TRPM 249

chapter 249

After finishing lunch, I put my lunchbox—which had been cleaned with Language Magic—into the pocket dimension and looked at the other kids.

“I’m so full…”
“I can’t move…”

‘… Well, well? Looks like everyone overate.’

The kids in my class hadn’t just eaten their own lunches—they had shared mine too. No wonder they felt too stuffed to move.

On top of that, it wasn’t just me—our teacher had packed a lot, thinking of sharing with the students, so there was even more food to go around.

Ah, of course, I had eaten more than usual as well. But the amount of food in my stomach wasn’t that much. The reason was simple.

‘While eating lunch, I used Language Magic to speed up digestion and absorption.’

Originally, this magic was meant to forcibly supply nutrients to someone who couldn’t consume food directly. I had customized it for my own use. It had been quite useful before my regression.

‘Before I regressed, I never had much time to digest after eating.’

However, this magic is difficult because it directly interferes with the human body and is extremely specialized, so very few magicians learn it. If other magicians knew I used it so casually, they’d probably be shocked at my frivolity—but I’ve been using magic for trivial things for longer than a day or two…

Anyway.

‘The important thing is, thanks to my digestion and absorption magic, I’ve already finished digesting, unlike the other kids.’

The other kids either couldn’t move from where they were sitting or were going outside to walk a bit to help with digestion.

‘… I should go brush my teeth.’

I took my toothbrush and toothpaste out from the pocket dimension and headed to the sink outside the building. There were plenty of students there, brushing their teeth just like me.

‘Ah… that spot’s free.’

I squeezed in among the other students, rinsed my toothbrush, and began brushing. Of course, I didn’t stay at the sink the whole time—there were many students waiting to use it, after all. I only needed water occasionally, so I stepped aside briefly.

“I’m the fastest in first grade, mark my words.”

‘Hm?’

I heard a familiar voice. I turned to see a boy boasting to his friends.

‘Ah, so it’s him.’

This was the boy who had run faster than Kang Garam and Ryu Ah-young in the race earlier. Not that he could compete with second and third graders—he had been eliminated in the preliminaries—but he was still proud of being the fastest among first graders.

“Fastest in first grade? Faster than Geon-woo?”
“Hey! But don’t count Geon-woo! Leave him out of it!”

I chuckled inwardly. He used to clam up whenever my name or Ha-eun’s came up, and now he’s asking me to be left out.

‘… Honestly, even excluding me, he’s not the fastest in first grade.’

As far as I knew, at least three first graders were faster: Elena, Elliot, and Lee Doo-min. Elliot and Lee Doo-min had joined soccer instead of the running race. Elena was playing badminton during the running event. Perhaps there were others who didn’t participate in the race at all. So there was no way this guy was truly the fastest.

‘He probably knows that too…’

I decided to ignore him and returned to the sink to rinse my mouth and clean my toothbrush. His boasting was nothing new. But then…

“Hey! Say that again!”

Something had clearly happened. I put my cleaned toothbrush back into the pocket dimension and headed toward the direction of the voice. Other students nearby were also looking, curious.

“Hmm…! I said no matter how hard you try, you’re slower than me.”
“What the…!”

… And there, I saw the boy from another class I had noticed earlier.

‘Oh no…’

Kang Garam and Ryu Ah-young were facing off. Judging by the toothbrushes and cups in their hands, it seemed they had gone to brush their teeth and collided by chance.

‘Those two didn’t like him to begin with. Losing to him in the race and now seeing him boast must have set them off.’

Kang Garam just glared silently, while Ryu Ah-young was so riled up that she seemed ready to throw a punch. Of course, she didn’t actually swing—throwing a punch here would be like admitting defeat.

‘Besides…’

Ryu Ah-young would probably lose in a direct fight. She’s a Manifested Ability user. Manifested powers aren’t directly useful in combat. Though she trained her body after the “Nut Crusher” incident in middle school, her opponent is a first-grade top-tier Aura user—pure combat-wise, he’s stronger.

