The afterlife I had reached looked like the student council room. Instead of a chubby cherub with a trumpet, what greeted me was Keran Illestia, who had a smile that seemed weary of everything. I muttered stupidly.
“I like his face, but shouldn’t they have made it look like Lilu instead?”
Lilu is the world’s most aggressive grandma cat. Without me, she’d scratch whomever she wanted. I felt overly depressed.
I had imagined what would happen if I died. I pictured my children sobbing on top of my coffin or my spouse talking about how much I made people laugh.
I imagined it like that because I didn’t know that I would die at such a young age. They said there’s nothing worse than dying early. I was apprehensive about my parents.
I wonder if they’ve gotten word that I’m dead by now. Still, I thought it would be nice if they didn’t rush too much and took their time. Dad has gained a lot of weight lately, and even running for just a few minutes would be too hard for him.
What about the guild? Dad has long been estranged from his family, and as for my mom’s relatives—if the guild master position went to the gambling addict Ruth or Jodi, who dreams of being a socialite, I’d climb up the walls of the afterlife and be resurrected.
Since Jaden Spencer picked up her hair ornament at her debutante ball, delusional Jodi has acted like she’s the future Duchess of Spencer. If she had any talent as a wizard, my academy life would have been much more painful.
Bree is a smart kid, so she should be able to escape from Walsh without my help. If Kelly ever has to arrange my funeral, I hope she’ll sing about how I at least made some mark in Fitzsimmons’ history of mischief, even if it’s just a dot.
It’s a shame I couldn’t attend Liz and Brennan’s wedding. It would have been so enjoyable. And I didn’t even manage to decode all the <Patch Notes>.
I also felt bad about never being able to stab Bolton back despite all the times we crossed swords and about not being able to help Jaden become friends with Louisa as I promised.
I should have also made Edgar Ramos more frugal. I thought I lived my life doing everything I wanted to do, but there were things I secretly regretted.
And Kyle… I didn’t want Kyle, who unknowingly has a sincere side, to feel too guilty.
He was the one who strangled me, but it was clear that it was against his will. If that’s acting, then he should not be in the academy. He should have made a name for himself as an actor in the Royal Court theatre.
I remember the last time I saw his face. The way he struggled against something absolute, using all his might. The thick blood flowing from his bloodshot eyes soaked my heart.
Did I look the same in his eyes? I might be a little greedy, but unlike Kyle Villard in my memory, I want Ariel Dalton in his memory to always remain smiling.
While I was organizing my thoughts, an angel wearing Illestia’s skin spoke. It looked like he was furious.
“What are you talking about all of a sudden? Even if you say that, it won’t change what I will report to Professor Humphreys. Someone got hurt because of you and Kyle’s animal-shaped marshmallow race. I hope you apologize to her.”
At first glance, the animal-shaped marshmallows seemed like ordinary marshmallows meant to float in hot chocolate, but, befitting the snacks sold at Fitzsimmons stores, they would move like a living animal if you chanted the spell as written on the wrapper.
Kyle and I sometimes made them big and nimble with some auxiliary magic and raced them, making spectators bet and earning ourselves a decent allowance after collecting payment.
Since the marshmallow animals’ soles were too soft and squishy, they would bounce tremendously when casting a speed spell, which was both cute and added a variety of factors to the outcome of the race, making the arena quite popular. (However, it was strictly forbidden to enter the same species in one game, as there were some cases where people cheated.)
“A victim? How much did they bet? I’m sorry, but we make sure they sign a document agreeing to the outcome before receiving the payment. Although the writing may be small, it clearly states, ‘There are no refunds under any circumstances.’”
“Are you trying to play dumb now, Dalton? She was run over by the marshmallow rabbit you let loose.”
“But those are marshmallows. If Delaney Wood’s fists were marshmallows, you wouldn’t feel anything even if she hit you in the jaw.”
Even if our low-level magic suddenly improved and the marshmallow animals became extremely powerful, if you were hit by them and injured, you should be in a nursing home, not an academy.
I was dumbfounded and opened my mouth. No, but more than that.
“What are you saying all of a sudden? I mean, what happened? Am I not dead? Isn’t this the world after death, and aren’t you an angel?”
