NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 33
“It’s all healed now. Just a tiny crack in the bone. You can put some pressure on it, but be careful not to hurt it again, or it might get worse.”
The aching arm felt as good as new the moment Maria healed me, like a bad dream that just faded away.
Seeing this makes me really envy those with regenerative abilities.
Since there’s no healing ability user among the Liberators, I briefly considered kidnapping one on the day we put our plans into action.
I wasn’t serious about it, though. Maria is a heroine after all.
I was just a bit bummed to find the organization lacking a worthy healing ability user.
After checking my arm and wrist to make sure nothing was out of place, I thanked Maria for fixing me up.
“Helping injured people is my joy, you know. But by the way, Blanca, how in the world did you get hurt?”
Worried, as if I’d fought someone or encountered a villain, I answered Maria.
“I just jumped down five steps and twisted my ankle, smacking my arm against the wall.”
“Ah… I see…? Please be more careful in the future. Even if Ains have great balance, their bones aren’t indestructible.”
Maria seemed momentarily stunned by my answer, then advised me not to be reckless.
There wasn’t really a need to lie, but deceiving others can be quite entertaining.
By the way, Maria is such a racist. It’s quite sad.
Sure, cat Ains do have great balance, but not everyone is like that.
Still, given how I just tricked her, I couldn’t very well hiss at the person who just healed me.
I smiled naturally and promised I would be careful before heading back to my spot.
“Wait, where did you get hurt…?”
“It’s embarrassing to say I got hurt. I just have a little scratch. It’s nothing, really.”
Noticing the concern on Lapiz’s face, I played it down, spending the afternoon until class started.
I exchanged some totally unproductive chatter with Yeonhwa, asking if she felt better, and idly chatted a bit.
Staring out of the window, I felt compelled to observe random people since class was so boring.
I recounted to Ageha the conversation we had in the weekend limousine, asking if she’d like to hit the department store.
And when Minho was trying so hard to communicate with the Visionary heroine and ended up taking notes, I couldn’t help but snicker.
As we were in the middle of a break for 3rd period, unexpectedly, someone approached me during a discussion with Ageha about the ranking of abilities.
“There’s no superior or inferior ability. It just depends on whether it’s easy or hard to use. That’s the difference.”
“You’re Seolhwa… right? That’s pretty spot on. But, do you have something to discuss?”
“I have something to tell Blanca. Can you wait a moment? It won’t take long.”
Ageha hesitated at Seolhwa’s bold and straightforward attitude, but eventually relinquished her spot, saying not to take too long.
Relinquishing felt odd, as if I were being treated like property, but they weren’t bad enough to think like that.
Besides, I realized I was being overly sensitive.
After spending some time at the Academy, I noticed that while the kids might make careless comments about race, they didn’t do it with malicious intent.
Unlike the humans from the outskirts or the trash of the alleys, these people were sincere.
It’s hard to say whether it was because of their wealth or due to good upbringing.
“So… what were you going to say?”
“It’s about the department store. Blanca, you’re pretty big. I’m worried if they will have clothes that fit.”
Seolhwa started tapping her fingers together as she spoke.
“…No way, they won’t have anything for me?”
I was momentarily speechless at what Seolhwa had said.
No matter how big I am, that’s just too much worrying.
There are plenty of people bigger than me… well, not too many, but they exist.
Where do those people get their clothes?
But out of nowhere, I heard a reply.
“…That might be true, Miss Blanca. When I lived at my family home, I didn’t have any clothes that fit, so I had to get them custom-made.”
“Ageha…?”
It looks like Ageha had been on the same wavelength. Even if we broadened the standards to adults, she wouldn’t fall short.
But she wasn’t big enough to be uncomfortable, just the right size. Did she really have to get custom clothes too?
“Ageha said that. But Blanca, you’re taller than Ageha. Even I, who isn’t as good as Ageha, have experienced that before. I really liked a pretty dress, but the size didn’t fit, and it was a hassle.”
Did that scene… really happen?
Certainly, there was a part in the main story where Seolhwa bought clothes that were a bit too small, revealing her body lines.
But the story was somehow veering off into an odd direction.
“Seolhwa? And Ageha? What in the world were you discussing here?”
“Ah, Yeonhwa! We were talking about the department store. Do you want to join?”
“Sure! Sure!”
Yeonhwa seemed pleased to know what we were talking about.
