Chapter 55 - I Became the Daughter of the Academy’s Villain

**Chapter 55 - The End of a Tiring Monday** Upon waking, she imagined being in the comfort of her home castle instead of the stiff-bed and servant-less discomfort of the academy. Ever since their enrollment, the noble students would indulge in such fantasies every night. But to think that such fantasies would actually come true. "Have you arrived, Miss Titoso?" "Wahh, Housekeeper grandfather. It's been so hard for me." "You've had a hard time, I see." The grandfatherly housekeeper in her hometown castle smiled kindly, soothing her back with a gentle touch. The bed was uncomfortable, the food tasted bad, and everything else was just exhausting and difficult. As her endless complaints poured out, the housekeeper chuckled in a slightly troubled manner. "If I were to listen to all of Miss Titoso's grievances, the day would turn to night." "There's still plenty of time left!" "Let's save the rest for later." "Why? Can't you listen to a bit more?" "Because it's already night." "What?" "Look. The outside has become as dark as if it’s time for an Adventurer’s nocturnal activities lecture." Titoso, taken aback, staggered backwards. A cold, stiff hand, as though it were a withered old tree, touched her back. "Gr-grandfather...?" No. Grandfather's hand was never this cold. Nor was his hair long enough to drape over my shoulder. Nor did he ever smell of embalming fluid. Then what is this? Who is behind me now? A strange woman’s voice whispered eerily in the frightened girl’s ear. "The lecture has started. If you don't get up, I'll bury you in a tomb." "Aaahhhhh!!" Screaming, Titoso woke up to find a ghostly woman standing behind her. Despite her desire to flee in utter panic, an unexpected response came from the other side this time. "Hey, are you going to sit down quickly? I’d rather not be held up by such a scary lecture time and just get it over with." "Come sit here!" A girl with a mask scolded her to take a seat quickly, and the youngest top student from Group A, Oknodie, tapped the seat next to her, signaling for her to sit down. "Uh…" Confused and feeling like a nuisance for not sitting down immediately, Titoso took her seat. Caught between the lecturing professor, who used her own spotlight as illumination, and attentive students, she inadvertently ended up attending the lecture. "Adventurers are aware of the dangers of the night, hence they mostly operate during the day but... depending on the time and place, they sometimes have to take action at night..." "For instance, when dangerously aggressive monsters chase adventurers in the darkness..." "Or when one must urgently escape to the surface from a collapsing cave..." "When pursued endlessly by the undead rising in the infinite darkness with the sun gone..." "…Ah, how envious. The fresh innards of adventurers fleeing in terror." Titoso thought with a forced smile. 'Housekeeper grandfather. I'm coming to see you now.' Because the professor was terrifyingly scary. Titoso had fainted while her eyes were still open. * * The moment I heard her name, I had a feeling. This child's name seems similar to mine! Seeing the name engraved on the spotlight confirmed my suspicion. Titosoga Ttosog-a. Easily Deceived. This child is naive! 'Well, ordinarily no one would bring such a spotlight to the academy if they wished to become popular.' It’s like believing in the naive fallacies that airplanes require you to take off your shoes to board, guns are bought at PX, or entering university magically grants you a partner and a lifetime of happiness! There’s no loss in being friends with such a pitiful fellow. [You’ve seen the red light of horror.] [Your spirit increases by +2 for 10 minutes.] Whether becoming popular is possible is one thing, but the spotlight’s effectiveness is surprisingly superb. It’s much more convenient than doping with an intelligence-boosting snack ten minutes before an exam to increase a single ability stat. Doping without an increase in satisfaction, this is the new item in ability stat doping unknown to veterans. "Next lecture, we’re going to hear about and experience firsthand the coping strategies for specific nocturnal situations. There's no need for any materials…. Try not to eat dinner beforehand." "Why?" "Students tend to spill too much during lectures. Urine is fine, but I’d appreciate it if you could hold back vomiting…" "…" "A little ahead in the graveyard, embalmed corpses were exhumed, nothing too frail, right?” Hmm… This professor is definitely not good for one’s mental health! "Today's the first day, so that's the end. Dismissed." At least, the lecture was short and intense. Twenty minutes felt like two hours! "Oknodie. Will you come again on Wednesday?" "Of course, I will." "You're