Ryu Ah-young knew this, so she couldn’t outright deny him.

“….”

Kang Garam seemed deep in thought, her eyes wary.

‘Why is she acting like that?’

She had been this way even before lunch. Did they know each other? Well, they’re from the same school, so it wouldn’t be strange.

“Garam, why are you acting like that?”

The boy asked her directly. They clearly recognized each other.

“… It’s nothing.”
“Nothing, but why the look? Is it because I once had a higher gym grade than you in middle school?”
“……”

Kang Garam looked away, clearly struck in a sensitive spot.

“Hey, that was ages ago. You’re still sulking? I only scored higher once, and that was after I awakened, while you hadn’t yet.”
“… Jae-ho.”
“Hm?”
“Shut up… it’s embarrassing.”

Kang Garam blushed and clenched her teeth. Ah, his name is Jae-ho. I had forgotten. Jae-ho seemed even more eager to tease her, grinning mischievously.

“No way! Want me to tell everyone about the time you cried looking at your grades because you lost first place in gym? Aaaah?!”
“Die!”

Angered, Kang Garam used a high-powered fire spell.

“Hey, if that hits, you’ll die…! Seriously…!”
“Then die!”
“Ahh?!”

Jae-ho dodged as Kang Garam chased him, her face bright red. I hadn’t expected this side of her—but I also didn’t know her that well. Besides, Jae-ho had asked for it.

‘Besides, she doesn’t seem intent on actually killing him.’

Even with a high-damage spell, she used it at a level Jae-ho could avoid or block. Even if it hit, he could survive if he reacted quickly.

‘The fact that she used such a strong spell is problematic, though.’

A few students had already gone to find a teacher, so Kang Garam would probably face some punishment—likely school service or demerits.

After lunch, the afternoon began. Students headed back to their stands as in the morning, and I lay down on the stand as soon as I arrived.

Lee Doo-min looked at me, puzzled.

“… Lying down right after eating will make you fat, you know.”
“I’m done digesting.”
“Already… I guess you finished it your own way.”

He found my claim ridiculous but acknowledged that I must have had some way to finish digesting. Indeed, I had used Language Magic to do so.

“Can you even watch the soccer game like that?”
“Yeah. I watched it this way in the morning too.”
“I see….”

Sighing, Lee Doo-min moved toward the field for the semifinals. The preliminaries were over, so now it was time for the next match. The finals would follow just before the sports day ended.

‘I hope the kids are okay.’

It wasn’t summer, so the sun wasn’t blazing, but it was still the hottest part of the day. I worried that someone might suffer from the heat—even though they were all Awakened.

As I was worrying…

“Hmm…? Teacher.”
“Hm? What is it, Ha-eun?”
“Garam isn’t here.”
“Ah….”

Other kids, unaware of the situation, looked around. Naturally, Kang Garam wasn’t anywhere nearby. Ryu Ah-young, who knew the situation, awkwardly explained:

“She’s… probably being punished.”
“Punished? For what?”
“Just something like that.”

Ryu Ah-young didn’t explain why. She might enjoy seeing someone’s past mistakes, but apparently, she wasn’t going to expose a friend.

‘… Though she did boldly write Jin Cheon-ha’s past on her class tee.’

Well, I started that first, so maybe that’s on me.

“She’s probably doing leftover and recycling duty now.”

Teacher Son Ji-hye knew what punishment Kang Garam had received. As the homeroom teacher, she would be informed of it. Leftover and recycling duty?

“Because the dorm kids’ lunches left a lot of trash and leftovers today.”
“Ah….”

There were no cafeteria staff today, so someone had to handle the dorm leftovers. Originally, the teachers would have done it, but since someone was getting punished, it fell to Kang Garam.

‘She’s probably not doing it alone.’

I wonder if Kang Garam, from a well-off family, had ever done trash duty before. I hope she’s not crying because of the smell… though imagining her crying is hard.