Chapter 21

~ Kail in Love ~

SW/SW/SW

The school was boring as usual. All he had to do was sit on a chair listening to the teacher’s otherworldly speech. Why wouldn’t they create fun learning and teaching activities? Not all students love to sit tight like this.

Sometimes Kail wondered why he was born in this stupid world. It was boring, dull, and cruel. He didn’t know what he was going to be or what he would like to do. In short, he was clueless, weak, and helpless.

Oh, he wished that he could really live in the world of games. With a sword, he could kill goblins, orcs, or even dragons! Or he could go dungeoneering with friends! Discovering untold treasures and riches, slaying undead for fame and glory, or even defeating the evil, bad demon lord for a princess’ hand in marriage!

Those were what a fantasy world RPG games told him about…

If he could live in that world, he’d be so powerful that he was adored and worshipped. No more bullies, no more demanding parents, no more shitty life.

But he realized that it was nothing but a dream...

Finally it was time for lunchbreak. He didn’t pack a lunchbox so he had to queue in the cafeteria. Boy, it was crowded and the waiting lines were long.

Kail didn’t particularly want to eat something specific, so he randomly queued. Turned out he was queuing for sandwich. In the midst of crowds and noises, someone whispered to him...

“Heya, Kail.”

Kail’s heart stopped beating, literally. He knew this voice. He knew this tone. This… this sly tone of voice demanded something…

Wawan!

He leaned closer, “Could ya lend me some money, man? Ran out when I was in the arcade.”

He should’ve said no.

He should’ve fought back.

…but no. He just couldn’t and he wanted to cry. What the name Ace he had created mean? Hadn’t he promised to be stronger?

No. Kail was not AceKivras. Kail was an ordinary human with no outstanding power or magic. With a punch in the gut, he could pass out. With a stab in his heart, he could die.

Where was Agriella when he needed her?

Where are you? Help me…

No. She wouldn’t come.

She wouldn’t come since he wasn’t AceKivras. He was Kail, a weak human being. AceKivras was strong. He could conjure flame by incantation, run without being fatigued, summon otherworldly beings, and kill monsters.

AceKivras was strong.

But Kail was weak.

Hate, hate, hate, hate.

He hated this world.

If there was a chance for him to live in the world of magic, in the world of a game, he’d take it.

“Heh, thanks, Kail. You’re a great friend,” Kail heard Wawan chuckled and he cringed inwardly.

Friend? Friend? The hell with that.

Let this guy die…

Let this guy die…

Once he was done queuing, Kail put down his sandwich on the table and sat. He ate it but it was tasteless…

0000

“Hi, Kail!” Alisa called when they met in the corridor. She wasn’t alone.

There was a black-haired girl standing next to her. He had never seen her before and assumed that she was from the neighboring class.

Ba-dump!

When they locked eyes, there was something growing inside Kail’s heart. Her eyes were sharp, radiating some sort of arrogance and coldness. What captivated him the most was the color of her eyes. They were darkest of dark but shone beautifully like obsidian.

She was of an ordinary height, not to tall and not too short either. The top of her head reached Kail’s shoulder if they were to stand side by side. Her figure was slim with balanced proportion for a high school student.

“I want to say sorry. I haven’t the time to prepare a lunchbox for you… Yesterday I got home quite late from my cram school,” Kail’s eyes quickly darted to Alisa, hoping that she didn’t find him staring at her friend. Sometimes she pointed out the wrong thing at the wrong time.

“Ah… Ah, don’t worry. Queuing at the cafeteria isn’t a big deal. Uh, listen Alisa, can you stop making lunchbox for me? I know it’s tiring to cook for both of us. If you keep this up, you’ll get sick.”

To his surprise she laughed, “Haha! What are you talking about, Kail? There’s no ‘sick’ in my dictionary. I cook for you because I want to. B-Besides,” she looked away, seemingly uncomfortable, “there’s no harm for me to cook for my… childhood friend, is there?”

Kail scratched his head, “You’re so stubborn. But do as you like. Don’t blame me if you get sick, okay?”

To his surprise, she chuckled, “Do you ever see me get sick?”

“No.”

“I’m super extra healthy that I’m immune to any diseases,” then she slapped his shoulder playfully, “you’re so tense sometimes, Kail! It’s okay! Just relax! I do this because I love to, not because I have to.”

“Uh, if you say so…”

Alisa gasped, realizing that she had someone with her, “Oh, that’s right! I believe this is the first time you meet her, right? She’s my cram school friend, Hilda.”

The black haired girl nodded slightly to Kail. She hadn’t the slightest intention to say hi or something similar to it.

The more he looked at her, the more she radiated DPS-like vibe. Was it just him?

Kail smiled, lifted his hand in a friendly manner, “Hi. The name’s Kail Rega Ardanta. Kail for short.”

“So you two go to the same cram school? How did you two met?”

Alisa held her laugh as she explained, “Did you believe that we met in the toilet?”

Kail’s expression was utter disbelief when he heard that.

“Hilda has a habit to hog the bathroom,” Alisa ignored Hilda’s red face and continued, “I was suspicious of someone because she used the same toilet at the same hour. Instead of hearing what you should be hearing in the toilet, I heard rustles of book!”

Kail didn’t expect Hilda to be so… well, unique. Every beautiful person had flaws and Hilda was no exception.

“Curious, I climbed the toilet seat to peek! Turned out that it was Hilda, reading a magazine inside! And after that we got to kno—”

“Wait just a second!” Kail interrupted, “you peeked when someone was using the toilet?! What kind of girl are you?!”

“Oh, Kail, you dummy! It’s not a big deal! Normally you’d be curious when there’s someone hogging the toilet all the time! Makes you want to peek!”

“Like hell I want to!”

“Aw, just admit it!”

“No! I’d rather peek at girls instead of boys!”

By the time Kail realized what he had just said, it was too late. Alisa and Hilda narrowed their eyes distrustfully as if they had discovered a pervert.

Alisa leaned at Kail, smiling dangerously, “Hm? What was that, Kail? Something about peeking girls?”

“N-No… It was… I was just…” he didn’t mean it like that! He said such thing since it was the most logical answer, not because he liked to peek at girls!

“How often, Kail?” Alisa’s smile was scary. “Eh? Eeeh? How often? Twice a day?”

“I-I think you’ve misunderstood something…” Kail cowered.

The bell rang, signaling that the lunch break was over.

Silently Kail sighed in relief, having been saved by pure luck. He awkwardly apologized to the girls and dashed to the classroom. The chance to regain his dignity to impress Hilda had slipped away…