The Academy's Terminally Ill Side Character

Chapter 323 323: Back To Academy

The next morning.

On the way back to the academy, Leona spoke to Rin with a strange smirk on her face.

"Hey, Rin."

"Yeah, what's up, Leona?"

"Looks like you didn't sleep well? Why the long face?"

She was pretending not to know.

"…I had a rom-com moment with an incredibly beautiful senior."

"…Oh? Who?"

"I don't know. If I knew, I would've slept well."

"She must've been really beautiful if you're saying that."

"Yeah. I couldn't see her face, but judging by her atmosphere, she must be beautiful."

"R-really? Hehe."

Damn it, you shouldn't be laughing there.

I wasn't some clueless idiot like Ryen.

Ah, man…

It felt a bit unfair that I was the only one suffering from this.

"She was a really, really beautiful senior. Good figure, beautiful voice, elegant—and she had a completely different aura."

"I-It can't be that much… could it?"

"No, my intuition is telling me she must be the most beautiful woman in this world."

"Ah, man, why are you bragging so much about meeting a woman?"

Hah. Are you embarrassed? I win.

"Hey, Rin."

"Yeah?"

"Should I buy you a meal when we get back?"

You weren't planning on hiding it, were you?

"…No, thanks."

"…Why?"

"The food you make is more delicious than the cafeteria food."

"Wow. What a personality. Cooking is really hard, you know."

"Yeah, I know~"

As we were chatting and giggling, the others naturally joined us.

Leona, talking with everyone, looked just like her usual self—

as if the feminine expression from just moments ago had been a complete lie.

---

Ryen watched them from the side of the group, listening to their banter with an expression that tried — and failed — to look normal.

They were walking back toward the academy gates, the morning sun warm and bright, the forest path quiet except for footsteps and conversation.

But every time he glanced at Rin, a faint tremor ran through his chest.

Every time he heard Rin laugh, relief and unease tangled together inside him.

Because no matter how casual Rin acted…

no matter how much he joked with Leon…

no matter how normal the group tried to be…

The image from last night wouldn't leave Ryen alone.

Rin's lifeless body hitting the ground.

That masked stranger holding him like a discarded doll.

The suffocating, impossible aura that no creature — boss monster or human — should have had.

And then…

Rin stood up again.

Just opened his eyes.

Breathing as if nothing had happened.

As if he hadn't been dead.

Ryen kept replaying it like a loop he couldn't stop.

He didn't know what bothered him more —

that Rin had died,

that Rin had gotten back up,

or that none of them could explain how.

He glanced forward at Rin again.

The boy was laughing, shrugging off Leon's teasing like he always did.

Same posture.

Same voice.

Same clumsy smile.

But something was off.

Slight.

Subtle.

Something even Leon didn't catch.

Ryen slowed his steps, falling behind the group, unable to ignore the knot twisting in his chest.

"…Ryen?" Nora looked back. "You okay?"

"Yeah," he lied. "Just tired."

But he couldn't shake the feeling.

Like they weren't walking next to the same Rin as before.

Like something had returned with them —

wearing Rin's face.

He clenched his jaw and forced himself forward.

Whatever happened last night…

whatever that masked monster had done…

whatever Rin wasn't telling them…

Ryen would find out.

Even if he had to drag the truth out of the shadows himself.

---

Few Days Later....

Midterms were over.

Just like that.

It was sudden, abrupt even — but it was over.

It would've been nice if we'd had some kind of study event leading up to it, but since the basic subjects weren't that important, the academy didn't bother. And because the practical exams mostly happened at the end of the semester, there wasn't any group training either. Everyone just scattered the moment exams ended.

"Loser, did you do well on the exams?"

Kiera asked while poking my side with her usual annoying cheerfulness.

"Exam scores are always relative, Kiera. What truly matters is whether you meet the goals you set for yourself — something that can't be measured by scores."

"…Huh? I don't really get what you mean. It's too complicated."

"He's saying he totally bombed them," Leona interpreted flatly before Kiera could ask again.

And she was right.

It had been ages since I'd graduated in my previous life — how was I supposed to be good at basic subjects now? Halfway through the written portion, I honestly wanted to give up entirely.

World History was the worst offender. They threw dimensional collision questions at us—dimensional collision. How was I supposed to solve that? I wrote down the little I remembered from the setting book, but I probably got most of the rest wrong.

"Hehe, so the loser is bad at studying? Should I teach you next time?"

Kiera grinned at me, her face so smug it made something deep inside me itch.

"Well, I think I did pretty well on the other subjects besides the basic ones," I replied.

"If you did well, you did well. What's with the 'I think'?" she asked, tilting her head.

Well… unlike the basic subjects, I simply copied what was written in my friend's setting book for the other exams.

According to every law of academy transmigration stories, that meant they should be correct.

Should.

But there could always be setting deviations, or maybe I misremembered some details.

Who knows.

Either way, it wasn't worth stressing over.

I wasn't trying to be the top student, and wrong answers only meant the setting had started shifting again.

"Still," Kiera said, folding her arms. "Exams are over, so we should celebrate, right? We survived. That alone is worth something."

Leona stretched her arms above her head. "Ugh— I'm just glad I can finally sleep without dreaming about formulas chasing me."

"That's… concerning," I muttered.

"Shut up," she replied instantly.

Professor Lena dismissed the class right after handing out the last instructions for the break, so our group drifted out of the classroom and into the hallway — a hallway suddenly full of relieved students, exhausted moaning, and even some crying.

It honestly felt like the aftermath of a small war.

Kiera leaned closer again.

"So, loser, what are you gonna do now? Since you basically failed everything?"

"First, I didn't fail everything. Probably."

"Probably," she repeated flatly. "That's not helping your case."

"I'm serious," I said. "My practical grades will keep me afloat anyway. I didn't slack there."

Leona snorted. "Yeah, everyone saw you go all try-hard during combat training. You'll be fine. Your book knowledge just sucks."

I sighed.

"Thank you for the support, truly heartwarming."

"Anytime."

But despite their teasing, the weight on my chest slowly eased.

Midterms were really over.

And even though I wasn't confident about half the answers I wrote, it wasn't the end of the world.

I wasn't here to get perfect scores — I was here to survive.

To avoid the events that were supposed to happen.

To rewrite things that shouldn't happen.

---

Author Note:

Thank you for reading the chapter. I hope you continue to do read more in future.