WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Irevi
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 56: What the Hell, You Bitch
──────
The following afternoon, all the first-year students had gathered on the training field for the announcement of the dungeon practicum results.
“Seventeenth place...! That’s pretty good, isn’t it?!”
“Haah... Sixty-second. That’s way lower than I expected.”
“If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve put more effort into my report.”
The rankings were determined by adding each team’s dungeon-clearing score to its report-writing score.
Cecilia and I had received full marks for clearing the dungeon, but a few points had been deducted from our report.
Since we had rushed it at the last minute, we couldn’t exactly expect it to be polished.
So, what had our final result been?
“Just as expected.”
“Of course. Do you know how hard we worked?”
[First Place: Cecilia Ren & Halibal Velder]
[Second Place: Ran Pen & Aren Bright]
.........
......
...
.
Naturally, we had taken first place.
‘So Aren and Ran took second.’
That meant Aren would have taken first if I hadn’t been here.
In the original game, Aren wasn’t good enough to take first place at this point.
I’d even gobbled up all the experience from the Beast Dungeon, so Aren’s growth should have been even slower.
And yet, second place.
Come to think of it, he hadn’t skipped training even once since we started sharing a dorm room.
I rubbed the Sun Shine tucked against my chest.
‘If I don’t want to fall behind, I need to keep working too.’
There was even a team with a higher raw score than ours.
[Third Place: Luna Grace & Senia Ren]
Their combined score was higher than ours.
Their report had received full marks, after all.
Still, they had been pushed down to third because of the penalty they received for their fight at the start of the semester.
If there hadn’t been any trouble, they would have taken first place this time.
There was another unexpected result.
[Seventy-First Place: Mine Rose & Inia Barpen]
‘...Mine didn’t fail? How did that happen?’
Mine should have had dungeon phobia at this point. Yet she had cleared the Human-Faced Spider Dungeon.
‘How?’
When I looked for Mine among the students, she was standing there with a Purple Cloud Herb between her lips, looking as haggard as ever.
‘Has she not been sleeping lately?’
Next came Eugene, Elia, and Richard. As expected, all of them had ranked near the top.
There wasn’t much difference from the original game.
While Cecilia and I checked the results, students gradually began gathering around us.
“Ah! It’s Halibal Velder! Did you come to check the rankings?”
“He already knows he got first. Who’s he trying to fool?”
“Cecilia Ren is here too. Isn’t she supposed to be the next Sword Princess...? Did she surpass Senia Ren?”
“I can’t believe they cleared the second Abyss. Isn’t the gap getting way too big?”
Their gazes were different from before, filled with awe and admiration.
People had already viewed us differently because of the Beast Dungeon and the entrance exam, but clearing the Doll Dungeon had created an entirely different level of attention.
A considerable number of the students gathered here were nobles.
After the incident involving the Church of the Main Gods, I had become someone their factions desperately needed to recruit.
“Sir Halibal! If it’s all right with you, please choose me as your next Follower!”
“Um, I’m Ian. What about choosing me as your next Follower? I ranked ninth in this practicum.”
“Lady Cecilia! How about choosing me as your Follower? I’m confident I can do better than the Funeral Sword!”
Naturally, the same went for Cecilia.
“Even if there were a hundred of you, it wouldn’t work.”
“W-What...!”
She had been in a foul mood ever since entering the training field, apparently because she didn’t like the thought of being separated from me.
Surrounded by all that attention, I sighed inwardly.
Originally, all this interest should have been directed at Aren.
No matter how often I experienced it, I couldn’t get used to the strange feeling of stealing it away.
“Everyone, attention!”
The noisy students fell silent at Instructor Calven’s voice from the platform.
Beside him stood Adeline, Calux, an instructor from the Support Corps, and around ten other instructors.
“I trust you have all checked the results of this dungeon practicum. The teams that took first and second place will be called separately during the award ceremony shortly.”
His gaze briefly rested on Cecilia and me, then Aren and Ran.
With a faint smile, Calven continued.
“Isn’t it funny when you think about it? The moment you enter the academy, you’re forced into teams with strangers and shoved into a dungeon without warning.”
