小嫂子的味道

The island practical exam was about to come to an end. Today was the last day of the exam, the sun was up during the exam and it was just about the time they were teleported to this island, three days back.

I was on the beach, lying on a big stone I was staring at the sky while waiting for the exam to end. I could hear the sound of water as the waves washed on the shore, and the sound of rustling leaves as the gentle gust of wind made them dance.

That was when I saw several students who emerged from within the forest and set foot on the beach's sandy surface. There were around fifteen of them, and none of them looked to be in a good condition. But well, I wasn't the one to say.

Although I could guess why they were coming out of the forest at a time like this. When all of us were teleported to the island, the place we landed on was the beach. Thus it was only reasonable to think that if you had to get back you'll have to come to the beach first.

While there was nothing like this and the students will get teleported back indifferent to where they stood, no one would want to risk the chances.

I sat up on the stone, raising my guard I prepared myself in case any of them were to attack me, though the chances of that happening were quite low at a time like this.

A gust of wind passed by, and a wave of water hit the beach's shore. A magic circle that seemed to cover the entire island appeared in the sky, above our heads.

I looked up and saw the runes inscribed on it, I realized that I didn't recognize a single one of them.

The next second the scenery before my eyes changed and my feet dropped to the ground as the stone I was sitting on disappeared, as soon as I got aware of my surroundings I saw that I was standing in the same hall I was in before we were sent on the island.

The other students had also filled in the gaps around me, and the hall was bustling with students once again; although you can't ignore the fact that there were a few empty spots.

Everyone was involved in a murmur, some were confused, some were happy, some were brimming with confidence while some just straight-up looked depressed. I belonged to the category who were just glad that the exam ended.

That was when Mr. Halls came onto the stage and gathered everyone's attention as he tapped twice on the mic.

"Dear students, I hereby announce that the mid-term practical exam has officially ended. I hope you all got to learn something new during this exam and were able to find the flaws within yourself and ways to improve on them.

"Now, those of you who have acquired the hidden task items should stay in the hall and submit the items to your homeroom teacher before leaving. But those who have only completed the exam can leave the hall and tend to themselves. If you have some serious injuries then the doors of the medic are always open. That's all."

With that, he left the stage. There were no outraging students, no one was screaming and complaining about their dead friends like they were during the entrance exam.

Of course, they won't. Everyone knew that if their friends were signing the form then they were approving the reality that they were dead. The students knew that, but not behaving badly despite knowing that was a hard task. The students had grown, they were now more mature than when they entered the academy.

'Have I changed too? It's a difficult question. Finding changes in other people is always easier than noticing the changes in yourself. Thus my honest answer is: I don't know.'

The majority of the students left the hall after that, and I was among them. I stepped out of the hall, however, no one came to check whether I was hiding a magic crystal with me or not.

And it wasn't strange.

The academy had no reason to check this; it was up to the students whether they want to submit the hidden task items or not, and wanted the extra points for them. If they didn't submit it, it was their problem.

They had no concern for the items too. The magic crystals were rare, indeed, but for the academy, they were nothing unusual. It showed in the fact that there were magic lights lighting up each and every corner of the academy campus.

After leaving the hall, I went back straight to my dorm room. I opened the door, stepped inside, and closed the door afterward. As soon as I turned back the figure of Req came running towards me and she threw herself in my arms.

This was something I hadn't expected, plus the injuries I'd gained during the two days I hunted monsters were hurting my body too. Therefore it wasn't weird that I ended up falling down.

"Get off me," I said.

"I refuse," she replied with a bustling smile on her face.

"What?! You're not making sense. Get off me right now."

"I won't. I didn't have you close to me for three whole days! There's no way I'm going to leave you that easily."

"I really don't have time for all this. I've to take a bath and then go to buy a new uniform for myself."

"Hmm? I don't see what's the problem in that. I can stay with you while you take a bath," as soon as those words left her mouth, she started tearing my uniform and undressing me.

A deep, exasperated, sigh escaped my lips.

"Fine. I'll let you go with me, but on the condition that you won't undress me here and after I've done bathing, you won't disturb me further," I said.

"What?! Really? You're okay with that?" she asked as if perplexed by the words I said.

"You don't want to now?"

"Huh?! No! No, no, no, no! It's not like that! I was just a little…surprised. I never expected that you'll really go along with me."

"Some things are unexpected," I stated.

'If this is what it takes to get rid of her for a while, then it's fine. Plus, if she's thinking that she'll get some reaction out of me if she goes in a bath with me, then she was dead wrong. I was no anime protagonist.'