Chapter 15

The next month went in a blink of an eye. I spent my mornings training with Elerina. As she said, the tough, painful exercises started getting easier day by day. It's still tough, especially thanks to my slacking-off for years, but at least I could now jog two hours without suffering. At first, I could only do five push-ups before collapsing. Now, I could do at least thirty. It was still painful, especially since I did all those exercise after my morning run, but I felt much better.

The best thing is, Elerina would give me a kiss as a reward everyday after that routine. It refreshed me for the day. During that month, we got to know each other even more. I told her about my world, Elerina told her about hers.

It was another normal day. The last two weeks, I didn't have to attend university because of midterms. All of my midterms were take-home tests, so I don't need to worry. Today would be the first day I returned to university. I had already taken two days off for every class, and the maximum is three. Any more and I would fall behind and risk not being able to do the finals.

“Alright, I’m off.”

Elerina returned a nod. I set off toward university. I walked there, an umbrella in my arm, a change of clothes in my backpack. The reason I didn't use transportation is that Elerina set off to her quests at the same time as me. If we're both in transportation, and something forced us to move, it would be difficult.

Hence why, we made some adjustments. During class, Elerina would move as much as she needed to, since I wouldn't. Between classes, or in classes where I need to move, then Elerina would find a spot to hide. She carried all the equipment like the action camera, powerbank, phone, and even the drone in a backpack I bought for her. It's impressive seeing she fought with the backpack, but she did have that leather bag earlier.

If needed, I would run to the toilet and receive the equipment from her. Now, I just hope that our arrangements work.

“Still, walking to university. You don't strike me as someone that would do that.”

I clenched my fist and remained silent as I passed another pedestrian. Once far enough, I opened my hand and said, “Well, someone came in and flipped my life upside down.”

“And I take pride in that.” Elerina whispered. She glanced away from me. Her expression straightened and she clenched her fist. We traveled in silence after that. I walked on the sidewalk and she sat on a carriage.

I could speak, since she could still hear me, but there's a comfortable silence between us. Just being there with her made me happy, even if we're worlds apart.

Due to the sheer amount of time the carriage ride took, I arrived at class first. I took up my regular spot. Our university didn't have seating arrangements, but there's an unwritten rule on who occupied which seat. In the two weeks I had been absent, that rule didn't change.

“Finally, it's been a while.” Frederick greeted. There were only three people in class when I arrived. Frederick sat on the second row, while two other girls sat at the rear. Hearing him, the two girls looked toward me.

“Oh, Nicho, where have you been?”

“You're the last person I expected to go missing for two weeks.”

I scratched my hair. “Yeah, a lot of things happened.”

“Like what?” Frederick asked. I put my bag down on the table next to him. He leaned forward, keen on getting in on the gossip. The two girls, who I'm not too close with, were also interested. Mainly because this is me we're talking about, someone with a perfect attendance record throughout my university life.

“Secret.”

“Eh, come on. Tell me.”

“Promise you won't laugh?”

“Promise.”

“The truth is- heh, you really think I'll fall for that?”

I watched enough anime to know where this is heading. The second I began explaining, they would think I'm crazy!

“Come on, tell us!” One of the girls chimed in.

“Nope, nu uh.” I shook my head and turned toward the whiteboard. I noticed Elerina staring at me. I gave her a wink, and she chuckled. She shut her lips almost immediately, probably realizing that she had just drawn attention from the other passengers in her carriage.

I watched as she pretended to be looking toward the floor, her cheeks reddening.

She's so adorable-

“What are you looking at?”

I tensed up.

“Nothing.”

Frederick peered into me. I averted my gaze.

“Did you get a girlfriend?”

“... No…?”

I wasn't lying… But my response clearly doesn't convince him. Instead, it made him even more suspicious.

“... A wife?”

The two girls in the back didn't react when Frederick said girlfriend, but they began murmuring when they heard the word ‘wife’.

“What even gives you that idea?”

Under normal circumstances, the mere idea would be absurd, but the situation I’m in is by no means normal.

“You're acting mighty suspicious right now.”

“I'm acting like I always do.”

“Also… aren't you more fit?”

Oh dear… Had I changed that much? When I look in the mirror, I do look a bit more fit, but not distinguishable when wearing clothes.

“Just what were you doing this month?”

“Look, I can't explain it, alright? I just can't.”

Luckily, before he could ask anything more, the professor entered the class. He looked displeased with the fact that there were only four people in class, but there were still five minutes on the clock.

While we could still talk with each other, we chose a more conventional topic when he's here. The professor also asked me about my disappearances, but I only replied with ‘private matters’. He warned me but didn't dig any farther. Students started filling the class, some surprises with my return, and class soon began.