Chapter 61: A Hint of Romance!
After that, we carried Lecty and Brown into the school nurse’s office. Both of them were unconscious and laid on the bed, but the school nurse diagnosed that they would wake up soon.
The injuries of the other classmates were treated with the school nurse’s recovery Skill. It seems that her recovery Skill cannot heal severe injuries like fractures, but Lecty had prioritized treating the more seriously injured, which proved to be a wise decision.
Since only lightly injured students remained, the treatment went smoothly, and the school nurse praised Lecty for her efforts. It’s a shame I couldn’t let her hear those compliments directly…
Just as the treatment for our classmates was finishing up, Brown was the first to wake up.
It appeared that Lecty’s treatment was flawless, as he felt no pain or discomfort at all. However, the school nurse advised him to rest a little longer, so when he tried to get up, he sank back into the bed.
The students responsible for the fallen tree apologized to Brown, and he accepted their apologies. After that, our classmates returned to the classroom.
Just moments ago, they had been embroiled in a bloody conflict, but now they were calm, with no signs of arguing. The mock group battle must have served as a good release for their frustrations. Was it all according to Alissa’s plan…?
Remaining in the nurse’s office were me, Rouge, Lily, Idiot, and Ann Traj.
Ann sat in a chair beside Brown’s bed, wiping his forehead with a damp towel.
“Stop it, Miss Traj. I didn’t help you so you could do that,” Brown said.
“Are you trying to make me a disgrace to the Traj family by not repaying my life? Just stay still and let me do this,” Ann replied.
“Ugh…”
Brown averted his gaze, allowing Ann to do as she pleased. The slight flush on his cheeks was probably not just my imagination.
“…Hey, why did you help me? You hate nobles, right?” Ann asked.
“I didn’t want to help you. I didn’t even know who you were at that moment. My body just moved instinctively,” Brown explained.
“I see… You’re kind, Brown.”
“…! That’s enough! Thanks to Lecty, my injuries are healed! I should be heading back to the classroom soon!”
Unable to bear the embarrassment any longer, Brown’s face turned red as he jumped out of bed. He started to leave the nurse’s office but turned back at the last moment.
“Hugh Pnosis. Is Lecty still not awake…?”
“Yeah. But her complexion is gradually improving. She’ll probably wake up soon.”
“I see… I wanted to express my gratitude right away, but…”
“There’s no need to rush. We’re classmates, so you’ll have plenty of opportunities.”
“You’re right… Oh, and I need to thank you too. Thank you, Hugh Pnosis. You were the first to try to help me, right? Your words and actions have awakened me in many ways. While I still have my feelings about nobles, I’ve decided to stop viewing them as enemies just because they are nobles.”
Brown smiled shyly, not wanting to be ungrateful.
He then bowed his head to all of us.
“I’m sorry for causing such a commotion. You all can consider this mock group battle a victory for yourselves. I’ll persuade my classmates to support the leader you choose… Well then, I’ll head back to the classroom first.”
After glancing at Ann, Brown left the nurse’s office. Following him, Ann approached us.
“Brown said most of what I wanted to say, but we will also concede the victory. We will follow the leader you recommend… Lily, I’m sorry for calling you a traitor earlier. If I were in your position, I would have been too heartbroken to stand up and annul the engagement… So, um, the truth is, I…”
“It’s okay, Ann. Thank you. I can feel it even without words,” Lily reassured her.
“…Huh. I’ve always thought this, but are you really the same age as me? You seem so mature; I don’t feel like I’m talking to someone my age.”
“Is that so? I think if we talked more about various things, that impression would change. For example… about love.”
“What? Love? The Lily Puridi!? Tell me more about that!”
Ann seemed incredibly eager to know about Lily’s romantic affairs. After Lily told her, “Later, okay?” Ann insisted, “You have to tell me!” as she returned to the classroom. I hoped I wouldn’t be caught in the crossfire…
With Brown and Ann gone, only the usual members remained in the nurse’s office.
“We should head back to the classroom soon. It’s a bit awkward to just stare at them sleeping, and I’m curious about what’s happening in class,” Lily suggested.
