Chapter 69

With her eyes tightly closed, Gem wiped away the juice that was dripping down her chin.

“S-S-Sorry!”

Startled, I hurriedly found a tissue and handed it to her.

“I’m fine. Are you okay? Did you get hurt?”

“W-Were you a girl?”

Excited, I blurted out the question, and Gem frowned.

“Well, if we’re in the same room, wouldn’t I be a girl, not a boy? I just cut my long hair because it was in the way.”

“W-What, no, w-what?”

“Are you stupid? Surely you didn’t think I was a boy all this time?”

“I knew you were a girl! I just didn’t know I was a boy…!”

Gemian Traha, I thought!

But surprisingly, Gem was Gemian Traha….

‘Does this make any sense?’

「Standing nearly 2 meters tall, with a muscular build and hair that shone red in the sun.

Watching the commoner mercenary captain, the Red Wolf Gemian Traha, subdue the monsters with a single gauntlet at the forefront, his subordinates were filled with morale.」

I pulled at my cheeks and opened my mouth wide.

It’s not that I’m a prejudiced person. Anyone who has read the novel would surely not think Gemian Traha was a woman when they read the description.

With a height of 2 meters and a muscular build, how could this be….

‘The author has a problem.’

I concluded.

I could almost hear the author, whose face I didn’t know, sneering.

“Ahaha, I never said I was a boy?”

‘Mr. Author, why is your narration so unhelpful…?’

At this point, it seemed like the author had deliberately written the story to mess with me.

‘How many times have I been blindsided now?’

The protagonist even rebelled for his daughter but never once mentioned her name, ‘Lilith.’

If he had, I would have realized that ‘James Brown = Enoch Rubinstein’ much earlier.

Also, if this keeps up, I’ll keep suspecting the Tower Master Oscar.

There’s clearly something between the original me and him, but it’s not described, so I can’t know.

“Ugh, the author is really strange….”

“What?”

I wanted to cry but steadied myself and carefully examined Gem again.

Her red hair, cut short like a boy’s, was something no one would recognize as a girl at first glance.

And indeed, a promising sprout. At eleven years old, she was already much taller than her peers and had broad shoulders.

Her physique was perfect for martial arts.

“Gem, you’ve been held back for two years, right?”

“Ah, yeah.”

Gem, embarrassed by the fact that she had been held back, blushed and bowed her head.

“You always get zero on the theory tests, right?”

“Y-Yeah… But, why are you suddenly asking this!”

“But you’re good at the practical martial arts, right?”

“Yeah! I beat all the stupid noble boys!”

Gem proudly puffed out her chest. I looked at her quietly.

Misunderstanding my gaze, Gem blushed and bit her lip.

“Theory… Who would want to fail on purpose? When I ask questions, the teachers always ignore me. No one tells me, so how am I supposed to do it alone?”

“I see….”

“So because I can’t memorize the magic formulas, I can’t use any magic, and no one wants to do the monthly evaluation with me.”

“I see, I see….”

I patted Gem’s shoulder comfortingly.

The monthly evaluation happens every month, but you need to form groups of four, so not just anyone can take the test.

Practical skills are top-notch, but theory is the worst.

Therefore, Gem, who can’t use any magic and only knows how to use her body, wouldn’t have been included in any group.

‘Tsk tsk. Not knowing how great Gemian Traha is.’

Me, Cheshire, and Gem.

Already, I had gathered three members for the monthly evaluation, like an X-Men team.

I smiled wickedly.

“Don’t worry, Gem. I’ll help you.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s take the monthly evaluation together.”

“W-What? Really? But I always fail the theory….”

“Don’t worry about that.”

I put my short arm around Gem’s shoulder.

Swallowing, Gem leaned away to make me more comfortable.

“Just trust me. I’m a 9th-degree tutor. The kids I taught went to the Soul University’s Math Education Department.”

“…What’s that?”

“Never mind. Anyway.”

I affectionately pressed my cheek against Gem’s and said,

“From today, we start special training!”

* * *

In the afternoon, we finally had our first practical training.

I walked arm in arm with Gem to the main hall.

Since practical training often shares the same training grounds regardless of major, the main hall was filled with children.

“I have to go over there….”

[Combat Department - Boxing]

Gem mumbled, pointing to a sign far away.

I nodded and tried to let go of her arm, but for some reason, Gem firmly held onto it.

“…I’ll go when the class starts.”