“That’s right!”
“Exactly!”
“I’m sure quite a few of you thought Ruidel Academy’s educational policy was reckless, or felt it simply didn’t suit you.”
I thought so too.
Even looking back on it, it was a ridiculous policy.
“But understand this. You belong to the greatest educational institution in the Empire. If you intend to pierce the Evil God’s heart, dungeon experience is something you will have to gain eventually. It’s easier to think of it as getting the hard part over with early.”
But I knew the reason.
The first practicum had been unfair because it was meant to identify students with talent for the Raid Corps at an early stage.
It was also the academy’s way of giving students unsuited to it a chance to choose another path sooner.
“So, everyone, you did well. There won’t be any more mandatory dungeon practicums after this.”
The students’ expressions visibly brightened at Calven’s words.
Mine’s expression, especially when she heard she wouldn’t have to enter dungeons anymore, shone as brightly as her title of Saintess suggested.
Then a middle-aged female instructor with a gentle appearance stepped forward.
“We did not gather you here today solely to announce the practicum results. We are also here to select Followers for the second Follower class, which begins next week.”
Cecilia’s expression darkened noticeably.
The same was true for Senia and a few other students.
They had realized why all the first-years had been gathered together.
“For reference, you will not choose Followers from your own class this time. You will choose them from one of the other two classes.”
A murmur spread through the students again.
Those who had already decided on their next Followers looked flustered.
The academy hadn’t revealed this rule in advance precisely to prevent such arrangements.
“You will undertake special practicums with your new Followers for the next two months.”
“Two months?!”
“Since a Follower should become the companion you trust most, it is only natural to build teamwork over a long period. The first practicum lasted one month only because it was meant to help you adapt to the system itself.”
The instructor continued explaining the special practicum.
Starting with the second Follower class, students would receive special practicum assignments suited to their talents.
The instructors had likely gained a rough grasp of everyone’s aptitudes through this practicum.
Students without confidence in combat but with talent for gathering information would be tasked with obtaining certain information.
Students talented at crafting would be assigned to make something.
This educational policy existed to ensure fairness for students who were inexperienced at clearing dungeons.
At the mention of second Followers, everyone’s attention naturally turned to Cecilia and me.
Adeline stepped forward.
“For reference, many students will receive assignments other than dungeon clearing. In those cases, forming a Follower partnership with Halibal may not necessarily be the best choice.”
The heated gazes focused on me gradually scattered elsewhere.
I was a valuable pick for assignments that required combat, but my value would differ for anything else.
When I looked at Adeline, she winked.
It seemed Adeline had singled me out on purpose to lessen my burden.
Then Eugene raised a hand.
“What criteria will be used for this Follower selection?”
“It’s the same as before.”
Adeline’s eyes turned toward me again.
“Halibal and Cecilia, who took first place, will be given priority. Since you were each other’s Followers, decide the order between yourselves.”
Cecilia and I looked at one another.
It was time for us to part ways.
⁎⁎⁎
Once the instructors finished their explanation, the award ceremony began right away.
Cecilia and I, along with Aren and Ran, received prizes based on our rankings.
After the ceremony, the students were given free time.
They busily discussed their aptitudes with one another, desperate to find partners suited to their new assignments.
Even amid the commotion, Cecilia couldn’t hide her gloomy expression.
“Students from other classes... I wish at least my sister had been in another class.”
“It can’t be helped. It’s academy policy.”
To be honest, I didn’t feel entirely comfortable about it either.
Even setting aside romantic feelings, it was hard to explain.
It felt like a daughter I’d raised so carefully was becoming independent.
I’d invested quite a lot in her over the past month, after all.
Many students came over to pitch themselves to us, but I sent them away as tactfully as I could and stayed by Cecilia’s side.
Once free time ended, Cecilia and I returned to the platform.
We had agreed that Cecilia would make her choice first, then I would make mine.
“I choose Aren Bright.”
At Aren’s name, they looked up at the platform with a stiff expression.
Was there something Aren didn’t like?
It was strange to see such a rigid reaction despite being chosen by Cecilia, who had taken first place.
“What will you do, Aren?”