“Yeah—wait!?”
As I agreed with Lily, I was elbowed in the side. It didn’t hurt at all, but what had I said to upset her…?
“It would be sad for Lecty if everyone left, right? Hugh, you should stay and watch over her,” Lily insisted.
“Ah… okay.”
The fact that Lily specifically mentioned me likely meant there was a reason behind it. I had no reason to refuse, so I decided to stay and watch over Lecty until she woke up.
“Then I shall remain here as well!” Idiot declared.
“No, Idiot. You need to gather your followers. They look up to you, after all,” Lily replied.
“Hmph… But what about Lady Lecty…?”
“Right now, you need to think about the class more than Lecty. Thanks to her efforts, our class is starting to come together a bit. We can’t let this opportunity slip away… Or do you intend to waste Lecty’s hard work?”
“Ugh… While I think they might understand my thoughts now, fine, I have no choice. I’ll leave Lady Lecty in your hands, Hugh.”
“Yeah, and you take care of the class.”
I certainly wouldn’t want to go through this kind of brawl repeatedly. If Idiot could gather the students who support Prince Slay during this time, it would be reassuring.
“Then I’ll stay with Hugh—”
“Rouge, wait a moment.”
Rouge, who was about to say she would stay, was called over by Lily and whispered something in her ear. I hoped she wasn’t being fed any strange ideas…
“What? Lecty…?”
“Yes. So, could I ask you to help?”
“Yeah, got it. If that’s the case, I’ll cooperate.”
From what I could overhear, it seemed they were having a normal conversation. Eventually, after nodding at Lily, Rouge smiled at me and said, “Please take care of Lecty,” before leaving the nurse’s office with Lily and Idiot.
What were they talking about? I was a bit curious.
Afterward, the school nurse also left the nurse’s office to make a report, leaving me and Lecty completely alone. Naturally, Lecty, who was sleeping, looked incredibly defenseless.
Her pale blue hair sparkled in the sunlight streaming through the window. Her finely crafted features were beautiful, and I could understand why Idiot described her as angelic. The unhealthy, dirty, and emaciated girl I had first met was nowhere to be seen.
Her beauty was captivating enough to make me want to gaze at her forever.
…No, no, it would be too creepy to just observe her out of boredom. I decided to pass the time by looking around the nurse’s office and picked up a thick book that caught my eye.
“This is the Sacred Scripture of the Divine Gift Church…”
It seemed the school nurse was a devout follower of the Divine Gift Church.
While the Divine Gift Church was also practiced in Pnosis Territory, neither my father nor mother were particularly fervent believers. Therefore, we didn’t have a Sacred Scripture at home, and this was my first time actually holding one.
I might as well read the Sacred Scripture to pass the time until Lecty wakes up.
As I opened the pages, I was surprised to find that there were relatively few words per page. It seemed that this world still lacked movable type printing. Books and newspapers were primarily produced through manuscripts or woodblock printing, so each character was larger. Moreover, the text was deliberately written larger to be easily readable for people of all ages. This meant I could read through it quickly.
The content of the Sacred Scripture began with the creation myth of the One True God, and as I read on, it transitioned into the story of the Holy Maiden, chosen by the God, traveling to help people in various places.
It seemed that the mention of the Holy Maiden was limited to this chapter. The Holy Maiden selflessly helped people in various regions, healing their wounds. From my quick read, there didn’t seem to be any mention of the Holy Maiden Skill.
It appeared to be just a story about a girl with a recovery Skill doing good deeds.
I recalled that the fairy tale included the Holy Maiden Skill. If that was the case, perhaps the fairy tale was inspired by the Sacred Scripture, and no one ever thought it could actually exist, which caused the uproar during the entrance exam.
I thought I would like to read that fairy tale someday as well.
As I read the Sacred Scripture for a while, I noticed that Lecty had woken up without me realizing it.
Author’s Note: Thank you for reading this far! Your hearts, supportive comments, and follows always motivate me to keep writing. I hope you found it at least a little interesting!