of me.