I Became the Academy’s Pink Airhead

We were returning to school after picking up an alley cat wearing a tattered uniform. After hesitating for a while, she finally decided to hitch a ride in our vehicle.

“…”

“…”

“…”

I glanced sideways at the cowed Freya.

The dirty and smelly alley cat, befitting a [Unique Ether] ability user, tried to gauge the distance as soon as she saw me. Unfortunately, this time my ether tank was really completely empty so there was nothing to hide.

“…!”

The empty ether inside my body.

Freya was startled seeing that.

She wiggles her ears and breaks out in cold sweat.

“Ugh… Of all people, to a pink ru-ruffian… And awkwardly at that…”

And she sat in a dejected posture in the corner of the vehicle, averting her eyes as if she had touched on an unpleasant topic. That timid disposition unbecoming of her arrogance seemed to remain the same.

I looked at Freya’s drooping purple cat ears.

“…”

“How da-dare you l-look… You, you ruffian…”

Honestly, they were ugly cat ears.

No matter how much I try to sanitize it through the pretty filter, it doesn’t work.

Freya’s cat ears weren’t plump and curled in like a Scottish Fold, but looked like they were drooping with fur falling out as if soaked in water. Though Freya’s own appearance was quite beautiful, her cat ears were really ugly.

‘These cat ears really aren’t my type.’

I looked at those creatively ugly cat ears with pitying eyes.

What came to mind was our arrogant and aggressive first meeting.

But even if it’s a dirty, smelly cat that seems like it might pee anywhere. Even if it’s one of the five strongest in the academy city, it’s not right to leave someone who asked for help in the middle of the wilderness.

I nodded and mulled over a thought that suddenly occurred to me.

‘Freya… With her passion for magic studies, and having the ugliest cat ears among cat beastkin. She’s like Pang Tong.’

The meeting of Sleeping Dragon and Phoenix Chick.

If this creatively ugly-eared cat beastkin is Phoenix Chick, does Sleeping Dragon refer to this pink Zhuge Liang?

Even with future knowledge being unstable now, the fact that the academy city is showing such a stable appearance must be thanks to my intelligence and strategies.

‘Compared to my strategies that even prevented ’s sudden actions, magic studies may be a slightly less practical discipline, but. Freya is still one of the few practical magic ether ability users in the academy city.’

For Freya to be called a genius of magic studies through her own abilities alone in ruled by noble children… She should be able to match my practical and clever mind.

This too is fate.

I became deeply moved inwardly about this sudden meeting of Sleeping Dragon and Phoenix Chick.

Anyway…

We ended up picking up a stray cat.

“…”

“…”

“…”

The returning vehicle was filled with only silence.

Maya, as always, didn’t ask because she wasn’t particularly interested. I also kept my mouth shut since I wasn’t actually very close with Freya.

Rustle

Rustle

Freya seemed uncomfortable with the silence and kept fidgeting while glancing around.

‘Ah… I guess she’s uncomfortable being with unfamiliar people.’

My thinking was short-sighted.

Of course it would be uncomfortable with unfamiliar people around.

I needed to quickly become friendly so Freya wouldn’t be uncomfortable.

The best way is to get to know each other and become close.

‘I won’t repeat the mistake of regretting not talking with Hilde.’

I spoke while looking at the rustling alley cat in the back seat:

“Hey, hey―☆ Why was our pissing cat traveling alone in the wilderness? Could it be you left school and were wandering alone? Wow how romantic☆ There should be quite a distance from here to ♪ Huhu, how far were you planning to run away? Oh, is it a secret~☆ Still, tell me! We’re not strangers, but friends meeting after a long time―☆”

“D-Don’t call me pissing cat…! What’s that! And… that… uh, um… It’s not running away… I mean… Wh-What are you acting friendly for… We’re not even friends yet…”

“Okay I’m sorry ahaha―☆ But saying ‘W-W-W-We’re not even friends yet…!’ is so funny♪ Could it be you’re the type to treat relationships really specially? I see~ Yes♪ As expected of a girl leaving on a solo runaway, you’re the romantic type~ Freya looks like a clear INFP to me―♪ Right, right? Yes~ That’s right―☆ Hahaha, anyway I want to know the reason you left so tell me―♪”

“Wh-When did I… st-st-st… stutter like that…!”

Haa-hoo

Haa-hoo

Freya made a tearful face and suddenly started trembling and breathing heavily. And the color rapidly drained from her dirty face.

I felt very sorry seeing that.

‘Ah… The ice hasn’t been broken yet. I want to become friends…’

So just as I was about to say something more.

Maya’s warm hand touched my knee.

“…?”

I looked at Maya with puzzled eyes.

Maya was shaking her head with a gloomy face.

Uncharacteristically, her eyes were full of sympathy.

“Stop… poking. The other person is an introvert. She’s already dead.”

“Oh my―♪”

When I was trying to understand those words.

“Ugh… sob…”

A quiet sobbing sound was heard from the back seat.

Freya was crying with her face scrunched up full of grime.

Even for someone I didn’t know well, seeing her cry so bitterly made my heart ache.