But after hearing everything, her enthusiasm waned, leaving her with a very dry expression.
“Ah, I see. Because of the chest, clothes don’t fit… that kind of story…”
“Doesn’t apply to you, Yeonhwa.”
“…You didn’t have to say that, Seolhwa!”
Yeonhwa gave a shiver with a strangely eerie smile while subtly pressing Seolhwa.
“Ahem. Anyway, I get the gist of it. It could be troublesome if the department store clothes don’t fit… that’s it?”
“Yes, that’s right, Miss Yeonhwa. So how about we check out a clothing specialty store?”
“Yeonhwa, that’s scary.”
A clothing specialty store.
Huh.
What exactly do they do there?
I’d never gone near one, so I had no idea what they were about.
Is it like the Dongdaemun clothing market or something?
But the term ‘specialty store’ sounded a bit unsettling.
Usually, places with that kind of name ended up being money guzzlers.
I wasn’t struggling for cash, but the thought of dumping so much money on just one piece of clothing bugged me.
Clothes are things you wear for a bit and toss aside, right?
“Well, I’ll go wherever you guys want, but… isn’t it a bit excessive? Do we really need to go to a specialty store just to buy one outfit?”
As I said that, both Yeonhwa and Ageha looked at me in shock.
“Blanca…”
Yeonhwa looked at me pityingly, seemingly thinking I was just coming to some realization on my own while Ageha crossed her arms, saying I shocked her.
“Honestly, you’re impossible! I’ll pay, so let’s go. How would you act if someone tried to take you seriously like this!”
It seems I really bruised her pride.
No way, what do clothes have to do with pride?
As I was about to ask that, Ageha cut me off before I could even open my mouth.
“Ah, it’s not worth hearing. Just let’s go! Don’t worry about the money! I’ll treat you!”
“Rich girl. I’m envious.”
Ageha seemed determined to take me along.
If it’s free, sure, why not?
The process aside, it would save me money in the end, so I smiled and thanked Ageha.
“N-no need for thanks… Ah, no! You should definitely thank me! I’ll show you what class really means this time!”
In a flash, Ageha’s face turned red, and when she regained her composure, she acted all hoity-toity, telling me to thank her.
Since I couldn’t win against brute strength, she probably wanted to emerge victorious culturally.
Let them have their fun.
Before long, the school bell rang, signaling the start of class, so we couldn’t continue, but I didn’t feel it was needed.
Continuing would probably just give me a headache.
– * * * * * –
In the afternoon, just before starting self-training in the stadium, Justitia gathered us all to share some important announcements.
It was regarding our experiential learning.
I peeked over at Blanca, wondering if I might find out her affiliation, but she seemed to give no real reaction.
The announcements were nothing special.
Tomorrow, we’d be going outside the academy to closely observe how heroes conduct their work, and the name of the hero who would lead the students on-site would be Gazer.
And we were to arrive at the academy’s parking lot by 8:30, so we needed to get up a bit earlier to make it.
That was all there was to it.
“It’s exciting to see how a ranked hero works, but… having a homeroom teacher? Feels kinda weird…”
“You dimwit, you should be grateful you’re not in a complaint. You’re just grasping at straws here.”
Students reacted differently, but Blanca seemed oddly unfazed.
She had such a bland expression that I couldn’t even guess what was on her mind.
Perhaps we should assume she had no idea about the impending villain attack.
For now, we’ll act as if we didn’t know anything.
Justitia wrapped up her announcement, telling the students to feel free to engage in activities.
I felt a bit dazed when I learned from Seolhwa that we’ll be heading to a clothing specialty store instead of the department store, but since they’re somewhat similar, it wasn’t worth lingering on.
“Blanca, have you figured out what you might do about what Meilin-senpai said?”
I approached the relaxed Blanca, napping on the grass, and casually asked her a question.
“Oh, uh? Ah, no. Not at all.”
Blanca woke up instantly and answered my question.
“You too, huh? Senpai is really thoughtless. It’s not that easy to improve one’s abilities.”
“Since she’s someone else, isn’t it easier for her to say it? She admitted it when she spoke to Lucia.”
Blanca instantly perked up with a big grin, joining me in dissing the senpai.
“That might be it. Maybe I chose the wrong club… But more importantly, Blanca, have any villains been lurking near you since the attack?”
With the flow established, it’s time to poke around a little.