11. A Curse To Someone (4)

The moment the desire to simply rest took hold of my entire body, the world's colors all blurred into grey.

I couldn't tell whether the leaves on the trees stretching high into the sky were grey, green, or blue.

Had the concept of color ever existed to begin with?

I couldn't even tell if I myself was still alive.

When I'd possessed this body, I'd seen myself flailing in a sea of countless data streams—could a person like that really be called human?

Whatever the case, anyone could have seen that my life had gone completely to ruin.

Five NPCs gunning for me.

And on top of that, a ten-level reward for whoever managed to kill me.

It would've been wonderful if all of that applied in reverse, but there was no chance of that happening.

"…Don't think about it."

The thought crossed my mind that I might as well head back to the academy.

It wasn't as though I'd been expelled or formally dismissed.

Maybe I could just quietly enjoy student life there.

There's a saying that if you want to hide a person, you hide them in a city, not a forest—so if I slipped back in there, it seemed like no one would be able to find me.

Showing my face at the academy would probably shock the people who thought I was dead, but I figured I'd cobble together some excuse about being revived through resurrection magic.

If that didn't work, well… I'd have to go find Erin.

Whether I got tortured there or had my limbs cut off. Living alongside a woman who quietly tended to my needs didn't sound so bad.

The longer my thoughts kept unspooling, the more the puzzle pieces in my head crumpled and smoldered against each other, until at some point my thinking simply stopped.

I understood now why those whose hearts had broken in the Melting world became the walking dead.

When you give up on being alive, your movements become this grotesque.

I couldn't properly remember how to walk, and sometimes the world looked as though it had flipped upside down.

『St. Liberta Academy』

"…Oh."

When I came back to my senses, I'd already arrived at the academy.

'…So the academy's name was St. Liberta, not Abandoned.'

Carrying that useless piece of knowledge, I trudged toward the main gate.

"Hmm…? Who's coming during class hours… Huh?! Isn't that Dean!"

The guard posted at the gate seemed to recognize my face and rushed over in a fluster.

"The academy was sure you were dead, Dean…."

"As you can plainly see, I'm alive. Now let me through."

The large guard grabbed my shoulders and shook them, so I answered with a frown—at which point he released his grip and cleared his throat.

Having a face that looks genuinely villainous does come in handy sometimes.

"Wait—! You've already been removed from the school registry. You can't enter!"

"Move."

If I'd been removed due to death, that could simply be corrected.

A prestigious academy like this couldn't possibly lack a system for that.

I shoved the guard's shoulder aside and walked into the academy grounds.

He was a big man, yet he stumbled back so easily—he was probably a lower level than me at ten.

I had no idea how much time had passed, but the academy was brimming with life, as though it were impossible to believe anyone had been killed here.

Students laughing and chatting with each other, couples walking hand in hand with shy smiles.

I could even see some idle-looking male students sprawled out on picnic blankets in the courtyard.

When someone who was anything but peaceful passed through that peaceful space, gazes naturally drifted toward them.