NOVEL NEXT Chapter 151 - Dropping out.
TN: Thank James Baily.
“…Pregnant?”
I heard someone murmur.
Turning my head towards the source of the voice, everyone turned their heads away as if on cue.
Everyone was pretending they didn’t hear, but…
There’s no way the superhumans didn’t hear Amelia shouting.
They must be forcefully pretending not to know while having heard everything.
No one here was unaware of this fact.
Of course, Siwoo knew this too, so he couldn’t hide his flustered expression.
“Wh-what are you saying…!”
“It’s two lines, two lines! She’s pregnant!”
“N-no, that’s not…”
“What?”
“Why are you saying this here!”
Siwoo hurriedly looked around.
Everyone was turning their heads, pretending not to hear, but…
He must know well that it’s only a matter of time.
“What if rumors spread…”
“Enough.”
Just as Siwoo was about to argue with Amelia, Teacher Claire intervened.
“T-teacher…”
“It seems an unfortunate incident has occurred, so I will take Arte to the hospital for a while. Until then, study on your own.”
“Y-yes!”
“…And, I hope this matter won’t be spread outside. The truth hasn’t been confirmed yet.”
“Understood!”
Teacher Claire looked over the students once and then sighed.
She must know well too.
Such gossip will surely spread even if she tells them not to spread it outside.
It was obvious that the moment she left, instead of studying, they would talk about what just happened for a long time.
Soon, it would spread to all the students in the school.
That Arte Iris is pregnant with Yu Siwoo’s child.
“And, Yu Siwoo.”
“Yes…”
“You too… No. Just wait for a while.”
Claire’s voice was as stern as usual.
If you only heard her voice, it might sound like she was reserving judgment until hearing the results from the hospital, but looking at her face, I was sure no one would say that.
Claire was looking at Siwoo with an expression that said he had caused a major incident.
“Sorry… I shouldn’t have said anything…”
“You, you…!”
Amelia apologized to Siwoo as if she hadn’t thought it would turn out like this.
However, like Claire, Amelia’s face and voice were out of sync.
The corners of her mouth kept twitching as if she had trouble holding back her laughter.
“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?!”
“My, what are you saying… Stop joking. I was just too shocked.”
No one here believed Amelia’s words.
She must have shouted loudly on purpose.
Did she think everyone was convinced of that?
Amelia, who seemed to think there was no need to keep up the act anymore, took off the mask she had been forcibly wearing and curved her lips into a smile.
“… That’s what you get for rubbing it in my face.”
“You, you…!”
“I was getting a bit sick of hearing about your love life on the phone all the time.”
“That’s no reason to do something like this…!”
“Well, yeah… I did try hard to get you two together…”
Amelia grinned.
Like the villain in a cartoon.
“But you guys went too far. You should have considered how I felt listening to you two flirting every day.”
“Grr…”
“Don’t worry. I’ll at least make sure you don’t come off as a trashy rapist. Just… that you loved each other too much.”
“Now, Arte. Follow me for now.”
“Ah, yes…”
I wanted to tell her not to torment Siwoo.
But I was fidgeting, thinking it might backfire if I said that in this situation when Claire took me out of the classroom.
…Hmm, I can’t help but think that if the Author had stayed alive, Amelia would have been the final boss.
It was that kind of scene.
***
“You’re pregnant.”
“I-is that so…”
“It’s not certain yet, but… it’s likely to be a girl.”
Claire tightly closed her eyes.
She must have been holding onto a slight possibility, even though she had expected this.
But even that faint hope was denied, as shown on her face.
“A girl…”
“It’s not certain. If you return in a month, I can tell you for sure.”
At the doctor’s words, I unconsciously rubbed my belly.
To think that Siwoo and my child is inside my body.
It really felt strange.
I had seduced Siwoo like that because I never had a period.
I never thought I’d get pregnant like this.
It’s not that I never imagined having Siwoo’s child someday.
Rather, I was more anxious about whether it would be possible since I never had a period.
…But to be pregnant so quickly.
I was dumbfounded by the result, which was different from the thought that I couldn’t get pregnant because I didn’t have periods.
“Um, Arte. I hate to say this, but…”
“I’m not getting rid of it.”
I cut off the teacher’s words as she was about to carefully suggest something to me.