pretending to be brave, but you’re actually scared, aren’t you?" "Are you scared?" "Not at all. Not scared in the slightest. I just thought it’d be boring to go alone next lecture, so I suggested we go together." It’s socially agreed to just say you're scared of going alone. Despite being scared, Titoso grabbed Zang’s arm pretending not to be. Zang, observing the hand that grabbed hers from behind the mask, asked. "Grabbing an assassin’s arm like this, does it mean what I think it does? To seal one arm and smash the head with the spotlight...” "Not at all!" Startled, Titoso answered loudly, then quietly added in a timid voice. "Um, how about we just skip the lecture together? Honestly, it's too scary…" Having somehow managed to retrieve her spotlight from Professor Sadako, Titoso suggested a joint drop-out to Zang. Zang, seemingly excited by the idea at first, glanced at me then kicked a pebble in frustration. "No. I’d willingly drop out if I were the last one, but I can’t admit there’s a student braver than me." "Oknodie. Let's all drop out together. If you drop out, she will too." "Why? I find it interesting." "You find that fun?! An undead professor, that's blasphemy. She’s an irreverent being that even the gods of the Central Empire and the deities of the Southern Temple would rage against?!” “But professors give grades, gods don’t." "!!" If you've come to the academy, take care of your grades and points instead of worrying about the gods! "After graduating from the academy, your reputation will plummet to rock bottom. What then...? Is Oknodie planning to live in the academy forever…?" "What a terrible thing to say! Don't treat me like a graduate student. I plan to definitely graduate from the academy!" That was too harsh of you. Apologize! "Sorry, I may not understand fully, but I seem to have angered you. I apologize." "Hmph. Good that you understand. Be careful in the future." * * After the 5th period lecture from 7 to 9 pm, there’s another from 9 to 11 pm... but following this schedule won’t make you grow taller. Maybe it’s no issue for a 230 cm tall giant in super armor, but it's troubling for the 133 cm tall Oknodie! Thus, after a long day, she returned to the dormitory looking utterly exhausted. "You’ve trained hard late into the night." "I came after lectures." "...Until this time?!" Isabella was shocked at such an inhuman schedule, but stuffing the timetable with lectures for 5 days straight is more fun than suffering through it for just four days. Mon-Wed, Tue-Thu, Fri-Sat. Most lectures are held twice a week on set days, so according to my schedule, all are crammed into Monday to Thursday. "Ugh, so tired." She threw her uniform off and entered the shower room attached to her personal room. The sound of water echoed. It may seem odd talking about showers in a fantasy setting, but when given the choice by the developers between scooping cold water with a bucket or enjoying a warm shower, players unanimously embraced the comforts of civilization. A certain level of convenience is essential for a comfortable fantasy life. After all, before it's a fantasy, it's fundamentally a game world. "...I feel so uneasy." Even though well-built, being short is a frustration. Having a chest but feeling utterly unattractive. As she showered and looked at her reflection in the mirror, she quickly finished and stepped out. Whirring As she dried her hair with a dryer (a magical item), a voice suddenly emanated from the wall. -I'm bored. <The Answering Door> took the noise of the dryer as a question and seized the opportunity to say what it wanted. This event occurs when the occupants of Females’ Dormitory Rooms 111 and 112 do not talk to their walls for an entire day. "I’m busy, sis~" After drying off and putting on underwear, it was already 9:30 pm. "Yawn..." Using her brain intensely all day made her tired, and yawns came naturally. -At 2:22 am, if you climb the central staircase to the second floor of the main building, you can find a hidden room. The door, craving communication, spontaneously leaked a piece of hidden information to tempt the player. "Yup, I know~" It's bedtime for good kids. Lying in her soft bed felt heavenly. She wriggled into the blanket and fell asleep comfortably. * * Hestia blinked in bed. Tick. Tock. The sound of the clock hands turning resonated repeatedly in her ears. -At 2:22 am, if you climb the central staircase to the second floor of the main building, you can find a hidden room. Even though she wanted to sleep, the sudden words from beyond the wall bothered her, making it impossible to fall asleep. ‘What kind of room appears if you go up to the second floor of the main building through the central staircase at 2:22 am?!’ Hestia was also troubled by the disclosure of The Answering Door.