‘Could she be hurting somewhere? Even [Unique Ether] ability users feel pain when they’re hurt…’

Worried, I turned around and said:

“Why is our alley cat crying―☆ Ah, could it be you’re hungry? Or… m-maybe… if you need to go, we can stop for a bit so don’t hold back―♪”

“Sob… hu-huaaaaang…!”

“Oh my―☆”

Freya crying bitterly with her mouth wide open.

I could only watch in bewilderment.

“Haah… This is why… extroverts are…”

Maya shook her head seeing that sight.

* * *

Back at school.

We gathered in the student council room to talk for a bit.

Alvit and Kara were absent, having gone out on errands to the shopping district.

“Ah…!”

Rota was shocked as soon as she saw the dirty Freya. But that wasn’t an emotion of fear that the alley cat would take her place.

What was contained in her two orange eyes was respect.

Rota who still researches by poring over books every night.

For her, [Purple Spinning Wheel] was no different from a role model.

‘Since Freya is a self-made genius type who’s rarely not from a noble background at …’

I had some guesses as to why she was abandoned on the roadside, but I wanted to hear the exact reason since the timing of abandonment was too early.

Rota spoke in a trembling voice with her two cat ears perked up:

“Th-The sage of the magic school―?! Why is [Purple Spinning Wheel] here?!”

“Ugh… Wh-What are you… Looking at your ears… Are y-you also from …”

“Eh? Ah… No. I dropped out.”

“I-I see… Well… If you have a-ability, it’s… enough even if you don’t attend… A-Anyway, among the 2nd years, most of them are… i-idiots who… can’t even understand left by [Golden Witch]…”

Freya spoke while rubbing her tear-stained face. With snot droplets hanging from her nose like icicles, her face covered in dirt and dust looked ridiculous. But pride was evident on that face.

I let out a dry laugh hearing those words.

‘You’re the only one who fully understood that in 1st year… And even those who said they understood half in 2nd year were treated as strong characters in the game.’

For reference, the magic book left by [Golden Witch]… is divided into five magics. In the game, it was the skill responsible for basic attacks of mage-type characters, and Freya was the only character who mastered all five.

‘To think it’s impossible to just use it as your heart dictates…’

This is why I felt sorry for magic users.

Though children with magic-firing type skills may have decent firepower and versatility, don’t they ultimately have to learn twice as much as others?

Just imagining it made my head hurt.

‘Heroes shouldn’t be studying and such…’

Contrary to my thoughts, Rota spoke shyly, bowing her head slightly:

“I still… only understand the first magic.”

“Hmm… I-Is that so. Well… I don’t understand but… Th-There are such slow people, they say.”

“It’s just, somehow doesn’t seem to be using magic as is… Um… That bothered me so I modified it in my own way when using it, but that doesn’t make sense…”

“…!”

Gradually diminishing confidence and voice.

But hearing those words, Freya’s eyes opened wide.

Twitch

Her drooping ugly cat ears also perked up.

The sight of cat ears moving that looked like a barren mountain in drought.

Freya approached Rota in that state and said:

“P-Perhaps… Other than that… M-More… things you understood… Tell me, kiddo…”

“Huh? Ah… Well.”

Rota moved her short arms, talking about in movements like dancing. Though it should have been a series of academic and theoretical talk, somehow words like emotion and fairy tale appeared frequently.

Even I, a complete outsider, could tell it was quite an unorthodox interpretation.

But Freya didn’t interrupt and quietly listened.

“…”

I was watching that proudly.

Seeing that, Maya came to my side and asked, tilting her head:

“Did you understand that? I also learned a bit of as general education, but this is the first time I’ve heard such a full-fledged discussion…”

“Don’t know, don’t know―☆”

“Then why are you looking with such proud eyes?”

“Because our Rota is cute―♪”

“…”

Maya looked at me with rude eyes.

Don’t know.

She’s just cute, what do you want me to do about it?

Creak

And as the student council room door opened.

Alvit and Kara entered wearing tracksuits.

“We’re back―?!”

“We’re back… But it smells like the stables I smelled when I was young in the student council room.”

Alvit turned towards the source of the smell while holding her nose. Then Freya flinched in surprise at that sharp gaze and looked back.

“Wh-What… How rude…”

“…”

Alvit approached me. And trying to be considerate of the other person, she whispered while holding her nose:

“Senior…! Who on earth is that person to come in looking like that―?! No, what’s with this stench like water used to wash a toilet…!”

“An alley cat―♪”

“I have no particular rebuttal. This is really too much…”

Alvit turned back to Freya and said with a smile:

“Um… You can use our school’s washroom if you’d like… Would you like to use it?”

“…”

Since Freya was a [Unique Ether] ability user, she could hear all of Alvit’s disparaging remarks. She soon bowed her head and started trembling.

At that moment, an irritating sound was heard.

Creak―

As we turned towards that direction.

Rota looked this way with an awkward expression while in the middle of opening the window and said:

“Ah… Um… The air felt stuffy so I thought I’d ventilate… Haha…”

Rota had tried to be considerate in her own way so Freya wouldn’t feel embarrassed.

“…Sob.”

But that consideration seemed to hurt Freya. She finally burst into tears.