Ch. 39 - This isn't right, I said!

I tried to sneak over the wall to leave the academy, but I felt a gaze on me. Turning around, I saw a boy standing still.Why is he here at this hour?

Curious, I asked him and started chatting. He turned out to be an ordinary bully—there are kids like him everywhere.

The boy looked annoyed that I was bothering him.

"So what? I'm going to have a drink later, so either join me or get lost."

He gestured for me to go away, but the mention of alcohol made me excited.

Has he been stashing alcohol in the academy? If I get some, can't I drink for free?

This is an opportunity. I won't have to sneak out of the academy, and it won't cost me anything. My new best friend was right in front of me.

I've heard that you should make lots of friends in school. Even though I graduated without a single friend, the more friends you have, the better. If you make enough friends, one of them is bound to be a bully.

Isn't that what friends are for?

"Do you have beer too?"

I was more in the mood for beer than soju, so I asked discreetly if he had any. The boy took a step back.

I don't know why, but he seemed nervous.

"...I do, but I only have enough for me."

"Hmm, really?"

So, he was planning to drink alone from the start?

Sneaking alcohol to drink alone in the academy—this guy is weird.

I don't really care if students drink and smoke. In a few years, he'll be an adult. No one will care how many cigarettes he smokes or how much alcohol he drinks.

They're just starting a little earlier than everyone else, like in high school.

But don't delinquents usually drink together with their friends? What is he doing in the academy, drinking alone? He shouldn't have started this habit already.

I'm really worried about his future. Sᴇaʀch* Thᴇ ɴovᴇlꜰirᴇ.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

"There's no one else to drink with, it seems? There's no one here but you. Are you drinking alone?"

"...What's wrong with that? More than that, why are you asking? Are you going to drink too?"

"Yeah. I was just about to buy some."

The boy looked at me with a blank stare when I admitted it.

It would look bad on me if word got out that a transfer student snuck out of the academy to drink, but it doesn't matter.

I'm not saying that I'm okay with the rumors, just because I'll be leaving anyway. It's just that he didn't seem like the kind of guy who would start a rumor.

I could tell right away that this guy isn't one of those who hangs around with a bunch of bad friends. He's just a lone wolf who wandered off at an early age.

He doesn't seem to have any friends to gossip with anyway.

He seemed like a guy who would show up to a drinking party about two bottles in.

"That's too bad; I was going to ask if you had any extra beer to share."

"You look like a good student, but you're pretty wild too, aren't you?"

"It's a secret from the other kids, okay?"

I smirked and placed my index finger at the corner of my mouth, deciding to play the delinquent, just like him.

If I can get to know him a little while I'm here, maybe I can get free drinks next time.

Yay!, Baek Shin-Hwa. I've found the golden goblin!

"My name is Lee Hye-Yung, and I just transferred to the second class of third grade. What about you? What grade are you in?"

"I-I'm......"

When I asked his name, he stammered and didn't say anything.

What's wrong with him? Oh, perhaps he's not in the third grade?

He must've thought I was the same age as him or younger, but when he realized I was a senior, he must have thought, 'So I've been talking casually to a senior?'

Maybe he's a bully, but he didn't forget his manners.

"If you don't want to talk, you don't have to. But can I ask you a favor?"

"W-what?"

"Next time you run into me, if you have a lot of alcohol, share it with me."

"...Huh?"

"It's always nice to have a drinking buddy, don't you think?"

Two is always better than one. It's better to drink together than alone.

You might ask if it's right to take booze from a student instead of stopping them from drinking. However, I'm not the kind of person to care about such trivial matters.

Alcohol and tobacco aren't things you can just tell someone not to use. The way to deal with them is not to prohibit them entirely, but to give a little guidance so they don't go down a worse path.

Maybe next time, if I get a free drink, I can give him a few words of wisdom.

"Anyway, do me a favor, okay? I'm going to go buy some drinks now, and whether you smoke or not, I don't care."

Once again, I gently reminded him not to tell anyone about me, and then I jumped over the academy wall.

I'd better go and get my blood alcohol content up.

"Do you have beer too?"

I panicked as the girl looked even more intrigued at the mention of alcohol.

Was she really going to leave the academy to buy alcohol?

"...I do, but I only have enough for me."

"Hmm, really?"

I didn't have any alcohol on me anyway, but I lied and said I did, just in case.

"That's too bad. I was going to ask if you had any extra beer to share."

She really was talking to me for the booze.

Wow, so girls like that actually exist. A female student who looks like a model student but actually parties around.

I'd heard about kids like this when I was human, but it was weird to see them in person.

"You look like a good student, but you're pretty wild too, aren't you?"

"It's a secret from the other kids, okay?"

The way the girl smiled and put her index finger to her mouth was mesmerizing. Given her appearance and personality, she must be a queen bee attracting a bunch of guys.

It's amazing that a girl her age already has the talent of a fox. What is going on in human society these days? It's really scary.

"My name is Lee Hye-Yung, and I just transferred to the second class of third grade. What about you? What grade are you in?"

She doesn't seem to be leaving, so I'm trying to figure out how to excuse myself, but now she even wants to share introductions.

This is a little awkward.

"I-I'm......"

I don't know what name to give. The truth is that I transformed into this delinquent male student randomly after seeing him in the academy. I don't even know the name of the boy I transformed into.

The female student, Lee Hye-Yung, seemed to think that it didn't matter.

"If you don't want to talk, you don't have to. But can I ask you a favor?"

"W-what?"

"Next time you run into me, if you have a lot of alcohol, share it with me."

"...Huh?"

"It's always nice to have a drinking buddy, don't you think?"

So, that's what this was all about—using me as a shuttle to get free booze.

"Anyway, do me a favor, okay? I'm going to go buy some drinks now, and whether you smoke or not, I don't care."

With that, she left. Looking at the way she skillfully climbed over such a high wall, it was clear that she was definitely an Awakened person.

"...Seriously, there's a girl like that?"

This is the first time I've had a real conversation with someone since I've been back in the human world, and I can't believe it's about meeting up for drinks later.

What happened to the human world while I was gone?

"Maybe it's time to let go of this disguise."

The next day, I lay on the rooftop of the Academy, contemplating.

I had been hiding well in disguise until now, but after meeting Lee Hye-Yung last night, I began to feel uneasy.

If Lee Hye-Yung was really looking for me and encountered the kid I had transformed into, things would get messy.

My purpose is to regain my strength by changing my appearance and hiding every time this happens.

"But who is she, that girl, Lee Hye-Yung?"

At first glance, she looks like an ordinary student. With her lighthearted demeanor, she doesn't seem very strong.

However, the feeling of intimidation I felt when I tried to attack her was real. Even now, my hands are shaking.

I wonder what would have happened if I had actually attacked her. Would I have been able to beat her?

"It probably would've been impossible."

Even the frightening monsters I'd seen in the demon world—the ones that looked so strong—didn't feel as intimidating as Lee Hye-Yung.

Lee Hye-Yung is the real deal. She's a real monster, a powerhouse. I'm not sure why she's in an academy with all these kids.

"I'll have to be careful not to meet her again."

In the meantime, I'll just have to avoid her from now on.

-Creak.

Just as I was thinking to myself, the door to the rooftop opened.

It's class time, so no one should be on the roof.

I turned my head to see if it was the cleaning staff.

"Huh? What are you doing here?"

"......!"

The person I least wanted to meet and the person I shouldn't have met. Lee Hye-Yung was there.