“Have you had a dream or something? This is not the afterlife; it’s Fitzsimmons Academy, and I’m not an angel; I’m the student council president. You’re alive and well. Well, listening to you, maybe not exactly ‘well’.”
“I feel like I’m dreaming right now.”
Illestia hesitated slightly, looking embarrassed as he pronounced ‘angel’. Either way, I pinched my cheek very hard. It hurt.
“So what about Kyle? What about Rosemary Blossom?”
“I finished talking to Kyle in the morning. And who is Rosemary Blossom?”
“What?”
It was a shocking remark to be heard in the afterlife— although Illestia said it wasn’t. Who is Rosemary Blossom?
“You don’t know Blossom? She’s the special admitted student who transferred in March. She’s the student council secretary with flowing blonde hair, daisy-like eyes, and a doll-like appearance. Why are you acting like that?”
“I should be the one asking you that. ‘Florence Belle’ and ‘Rosemary Blossom’ are too different names to be confused. If I were you, I would rather remember the name of the person who was injured because of your boring prank.”
Who is Flora Belle? I pinched my temples as the dizziness swept over me. It felt as if my sanity, which had just returned, was leaving again.
***
As Illestia said, in this world (I decided not to call this the afterlife anymore because it didn’t make much sense to consider it as one), Florence “Flora” Belle took the place of Rosemary Blossom.
The rumoured specially admitted commoner student She is beautiful and kind, and she is a candidate for queen of the banquet competition with a strong support base. She is the princess of the student council, receiving exceptional treatment from the members.
There were some differences between her and Blossom; Belle did not hate me like Blossom did.
In fact, it wasn’t right to say that she didn’t hate me. It seems like she didn’t even know that Ariel Dalton existed.
When I was forced by Illestia to visit her room, Belle hummed like she was singing, ‘It’s okay, Anne. I’m not hurt. I’m just a little surprised.’ And she added: ‘Kyle said you two are childhood friends. I envy you. He’s a very sweet and funny kid, but he knows how to be serious when he needs to be.’
It bothered me that Belle, who looked exactly like Blossom and tried to manipulate Kyle to kill me, talked like she knew him very well. She even had the same voice, spoke in the same manner, and shared even the slightest mannerisms, so I responded with an awkward laugh.
Also, as far as I know, my name was “Ariel” here too. So I immediately corrected her, but even so, when I met her in the hallway after that, she shook my hand and said, “Good evening, Anne.”
I decided not to point it out because she seemed to have no intention of remembering. Just like how Illestia, who was guarding Belle, must have seen her being impolite but didn’t reprimand her, I also decided not to call her ‘Rosemary Blossom’, as I didn’t want to get involved in unnecessary trouble.
Florence Belle was living a much more princess-like life with the student council than Blossom, who only had Nadon and Bolton charmed. It had only been over a month and a half since Blossom had transferred, but Belle had spent twice as much time at Fitzsimmons, so that seemed to be one of their differences.
As Belle had said, she had suffered no damage from the marshmallow rabbit. Nevertheless, Illestia exaggerated the content of the reports to Professor Humphreys and finally had me punished. He even made me apologize directly to her. It was not because I had to submit a handwritten reflection, but to be honest, it was objectively excessive.
This situation in which Illestia acted as if he had abandoned his reason as long as it concerned the princess of the student council was not very strange to me. That’s because he’s been that way all through the recurring fifth grade. Would the Illestia in my original world also end up like this? I felt strange. He called me ‘Ari’. He held my hand and even smiled.
Anyway, that wasn’t a big deal for me right now (really!). I don’t know what the hell happened, but I didn’t die. I just flew into a strange world. So it didn’t seem impossible to go back to my original world.
I had to go back. Of course, unlike Blossom, Belle did not seem to intend to harm me, so I did not have to worry about being strangled by anyone here. However, that didn’t mean I would feel relieved that I had fallen into an unknown world.
It wouldn’t hurt to witness how crazy Brennan would become at the wedding hall. Also, Liz agreed that if our black crystal mining operation succeeds, she will make me the godmother of her child someday. I hated the idea of Liz saying, “Your godmother will be watching over you from heaven,” by her bedside.Moreover, Dalton’s tomboy never avoided any fight that came her way.
You can now sponsor an extra chapter by buying me a Ko-fi! 2 Ko-fi= 1extra chapter.