“Ahaha! Sure! Let’s play more!”

As I chatted with Gem, someone tapped my shoulder from behind.

It was Cheshire.

“Ah! Cheshire, you’re here?”

Cheshire nodded and glanced at Gem before speaking to me.

“The kid you were looking for, Gemian Traha, isn’t here. Are you sure it’s the Combat Department?”

“Huh? You were looking for me?”

Gem’s eyes widened. Cheshire looked at her.

I scratched my head between the two of them.

“Yeah. Cheshire, I found him. I made a mistake. Gem is a girl, not a boy. She’s even my roommate.”

The light under the lamp is dim….

“Why were you looking for me?”

I patted the surprised Gem’s arm and explained.

“Just a rumor I heard. There’s a poor friend who’s top in practical but bottom in theory….”

“What? I’m that well-known?”

“It’s okay, Gem. Don’t be upset. You’re going to get special training from me, anyway.”

I held Gem’s hand and Cheshire’s hand and pulled them together.

“Introduce yourselves. Let’s all be friends.”

The bond that started from the training ground!

The best comrades, Cheshire and Gemian!

“Gemian Traha.”

“…Cheshire.”

“Huh? Is that it?”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah, that’s it.”

I felt proud watching the two, who were still awkward, shake hands.

They would later fight monsters together, camp out, and even share the hind legs of a wild boar.

It’s so moving to piece together the original story like a puzzle!

“Let’s all take the monthly evaluation together. We need four people, so think of one more.”

“Huh?”

Gem was surprised.

“Why?”

“Well, I… Will you be okay?”

“What do you mean?”

Gem looked apologetic.

“Usually, kids with high badge colors form groups with others of the same color. Since everyone avoids the white badges, there’s a rule that you have to include at least one white badge in each group….”

Gem glanced at Cheshire’s white badge.

“I didn’t know you had someone in mind to include. I’m fine. I’ll just do it with her and find the rest from the kids with high badge colors.”

The monthly evaluation, where you hunt imaginary monsters in a virtual field.

Naturally, choosing your teammates is very important.

The better the abilities of your teammates, the higher your score, and the faster you graduate.

Everyone wanted to form groups with kids who had high badge colors.

“No, Gem.”

“Huh?”

I shook my head, trying to hide my smile.

‘One is a 1st-class ability user who doesn’t know their own strength, and the other is a user who can even eat through ranks!’

I wasn’t just being nice by accepting them as teammates; I was planning to ride the bus with them.

Swallowing that thought, I firmly held Gem’s hand.

“It’s fine. Let’s try to find another white badge friend for the last spot. That way, the white badge friends can graduate faster.”

“Are you serious? How can a gold badge have three white badges….”

“Yeah, I’m serious.”

Not knowing my wicked intentions, Gem looked touched, thinking I was helping her.

“Lilith! I’ll work hard. I won’t let you suffer!”

“Ah, don’t worry about it.”

Hehe, you and Cheshire will carry the team.

“Cheshire, is it okay for you to take the test with Gem?”

“I don’t mind.”

Gem, excited, chimed in.

“Let’s do our best! Cheshire!”

“Sure.”

How heartwarming.

“Lilith, I’m really confident! I’ve never been to the monthly evaluation field, but I won’t let you down!”

Gem, burning with determination, opened the cloth bag she had slung over her shoulder and took something out.

It was a gauntlet.

Her main weapon, which covered from the back of her hand to her elbow.

Clack, clack, I watched in awe as Gem put on the gauntlets on both arms.

“Wow, that’s cool….”

“Aha!”

Gem smiled proudly when I expressed my admiration.

Not only Gem, but Cheshire also held a cool wooden sword provided there.

“You both look so cool….”

Unlike the magic department kids, the combat department kids all had weapons.

This is because combat ability users are trained to load mana into weapons like swords, gauntlets, spears, and bows.

Just like how my dad can shoot sword energy with a stick.

“You have a weapon too….”

Seeing my envious expression, Gem laughed again.

“You’re in the magic department. You don’t need a weapon.”

“No, I do.”

I chuckled and turned the bear bag I had slung behind me to the front.

Then I took out my prepared weapon and raised it high in the air.

“Ta-da! Look at this!”

It’s not necessary, but I brought it for the grand effect—

“Princess Lala!”

—Cheshire’s gift, the Princess Lala magic wand!

“Ah, why did you bring that?”

Cheshire, embarrassed, covered her eyes with her hand.