It’s obvious what teachers would say in this situation.
They’d probably say something like, thinking about the future, wouldn’t it be better to terminate the pregnancy?
“…But, Arte. You need to think carefully. If that’s the case, we’ll have no choice but to recommend you drop out.”
“…”
“You’ve been attending the academy, so you should know it would be hard to endure with a pregnant body.”
I understood well what Claire wanted to say.
Just looking at the curriculum we’ve had so far, anyone would know it’s not easy for a pregnant woman to endure.
Even in the first year, we already had practical experiences like dungeon exploration and sparring.
…Actually, most of the settings were designed by the Author.
That’s why it was obvious that it would get even harder from the second year on.
Now that she is gone, the settings follow logically as long as the Author hasn’t already touched them.
Of course, this year’s curriculum was bound to be tougher than last year’s.
“And, as you know, the academy is… sensitive to issues right now.”
“…I know.”
“Still, are you going to keep it?”
Claire tightly closed her eyes.
She, with her upright personality follows the cliché of an academy novel homeroom teacher.
But behind such a teacher’s appearance, there was a heart that cared for the students like this.
She probably didn’t like the fact that she was forcing such a choice on a student who must already be confused.
Seeing her like that, I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Ahaha…”
“…?”
Seeing Claire’s puzzled expression at my sudden laughter, I laughed again.
I realized once again that this world was really reality.
Because people always show various aspects of themselves.
Amelia, who always helps us as a close friend, sometimes plays tricks on us too.
The always stern Claire bows her head as if apologizing when she has to say something difficult.
I felt that this world was real, seeing such little things that I wouldn’t have paid attention to when the Author was around.
“How do I go about the withdrawal process?”
“…I see, you’ve made up your mind.”
“Of course. What else can I do? I can’t get rid of the proof of our love.”
“Sigh… Why didn’t you at least use protection…”
“Ahaha…”
Where did her stern tone go?
Claire complained to me.
However, I could only laugh off her words.
After all, we never used protection even once.
No, I thought I wouldn’t get pregnant because I didn’t have periods…
“I never imagined I’d be sending off a student for something like this.”
“I-I’m sorry…”
“What are you sorry for? It must have been Siwoo who did this to you.”
That’s not it.
I was the one who seduced him, saying I couldn’t get pregnant, and pounced on him first.
But it wasn’t the atmosphere to say such things, so I kept my mouth shut.
“Yu Siwoo… I’ll be watching you closely for the next two years…”
Ah.
Maybe I should have just said it.
It seems Siwoo has been thoroughly marked by Teacher Claire.
…Well, it’ll work out somehow.
***
Whisper, whisper.
Murmur, murmur.
“Sigh… As expected…”
Teacher Claire sighed.
The students kept talking about something as they watched me move with the teacher to go through the withdrawal process after returning to the academy.
As perhaps expected, it seems the news about Siwoo and me had already spread throughout the academy.
“Those kids, I told them not to say anything… Just you wait…”
…I only feel sorry for the teacher.
Because such a major incident happened on the opening day.
And, another controversy was about to arise.
“A-Arte?! Where are you going now…! Running isn’t good for your body!”
I rushed to Siwoo’s and my classroom.
I didn’t care about the students constantly looking at me and talking about something.
After all, they’re people I won’t see anymore anyway.
But Siwoo isn’t like that.
Pushing through the crowd of students, I entered the classroom that was now full of people and shouted.
“Siwoo!”
“A-Arte?! The result is…”
“It’s true that I’m pregnant!”
“I-I see…”
Murmur, murmur.
The corridor became noisy with the sound of students talking amongst themselves.
At this rate, Siwoo would be branded as a despicable person.
So, I decided to declare proudly.
“Listen up, everyone.”
“…?”
“Siwoo didn’t pounce on me! I pounced on Siwoo!”
…Oops, somehow that sounds even stranger?
Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything?
“Arte…”
“I-I’m sorry.”
“Sigh… Well, this works out. Yu Siwoo, you come along too.”
“A-alright…”
And so, the academy’s opening ceremony became my last day of school attendance.
Translator’s Corner
Hey guys. I mentioned in discord and completely forgot about putting it here. I’m currently travelling abroad, so I’m making chapters when I have time.
Sorry for missing a day.
-Ruminas