“...Ah... I...”
“You may refuse if you wish. That rule still applies.”
“...No. I accept.”
As expected, Aren accepted Cecilia’s offer to become Follower partners. Aren wasn’t the type to refuse something like that in the first place.
I was the one who suggested that Cecilia choose Aren.
Cecilia wouldn’t want to choose anyone anyway, so I had suggested the most reasonable, efficient, and safe option.
In the original game, Aren and Cecilia had been a combination with the best synergy. Aren had taken second place in this practicum with Ran. There was no reason not to choose Aren.
Though what Cecilia liked most seemed to be that Aren shared a room with me.
She was probably planning to use their assignment as an excuse to come and go from our room.
‘It still feels strangely bitter.’
Of course, Aren would do well.
He was an alpha male, so he would be good at catering to Cecilia, and he probably wouldn’t have any reason to fight.
Still, what if Cecilia’s attention drifted away from me because of that?
It felt as if the part of me that did not care if she left and the part of me that was sad to see her go existed together in my heart.
‘Well, what can I do?’
I decided to shake it off.
I could make her my party member again in two months.
I’d deal with it then.
“And what about Halibal?”
“I...”
I scanned the area beneath the platform.
Countless students were looking at me, including Eugene and Ran, who were openly promoting themselves.
Ran was out because our roles overlapped.
Eugene was a candidate, at least.
Aegis had some powerful defensive buffs.
The old me might have chosen Eugene simply because I wanted to hurt less.
But this dungeon clear had changed my mindset a little.
“...I choose Mine Rose.”
I needed a healer.
Someone who could pull me back from death’s door no matter how badly I got beaten.
Someone who would let me conserve Renee’s effect as much as possible.
The strongest healer in all of Academy of the End, incomparable even to Cecilia’s Lumen.
⁎⁎⁎
While the students busily chose their new Followers, Cecilia approached her new Follower, Aren.
“Lady Cecilia.”
“We’re fellow students. You can speak casually. It’s not like we’re meeting for the first time, right?”
“Then I will. I look forward to working with you for the next two months.”
Cecilia had chosen Aren at Halibal’s suggestion, but she actually knew very little about Aren.
She knew Aren was a fairly easygoing student whom she had briefly sparred with at the training ground, and that Aren wielded the famous Ultimate Divine Sword.
She had never taken any interest beyond that.
‘Still, I need to get somewhat close to Aren if I want to visit the room comfortably.’
With ulterior motives in mind, Cecilia carefully looked Aren over.
Aren was slightly shorter than her and had a slender build.
Their voice was a little husky, but Aren’s overall appearance was closer to that of a pretty girl than a pretty boy.
They had long eyelashes and flawless skin.
‘From a distance, I’d believe Aren was a girl.’
Thinking that, Cecilia held out her hand to Aren.
“I just hope you won’t hold me back, at least.”
“Haha. I don’t know if I can do as well as Halibal, but I’ll do my best.”
“I wasn’t expecting that much anyway.”
Aren smiled and took Cecilia’s hand.
‘?’
A small question mark appeared in Cecilia’s mind.
Something was strange.
Beneath the calluses, Cecilia could faintly feel soft skin and the slender, delicate bones that formed Aren’s hand.
This couldn’t possibly be a man’s hand.
If anything, it resembled her own.
The image of Aren that she had examined just moments ago flashed through her mind.
‘An appearance closer to a pretty girl.’
‘A slightly high, husky voice.’
‘A smaller build than mine.’
“Feel free to come visit the room anytime. You’ll need the dorm supervisor’s permission, though.”
The moment Aren spoke, Cecilia’s eyes trembled wildly like aspen leaves.
‘???’
Her mind went blank as countless questions multiplied beyond control.
No way. No, that couldn’t be possible.
But what if, what if it was?
“By the way, there was something I wanted to ask Halibal... Honestly, it’s a little awkward. Would it be all right to ask you instead, since you were his Follower...?”
‘?????’
Seeing Aren shyly scratch their cheek, Cecilia’s suspicion became certainty.
Her wavering gaze settled into coldness.
‘What the hell, you bitch.’
Footnotes:
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