Chapter 46
Saint Gloria Private School Student Bulletin Board
Continental Calendar Year 902, September 20th
It’s the 8th day of attending EgliHas’s cricket training observation. Hastings can now hit the ball with the bat.
⌎ Faster than expected
⌎ Is Hastings perhaps a genius?
⌎ Wasn’t she terrible before? She’s hitting the ball with the bat on day 8? Must be a genius
⌎ Seeing these reactions, I’m curious how bad she was on day 1
⌎ It was awful. Instead of throwing the ball, he threw the bat.
⌎ If only that was all? When the student council president was trying to correct his posture, he was trembling like a newborn deer and fell into the campus fountain by himself
⌎ There’s a reason we’re all attending these cricket training observations. Hastings is hilarious
⌎ Honestly, isn’t it the student council president who’s the real genius for teaching him?
⌎ Didn’t you know? The student council president transcended humanity long ago. He’s beyond our level to even mention. Completely out of our league.
⌎ I want to learn cricket from the student council president too
⌎ That might be possible for you in your next life
Whistle— Go Hastings—!
A whistle and cheers of encouragement came from somewhere.
I tried to ignore the noisy cheering and got back into position.
I was in the middle of cricket training with Senior Noah on the school grounds after classes.
[But I tend to be strict, so be prepared. And bring several handkerchiefs.]
I should have known when he said that.
Training with the senior was truly hell. It was so hard I was on the verge of tears.
Not only did I have to practice posture correction and bat swinging at least ten thousand times, but there was strength training on top of that.
At first, only one or two students would stop by to watch, but now the number of students observing the training has doubled.
I knew they all came to see how bad I was at cricket, so I felt a bit embarrassed.
I was having trouble concentrating because of the students’ gazes, and seeing this, Senior Noah calmly advised,
“Melody. At least greet your fans.”
Should that even be considered advice?
As I was thinking that, I almost tripped on a stone, but the senior swiftly lifted me up.
“If you fall and get a nosebleed, they’ll be thrilled.”
“Why would they?”
I looked towards the stands where students were watching us. The students huddled together and whistled when they noticed my gaze.
Senior Noah looked at them.
“Because there are bets on your nosebleeds.”
“How much is the bet?”
He leaned towards me. My eyes widened at the size of the bet he whispered in my ear.
“A mere nosebleed is worth more than my annual salary. They’d be disappointed if I don’t get a nosebleed today.”
“Let them be disappointed. It’s better than you get a nosebleed.”
Senior Noah coldly replied and then gestured to me.
“You’ve rested enough, haven’t you? Get in position.”
How did he know I was just stalling for rest by chatting?
I held back tears and reluctantly got into position.
I wanted to run away because it was too hard, but retreat isn’t in my dictionary.
I have to grit my teeth and endure.
Thud.
I fell to the ground while running with sandbags for strength training and immediately got a nosebleed.
I rummaged through my gym clothes pocket and realized I didn’t have a handkerchief.
‘Oh no, I left the handkerchiefs in my bag and forgot to take them out.’
Just then, a large shadow fell over me.
As I looked up with blood streaming from both nostrils, Senior Noah was standing in front of me.
“I told you not to get hurt. The only people over there are those who’d be happy if you got hurt.”
Senior Noah pointed at the stands as he spoke.
As soon as I got a nosebleed, there was a mix of joy and disappointment as money changed hands here and there.
To be precise, rather than liking me getting hurt, they probably liked the windfall they’d get from my nosebleed.
Isn’t that the same thing?
But still, since transferring to Saint Gloria Private School, I haven’t encountered any malicious or hostile students.
In fact, looking at the student bulletin board, there were more friends cheering for me and liking me.
Senior Noah knelt on one knee and examined my face, turning it this way and that with his large hand.
Then he sighed, took out a handkerchief to wipe my nosebleed himself, and swiftly picked me up.
“Let’s call it a day for today.”
Although the senior would push me hard during training, he always stopped immediately when I got a nosebleed.
Above all, he was skilled at explaining only the essential points and had an excellent ability to assess my condition and devise efficient training methods.
Thanks to that, by the 9th day of training, I could now somewhat hit the ball with the bat.
The problem was that the 2nd year cricket tournament was just ten days away.
Because Senior Noah would stop training immediately if I got a nosebleed, even during intense practice, my progress was surprisingly slow.
“Senior, I’m really okay.”
“No, you’re not. How can you continue cricket when you’re this frail? Maybe it’s better to give up now…”
“No! I’m really fine!”
I shouted strongly while in Senior Noah’s arms.
It was quite ironic to be treated as having a weak constitution, probably because I often got nosebleeds.
I wasn’t originally like this…!
If there was a problem, it was that my body had become excessively weak since coming back to the past.
The senior carried me toward the girls’ dormitory building with a very displeased expression.
“I heard rumors that the F-class students were bullying you. Is that why you’re pushing yourself so hard?”
“I’m not being bullied.”
They just treat me like I’m invisible, which makes me feel self-conscious.
“It’s true that when you’re particularly bad at a team sport, you feel self-conscious, right?”
Honestly, while I had nothing to say about being treated as invisible, I couldn’t deny that it was my fault for being bad at cricket and feeling self-conscious.
How could I not feel self-conscious when our team might get a low score because of me?
Senior Noah, who seemed to be mulling over my words, spoke in a calm voice.
“If it’s hard, be honest about it. We’re life-and-death partners now, after all.”
“Life-and-death partners?”
“Investigating ghost stories isn’t easy. You should know that by now.”
Ah. I understood what he meant.
Because I now know how dangerous ghost stories and evil spirits can be. And that they’re real.
“As much as you help with this work, I’ll do my best to help you too. So tell me if you need help.”
Somehow grateful for those words, I nodded quietly instead of refusing.
I could somewhat understand why Saint Gloria Private School students worship and are so enthusiastic about the student council president.
Anyway, Senior Noah escorted me to the entrance of the girls’ dormitory building.
According to school rules, even the student council president couldn’t enter the girls’ dormitory building unless it was a special case.
As I returned to my dorm room with my nose plugged with the handkerchief Senior Noah gave me, Erica greeted me.
“Melody! You got a nosebleed again today!”
I prepared for bed and organized my bag while receiving Erica’s worried attention.
Today was another very tiring day.
Even though Raven was still avoiding me and running away.
🐈⬛
Thank you for reading! ♡
